Tag: mobile headphone amp
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SMSL DO200 Review: This $489 MQA DAC Will Help You Build A Killer DAC Amp Stack!
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in Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Power Amps, Preamps, Reviews, Streaming, Videos, WirelessTL;DR This attractive and full-featured MQA DAC gives you a truly musical and immersive performance. You will have to spend several hundred more to get significantly more definition and layering. Intro At one point in time, desktop DAC and headphone amp separates were only available to those with deep pockets. But over the last couple…
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iFi Audio GO blu Review: This Elegant $200 Bluetooth Headphone Amplifier Is Powerful & Compact!
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Intro Ifi Audio is known for making remarkable yet affordable DAC/Headphone Amps, but today we’re looking at their first Portable Bluetooth DAC/Amp, the $199 iFi GO blu. Unlike many portable Bluetooth DACs, the GO blu has separate Amp, DAC, and Bluetooth circuits which enable it to provide double the output power of competitors. iFi also…
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Ifi Audio’s $599 xDSD Gryphon Is Their Most Audacious Take On The Portable DAC Amp Combo Yet!
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in Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, News, Portable Audio, Preamps, Streaming, Videos, WirelessIfi Audio has released a ton of new gear in the last couple of months, including the hip dac2 Dac amp combo we just reviewed, and the GO blu Bluetooth DAC. Now today, they have released their most ambitious portable DAC Amp combo to date, the $599 xDSD Gryphon. The latest device in iFi’s mid-level…
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iFi Audio hip-dac2 Portable USB DAC/Headphone Amp Combo Review: The Sequel Adds Tremendous Refinement!
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in Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Reviews, Videos, WirelessTL;DR With improvements in its detail and separation, the iFi hip dac2 is a worthy upgrade to the original. Intro Back in January of 2020, iFi dropped a new battery-powered portable amp that was slimmer and lighter than anything they had released to date. It was called the hip-dac, named as such because the design…
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Hidizs S9 PRO Balanced & Single-Ended DAC AMP Combo Review: Epic Power & Tantalizing Detail!
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TL;DR The Hidizs S9 PRO USB Dac/Amp Combo is well-built and has everything you need to turn your smartphone into a Hi-Res digital audio player. The sound is clean and crisp, plus it has the power to drive most of the headphones out there. The only thing to watch out for is a little bit…
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Ifi Audio Unveils The Upgraded $189 Hip-Dac2 Along With A Sexy New Case!
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in Best Buys, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, MQA, Music, News, Portable Audio, Power Amps, Streaming, VideosToday, iFi released a new version of their super-popular transportable hip-dac DAC Amp combo, foreseeably called hip-dac2. The latest version of the hip-dac is following a similar upgrade path to the excellent ZEN Dac 2 (our review here), recieving an upgraded XMOS processing chip. Like the ZEN Dac 2, that new chip now allows hip-dac2…
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THX’s Mind-Blowing Onyx DAC Amp Combo Now Comes With 3 Free Months Of Hi-Res Streaming From Qobuz!
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in DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, MQA, Music, News, Portable Audio, Power Amps, Reviews, VideosStarting today, THX and Qobuz have teamed up to bundle THX’s excellent Onyx DAC Amp with 3 free months of Qobuz Studio Premier. In order to get Free Qobuz, you need to purchase an Onyx via the link on the THX site, after which the redemption info will be forwarded to you. We loved Onyx…
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SMSL HO200 Headphone Amplifier Review: The Best For Astonishing Power And Detail!
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in Best Buys, Budget, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, News, Preamps, ReviewsFor the last year or so, if you were looking for a powerful, yet affordable headphone amp for your desktop, the $499 Topping A90 is the one most people would recommend. The A90 is fully balanced with XLR input/output, a 4.4mm jack, a pre-out, a 3 step gain setting, plus a smooth volume control knob…
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Audirect Atom2 Lightning MQA Dac Amp Combo Review: Don’t Listen To Apple Music Lossless Without It!
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in Best Buys, Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Reviews, Streaming, VideosThe Low Down The Audirect Atom2 Lightning is a lightweight DAC/Amp combo with a lightning connector for iPhones. It connects directly to the bottom of the phone so you can avoid floppy dongles, and it has decent power for driving full-sized headphones. For a $79 DAC/Amp the sound is extraordinarily smooth, detailed and expansive. If…
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Campfire Audio Drops Two Tantalizing Reference IEMs, The $649 Holocene And $549 Mammoth
This week, Campfire Audio continued the sustained growth of its burgeoning product line with two new models, the Holocene and Mammoth IEMs. Both are constructed of Campfire’s iconic aluminum housings and stainless steel spouts accented with glow in the dark elements for more visual appeal. The glow in the dark motif is also carried over…
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Kinera Unveils Imperial Skuld, Their Latest Handpainted IEM Masterpiece!
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Kinera has been on a roll. Over the last couple of years, the company has put out a constant stream of beautifully handpainted earphones, and each one has an interesting theme based on Norse mythology. Their latest creation is called the Kinera Imperial Skuld. It’s named after Skuld, one of the mythological “Sisters of Fate,”…
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Lightning DACs and Camera Adapters: How To Get The Best Sound From Apple Music Lossless
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Last week Apple rolled out thousands of Lossless Audio and Hi-Res Lossless audio tracks on their Apple Music platform, bringing with them the promise of Audiophile-Quality playback. Here’s how Apple explains it: Apple has developed its own lossless audio compression technology called Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC). In addition to AAC, the entire Apple Music…
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World Premiere! THX Onyx Review: Their First DAC/Headphone Amp Combo Is Marvelous!
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in Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Reviews, SoftwareOverview The portable DAC/Amp market is a crowded one. I’ve reviewed a bunch of them, and I have a couple on deck waiting for evaluation. To make noise in this product category, you have to come up with something special. Enter THX and their new THX Onyx, a $199 DAC/Amp that happens to be their…
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iFi iDSD Diablo Review: The Best Portable Dac/Amp Combo?
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in DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Power Amps, Preamps, Reviews, VideosIFi’s Latest Portable Dac/Amp Combo Has Unrivaled Power And Refinement At Its Price! It’s no secret that I have a bit of a soft spot for iFi products. Their combination of innovative design, thoughtful features, and build quality is unmatched at their price points. They always seem to give you more for your money. The…
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Now That’s A Good Question…What’s A Good DAC/Amp For The Hifiman Sundara?
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in Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Power Amps, Reviews, Streaming, Videos, WirelessChoosing a DAC Amp for the Best Value Headphone under $500! A Reader Writes: I’m wondering if you can give me your recommendation for pairing up a DAC for the Hifiman Sundara headphones. I have not purchased either item but I’d like to do so as soon as today. I’ve been unable to confirm what…
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Khadas Tone 2 Pro Review: This Revolutionary DAC Amp Will Make Your Headphones Sing!
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in Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Preamps, Reviews, Videos, WirelessI’ve reviewed quite a few dongle style DAC/Headphone Amps over the last year or so, and I must say I dig them. Their compact size coupled with their affordability makes them an ideal way to upgrade a smartphone or laptop’s sound while on the go. Recently, I was really wowed by the $99 HELM Audio…
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Now That’s A Good Question…Bluetooth vs. Wi-Fi Music Streaming?
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in Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Music, News, Power Amps, Preamps, Software, Streaming, Videos, WirelessA reader writes: Would a music streamer, like Andover’s Audio Songbird Music Streamer, be necessary for a system with a PS Audio Sprout since the Sprout has Bluetooth? Thanks M.B. Hello M.B, Not necessarily. If you’re happy with the sound from Bluetooth, then you may not need a Wi-Fi streamer like the Songbird. However,…
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Wow! Check Out The Euclid, Audeze’s Extraordinary New In-Ear Planar Magnetic Headphone
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Today, Audeze revealed the $1299 Euclid, their first closed-back in-ear Planar Magnetic earphone. It’s a beautiful design composed of aluminum and carbon fiber. Inside the housings are 18mm ultra-thin planar magnetic drivers which utilize scaled-down versions of Audeze patented technologies like Fluxor magnets for efficiency and Fazor waveguides for a cleaner sound. They also come with…
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Shanling BA1 Desktop Hi-Fi Bluetooth Receiver Review: Exquisite Bluetooth DAC For Headphones And Speakers!
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Remarkable Wireless Sound For The Money! It wasn’t long ago, the phrase “Hi-Fi Bluetooth Receiver” would’ve been considered something of an oxymoron. Even a couple of years back, the sound quality of Bluetooth was pretty poor, and most audiophiles would’ve scoffed at the idea of “Hi-Fi Bluetooth.” But in the last year or so, new…
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Check Out Cambridge Audio’s First MQA DAC/Headphone Amp, The Remarkable DacMagic 200M!
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Cambridge Audio’s First MQA DAC Amp Has Some Serious Specs! Today, venerated British hi-fi brand Cambridge Audio announced their first MQA compatible product, the top of the line DacMagic 200M DAC/Headphone Amp. This will be their new flagship standalone DAC (a step above the current DacMagic Plus), boasting dual ESS Sabre DACs (one per channel…