Ultrasone Edition 8
High end and portability doesn’t usually go together, but Ultrasone has made it happen with the Edition 8.
I’ve always associated high end with big oversized set ups that include masive amplifiers with separate power supplies. Multiple box source set ups. Thick interconnect cables with power conditioining system, and so on. You get the picture. Thus I was really surprised when I found that Ultrasone’s Edition 8 comes with a short 4′ long, 1/8″ terminated cable. Granted, it’s a dual entry cable that retains separate lines all the way to the termination, but still, the cable strongly hints that the Edition 8 is to be directly plugged to an Ipod.
W1000X Grandioso
In the midst of all the “hot” releases surrounding the custom IEMs, the new flagship cans, as well as the new generation orthodynamics, it seems that this brilliant headphone from Audio Technica is not getting the attention that it deserves.
UM Mage vs…
This may sound like a big bag of hype, but what I am saying is the result of real observations of the UM Mage’s sound quality. (Click to read more)…
UM Mage Customs
I have been very impressed with the JH13 IEM. Acknowledged by all as the current king of in ear monitors, the JH13 is the first IEM that successfully challenge and beat a lot of full size headphones. Well, that the phenomenon is not unique to the JH13. When I heard Unique Melody’s top of the line customs, the Mage, I immediately ask myself: “In the future, will IEMs take over headphones for good?”
Hifiman HE-5 vs Sennheiser HD800
I’ve been going back and forth on the HE-5 and the HD800. This time I am listening purely on the CEC TL51xz and the Balanced Beta22. Both the HE-5 and the HD800 is in balanced configuration. I did not want to wait to source out for another cable, and so I made a balanced cable for the HE-5, using a Canare L-2T2S cable, terminated with two 3-pin Neutrik XLRs. The HD800, on the other hand, is equipped with fancy APureSound cable with the nice super nylon covering and the same two 3-pin Neutriks. A little unfair? Yes, but the world is also not perfect.
Audio Technica ES10
Audio Technica rewrote the rules of portable with the ATH-ES10. When it was announced last year, I noticed that the ES10 is not just another new portable. It uses a 53mm driver, the same size driver as the one used in the bigger W-series headphones such as the W5000 and the new W1000X. Big sized drivers, most of the time, have an advantage over smaller ones, especially when it comes to bass. What’s amazing is that Audio Technica still manages to fit the 53mm driver into a housing not much bigger than the Sennheiser HD25-1. With a housing that size and a foldable headband, I’d consider grouping the ES10 as a portable. Of course they’re not ultra portable like the Sennheiser PX100, but if have ever use your SR-60 Grado outdoor, then you know what I’m talking about.
The Titanium housing is finished with a hairline finishing. What does a hairline finishing look like? If you use an Ipod without any form of protec
tion, you know that the glossy back side very quickly collects scratches, and so you have no choice but to spend $30 for some plastic or rubber silicone protection. The hairline finishing is sort of like that, except that they are done professionally and the scratches are all aligned to one direction. It comes out as a nice and classy finishing. The finishing not only gives you a unique, non bling-bling look, but I figure it may help to hide any scratches the housing may pick up on the way. Not that titanium is very easy to scratch, but I don’t dare to test it out on this ES10. (Click to read more)…
TTVJ & TTVJ
When I received the TTVJ Slim, I was curious on how it would compare to the TTVJ Millet Hybrid Portable. Conveniently enough, Todd had also shipped me the TTVJ Millet Hybrid so I can do a comparison to the new one side by side.
Although quite different in their topology, both TTVJ amplifiers definitely have the same house sound sound. You can tell that both are developed by the same person with a good ear for musicality. The TTVJ Slim may be a solid state design, but it is far from sounding like a dry solid state. As a matter of fact, it not only matches the musicality of the Hybrid Tube TTVJ portable amplifier, but it actually outdoes the Hybrid’s Sound Quality. (Click to read more)…
HD800 Journal: Part 3
Summing up what I’ve written previously on Part 1 and Part 2 of the HD800 Journal, I felt that the HD800 is an exceptional dynamic headphone, and the better the component upstream is, the better the HD800 gets. This is great news for people with a high end source and a high end amplifier, as finally, the bottleneck on the transducer has been removed and they can really hear every little drop of sound coming out of their high end source. At the same time, there has been a lot of frustration among other HD800 buyers, as it doesn’t seem to give them the $1400, ultimate-dynamic-cans sound that would end their headphone journey once and for all. (Click to read more)…
WooAudio6 Tube Amplifier
A good friend of mine loaned his WooAudio6 to me during his time away for a business trip. The WooAudio6 is the entry level model of WooAudio’s transformer coupled tube amplifiers. It sells for $585 in stock configuration, but this one has the PDPS power supply upgrade that costs an additional $60. Another popular upgrade offered by WooAudio is the Sophia Princess rectifier tube, though this unit does not have it. (Click to read more)…
ALO Rx Headphone Amplifier
The ALO Rx comes equipped with a lot of tech packed into a slim box roughly the size of an Ipod Classic. ALO not only jumped on the digital/attenuator volume control wave, but they also added many other goodies to the Rx amplifier. It has dual Lithium Ion batteries, a battery monitoring charging circuit, and a digitally controlled dual stepped attenuator circuit. ALO claimed that the batteries last for 17-30 hours depending on volume, with only 2-4 hours of charging time. (Click to read more)…
HD800 Journal: Part 2
After more listening with the Sennheiser HD800, I’ve concluded that the HD800 is so good, that if your bank account permits, you might want to start doing some source rolling. Yes, the HD800 is transparent and it will reveal any defects in your source, but other high end phones can do that too. What makes me start thinking of doing some source rolling, is that the HD800 has so much potential that I’d really like to hook it up to some $100k CDP+Transport system, and see what kind of magic comes out! (Click to read more)…
HD800 Journal: Part 1
What a long wait, but finally the HD800 is here. I’ve heard the HD800 at two other occassions, but nothing beats listening at home with your own personal set up.
This past week I’ve been contemplating an upgrade to my CEC CD5300 CD Player. The CD5300 is a great CD Player, and I really have nothing to complain about it, until I heard the higher end, top loading model TL51XZ. Even from the HD650, the improvement to the TL51XZ wasn’t modest. The top loader really have a massive depth in the soundstage, making the CD5300 sounds flat and two dimensional. The upgrade proved to be just in time for the arrival of the HD800. (Click to read more)…
TTVJ Slim: First Impression
TTVJ named the new portable amp the “TTVJ Portable Headphone Amplifier”. Since TTVJ already have a hybrid tube portable amplifier, I thought that calling the new amp as a “TTVJ Portable Headphone Amplifier” might get people confused. Some have been calling it the “TTVJ Portable with Stepped Attenuator”. Clear enough, but quite long to speak or to type out. I find “TTVJ Slim” as the best name the public have come out with for the amplifier, and that’s the name I’m going to use throughout this article. I hope Todd doesn’t mind. (Click to read more)…
Shure SRH-840: 50+ Hours
The sound of the Shure changes as the hours go by. I can start to describe the sound of the Shure after 50 hours have passed. It is definitely warm, and the sweet Shure midrange that I described in the 1st Impression is still there. What else? Sweet midbass punch. More and more headphone and IEM manufacturers understand that midbass punch adds a lot of groove to music. Grado did it with their HF2, and Westone did it with their W3, to name a few recent ones. Likewise the Shure SRH-840’s midbass punch adds fun and musicality to the music. (Click to read more)…
Sennheiser HD580: Affordable Reference
The Sennheiser HD580 is one of the best-bang-for-the buck purchase in the world of headphones. Used units go in the $100+ range, and the sound is virtually the same with the higher priced HD600. The HD600 headphone has gained a renowned status as the reference headphone for amplifier designer Ray Samuels and Ti Kan from AMB Labs. That means, for $100+, you can get a headphone that sounds very much alike to the reference headphone Ray Samuels and Ti Kan uses. (Click to read more)…
Monster Beats Studio By Dr.Dre
When the news broke that Monster cables are working together with Dr. Dre to make a line of headphones, most of the response I’ve heard were not positive. Sure, having Monster Cable and Dr. Dre’s name on the product will guarantee its success with the mass-market crowd, but Monster Cable actually have gained quite a reputation as an overpriced product, and Dr. Dre’s name imply a bass heavy headphone. These factors definitely don’t work with the audiophile and the headphone enthusiasts crowd. Likewise, I didn’t have the slightest interest in the Beats Studio Headphones. (Click to read more)…
Sennheiser Aftermarket Cables Comparison
These are the cables that we were able to gather for the review:
- Kimber AGSS Silver/Jena DIY cable.
The Kimber AGSS and Jena Cable is probably the finest and the fanciest cable available for DIY work. The Kimber AGSS is a 19ga multistrand silver from Kimber that is intended for chassis wiring, where the Jena is a 18ga is a copper wire with all the technology mumbo-jumbo as promoted on Jena’s website. (Click to read more)…
The Grado SR60i, compared to the SR60
In 2008, Grado updated their entire line up and adding the “i” lettering to every model. The popular entry level model SR60 became SR60i, and the high end RS1 and GS1000 became RS1i and GS1000i. The SR325i model, having already the “i” designation, is updated to the SR325is. Many people who were on the market to purchase Grados were curious on what changes come with the “i” models. Browsing the internet forums, I couldn’t find a definitive answer, so I set out a review to find out. (Click to read more)…
AKG K340 Bass Heavy Version
The AKG K340 is a one of a kind headphone produced by AKG that employs two drivers system: Electrostatic and Dynamic in one cans. This was a top-level cans back when it was produced. Selling for $300 in the 1980s. The headphone is highly innefficient, requiring only the most powerful kind of desktop headphone amplifiers, and definitely more suitable driven by a speaker amplifier. The now discontinued K340 had several versions while it was produced. The exterior is the same, but you will notice the difference once you plug in the headphones, and/or by dissecting the headphone and seeing the colour of the driver. (Click to read more)…
Grado RS1 and Alessandro MS-Pro
Grado’s RS1 has achieved a cult status above others current-production Grados. People say that the RS1 is the pinnacle of the “Grado sound”. When Grado introduced the GS1000 with its massive soundstage as the new top-of-the line above the RS1, people were very excited about it. Yet after some time, the hype died on the GS1000, and people comes back to the RS1 as their favorite Grado. Recently Grado introduced an even higher priced model, the $1700 PS1000, supposedly designed to improve on GS1000’s weaknesses. (Click to read more)…
Stax SR-34 Short Review
I’m very excited about this purchase, more than anything that I’ve come across for a while. It is not the best headphone ever, and it’s quite low in the Stax line up, but boy, there is something about the SR-34 that makes me like it so much. Truly, I’ve heard other electrostatic systems that are bigger and better, but I feel that there are qualities of the SR-34 system that the bigger system doesn’t have. Everything about it is just right. (Click to read more)…
AKG K401 Quickfacts
What it is:
Open design full size headphone with quite a beefy amplifier requirement.
Roth Custom




Another custom IEM company .This time the custom IEM is coming from Chinese Company, Rooth LAB, with model name LS8. This Custom IEM is their highest end of models.
Specification of Rooth LS8:
Frequency Response: 18Hz-20000Hz
Sensitivity: 124dB
Impedance: 32 ohm
Source: Erji
AKG K500, K501
These two cans may be one of the most pleasant, natural sounding headphone AKG has ever produced. Frankly, I haven’t heard the K601, but compared to the K701, K401, K240, K271, and even the K340, the K500 & K501 remains a long time favorite due to their natural sound. (Click to read more)…
Meier Step Dance to Use Active Balanced Ground!!
Here are some new information for Meier Audio Step Dance by Jan Meier:
The STEPDANCE is a portable amplifier with a minimum of sonic compromises towards weight and size. Its functionality is very basic. No crossfeed and no USB-DAC. Just an analog input and an analog output. There are also some gain-switches, accessible through the battery opening.
The amp is relatively big considering its low functionality and also current consumption is rather high. (25 or 50 mA depending on current consumption mode).
Yet this amp is something very special. (Click to read more)…
Rockford PP15mm
Here is an IEM by Rockford Fosgate, for people who loves to listen to their music LOUD. It comes with a huge 15mm driver, which probably means, a lot of bass. (Click to read more)…
SPL’s Phonitor and Auditor
It was in 2008 that we started hearing about the SPL Phonitor, a high end headphone amplifier developed by professional recording equipment company SPL in Germany. (Click to read more)…
Sennheiser-Adidas Collaboration
This is just another product announcement from Sennheiser and Adidas. But I’m curious, with the ever increasing driver technology, it seems that even products like these may have a pretty good chance of sounding good for everyday use. I’m curious, how does they sound? They certainly look cool. Built in volume control can comes really handy too. (Click to read more)…
New AKG K404 Announced
Here is a new foldable portable headphone from AKG, the K404. How does it differ from the current line up of foldable portables? For now the main difference seems to be the sliding metal headband mechanism, which is not available in the current K450, K430, and K420 phones. The model number convention does indicate that a new series of K40X cans that’ll be different from the K4X0 series. The photograph below looks like a 3D rendering though. (Click to read more)…
V-Moda Remix Remote (VRR)
With the V-moda Remix Remote, you get control at your fingertips with the integrated three-button remote and high fidelity microphone. Combining all-metal craftsmanship with fashion-forward design, the Remix Remote is lightweight (weighing only 17 grams) and durable. This V-moda Remix Remote is not to be confused with V-moda Remix M-class, an earbuds-type product. (Click to read more)…
Klipsch Image S4/S4i white edition
Funky looking (did Michael Jackson inspire the people at Klipsch?) S4/S4i IEMs are now available on the stores. (Click to read more)…
The Butterfly™ In-Ear Headphones
The marketing department of big name Monster Audio certainly have similar thoughts with Audio Technica’s. Not far after we posted the release of Audio Technica’s “Key”, Monster introduce a new line of premium IEMs quite clearly designed for women.
Meier’s New Amp: The Corda Stepdance

Meier Audio will release a new portable headphone amp, coming up around May 2010. (Click to read more)…
New Headphones From Sony
Sony has announced two new headphone models and two new IEM models. While we are still unsure of their sound quality, it’s always refreshing to see the new designs for portable audio devices that Sony comes up with.
The MDR-570s is looking good with four colors to choose from: black, orange, green, brown and indigo blue.
















