Sphinx Audio Element 3 loudspeaker Review
March 5, 2026 § Leave a comment
https://www.hifinews.com/content/sphinx-audio-element-3-loudspeaker
The pounding drums and soaring, repeating harmonies of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten [Stuttgart State Opera/Dennis Russell Davies; CBS Masterworks M2K 42457], found the Element 3s shaking the room with thundering bass. They then opened up wide with the intertwining voices of ‘The Window Of Appearances’, sung between the countertenor Akhnaten and the contralto Nefertiti. This is always tricky for any system to reproduce as the voices reverberate over each other. The Element 3s held it all together, before gathering things up with more dramatic power chords as the scene ends.
Time to dial back and examine how well the Element 3 handles more relaxed music. Given the thoughtful Espen Eriksen Trio cover of ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’ [What Took You So Long; Rune Grammofon RCD 2129], the simple clarity of piano, bass and brushed drums was so effective. As was the rock-solid stereo soundstage picture, creating a ‘you are there, as good as live’ experience. And I swear I have never heard Elvis Costello’s vocals on Squeeze’s ‘Tempted’, from their East Side Story set [A&M 96kHz/24-bit], quite so shiver-inducing.
ONIX XM2 $449 Review
March 5, 2026 § Leave a comment
For the sound evaluation, I used a wide variety of ear speakers, including the Tipsy M5, Binary Audio EP321 MEMS, QoA Martini IEMs, Sennheiser HD 6XX, FiiO JT3, FiiO JT7, and Moondrop Horizon headphones.
Instead of doing my standard 24-hour burn-in, I did more than 50 hours of burn-in as I was busy with other reviews and could not review the XM2 right away. And also to test the battery life and charging times.
ES LAB ES-2a Review
March 4, 2026 § Leave a comment
https://www.headfonia.com/es-lab-es-2a-review/
Some people really don’t like that, so do try the headphone on first. For me personally this isn’t an issue with any of the filters, but they’re very close. Another thing some might find annoying is the driver flex. While normal and completely acceptable, you will experience this when putting the headphones on/off or adjusting them.
This headphone is one that you’ll be using at home or in your office in quiet environments as all the music leaks out and every single noise will crawl in. The ES-2a does need an EST amplifier and those usually are not portable either. The ES-2a comes with a hardwired 2.3m cable, so you do have a good range from your amp.
Audience FrontRow Reserve PowerChords $7500 Review
March 4, 2026 § Leave a comment
Unlike the standard Front Row series, a tiny number of OCC silver strands has been added to each model of the Front Row Reserve series. John McDonald wrote: “Each RCA and speaker cable uses just one 28 AWG OCC silver strand, and the XLR cables use two strands, and the 10 AWG Reserve powerChord has four strands, while the vast majority remains OCC copper.” John also shared that Audience uses a proprietary extreme high-voltage treatment to smooth the sonic character of the silver—something that Synergistic Research also does to treat their cables.
Each of the six conductors in the power cord is housed in Pure Virgin Cross-linked polyethylene, and a special geometry and spacing are used to minimize magnetic inductance and interaction between the conductors. An oxygen-free copper shielding shunts RFI and EMI noise to ground. Additionally, a proprietary formulation of natural crystals is used in the cable to reduce the effects of RFI/EMI. The cables are given a deep-Cryo treatment and a 3 or 4-day burn-in before shipping. The beneficial effects of natural crystals have been known for at least a decade in audio circles, and I’ve reviewed a couple of accessory products that use them, with more in the works.
Conspicuously absent on the powerChords are any connections for active grounding systems, tuning bullets, or even a compartment for proprietary technology, as seen on some very high-end power cables. In use, the outer sheathing had a soft, luxurious feel, the weight was about what you would expect, and the flexibility of the cable was pleasantly sufficient for navigating the tight spaces in my rack between my components and the adjacent wall. The absence of any protrusions or other connections on the cable was very welcome when it came time to swap cables.
Shanling UA7 $298 Review
March 3, 2026 § Leave a comment
Overall, the Shanling UA7 is capable of a formidable soundstage performance level that will upscale with headphones or IEMs that possess that sonic character, and performs leagues above what past dongles were capable of, including some older Shanling models.
The staging is wide enough to be considered ample with lots of real estate, but focused enough not to sound unnaturally sparse. Elements remain focused within the large sonic panorama.
Depth and layering are all presented in a modest amount since the UA7 is capable of frontal depth, strong imaging capabilities, and lots of separation, depending on the recording.
LAiV Verse DAC/headphone AMP Review
March 3, 2026 § Leave a comment
To provide an unprocessed source, I used a direct USB connection from the MU1 to the uDDC. With the uDDC providing a music signal via I2S, as is typical for this format, the sound is even better than with the more traditional formats. Compared with the coax input, the I2S connection further enhances precision, crispness, and expression without introducing drawbacks. Even though the sound is now even more detailed, there is no dryness, which makes it easy to listen to.
Audiophilepure 
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