ASTELL & KERN KANN DIGITAL AUDIO PLAYER $999 REVIEW
June 6, 2018 § Leave a comment
“Still, audiophiles wanted more, including mass storage and DSD support. Astell & Kern has answered that need with the KANN, and one-upped most other players, including their own models by adding a powerful headphone amp built in. Other digital audio players were portable, but if you wanted to use them with higher quality, inefficient headphones, it meant strapping on an outboard amplifier, with cords to attach the player and the amplifier. That was pretty much a pain for users. The KANN gives us high quality, lots of music format support, and you can plug in just about any headphone.”
Astell & Kern A&futura SE100
May 14, 2018 § Leave a comment
‘Now the company has debuted two new series of similar players at the High End 2018 show in Munich, Germany, for those who are looking for high-resolution audio on the go, but don’t want to shell out $3,500 for the flagship.”
Hidizs AP200 DAP Review
May 8, 2018 § Leave a comment
“The WiFi is not very well implemented, the signal drops out a lot and does not have very good range, so this is something to be aware of if you are planning on using it as a streaming device.
The Bluetooth is actually very good however, and it supports AptX, you can tell if it is sending an AptX signal by a small A symbol appearing in the notification bar. I got good range with Bluetooth, and the sound quality is good via AptX.”
COWON PLENUE J REVIEW
April 6, 2018 § Leave a comment
“Aside from a higher amount of hiss compared to the Plenue D and Onkyo’s DP-S1, there is very little bad to say about the J. It’s loaded with Cowon’s typical bevy of sound enhancements, including BBE Mach3Bass, which currently is giving my head a Russian massage. Not counting user settings, are dozens and dozens of sound enhancements possible, my favourite of which is called BBE Headphone. It presses the sound stage wider and rounder, enlarging lateral stage enough to give you a double take around the room. As much as I appreciate what Sony have done with the ZX300, Cowon’s sound enhancements are better, or at least better able to get do crazy things to music without forcing buzz and other errors. And again, there are so many to choose from. Unfortunately, user settings are pains in the arse to fix. This is because, from EQ to BBE+, to SE reverb models, settings are stored in tiny cards that you have to tip up or down, and must be adjusted individually. Because the UI is laggy, it is frustrating.”
Opus#1S $399 Review
April 3, 2018 § Leave a comment
“Looking back over the review, I’ve said some pretty nice things about this player. That’s interesting, since I was not blown away by it. Nothing about this device screams “THE BEST” or “MOST AWESOME”, yet somehow it worms its way into your heart, insinuating itself with moments of serenity. I suspect much of it is thanks to how artfully Opus sculpts its relaxed, yet dramatically musical signature. It’s hard to find fault when the sound is both smooth as satin and clear as church bells. Both rich and articulate. Take also into account the immense output power, and you have one hell of a portable solution for anything you care to drive.”
XDUOO NANO D3 $79 REVIEW
March 31, 2018 § Leave a comment
“Dynamic slam effect is low to moderate and I really enjoy that presentation, even on tracks I know are very slamming. With great smoothness factor usually can come lacking engaging qualities and sometimes I do feel that to be the case. Sometimes, I want more bite and that is what EQ can give me now and then.”
QUESTYLE QP2R REVIEW
March 20, 2018 § Leave a comment
“The QP2R still sports the slightly dated navigational wheel which is said to be an improvement over the original, how I’m not exactly sure but it works. To each corner of the scrolling wheel are 4 additional touch screen buttons that function as a home, return and left & right key. The design hasn’t changed from Questyle’s first venture so remains stylish and luxurious to both the eyes and touch.”
