Audiophilepure

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“You get a fairly relaxed midrange that makes great use of the quiet background that this has, really giving an individual spotlight to each component and instrument that ends up sitting in the midrange. The lack of restriction is even more obvious in balanced but in single ended you still won’t be disappointed. Paired with a buttery smoothness I find the midrange to be quite stunning and am so happy to report that there is no upper midrange spike that can cause fatigue like so many Sabre’s before it. In fact I can say the same about the treble, which somehow stays smooth and doesn’t even lose to much of that impressive midrange body. Like the midrange and its use of space to improve imaging, the treble has great extension to provide air which aids the soundstage. These end up being some of the best initial factors you may notice with the Cayin, how big and accurate the soundscape is. ”

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“At the ear, the ZX300 is a meaty sounding DAP. In particular, it floats across every earphone I’ve heard an incredibly wide and deep stereo scape across the entire low frequency range. Perhaps because of this, texture detail, let alone yawning, powerful bass, are at the top of what I’ve heard at length from any manufacturer, at any price. It’s the sort of texture that brings digital music a good, and grippy analogue feel. I have no idea what that means except that it pricks right near my heart. It’s not liquid-sounding like the AK240, or as precisely detailed as the AK380, but it’s got this stage that wraps you deep within, and most of that on the deep end. If you’re all about highs, I think you’ll get along with the ZX300, but its high-frequency stage isn’t as shockingly detailed as either the DP-S1’s or the AK380’s. Its mids are as good as either one, but its detailed lows are really what this player is all about. And, the longer I own the ZX300, the more I’m about. Wow.”

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“Three sonic treats not to be missed are the sonic effects of the QP2R’s gain and bias control switches and of its balanced outputs. Together, these features allow users to fine-tune the QP2R for a more authoritative and sharply defined presentation. For example, I set the QP2R in high gain mode and switched between standard and high bias settings while driving the MrSpeakers ETHER Flows and found the high bias setting unlocked welcome additional layers of harmonic richness and three-dimensionality. Likewise, I ran the QP2R in low gain mode, with high bias engaged, and with balanced outputs driving my Westone W80 earphones and was rewarded with perhaps the most open, airy, and articulate sound I’ve yet heard from those earphones. A little experimentation can pay substantial sonic dividends.”

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“Astell&Kern took a gamble by tapping a different design team on their KANN player. The resulting product looks fairly unique compared to prior AK designs, and handles very differently thanks to those front panel controls. Obviously that massive battery is the headlining feature, but we also get increased power and connectivity thanks to the expanded real estate. The $999 price tag is certainly not cheap, though for an Astell&Kern product it is actually on the low side.”