After a very unfortunate first try (the review unit which was kindfully sent to me by the manufacturer was stolen at my door), I finally got an M15 unit which I quite oddly found for a very good price 2nd hand in Japan. This second package reached me regularly so I can finally assess this…
Category: DAC-AMP
iFi GO Bar review – feature packed
GO Bar is iFi Audio’s first and long awaited take on a battery-less mobile dac-amp (a “dongle”). As I will try to outline, from multiple standpoints GO Bar fully partakes into iFi’s overall general product philosophy both in terms of components and general application. It promises outstanding results, and surely comes with a price tag…
E1DA 9038SG3 and 9038D – they know what they are doing
I took my sweetest time on this, but here I finally am with my first article about E1DA dongles. This one is about the two models called 9038SG3 and 9038D. A subsequent article will cover PowerDAC V2.1. 9038SG3 is E1DA’s latest iteration of the 9038S model, which over time went through 3 generations – this…
Apogee Groove Anniversary Edition
A few of you may know that Apogee released an “Anniversary Edition” of their Groove DAC-AMP dongle in conjunction with the company’s 30th year in business, back in 2015. Originally priced at a substancially higher level compared to the regular version – which still retails for $249,00 – such Anniversary model is now discontinued. Externally…
iFi GO Blu
GO Blu is iFi’s entry-level DAC-AMP, primarly focused on Bluetooth connectivity, high miniaturisation and straightforward operation. It retails for just below 200€ and I got a temporary loan unit for review purposes which I analysed for quite an extended time. Here’s my report. At-a-glance Card PROs CONs Outstanding DAC reconstruction quality Unimpressive Single Ended output…
An LMS infrastructure (update)
A bit more than a year ago I published a piece describing features and benefits of my home LMS (Logitech Media Server) infrastructure. Over time my setup has evolved a bit and this is an update to the original article. Logitech Media Server is a piece of software and it well described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logitech_Media_Server The…
iFi hip-dac2 (and hip-dac)
iFi Audio recently sent me an hip-dac2 for review and I’ve been auditioning it for a while with great pleasure. The new version of iFi’s recently discontinued hip-dac, amongst the few low cost mobile dac-amps featured of Audioreviews’ Wall of Excellence, is marketed at a very similar price (€ 189,00) compared to its precedessor. At…
iFi Micro iDSD Signature
Micro iDSD Signature is the latest evolution of the iDSD series. Its predecessor Micro iDSD Black Label is widely regarded as a great device which contributed to building out on the expectaction regarding its evolution. I did take my sweet time on this one as I’m particularly sensible to the topic. If one thing I…
Apogee Groove – Changing the Budget Game for Good (since 2015)
A thorough review of the Apogee Groove, a stunningly performant DAC and headphone amplifier. An entry-level step into the professional audio tier.