After auditioning final B3 multiple times in the past 2 or 3 years, and liking them of course, I took an opportunity recently and purchased a pair at a very convenient price. Originally released in 2019 and still in full production to date, B3 retail for € 499 in EU. At-a-glance Card PROs CONs Very…
Category: IEM
Akoustyx S6
California-based Akoustyx Inc kindly sent an S6 sample to deliver a second opinion after Jürgen’s recent article. It is customary for us in these cases to write a rather succint piece to avoid too much replication of the previous article’s contents but I’m going for an exception here. These little ones do in facts make…
Campfire Ara – everything in its own place
Released in 2021, Campfire Ara can be seen in a sense as an evolution of the Andromeda project – or at least this is what their 8-BA architecture, and price tag ($1299) seem to hint. Here below my modest opinion. At-a-glance Card PROs CONs Beyond spectacular imaging and separation. Inexpressive bass. Gender lovers might adore…
TRN Kirin – inoffensive planar
Kirin are TRN’s latest attempt at a planar-based IEM. Modestly priced (for a planar), they retail for just above $120. I got a sample to assess and here are my notes. At-a-glance Card PROs CONs Well calibrated, inoffensive, pleasant musical tuning. Some might find tuning too relaxed. Easy to drive within the planar category. Average…
Kinera Hodur review
In this article we discuss one of the most recent models by Kinera: the Hodur. Featuring a triple tech driver configuration, these seem interesting also in view of the not too modest asking price of $299. Here are my audition notes presented in my usual schematic format. At-a-glance Card PROs CONs Energetic presentation delivering listening…
Final F7200 – telling voices apart
My readers know that unlike what happens to so many other amateur audiophiles my quest for better audio gear is not apriori orientated towards current or future releases, indeed encompassing whatever “sounds” good – be that a just-released novelty or a legacy device is irrelevant to me. Amongst the best drivers in my collection there’s…
Ikko OH5 Asgard – music better than the rest
It’s with great interest that I received a sample of Ikko’s latest OH5 “Asgard” model, considering the very high consideration I have for the other 2 models I assessed in the past, being OH10 (read here) and OH1S (read here). OH5 can be bought from Ikko’s website for approx $495 before promos. There’s a nice…
Intime Miyabi – speciale unicità
Come alcuni dei miei 18 lettori ricorderanno, un modello di IEM Intime mi ha particolarmente colpito in passato: le SORA 2, a cui ho dedicato un pezzo circa un anno e mezzo fa. E’ alla fine questo il motivo per il quale quando l’estate scorsa ho avuto notizia che Watanabe-san aveva rilasciato alcuni nuovi modelli,…
Intime Miyabi – uniquely special
As some of my 18 readers may recall, I’ve been quite impressed by a prior Intime IEM model called SORA 2, which I wrote about one and a half year ago. That’s surely why when last summer I got notified that mr Watanabe had released some new IEM models, and in particular one supposed to…
RHA CL2 – surely best planar yet
I never fell in love with the planar timbre, neither in the end I did this time. It’s just not precisely my cup of tea. Yet this time it was a much closer call, really. What I heard is no doubt a full class above any other chifi planar I auditioned to date. This piece…