The Neo5's remain one of my absolute favourite ISN or Penon IEMs, and a contender for my best IEMs under $500. The Quattros do have superior tonality and sound much more refined, but there's something about the Neo5 tuning that just screams fun. They're also supremely comfortable. It's...

The SP3000 has a tremendous DAC stage with one of the blackest backgrounds of any portable player. However it feels let down by its' amp stage. So it tends to sound fantastic with IEMs that are very easy to drive but can struggle with those requiring higher quality amplification. I would...

Yes I've tried the FiiO M15S, like most other players with ESS DACs the M15S doesn't sound terribly natural to my ears. Some listeners are more tolerant of the digital glare & harshness of ESS DACs than others however. I haven't A/Bed the M15S with the SP3000 but it wouldn't surprise me to...

Fantastic amp from a terrific Head-Fier.

Definitely not a very bad player. That said, sonically to my ears it isn't quite up to flagship DAP standards. I would rank it a notch down from say the SP3000 for instance. Hiby players are superb value (I tried their R4 and was impressed given it's only $250) but sonically I generally prefer...

Actually I've owned players from almost every other major brand on the market over the years, and don't recall suggesting players from other brands sound "bad". However I've yet to hear a better R2R DAP than the LP6 7AE or a better portable Delta Sigma DAP than the E7, though I haven't A/Bed it...

Yesterday Minidisc.com.au hosted a popup event in Melbourne and I had the chance to try the Hiby R8II for the first time, A/Bing it against the E7. Playing local files from both DAPs, the R8II sounded far more digital, and was considerably brighter & thinner. Whereas the E7 felt a lot more...

Fabulous DAP, GLWS.

I believe @Damz87 owns both, perhaps he can share his thoughts.

I thought the RS8 was quite underwhelming when I heard it. Very flat sounding, lacking excitement. I'm a low volume listener so at higher volumes it may perform differently. To my ears the L&P R2R DAPs are a lot more dynamic, powerful & engaging. The RS8 was also much heavier than I'd be...

I feel similarly comparing the E7 to my P6 Pro. The E7 has a substantially higher level of resolution & technical performance, but lacks the R2R tonality that sounds more natural to my ears. Treble quantity (and quality) is so much higher on the E7 which is where a lot of the extra information...

Superb DAP from a very friendly Head-Fier, GLWS!

I agree entirely the endgame is a myth - one many audiophiles eventually accept only grudgingly after long years. However many of us aren't searching for better sound out of misplaced hope something will come along that's utterly perfect or beyond scope for improvement, but rather the search...

It's quite interesting. Many of us have wondered how much manufacturers are using DSP under the hood & behind the scenes to tune their players. Astell & Kern for instance has always had a sonic smoothness & refinement most evident in the midrange, is that the result of hardware like DAC chip &...

I can certainly relate to this. Unfortunately there's no regulation or set of enforced industry standards when it comes to cables so ultimately we don't know precisely what we're paying for. Yes I quite agree having tried many budget cables from Aliexpress all the way to flagships from...

Yesterday at my local audio dealer I A/Bed my E7 against the A&K SP3000 and A&K SP3000T using my Mest MKIIIs. Here's a transcription of the notes I took: E7 vs SP3000 E7 is bassier than the SP3000 with a slightly wider stage, a blacker background, yet is also smoother & more analogue...

L&P E7 and UM Mest MKIII

Looking for a cheap single-DD? I just reviewed the $66 JIALAI Carats and it's scary how good budget DDs are now. You're invited to read my full review here. :smile:

Looking for a single-DD? I just reviewed the $66 JIALAI Carats and it's scary how competent budget DDs are these days. You're invited to read my full review here. :smile:

Looking for a single-DD? I just reviewed the $66 JIALAI Carats and it's scary how competent budget DDs are these days. You're invited to read my full review here. :smile:

Looking for a single-DD? I just reviewed the $66 JIALAI Carats and it's scary how competent budget DDs are these days. You're invited to read my full review here. :smile:

Terrific Head-Fier, excellent to trade with.

Another couple of changes I'd love to see in upcoming firmwares: Album art icons & metadata track title displayed inside playlists (currently filename is displayed) Option to disable the onscreen volume control whenever the physical volume knob is turned Playback of current track to restart...