INTRODUCTION A lot of the time it is easy as a reviewer to spend a lot of time in the mid to high end IEM market, and forget that there is a very vibrant and highly competitive sub-$100 market. Typically in my experience, most earphones in this price range have what I would consider to be a more “consumer tuned” rather than audiophile tuned sound signature. Usually this means a coloured sound signature, and a tendency toward an elevated lower end. Alex from Pai Audio approached me recently, and asked if I’d like to check out some of their new […]
In-ear Monitors
35 posts
Campfire Audio has announced the new IO and updated Polaris IEMs at the Tokyo 2019 Spring Fujiya Avic Headphone Festival. The IO is a dual-balanced armature driver IEM (one high frequency, one low frequency) which includes a silver-plated copper litz wire cable and beryllium copper MMCX connectors. The design uses Campfire Audio’s Tuned Acoustic Expansion Chamber (T.A.E.C.) to improve sound quality. It retails at US$299. The updated Polaris switches to an all-metal design, the spout now made with black PVD stainless steel. Like the original, it uses a combined balanced-armature driver plus a dynamic driver, in this case 9.2mm. Like […]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8BPyh_45gw What do you do when your flagship product is an outstanding hit, and it is already the very best you can do? How do you do even better? This was the dillema Ken Ball of Campfire Audio (and ALO Audio) had when coming up with his new flagship, the Solaris. After a bit of hit-and-miss with their first round of IEMs, with the Jupiter at the helm, the subsequent flagship, the Andromedas, were a huge hit. Despite the rather edgy shell, the 5-balanced-armature IEMs became an IEM standard. The slightly warm tuning that gave JHAudio Roxanne-like performance at a […]
INTRODUCTION The mid-range IEM market ($250-500) has been somewhat dominated by hybrid designs recently, where in the past it was mainly the home of the more established multi-BA based earphones. FiiO has steadily progressed their own line of hybrid and all-BA IEMs (FH1, F9, F9 Pro, FH5) over the last 2 years, and the natural progression for the next iteration (after the release of the FH5 quad hybrid), was always going to be a quad BA. So far (IMO of course), FiiO’s hybrids have followed a set pattern, tending to be warmer and smoother aided by the dynamic driver for […]
While it’s a bit late, a few people asked me what I thought were the best products of 2018. That’s a difficult choice, as I didn’t get to experience as many as I had wished, and some are still due to be reviewed. As well, I didn’t get to explore Bluetooth headphones as I had hoped, so they will be missing in this comparison. I went over everything where I’d posted a review in the last year, added items that are here for review, grouped them and selected the best of each. Here is the list. Best closed-back headphones $500-1000 […]
FiiO is soon to announce their latest pair of IEMs and we have the exclusive. The FA7 features a quad of high-quality Knowles drivers per side, embedded in a 3D printed shell made from high-transparency, medical grade German resin. A variety of shells will be available, each with a nature-based design. Much like the FH5 IEMs (recently reviewed by both myself and Brooko) the FA7 is high-quality throughout, including a silver-plated monocrystalline copper cable, and a carrying hard case and pouch. As well as the standard “balanced” models, ear tips for “vocals” and “bass” are included alongside foam and bi-flange […]
INTRODUCTION I mentioned recently in my review of the Earsonics ES5 that while I’ve reached my own personal end-game nirvana with Headphones (HD800S, HD630VB and Mobius) and desktop set-up (iFi iUSB, iTube and iDSD), I’ve never really settled on a single pair of IEMs. The closest I’ve got have been my 64Audio U10, Alclair Curve, LZ Big Dipper and Jays q-Jays. But finding the perfect match for me has remained elusive, and you’ll see I have tested a lot of IEMs. Even HiFiMan’s excellent sounding RE2000 missed the mark in terms of comfort. If I look back at my start […]
INTRODUCTION Over the years, with more experience slowly gained, I’ve started to refine my audio collection. I realise I have a privileged position because as a reviewer, I often get to try before I eventually buy (through my reviews). And I do buy the gear I intend to keep for myself – it is only fair after all. Up until now that has involved buying my iFi stack (iUSB, iTube and iDSD), and my current main headphones and earphones (including the HD800S, HD600 and Möbius among quite a few others). It is with the earphones (IEMs) I’ve managed to come […]
Sean Sullivan shows us their latest product – a high-quality Bluetooth receiver and headphone amp for their IEMs at the 2018 Autumn FUJIYA AVIC Headphone Fetival.
INTRODUCTION My initial introduction to the Advanced Sound Group was only a few months ago with a review of their new GT3 tunable IEM. Fast forward to present day, and they’ve taken the same design, reworked the internals, and released a very different sounding IEM. When Peter Yoon contacted me and told me about their “GT3 Superbass” , for a moment I almost paused (strong bass has never been my preference), but Peter and his team had done such a nice job on the original GT3, I was interested to see what they had achieved. So lets take an in-depth […]
Ken Ball from Campfire Audio talks about the new Solaris flagship IEMs at the 2018 Autumn FUJIYA AVIC Headphone Fetival.
Video Review of the FiiO FH5 Introduction FiiO was interested in having me check out their new flagship IEMs, the FH5. Brooko has also reviewed these, and you can read his take on them here as well. I was definitely curious, as while FiiO has worked hard to make a range of DAPs and portable DAC/amps, entering into the IEM space is a whole other ball game. I was somewhat bemused by the idea that they are a “flagship” as they were retailing for only around $300. Current Amazon prices put them at $259. The last IEMs I had been […]