Rather a lot of technical hoo-ha, as well as typographical capitalisation, attends the Bravura electrostatic headphone from Warwick Acoustics. That’s not to dismiss as trivial the development work carried out by the Nuneaton company in the engineering of the Bravura. But all the technical smarts in the world count for nothing if the Bravura doesn’t […]
I have been looking forward to reviewing this product for some while as its predecessor marked the very beginning of my journey into the realms of hi-res audio. I have fond memories of balancing a Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone and the original Mojo on my leg whilst watching my children’s karate sessions in the school […]
The A&norma SR25 is the latest addition to Astell&Kern’s entry-level, portable, hi-res DAPs aimed at a those seeking an affordable improvement in sound quality over their smartphones without sacrificing user experience and connectivity. The AK70 and SR15 models the Korean company released in 2016 and 2019 demonstrated that even its most affordable offerings have a […]
New York-based Woo Audio was founded in 2004 and specialises in tube powered headphone and loudspeaker amplifiers. Taking three years to develop the WA8 Eclipse reflects the company’s desire to bring the undiluted performance of their big amps to a smaller product for audiophiles who want an authentic tube headphone listening experience without being confined […]
It’s hard to believe that it has been eight years since the release of Audioquest’s ingenious Dragonfly, the memory stick-sized USB DAC/preamp/headphone amp that provides a simple, effective and affordable solution to the problem of mediocre sound quality from computers. The original Dragonfly was supplanted in 2016 by two new models; the even more affordable […]
In 1987 Arcam paved the way for the consumer DAC industry with the release of their Black Box, the very first outboard D/A converter to target this market. Somewhat ahead of their time, another 23 years would pass before Arcam returned to what is now a fiercely competitive sector, and a concerted effort has clearly […]
2014 was a busy year of exciting new product releases and refreshes for Schiit Audio, and 2015 has seen no let up. Following the anticipated unveilings of Yggdrasil and Ragnarok, the company’s long-promised ‘cost no object’ statement DAC and amplifier, Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat have been swift and sure-footed in bringing their recently dethroned […]
The Mojo is something of a radical move for Chord Electronics, the brand has long been associated with high end audio separates which tend to carry a high end price. The Hugo portable DAC/headphone amp brought the entry level down quite considerably but still kept it within the realm of dedicated enthusiasts, anyone else would […]
In 2009 two headphone enthusiasts founded Audeze with the lofty ambition to make the best cans on the planet. Manufacturing planar magnetic headphones of the highest quality the firm has, in just six years, established itself as a beacon amongst both monitoring professionals and consumer audiophiles. Their range includes the standard-setting LCD-2 (£799) and more […]
The Geek Out DAC caused quite a kerfuffle in the forums when its maker Light Harmonic started making all sorts of claims for its performance. I even had comments from competitors, and they were not entirely positive, something was clearly afoot. How could a pocket size USB DAC make so much impression in an increasingly […]