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 […]
AudioQuest might be best known as a cable manufacturer but it has been making considerable headway in the computer audio and headphone markets. Following the success of its Dragonfly USB DAC/headphone amp, the company officially launched its first ever headphone. Enlisting the services of Skylar Gray (ex-Westone) to design from scratch with purpose-built components never […]
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 […]
Dan Clark’s mission in founding MrSpeakers was to make innovative headphones that offer genuine audiophile-grade performance and premium build quality at a variety of price points, all representing the very best value for money. Taking the approach of continual innovation when the performance limits of existing technology are reached, the Californian firm’s current line of […]
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 […]
Audio Technica ATH-MSR7 headphones The Audio Technica ATH-MSR7 is not the Japanese company’s first headphone, it has been making iconic and professionally-revered headphones since 1972. The company’s remarkable track record is enough by itself to command an in-depth look at their latest closed-back, circumaural dynamic monitor, the Audio Technica ATH-MSR7, released in January of this […]
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 […]
MrSpeakers seems an ironic name for a brand that seems entirely concerned with headphones, but I’ll let that pass just this once. The Alpha Dog as the name infers is the top model in a compact range of two headphones, both are based on the Fostex T50RP with the Alpha using only the drive units […]