It's really all about that bass, and then some, with HD660S2. The latest in the legendary line of Sennheiser's HD6XX comes with the best bass response imparted in nearly 30 years of history. Soundnews quickly hailed HD660S2's reach down low. TechRadar thinks they're studio-grade. Sennheiser's acoustic expertise is behind HD660S2's descent a half octave lower than its predecessor HD660S. With a response better than 60Hz at -3dB, HD660S2's bass improves both in quantity, and in quality. Deeper sub notes, once only hinted at and obscured by comparison to Sennheiser's famous mid and high frequencies, show up in force here. And a slower, shallower, roll-off means HD660S2's more accurate phase response leads to fast, precise, bass dynamics and slam – never slow nor wooly. [See Product Desc. For More] Sennheiser carefully experimented on driver backwave dampening in the magnet hole of HD660S2. By removing damping material that had been characteristic to HD600 and HD650's design – and bass shortfall – Sennheiser were able to lower the resonant frequency of HD660S2's driver from 110Hz to 70Hz. Cutting the air resistance as HD660S2's driver moved backwards out of phase allowed greater pistonic travel in a surround that could work more effectively producing the long, slow waveforms of low frequencies, without needing to be more compliant.  Sealing and optimising airflow around Sennheiser's famous Duofoil transducer also channels different frequencies more efficiently towards the ear and preserves a shallower dB/octave roll-off in HD660S2's bass – directly also responsible for its greater frequency and phase performance down low. By working for, not against, Sennheiser's customary 38mm dynamic driver that's able to climb in frequency without cone or modal break-up owing to its humble proportions, modernised cup acoustics allow HD660S2 greater pistonic excursion to produce bass waveforms. The maximum potential is milked of this driver. It convincingly pulls off the best low-frequency performance in a HD6XX headphone yet. HD660S2 is back to being a low-distortion affair too, with a return to a 300ohm voice coil kept thin and light – 10 per cent lighter than its predecessor. Inertia is low and Sennheiser's driver reacts instantly to the smallest voltage impulses. Indeed, it's a 300ohm load that's simultaneously easy to drive for any partnering amplifier, such that a tube amplifier mates comfortably with high damping factor and impedance matching.  HD660S2 comes terminated in balanced 4.4mm also meaning many modern bridge-tied load outputs on music players won't grind their gears pushing into inordinately low impedances, small power supplies and output stages producing less in the way of distortion and noise as a result. This Sennheiser will make for a happy result running from iBasso Audio's DC04 Pro and DX170. But even high output impedance, imperfect voltage sources from FiiO and Shanling will not be tested untowardly either – music players from the latter both having enough mettle to push HD660S2 very satisfactorily.  More bass, more ways to enjoy it make for more reasons to get acquainted with Sennheiser's latest child – and urgency to own it. Also view Sennheiser's other legends here, or our other headphones here. 

The cake’s ready, now it’s time for the cherry on top. HiBy Music’s ambitions for 2023 and beyond rise and rise, with the launch of R6 Pro II. Stocks arrive in April 2023. As if bringing AKM’s sought-after flagship AK4191EQ DSP and dual AK4499EXEQ DACs to a new level of affordability wasn’t enough, R6 Pro II adds on a discrete Class A balanced 4.4mm headphone amp.  The addition of a proprietary output stage, designed in-house by HiBy, is just another example of the lengths these Head-Fi innovators will go to – adding value so R6 Pro II surpasses what a parts data sheet might lead to indicate. Sophisticated, open and airy, there's a refined flavour imparted on top of its neutral yet forgiving transparency. R6 Pro II’s AKM decode gets passed along beautifully to drive your prized headphones and earphones – empowered by a beautiful I/V stage, Class A discrete transistor output stage, Android 12, full Google Play Store and streaming usability, plus HiBy's relentless drive to surpass previous limits. [See Product Desc. For More] A modern-day music player is so much more than its DAC chips, and HiBy have taken that to heart … hoping everyone does too, to truly see the extent of their efforts. Greatness achieved at the highest end is easy, but portable digital audio has a new master in HiBy because of how much of that essence trickles down affordably into R6 Pro II. HiBy’s effort means R6 Pro II is greater than the sum of its parts regardless of its entry price, and ensures the very best platform for Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM)’s resurgent flagship DACs to make their mark.  That’s evident because of the mastery HiBy designed around AKM's digital ecosystem. These Japanese giants, back on their feet with a clean slate, started afresh expanding the basic footprint of a single DAC chip IC into three separate parts – to similarly multiply capabilities by a factor of three. AKM’s AK4191EQ DSP is the brains of the operation, receiving pristine I2S clocking and data from HiBy’s FPGA. Aboard, AK4191EQ’s delta-sigma modulator takes advantage of its expanded, dedicated, silicone footprint to lay claim to the title of the first chip IC working at seven bits. These seven single-bit modulators flow on into R6 Pro II's AKM 4499EXEQ DACs, one for each channel and built with a single purpose in mind: to turn the interpolated, noise-shaped, digital data it receives into the most precise analog waveform possible afforded by its large footprint.  Silicone size matters when it comes to a great DAC IC, and AK4499EXEQ has it. Enabled by much more exact, matched resistors and capacitors aboard for precise DC single-bit decoding, and dynamic element matching that is less burdened by switching errors – granted by parts accuracy from a bigger footprint. Any conversion errors from AK4499EXEQs outputting in current manifests as DC offset, and not total harmonic distortion, that is easily filtered out. That's expected of any source claiming to be high performance.  HiBy's eight-channel current-to-voltage I/V section follows these AK4499EXEQs, befitting of chips that output in current for best distortion performance and indeed more expensive players.  By treating each of the eight channel current outputs separately before stereo summing, R6 Pro II yields a small-signal stage that is transparent and, most importantly, accurate. HiBy's gain signal flows as a linear waveform on to a series of eight discrete bipolar power transistors working in Class AB or an optimally pure Class A. Differentiating itself from so many others who use op-amp ICs with inordinate amounts of gain, R6 Pro II's open-loop linearity remains excellent before application of feedback. That's owed to its Class A bias ensuring individual output transistors are working in optimum condition – aided by an operating voltage of five volts. Distortion and noise are kept low, without resorting to the excessive use of negative feedback. HiBy designed a true-balanced differential amplifier to further improve R6 Pro II's linearity, and you can count on common-mode rejection at its best whenever you plug in via 4.4mm.  R6 Pro II's current handling is impressive given its number of output transistors in parallel, meaning this HiBy remains unfazed driving even the punishing low impedances of Odin and Legend Evo from Empire Ears, plus the Vision Ears EXT, Subtonic Audio's Storm, Focals, Fostexs and Rosson Audio Designs. And even this overachieving HiBy is able to supply its clean small-signal to the likes of outboard amps such as Cayin Audio's C9, via a dedicated 4.4mm line-out port. By putting such a high-performance circuit and a big 5,000mAh battery in the palms of people's hands and offering them a Snapdragon 665 with full Google Play support, HiBy grant you the ability to bypass Android 12's sample-rate conversion for bit-perfect playback. This is what it means to truly step-up in 2023, and HiBy use the statement that is R6 Pro II to tell you how much more you should expect. See what forward-thinkers HiBy can really do higher up the range here, or view our other music players here.

It had to be Cayin. From those who gave Head-Fi the first Android-based R2R DAP, and the first similar discrete resistor DAC/amp dongle, comes N7. This all-to-DSD flagship music player is a fitting celebration of Cayin Audio's 30th anniversary. Built of 128 individual resistors and original DSP work carried on a FPGA, the fully-balanced, differential, 1-bit discrete DAC in N7 is proprietary Cayin through and through. Twister6 praised N7 after an initial listen. Cayin doesn't differentiate between CD rips, Hi-Res downloads and Spotify, Tidal or Apple Music streaming. The Android 12, Google Play Store N7 converts all your normal PCM playback into DSD.  All formats are then passed as DSD through N7's precise 1-bit decode, before signal flows on to a balanced 4.4mm discrete transistor headphone amplifier biased into Class A.  Caiyin's latest innovation combines the best of digital and analog technology to emerge totally unique and apart from an increasingly mature market. N7's corporeal, physical and tangible sound is unmatched by any other DAP. [See Product Desc. For More] N7 doesn't just sound surprisingly non-digital: it's utterly realistic and true to life. Natural and chock full of resolution, Cayin's landmark release stands apart by presenting music in a spectacular yet totally even-handed way bottom to top. Cayin returns to Sony's Scarlet Book SACD revolution of the 1990s and elevates that conversion philosophy with modern hardware plus a proprietary DSP trick or two. N7's highlight is its 1-bit decoder, drawing inspiration from the Philips and Marantz DSD DACs of yore. N7 converts all PCM files to octo-rate DSD first via DSP logic, while letting native DSD material flow on to the 128 discrete resistors in its fully-balanced DAC – in actuality a simple analog low-pass filter. There's zero error at the point of conversion in a 1-bit DAC. There, Cayin relies on Pulse-Density Modulation (PDM)'s total accuracy, and sheer ease of decoding. The pitch for DSD's 1-bit conversion is digital at its simplest and closest point to analog – level represented only either as a 1 or a 0, switching on or off. To achieve analog, the bitstream is simply low-pass filtered. Cayin's all-to-DSD discrete DAC is accurate ... and also elegant, breakthrough and historic in personal audio. It draws inspiration from the illustrious halls of Hi-Fi, where each EMM Labs, Nagra Audio, Playback Designs and PS Audio 1-bit DAC release has been greeted with accolades and fanfare. N7's discrete proprietary tech immediately differentiates itself from commercial DAC chips, where IC packages are often too small to perform an ideal 1-bit conversion. N7 also avoids the errors of dynamic element matching inherent to 2-6 bit delta-sigma decoders. The delicate analog voltage waveform painstakingly decoded from DSD in N7 is precious. Cayin's R&D, invested building their own DAC, pays off as the fragile small-signal goes on to be handled by a similar discrete bipolar transistor gain stage. This design is more than up to the task of preserving the signal – mere op-amp ICs need not apply. Instead of wasting their DAC development efforts by entrusting the analog job to commercial ICs, Cayin's labour of love continued into its discrete, differential, analog stage for common-mode rejection. N7's driver section counts on all the benefits that come with a discrete bipolar design – low voltage noise, low open-loop gain and the resultantly lower negative feedback necessary, high slew rates and unity gain stability. This accurate linearity means that whatever entered N7's DAC as digital, comes out exactly the same in analog. There's a reason N7 portrays elements within the soundstage with such solidity, the aural images it generates so convincingly rendered – its small signal post-conversion is of the highest quality, and inherently stable without going into oscillation caused by too much gain product. The utmost attention is paid throughout. The results of which can be fed out as a line or pre-amp voltage to a downstream amp such as Cayin's C9 tube/solid-state hybrid portable amplifier. The decoded analog goes through a four-channel analog volume control before reaching the Class A discrete output amp, facilitating that very special 1-bit discrete DSD decode and importantly preserving your music's true dynamic range resolution. N7's high rails see operating voltages for its power section rise above 7 volts, the linearity of discrete transistors assured as a result. Cayin's discrete headphone amplifier can be operated in Class AB or an optimal Class A, for sonic tweaking with your favourite earphones and headphones.  Differentiating itself from even other flagships that cling to op-amp layouts seeking THX-certification but with inordinate amounts of gain and feedforward/feedback, Cayin's linearity remains excellent already in the open-loop, owing to its high operating voltages and bias. Those ensure individual transistors are working in optimum condition. Distortion and noise are kept low, without resorting to the excessive use of negative feedback. Cayin designed a true-balanced differential amplifier to further improve N7's linearity, and you can count on common-mode rejection at its best whenever you plug in via 4.4mm preserving its resolution. It's an output stage that's direct-coupled to improve low-frequency performance, and N7 audibly plumbs the lowest bass depths. With the extension down low, phase reproduction in the audible human hearing range for taut, hard-hitting and life-like dynamics is excellent. At the tip of the power stage's spear, large output transistors ensure excellent current-handling for good reason, to reap the full benefit of N7's separately regulated power supplies for analog and digital sections. Capable of following the impedances of the Empire Ears Odin and Legend Evo down low, Cayin's 30-year tradition building amplifiers that provide actual power as proper voltage sources into halving resistances continues with N7. You'll want to exploit all of N7's technical feats by getting as much of your music aboard. So Cayin built in the futuristic Snapdragon 665 SOC and 4GB of RAM to run Android 12 perfectly. A 9,000mAh battery supplies up to 10 hours of use. Stream 16X Tidal MQA and full Hi-Res Lossless Apple Music at full bit and sample rates with Cayin's Direct Transport Audio OS that bypasses detrimental Android sample-rate conversion. And voilà: there ends the list of exploits as long as Cayin's illustrious history that the discrete 1-bit DSD decoding, Class A N7 brings to market – ready to take on the next 10 years. Also look how Cayin intend to define a new era via their entire catalogue here, or view our other music players here.

The mobile revolution continues as driven by iBasso Audio. DC04 Pro is their latest balanced 4.4mm dongle supplied by the dual Cirrus Logic CS43131 DAC chips from its DX170 music player, working controlled by iBasso FPGA-Master technology. It's a Headfonia Recommended Buy. Its state-of-the-art dongle DAC decoding flows onto a fully-balanced analog path counting on common-mode rejection and claiming 131dB of signal-to-noise ratio as a result, for music player levels of detail and fidelity even from USB's 5 volt supply.  A thoroughly regulated circuit and clean power form the basics here, as with every iBasso. It's solutions like DC04 Pro that continue to see USB DAC/amps raise their game. Further pushing decoding precision is an outboard clock that means DC04 Pro does not rely solely on its USB receiving chip for a master clock, but its FPGA. [See Product Desc. For More] Said FPGA sees DC04 Pro overachieve by supplying its CS43131s the same pure I2S as iBasso's bigger DX170, DX240 and DX320 DAP alternatives, pushing down DAC phase noise and jitter for a stable decode. After decoding, iBasso's generous use of negative feedback quashes distortion and claims up to 131dB of signal-to-noise ratio. The employment of this feedback also sees DC04 Pro achieve massive bandwidth that's extended from 20Hz to 40Khz. That means phase reproduction in the audible human hearing region is well preserved, for a realistic portrayal of dynamics and natural transparency – a triumph of iBasso's flagship DAC dongle. Powerful op-amp output buffers supply current and mean iBasso's wonderkid promises high damping factor while maintaining its low distortion into low impedances typical of IEMs, Focals, Fostexs and Rosson Audio Designs. Still the closed-loop internal gain remaining after the application of negative feedback around DC04 Pro's op-amp IC analog circuit remains high. So where she really shines is in swinging 10 volts, opening up the sound of any high-impedance Audio-Technica, Sennheiser and ZMF Headphones while barely breaking sweat. The quality of DC04 Pro's signal will translate to nearly everything you choose to drive from its balanced 4.4mm output, or 3.5mm – turning it into a miniaturised DX170, if you would. Flying the dongle DAC/amp flag high is DC04 Pro, till you turn to iBasso Audio's other upgrades here, or others in our catalogue here.

EDC has a new name – Sennheiser's IE200. Taking IE600 and IE900's DNA to new heights of affordable excellence is Sennheiser's long-awaited entry-level earphone release, with performance exceeding its humble origins. Pairs of by-now standard 7mm TrueResponse drivers form IE200's beating heart. And contemporary, exciting, bass and treble response disguises just how friendly its tuning is, for Sennheiser enabled owners to tune their pairs. Whether you're listening on your commute or monitoring with IE200, Sennheiser built in adjustable tuning profiles – by shifting eartip presentations one can enjoy bass reproduction of varying intensity in the same IEM! [See Product Desc. For More] Sennheiser are on a mission to expose the masses to great, balanced sound. Despite being the most affordable entry of the line-up, these German giants unlock IE200's potential from the drawing board. A polymer TrueResponse 7mm driver small and damped enough to climb in frequency without cone or modal break-up, while supplying it with enough air volume to move and manifest a long, slow bass wave with full authority, shows up as standard to give IE200 the basis to perform. Sennheiser apply cost-effective acoustic fleece in IE200's nozzle for much the same purpose as their dual and tri-chamber absorbers found in the IE600 and IE900. Expertly calculated damping material dials in treble performance for diffuse-field equalisation, great soundstage and fatigue-free highs without frequency peaks or troughs that cause masking. And IE200 hides its most unique tuning feature up its sleeve, for owners can position eartips at pre-determined lengths of the nozzle to expose an auxiliary bass vent Sennheiser snuck into the nozzle.  Fully-attached eartips sees IE200 default to type with tastefully emphasised bass and treble responses. But sliding them out exposes a vent that tunes down bass quantity, still maintaining the great low-frequency foundation Sennheiser birthed IE200 with – yet giving mid and high frequency detail even more room to shine. For those missing their Bluetooth wire-less, worry not – Sennheiser's high quality 3.5mm cable braided for strength and IE200's ergonomic excellence just enhances comfort. And convenience. Not to mention sound quality. Indeed, those who have made Bluetooth modus operandi and are looking for wired quality should make IE200 their first stop. Otherwise, look up all of Sennheiser's legends here, or view our other earphones here.

The latest NW-ZX707 is a premium Sony Walkman combining incredible sound quality with Android 12, Google Play Store and Wi-Fi compatibility for downloading and streaming. Lose yourself in high quality sound that’s even more dynamic and transparent, with a richer, more expansive sound field. ZX707 features Sony's newly-designed output stage with a larger inductor for the high quality low-pass filtering fundamental to Class D performance. Coupled with the ease of downloading and streaming music, it takes your listening enjoyment to a whole new level. [See Product Desc. For More] S-Master HX digital amp technology, independently developed by Sony, operates outputting in pulse-width modulated Class D, and supports balanced 4.4mm and high power output. A new output inductor reduces distortion and noise across a wide range of frequencies, for rich and full-bodied sound, further enhanced by new high quality sound lead-free solder. The ZX707 boasts an even stronger power supply than its predecessor, not only in the analog section but also in the digital block which is physically separated.  High polymer capacitors and inductors headline the upgraded power supply that is the lifeblood of audio, for a signal path that has similarly been enhanced.  Various DSP tweaks can still be implemented in Sony's custom Walkman software, including DSD Remastering Engine, DSEE Ultimate upsampling and DC Phase Lineariser. All that hardware working in tandem with software is best enjoyed via ZX707's 4.4mm balanced output, with up to 25 hours of battery life ensuring your tunes keep playing over the longest listening sessions. Also view all of Sony's other releases here, or our other music players here.

Dongle delight from HiBy Music looks like Darwin R2R. The FC6 DAC/amp packs the latest version of HiBy's growing R2R capabilities. Controlled by code from a FPGA, there is nowhere you cannot enjoy the discrete resistor DAC Head-Fi has come to love from HiBy.  READ ALSO Darwin R2R sees HiBy set the bar With the work and skill it takes to design one's own R2R resistor DAC from scratch, and place it into a portable dongle, we must say: FC6, like RS2 and RS6 before, is proof of how far up the ladder HiBy have climbed. We've heard multiple times it's not a matter of parts but the implementation that counts. So we pay attention when FC6 coverts PCM and DSD via separate circuit paths, doing so for the former ala typical R2R – NOS (non-oversampling). [See Product Desc. For More] That's double the feat because the precision demanded in exact resistor values – for the buttery, natural and resolving ability that R2R DAC topology is known for – goes up. Lovers of reference sound need not fret, however, with the ability to switch PCM decoding from NOS to oversampling mode for the cleanest possible result. Proprietary digital filters aboard FC6's FPGA reconstruct audio and manage I2S flow to the Darwin DAC. That scrubs any last distortion and artifacts beyond the audible human hearing range. HiBy make the distinction between PCM and DSD, because FC6 separately converts the latter with the most purity ever encountered in a portable device till date. Instead of pre-conversion to PCM as many other off-the-shelf DAC chips do, FC6 preserves the original DSD file throughout the process. Believe it: HiBy decode natively in DSD's true 1-bit process. FC6 calls for a simple low-pass filter for the purest, most elegant portable DSD conversion that preserves the simplicity of the process and original waveform. Amidst minimal digital filtering, the format's analog-like goodness gets delivered unmolested to your ears. FC6's dedicated and separate R2R PCM and DSD circuit paths mean you stand to enjoy the best sound you thought possible from either form – impossible to this extent, till now. The final decoded product goes through JRC's NJW72315 digitally-controlled analog volume control before reaching the output amp, for that very special 1-bit DSD decode, and preservation of your music's true dynamic range resolution. Working hand-in-hand with its Darwin DAC, FC6 brings plenty of even-order harmonics to sweeten synergies given its single-ended operation throughout. Eschewing bridge-tied load operation means FC6 also performs excellently into the low impedances typical of portable earphones and headphones, with one workhorse Texas Instruments OPA1622 power op-amp per channel. Waste no time therefore turning your Android or iOS device into a Darwin R2R DAC in itself, with FC6. Also check out all of HiBy's releases here, or view our other music players here.

Beyerdynamic take their XELENTO Remote 2nd Generation slogan of being an audible piece of jewelry to new levels. This classic earphone updates its Tesla single dynamic drivers to second gen Tesla.11 standards and packages them in an immaculate, ergonomic metal shell – handmade entirely in Germany. Ready to wow a new era of audiophiles, Beyerdynamic package a 4.4mm balanced cable for use with portable DAC/amps and music players, on top of a standard 3.5mm one with mic.

Never accuse Audio-Technica of a lack of ambition now they've launched their ATH-TWX9 true wireless flagship – a statement of intent for Bluetooth buds.  With IPX4, Snapdragon Sound, Bluetooth 5.2, noise-cancelling, Qualcomm® aptX™ Adaptive and Qualcomm® aptX™ Adaptive, TWX9 comes fully featured as a 2023 Audio-Technica release on top of its amazing wireless fidelity. A tactile, emphasised bass response arrives as a bonus on trademark Audio-Technica space and high-frequency detail retrieval. StereoNET gives it an Applause Award for how complete TWX9 is for sound quality and features. TWX9 is a timely take on modern preferences to playing back music – accomplished with aplomb with a 5.8mm audiophile dynamic driver with noise-cancelling that shuts out the low-frequency rumble of your commute on public transport. [See Product Desc. For More] Snapdragon Sound grants TWX9 listeners access to 24/96 transmission for high-resolution music playback. The clarity and excitement that Audio-Technica built in is preserved even in the noisiest of playback environments, as TWX9's touch sensor let's you choose from five preset noise-cancelling modes or optimised noise cancelling that adapts to your current environment. As an everyday companion, TWX9 let's you hear, and be heard. Dual high-performance MEMS mics, beam-forming technology, and Qualcomm® cVc™ Generation 8.0 technology ensures crystal-clear call quality. Sidetone circuitry improves conversations by letting you hear your voice in the headphones when making calls on most smartphones. And an Audio-Technica Connect app let's users activate low-latency mode, personalise noise-cancelling, adjust and save EQ to the TWX9, or select a desired voice assistant. When done, pack TWX9 into a case that offers up to 18 hours of use, and cleans your earbuds that uses deep-UV LED sterilisation to eliminate bacteria and viruses from the surface. Audio-Technica say TWX9 is all you could ever need on the go. When you're done, return home to one of their wired flagships here, or view our other Bluetooth gear here.

Focus on your form and forget about your headphones. With Sony's Float Run earspeakers, you can enjoy comfortable, stable, and easy-to-use IPX4 workout companions that will make your music sound great and keep you motivated on your run. Float Run's 16mm drivers and precise tuning combine with its off-ear style to give you a more natural and wider sound while you work out. With Sony's innovative off-ear design, you won’t have to worry about pressure or stuffiness becoming uncomfortable – even on long runs. The unique open design of Sony's Float Run keeps you in touch with your surroundings, while delivering a spacious soundtrack. You'll get the maximum impact from your music and can stay safe in busy surroundings.  Also view all of Sony's other releases here, or our other music players here.

Final Audio continue to prove that audio innovation can take place at all price levels with the new A5000.  This single dynamic driver IEM takes lessons from the entry-level A3000 and A4000, taking their formulas to levels of excellence. The A5000's detail-forward approach combines with just the right amount of bass impact and tasteful high-frequency sparkle, to differentiate itself. A5000 aims to be more versatile in servicing all genres of music and playback sources, so you can wear and listen to it without undue fuss or hassle. Its 6mm dynamic driver comes built with an internal brass housing to combine speed and control with an exciting emphasis in its bass and treble as satisfying as its fit.  View Final's other products here, or our other IEMs here.

ZE8000 lives up to Final Audio's 8000 line – the brand's most ambitious wired earphones. With Snapdragon Sound, Bluetooth 5.2, noise-cancelling, Qualcomm® aptX™ Adaptive and Qualcomm® aptX™ Adaptive, ZE8000 extends Final's ultimate sound quality to true wireless for the first time. Headfonics wrote its "technical performance ... are absolutely top-notch and even exceeded my expectations ... performs exceptionally well across a wide range of genres". ZE8000's immersive ability with a soundstage that is enhanced by Snapdragon's dynamic head tracking. Overcoming the issues of distortion levels and space constraints in each earbud were carried out in typically novel Final manner. [See Product Desc. For More] f-Core for Wireless comes as standard in ZE8000, its ability to act as if it was a much wider radiating surface a particular breakthrough by Final Audio. ZE8000 also brings f-LINK Damping System to bear, optimising the pressure in the acoustic space inside the earbuds housing to create a sound equivalent to wired earphones without the need for external vents. This makes it possible to properly control the low frequencies and reproduce vocals simultaneously, both issues that have been traditionally difficult to achieve with true wireless earbuds. The usual TWS paraphernalia accompanies ZE8000 here, with Final adding Qualcomm aptX, aptX Adaptive and IPX4 water resistance so it keeps up fully with the times on connectivity and function. Also view the rest of Final's offerings here, or our other wireless options here.

Copper Magician, take a bow. Everyone knew the greatness of Peter Wong's finest flagship creations at PW Audio. But to pull off the level of performance he endowed Epoch with, at its price, took some magic indeed. The most affordable shielded cable PW Audio have released to date, Epoch's OCC copper litz is encapsulated in an oxygen-free copper shield within its woven braid. Epoch silences both its affordable copper competition, and the noise that otherwise plagues non-shielded wired signal transmission. It's a smooth customer that befits earphones and headphones tuned around the Harman target curve, with gear like Acoustune's HS2000MX/ACT01, Clariar's i430, Hidition's Viento, HIFIMAN's Arya Stealth and Symphonium Audio's Helios in mind. [See Product Desc. For More] With brilliant bass response, Epoch is PW Audio's answer filling in the foundation of Head-Fi's favourite frequency response. This OCC cable's smooth mids take the edge out of any stridency in female vocals and cymbal crashes, meanwhile. Built to enhance the increasing resolution of modern sources and transducers, PW Audio completely cover Epoch's conductors in a shield made of oxygen-free copper. That grants the blackest background this side of one grand, delivering imaging and spatial cues like no other, preserving all the information in your music till it arrives at your ears. Epoch is a thoroughly modern offering, complementarily designed to work with – not against – the widely-accepted Harman target curves that so many transducers are based around. And Epoch's biggest surprise yet is the added dimension of high-end, hi-fi, sound it applies to such commonplace, everyday tunings. In fact, anyone who loves a thoroughly fun, engaging and immersive listen should audition Epoch. Also view the rest of our PW Audio cables here, or our other cables here.

In the spirit of the Walkman is Sony's entry-level NW-A306, such that anyone can enjoy listening to music today. With Android 12, Google Play Store and Wi-Fi compatibility for downloading and streaming, A306 is a wonderful music companion for any 3.5mm earphone and headphone. Lose yourself in high quality sound that’s even more dynamic and transparent, with a richer, more expansive sound field. Coupled with the ease of downloading and streaming music, it takes your listening enjoyment to a whole new level. [See Product Desc. For More] S-Master HX digital amp technology, independently developed by Sony, is compatible with the Native DSD format, and supports balanced and high power output. It reduces distortion and noise across a wide range of frequencies, for rich and full-bodied sound, further enhanced by new high quality sound lead-free solder. Various DSP tweaks can still be implemented in Sony's custom Walkman software, including DSD Remastering Engine, DSEE Ultimate upsampling and DC Phase Lineariser. Also view all of Sony's other releases here, or our other music players here.

By popular request – iBasso Audio send DX300 and DX320 further down the tube with their balanced Nutube 4.4mm Amp14 amplifier card. Twister6 loved "fine-tubing" the sound! Building on Amp13, and the clamour for a balanced version on the back of its success, iBasso have come up with another Nutube module capable of swinging twice as much output voltage for bigger Focal and Fostex headphones.  iBasso's DX3XX series is a great platform to launch a design as ambitious as Amp14, with its dedicated analog section battery and extra chassis space for an uncompromising audio circuit put to great use here. Amp14 is the natural evolution for DX320, its strong liquidity and air the natural complement to one of Head-Fi's most detailed music players – despite its Nutube's cathode input providing strong immunity to Wi-Fi and external interference, in a reference implementation of Korg's direct-heated triode. [See Product Desc. For More] Placed at the voltage gain stage where it will yield the biggest sonic impact, the small output of Amp14's Nutube then gets boosted by Toshiba FET buffers. The differential stage begins there while preserving the square law function of the Nutube, and grants the voltage section enough juice to drive the rest of Amp14's solid-state output stage.  DX320's dynamic range is maintained through two NJR NJU72315 digitally-controlled analog volume parts. The fully balanced, differential, Amp14 is additionally able to count on common-mode rejection plus adequately applied negative feedback for more linearity and less distortion and noise. The separate 2,000mAh analog battery aboard the DX3XX line supplies the backbone of power for Amp14's high operating voltages, with clean, individual DC power sections for crucial parts of the module including a 14 volt supply for the Nutube's anode. Dual Texas Instruments OPA1622 op-amps make up Amp14's power stage with operating voltages of 8 volts, such that higher impedance transducers are given the swing necessary to perform. A dedicated 4.4mm line-out section on Amp14 also supplies DX320's excellent small signal to an outboard amplifier. Such is expected of a high-performance iBasso Amp14 module that yields excellent distortion and noise specifications, while capturing the romance of tubes in DX320. Also view Amp13 here, all of iBasso's other portables here, and our music player catalogue here.

Acoustics are the name of the game building planar-magnetic headphones, and ZMF Headphones have made acoustics their playground. That spells good news for Caldera as Zach Mehrbach’s first, original, planar-magnetic headphone release, an implement of everything he’s learnt acoustically. Such is the groundwork that can be had from cutting one’s teeth building brilliant dynamic driver headphones. The biggest compliment to give ZMF’s asymmetrical double-sided planar-magnetic Caldera is that it sounds six years in the making – exactly the whole R&D process.  Headfonics "was simply not expecting this huge emotionally enjoyable sound complete with that trademark easy-to-listen-to tuning" from an "incredible high-end debut planar". The influence of Caldera’s patent-pending acoustic system, dubbed Caldera Asymmetrical Magnet Structure (CAMS), is so great that this flagship is named after the basin-like depression resulting from the explosive collapse of a volcano – also the shape of its airflow management system. So here’s a release that’s landing ZMF on the planar-magnetic map with a bang, tuned partly in reference to the Harman Curve and sure to impress with the authoritative wall of sound such drivers are known for … yet maintaining the effortlessness, micro-dynamics and resolution their dynamic driver releases symbolise. [See Product Desc. For More] Caldera's biggest strength at the drawing board was that it was designed from scratch. With a new asymmetrical magnet array working for – not against or apart from – earcup acoustics, ZMF's original work merged their two biggest technical accomplishments from 2022 into one headphone. Certainly, CADS birthed Caldera together with the Atrium Damping System (ADS). CADS starts with trapezoidal N52 magnets that shape and optimise airflow either side of Caldera's 80mm planar driver minimising turbulence and phase issues.  It's a volcano-like magnet structure that allows air to naturally spread out, and maintains a slightly asymmetric force making the membrane more nodal, pushing a massive amount of air towards the ear while diffusing it at the same time. Macro dynamics are a given but it's micro-dynamic reproduction that distinguishes Caldera. The traces in proprietary ZMF planar driver film are gold-plated copper, and the diaphragm is coated with silver to maximise excursion along the traces. It's not just sheer driver size producing authority and slam – actual pistonic excursion akin to dynamic drivers reproduces tiny gradations in SPL that sees Caldera's timbral resolution on par with the likes of its Atrium and Vérité counterparts.  Armed with the technological potential of CADS, 2022's release of ADS was the key taking Caldera's design to 11.  Atrium Damping minimised back-wave cancellation from the rear of the driver, for more pressure to be exerted in a controlled manner towards the ear, carefully away from the back volume at determined frequencies. The smallest details made all the difference to a driver with as much resolution as Caldera produced, and ZMF extended their research to earpads with three depth variances released for a complete ecosystem of accessories. All Caldera pads bear fluting – the tapering of rim thickness and circumference back to front – officially sealing the integral role oft underestimated items play on the ZMF tuning process. Already, Caldera's combination of Atrium Damping plus the horn-like acoustic amplifier its sculpted earpads take the form of ensure substantially better SPL loading of the driver ear-side. With sensitivity at a high 95dB ensured by these added implements, the driver and motor are then freed to focus on mustering as much deep bass extension as possible from the air volume within limited cup enclosures. Caldera is a call to experiment with sources, so big portable music players such as Cayin Audio's N8ii, C9 and HiBy Music's RS8 throw their hat into the ring to work satisfactorily. Yet for the very best performance, make use of ZMF's purely resistive, 60ohm flat impedance and electrical phase for a happy match with transformer output tube amplifiers from Cayin and Feliks Audio. Perfect voltage sources can't hurt either and the solid-state route is straightforward with Questyle Audio's current-mode desktop flagship CMA15. The Cayin iHA-6 and HIFIMAN EF400 are absolutely capable. And the dCS Data Conversion Systems Lina, with unlimited damping factor and resolution, finally milks every drop of performance left untapped in Caldera. That's exactly the kind of attention Caldera deserves, the planar-magnetic cherry on the ZMF cake that completes the circle from the very first days Zach Mehrbach spent modding venerable Fostex T50RPs. Caldera is a headphone unlike any other, entering a world of planar magnetics yet not being entirely of it. Explore the rest of ZMF's dynamic driver releases here as the perfect complement to Caldera, or check out our other headphones here.

DARWIN shook Head-Fi and now HiBy Music has arrived at R2R's final evolution. RS8 climbs to the peak of portable decoding with DARWIN II – HiBy's flagship R2R topology. Stock arrives in April 2023. HiBy's flagship R2R music player spares no expense and doesn't stop at its most advanced resistor ladder DAC, adding on a discrete Class A 4.4mm headphone amplifier and overbuilt power supplies. RS8 is a new gold standard that matches desktop R2R writes Headfonics, winning its Best DAP of 2022 award. Headfonia elected RS8 to its Recommended Buys list. Twister6 praised its "natural organic tonality with a resolving tuning". RS8 is the host with the most, doubling its DAC's individual resistor count compared to RS6 and putting its precision at the disposal of a full Google Play Services Android 12 OS. The Headphone List recommends RS8 unequivocally. Install and play back your favourite music streaming apps such as Tidal Masters and Apple Music at their full resolutions, courtesy of this decoding behemoth. [See Product Desc. For More] RS8 follows in RS6's footsteps converting PCM and DSD via separate DARWIN II circuit paths, doing so for the former ala typical R2R – NOS (non-oversampling).  READ ALSO How HiBy's DARWIN set the standard That's double the feat because the precision demanded in exact resistor values – for the buttery, natural and resolving ability that R2R DAC topology is known for – goes up. DARWIN II doubles the individual resistors originally found in DARWIN, making the most of its chassis space to line up 184 high-precision resistors to work the Most Significant Bits and Least Significant Bits of your music better.  DARWIN II's linearity improves as a result and its capacity to reproduce micro-detail from small signal levels sees a dynamic range improvement of 15dB in RS8.  Lovers of reference sound need not fret, however, with the ability to switch PCM decoding from NOS to oversampling mode for the cleanest possible result. That scrubs any last distortion and artifacts beyond the audible human hearing range, via proprietary DARWIN II digital filters implemented aboard RS8's FPGA. At the signal processing stage, HiBy make the distinction between PCM and DSD, because RS8 separately converts the latter with the most purity ever encountered in a portable device till date. Instead of pre-conversion to PCM as many other off-the-shelf DAC chips do, RS8 preserves the original DSD file throughout the process.  Believe it: HiBy decode natively in DSD's true 1-bit process. RS8 calls for a simple low-pass filter for the purest, most elegant portable DSD conversion that preserves the simplicity of the process and original waveform. Amidst minimal digital filtering, the format's analog-like goodness gets delivered unmolested to your ears. RS8's dedicated and separate R2R PCM and DSD circuit paths mean you stand to enjoy the best sound you thought possible from either form – impossible to this extent, till now. The final product goes through an analog volume control before reaching the output amp, for preservation of your music's true resolution, and that very special, discrete, native DSD decode. HiBy's reckoning has been in developing wonderfully innovative hardware free of any prior ceiling. And with RS8's R2R DARWIN II digital circuit only as good as its analog output stage, HiBy capitalise on the extra board space to mount a massive discrete headphone amplifier. Large power rails see operating voltages rise as high as 7.5 volts, the linearity of eight dual bipolar transistors outputting in parallel assured as a result. RS8's discrete headphone amplifier can be operated in Class AB or an optimal Class A.  Differentiating itself from even other flagships that cling to op-amp layouts seeking THX-certification but with inordinate amounts of gain and feedforward/feedback, HiBy's linearity remains excellent already in the open-loop, owing to its high operating voltages and bias. Those ensure individual transistors are working in optimum condition. Distortion and noise are kept low, without resorting to the excessive use of negative feedback. HiBy designed a true-balanced differential amplifier to further improve RS8's linearity, and you can count on common-mode rejection at its best whenever you plug in via 4.4mm preserving DARWIN II's resolution. It's an output stage that's DC-coupled to improve low-frequency performance, and RS8 audibly plumbs the lowest bass depths. Eight output transistors ensure immense current-handling for good reason, to reap the full benefit of RS8's separate power supplies for analog and digital sections. The former is particularly massive and incorporates inductors that store huge energy in a magnetic field before releasing on demand to HiBy's Class A amplifier. Superior even to super capacitors due to their low DC resistance, these inductors constitute a massive power supply that ensures RS8 relishes as much pushing low-impedance Empire Ears Odins and EVOs as it will driving Focal's Utopia 2022. RS8 is digital, analog and power supply design excellence par none that will serve you for years to come as numerous firmware updates carry new code teaching HiBy's FPGA new tricks. And Android 12 OS mounted on top of a Snapdragon 665 CPU promises stable, snappy operating streaming 16X MQA via Tidal Masters, full resolution Apple Music Hi-Res Lossless, and Spotify. If Head-Fi had been looking at what the future had to offer, then HiBy have decisively provided us with dreams that are made out of RS8. Also check out HiBy's RS6 here, all of HiBy's releases here, or view our other music players here.

Purity of sound is everything that Feliks Audio is about, and Euforia EVO is the full realisation of that legacy. This uber-revealing output transformer-less OTL tube amplifier built on the CV-181 (6SN7 derivative) unearths every detail in your music. Now with a 4-pin XLR output for balanced connections, EVO bears similar upgraded parts broadly carried over from the Feliks Euforia Anniversary Edition. UPOCC copper wiring in the signal path, enhanced coupling capacitors and a power transformer with great AC line performance come as standard. EVO sets a new benchmark of stock transparency that will serve you well with many an Audio-Technica, Sennheiser or ZMF Headphones. Feliks present the Euforia line its latest, timeless, new member ... in a beautiful satin gloss black finish packing sound quality that will remain unrivalled for years. [See Product Desc. For More] As another single-ended triode amplifying in Class A, EVO remains fully transparent and yet never overbearing in its presentation of detail. Natural and wholesome even harmonic sound dominates – a direct result of EVO's single-ended Class A topology. The holy grail of all bias schemes isn't undertaken lightly, and rock-solid current sources ensure Feliks Audio's flagship OTL runs stably fully biased at all output levels. This is a decidedly low-distortion affair in an inherently linear amplifier given high tube operating voltages and current. Transconductance increasing with bias current is optimal. And while tube imaging, emotiveness and liquidity is de facto, EVO always sounds natural and fully transparent. Certainly, a massive audio bandwidth is guaranteed given its output transformer-less OTL construction. Literally nothing separates you from your music. Pairs of transparent CV-181 drivers and NOS 6N13S tubes power your headphones directly, without any chunk of transformer iron in the signal path.  This Feliks champions frequency extension – the fast, deep bass and airy, open highs from the best OTL associations. Phase reproduction in the audible human hearing range is stellar, and dynamics crash especially potently bottom to top, rivalling even the best solid-state competition. Boasting a new 4-pin XLR connection, EVO eschews the headphone cable adapter you might have used with its predecessors, powering your flagship cans even more directly in the spirit of maintaining total purity. This makes the case of EVO being the only amplifier you need – at least, till you aim for the extreme Envy... Whether you go up or down, you'll be served browsing the rest of Feliks Audio's offerings here, or all our other DAC & amp options here.

Third time's a charm for iBasso Audio building reference open-back headphones. SR3's 150ohm impedance, carbon fibre diaphragm, tesla magnet and 4.4mm stock cable adapts to many modern audiophile sources, for flexible quality every way you listen. SR3's carbon fibre diaphragm one-ups its iBasso predecessors' biocellulose units, with the stiffer large driver now combining a more pistonic motion at low frequencies with a material that is still self-damped up high. [See Product Desc. For More] Its low modal break-up means that intermodulation is kept low, as SR3's driver continues to be kept under the control of magnet capable of one tesla. That iron-grip is important given the excursion iBasso's liquid silicone suspension is capable of. SR3 is a low-distortion affair always, with its copper-clad aluminium wire voice coil kept thin and light by a 150ohm impedance. Inertia is low and SR3's driver reacts instantly to the smallest voltage impulses. Indeed, it's a 150ohm load that's simultaneously easy to drive for any partnering amplifier, such that a tube amplifier mates comfortably with suitable damping factor and impedance matching.  iBasso's flagship headphone comes terminated in 4.4mm also meaning many modern bridge-tied load outputs on music players won't grind their gears pushing into inordinately low impedances, small power supplies and output stages producing less in the way of distortion and noise as a result. SR3 will make for a happy result running from iBasso's own DX170, but high output impedance, imperfect voltage sources from FiiO and Shanling will not be tested untowardly either – music players from the latter both having enough mettle to push SR3 very satisfactorily.  iBasso's greatest achievement therefore seems to have set up SR3 to perform in virtually any way you ask it. Also check out the rest of iBasso's sources capable of partnering SR3 here, or view our other headphones here.

UX3000 is Final Audio's continued exploration of the Bluetooth market, this noise-cancelling Bluetooth 5.0 aptX™ Low Latency following hot on the heels of ZE3000's success. With 25 full hours of use with noise-cancelling active, and 35 with it off, UX3000 is your everyday companion on the commute, rewarding you with rich sound full of life and engagement.  View Final Audio's other releases here, or our other wireless headphones here.