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Amplifier Review

8.5Our Score

The Continental Dual Mono By ALO Audio

Marcus

November 15, 2015

$1000+, Amplifiers, DAC's, Tubes

The Studio 6 by ALO Audio is their most expensive product for sale to date. A behemoth of a tube amp that we got and will review with aplomb in the coming weeks. However, the Continental Dual Mono DAC/AMP (CDM)...

8Our Score

Objective2 USB DAC & Amplifier Rev.B by Mayflower

Michael

November 4, 2015

$201-300, Amplifiers, DAC's, Gear Reviews, Solid State, Sources

Oh, come on! Are you kidding, Mayflower? Pssh. Just take my $1000 deposit for the next few renditions of the O2 now, if you don’t mind. If you are an audio enthusiast, you should know that the O2 Amp/DAC is ...

8.7Our Score

The Magni 2U & Modi 2U By Schiit

Smit Patel

October 14, 2015

$101-200, Amplifiers, DAC's, Gear Reviews, Solid State, Sources

The crudely named audio company has been in the game for quite some time now having released a myriad of audio solutions for virtually every price point. Built exclusively in the US, Schiit abides by a simply p...

8.7Our Score

The D14 Bushmaster by iBasso

Marcus

October 7, 2015

$201-300, DAC's, Portable Amps

I am going to sound like a stuck record since I said almost the exact same opening as I did for the FiiO Q1 but the reality is the iBasso have also been the other raging success in the audiophile world with reg...

8.3Our Score

The Cloud Nine by PlusSound

Smit Patel

October 1, 2015

$301-400, Amplifiers, Gear Reviews, Portable Amps

PlusSound is a discrete company which specialises in custom cables for earphones, headphones and interconnects. Based in Los Angeles, the aim of PlusSound is clear; to provide uniquely exceptional products that...

The Q1 DAC/Amp by FiiO

Marcus

September 27, 2015

DAC's, Portable Amps, Up To $100

You could be forgiven if you thought FiiO has been all about the DAP's over the last few years when in actual fact the portable amp is what gave FiiO it's name and for many years was their bread and butter to t...

6.4Our Score

The Phonitor Mini by SPL

Michael

July 26, 2015

$501-1000, Amplifiers, DAC's, Gear Reviews, Solid State, Sources

SPL’s products have always been exclusive to me, I never knew anyone who owned a Phonitor…but I sure as hell wanted one despite that. It came to a bit of a shock to me that the company fashioned a mini version...

7.6Our Score

The E17k Alpen 2 DAC by FiiO

Marcus

May 27, 2015

$101-200, DAC's, Portable Amps, Sources

It is not all about the DAP's with FiiO you know. Lest we forget FiiO cut their teeth in the audiophile with cracking little budget amps and DACs such as the original E7 and the revised E17 AMP/DAC. These start...

8Our Score

The AlgoRhythm Picollo Amp By Cypher Labs

Marcus

May 17, 2015

$301-400, Gear Reviews, Portable Amps

The Picollo Amp was released actually sometime in 2014 but in a chance discussion with David Maudlin of Cypher Labs about the C6IEM and having reviewed the Picollo DAC/AMP already he mentioned that I should rea...

8.3Our Score

The Conductor Virtuoso by Burson

Donunus

April 15, 2015

$1000+, Amplifiers, DAC's, Gear Reviews, Solid State, Sources

What do we have for review today? It is Burson's burly Conductor Virtuoso. Is this the all around headphone amp that we have all been waiting for? Will it drive anything with ease while staying refined and quie...

8.4Our Score

The RX Portable Amp from ALO Audio – It’s Back!

Marcus

April 7, 2015

$301-400, Amplifiers, Portable Amps

In late 2014 I emailed ALO asking them what is the game plane for 2014/2015 and they had a few ideas in the pot but otherwise I felt they had a fairly quiet year in terms of big ticket releases. The fact they d...

8Our Score

The HA-2 DAC by Oppo

Marcus

April 5, 2015

$201-300, DAC's, Gear Reviews, Portable Amps, Sources

For the last year Oppo have blown away the market perception that planar headphones are really cumbersome heavy rocks on our head that sound great but need a nuclear plant to drive them. The PM-1, PM-2 and the ...

The Mini-M8 by CEntrance

Michael

March 30, 2015

$501-1000, DAC's, Portable Amps, Sources

I recall a time back in 2009 while working as a sound engineer for a local music label studio, I was privy to a new device called the Centrance MicPort. It was something that made life a lot less stressful and...

The Micro Portable Amp By Portaphile

Michael

March 25, 2015

$401-500, Portable Amps

Ceasar over at Portaphile has been up to no good! A while back, I'd heard his original 627 portable amp, astounded by the price to performance I'd naturally wanted to own it and review it. Since then, Porta...

The HPA-01M Portable Amp by Bakoon

Marcus

March 8, 2015

$1000+, Amplifiers, Portable Amps

There is nothing worse than getting a dose of the "man flu" when you are in mid testing, especially when the unit for review is the all-new portable HPA-01M current drive amp from Bakoon. You really just have t...

The Flow by Aurender

Marcus

January 31, 2015

$1000+, DAC's, Portable Amps

Recently there has been a bit of a drive to make the portable amplification and decoding device relevant again in the face of the all-conquering DAP revolution headed by the likes of Astell & Kern, FiiO and...

The Sound Blaster E5 by Creative

Marcus

January 21, 2015

$101-200, DAC's, Portable Amps

In mid-2014 we first got wind of a new series of budget-busting 'do it all' audio DAC/amps from Sound Blaster and luckily we were able to review the Sound Blaster E1 and E3. Whilst not being totally blown away ...

The FiiO E12a – The IEM Amp

Marcus

November 16, 2014

$101-200, Portable Amps

FiiO have been very busy in 2014 revising and modernizing their lineup of amps and DAC's on top of rolling out their new X1 and X5 DAPs. They have always struck me as keen to listen to feedback from their custo...

The SoundBlaster E3 by Creative

Raoul Gerard

October 15, 2014

DAC's, Gear Reviews, Portable Amps

Personal audio has never been so exciting since the dawn of the legendary (some may argue about this) iPod and the venerable Walkman. From mass consumer electronics to the niche audiophile components, the mark...

The C5 Portable Headphone Amp by Cayin

Marcus

September 28, 2014

Gear Reviews, Portable Amps

For the last few years I have been a regular attendee of our national Hi-Fi show held every November in the business district in one plush hotel or another. Quite apart from jostling for space as the President ...