$1000+

8.3Our Score

The Conductor Virtuoso by Burson

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...

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 VE6 Xcontrol CIEM by Vision Ears

Marcus

December 15, 2014

$1000+, Custom Monitors, IEM & Earphones

You mention the words "stage series" to any custom monitor fan and they will immediately nod their head in approval. It is a phrase commonly associated with the now defunct German brand label Compact Monitors w...

The LCD-XC Closed Planar by Audeze

Michael

October 19, 2014

$1000+, Headphones, Planar

About a year ago, Audeze released two new headphones in their lineup: The X ($1,699) and the XC ($1,799) to complement and fill a void between their previous generation models that included the LCD2/LCD3, and b...

The V8 CIEM by 1964EARS

Marcus

September 12, 2014

$1000+, Custom Monitors, IEM & Earphones

I really need to go to Oregon someday. A lot of my favorite audio gear is sold there by one vendor or another. There are amps from ALO Audio, decoders and even more amps from Cypher Labs and now customs from 19...

The PS1000e by Grado

July 14, 2014

$1000+, Full-Size, Headphones, Open

While I was busy grilling Jonathan Grado about the whole new E series lineup, Lance, a writer from Singapore, was gleefully receiving the all-new PS1000e flagship from the SG distributor as well as the older PS...

The LCD-3 by Audeze

Michael

February 22, 2014

$1000+, Headphones, Planar

Back in 2010, Hi-Fi audio and Audeze become synonymous with each other, a hand in hand and a brothers in arms sort of thing. Funny now that I think back on it, Audeze is the only company that I've ever known to...

The K812 by AKG

Michael

February 16, 2014

$1000+, Full-Size, Headphones, Open

In the darkest, seediest areas of Hi-Fi Audio AKG has waged a secret war. At an eye-popping $1499.99 this K-812 headphone seems like an all-star player. I have a few gripes but for the most part, I enjoy the he...

Burson Audio HA-160DS – The “Baby’ HA-160D?

Marcus

March 1, 2012

$1000+, Amplifiers, DAC's, Solid State

Having been listening to the HD-160 amp for a while now and enjoying its impactful SQ, our sponsor and SE Distributor of Burson Audio, D&A International suggested I give the HA-160DS a try out also and of c...

Audio Technica W3000 Anniversary Edition

Marcus

February 14, 2012

$1000+, Closed, Full-Size, Headphones

There was a time, maybe about a decade ago, a limited edition headphone from ATH was quite a regular if not annual event up until the turn of the century. Since then though the limited edition churn has dried ...

Audeze LCD2 – One of the best?

Marcus

May 11, 2011

$1000+, Headphones, Planar

I've always been a fan of orthos ever since I had my Hifiman HE-5LE. It was almost the perfect headphones for me but I just can't seem to get over the sibilance issue. And I thought Hifiman was able to solve th...

Hifiman HE6 – Is this the end of the road for me?

Marcus

April 12, 2011

$1000+, Headphones, Planar

I remember back in 2001 buying my B&W series 2 5.1 setup full audio system. That was back then the 601/3/cc6 and for kicks the huge ASW1000 subwoofer. Pure solid black leviathan of a gut wrenching mid to hi...