As regular Audiophiliac readers may have noticed, I rarely cover Bluetooth products. This new portable BlueDAC ($399) from CEntrance is an exception simply because it sounds great and can drive power hungry audiophile headphones that make phones cry uncle. Since phones with 3.5mm headphone jacks are fast becoming extinct, the question is raised: What are …

The new Massdrop x Sennheiser HD58X Jubilee headphones pressed all the right buttons for me.  This full-sized set is based on one of my all-time favorite classic Sennheisers, the HD580 that came out in the early 1990s! I still have my 580s on hand so I could directly compare both versions. Oh, and the HD58X’s price is right — it’s …

I play music all the time at home, but I couldn’t help but notice that my wife was grooving and dancing more when I played tunes on the Pro-Ject Classic SB belt-drive turntable. She didn’t have to say it’s a great sounding turntable, her actions spoke louder than words. Before we go any further, the Classic SB is the upgraded …

The Monoprice Monolith M300 in-ear headphone sounds like almost no other in-ear you’ve heard. I said almost because the M300 sounds and looks so similar to the Audeze iSine10 in-ear headphones. They both have strong appeal to audiophiles craving highly transparent sound that isn’t trapped inside your skull.  The biggest difference? The Monoprice M300 costs $150 while the iSine 10 …

I love high-end audio gear, but I have to admit it doesn’t always look as good as it sounds. Too much of high-end design is tired and bland, but no audiophile would say that about Chord Electronics, witness its Dave Ultimate Reference DAC! This made-in-the-UK digital converter boasts proprietary digital processing that utilizes Spartan 6 Field Programmable Gate Arrays that …

Not all high-end speakers look, feel or sound like luxury objects, but the Harbeth Monitor 30.2 40th Anniversary Edition speaker absolutely does. Run your fingers over the speaker’s silver eucalyptus veneers and you’ll get a sense of craftsmanship that should be de rigueur on all similarly priced speakers, though it isn’t.  With well recorded music the M30.2s sound yields more …

With the Hifiman HE4XX full-size, planar magnetic headphone Massdrop has done it again. Based on the $299 Hifiman HE400S I raved about in 2015, that one has remained my go-to recommendation for best sounding headphone in its price class, but the $169.99 Massdrop x Hifiman HE4XX feels better built. As for the sound the HE4XX has all of the HE400S’ …

The FiiO F9 in-ear headphone’s sound isn’t by any stretch accurate or neutral, and it won’t please persnickety audiophiles, but there’s no denying the F9’s sound is deliriously big and juicy.  Bass is bold, highs are a little too sharp, but stereo imaging is wide open. The FiiO F9 sells for $99 and £109 on Amazon, and it’s AU$139 in …

I first heard about The+Record Player when it was a Kickstarter project, and thought this one-piece Bluetooth speaker and turntable was a silly idea. Think about it: Turntables have to be isolated from external vibration to sound their best, and speakers make sound with vibrating woofers and dome tweeters. So how could you mate a speaker with a turntable?  Answer: +Audio’s …

Eddie Current is known to the hippest cognoscenti for their high-end tube electronics, especially their headphone amplifiers. They’re hand-made, artisan designs with prices starting at $2,450, so when I heard Massdrop had an Eddie Current amp in the wings I was eager to spend some ears-on time with this little guy, the $399.99 Eddie Current ZDT Jr Massdrop ships worldwide and …