Chord Electronics has launched a comprehensive Cable Accessory Pack for the Mojo DAC/headphone amp, to include cables, adaptors and a USB adaptor block.

Chord Electronics’ new Cable Accessory Pack for its Mojo DAC/headphone amplifier contains a great selection of cables and adaptors to get your Mojo workin’ straight from the box. Designed to offer compatibility with a wide range of partnering devices, the Mojo Accessory Pack also features Chord’s first-ever add-on Mojo module.

The new USB adaptor block module makes connecting Mojo with an OTG (On-The-Go) Micro USB cable or Lightning-to-USB Camera Adaptor cable much simpler. The module attaches directly to the Mojo’s inputs as an extension of the device and a hollow recess houses the bulky end of Apple’s Lightning-to-USB cable and Android-type OTG cables.

The additional length the USB adaptor module brings to Mojo allows plus-size smartphones to align more suitably with the device when strapped together, giving full access to large smartphone screens; Chord-branded rubber band straps are provided in the pack. The module also contains an internal circuit board which extends the Micro USB charging port when the adaptor block is in use and retains visibility of the battery indicator light.

The Cable Accessory Pack includes the following:

1x USB Adapter Module

1x Standard Optical Cable

1x 3.5mm to Standard Optical Cable

1x 3.5mm to ¼” Headphone Adapter Cable

1x 1m Type A USB to Micro Cable

1x USB Micro to USB Micro OTG Cable

1x USB Micro to Female USB OTG Cable

1x Dual Play and Charge USB Cable

2x Chord Branded 180mm Rubber Band Straps

2x Chord Branded 160mm Rubber Band Straps

1x Ferrite RFI Suppression Choke

Note: Apple’s Lightning-to-USB Camera Adapter cable is sold separately

The Cable Accessory Pack case sells for £59.99 and is available from dealers now.

Three of Erzetich’s headphone amplifiers (Bacillus, Bacillus Tilia and Perfidus) have gone under the knife. While their entrails are mostly untouched, the most obvious difference is now their appearance. Acrylic front panels have been replaced by 7 mm thick aluminum that demanded a different graphic approach, along with some other tweaks and upgrades on their exterior. 

“During the first few years we gathered feedback from our users and resellers and took note of their remarks and wishes,« says Blaž Erzetič, the owner. »We had to update our units for the purpose of manufacturing optimisation and this led to a slight redesign of them. While Bacillus has only a new dress, the other two models have also some technical upgrades, especially Perfidus.”

The main story stays the same: exclusivity of a boutique low volume production and attention to the sound and appearance. All units are handcrafted and tested several times during the production by ear and by measuring instruments.

OPPO Digital today introduces an updated version of the a HA-2 portable headphone amplifier and DAC, HA-2SE. 

Aesthetically, the HA-2SE continues the HA-2’s design – genuine leather casing with contrast stitching and bevelled aluminium edges. Inside, the digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) chip is upgraded to the ES9028Q2M, the top-of-the-line from ESS Technology’s SABRE³² Reference series for portable designs. The headphone amplifier is further optimized for very sensitive In-Ear Monitors, with a lower noise floor and higher signal-to-noise ratio over the HA-2.

Featuring hybrid class AB amplification and a USB DAC, the HA-2SE offers high performance digital-to-analogue conversion for Apple’s iPhone/iPod products, a wide range of Android devices, PC and Mac computers. Equipped with a 3000mAh internal battery and OPPO’s patented safe rapid charging technology, the HA-2SE may be conveniently used to charge mobile devices on-the-go and can itself be efficiently charged in 30 minutes.

Being a “Made for iPhone” certified device and coming with a Lightning cable included, the HA-2SE can charge the iPhone and play music at the same time. When used with the right apps, the HA-2SE supports bit-perfect playback of high resolution music, exceeding the 48 kHz sample rate limitation of using the phone’s built-in headphone output or headphone adapter.

In addition to the USB DAC inputs, the HA-2SE provides a 3.5 mm line-in jack for portable music players that do not have a USB-compatible digital output. The same jack doubles as line-out when the HA-2SE is used as a DAC. The headphone amplifier has two gain level settings. The High Gain mode is capable of driving large power-hungry headphones, delivering up to 300 mW into 16-Ohm headphones. The Low Gain mode is intended for sensitive In-Ear Monitor type earphones. For users who like a bit more punch and impact with their music, the HA-2SE offers a Bass Boost function that is implemented purely with analog audio circuits.

Priced at $299, the HA-2SE can be ordered from OPPO Digital’s web site or resellers. The HA-2SE will be available for audition and demo at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver during the weekend of October 7 – 9.

Shortly after the successful launch of its PM-1 planar magnetic headphones, OPPO Digital has released another member of its family of personal audio products – the HA-1 headphone amplifier.

The analogue audio section of the HA-1 is a fully balanced design with an emphasis on keeping the audio signal in the analogue domain once it leaves the DAC. The HA-1 is anchored by a hefty toroidal power transformer, and linear power regulators and filters with custom made capacitors to help ensure that the headphone amplifier has a clean power source with plenty of reserve energy. The fully balanced Class A power amplification section uses “hand-picked and paired discrete components to ensure symmetry”, and a motor-driven volume control knob allows for both manual and remote control volume adjustment.

Its digital inputs include coaxial, optical, balanced AES/EBU, and an asynchronous USB DAC. The USB DAC supports PCM audio up to 384 kHz 32-bit resolution and DSD audio up to 256x the CD sample rate and it uses same ESS 9018 Sabre32 Reference DAC and output driving stage used in OPPO Blu-ray players. The HA-1 is compatible with Apple’s iPod, iPhone and iPad for use as an external DAC, enabling the listener to directly tap into digital music played from these devices.

Retail price of $1199, and the silver version is estimated to be available in June.

August is Headphone Month here at Hifi Pig and we’ve dedicated all our hifi reviews to reviewing nothing but headphones and headphone related products.

We’ve reviewed headphones from Final, Stax, Sennheiser, GOJI and Audeze with more to come from HifiMan and others.

As well as headphones we’ve published a headphone amplifier review of a Graham Slee  product with more to come from Lehmann Audio, AudioValve, Schiit and Tisbury.

We’ve got a fabulous prize package to give away too so please make sure you keep an eye on our Hifi news and Hifi reviews section of Hifi Pig as well as the next edition of the FREE Hifi Pig Magazine which will be published on 3rd September.

You can see all our headpohone reviews here.

Hifi Pig’s « Headphone Month »  continues with Stuart and Harry Smith’s thoughts on the little Tisbury CA-1 Headphone Amplifier that is made in the UK and costs £349

Tisbury Audio are a small company based in the UK that currently makes just two products, the Mini Passive Preamplifier that we took a listen to and enjoyed a few months ago and the product on test here, the CA-1 Headphone Amplifier. On the Tisbury Audio website the company make a point of stressing that the majority of the parts that make up the CA-1 are sourced from British manufacturers. The price of the unit is £349 including free international shipping and a three year warranty which all seems to be very reasonable indeed.

Out of the box the first thing that strikes you is how light the CA-1 is and this is in no small way down to the fact that a wallwart power supply is used. The second thing you notice is that it’s actually quite an attractive beast with its solid American black walnut side cheeks and bottom “plate” which compliment the 3mm aluminium enclosure pretty nicely. OK, this isn’t going to win any international awards for its aesthetics but it’s simple, functional and good looking. Size-wise the CA-1 is 204 x 170 x 74 mm so it’s pretty compact and bijou.

Round the back you get a couple of good quality RCAs for inputting your source, in this case our reference Valve Audio Devices DAC 10 fed via USB from a dedicated laptop running JPlayer and JRiver and playing FLAC files, there’s an on off toggle switch and the socket for the power supply to plug into. Flip it round to have a look at the front panel and this too keeps things to a functional minimum. There’s a proper quarter inch jack Neutrik socket, an Alps Blue Velvet pot, a toggle switch for the high and low gain output modes (6 dB (2x) and 16 dB (6.3x) gain) and an LED to show you it’s plugged in and functioning. Build quality looks to be simple and of a good quality. The CA-1 has a nifty little muting circuit onboard which essentially disconnects your precious headphones if the AC power supply is interrupted or switched off.

For the purposes of this review the main cans used were the 20 Ohms Audeze LCD-XC headphones we have in for review and have listened to extensively but we’ll also be trying it out with some other cans.

Sound

Tisbury claim the noise floor is very low with the CA-1 and it is, there’s no distinguishable noise whatsoever as far as I can tell on the low output or high output at normal listening levels and with no music playing you have to turn the volume pot all the way to the top to get any noise at all. With regards volume it goes plenty loud enough with the Audeze’ and I wouldn’t think anyone but the most hard of hearing, or those with a deaf wish would need to crank this up to anywhere near the max –Tisbury give a figure of 3.4V and 725mW at 16ohms and 8.3V/115mW at 600ohms. With the more demanding HifiMan HE 560s you need to crank the volume pot a bit but again all is well and likewise with the Sennheiser HE 800s and their IE 800s.

Immediately on plugging in the ‘phones and putting on the tunes it’s pretty clear that this is a good sounding little box with good transparency that allows you to get on with listening to the tunes. Eels’ Novacaine For The Soul shows there to be a really nice sleek sound in the upper frequencies and vocals. The strings are lush, full and luxuriant. In the lower end there’s bass there but I’m not sure it has the required heft to it that I enjoy with this kind of tune. Likewise on the Body Count track Bowels Of The Devil I just feel there’s something missing, as if the amp is being a little on the polite side.
However, popping on the wonderful Kathryn Williams’ Crown Electric album you are rewarded with absolutely gorgeous vocals and a great lush feel to the strings (again) that defies the moderate asking price of this little unit. I’m reminded here of my old 300B PSE amp (no bad thing) and it comes as a bit of a surprise as it’s clear that what we have here with the CA-1 is a refined and sophisticated sound that will immediately appeal to those that listen to “audiophile” type music or enjoy a more well-mannered sound.
Reviewing kit can be a soul destroying pass-time at times as you need to concentrate and listen in a critical way, but with the little CA-1 I genuinely found myself just listening to Williams’ record the whole way through and loving every minute. Bass isn’t the deepest I’ve heard but it’s ok for this kind of music.

Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson’s Winter In America is one of my go to records to get an idea of what’s happening with relation to getting a feel for the recording space and with the CA-1 in place it’s a pretty good effort. Not as good as the best I’ve heard, or as good as my own reference, but very acceptable for the asking price. The soundstage is not as wide as I would have liked but again, at this price it’s very acceptable. Vocals appear to be slightly pushed to the fore but the tops are smooth and slightly rounded out.

Chie Ayado’s version of the Beatles Don’t Let Me Down from her Good Life record again plays to the strengths of the little Tisbury unit. The piano is natural sounding and there is a good insight into the performer’s very distinctive voice. And this is what I mean about this unit appealing to those that like to listen to audiophile music; push it too far with music that demands a more dynamic sound and it loses out to the competition a little – here I’m thinking of the likes of Deep Purple’s Made In Japan version of Smoke On The Water which although sounding OK didn’t inspire me and get me rocking as it should.

Conclusion

The Tisbury CA-1 is a fine sounding little headphone amplifier that does have some limitations when presented with rock and more complex bass heavy music. Some will enjoy this some won’t.

For those looking for a relaxed but accurate presentation without bells and whistles then this is a very good choice for the money.

Jazz fans will love it and with female vocals it’s a lovely little unit with an audiophile sound that will surely appeal to a good number of people.

It drove all the headphones I used with it admirably and with good control over most of the frequency range and does have a slight valvey feel to it- think 300B midrange.

Overall the Tisbury is a unit that deserves to do well and given its price point I’m sure it will.

Stuart Smith
Build Quality – 8/10

Sound Quality – 8/10

Value For Money – 8.5/10

Overall – 8.17/10

Price at time of review – £349

Recommended for those looking for a smooth, audiophile sounding headphone amplifier that gets on with the job at a good price.

And now it’s over to our tame teenager in residence Harry to give his perspective on the Tisbuy CA-1

Tisbury Audio is a relatively new company that only makes 2 products at the moment (the CA-1 and a passive preamplifier).
I was given the Headphone Amp, the Challenge Amp 1 to review that retails for just under £350. For my review I used it with a Schiit Modi DAC and various pairs of headphones.

The amp looks great and stands out from the crowd with its bold design.
The brushed metal chassis is enclosed with wood which gives it a “retro” look. It is very tactile with the contrasting use of materials. It’s also not too “in your face” and can sit proudly on any desk or Hi-Fi rack.
Most importantly this amp is handmade in the UK. It’s great to see that Made in England stamp on a relatively low priced product.

The layout is very simple: one knob to increase or decrease the volume, a switch to change between high and low gain and an ON/OFF switch on the back. Couldn’t be more simple!
Not only is the design fantastic, the build quality is also exceptional. It feels solid but also surprisingly lightweight (thanks to the external power supply.) To be fair this is the level of build quality that I expect from a Made in England product, though sadly this is not always the case.

To test the sound I tried to listen to as many music genres as I could (dance music, folk, rock, jazz, dubstep, and hip hop.) Obviously avoiding classical music (which I can’t listen to for more than 2 minutes…)

This amp is very “true to the music” and can easily show the flaws in a cheaper pair of headphones. Thankfully Tisbury offer a 30 day free trial so you have the time to find what sounds best with it before you actually buy it.

I personally thought it sounded best with my own pair of NAD viso hp50s which I also feel are very “true to the music”.

The sound is tailored towards strong female vocals and punchy guitar riffs. It also brought dance music beats to life.

However I thought the track that sounded the best with the CA-1 was ‘Loose yourself to dance’ by Daft punk, the signature Nile Rodgers guitar rhythm has never sounded so good. I could actually pinpoint where all the instruments were in my head which is very impressive.
The sound stage is very wide and provides plenty of bass. The mid and the top end are very bright and colourful. It brings a lot of life to the music and is versatile enough to be enjoyed by lovers of all kinds of music.

I didn’t experience any background noise and no irritating buzz that you can find with a lot of amps. There is no “pop!” when turning the amp on and off that I have found with other amps, both of which are great plus points in my view.
All round the looks and sound combine to an almost perfect headphone amp for the price (£349 is a lot of money but considering the quality that you are getting it is valid).

A definite recommendation for anyone wanting to enter the Head-Fi world, on a smaller budget.

Harry Smith

Sound- 9/10

Value- 8/10

Build quality- 10/10

Overall- 9/10

« Headphone Month » at Hifi Pig  continues with Janine Elliot’s review of the German AudioValve Verto and RKV Mk 3 headphone amplifiers costing £690 and £3262 respectively.

I was rather surprised when the Verto squeezed through the front door, particularly as this product itself is only the size of a very large wallwart power supply. Luckily, my surprise turned to excitement when I dived down to the bottom of the massive box between the foam to find the RKV Mk3, a heavy eight-valve headphone amplifier behemoth accompanying this unit. During my few weeks with these products I had many more surprises, lots of excitement, and a lot of questions to ask.

The Verto is a small black 110 x 105 x 165mm box with two Neutrik 6.3mm & XLR Combi sockets for XLR or dynamic and planar headphones, a three position silver knob to select the correct impedance, and a permanent short lead ending in a 6.3mm jack which is then connected to one of the two headphone sockets of the RKV (or to the headphone socket of your integrated amp). That is all quite normal. As well as a pair of loudspeaker connections what is slightly unusual is the Teflon 6-pin socket to power 300V and 580v 6 pin and 5 pin Stax electrostatic ear speakers. As a passive unit, and costing a reasonable £690, this unit uses transformers in step up mode with an array of capacitors to store up enough power to drive the electrostatics. Because the input wattage is very low (around 400mW) this can take several minutes. This technique is nothing new. Passive energisers like the Verto have been around before. Indeed, I remember with affection the late 1970’s PWB electrostatic headphones that took their power from the speaker terminals of your power amplifier. That was Peter Belt at his very best, before he and his wife got into somewhat questionable audio tweaks like sound-changing furniture polish and silver paper.

The Verto was originally designed for the RKV mark 1 and 2. Those two models only have the unique OTL output (Output Transformerless), a bit like my old EarMax headphones, so the switch for 8 and 32 ohm headphones on the Verto was quite useful. The RKV iii has provision for a wide range of low impedance cans as well, which therefore means a bit of duplication of features if both are used together. Since the Verto can be switched to 8 ohm you can connect loudspeakers to those speaker terminals, though with the Mark 3 RKV, with its own speaker outputs, there was no point in using this facility.

Whilst the VKR was a beautiful looking product the Verto was in comparison a Friday afternoon job, being made of two halves joined together, and those joins were easily evident and spoilt my first impression of product build (see photo). The first two clicks on the silver knob on the front select 8 and 32 ohm impedance for the conventional headphones with the third position, OTL, for a Stax ear speaker. Unfortunately my Verto wasn’t going play music for me. The 6.3mm jacks only worked on the left leg and whilst I sat waiting endlessly for the LED on the front of the box to light up to tell me there was enough voltage to work the Stax, it was never going to shine. It reminded me of university days looking endlessly at my knickers revolving at 200mph in the campus washing machines. I really needed to connect a DAC with enough oomph to get this thing playing games, I mean music. I then connected the speaker jacks in reverse mode to my 250W Krell leviathan to see if that would drive the Stax but after 10 minutes there was no light and all I got was a very low level and no bass. Selecting conventional headphones did give me both legs working this time, but there was some hum, suggesting earthing damage on its trip across the English Channel. My role was as a reviewer, and not as fault finder, so I continued my review looking at the RKV mk3 as a conventional headphone amplifier. Such a shame, as I know this unit can sound so good.

AudioValve, not to be confused with Valve Audio, is a small German brand who has been making some quite iconic and mid-priced valve based audio since 1982. Like many an audio CEO, boss Helmut Becker was a musician, himself a guitarist and music enthusiast who began building amplifiers 40 years ago when he was 15. Indeed, his father was the owner of a small electronics business, and even as a 12 year old, Becker would often be seen tinkering with tube televisions in his father’s shop; taking them apart and getting to grips with the way they worked. Interestingly, his career has not just been devoted to audio, as it has also included numerous medical patents, including to fundamentally revolutionising analysis techniques for the detection of blood coagulation times.

Taking my first look at the RKV mark 3 was certain to increase my own blood pressure. The model in this test was the third incarnation of the RKV, the original dating back to 1982. Just like the predecessors this larger 10kg 400 x 340 x 150mm monster was a sea of blackened steel and plastic (also available in silver or limited ivory editions), with large front and top Plexiglass windows that proudly revealed everything inside. You could sense the importance of showing the machinery that made it all ‘work’, and in this case included 8 valves towering from a bright red PCB, the terrain for a city of individually soldered components. It looked magnificent and needed to be seen! The components were all top class with a Pikatron transformer, OPA134 op amps, and a fully automatic biasing servo controller circuitry, which he has in all his amplifiers to regulate the valves. And the valves themselves, number PCL805, he designed himself. The previous incarnation had four of them.

Having listened to and owned a sizeable collection of headphone amplifiers, the £3262 RKV is one of the most expensive. The instruction manual was very detailed, though the German to English translation was amusing in places; particularly the way it went from highly proficient and poetic nuances to phrases usually seen in the Chinese to English translations of cheap Amazon purchases. Apparently “the care tensions are won from a strong, free of litter, Torodial-transfomator”. Whether you are a big or small company the instruction manual is a core part of the package, and as such, detail should go into this vital component.

The top acrylic plate is machined with an array of ventilation slots for the tubes. The rest of the chassis is crafted from laser-milled stainless steel, rather than aluminium, as Becker says it ‘sounds’ better. The large red PCB and components are of the highest quality and hand soldered liberally and sensibly, and with affection.

On the front panel there are two combi headphone sockets, just as on the Verto, and below these is the Mode switch. This switch selects either high-impedance headphones (> 100 Ohms), or in the second position allows you to select from five low impedance (8, 16, 32, 64, 128 ohm) settings in the next knob. Why a single 6-position knob wasn’t used, I didn’t get a chance to ask.

With the last of the three rotary switches, you could select the source you want to listen to. The manual suggests that there were 45 RCA inputs at your disposal, but my limited algebraic knowledge brought that figure down to 5, or maybe 7. Let me explain; there are 5 RCA sockets (the fifth being a very simple, but useable “old school design” MM phono-stage input), and inputs 1 and 2 were paralleled with two XLR balanced inputs. There is a pair of speaker terminals, should you wish to drive the respectable 5.8W output into efficient drivers, though for my 4 ohm B&W 804s the output level was insufficient to drive them. Indeed, the sound quality was nothing to write home about. Completing the socketry is a pair of male XLR sockets to connect to a power amplifier. This piece of equipment was festooned with possibilities, and could easily be placed at the centre of a respectable hi-fi set up. Perhaps Mr Becker was trying to do too much in the reasonably priced £3262 presentation.

So to the tests. I wanted to ensure that, despite the imposition of Verto testing, this product was given an opportunity to shine. Not only did I listen to CD and vinyl sources, but I also included mp3 and FLAC.

One of the drawbacks of listening on headphones is that because of the closeness of the source to our ears we only hear an exaggerated sound stage, because none of what is in the left gets to the right, and vice versa, unlike with our ears when we are listening to live sources or loudspeakers. Angled ear speakers, such as Stax Lambda electrostatics, go part the way into making the experience less stressful, but this AudioValve unit has the provision to allow some of each channel’s information to reach the other channel, and which can narrow the soundstage, making it more realistic and, in their words, “less mental stress”. However, unlike those wonderful ambisonic recordings I listened to back in the 1970’s, there is no time delay, as there would be in reality. Indeed, it caused me a bit of mental stress trying to work out where exactly this facility was on the AudioValve. Again, an unclear instruction manual.

Now, you might be starting to think that all I do is criticise. I’d like to think that actually I just make sensible observations, and, once I started to listen to the sound, I wasn’t that bothered about my qualms anymore. Once I was constrained between the earpads of my Sennheiser’s, Audio-Technica’s and Grado’s, all I wanted to do was experience more and more of my vast archive of music. I found that with impedance adjustment my Audio-Technica’s sounded better than I had managed on any other headphone amp, though the Sennheiser HD650 was a bit too bass heavy. I listened to my Holst Planet Suite, Karajan (Decca 417 709-2), just as I had with the £190 Graham Slee Voyager test. There was much more weight in this offering, and the sound was more forward. It was more far more authoritive, largely due to the larger available output stage, and I had to be careful to set the impedance correctly and not turn the volume up too much. I felt at times the enormous powerhouse led to a little confusion in some of the music, compared to other amplifiers, and especially electrostatics. For that reason I then turned to a composer 8 hours away across the pond and a work composed 15 years later, Ferde Grofe and his Grand Canyon Suite (Naxos 8.559007). Both are programmatic works; this one is about donkeys wandering across the Arizona desert. It is a powerfully creative drama, something I fell in love with at the age of 10, when my imagination could whisk me across the Atlantic in an instant. This CD would be a great example to test the depth and power of soundstage and separation of instruments, particularly with a varied collection of distant brass instruments, glockenspiel, celesta, coconuts, wind machine and thunder maker. The instruments all came to life; the woodwinds sounding like birds and the trumpets like crickets. This was as real as it could get. There was richness in all the harmony, and at times it could sound a tad carried away in this powerful recording. The third movement has a lovely solo violin part, which, particularly through HD650’s, seemed to wander from left to right depending on whether there were low or high notes. Maybe it was a windy day in Arizona. The intense instrumentation in the fifth movement during the storm scene was, for most of the time, only a storm in a tea cup for this player.

I then turned to an equally complex hotchpotch, Martyn Bennett’s Grit, though this ‘busy’ album was a handled a lot more panache than in many headphone amplifiers. Pat Metheny Group The Way Up was as sweet as treacle; perfectly executed, with warm but musically precise cymbals, and again everything is up front, a very full sound, but just so right. Tube hiss was virtually non-existent (100dB S/N ratio) and, with a bandwidth from 10 – 150,000Hz, no instrument would be spared. This was more than fun, and took listening on headphones to a completely new level. This was no side salad; this was thick stew and dumplings. It was able, as its creator suggested, to render unparalleled “harmonic richness”. This machine was no slouch. It had the energy of the Scottish Independence YES voters. This was more than just an acoustic statement, more than just a headphone amplifier, and it was beautiful, too. My only worry was that it was perhaps though trying too hard to be everything to everyone.

Janine Elliot
Sound quality 8.55/10

Value for money 8.4/10

Build and design quality (RKViii) 8.5/10

Total 8.5

Price RKV Mk III £3262

Verto £690

How we carry out reviews.
Read more Hifi Review.

French manufacturer Focal aren’t the fist name that comes to mind when you think about headphones but perhaps they should be given Harry and Linette’s opinion on their Spirit One S headphones costing just 179 EUR.

Beats killers

When most teens think of buying their first “quality” headphone, they often look at a brand that is quite infamous with most audiophiles, Beats by Dre.
So why do people buy Beats?
Well first of all they look good, there are plenty of colour choices and they have loads of BASS!!!!!
Apart from this however the build quality is poor and the sound suffers from the bass overload. You can barely hear the highs or mids.
But this isn’t a review of Beats so I’ll tell you why I’m talking about them …
Many Hi-fi companies have failed in trying to knock beats of its pedestal by bringing great sound and build quality to the “on the go” headphone market. But is that about to change?

Focal are a big French name in the Hi-Fi business and are world renowned for their speakers. The  Spirit One S is Focal’s big leap in to the head-fi world and an upgrade from the previous Spirit One Headphone. I briefly listened to the Spirit One at the High End Munich show earlier this year. Both headphones are designed for “On the go” usage.

Starting with build quality. The Spirit One S feels solid and their were no faults with the example that I was given. Focal have combined high quality plastic and brushed metal in the design that give it a great weight and feel. The cable provided is thick and doesn’t get tangled up in your pocket. You can also detach it completely from the headphone which helps for carrying it around your neck. There are also in-line controls to that can be used on most mobile devices for pausing the music, skipping tracks and answering calls. There is also a very nice hard carrying case that comes with them.

The Headphones are also very comfortable, there is plenty of foam padding on the ear cups and headband. They feel a bit tight at first but they adjust to your head size after around an hour. I had them around my neck or on my ears for most of the day and never felt any strain on my head or ears. I love the over-ear design that provides plenty of noise isolation from outside noises.
Personally, I think they look very stylish and stand out from most headphones. I think however that they could benefit from a better choice of colours.

When it comes to sound, the Spirit One S wipes the floor with any pair of beats. The bass is warm and there is plenty of it without loosing too much out on the highs and mids. The sound is very balanced maybe leaning in favour of the bass a little. The sound on the whole is dynamic and caters for most genres of music.
The stand out song with these headphones was ‘La La La’ by Naughty Boy. The heavy bass line really complimented the high notes of Sam Smith’s voice. A lot of headphones struggle wit this song as there is such a huge contrast between the bass of the instruments and the high pitch voice but the Spirit One S handled it perfectly.
They actually performed very well with more or less anything I could throw them. A great all rounder!

Harry Smith

Build quality – 8/10

Comfort – 9/10

Sound – 8/10

Value – 9/10

Total – 8.5/10

Price when tested: 179 euros

Focal have created a great headphone for use in home and out ad have designed something that (with the right marketing of course) could steal the Teen market from its competitors. A Beats killer indeed!

And now Linette takes a listen and gives her opinion.

Having been lucky enough to visit the Focal factory and offices in Ste Etienne, France earlier this    year, I know how much work goes into their R&D. They also ‘filter down’ the technology developed for the higher end products into the cheaper ones, so that you know when you see the Focal logo, you are getting a quality item.

That certainly goes for the Focal Spirit One S headphones. Properly packaged, they come with some nice accessories like a rigid carry case and a soft bag, along with a cable with a remote on it that will work with your ipod or phone….if you are that way inclined. There is also a full sized jack adapter and an adapter to use on aeroplanes.

The ‘phones themselves are very stylish looking in tones of dark grey, black and brushed aluminium with a pop of red inside the earcups.
They have a modern, slick look to them and I imagine they would draw admiring glances from the younger generation….there is good but discreet use of the Focal logos and branding.
They fit very comfortably on and around the ears, with a good grip so that you would feel safe walking or doing exercise whilst wearing them, but they are not so tight as to be uncomfortable. There is the sense of isolation from the outside world that I like to have with a set of headphones.
They are also very light for what feels a very solid and well made set of headphones at just 280g.
They adjust easily and feel ‘right’ on the head; overall I am very impressed with them straight out of the box. After wearing for quite a while, I can tell that I have them on…but they are not uncomfortable at all.

I want to kick off listening with something bassy, on goes car Cox’s ‘Phuture 2000’. Right from the start there is the big ‘whump’ of bass that I expect to hear from this album, but it sounds controlled and tight rather than woolly and though these come across as bass heavy there is still plenty of top and mid to prevent the bass from becoming too much. I’m getting all the little breakbeaty snaps and jumps in a nicely defined manner.
The soundstage is not as big and open as with some of the other headphones that we have reviewed, but it is pretty damn good, especially when you take into consideration that these cost around 179€.

Feeling ‘at one with da yoof’ I stick on Deadmau5 and ‘Albumtitlegoeshere’
This sounds great on the Focals, driving, bassy and energetic…particulary one of my favourite tracks ‘Professional Griefers’….a banger if ever I heard one.
Not just a wall of noise though, great detail too.

Before I try something a bit calmer I have to put on ‘Once again back’ by Hardfloor. It sounds tight and fast with plenty of growling sub bass…. Not quite as ‘out of the head’ as some of the headphones I have reviewed recently, but some of those were up to 10 times the price of the Focals.

I switch to ‘Beautiful Freak’ by Eels and the track ‘Susan’s house’ sounds excellent, guitars and vocals come across well. These are not just a set of ‘phones for fans of electronica, they sound great with more rocky music too as is further proven when listening to ‘Rags to Rags’ with its grungy guitars and vocals.

For the sake of comparison Gil Scott Herons ‘Lady Day and John Coltrane’ goes back on again. Once again it is obvious that the presentation is better with some of the other headphones I have listened to…however the difference is not as big as you would think from the difference in price, overall I am very, very impressed with how the Focal Spirit One S perform for the money.

The whole Beats by Dre phenomenon has opened up a new market for headphones, now, rather than just using a cheap pair of earbuds, loads of teens want ‘proper’ headphones…and Beats filled that marketplace.
Hopefully if we can get today’s teens using something much more well built and better sounding they will develop a much more educated ear and not just immediately go for that little ‘b’ logo……we need some good headphones to fill the gap in the market at a price that kids can aspire to.

With their Spirit range, Focal seem poised to do just that, perhaps a few more colours would be a good thing, but I think the more discerning will be more concerned about the build and sound quality of these headphones than whether they come in a rainbow of colours.

Not only for the kids though, these are affordable, comfortable, portable and stylish and have benefited from the Focal legacy of great design and sound….I reckon if you buy them for your teenager this Christmas you will and up pinching them back again!

Linette Smith

Sound – 8/10

Comfort – 7.75/10

Fit and finish – 8.75/10

Value – 9.5/10

Overall – 8.5/10

Great all-rounders, with a build quality that I would expect from much more expensive headphones, a lot of headphone for your money! Heartily recommended.

Review system: Ami MUSIK DDH – 1 DAC and Headphone amp, The Chord Company USB cable and laptop running Foobar 200.

Dan Worth continues « Headphone Month » at Hifi Pig with the a review of the Epiphany Acoustics EHP-02Di  Headphone Amplifier & USB DAC

So, a little while back now I got myself an Epiphany EHP-02 portable headphone amplifier. The unit was very handy being of a portable design with it’s built in rechargeable battery which lasted across many days of decent length listening sessions. I subsequently recommended the unit to a few friends who still cherish them to this day.

A month ago during the build up to this months Headfi Special at Hifi Pig, Epiphany contacted us to let us know about their latest model of headphone amplifier with built in Dac the EHP-02Di. So naturally after enjoying the standalone portable amp I was happy to have a look at the 02Di.

Epiphany Acoustics have not just had a eureka moment deciding to add a DAC to their already award winning headamp, they have in fact as many will be aware already have a DAC/amp in the product line up namely the EPH-02D. User feedback to Epiphany was extremely positive in the performance stakes but many people found as I did with the portable device that having the power input jack socket on the front of the unit was an eyesore and also a little uneasy in use, most of us have our power sockets trailing off of the rear of a unit or desk.

Epiphany has addressed this issue by moving the socket to the rear now. Another user friendly want/upgrade to the existing 02D is a pair of stereo phono jacks on the rear. What’s clever about these sockets is they act as an input for an analogue signal to the headphone amplifier or when the USB DAC is utilised from a computer (which is plug n play and doesn’t require drivers) automatically switches to an output to any normal system as a usable standalone DAC with integrated headphone amplifier. The two devices can be used simultaneously.

Power to the DAC is via the USB host computer and filtered on board. The data is controlled by the on-board crystal oscillator to improve performance.
The DAC is based on the TE7022L UAC1 engine and ES9023 24 bit DAC chip. It supports 16 bit and 24 bit at sample rates of 44.1kHz, 48kHz and 96kHz.

The Setup and Sound

After leaving the EHP-02Di on 24 hours a day for week through my AKG K702’s fed via USB from the DAC to ensure good burn in time as I was fairly busy so wanted to make sure it had some good hours on it I was ready to rock and roll.

As well as having the AKG’s running from the dac/amp I also made use of the analogue outputs running a set of Harman Karson Sounsticks which sat on the desk. This would give me an idea of the DAC’s performance against the analogue connection straight from the Mac to the Soundsticks.

As a Headphone Amp

First impressions were very nice top end detail, vibrant mids and a good bouncy bass when listening to Spotify’s Top 100 list which consists very extensively of the world top pop music. A good mixture of dance, rock and vocal work adorned the list and was a great way to see how the EHP-02Di would fair without being overly specific.

Vocals were extremely pleasing sitting a little bit forward of flat, allowing them to be projected and vibrant in nature. The top end is very neatly handled, remaining controlled with wailing females and intricate when listening to synthesised dance music. The treble doesn’t slope severely, cutting off high frequency extremes, they do seem to keep going on and on. As far as bass is concerned I would say its a bit bouncy, a little tight and fast. The lower end could be said to have a more neutral tonality, it’s not dry or weighty nor is it coloured. The cleanliness in this area depicts details well and those of you out there who are not bass heads will appreciate the extra detail here.

Flicking over from Spotify to Amarra increased performance and rendition of a higher quality bit depth and better recording.

The EHP-02Di shows better delicacies in the mix when fed with quality recordings, midband presentation is a little more fluid with better undertones. Top end is a tiny bit more refined and bass remains clean and explicit.

Singling out the DAC

I use the Harman Kardons very often when sat at the desk, whether it’s to use them for music, tV or Film. They are normally plugged into the headphone output of the Mac Mini. The wonderfully versatile feature of added RCA’s on the 02Di allowed for me – the user to be able to have the Soundsticks always plugged in to what was originally just a headphone amp/dac in the first incarnation of the product the EHP-02D.

Improvements were decisively apparent and immediately noticeable. The Mac itself is fairly modded, has the fan removed, runs three linear power supplies, is solid state and has OS tweaks. These improvements made a difference at the time to the Soundsticks (and the main system) but utilising the dac from the Epiphany was a larger step up in performance.

I’ve had many high end active and passive speakers in the alcove where the desk is but the Soundsticks are of a size that just compliments the space so well. The EHP-02Di didn’t change the presentation totally, it does seem to be extremely neutral, what it does offer tho is a far better detail retrieval, a stronger presence of bass characterisation and a vocal which stands out and doesn’t get so lost in the mix.

The headphone amplifier itself can be as mentioned ran from the RCA sockets on the rear. Using the device in this manner is just like using the standalone portable EHP-02 which Hifi Pig has already reviewed if you wish to check it out.

Conclusion

With a compact and attractive design the Epiphany Acoustics EHP-02Di is a terrific desktop unit which can be implemented as the main hub for a computer. Whether it’s music, games or films through a set of powered speakers or a set of headphones for the same for more intimate listening the EHP-02Di won’t fail to impress.

Dan Worth

Build Quality – 7.5/10
Sound Quality – 8/10
Value For Money – 8.5/10
Overall – 8/10

Price at time of review – £179.99

Recommended for – it’s ability to run headphones and speakers simultaneously and having a terrific sound to pound performance which is neutral, detailed and involving.

Tame teen Harry Smith and somewhat more elderly Stuart take a listen to the Lehmann Audio Traveller Headphone Amplifier as part of Hifi PIg’s « Headphone Month »

Let’s say you have bought yourself a new music player and a nice pair of headphones for on the go but you feel there is something… missing. Most people overlook the need for an amp on the go as most are impractical and oversized. With the Lehmann Audio Traveller, the size and practicality are a huge improvement from other “portable” amps. The Traveller can also be used as a preamp for speakers but I just tried it with a media player and a range of earphones and headphones.

The build quality is great and there are only 2 screws showing on the back. It feels solid and I love the brushed metal chassis that obviously helps with cooling. The front is made out of black soft touch plastic. It’s a nice contrast from the cold metal (the metal did get warm after a few hours of use but it never got hot) The amp has 2 inputs and 2 outputs though 3,5mm headphone jack.
In the box, you also get a very nice cable to connect to your media player.

Battery life is not a problem with the Traveller and it will last around 20 hours of audio playback.
The Traveller uses lithium ion batteries (the same that you would find in your smart-phone) and it will probably outlive your phone on battery life. If you do run out of battery you can use the micro USB port to charge it.

When you use it for the first time you can hear an instant difference with all headphones.
It performed very well even with power hungry headphones. I think it performed best with my own pair of NAD Viso hp 50s. The bass was deep and responsive. The mids had a great richness and the highs where bright and crisp. The whole sound stage was improved thanks to the Traveller.

This amp can also help you hide the fact that you are using a cheap music player. I put a £100+ music player against a HTC Desire phone, playing the same audio file and playing though the amp. I couldn’t hear any noticeable difference … However when I removed the Traveller from the equation the smart-phone fell far behind the sound quality of the music player.

The stand out track using the Traveller was “Can’t stop” by the Red hot chilly peppers. The iconic guitar rhythm of this song sounded much less monotone than without Traveller. The bass line was not overpowered either. I could hear every instrument. Just as the artist intended.
It performed best with rock songs but that is not to say that it did not perform admirably with most other genres of music.
With very bass heavy tracks it can fall behind what I am used to but I do love a lot of bass and I don’t think this will bother most audiophiles.

So is the Lehmann Audio Traveller worth the £400 price tag? If you are looking to upgrade your headphone set up and also want an amp so versatile it is a good price. A bit on the expensive side for a teen though. Despite this the Lehmann Traveller amplifier is a must buy for your portable Hi-Fi as it brings the expensive sound of a full size Hi-Fi to you on the go.

Harry Smith

Sound quality-8/10

Build quality-9/10

Value for money-7/10

Overall-8/10

Price when tested-£400

And now the decidedly not a teen Stuart will take a listen….

As the name suggests the Lehmann Audio Traveller is a headphone amplifier intended for use whilst out and about. I first came across this amp in its prototype version at the 2013 Munich High-End show where details were scant, but interest from the public and competitors to Lehmann High. Now available the Traveller costs £400 and available widely.

I like the idea of great quality audio on the go and always have my little player with me when away on business, but despite the decent output of the player I often feel I’m missing out a little – enter the portable headphone amplifier.

In the box you’ve got the diminutive (80mm x 90mm x 25mm and 196g) but very nicely finished Traveller itself, a very well written operating manual, a USB cable for connecting to the computer and charging the Traveller and a short, well made minijack to minijack cable to connect your player to the box. The Traveller feels sturdy and decidedly solid and purposeful.

Around the back you’ve got an input for the USB cable, a mini jack input and a mini jack output. Up front you’ve got another minijack input and output, a trio of LEDs which indicate the status of the amp/battery and a pair of little buttons to turn the volume up and down and control other functions such as balance which I thought was a nice and thoughtful touch.
The inclusion of inputs and outputs on both the front and back is a nifty little touch and one that shows that there’s a good deal of thought gone into the Traveller. This feature means you can use whichever is the most convenient or use the amp to power two pairs of headphones from one portable player which is another useful touch . For those using active speakers you can put the Traveller between your source and the speakers and it will work as a preamplifier.

Using the Traveller is pretty intuitive and the controls are responsive.The Traveller has a battery run time of a claimed 20 hours (volume dependent) and charges from empty in six hours. Another clever little feature is that the volume will return to its last setting when tuned off and on again, with the caveat that there must be charge in the battery.

The Sound

I listened to the Traveller using a wide range of headphones we have in for review, both in-ears and conventional headphones, and it drove every pair I threw at it to volumes suitable for those with a deaf wish. Most of the review process was done using the Audeze LCD XC cans.

Immediately on plugging the little headphone amp in there is a perceived improvement in the sound than with the standalone player; Bass has a more authoratitive punch with basslines seeming much easier to follow. There is a clearer definition between individual instruments in the mix, with an apparent increase in the amount of detail present. Clearly the amplifier can only amplify the signal with which it is fed, but you do get the feeling that there is more going on in the mix with the Traveller inline.

This is a very good start and I found myself flicking through loads of tracks and many different genres. Hawkwind’s Astounding Sounds has the mix split into its component pieces with everything being easy to pick out and identify. This is a complex record in parts that can sound very busy and sometimes comes across as a blurred jumble, but the Traveller seems to improve separation of instruments. This effect is apparent most in the interplay between bass guitar and drums giving the music drive and rhythm.

Comeme’s compilation album Gasoline is a hard hitting, electronic album which needs to be driven to get the very best from it and with the Traveller inline you certainly get that feeling that you are listening as it should be heard. Again, there’s that driving percussiveness, but listen more closely and the Traveller seems to be allowing you to delve deeper into the mix with little details you didn’t notice before coming to the fore.

Reading what I’ve just written back to myself you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Traveller just emphasises the bass frequencies, but that’s certainly not the case with all the little nuances on the hats on Nebel Dance from the same compilation coming through really well. On female vocals the Traveller just seems to give you more of an insight into the singers particular inflections and tone.

At this point I thought I’d try out the Traveller using the headphone out on the laptop and again I was rewarded with a big improvement in perceived drive and quality of the sound and I think this will be of interest to many business travellers who don’t particularly want to invest in a potentially expensive media player but always have their laptop to hand. I’d be quite happy with this arrangement and would be happy to leave the DAP at home.

Conclusion

The Traveller is impressively well built and solid feeling with a good set of features that should appeal to both headphone aficionados on the go and for less dedicated listeners who none the less want a great sound whilst away from their main source of music. One of the features I particularly loved was the ability to attach two pairs of cans at once and also the unit returning to the last volume you had it set at after turning it off and on again. Its compact size and flexible inputs/outputs make it a perfectly portable and usable product.

Sound-wise the Traveller performs very well and is a clear step up from some of the less expensive portable headphone amps I’ve tried, with an ability to give the perception of there being much more going on in the music. The Traveller’s strong points are the drive it gives to music and the detail of a recording it manages to bring out.

Stuart Smith

Sound Quality – 8.8/10

Value for Money – 8/10

Build Quality – 9/10

Overall – 8.6/10

You can win this great little headphone amp and other goodies…stay tuned.

I like Schiit’s attitude to their products and confess to using their entry level (£90 per box) Modi USB DAC and Magni headphone amp when listening none critically on my normal work desktop system. They’re made in the USA, well made, attractive and offer very good value for money to my mind, and despite their name they have a solid history in the audio world – Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat designed numerous well known products for Sumo before branching out on their own to launch Schiit. The entry level kit comes with a two year warranty, but the more expensive kit, like we’re looking at heer, comes with an impressive five year warranty. I also like their marketing spiel “Because you’re an audiophile does not have to mean “born with a stick up your ass””.

Here we have on test the Lyr 2 headphone amplifier and the Bifrost (with full blown USB 2 receiver) DAC which retail in the UK for £340 and £395. Both the units are substantially bigger than their entry level siblings, but still a good deal smaller than conventional hi-fi boxes and suitable for use on a desktop – they each measure 9 x 6 x 3.25 inches. All the bits and bobs in the boxes are surface mounted with the aim here being to keep prices down to affordable levels. The units are finished in brushed aluminium and look really rather nice I think.

Lyr 2

Lyr 2 is a high powered headphone amp offering up 6W into 32 ohms to 330mW into 600 making it suitable for just about any headphone you’d care to throw at it. In the box you get the attractive and distinctive Lyr 2 itself, a power cable, some little stick on feet and a pair of 6B7Zvalves – the Lyr 2 can use any 6Dj8, 6922, ECC88, 6N23P and 6Bz7 tubes so that tube rollers can play to their hearts content, though I decided to stick with the stock Russian tubes in the box. The Lyr 2 uses a “Dynamically Adaptive Output Stage” which the company says is a “current sensing adaptive output technology which allows the amplifier to dynamically adjust to the headphone load. The Primary benefits are essentially single-ended Class A output for high-impedence headphones, moving seamlessly to push-pull Class A and finally into Class AB as current needs increase”.

Set up is a simple case of inserting the valves, plugging in the IEC, turning the amp on and then connecting to a suitable source via the input RCAs. Also around the back is a pair of RCA outlets (turned off when you plug in headphones) allowing you to connect to a power amplifier of your choice. You also get a gain setting switch for efficient or less efficient headphones and an on/off toggle switch. Move round the front and you have an LED to let you know the unit is powered up, a volume pot, a quarter inch headphone jack… and that’s your lot.

The Lyr 2 has a few “upgrades” over its predecessor including a regulated 180V power supply for the valve stage, separate regulated power supplies for the current sources and DC Servo and regulated supplies for the DC heaters.

Bifrost

The USB input on this Bifrost uses C-Media CM6631 USB receiver interface and asynchronous data transfer of up to 24/192, but you also get the option to input via coaxial or optical. The D/A chip is an AKM4399 and rather than upsampling the Bifrost keeps samples at their original rate using adaptive master clock management system.

Round the back of the Bifrost you have the IEC power in, a power switch toggle, inputs for USB, Optical and SPDIF coaxial and a pair of RCA outputs to connect to your preamplifier. On the front you’ve got a button to cycle through the input selections and three LEDs to let you know what input you have selected.

Set up is a simple affair of downloading the Windows drivers, plugging in your input cables and connecting to your preamp/amp. J Player recognised the drivers and the Bifrost itself immediately and the whole set up procedure took no more than three or four minutes.

I’m moving over to a computer based system and so most of the listening will be done using the USB input using JRiver as the player, with some listening using the coaxial output from a pioneer DVD. Headphones used will be Audeze LCD –XC and when using the Lyr 2 as a preamplifier it will be fed into a TQ Iridium power amplifier.

Lyr 2 and Bifrost Paired Using Headphones

The first album off the virtual shelf was the excellent 2 Future 4 U by Amand Van Helden, a slab of funky beats and deep bass which comes across here as nicely timed with snappy beats and a coherency across the frequency ranges that was really rather pleasing. There’s punch to the sound but with no frequency range really dominating. I’ve been testing headphones and headphone amps out a lot over the last couple of months and it’s to the pairing’s credit that I didn’t really miss the reference VAD DAC and my reference headphone amplifier on this type of music. Switching to the Tresor 109 compilation it’s really hard to fault what the pairing is doing for just over £700. There’s good separation of instruments in the mix, which is thrown wide and is stable. The combination give a slightly more analogue feel to the sound than I’ve encountered with some headphone/DAC combos. The slight softening of the sound will appeal to a good few and make the transition from an analogue front end to an all digital set up much more acceptable. This is not to suggest that the sound here is mushy or compromised, it’s not, it’s just not got that slight harshness at the frequency extremes that you can sometimes get with some DACs.

On Fleetwood Mac’s Songbird track there is a good sense of the recording space with the natural reverb on the piano being large and natural sounding, another area that can leave some cheaper DACs found wanting. In this area the Bifrost/Lyr 2 combo really do rather well when compared to the reference DAC and headphone amp, though there is a feeling of there being more spatial information being apparent with the, it has to be said, much more expensive references. This is evident also on Gil Shaham’s 1930’s Violin Concertos where it’s pretty easy to get a good sense of the orchestra in front of you and the recording space, but not as deep an insight as I’m used to. Could I live with it…well I suppose it’s like anything isn’t it, if you’ve heard something you consider to be the best then it’s hard to move down the listening ladder, but for those with 700 quid to splash, then I reckon you’d be hard pushed to beat this duo when used with headphones.

On female vocals such as Kathryn William’s Crown Electric and Mary Black’s Best Of albums there’s a silky smooth quality that is really addictive. Again there’s a feeling of a slight softening, or warming to the sound in the mid frequencies that I really enjoyed with this kind of music. The combo will be popular with those that listen to the stereotypical audiophile recordings that prevail at shows, but that’s not to say that the Shiit coupling can’t rock out as proved on Pixie’s Doolittle where there’s enough power and oomph to satisfy, with that non-analytical feel to the sound that actually makes the combo really easy to listen to for long periods of time.

Lyr 2 in the Main Rig

Popping the Lyr 2 into the main system and using it as a preamplifier was a pleasant if not overwhelming experience, but then the pre it was replacing is the Coffman G1-A costing several thousands of dollars.

The soundstage is good, wide and deep with an ever so slight feeling that things are being slightly exaggerated. Instruments remain nice and stable and you get a good idea of where they are seated in the mix.

This is an easy to listen to preamplifier with the slight warming effect I noted previously and it has to be said that it performs very well for the money Schiit are asking you to pay. There’s reasonable amounts of detail coming through when compared to the reference and there’s good tonality…erring on the side of smoothness. In reality there’s little really to criticise, but the Lyr 2 is a little out of its depth here, leaving me with a feeling that I’m not connecting with the music in the same way I would normally with the main pre in place. Sadly I don’t have an entry level power amplifier in the house at the moment and so couldn’t test the Lyr 2 in a setting it may be reasonably used in, but given its performance so far I’d say it would be a very decent choice for the money.

Plug in the headphones and the output to the main amp is cut. There’s a sense that you are getting a reasonable deal of the VAD DAC’s character, with the Lyr doing that slight softening thing again, particularly in the mid-band. However, when compared to the Beyerdynamic A20 headphone amplifier costing around £400 and in the same system it performs well, with the Schiit perhaps being more to my taste when listening to cans.
The Lyr drove all the cans I threw at it to loud volumes and with the Audeze headphones plugged in I found that going anywhere past 9 o clock was too loud. I note here that the Lyr 2 does get very hot indeed and so this needs to be a consideration when placing it on your rack.

Bifrost in the Main Rig

Again this is a bit of an unfair ask given the pricepoint of the Schiit DAC, but all in all it performed very well indeed. On Madonna’s MDNA album there’s a terrific drive to the sound, particularly in the lower frequencies and the play between drum tracks and basslines. There’s a real feeling of pace and overall a big sound that is sure to bring a smile to your face.

On more laidback tracks such as The Rolling Stone’s Lady Jane, there’s a warmness of the sound overall, particularly mids, but the plucked strings still manage to sound fast, precise and sparkly. Actually there’s an addictiveness to this little DAC that belies its asking price. No, it doesn’t have the overall finesse and poise of our reference, but it certainly does a very admirable job of connecting you with the music.

I’ve mentioned warmness quite a bit in the review of these two products, but I’d suggest that the Lyr 2 is responsible for the majority of this. The DAC is pretty well defined with a relatively transparent sound. Soundstaging is pleasing and at the top end of the frequency scale hats sparkle nicely with good decay, whilst at the lower end of things there’s good weight and punch. Mids are an area that I’d say are a little on the warmer side of neutral, but as a whole this warmness in this frequency band brings an ease to the listening experience that I really enjoyed. There is good layering and separation of instruments in the mix

Conclusion

The Schitt kit reviewed here offers great value for money and at the price point they offer a very high level of sound that most will fail to achieve. They are certainly a step up from many of the products I’ve heard at a similar price.
As a pairing when used as a desktop system for listening via headphones they are really very good indeed and despite being quite big for a workspace, they do look attractive and sound great.
As separate entities and for use in a main system, I have no qualms in heartily recommending each of the Schiit products reviewed here and they do punch well above their weight, but I would suggest that they are both best suited to ancillary equipment that is of a more relevant performance point.

Stuart Smith
Lyr 2
Build Quality – 8.5/10
Sound Quality – 8.25/10
Value For Money – 8.75/10
Overall – 8.5/10
Price at time of review – £340

Bifrost
Build Quality – 8.5/10
Sound Quality – 8.65/10
Value For Money – 8.9/10
Overall – 8.68/10
Price at time of review – £395
Both these products are recommended as offering no-nonsense solutions that offer good sound for a very reasonable asking price.

The Bifrost will now go though for second review with Janine Elliot and the chance to gain an Outstanding Product Award.

Having done some PR/advisory work with Tacima mains cables/conditioners, and suggested the name sounded a bit, well, ‘Tacky’, they then changed the name to Kauden, which sounded like something you find in a cow shed. So after I got over laughing at the different paraphrases associated with Schiit Audio (there is also a British speaker company called Dyer Audio, the list just goes on!) I just got on with reviewing this DAC, and also putting it alongside the totally different Slee DAC reviewed last month. Actually, whilst the other names were unfortunate, Schiit audio was named that way quite simply to get attention. And no, the company is not German, but designed and built in America, founded by two audiophiles, Jason Stoddard (ex Sumo) and Mike Moffat (ex Theta) and not sold at extortionate Class A prices, like most American built obesities. This is a healthy size 6 yet still with the oomph and energy associated with more expensive products from across the pond. As they say on their website, they are dead serious about audio, and boy is this more than its reserved dimensions would suggest.

The Schiit Bifrost is a 24/192 SPDIF and Toslink DAC with option for 24/192 capable USB input with the USB Gen 2 upgrade and improved electronics in the Uber Bi Frost add-on, all for a total of £410 (up a tad from the time of Stuart’s review). It was this complete version that I review here. Unlike the Slee Majestic DAC I reviewed recently, with only 24bit/48kHz USB input and balanced output and the benefit of its own volume control, the much cheaper Schiit has RCA line outputs for connection to an integrated amp or pre-amp. Connected to my Passive MFA Baby Reference ensured there were no added sound-prints on the way to the speakers, and through my obese Krell monolith and Townshend SuperTweeter and Torus subsonic generator would ensure all frequencies would get to my speakers unadulterated and with all the energy they deserve.  Unlike the Slee, the Schiit is future proof, with separate upgradeable USB input and DAC/analog cards, and as stated above comes in a variety of versions with or without USB. Ok so far.

Schiit pricing is amazingly good, starting with their $99 Modi 2 USB DAC, cheaper than the £99 Cambridge Audio USB equivalent, though not so petite. Indeed, their ethos of pricing to meet the mass market is something new and welcome in the rapidly changing market place. The design is equally simplistic in its use of a single switch toggling between the three sources indicated with white LEDs and with a simple RCA output. There are cheaper and more exciting looking units out there, but the finish is by no means cheap in appearance. What is welcoming, and something I expect to see in all high-grade HiFi, is that the components are full discrete designs (whether you choose standard or Uber versions), and assembled in such a way that they can be manufactured at a price point to compete with cheap Chinese built products. With the Uber analogue stage you get the more advanced Gungnir DAC and a DC servo which eliminates the need for capacitors in the signal path. This all has an effect on the sound I heard. There were no crinkly top frequencies; rather they were as crisp as the Roast Duck I cooked over Christmas. All frequencies had a clarity and power that I would expect in higher price kit. Connected to my S/PDIF CD player output, Pictures at an Exhibition ‘The Hut of Baba-Yaga’ (Minnesota orchestra) had clear definition between each instrument with respect to position and a clear ‘space’ between the instruments, and music was calm and in control, unlike many DACs and CD players I have put this through. Wynton Marsalis ‘New Orleans Bump’ had a very clear musical spread, My Krell KPS20i was in another league in terms of detail and musicality, but the Schiit put on a very good show.  Spring can Really Hang You Up the Most (Rickie Lee Jones) bass was more forward than through my CD player though lacked the deepest frequencies that the Krell CD gives with such authority. The snare in ‘Walking to the Moon’ (The Yuri Honing Trio) wasn’t so clearly defined, in terms of natural sound decay, but not so exciting and ‘life-like’ as I would like it. Putting away my aged CD player and joining the 21^st Century, using Foobar2000 I played 24bit/192kHz digital files from my growing collection. The bass had bite, cymbals had clout and metal rock didn’t sound like aluminium. This was a surprisingly powerful piece of kit, not over the top but ‘tight’ and with authority, and most importantly, musicality.  All instruments had a clearly defined soundstage in ‘Secret Love’, as did complicated orchestration of percussion and piano in ‘The Man Who Sold the World’, both from Claire Martin(Linn)  all from Linn’s kind 24bits of Christmas present to all 24/192 fans this December (well worth a download). This worked clearer than many DACs I have tried over the last few years; which often sounded fuzzy or ‘digital’ with unclear soundstage. However, once I got into mid frequencies the clarity, composure and delicacy of sound wasn’t quite as good as the best out there. For example in the brilliant Requiem in D from Mozart K626 (Linn) was surprisingly less clear in the violins than it was through the 24/48kHz Slee Majestic, as was the slow Elgar Enigma Variation No 9.  (Lawrence Foster.Houston Symphony Orchestra).  This DAC was better at playing more exciting and easy-to-differentiate sounds, than those that perhaps require a more musical musician’s ear. Maybe more technical specification doesn’t necessarily mean more musicality, and something maybe needing a very slight tweak in the analogue section.  However, I do not want to sound like I am at all putting down this machine. In terms of detail and crispness of sound per pound (or dollar), this is a stonker of a machine.  I could hear compression and limiting in some of the tracks I played, which I didn’t hear in other similarly priced DACs, but I believe this was more of the recording getting to my speakers rather than any fault in the equipment. Nothing was getting passed this machine un-noticed. With no sample-rate conversion, all data is processed at its native rate, which is something I am always in favour of. Unlike the Slee, the muting circuitry came alive every time a track was followed by another one at a different resolution, preventing those horrible clicks through my speakers. This would play all sources I put at it, though I never got to try 24/192kHz through the Toslink, which was never designed for anything greater than 96kHz. DSD sources still wouldn’t work, but this is something Schiit looked into doing in 2012 and after asking consumer opinion came out with the Loki. This is Schiit at its best; not frightened to attempt anything, and making sure it works. Just wish they’d allow HD sound from my Virgin Tivo box. Only ITV1 HD works.

The Uber audio specification is a very respectable 2-100,000Hz (-1dB) with a maximum S/N ratio of 110dB. Whilst another 34dB is theoretical though not possible today with 24bits, and my favoured Brüel & Kjær 4138 microphone has a dynamic range of up to 168 dB and hears from 6.5 Hz to 140 kHz, as a sound engineer I don’t think we have yet reached the end of our search for the perfect sound systems, though I stress again, musicality is not just down to numbers. The Schiit deciphers the digits brilliantly in terms of detail, but just misses out in its analogue stage to stop me giving a really high sound quality number. But I know that Schiit will never stop searching for audio nirvana, and their overbuilt modular approach to design will mean they will always be up to date and “won’t end up in the dumpster”, and be something  so well built that they are intended to be “passed down to your children”. I’ll say it here, though, I’m not letting my kids near my Hi-Fi. Period.

Conclusion This is a serious piece of kit for the price and well worth a listen to if you want to spend anything sub £1000. It has a depth of detail that is hard to beat at it’s price, only slightly losing out on musicality. But for that, you need to pay much more.

Sound Quality – 8.55/10

Value for Money – 8.8/10

Build Quality – 8.5/10 

Overall – 8.62/10

Janine Elliot

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Slovenian company Erzetich got in touch with Hifi Pig to tell us all about their new high-end headphone amplifier, the Deimos .

“Despite the rough, 19th century industrial look, with an aged linden wood faceplate and milled thick aluminum parts, there’s a gentle soul inside. This 6.5-kg-headpone amplifier sounds balanced and precise and makes an important visual statement on your desk – no wonder it was a great success among visitors at this year’s Munich High End Hi-Fi show” says the company’s press release with the company’s CEO and founder Blaž Erzetič commenting
“I’ve rediscovered the music with Deimos, This is a supercar among headphone amplifiers. Every album I listen to on it is a spectacle on its own. Visually, we studied a lot the exterior, too, to make this machine not only an ear-, but also an eye-candy”;

Due to the complexity of manufacture, Erzetich plans a very limited yearly production of this completely hand crafted, headphone amplifier;

·  dual mono class-A

• three separate power supplies (two for analog, one for digital)
• 43000 uF smoothing capacitors per channel
• digitally controlled 64-steps relay-based volume attenuator
• gain boost switch
• RCA and XLR inputs
• superior quality RCA connectors
• Neutrik gold plated XLR connectors
• chassis made of steel, aluminum, wood and acrylic

Deimos will be available at the beginning of 2015 for around 4,000 EUR but Erzetich will start accepting preorders with a special discount in late September.

TEAC has introduced its HA-50 portable headphone amplifier which also sports an integrated USB DAC.

The new headphone amplifier is designed to operate with laptops as well as Apple iOS devices and will support 24-bit/96kHz using the unit’s BurrBrown PCM5102 DAC chip.

The TEAC HA-P50 uses OPA 1652 op amps and achieves a distortion rate of 0.001% at 100mW output.
The high output (160 mW per channel at 32 Ohms) is designed to drive 600 Ohm headphones at full power and has a high/low gain setting switch.
It has a dual function optical digital/analogue input which accepts either and optical cable with a mini-plug or a standard audio cable with a 3.5mm stereo mini-plug. The unit can be charged via USB or the DC IN 5V connector with the optionally available power supply and a full charge will give users eight hours of use.

Price is $299.99.

Following on from last month’s Headphone Special you were warned that we had even more to come…

The world of audio is going crazy currently over a few things, the vinyl revival is one, computer based audio is another and portable headphone amplifiers is right up there with the latest must haves of consumers wanting the best discrete sound for their high quality music downloads.

Take a bow the Geek Out 1000 which combines a portable headphone amplifier and a HD High Resolution DAC in one dinky little device.

The Geek Out 1000 arrived this week in a nicely designed box with good artwork and inside was another box which resembles a necklace case with soft foam inserts cut out perfectly for the Geek itself, the umbilical cord (a USB A female to USB A male) and a small nylon drawstring pouch.

The Geek 1000 is the most powerful of the three offerings from LH Labs boasting 1 whole watt of Pure Class A Amplification which in headphone terms that’s a lot of welly! It’s recommended that if your headphones are over 100ohm to choose this model for the best performance.

Each of the models are constructed with an aluminium body and comes in a range of stylish colours, the review sample is in anodised red and looked pretty cool.

The unit has only two buttons on it, used for volume and 3D mode. For 3D mode simply press both together. Both buttons are different to the touch with the down volume having a recessed dip to its centre and the up volume a raised bit – a very thoughtful touch making it easy to determine which button is which. It’s unsurprising that such a simple little thought has been included as LH Labs strictest policy is listening to their customers and producing products which they really want, suggest and give input towards. Common sense you say? Of course! But you will be surprised at how many companies offer consumers what they think they want.

Plugging the Geek into a computer can be achieved via its in built USB A male Asyncronous 20 socket or with the aid of the including trailing 6 inch cable attachment for an easier placement.

The Geek has two rows of lights on its front, the first to show sample rates and the second for indication of 3D Sound being on …around the rear of the Geek there’s a corresponding key as to what each light is indicative of.

There are two 3.5mm headphone output sockets on the Geek Out 1000, one labelled 0.47ohm for In Ear Monitors and a 47ohm socket for those big bad boys of rock!

So Geek is ready to go wherever you go…

When I say portable, more to the point I mean the Geek only requires USB power to function from a laptop, thus making it portable.

However if you wish to connect Geek to an IOS or Android device I’m afraid this is not possible -I did try and unfortunately there is currently no driver support for these devices. This is in fact a good thing as the Geek gets tremendously warm! Anyone with experience of Class A amplifiers will know how hot they get but how good they sound. I wouldn’t fancy having it in a breast pocket or in a pair of shorts connected to a phone. Some sort of belt clip would be an obvious choice if LH ever decide to widen compatibility.

High Resolution File Playback

Chances are if you’re buying a Geek you’re not listening to crappy MP3’s ruining all the musical enjoyment  and hopefully you have ripped your cd collection and are downloading high quality music files online.

Geek will support:
Bit rates from 1bit to 32bit
Sample rates from 44.1khz to 384khz and DSD 64 and 128 protocols.
Not bad for a device the size of a lens out of a geeks spectacles!.

So, what does the Geek Out 1000 sound like?

Ummm, pretty damned awesome! I’m really surprised at how good this device sounds. At the start of this review, whilst writing the introductory part I have been listening to a playlist of many genres of music which I created on the Mac using Amarra Symphony 3.0.

I don’t think at any point during writing the previous paragraphs my head and body has stopped moving. Geek Out 1000 is extremely musical and is reminiscent of quality Class A amplification – a warm midrange, concise highs and a deep informative bass line.

I’m listening through a pair of AKG K702 headphones with a custom Tellurium Q headphone cable, which produces a fantastically clean and articulate sound.

Adding the Geek 1000 over say the Resonessence Labs Herus, or the recently reviewed Epiphany Acoustics EHP-02Di headphone amp/DAC, the Geek 1000 really seems to suit these headphones tremendously well, adding texture and warmth to the midrange, body to the bottom end and a thicker yet still incredibly detailed top ends which just seemed to have gained more confidence and rapport with one another.

The detail is very realistic and whilst listening to Alt-J’s new album, for the first time I quickly pulled the headphones off and slapped the side of my head… During the track Nara there is a bumble bee which flies from ear to ear and hovers about a bit to the right and with this being out of the blue and so realistic I honest believed I was being attacked as it’s late at night now here and I have a large flourescent tube light on above my desk and a large window open next to me… and I’m generally attacked by all sorts of flying monsters!

The Geek Out 1000 has this uncanny ability to do switching between left and right of the soundstage, the entire image is very stable, but a few times on a few tracks I’ve had this sweeping effect from left to right and a silence left each side as if one ear has dropped out. Obviously it’s a trick of the song played but the silences here on quiet passages and gaps between tracks is really very black.

Vocals on Geek are very nice indeed, they have great tone and texture and that little sprinkling of clarity that I personally prefer. I’ve got to have a little projection and vibrancy in a vocal, hence my headphone choice, but having this requires great care to the midrange undertones to express tonality correctly otherwise it’s popped ear drums time, or at least that last female artist you played high pitched vocal ringing your ears late into the night whilst your trying to sleep.

Geek Out 1000 ticks this box with a magic marker.

3D AWESOMIFICATION!!!

What a name hey? Sounds like someone in the factory got ever so excited when they named this feature haha. Oh well, let’s allow them to have their moment of fame…

The idea behind this feature is to take the sound out from being trapped inside your head and have it sounding like the performance is in front of you.

Does it, well, yeah, kinda. For me there’s a definite improvement on having a mini band trapped I between your ears which is the main reason I do not listen to headphones on a regular basis.

There’s no doubt that it’s not like listening to speakers, but the improvements are worthwhile and add a clear positive to the headphone experience for me. The sound has gone from 9 and 3 O’clock to between 10-11 and 1-2 O’clock. Outer and rear cues and nuances are more apparent now as the main focus of the sound has shifted forward. 3D AWESOMIFICATION, ok, I’ll let you have that one!

Using Geek as a standalone DAC

During my listening tests with the Geek I had a chat with Alan Rosen of AVS (UK Distributer) regarding some functionality of the unit.
Alan asked if I had tried it as a standalone DAC yet, I answered “no”.

Alan went on to describe that at a dealer evening he had recently he had the Geek playing in the system as folk arrived. It was simply hanging down the back of the rack connected to his laptop whilst the main DAC was perceived to be on in the rack. The usual chat moved on towards the sound of the system in the room and many commented on the excellent sound and were left gobsmacked when he revealed the Geek to be the DAC in use.

In light of this I connected the Geek 1000 to my amp via an Epiphany Acoustics Atratus 3.5mm to twin RCA cable. I continued to listen to my previous playlist sat on the sofa.

I too was very impressed by its performance. I was presented with a soundstage which imaged extremely well. Detail retrieval was a stand-out point for me, renditioning decays on delicate notes in extremely big boy fashion. Bass notes were full and secure, leaving small amounts of bloom to warm through the presentation and allowing for a smooth lower midrange that gave body to the vocal.

I didn’t have any intention on trying the Geek 1000 singled out as a DAC but I was pleasantly surprised and equally fascinated at how LH manage it.

Conclusion

To conclude my time with the Geek Out 1000, I can truly say how impressed and taken in by its quality of sound. It’s like getting a pair of tiny bookshelf speakers, plugging them in and saying out aloud holy shit, where the hell does that sound come from.

For a tiny portable device the size of the Geek to have a pure Class A amp and a DAC inbuilt had to be a somewhat tricky feat, especially what with having on-board controls, lighting indicators and twin output sockets. Most manufacturers leave the extra features to software.

Plug and play on Mac and Linux and a driver for Windows, well that’s Windows for you and I’m sure you guys are used to it so not the end of the world.

Bottom line is Geek Out 1000 is easy to set up, compatible with virtually any ear sound devices and sounds fantastic.

Dan Worth

Build Quality –  8/10
Sound Quality – 8.6/10
Value For Money – 8.8/10
Overall – 8.46

Recommended for – great size, great sound and great price, oh and it comes in snazzy colours too!

$299

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Schiit Audio has introduced Fulla, its new micro-sized DAC/headphone amp combo for use with virtually any computer. The USB-powered Fulla delivers up to 24/96 HD audio with a digital to analog converter, together with a headphone amp with up to 10x the power of a typical computer headphone output port. Priced at $79, the Fulla is the most affordable dongle DAC/amp available today say Schiit.

“Best of all, Fulla has a real, analog volume knob on it—a feature that makes it easier to use than any other dongle-DAC,” said Jason Stoddard, Co-Founder of Schiit Audio. “There’s no software volume, no drivers, no digital volume processing—just plug in, turn the knob, and you have great music.”

Fulla uses many of the same parts as other Schiit products, from the CM6631A asynchronous USB input receiver, to the AK4396 digital to analog converter. Combined with thin-film resistors, and Analog Devices ADA4610 and AD8397 output devices, Fulla is said to provide “excellent sound quality beyond its modest price”.

Fulla also features a custom steel and aluminum chassis. “We made a conscious decision to keep Fulla simple and concentrate on sound quality first,” continued Jason Stoddard. “Fuller’s designed to take with you, and use on multiple computers, so plug and play operation was very important. We also wanted to get away from complex or gimmicky feature sets that might require custom applications for different OSes. The result is a small, good-sounding, and quite powerful little device that sets the bar on value for money.”

Like all Schiit products, Fulla is made in the USA, with the vast majority of its total production cost going to companies manufacturing in the USA, and local assembly, testing, and support through Schiit’s Valencia, CA offices.

Fulla, (in Norse legend, a goddess, a “bountiful healer,”) is available to order now.

Burson Audio has announced the introduction of the new Conductor Virtuoso USB DAC, Headphone amplifier and Preamplifier that can be used to drive headphones of desktop systems. The new Virtuoso supersedes all previous Conductor models.

Burson say that it has “significantly upgraded and refined previous generations of the Conductor. Besides big power, the Conductor Virtuoso includes a new, stunning 100-step volume control with a fresh and easy-to-read display. When the Virtuoso is turned on the volume indicators appear on the face of the thick, antiresonant aluminum front plate”.

Consumers can choose from two interchangeable DAC boards with different sonic characteristics, and the modular design should make for no-fuss upgrades. Another important consideration say Burson is that the Conductor Virtuoso doesn’t use densely-packed opamps, but instead all discrete circuitry which they say offers superior tonality, clarity and a lower noise floor.

The remote control is carved from solid aluminum with no visible screws.

The Conductor Virtuoso is shipping now with the ESS9018 Sabre DAC at $1,995USD / €1,850 Euros. The Burr Brown PCM1793 version is priced at $1,495USD / €1,451 Euros.

McIntosh Laboratory has launched the new D150 digital preamp — a flexible DSD- and DXD-compatible digital preamp. 

The new D150 has been designed to offer flexibility when adding digital source components to an audio system and supports many of the latest digital audio formats. With its five digital inputs (2x coaxial, 2x optical and 1x USB), plus balanced and unbalanced connections for both variable and fixed volume audio outputs, the D150 is suited to exploiting today’s high-resolution studio-master- quality digital music.

Its USB input accepts up to 32-bit/384kHz signals and supports DSD64, DSD128, DXD 352.8kHz and DXD 384kHz. Its two coaxial and two optical inputs accept up to 24-bit/192kHz signals, plus its DIN input also connects to select McIntosh SACD/CD transports/ players.

The D150 is a simple and cost-effective solution to adding digital music to an existing system, or with the addition of a power amp, speakers and digital source, the D150 can become the high-performance ‘hub’ of an all-digital set up.

The D150 also boasts a built-in headphone amplifier and uses the same DAC as the D100 (launched at CES 2013) and features an eight-channel 32-bit/192kHz D/A converter (used in stereo Quad Balanced mode.

The D150 is distinctly McIntosh, too: it shares the same classic visuals, controls and hand- crafted black-glass front panels as all the other McIntosh components and yet is easy to position with its compact, 10cm-tall chassis.

Specifications

Distortion                                                                    0.002%

Frequency response                                                    (+0, -3db) 4Hz to 68kHz Maximum output voltage (balanced/unbalanced)                      16/8V rms

Input impedance (balanced/unbalanced)                  44kohm, 22kohm

Signal to noise ratio                                                    110db

Headphone output                                                      6.35mm

Variable outputs unbalanced                                      1x stereo

Variable outputs balanced                                          1x stereo

Digital USB input                                                         1x 2.0, 32-bit/192k asynchronous; 44.1kHz to 384kHz, 32-bit (PCM) DSD64, DSD128, DXD352.8kHz, DXD384kHz

Digital S/PDIF inputs                                                   2x Opt, 2x Coax, 24/192

Power control output                                                  1x

Rear panel data ports                                                 1x

Rear panel IR sensor input                                         1x

Dimensions (WxHxD)                                                  44.45 x 9.8cm x 40.64cm

Weight                                                                        6.1kg

The D150 sells for £3,495 and will be available in the UK in late January

At the recent Bristol Show I found myself very impressed with the new CPM2800 Amplifier from Chord Electronics driving a pair of Kef Reference One Loudspeakers. I asked the representative at the door Tom what was making the amplifier sound so different to the previous version. Tom said ‘we have made some power supply and signal path changes, but the main difference that I am hearing is the implementation of Hugo technology’.

Hugo is the DAC section of the CPM2800 and what better way to single Hugo out then to get an actual Hugo from Chord. The standard Hugo is more than a DAC, it also has a high quality Headphone Amplifier integrated in its bijou bodywork.

Hugo may be a small eloquent unit but my goodness it’s features are of gargantuan proportions. No less than 5 digital interfaces including A2DP aptX Bluetooth, Coaxial, Optical and Hugo also benefits from two advanced USB inputs: one driverless input for legacy USB devices and one asynchronous high- definition USB port for operation up to 384kHz.
In addition to 384KHz PCM files, the Hugo can also process DSD 128 data using the latest DSD-over-PCM standard (DoP). Whether using Mac OS or Windows OS, Chord Electronics’ own proprietary driver software is provided, removing the restrictions of current standard operating system audio playback.
Hugo has a built-in battery-charging circuit, with a full charge reached in approximately two hours. Hugo takes no power over its USB input (as this is severely limited with many partnering products) and only takes signal data, therefore, it is fully compatible with all iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Further features include an advanced reference-grade digital volume control which remains bit perfect according to Chord.
When attempting to connect my digital coaxial cable which has spring loaded Neutrik Profi RCA connectors I found that the chassis of the Hugo prevented me from doing so, there didn’t seem to be enough clearance around the RCA socket, the same was true when trying to connect my optical cable, so USB was the default interface I had to use with sadly no other choice.
Construction of the Hugo like all Chord Electronics products is absolutely solid. The casework is precision machined from aircraft grade aluminium and comes in black or silver anodised finishes. There is a magnified circular window which gives a glimpse of the circuit board and a row of LEDs which correspond to certain functional modes. All in all a stunning little piece of equipment.

THE SOUND

My first connection to the DAC was one of simplicity. I wanted to replicate a situation whereby I wasn’t being too anal about connections and cables used. I plugged the supplied USB A to USB mini A cable from the side of the Apple wired keyboard into the DAC and fed the active Focal desktop speakers I use with a pair of RCA’s that I had to hand.
This little setup normally uses a modified Metrum DAC that has a very bespoke power supply and series regulators. The Hugo however with its internal battery and no power over USB was an interesting comparison for me to make. 
Most noticeably on first impressions was the amount of air and space around the lead vocalist and instruments. The background of the Hugo was completely black, so dark that I intently listened to many types of music as sometimes when the background is so dead it can darken and sterilise the music somewhat. This definitely was not the case, what I was hearing was an effortless sound that had stronger grounds from where the notes emanated from, instruments exuded texture and organics right through to their very core, which naturally allowed for an opening up of the soundstage, allowing it to convey many dimensions of layering.
I listened to Loreena McKennit’s ‘Mask and the Mirror’ album and her vocal was absolutely glorious. The intense power and grace which Loreena sings with in this Celtic inspired album sends shivers down the spine when heard at volume, on the desktop it was great so naturally I wanted to hear the difference when implemented into my main system.
I was prepared for a huge improvement in definition and clarity and I was wonderfully satisfied. The sound I had from the main system was clean, clear, solid and just so stable. I don’t know what and how Chord Electronics do what they do in this little box of tricks and quite frankly I don’t really care, there’s too many hang ups about technology specifications right down to resistor and capacitor implementation it often becomes a somewhat pompous affair by consumers and reviewers alike to comment on a product before they have heard it… me I trust my ears and base any decisions on the exploration of music with any new product.
Hugo develops midrange tones with absolute ease, they are crystal clear and fully fleshed out, transparent right through to the core of its detail and as articulate as a 20 year old lady of the manor fresh out of Finishing School – her posture straight and upright. I was very much taken back by how true Hugo recreated such a stable soundstage and especially the height of it during many of my favourite vocalists work, each performance showed a reflection of the singers height and presence in centre stage, all band members and room acoustics produced the boundaries to the strong features of this glorious picture.
Chord have always been able to reproduce electronic sounds faithfully and excitingly and it’s this that first drew me to their room at Bristol this year. As you know I too listen to a lot of this genre of music as well as the acoustic stuff and both are far enough removed from each other to be a great test for any piece of equipment. Tick tick tick, bass – solid, treble – resolution rich, crystal clear and playful, three dimensionality – stunning!
Dynamically the Hugo conveys big transients with flair and accuracy, there is a sense of ease from this little unit combating dynamics of other DACs in its price range so strongly and it’s battery power in relation to large toroids never seems to be a factor. Bass isn’t huge but it’s definitely explosive, tight and extended revealing great amounts of information in the upper bass regions such as the punch of a kick drum on electronic music.
Playing some trance, dance and hard house music my room was absolutely alive, the spacial boundaries seemed to disappear and the artifacts of the music just danced through, around and past the room’s edges. The intensity of the sound is stimulating and if you can sit still whilst listening to this type of music then you must be wearing velcro pants. The sheer excitement and drama the Hugo does for the listener is absolutely awesome, it makes me wonder who at Chord Electronics decided to add Hugo to the CPM2800, they surely need a pat on the back, Hugo deserves more recognition than simply associating it purely with, or as a headphone amplifier.
So, what is it like as a headphone amplifier? Errrrrrm, a mini CPM2800 in your head. It’s extremely articulate and spacious, choral pieces and big bands sound separated, brass, woodwind sets have their own groupings in the performance and individual intricacies of specific musicians can be heard above and amongst the others during busy passages. Transient slams and smaller more subtle intricacies of violin peaks were so easy to ascertain, music never seemed to be over cluttered or tempered by the enormity of the performance.,
Acoustic sound is just so clean and underpinned with fantastically natural tones allowing for decay of notes to be so true to life that the brain wanders away with it following the extension and flow of the note when it’s shocked back into the performance by the next pluck of a string or beat of a drum. I got pretty much lost in some ambient type music late one night and nodded off in my computer chair with my feet on the desk only waking up when I jolted and nearly fell off it.
The amplifier in the Hugo is very powerful driving my AKG 702’s and Sennheiser HD600’s with ease, I much preferred the Senns with the Hugo as the AKG’s are more so for monitoring duties and the Senns are for playback, they are cleaner sounding than the old reference 650’s and always much preferred by myself to them and some who may love their HD650’s may well not consider the Chord Electronics Hugo as their type of sound as they enjoy a smoother more romantic type sound – to them I’d say try it, the cohesive balance articulation and resolution of the Hugo is just so well balanced and engaging.
The volume control on Hugo is not to my liking at all. It’s a sideways on rubbery plastic rotating wheel, yes it looks cool with the changing LED lights representing intensity of levels but I find that I have to put so much pressure on it to obtain friction to move it my thumb turns white, a friend said to me when looking at it and me showing him the volume ‘wow, your pushing that hard aren’t you?’. I really appreciate the fact the volume remains bit perfect of course and it’s a niggle that one would learn to live with. I have dubbed the volume control with the name ‘Miriam’, Miriam is Hugos wife and she is that nagging type of wife that can sometimes be a pain in the backside. Next time Hugo comes out for a drink, maybe he can leave his wife at home?!

CONCLUSION

What can I say about Hugo? It’s a revolutionary piece of kit which I am just so happy is now deemed absolutely fundamental to Chord as a core product which now graces their latest amplifier as well as this well constructed, solid sounding headphone amplifier.
With enough connections to carry all your mobile devices and a laptop with you connected at all times and a battery that takes only 2 hours to charge on paper it seems well implemented and straight forward to connect to any digital device.
Somewhat more importantly though is the sound. Wondrous things happen when connecting Hugo to a speaker system, amplifier or set of headphones all of a sudden you are transported into the heart of the music and whether at loud levels or lower volumes late at night, every beat and note is projected to the listener leaving no detail veiled or subdued in any way. The sound is articulate, controlled, expressive and intense. Many genres of music are covered exceptionally well and the unit produces a soundstage which is vast and stable. All in all it’s a truly pleasing piece of kit, apart from the volume control that is.

Price at time of review: £1400

Build quality: 8.5/10*

Sound Quality: 9/10

Value For Money: 8.8/10

Overall: 8.76/10

*Reduced scoring for connections
Recommended for absolute flexibility and portability which combines a sound that belies its tiny footprint making a package that simply needs to be heard and tested.

Dan Worth

Dan in his review above has given the Chord Electronics Hugo DAC/Headphone Amplifier an overall scoring of 8.93 out of 10, which means it will now be handed over to another reviewer for further evaluation, which in this instance is Dominic.

“Tiny footprint” says Dan and he is not kidding. I got the tape measure out and it’s vital statistics are 103mm wide x 25mm high x 95mm deep, so it’s comfortably pocket sized and easily transportable. Dan has more than adequately described the technical and construction aspects of the Hugo, so will press ahead with my perceptions for you of the Chord Electronics Hugo.

SOUND QUALITY

I was primarily interested in the Hugo’s performance as a digital to analogue converter more than as a headphone amp, so was rather keen to hook it up to my resident CD spinner with a good quality glass TOSLINK connector. Oh dear. The TOSLINK input to the DAC is deeply recessed into the chassis and the outer shell of the TOSLINK plug was butting up against the Hugo’s casework so the connector was prevented from being inserted, therefore only the tip was making the merest physical contact and although the signal was getting through, it was not a firm solid reliable connection – in fact the slightest movement of the DAC or lead caused it to drop out. Somewhat miffed by this, I dug out of the spares drawer an old plastic TOSLINK lead and that managed to tenuously hang on no better than the expensive glass optical lead – and I mean precisely no better, because movement of either lead or DAC still caused it to fall out. In the end I rested a book on the cable to keep it in place.

Dan in his review couldn’t quite get to grips (excuse the pun) with the volume control, but have to be honest here I didn’t have any real issues with it, save the one time when the phone rang and needed to reduce the volume rather quickly, which was a series of rapid short stabbing fumbles on the control due to the restricted travel of “thumb actions” available for each stroke. At every other instance the control was smooth and positive, fairly easy-ish to shift the volume up or down, very precisely indeed for all that.

Surprised too that Chord have not labeled on the casework any of the controls and switches with their designated functions. It’s not exactly taxing to remember 2 push buttons, a switch and the relevance of 2 USB sockets, but it’s a finishing touch that I and presumably others too, might find welcome. The coloured LED sequences were not entirely helpful either and I just stabbed at the leftmost source select button until I heard sound through my speakers. Job done and whatever colour of LED was lit at the time bothered me not, especially so when I am colour blind.

By heck Dominic, you have given the Chord Hugo a pretty good pasting there, so have you something positive to say about it? Well, yes I have and it’s a very BIG positive. Forget all the niggles I have mentioned, this DAC just blows you away when you hear it and whether it’s housed in some fancy casework or a wooden cigar box becomes totally immaterial as a result. It is so natural sounding, yet detailed and communicative and thoroughly musical at the same time, quite unlike any other DAC I have heard previously with it’s presentation. Not easy either to pinpoint or isolate WHY it sounds so different, because it is the whole of it and not just one or more elements that makes it what it is in entirety. You still with me?

If I say “detailed” I mean exactly that, not in a spot lit manner, nor in an artificially uplifted way, not in a glaring stark way either, but the Hugo manages to uncover a wealth of detail in all genres of music, even within the busy frenetic multi-layered heavy rock or dance music that seems to confuse and befuddle other DACs, so it separates out all the musical strands into their component elements and keeps them firmly there. If I described the bass as “powerful” then I mean that as strength, tenacity and oddly enough, delicacy at the same time, because a pluck of a bass guitar string didn’t just result in a full single bass note, it resulted in hearing all the vibrations of the string and the body of the instrument itself as well, with the decay of both being heard simultaneously yet still separated. Excuse my brevity here, but if it were any more detailed than it already is, you might be able hear the guitarist’s fingerprints rustling against the strings as they played – assuming it is in the recording of course and aided immensely by the total eerie silence in the background. Midrange and vocals are truly fluid and flowing, female vocals in particular had a beguiling realism that made your hair stand on end. Every element of the music is relayed in full, but all of it entirely in proportion and most importantly, in relevance and context and that’s what I liked the most with it’s unique set of sound qualities that made compelling listening for hour after hour without any fatigue because it is so engaging and enervating in it’s musical abilities.

I am not a classical music fan by any means, but I was tempted into playing one or two excerpts (Entire symphonies are beyond me) from a compilation CD I keep solely for bashing errant spiders, to put the Hugo through it’s paces and was pleasantly surprised that the Hugo actually made it a pleasant and enjoyable listen. Brass and strings sections had a rich sonorous quality which I had not heard before and when the Timpani was struck, goodness me I felt it. One recording has a Triangle playing throughout the excerpt and I could easily follow every single strike, whereas it has tended to be drowned out and overwhelmed by the other instruments. I like this DAC, if it has made me enjoy classical music which I usually avoid, so this CD has been elevated from spider walloping duties in future, but that of course may be viewed rather differently without the Hugo in place.

The volume control operates in the digital domain and also varies the RCA analogue output level, so I found a good use for it. I have a Sheffield Labs CD of James Newton Howard and Friends which is totally uncompressed and the dynamics can overload an amplifier’s inputs, so adjusting the volume control downwards slightly gave the amplifier more headroom for coping with the highly dynamic transients found in this particular recording. The percussion on this CD is stunning and drums come across as you being just inches away from the drum set receiving the full impact, while piano had endless decay of harmonics and the body of the instrument sounded so real you could almost be standing next to it.

Now on to the headphone amplifier evaluation. I don’t have an expensive pair of headphones because I find them to be claustrophobic within a very short period of time and the “in the head” sound gives me the shudders, but I do have a budget set of headphones and the test here is can the Hugo headphone amp make this pair sound good? Yes indeed, the Hugo certainly did inject a massive dose of energy and vitality into this modest pair of headphones. The treble came across as clean and insightful, rather than the “Tish, tish, tish” sort of sound listening on headphones elicits and commonly plagued with. Bass was powerful and deep too, which has never happened before with other amps of this ilk and all the details I heard through the main system were reproduced into the cans as well. A couple of prods on the “Crossfeed Filter” button managed to eradicate the “in the head” stereo effect and I wish more headphone amps could incorporate a similar feature. All in all, I would say the Hugo gives a level of sophistication that no other headphone amp I have heard to date can muster or emulate.

Chord make great play of the Hugo’s long battery life and it would be remiss of me not to see if their claims stand up to scrutiny. I unplugged the charger and hooked up to my PC through the unpowered USB input playing non-stop Spotify tracks, searching for some new music purchases. This was interspersed with listening on my mobile phone, again through the unpowered USB connection. I racked up nine hours of music on the one charge and still no signs of the Hugo yelling out for more juice for it’s battery, signified by a sequence given out by one of the internal LEDs.
CONCLUSION

In true Chord signature fashion, it walks a path well away from the herd in it’s unique design concept, but there needs to be a rethink regarding the connection socket issues, especially so the TOSLINK connection. As I understand it, Chord have already moved the analogue output RCA sockets from an earlier variant because they were too close together and they should follow suit with addressing the connection problems both myself and Dan experienced with the current Hugo while under review.

Setting that aside though, we have a product in the Hugo that is far more than the sum of it’s parts, so I will table the positives:

It is compact and portable, has a stunning amount of battery life and for good measure the charger itself is very compact as well and that too will fit into a pocket or handbag. So, provided you can find a socket to charge up to full capacity in under 2 hours you shouldn’t be left high and dry with a flat battery at any time.

It has a resolving and articulate amplifier section which should power almost any headphones you can care to name, right from ear buds up to serious power hungry audiophile quality level headphones. The digital pre-amplifier section is again a true stunner in performance with it’s unique bit-perfect volume control.

The real star of the show however is the DAC section which is stunning in every way imaginable, equally at ease on the move with headphones, as it is sat in the home rack doing the job of a top flight DAC in a sophisticated hi-fi system with portability as an added bonus. Chord obviously think so too, because they have standalone DACs now released with the same Spartan 6 FPGA chipset as the Hugo and as Dan has rightly observed, it is also being incorporated into their amplifier products too.

Truly untouchable in performance terms.

Build quality: 8.4/10

Sound quality: 9.1/10

Value for money: 8.9/10

Overall: 8.8/10

The “Build quality” scoring is referenced to the TOSLINK connection problem noted in the review.

Recommended for: Those looking for a high performing digital to analogue convertor with the added bonus of portable headphone listening. An audition is strongly recommended.
Dominic Marsh

Pangea Audio has announced the introduction of the HP201 Hybrid Tube Headphone Amp with 24/192 USB DAC. The HP201 is now available with an MSRP of $299.99. 

The Pangea Audio HP201 combines Class A solid state circuitry featuring MOSFET output devices with a vacuum tube.

The Pangea engineering team, led by engineer/designer Jay Victor, selected MOSFETS rather than more affordable op-amp devices because of their performance advantages. “I tested a variety of solid state output devices and vacuum tubes in the design process of the HP201, selecting the combination I thought delivered the best performance despite their substantially higher cost,” reported Victor. The 12AX7 vacuum tube is protected by an easily removable shield, making it a simple task to swap in compatible tubes from different manufacturers for enthusiasts interested in experimenting with the sound..

The output stage of the HP201 is compatible with a wide range of headphone makes and models, and the analogue stereo outputs can be connected directly to a power amplifier and controlled using the large, aluminum volume control if desired. The HP201 also features a pair of auxiliary RCA inputs. The internal linear power supply features an upgradeable rear panel IEC connector, enabling the use of a premium Pangea power cable.

The HP201 is also a USB DAC. The 24/48/96/192kHz compatible input lets you play high-resolution digital audio files directly from your Windows or Mac computer. Conversion is managed by the Cirrus Logic CS4344 24-bit/192-kHz DAC chipset.

Burson Audio, manufacturer of fine USB DAC/Headphone Amplifier/Preamplifiers, Headphone Amplifiers and Stereo Amplifiers, and its subsidiary Supreme Sound Audio Components, will be running a demo day in the USA, showcasing both lines. There will be brunch and drinks and everyone will get a gift. Sales Manager Martha Manea and US Service Centre Engineer Mike Mona will present products including Burson’s Conductor Virtuoso DAC Headphone Amp/Preamp and the powerhouse Timekeeper Virtuoso Stereo Amp. SSA will demo the Lycan Op-Amp Test Bench/Headphone Amp/Preamp, stethoscope into the heart of your system. All demos will be on Audeze headphones.  Burson say ‘We’re so confident you’ll love the sound of Burson and SSA products that we encourage you to bring along your own headphones, headphone amplifiers and even players for what we know will be revealing comparisons.’

Demo Day takes place at JMP Electronics, the Burson Audio Distribution Centre.  14741-B Franklin Ave, Tustin, CA 92782
Friday September 18th 2015,10:30am to 4pm, please email Martha at usa.sales@bursonaudio.com if you’re coming.