See the review post here:
http://www.pandatechreview.com/shure-srh-440-review/
 
 

Build Quality: Not much to say than a solid IEM. The outside is "gunmetal" it looks like metal and feels like metal, but then again. I have been fooled before. The clip ...is just a clip, no deficiencies or poor moving around from it. The L shaped 3.5mm jack is also good. No weird wiggling parts, feels and looks solid. As it's an earphone, this section is generally good. The tip of the earphone has a good metal mesh, no wiggling metal or deficiencies here as well. There is some excess glue and marks from the wire connector to the base of the ear bud itself (see spoiler tagged pictures; last one). But for the price, this can be overlooked. The build of this ear bud won't draw any looks, the wire is ordinary and "un audiophile" likes but it is lightweight.
 
Read the review at:
http://www.pandatechreview.com/soundmagic-pl11-review/

Microphonics: For those that don't know, the sound that the cable makes. This one is acceptable. The cable itself has a good score form me on microphonics but the clip is where the problems come in. When the clip is not in use and just hanging in there. Moving around and especially walking causes it to rock around. Causing extra microphonics into the sound. When the clip is engaged and in use, the microphonics from that is gone, but then you get another source of microphonics. The proximity of the two L and R wires just bunch up sometimes and just rub against each other. No matter if I move the clip lower or higher on my jacket. Overall this gets slightly a good in microphonics. Not annoying and you won’t' notice it sometimes, but when you do. It’s an annoyance. However, you can largely reduce microphonics by wearing the wire behind your ear. To do so, wear it like normal, and then take the two wires and bring it forward into the direction you are looking. Then bring it up and over your ears so the wire hangs off the back of your ear. That eliminates a good amount of microphonics. Not all but a very good amount

Isolation: This largely depends on each person, the shape of their ears, their canals, and the tips and shape of ear bud body and other stuff. For me, the medium tip worked well with me. It provided good isolation that blocked most noises, even noise from a diner and cafeteria when playing music at moderate volumes. I am happy with the isolation this offers. Not the best, but good enough that you get through most everyday obstacles. The PL11's also don't leak much at all also

In ear feel: The body isn't awkward or anything. I wasn't too used to ear buds when I got these so it felt foreign holding them and putting it in the first few times but it's become daily and easy now. They don't obstruct anything or have a large elongated body or block other parts of the ear. Very solid. They also stay in my ear easy, but that's dependent on the person. These are also very light feeling.

Sound Quality: I have had these for over a month now and have about I would say a combined 40 hours to 50 hours on them. These didn't really need much burn in. After about a few hours it more or less set in stone. Initial impressions from me were high, from a price to performance point of view. When I first got them I could tell I would like them as a portable set. They had a colored sound, warm sounding but muddy. I dislike thin sounding headphones/ear buds.  The bass I could tell had quite a bit to them. Not a luscious amount but good enough. The bass were a bit muddy and boomy at first but it died down in a few hours. The vocals more or less stayed the same. I guess you could say it's a bit deeper and not as thin sounding, but very little. The highs are also a part of burn in change. At first the high frequency range, it wasn't harsh but it didn't reach at all. It would get lost and start rolling out of control with artifacts, noise and some slight crackles that you get when the ear buds just can't do it. This is the biggest improvement.

Now for current and a more in-depth review of sound quality, the bass is more constricted than the slightly looser and boomier bass at first. I thought about if it could be due to me getting used to it, as I believe that's also part of the burn in process. But, I would still say that the bass is more controlled now. The vocals kick along nicely. Warm sounding, but far from clear. They are recessed. In the back usually and don't offer much clarity. I would take this over clearer but super think sounding ear buds like the ibuds. It may not be clear, but it is enjoyable when you are just on the go. The separation is also abysmal, even with an LOD and amping with E17 the separation improves and the soundstage improves but really not much. Background instruments are hard to tell apart and despite their being bass, the bass and thump that will usually accompany background instruments just isn't there. Just the primary or regular bass is noticeable. This mainly happens on regular more complex songs, so most modern songs really. The PL11's also show a slowness’ sometimes on generally rock songs where it can't match the "speed" of other headphones by a little bit

Distortion. Of really anything happens after a certain point. Bass just overthrows everything, vocals are cut short and highs are everywhere and uncontrolled. This happens easily either amped or UN amped as the PL11's are not hard to drive. For metal rockers that want good ear buds but also like it to kick with speed and volume. This may not before you. The PL11's work well with all kinds of music but it has to make a compromise and the speed and distortion at crazy volumes makes it unfit for metal rocker people. Not unfit so to say but it isn't its direct field. I still listen to many metal and hard rock songs on it and i still enjoy them, but the speed and volume is lacking at times. I don't encounter the volume distortion barrier much as i don't turn it up too loud but i definitely notice a slight lack in speed. Not enough for me to actual care when using these portably really, but when doing a review like this. It’s noted.

Sibilance on these is ok. Some tracks contribute more sibilance than others but to me only...about 30 tracks from 3 albums have more sibilance than others (on all my headphones and devices) due to mastering and recording. Generally the sibilance on these is controlled. you can still hear the sss'ss and the fffss' and the sh's and all those uncomfortable sound but the warm, colored, less clear vocals and bass really tear down the effects of the sibilance by a lot. It’s one of those. You really won’t notice (in my opinion) unless you remember that this has sibilance. Not really a problem, at first when i noticed it. It was a problem, but after 1 minute i forgot all about it.

The highs, lows and mids don't extend as well as one might hope too. They feel like they are all cut short of their full ability. The warm and colored sound and price make up for this short coming as it really just gives you a good sounding ear bud for the price. The bass has a good kick, albeit muddy at times, it still kicks with everything and does well. The muddy bass can even be said to hide many low frequency deficiencies or problems (it does for me) that i have in a few tracks either due to bad ripping or mastering. The highs aren't high but they give you a good mix and the vocals are warm.

Best way to describe these is. These are portable Logitech speakers in your ear. A more in close personal sound with a good bass kick, vocal, and high

Soundstage: I was very suprised with the soundstage really. It is in fact small and tight as many would have imagined. But it has some artificial largeness to it. You can tell that the soundstage on this earbud is constricted and really kept in one place. But it does have a larger soundstage than some of my headphone's at the same time. Not better, but artificially larger. It doesn't sound as real as the other one. The vocals and instruments lack seperation but dig back a bit deeper than some of my other equipment I have and or have heard. My demo CD's that have large soundstages also show that the PL11 doesn't do this as naturally as some other semi open's I have heard, but does it pleasantly. Artificially I guess. There is not a better word I can think of at the moment other than artificial. I don't want to say it's fake, but it's also certainly not "real". Anyway, I actually like and can enjoy this type of soundstage from the PL11's. Sure I would like a more natural one, but for the price, it's plenty.

Testing: Done with optical out to E17 DAC and then to PL11, also tested with iPod with LOD and then E17 and also used with E5. All of that made up about 30% of the time i used with the PL11; the rest was with direct headphone out on the iPod with EQ options enabled. While writing this review, i had the PL11's in and playing albeit with EQ off.

Drivability: As many will note from the specs posted on the bottom, these are easy to drive: D very very easy. However i have noted a problem. I do not know if it is isolated or not. But when plugging the PL11's into a MacBook Pro, a hissing sound appears. The PL11's ohms are 12 ohms. they do not match the minimum 16 ohms on most devices for best performance, the MacBook pro does not hiss with other ear buds so I’m going to guess it's the non match of the two impendances.it will hiss constantly at the same volume no matter what the volume of the computer is set at, either at low to no volume or to max volume. I didn't try raising it to max volume as the sound is too loud then but yes. It hisses until the MacBook pro's internal amp auto shuts off for battery saving.

Amp: These do not need an amp, these are easy to drive. I argue for amp tonality a lot but these also don't need it. I’m very happy with headphone out. If you have an E5 and LOD sure you can use it as the extra bass boosting is nice on both my E5 and E17. But really no, you don't at all in any way shape or form need an amp.

Conclusion: These have some audio problems and some spec and build deficiencies. The bass is boomy and doesn't kick in for other parts of the music. The separation is very little so don't expect some wonders with your classical tracks. The soundstage is small like one would expect but with a new artificial widening that digs in deeper and expands the space of the sound a lot better than other's I have heard at this price. The vocals are a bit recessed usually and are not "audiophile" clear for most music. The highs improved with burn in as did the bass but ultimately still can't hit many high spots. the entirety of all 3 general frequency areas of highs, mids, lows are cut short at times and just don't extend. The coloration is there and this is not an analytical or even IEM grade if we use the term "monitor" exactly. The 12 ohm impedance of these has some problems with some devices it seems and there are some messy glue spots on the ear bud casing from wire connector to driver. However in terms of enjoy ability this is quite high. I would rather take coloration, cut offs of frequencies and all the PL11 has as opposed to thin sounding ear buds that look perfect with fancy braided cables by Skull candy. This is a great cheap ear bud for those that are short on money or just want to go on a short trip or something. These are meant to be portable and enjoy them as portables. Not to pick apart and think of all the wrongs of the audio that is produced. I got these for $10 with a bundle deal with the E17 and i cannot be happier with this bundle purchase. These retail for $20 but these are worth more than even the $20 price tag. If you need cheap buds that will do, these are it. Of course everyone is different. i imagine that high end audiophiles already know what they are looking for and reading this review will know whether or not to get this or not..

One thing to add is that the L and R differentiators are very small. Look in the images. They are very small and can only be seen in the right light. No other indicators tell if it's L or R. kind of annoying at first but you get used to it very quickly

Rating Section:

Build Quality- 8/10

Isolation- 8/10 (depends on person and tips used; i reviewd and used with stock medium tips)

in ear feel- 8/10

Microphonics- 7.8/10

sound quality- 7/10

value- 9.5/10
 

Build  Quality: The build quality of the Dunu DN-17’s are very good for the most part. The driver casing is metal and reflective. IT does not feel cheap. The driver tip is also of high quality. No problems with the mesh or surrounding parts. However, the opening of the “port tube” that opens up into the rear of the IEM has some problems. Some material from within the driver was coming out (a few strands). The port itself also isn’t super finely shapped, but that is something that really matters to the perfectionists themselves. However the DN-17 is too durable with too much metal. It drops fast and even with weeks of using them, placing them on the table as one normally would, would make them hit the table due to their mass. And when the drivers hit together, it creates a sound that worries the user.  I would say that the build materials should be rethought next time around. They are good but too heavy when taken out., and cause mishaps because most earbuds are not as heavy.
 
Read the Review Here:
http://www.pandatechreview.com/dunu-dn-17-review/

Microphonics: The cables do make a sound sadly. They aren’t noisy to the point that moving yourself while sitting down creates unbearable noise , but walking around with them in the usual position creates a bit too much noise. Wearing them over and behind the ears is recommended. Demo pic below.

Cable Tangling:  The cables are also a bit easier to tangling that usual and it is even harder to get them loose. The plastic material used on the cables creates more friction than most cables and makes it hard to slide past each other, the heavy drivers make it harder to untangle as well

Isolation: How well the tips fit your ears and which tips you use make this different for some, but the standard tips that came on the DN17 by default fit me extremely well. They block out a very good amount of noise with music playing. Conversation, trains, regular cars go by without any problem.  Harley’s and other motorcycles still pose a problem however.  The DN17’s do not leak much sound either. The “port tube” may make some think that it leaks, but that is not the case.

In Ear feel: The body despite being heavy, doesn’t have any ill effects when in the ear. It fits well and doesn’t  block anything really, it may be a bit too long for sleeping with your ear to the pillow though. They stay in the ear easy, but again, everyone’s ears are different.

Tips: The default tip fit me very well. No problems, they were firm and fit well with the Crater. However the same can not be said about the double flanges. The double flanges were not made and do not fit the DN17 Crater in any way. I was a bit baffled that they were even included when they didn’t even secure onto the IEM.

Sound Quality: I have tried and used these with many different genres of songs. They were EDM, metal, pop, rock, hard rock, jpop, jrock, classical, house, dubstep, jazz , rap, R&B and anything really.

Highs: Harsh and uncontrolled is the only way to describe it. They got better than initial thoughts but are still in bad shape despite constant burn in. They get to a point when the high that is shown to you as a listener is just a plain high frequency and not even the song anymore. They come in at bad times and are like I said, uncontrolled. They don’t end in the right spots and start in the wrong ones as well. For the high pitched cymbal hits and other quick high frequency hits and pops, they work well, but when you need to rely on the highs to come out and show themselves, is when it fails. They are harsh, and are not accurate. They in terms of quantity are abundant. Songs that may require some more high frequency, get it.

Mids: The mids and vocals prefer those with more intimate voices, mainly females and males with a good soft but slightly assertive voice such as the lead singer from Electric Light Orchestra or Adam Leviine from Maroon 5. The preference isn’t night and day but is there. The upper regions of the mids and vocal regions are also harsh. They are sharp and become uncomfortable even when the volume is low. The mids themselves have decent depth. They aren’t too shallow or deep. But if I had to pick , they are still on the shallower side of things. They don’t have authority to them and are often over run by background sounds and instruments around. They are also not very clear, it takes a bit more effort to descipher the words to a song you don’t know. Instruments at this range also are hard to tell apart. The sound from instruments will sometimes just blend into a sonic burst of frequency rather than the instrument itself if you are not paying attention. The instruments in this range and the vocals clash frequently producing a unclear lower end of the vocal range and a much too free upper vocal range that gets near to the high frequency cousin that leads to piercing and sharpness. However, when the number of instruments or people reduce, the mids are very well pronounced, this is more typical in jazz.

Lows: The Dunu’s strongest point is there lows. They are of decent tightness and punch. They don’t generally overtake and run into the other ranges and give you bass overload or leaking into the mids but it does happen every now and then. They are of decent depth but their extension and range is very short. The mid bass is the most prominent, with the upper base being a bit lower and lower bass being very hard to detect. Very consumer oriented, although it is not boomy.  They are a good addition to the rest of the music without overpowering or underpowering, but they are also not the right combination, lower bass and some upper bass is needed.

Seperation: The Dunu’s do not favor multiple instrument setups, the separation is very  abysmal and hard to hear apart.

Soundstage: I was quite surprised at the soundstage of the DN17 crater, it isn’t as wide as a full open but for an IEM it is a good feature and thing to have. The soundstage isn’t very artificial but has moments when you “reach the outrebounds” and get that feeling of fakeness coming back to you.There is a slight pulling back effect, think of Slogic by Ultrasone. While Slogic moves you back noticeably, these pull you back a tiny bit. Dunu simply presents you with a soundstage on a IEM.

Burn in: These have been burned in for approx. 50-60 hours. Burn in did help drastically, but they stopped past 10 hours.  Extensive burn in is not needed.

Sibilance: There was some at first, but it later was gone for the most part. The sharp highs replaced it though.

Initial Impressions: This is where when I first got the IEMs, I would wear them and quickly jot down my thoughts on them, randomized thought, messy language and bad grammar, just quick notes.

Testing: Most of the time spent with the DN17 was directly out of an iPod Touch 2G. It was also tested with the Audio-gd NFB 12.1, Custom Objective 2 amplifier,FiiO E5, and Arcam rPAC. The end review was written by the follow:

ComputeràS/PDIFàAudio-gd NFB 12.1 Fixed line out w/ Dual Wolfson WM8741àOFEC audio RCA cableàCustome Objective 2 with Burr Brown OPA2228.
The dark blue unit to the right is a custom Objective 2 Amplifier with a Burr Brown OPA2228 and JRC NJM4556.

Driveability: The DN-17’s are extremely easy to drive as the specs may indicate. Getting to an almost loud volume brings the iPod volume controls to about half.

Amp: These do not need an amp at all. They are earbuds and are meant to be portable. These IEM’s do not warrant carrying around an amp with you.

Conclusion: The sound Quality of the DN17’s in my opinion for the price of $83 is not favorable for most genres. The DN17 loses out and gets unbearable with any song that gets too complex in instruments. That is its main problem. I have found that the best genres are simple classic, rap and hip hop, and especially Jazz where the not as congested mid range and light use of the high frequency range and good soundstage helps the most. The sound gets extremely unbearable and metallic with more instruments and the different frequency ranges start pouring and mxing into each other.

Specs:
Driver:10mm
Sound Pressure: 102+-2dB
Impendance:16 ohm
Freq. Responce: 16Hz-22KHz
Noise Attenuation: 26dB
Weight: 20g
Plug size: 3.5mm Gold platted
Cord length:1.2m

PRICE: $83USD

Rating Section:
Build Quality: 9/10 (solid, but should make driver lighter in future)

Isolation: 9/10 (depends on ears)

In ear feel:8.5/10

Ease of use:7/10 (heavy driver and frictional cables)

Microphonics:7.5/10

Sound Quality: 6/10

Value:6.5/10

The rating sections scores are dependent on the price of the IEM's.

Comments, both negative and positive are welcome, questions or anything whatsoever!
 

Introduction:
Dunu by Top-Sound has been known to have popular budget IEM's throughout all tiers of the level. Dunu now steps it up a notch and has unveiled their Dynamic Flagship IEM the DN 19 Tai Chi ($140). This IEM uses damper's to control the bass, different type tips, and insertion of tips to modify its sound. The DN 19 is part of DUNU's silver impact series. The silver impact series uses silver covered copper wires as it can be seen from the images.
http://pandatechreview.com/1/post/2013/09/dunu-dn-19-review.html

Build Quality:
Other Dunu's like the DN 17 have had such a solid metal build that it was actually a con. They weighed too much and thus dropped like rocks. This could cause damage and chips. The DN19's now take a hard plastic approach at the driver housing. The housing itself is extremely light but static. The nozel can not be moved around to fit different ears. I will get into this later. They do feel like they will get destroyed if they are stepped on hard however as it is just very light.

Microphonics:
Microphonics are the annoying sound made by the cables.

The DN 19 are meant to be worn over ear with the guiders or without. It is nearly impossible to wear them without going over and behind the ears. There is thus little microphonics. Moving the chin slider up virtually eliminates the rest of the cable moving sound.I don't keep the chin slider all the way up to my chin. With the cable tight, I prefer it about 1.5 - 2 inches beneath my chin.

Fit problems:
The problem is a bit widespread but not too large. The nozzle can not be moved and thus the shallow insertion, big driver housing, the housing "hump" near the nozzle and the immobile nozzle itself causes fit problems for some. Next, the damper port is also another cause. If you can see from the pic's below, they are right near your ear. They can prevent your ear form getting a seal.

Shallow or Deep insertion? You pick:
I am a user of Medium tips always. I thought I was seeing things when I found the medium tips to be quite small upon first sight. In reality, they are. They do create a seal of sorts but are more of the tip to just barely be inserted as a seal at all but kinda sit on the ear opening after being inserted. I am fine with this kind of seal but I found that the large tips of both the black and gray allowed for different sealant pattens. The gray's went farther into the ear and were more hard and responsive to expanding inside the ear. I did a wide variety of tips and choices. I found the shallow mediums to fit me best. Why? Dunu's(not just them) are a bit more prone to the diaphram vacuum. This is where on insertion, the backwards suction after the seal is created, the diaphgram will itself get compressed or sucked up You can hear this as a pop of air when insertion or de-sertion of the IEM's. The shallows allow a lesser rate of that happening. But as to what sounds better for whoever, it is your call.

Cable Tangling:
They don't tangle as easily as the DN19 nor many other IEM's actually. It may be due to a different cable composition. The DN17 also part of silver impact series cable feels different.

Isolation:
They don't leak much. But they do let in some sound in. They didn't isolate as well as the deeper inserting IEM's like the TF10 or the ones using tougher driver material. The IEM driver assembly and housing itself is extremely light. Harley's do penetrate the DN19 even on loud volumes.

In ear Feel:
Excellent. The cable guides have a patent pending but with or without them, they fit well. The shallow insertion (general) and static fit may cause a problem with some. I myself have a personal problem where my right ear's opening is different from my left's. I myself prefer no cable guides while at the desk and cable guides while going for a jog.

Usability:
The cable guides have caught onto the wire itself or other things a few times while pulling them out but it wasn't really annoying. The cable itself is just solid, slick, long enough to not be an annoyance in daily activities while still being just long enough for use with a desktop unit that may not be too close to you. However the dampers are a problem. I realized why they gave you over 10-20 after my first week using them. The driver damper port is too small to be machined accurately(read: cost effectively) and same with the dampers. And thus you literally screw in the dampers with a clockwise motion. This will take a few tries at first. However I have noticed that the dampers screw plastic mold will sometimes break. I have had this happen twice where they become useless because the screw mold is gone so they won't hold.

Amp:
These do not need an amp for volume but they do exhibit noise on many amplifiers and units that even support its 16 Ohm impedance.

Driveability:
Very easy to drive but a bit sensitive to what amp or unit is used with it or else it will produce noise.

Sound Quality Introduction:

I was not deeply impressed with the DN 17 Crater but I am with the DN 19. The main lesson from the DN 19 is that Dunu can craft a beautiful looking, feature packed and good sounding IEM at a competitive price. Now before I reveal my thoughts, lets get into the part we all wanted to read.

Highs:
A problem the DN 17 had was that its highs were all over the place and EXTREMELY bright and fatiguing. I wish to announce that the problem for the most part has been rectefied. It still is not as smooth as I want it to be but the DN 19 delivers crisp highs. It needs to smooth out some flucuations in the highs. They are crisp and articulate but don't go too too high either. This is good and bad. It depends on what type of person you are. Some can't stand highs that (don't have sonic problems) burn into your brain. And some want more. I have heard enough of IEM's and headphones that try to deliver highs on a tech sheet but don't go back to engineer them. And that is why for this range of a product, I will welcome an item that has an engineer high frequency range(yet one that doesn't sounds that high freq lovers will want)

But a problem that still remains un-rectified is the harshness that shouldn't be there at times. It doens't happen often but the Dunu's may still produce a very high ptiched sound that really is fatiguing and may not work for lower quality rock groups. (Rammstein, most punk rock etc).

Mids
Vocals:

The vocals are not overly forward. They are in between in the forward role and taking a backwards role. This also highly depends on the song but with practice one can put it at where it lies. I have to say that it would be one that is just slightly behind the mid based instruments and other parts of the track. They are clear and on the warm side. The bass can sometimes be so strong that while it won't muddy up the mids, it will make it a bit hard to "hear" what is being said. (Will talk about dampers later). It is a very sweet sounding vocal.

Instruments:

Very clear, seperated with good timbre. Some strings do come off a bit metallic or just streak off but for the majority of the time, the DN 19 produces instruments clearly and accurately. It is generally above the vocals and boy does the guitarist let you know that he is in the front.

Lows(no damper):
The low freq range is not like a car bass. It isn't tight but just because a low freq responce is not tight in its execution mean it is more like a car bass. It punches along with a rumble and hit every now and then. I can't say that I dislike it as I listen to a lot of modern mainstream music(I tested with plenty of oldie favorites now). The mid bass and upper bass is extremely prevelant and has quite the rumble that will sometimes overtake the vocals and mids as the front row man(but won't distort them). They do have a decent sub bass extension that would do well with the IEM. It isn't specially deep but does create the sub rumble that accompanies the massively delicious bass on these IEM's.

Lows (damper):
Much more controlled. I may even say that the sub bass may itself be affected a bit negatively with it. For those that want less bass, this is a good solution as these things on bassy songs will really start rocking.

Dampers and gray tip combo:
Dunu recommends Dampers and gray tips for a more clear and "neutral" combo. That is exactly what they do. The dampers reduce and "engineers" the bass a bit and the deeper inserting gray tips seal off your ears but also make the entire mid range clearer. This has a negative consequence with it however. I found that with this combo and many others that I tried (dampers and black tips) that it would increase fatigue. Anything from the default dampers and medium tips will increase the fatigue that these produced. The mid instruments became more metallic with them and vocals a bit too bright for my liking. It would be up to your choice. Try them out.

Analytical:
These IEM's are a bit more on the analytical side even with the warm sound. It will sound bad with badly recorded tracks. Tracks that were recorded ok and play well with forgiving cans will also be a disaster with these. So pair them well.

Fatigue:
The standard config of no damper and medium tips still provides a bit of fatigue to me. So they aren't totally perfect. The damper and gray tip combo proves worse with this.

Soundstage:
This isn't a Dunu if they don't give a nice to decent soundstage to go along with it. From the moment you put in the IEM with a good fit, if you spent time with other IEM's you will notice the soundstage. It isn't a very large artificially spacey sounding one like the Monster Inspiration. It at first sounds a bit un natural to the ear as everything is moved farther away but after a few moments, you forget about it. I would say it is slightly above average and has nothing to really dislike about it. As a gamer, I welcome this.

Conclusion:
The DN 19 Tai Chi proves that Dunu is stepping up its game. It is warm and fun sounding but also on the analytical side. I like to differentiate between earbuds and IEM's where the IEM needs to at least be up to my own self made standard on it sound. Well the DN 19 by my standards is an In Ear Monitor. I must congratualte Dunu on this stepping stone in their company. Using it is easy and listening to it is pleasant(until the ear fatigue kicks in). This is not the end of Dunu's journey. While they do deserve such praise, they must also fix the sometimes metallic sounding nature of their IEM's and its fatigue. It is finally competetive but still behind the fence from other $120-$150 IEM's. I wish Dunu the best of luck and am excited to see what else they can come up with next.

Specs:
Driver size: 10mm
F responce: 16Hz - 26KHz
Sound Pressure Level: 100+/ 2 dB
Impendence: 16 Ohms
Noise Attenuation: 26 dB
Plug type: 3.5mm
Cable length: 1.3m
Weight 18g

Price:
$130

Ratings:
Build Quality: 8.5/10
Isolation: 8/10
In ear feel: 9/10
Microphonics: 9/10
Usability: 8/10
Sound quality: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Value: 8/10

Introduction:
Reid Heath Audio is somewhat of a new comer to the world of audio. Their main branch, Reid Heath Ltd. is still not very big. However, their company represenatives were homley and their web page yells humble.  They are ambitious in getting the word out about their company from the looks of it. I recently spotted their company at an Apple store. Amazing isn’t it, what people with a dream can achieve. I would like to thank RHA for arranging the review samples and Warren for the recommendation.Now let’s take a look at their earphone.
 
Read the review here:
http://www.pandatechreview.com/rha-ma-350-review/
Unit Quality:
-Utilitarian, light but well structured-

The MA-350 boasts of its use of Machined Aluminum and it should. The driver housing, from the looks of it, is comprised completely of this material. Many companies obviously use Aluminum. But few use it in such a way that RHA did. Many will add designs, and plastics, and other things to the housings aluminum faceplate or body. This weighs the unit housing down. RHA goes utilitarian and gives you a light weight housing for the driver. It is very light, but isn’t exactly weak. I wouldn’t and haven’t actually tried to step on them but they seem to hold up well. Scratching the black faceplate wasn’t really an issue but I can see it happening.

The cable however is really like many of the braided cables out there at this price point. Skinny, light, and flexible. However, this adds microphonics and feels a bit too weak. From the cable to the headphone jack feels a bit underwhelming.  The cable does also get kinks in it. It is still hard enough at sections to scrunch up. It is basically an ordinary cable at this range of headphones.


Microphonics:
Microphonics is the annoying sound made by cables due to a variety of factors.

Yes (and the masses go wild!). This earphone has a problem with microphonics. I hinted at it with the cable part. But just like many ordinary cables at this range, it also has the problem that hits many other earphones.  The dreaded microphonics syndrome plagues it.  It is quite bad. I’ve had to awkwardly wear the cable over ear in most situations to escape it. I can usually not do this while at the desk for most earphones that have this. But the mere touch of the cable to my clothing would give me the plague. Sorry.

Sibilance:
Ahh yisssssss. Sibilance is another dreaded thing that we hate. It is the audible sound of s’s and many others. It is a demon of many heads.  Thankfully, RHA had slain the dragon with the MA-350’s. There are some times when it may arise. But those are mainly due to some sonic qualities of this unit (more later) and the track itself. For now, you may rejoice.


Isolation:
Don’t want to hear Harley’s while you listen to music? Don’t want to let your friends know that you actually am sick with Bieber fever? Well then knave, carry on reading. In terms of blocking out outside noise, the RHA’s do perform below average. Keep in mind that average is already quite good. At a ‘decent’ volume, some annoying vehicles and etc could still be heard. It may be due to the thin aluminum. As for personal isolation, these keep your secret nice and safe. As long as the buds are in properly that is. Pop them out, and they do have enough sound coming out of them when you are jamming that anyone will ‘know’. I mean who doesn’t know “BABY! BABY BABY! OOOOO!!”

Usability:
I will admit that I do not prefer using these for the sole purpose of microphonics. Wearing these over ear gives a weird cable loop that extends a bit too far. Besides that, there is nothing extra ordinary to note.


Driveability:
iPod/pmp is fine. Very easy to drive these things. It’s impedance is low so watch out.

Sound Quality introduction:

These RHA MA-350 go for $39.95. But how do they sound? Well, quite above average. You were expecting another one of my famous out bursts huh? I would say it is quite a lollipop.

Highs:
-holds well, not too fatiguing, done well-

The high frequency response of these held out quite admirably. Most earphones at this price range make the mistake of giving a consumer highs and doing it wrong. Most don’t even bother giving you a high frequency range anymore. This means very sharp highs that want to make your ears bleed or none at all. I attribute this to the problem of teens today. The RHA’s however do give you a good high. Not perfect but good. It hits high and holds. It wouldn’t be a silky smooth high frequency response but is quite admirable. There are a few times when the highs doe escape their path and lead to some bright moments though.  It is a good addition to the MA350 but I do wish for a smoother high frequency next time.

Mids:
-right in the middle, sweet, fatiguing after a while, dynamic-

So first we start with the vocals. I would not say that the vocals are forward or laid back. Background instruments are a bit louder than the vocals so you can say that they are. But they aren’t pulled back enough for me to say that they are really a backup. The energy is still enough that you can still enjoy it. The vocals are very dynamic. They cover a variety of roles and don’t become like flat soda. There is a bit of a spike in the upper mids that do cause fatigue though. These are some bursts of this spectrum that adds to the fatigue sadly.

The mid range instrumental spectrum is done well.  Smooth and dynamic are the words I would give it. They do become a bit louder than the vocals on general (unless the track differentiates and makes it differently).  So they do become a show stealer many times. Instruments have above average separation and clarity. They are good sounding. But the problem with the vocals comes back. That little spike in the upper mids that just gives a knock on fatigue lane.

Lows:
-punchy but without orthodox impact-

For earphones at this range, a bassier earphone is always welcome. The MA 350’s give you the bass of many other earphones but with a noticeable less amount of impact. It is still there but much more subtle. You are getting the bass response but without the actual ear drum thumping signal, or most of it that is.  This is a feature more often found in higher tier IEM’s. Glad that it is there.

The sub bass and mid bass also share qualities that the bass response gives. They are there is very good proportions. It isn’t extended too deeply, not too little, and not too much.

Conclusion:
The MA-350’s do get a bit fatiguing after a while, but it has a nice sweet dynamic sound. It isn’t as musical(long term enjoyment) as many earphones though. There really wasn’t a set genre that I could jam too without comparing the MA-350 to other IEM’s that give you a very fun sound. However, this right here is another feature of higher end IEM’s. It’s just that the MA-350’s neither fall on the musical side, nor a good replica of higher end sound.  

Specs:
Freq Range: 16Hz to 22KHz
Impedance: 16 Ohms
Rated max power: 3/10mW
Sensitivity: 103dB



Package contents:
Carry case soft
S/M/L tips
Earphone
Price:
$39.95


Pros:
Good Dynamic sound
lightweight
price

Cons:
Cable Microphonics
A bit too light for some
Fatigue
Usability

Where do I buy these?:

Click here for Amazon link

RHA Official Website Earbud page:

Click here

Ratings:
Unit Quality: 8/10
Isolation: 7.5/10
Microphonics: 5/10
Usability:7/10
Sound Quality: 8.5/10
Value: 8/10

Introduction:
Oblanc is a new headphone subsidiary of SYBA. SYBA is a big player in computer accessories and parts be it for computer DIY’ers or the average customer. Their new subsidiary/department is ambitious in getting the word out about their product. They have a design, and taste in how and what headphones should be like and they aren’t afraid to show it. Their general product line up is one base model shell that looks the same but has different variants. Generally we will first have the regular stereo model, then the stereo and microphone model and lastly a multi driver model with microphone. I would like to thank SYBA USA for their review samples. 
 
Read the full review here:
http://www.pandatechreview.com/oblanc-nc3-2-gaming-headset-review/

Unit Quality:
-sleek smooth plastic-
The NC3-2 uses a smoothened plastic for the body of the unit. It is ‘soft’ and comfortable feeling and not rough like many plastics. The headband has a thin strip of metal going through it as support, aesthetics and for function.  I would not want to twist this headband or driver unit. For general on head purpose, this headphone is well built. There are no glaring flaws. But it doesn’t feel like a tank. Some of its joints feel like it will snap if I twist them any further. But apart from that, these are sturdy gaming headphones. Chuck them in your bag and go style. 

The ear pads and head pad use mediocre materials. They are mediocre but they do the job well. Soft but present without a sinking sensation. It is a good median of cost and performance. The driver housing facing the ear has two driver faceplates. There is a for the top driver as it is smaller. The foam coating of the ear pads however do a wonderful job and fooling your ears into not feeling the dip though.

I would say that while nothing is absolutely perfect or sticks out. The NC3-2’s unit quality is a good cost effective match that does what it needs to do without trying to be overly luxurious.

Cable:
-plain and fit for your choice-

Many gaming headphones at this range try to go for the cool looking cables. Oblanc doesn’t do that. Their headphone jacks, cables , and adapters are plain Jane. However I have no problems with that. They are highly usable and do their purpose.  Cables should neither be too soft, nor too hard. They must not be too kinky but also not too fluid. The Oblanc’s cable is above mediocre in this department though in terms of its usability. It is soft, but not flexible and has a problem with kinks that stay in the cable.

The cable is just a tad bit long for portable usage. The headphone works great on the go though. I’m 5 foot 9 or 175cm and the cable without adapter on the go was just a little bit too long for me to actually be fine and dandy. It didn’t get in the way, but I would prefer if it was a tad bit shorter. Overall, nothing to be crying over as it still worked well and was relativity un obstructive when walking my dog.

Some cables also develop qualities when exposed to the cold. The Ultrasone HFI 580 wires will get extremely hard when in the cold. The NC3-2's did not exhibit these symptoms in 20 degree Fahrenheit weather. 

Plug and Adapter:
There are different TRRS plug standards. OMTP(going into WAC) and CITA. These basically deal with where the left channel, right channel, ground, and microphone connectors/prongs or spaces will be situated. Without the adapter, the NC3-2 works natively with the iPhone and Apple devices. OMTP is what older Nokia, Sony,  and Ericson. But this technology has been being phased out for the CITA standard that Apple and others supports. The NC3-2 from the looks of it is the CITA standard as it works with as a microphone for the iPhone 4S of mine. Well, what does this have to do with anything? Well there is an adapter for a reason. Some jacks on the PC don’t support Mic and audio. This lets them go worry free as to what headphones you use with them. They will thus make it so that we have a stand alone microphone port on the PC. The adapters job is thus to take the separate entitites and split them. If your PC supports a combined mic and volume port, then you can try the NC3-2 with it. Otherwise, the adapter should work with nearly all computers. I keep my adapter cable wrapped up from the day it arrived.

-thanks to CLIEOS for explaining it-

Sibilance:
Ahh yisssss. Sibilance is a dreaded dragon. It is the sound of s’s and other sounds that you make a slithering face with. The NC3-2’s do not have a problem with sibilance unless your track just has a lot of it by standard.


Isolation:
The NC3-2’s pass isolation but fail leaking. These things have enough sealing, plastic and volume to block out a lot of noise. Nothing that a good IEM or CIEM will do, but average for a gaming headphone. The leaking is another demon all together. Using four drivers with a built in amp produces a lot of decibles of sound that escapes in many directions. Listening at a moderate- 87-90dB still produced enough noise so that it can be heard by other people. Do not consider these if you have guilty artists you like.

Driveability:
These have an built in amp. With an iPod or iPhone, they can loud enough for anyone really. There is no need for an external apparatus. But I did use one exclusively when reviewing this and for other purposes.


Sound Quality Section:
These OBlanc NC3-2 go for $150 and the question is always how they sound and how do they work as gaming headsets. Well these are extremely dark but fun sounding headphones. I don’t always review things to compare them to neutral and clear things. Every headphone and idea of sound is different from the other.

Please do not just read the following sections. Please read sonic conclusion as well. This section is me analyzing the sound like an 'audiophile' and for pure listening purposes. This is not the headphones purpose so please read the conclusion as the sonic qualities section is me being a bit harsh.

Highs:
-nonexistent for a good reason-

‘Most earphones at this price range make the mistake of giving a consumer highs and doing it wrong. Most don’t even bother giving you a high frequency range anymore. This means very sharp highs that want to make your ears bleed or none at all. I attribute this to the problem of teens today.’ This is what I have said in the past and it holds true for the Oblanc’s. Companies like Vmoda have dulled some ranges to prevent damage to people’s ears. I do not know if this was intentional by Oblanc or not but it is a valid strategy. I personally like my entire range to be clear and present. But a review must be fair and not just what one person likes. The NC3-2 has highs that are very low. They can often be mistaken for upper mid range sounds. That is how low the floor for highs are. They don’t reach very high but do hold smooth for the most part. I find that even if this isn’t what many audiophiles want sonically, it is something that makes a lot of songs more tolerable. The highs sound like they end somewhere at 5,000 MHz. There is a small spike at 10K that regains some high presence but that is basically it. I was deeply unsatisfied with the highs when listening to Adele, The Eagles, Angela Aki and playing BF3.

Mids:
So we start with the vocals. The vocals are just slightly behind the instruments. Slightly recessed. The lower vocal range also is a bit dulled and isn’t very clear. It is below average in clarity for vocals at this price range. But it redeems itself in being quite full.  The vocals aren’t empty; they fill up the feeling of the song and can get some jam sessions started. I wouldn’t call them sweet exactly. Maybe mellow sweet works to describe it better.

Mid instruments perform better than the vocals did in audio reproduction. I do not know if it is due to the dual drivers as I do not have the stereo model of the NC3. But soundstage, separation and pure weight of the instruments playing is quite good on the NC3. The mid instruments are not very sharp though. Don’t be expecting sharp guitar riffs but more dull and mellow ones. This is not a bad thing. It is just yet another quality that we can expect from headphones.

Lows:
The bass is what Oblanc likes to focus on. It has a nice sub bass and mid bass and upper bass. Just nice bass all around for the regular joe. The quality to an audiophile is below spec though. It is boomy and sloppy but many will prefer this sound. There is a bass slider on the headphone for bass amount. I have it a scroll up(so that the bottom ledge would go touch the top ledge from the least bass position). It has nice impact, but actual quality and extension is its main problems. Oblanc tries to exemplify explosions a little too much. This causes really fake sounding explosions and the likes in BF3 and elsewhere. You more or less get a dull vibration rather than a violent pop that brings you to all your senses. The maiming of the high frequency range also plays a part in this. The quantity is there if you want that. However the problem arises when you start playing EDM, or just songs with fast bass. The bass on the Oblanc's just do not keep up. I have the dial up one inch from the bottom position. The bass is very slow and will get very muddy and it will leak into the vocals. 

Sonic Conclusion:
The thing is that these headphones were not made for that purpose of being a studio monitor headphone. These were made to be a fun active gaming headphone that PC gamers would love. And they WILL love these. I am both a PC FPS/RPG gamer and an audio lover as well. There are times when 'good' audio headphones just can't suit my guilty pleasures. This means a less engaging sound and more sloppy bass to suit my mainstream music pleasures. A few audiophile products do do this, not that I am saying none do. The sound isn't sonically superior for the price. At $150, Shure's, Beyers and Ultrasone's run circles around it. But few will be as comfortable, fun to listen to, and suitable for gamers as this is. I have grabbed the NC3-2 for use in listening to my mainstream music many times throughout the month that I have had them over Heir Audio and AKG's. Let it be heard that just because a headphone doesn't compare up to par sonically, doesn't mean that it can't get a good enjoyable score from me. The most suprising part was that the songs it mainly pairs best with are not the bass heavy ones. It is with the songs that have a nice bass backing but not with it as the main tool. Excessive bass muddies up the headphone a lot, so cleaner songs actually are what I have been preferring. 

Audiophile word use:
I try to use this word 2-3 times every review. Not more, but because I have used it more than that as a necessity, it needs its own section. The term audiophile has been dirtied in the last few years as many elitists and what not have used it for their own purpose. My use of audiophile sound and what not is going back to the pure usage of the word where the sound is something that an audio lover looking for neutral perfection, and near life like presentation would want. And not an elitist comment on me sipping Champagne with a monocle in my eye while listening to these. It is mealy used to differentiate what an audiophile sound lover would like as opposed to a mainstream one.

Battery life and built in amp:
The NC3-2 features a built in amplifier to power its 4 drivers. This also allows it to control volume and bass. The amplifier does a good job providing the needed juice for the unit as an iPod can drive this thing well. The bass EQ is very bassy and can get muddy very quickly. I found that a very low bass turn is more beneficial for accurate sound and good gaming quality. Not even turning it up to turning it up one inch is where I draw the line.

The battery life is long on paper, but under actual use it is a bit shorter. I get about 5-7 hours with it. I keep the volume at 100% on the NC3-2 to allow my units to do the actual lifting. You can use while charging but its very awkward. Desktop users probably can't do this as a long USB cable connected to the headphone while gaming wouldn't work out well.

Gaming:
Gaming is an important aspect of this headphone. I am an avid gamer. In testing the Oblanc for academic purposes(of course). I set aside time and went to work in testing them with games such as Crysis 3 MP Beta, The Witcher 2, Nitronic Rush, Crysis 1, Payday and BF3. These headphones had a few slight volume issues for me where it was either too loud or too quiet due to the position of the microphone. My computer’s ADC is not very good so that may be a cause.  For gaming, the NC3-2 works fine but your head does get hot and sweaty after a while. These headphones can be worn for a while, but they do get hot. That would be something that we may need to look at. The dual drivers were quite nice to play with. I do not have a stereo version to compare, but I would sadly say that they didn’t exactly offer the imaging that a Heir 4ai or Q701 would have produced. Its soundstage and imaging for gaming just wasn’t up to par with headphones that have a beautiful stage set up already. The heavy bass did exemplify enemy footsteps and bombs though which was a plus.


Conclusion:
The Oblanc NC3-2 is a gamers headphone all right. Slightly dulled in audio reproduction for a good cause. For a gaming cause that is. The NC3-2’s are still very satisfying to listen to from a consumer standpoint though. They work well with a vast majority of music and the bass switch is a nice add on. The Oblanc is a nice headphone for the range for music, on the go, and the overall gritty nature of PC gaming.

Specs:

Design ynamic Closed

Freq Response: 20Hz-20KHz

Drivers: 40mm @ 32 ohms / 30 mm @ 32 Ohms Neo dymium

Sensitivity: 116 dB SPL

Max input/ output: 200mW /40mW(amp?)

Microphone sensitivity: -58dB

Cable Length: 47”

Price:

$150

Where to buy:

Click here

Ratings:

Unit Quality: 8.5/10

Isolation: 7/10

Leak: 5/10

Usability: 8.6/10

'Audiophile rated' Sound Quality: 6/10

Enjoyable sound quality for main-streamers: 8/10

AKA:
Oblanc OG-AUD63055 NC3 On-Ear 2.1

Introduction:
Dunu by Top-Sound is famous for offering well made and accessorized earphones to IEM's to the market. They are popular on Head-Fi and around the world. With earphone offerings from a wide range of features and prices, many can usually find one that fits their needs. Today we have the new Dunu DN 23 Landmine to review. It is one of the upper echelon's of Dunu products to come out in recent times. It looks a lot like their other earphones and uses many build qualities of their siblings, but make no mistake. For this IEM is about to set off a landmine of its own. I wish to thank Rocky for sending me this review sample. 
 
Read the full review here:
http://www.pandatechreview.com/dunu-dn-23-landmine-review/

*NOTICE*

The Red Driver is the 'right' side and the Blue Driver is the left side. You can remember this as Red is right. 

Build Quality:

The Dunu DN 23's build styles are similar to the DN 22M Detonator and various other earphones that Dunu offers. This means that the driver is thickly made of a metal substance, and the wire is thin and exits straight down without offering any obvious over ear features before terminating into a 3.5mm plug. But of course, the Landmine features its own differences. The driver housing as usual, is heavy, ergonomically sized, and armed with slight colors to back the metallic look. However there is a convex dent in the driver this time around. This doesn't add any weight inbalance issues or anything, its just different from the smooth driver shapes that Dunu usually offers. There is nothing bad to say about the build of the driver unit itself. It's well built with no obvious weakness in structure or anything. 

The driver housing although, with its dab of color, great feel, and look does have the same issues that its siblings have. It does get a bit oily after a bit of touching it (depends on your hands of course) and its weight works against it. Dropping the Dunu's down onto the table or anything is not recommended. The weight of the unit also means that fall damage is increased or is an actual cause for concern now. Most people can just let their earphones drop to the table with no problems. But the weight of the drivers is just enough for it to be a cause for concern if dropped while not being enough to cause any slipping out or heaviness while in the ear. I have noted this on every single review sample I have received from them.

The cable is nicely made and is one of my more preferred styles. The cable is silky like angel hair spahgetti, but also offers enough hardness to keep position without whipping around everywhere. It isn't micro-fiber braided and so can offer a bit more water resistance if some does get on it. It is also easy to clean and feels of good quality.  The neck slider and cable splitter section is made extremely well. Immediately opening the package, I noticed how good the neck slider apparatus was. It's made of plastic but looks like metal with a silvery DUNU brand sign on it. It looked great, and unlike the DN22, the neck slider went all the way up. 

The termination for the plug is V shaped and is made of hard plastic to prevent damage from long term use. The metal cuff at the end near the plug also adds great asthetic values to the units.



Microphonics:

This unit is mainly microphonics free. Microphonics is the sound of the cables moving or rustling as you move around. The silky cable eliminates most of it as long as the earphones are fitted properly in the ear. Pulling up the neck slider while going on jogs will eminate the rest.



Isolation and Leak:

The Dunu's are closed and do not offer any ported openings. The heavy metal construction also prevents the majority of leaking or any problems. Of course this is entirely dependent on the user's fit and volume they are listening at. But the DUNU's do a good job of isolating most things in the world. 

Usability:

The DN 23's are some of the easiest headphones to use, put away and store. They do not offer an over ear design, so the driver unit itself is just those two units. The cable is fluid, and the case is small and ergonomic. Putting the units away is as easy as pinching the two unit cables together near the drivers themselves and wrapping them around your hand. Then you just put them in the soft-shell case taking note of the indent and voila. The V jack also helps when used on the go with PMP's so that it doesn't 'poke' around your pants if upside down and what not. 



Amp requirement:

These are pretty sensitive. Thus, they do not need an amp to drive, but depending on who you are and how loud you listen. It could be good to use an amp to get lower volumes. As an iPod at half volume already outputs a good amount of sound through these. So be wary and always start with very low volume as you initially listen.



Testing:

The DUNU DN 23's were used with my custom Project-H amplifier, iPod Touch 2G, FiiO E12 and FiiO X3 DAP. They were burned in for about 15 hours before this review was done. 

Highs:

The DUNU's do not really feature the highs too prominently but they are there. They are hidden away for the most part and show up if the song needs it. They are sharp and bright. This adds to some songs, but they aren't a very proper high frequency range, the resulting frequency is just that. A high frequency noise the helps with the higher pops and hits of the song. The extension is where the majority of the issue or non issue lies. For there really is no high frequency extension past the first ranges of the frequency. Too often, a product tries to add all the frequencies in, this leads to a mess of how they interact with each other, and creates very fatiguing problems. The DN 23's are able to skillfully avoid the problem through its subdued high frequency range. It's just enough to show up and work with most songs, but not enough to be reference class. This however is a feature that I love and would rather most sub $100 headphones use. If you can't do it at this price range(most can't), then don't do it. 

-hidden highs, little presence, but smooth for the ranges it does present, good as its non analytical-

Mids:

The mid range of the DN 23's are quite prominent, instruments hit and they hit hard. Dunu is quite known for a spike in the upper mid range, and that is visible here as well. This allows cymbals, guitars, and other string instruments to have that sharpness to them. Rock genres benefit from the upper mid spike, however it is often done improperly. This happens when its not smooth, the spike is too high, or the speed of the mid range isn't able to keep up with the instruments. I am personally sensitive to upper mid spikes, these thus for most rock do get fatiguing for me. It isn't a problem if the mastering is good, but most modern rock isn't, and that is where the problem lies. The mid instruments are more prominent in presentation than the vocals and thus a bit more weight to them in how they sound. 

The instruments own detail is quite average. You can indeed hear what is being played, but they don't personally stand out. The upper mid spark brings them alive, but they are still overall a bit dull. The seperation however is quite good if the recording is good. They don't mush together and do allow themselves to be discriminated from others.

Overal, I'd say that the mid range is done wonderfully and it is thanks to its slightly dulled qualities. This is not a reference earphone, however it does work well with songs that are mastered well. The slight dulling allows it to be more compatible with a wide range of genres. Bad mastered rock is still going to be a problem with the Landmine's due to the upper mid spike, but for the most part, it is masterfully done for a big range of genres. 

-prominent mids, upper mid sparkle, average detail but upper mid instruments are sharp, multi-genre able-

Vocals:

The vocals are quite forward but are a bit dull. The lower and mid vocal range is a bit more laid back (its already forward) whilst the upper vocals do have that sparkle that the upper mid spike also gives them. This means that as they go to hit the high notes, the vocals do 'shine' and bring themselves out.  This works quite well for classic rock genres and hip hop as it allows for the singer to be front and center. However, I would like it more if the vocals distinguished themselves from the rest of the song. The vocals are very close the the mid range instruments and the seperation is just enough to tell them apart, but not enough for a truly spacious feel. 

-close to the mids, but forward and are brings out the singer, average separation, lack of space-

Lows:

The DN 23's are a bassy headphone, but the bass doesn't overwhelm the rest of the ranges. The mid bass does slightly intrude into the vocal and mid range areas as they will get a bit muddied up, but its only slightly, and only if the song is a fairly bassy one needless to say. For the most part however, they work well with the song and provide bass when needed and don't go overboard when there isn't need for them. The mid bass thump is fairly prominent and is what is the most prominent in this range. The upper mids are there and offer a good basis for the low end after the mids, but the mid bass is really what is there. The sub bass and extension however is a bit poor after the mid bass, they don't dig deep and don't offer the same kind of presentation as the mid bass. The bass operates when a needed 'oomph' is required in the song, but doesn't intrude when there isn't a need for it. The bass is tuned wonderfully for the Landmine.

-mid bass centered, poor sub bass and extension, works with the song to fullfill the bass role without going over-



Overall: The DN 23's work well with a majority of genres. The upper mid spike allows for artists and instruments to sound sharper, but are personally too much for me and thus are fatiguing. Many are not like this, and with great mastered tracks, the upper mid sparkle is fantastic. Instruments are really brought to life and the artists are prominent in their sonic reproduction. The lack of high end extension or quality is fine with me, as its not totally gone and still helps well with the sound. Overall, I'd say that the DN 23 is a very well put together unit that balances the 3 ranges out well enough to sound good with a big portion of music. If you don't get fatigued by sharp mid ranges, then these are great headphones for you as they offer a good sound for the price

Specifications:

Driver: 10mm

F Responce: 16Hz to 22KHz

Sound Pressure Level: 120+-2dB at 1KHz/1Vrms

Impedence: 16 ohms

Noise Attenuation: 26dB

Plug Type: 3.5mm Gold platted

Cord length: 1.2m

weight: 28g

Price: $80

Ratings:

Build Quality: 8/10 (for drop potential)

Isolation: 9/10

In ear feel: 8/10

Microphonics: 9/10

Usability: 8/10

Sound quality: 8.5/10

Overall: 8/10

Value: 9/10

Introduction:
Reid Heath Audio has been pushing out headphones these past year that many are beginning to take notice of. They are still new to the world of headphone audio and don't have too many headphone units out yet, but they do have a passion for audio, making it available world wide, and at affordable prices. Today I have a newcommer (late 2012 to early 2013) to RHA's lineup. Their new portable headphone, the SA950i($60) is what we will be looking at today. I wish to thank RHA for providing me this review sample.
 
Read the full review here:
http://www.pandatechreview.com/rha-sa-950i-review/

Unit Quality:
The SA950i's feature a somewhat retro looking design with the ovular shaped headphone housings and the usage of two metal prongs held together by a caliper. The unit is light, easily transportable and uses decent materials. Nothing really squeaks or feel like it will bend and break the moment you use it. The materials used aren't of premium quality, but they aren't of sub par either. They are materials made for the headphone of this price and that is that. The headband is tightly stiched and smooth. It's slightly soft but with a hard backbone, there isn't really any discomfort however, and the amount of plush cushioning on it is just enough to be comfortable without overdoing it. The calipers and the metal that hold the headphone up are a bit stiff however. It's a very simple design, but this also makes it a bit hard to operate its ups and down actions smoothly. An indent is formed in the headphones band if the metal gets lowered enough, and makes it a bit harder to slide as the metal is rubbing against the headphone itself, this indent could degrade over time or be ugly to look at if the prongs are moved. The metal, as it is only staticly clamped by the calipers, does not allow for any swivel motion at all. The metal is strong enough to resist it being bent during un-natural operation when taking the headphone off, or putting it on, but I am worried about it. It isn't of the highest grade from the feels of it, but it does the job and doesn't deform out of nowhere. The outer ovular driver housing uses a lightweight plastic. It feels like, whilst it won't shatter, it can bend and have problems if stepped on due to how thin it is. And finally, the headphone pads are of a thin layer, but provide enough cushoning so that most won't feel their ears being hit by hard plastic. The drivers are protected by a near full plastic housing rather than a vented one which is a bit different, but also provide another level of protection for the headphone.

Overal, I'd say that whilst the build quality of the SA950i isn't exactly of the highest, the materials are lightweight and do exactly what is meant for a headphone of this price. The headphone is stylish to some and has enough durability to survive normal portable operation from my usage.

Microphonics:
There obviously isn't going to be much microphonics with a portable headphone, but the microphone unit of the RHA does catch onto the zippers or shirts sometimes, and when walking can produce a 'zz' sound as it continues to slightly rub against zippers of a sweater or jacket.

Isolation and Leak:
The SA950i's do not isolate very well, the housing's platic is quite thin and this is a portable headphone as well of course, and so your ear doesn't get entire covereage. These will not isolate against Harley's and other loud enviroments when listening at a decent volume, however they do get rid of the usual chatter, cars passing and etc. The lack of full isolation however does mean that this headphone works well for those that prefer to walk with headphones, this means that its a bit safer as you can somewhat be more notified of any enviromental changes, of course this depends on volume, but the RHA's do give you a higher possibility of being notified. The RHA's don't leak that much at an average volume, but of course, again, the inability to swivel, light plastic housing does mean that if the room is relatively quiet(library) and you listen to Justin Beiber. The person next to you will know, and he will stare you down. In louder enviroments however, you should be safe, but of course, don't be using these thinking they are leak resistance IEM's. 

Usability:
The RHA's feature very good usability as with most portable headphones, you pick it up and pop it on your head and go. However, there are some hits against this RHA model. The caliper clamp for the headphone drivers(to adjust how high or low it is) isn't exactly super tight so it does lose your previous settings sometimes. The lack of a swivel for the RHA's is one of the biggest problems I have with it. The only way I can get a seal with the headphones if by using the headband it self. The RHA's when used by me, are situated about 1.5 inches backwards on my head's top than where I usually place headphones. This is to compensate for the lack of the swivel and so I can get a full clamp on my ears. The headband has enough traction to prevent it from falling off, but it is something that should be noted. Lastly, due to the usage of the TRS plug(3 prong with mic ability), using it with desktop units means you need to pull out the headphone plug a tiny bit so that the signal gets to the 'right' place. This isn't a problem on most mobile devices however and it seems to really only be a problem on units that require me to use a quarter inch to eight inch adapter. The cable uand cable input is just a plain 3.5mm jack with no special obstructions or format to it. This means you can easilly use another cable of your choosing or fix it cheaply if the cable breaks. Lastly, the biggest chagrin I had with the usability was the cable length. I found that there is generally an average cable length that companies had measured out so that its just long enough for tall users while not being too long for short or average users. The regular cable length of the SA950i's for me at 5 foot 6 or 167cm, was a bit way too long. It would catch onto my shorts, or possibly even be a hazard when walking around if it catches on items due to how long the end loop was. I ended up tapping a section of the cable together to shorten it. It would be best that I didn't need to do this.

Driveability and amp:
The RHA SA950i's when paired with the regular iPod are weirdly a bit harder to drive than I expected. When turned to max volume, the RHA's get to a volume loud enough that I would say is the highest safe volume to listen to. But I know that some like it louder(not recommended) and that the 'loudness' of it pales in comparison to what is usually the norm with other headphones. So yes it is a bit harder to drive than regular portables, but at 100% iPod volume, its as loud as I would recommend. So for those out there with an amp already, and like to listen to older recordings that don't use up the entire noise floor. Use an amp, otherwise, I leave it to your decision on the usage of an amp or not.

Testing:
The RHA 950i's were used with an iPod Touch 2G, iPhone 4S, FiiO X3, and my custom Project H unit with Objective 2 and CS4398 DAC. Usage with an FiiO HS2(headphone switcher) for burn in and testing purposes were also used.

Highs:
The highs aren't as present or extended as one would want. When they are present, they take a backwards role in the song. On reference units, the highs would be present along with the mids, but on the RHA's they are hidden behind the mids and used as an addition to the vocals rather than another full feature. The extension is also sevrely lackluster, not being able to hit very high. For the high range that is present however, it is very smooth, and not bright. This leads for it to be a bad headphone for studio or reference usage, but it is a godsend for just listening to music and enjoying it. It makes the headphone un-analytical and this makes it great for all types of rock and metal. I personally think that for lower priced models, they should either have a good high end that works as a reference, or one that isn't very present, but of good quality to the ranges it does represent allowing for it to play a wide range of genres. The SA950i's allows this to happen incredibly beautifully. Sure, sonically, its not exactly a good thing if we talk about it as if we were all producers. But for enjoying music, this trait in headphones is invaluable. It requires a good balance of just enough high range to allow one to enjoy the song without going over, and this is exactly what the SA950i's do. 

-subdued, with lack of presence, but allows for non analytical-

Mids:
The mid instruments generally will take a more backwards role to the vocals, this of course matters by song. But a wide range of song tests is what I use to isolate if it is truly more backwards or forwards, and in this case it is more in the background to the vocalls. The instruments are detailed, but aren't very sharp hitting, they are a bit more dull, but with detail and impact. Separation is also quite good allowing you to hear a wide range of instruments. The absence of a upper mid range spike is what causes the instruments to not be as detailed as they could be, but this also helps in making the headphones suitable for metal and rock. As those genres regularly feature mids that are fatiguing on headphones that have the spike. Whilst it loses out in sparkle, it gains in universality. The mid range also features a slight reverb effect. This is probably due to the driver housing material and how it was designed. The front driver shield is much thicker than what is usually used while the back uses light plastic. The effect isn't very large and can often not even be heard, but note that it is there. (props to ekey down below for reminding me about it)

-behind vocals, good detail and seperation however with muffling, no sparkle but allows for universality-

Vocals:
The vocals take a forward role to the mid instruments. They aren't quite that full, but are actually flat sounding. Almost neutral and what one would expect from reference headphones in how it doesn't overly try to stand out, and is balanced from the lower vocals to the tops. The detail again, is subdued from the vocals. It's often a bit more muffled than what its supposed to sound like, but this is only a slight bit. The lower vocal portions do however get a bit muddying if the song features a more prominent bass making the lower vocal end to really shine through as much sometimes. However, in the end, the qualities featured allow this headphone to be universal sounding and without developing fatigue to the listener thanks to how everything doesn't try to be analytical detail monsters.

-flat, with muddying in lower end at times, slight muffling, but still good detail and spirit-

Bass:
The SA950i's feature a very prominent mid bass. This , as reported, sometimes muddies up the lower vocal and mid range, but for the most part does its job quite well. I believe that a good enough bass must be had to accomodate all songs. The SA950i's deliver a bit more bass, than what should be comming out however. The bass should be enough for pop, but also without interuption in classicals. The bass is a bit overly eager with songs that don't require it at all, but only a tad bit. For pop songs, they make the song alive by giving the songs the responce that they need to really sing. And this is perfectly fine. The extension of the bass is pretty good, you can hear that the headphone tries to deliver the sub bass, but the trial does fall a bit flat as the sub bass is a bit un-energetic. 

-prominent mid bass hit, a bit too much but with good overall extension-

Overal:
The RHA 950i's are not reference cans by any means, but they make for some truly amazing cans to listen to music too. The lack of a bright high range and high range spike, but with good bass, allows this to be a very versatile headphone for a variety of genres. Metal, and rock are some of the hardest genres to cater to as the mastering and instruments used with bad headphone responce to them produce a mess of sound that is often times very fatiguing and metalic to the listener. The RHA's combat these all the while providing a good sythesis of responce to go with a wide variety of genres. In terms of sonic correctness, the RHA's don't let any genre really take over in how that genre 'should' sound, but it allows for all of them to sound good. This is a portable headphone, not a studio monitor, and thus it is truly good for it to have a universal quality to make everything sound good rather than to just let a few sound good. 

This image perfectly fits how I feel about RHA as a company now. RHA, "You've had my curiosity, but now you have my attention".

Ratings:
Build Quality: 6.5/10 
Isolation and Leak: 6/10
Comfort: 7/10
Usability: 8/10 
Sound quality: 9.5/10
Overall: 9/10
Value: 9/10


Specs:
Driver:40mm Mylar Titanium
Fr Range: 16hz to 22KHz
Impedence: 32 Ohms
Sensitivity: 113dB
Max Power: 100mW
Weight: 105g
Cable length: 1.5m Fabric Braided
Connections: 3.5mm Goldplated
Warranty: 3 Years of "no quibbles" parts and labor warranty 

Price: $59.95

Website and Amazon Links:

Website: http://www.rha-audio.com/us/headphones/sa950i.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/RHA-SA950i-Portable-Headphone-Titanium/dp/B008JFRRYK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1373015468&sr=8-3&keywords=RHA

(note, the Amazon link is not an affiliate link, so feel free to use it)

Introduction:
Audeze is currently one of the headphone audio pioneers in this field. They don't just farm out drivers from OEM's and what not. They design, tune and sell them for the purpose of mastering audio. The LCD-3 is one of the world's best headphone right now next to the HD800's, Orpheus, SR-009 and many other units. The LCD-2 skyrocketed Audeze to being one of the most bought summit-fi cans. I wish to thank Audeze for jumping in with Burson to send the LCD-3 to me for review. And I wish to thank Burson as well for even making this possible. 
 
Read the review here:
http://www.pandatechreview.com/audeze-lcd-3-review/

Unit Quality:
The quality of the LCD-3 is marvelous and at the same time worrying. Everything on it is either shiny or Earthy. the wood used for the 'faceplate' is real and of high quality. Custom made and designed by Audeze. It feels sleek and has the air of quality around it. The pads used are soft, and show no signs of being flaky, and the headband is the same. No cracks are detected in them(I've only had them for short time) but it also doesn't seem like they will develop them for a long time if ever. The LCD-3 has personal quality to it. Quality that gives it a feel of legitimacy, expense, and of nobility. However in terms of how well built this is in terms of not breaking. The LCD-3 is worrisome. The joints leading from the headband to the drivers were meticulously designed but of course still feel very weak to me. Pictures have also shown that I am right to be worried about that part as well. The good thing is that that is also probably the cheapest part to replace as no audio wires are up there. The termination into the dual cables also worry me in terms of how one should place the LCD-3 on a table and if something pushed against it head on by accident. But of course, this is a $2,000 marvel so there is some leniency towards it in terms of it needing protection.

Usability:
The LCD-3 of course is open and is a planar magnetic. This means that you can't use it easily on the go (unless you are as awesome as ALO Audio ). Placing your hands in front of the LCD-3's front grills also distorts the sound due to the design of the drivers (some planar magnetics don't need an open back plate like the T50RP) and so this also means that you are limited in use to it. This headphone obviously was not designed for any of those situations where you can get comfy with the LCD-3. I am just mentioning the obvious as some want to know and as it is part of the usability. How one can put the LCD-3 down is also an issue. I personally had to resort to using the soft case of my Macbook Pro as the throne of the LCD-3 for the past two weeks.  

Cable:
Audeze gives you an XLR terminated plug along with a Quarter inch (TS) terminated cable. So you have the option to go balanced or not. The Audeze units themselves have mini xlr male terminations on each side of the driver facing forward. The cable is of good quality, and the termination of the cable is a bit DIY-ish in where you can take it apart. I have no qualms with the cable for the most part.

Isolation and Leak:
You are reading the wrong review for the wrong headphone if you want to actually know about this section.  But for the record, these are open and can get quite loud. Outside sounds also penetrate in.

Comfort:
The pads themselves were very comfortable, but the headband started to get annoying. This is not the headbands fault. Audeze made the headband as comfy as they could, but this was to only help with the other issue. The weight of the LCD-3's. All the weight is thus on your head and it does make you hate the headbands. Although that hate is a bit wrong. They are good for about 3-4 hours without taking them off at the max I think. I don't have much hair, and those that do may want to do it sooner. The only softer pads my ears touch are my pillows. And even then, the LCD-3's driver pads are still much comfier than my pillows.

Review backstory:
I do not use many high end parts. I have owned the Audio-gd NFB 12.1 and have been sent review samples of many other units. The whole point of this tour was to give people that don't use $2000 headphones the chance to do a write up on them and what not. So this will just be my own thoughts and do not reflect an actual professional review where the reviewer would have had a plethora of knowledge and experience with units at this price point.

For this review, I used the AKG Q701 and Burson Soloist SL. The constant DAC was the Cirrus Logic CS4398.  I have had experience with the LCD2.2 for a home demo thanks to Justin at Headamp and wil include that.

Sound Quality:
The lows of the LCD-3 are absolutely fantastic. They extend far while having great feel and presence to them. Many call it greatly textured and I can not agree more. You can finally hear and 'feel' the actual lows. Almost as if you could touch them. They don't accentuate the mid bass and keep it fairly smooth throughout. The mids on the LCD-3's are amazing. I was less than impressed with the LCD 2.2's but these are great. The vocals are forward and have good presence to them. The lower end of the vocals isn't as thick as the mid vocal range which is good in my opinion. And what is even better is the layering of the mids from the vocals. The instruments are very noticeably seperated from the vocals. No, this is not the song I am listening to. This is two weeks of listening to music from every genre, watching movies, watching videos and what not with them. The layering of the mid instruments from the vocals is really just out of this world. And finally the highs. The highs of the LCD-3 are there. It won't satisfy those that want the frequency to be well represented and bright(but not fatiguing). But what it does have is a mellow high frequency range that is smooth but without much presence to them. 

Compared to AKG Q701:
There is close to no competition now with the LCD-3. The only two thing the Q701's have for it are the light weight of it so it can be 'thrown' anywhere and comfort. All due to its lightness. And being a better light sounding can for those that prefer it. The LCD-3's are dark and add that sound sig to nearly everything it plays. Some want a very light sound signature that doesn't carry the entire weight of the music behind it, and that is where the Q701's can shine. However everywhere else the Q701 loses out. The Q701's won in the mid range from the 2.2(depending on what you like) but the Q701's layering of the mids to vocals is nowhere near the level of the LCD-3s. And now that the vocals are also forward, the Q701's have really nowhere to run. The vocals are well presented on the LCD-3's and have depth. The low end of the Q701's is laughable compared to the LCD-3's. But keep in mind that there is nearly a 7X-10X cost difference between the two. 

Compared to LCD-2.2:
I do not have the LCD-2.2 side by side. So this is the most probably possibly in-accurate section. Bear that in mind please, but I personally felt like the mid bass of the LCD 2.2 was more pronounced and louder than the LCD-3s. The LCD-3's are more like reference headphones where everything is smoothed out and made equal. The vocals of the LCD-2.2 are also laid back and fairly mellow which just wasn't my cup of tea. That is the most I can maybe remember between the two.
 

Full review here:
http://www.pandatechreview.com/arcam-rpac-review/
http://www.head-fi.org/t/624610/new-arcam-rpac-review
 
 
 
 
Snipet here:
 
Sound Quality:
 
Headphone out:
The sound of the Arcam rPAC as a whole is quite mellow. It doesn’t stand out overly, but nor is it just like flat soda and lifeless. The DAC and amp together gives a soft and not as pronounced but more mixed in low frequency bass hits. It is noticeable however that the rPAC as a whole however does have nice staging that is not visible on many other units which quite surpised me. As a whole the staging although it did have a more pulled back and surround kind of effect was still burdened by it’s amplifier section.  A few other things were that on times when the song would get into a very emotional or violent moment be a quickening and sudden drop of bass and quickening of tempo or massive highs, the rPAC would in a sense quiver delivering an ill sound that can only be described as unmatched. Where the highs wouldn’t exactly go to where  I want and the bass would have a slight muddy upslur instead of a steady and smooth transition. The lower frequency range of the rPAC unit is also not as drastic or as welcoming as I would have liked. The bass was a bit muddy and didn’t exactly punch with not a whole lot of detail to it. Adequate depth of the bass was there though.
 
The rPAC’s sound has good staging but in the end is still burdened by it’s lack of actual depth to the actual contents of the song. The highs weren’t harsh which were good but they were a bit overly sharp in the sense that the high frequency piercings would linger a bit after or had trouble “dropping” and keeping with the rest of the song at times and smoothing out. The highs would also constantly run into the vocals and mids mixing up the upper and center mids and muddying them up or distorting them.
 
DAC Out:
Basically as a whole unit, the rPAC does have a few sonic ills to be noted but can also be forgived, as I will get to later on. The majority of the rPAC’s ills actually stage from the amplifier section of the unit and how it is and on purpose or by design underpowered and also not of much high end. This was confirmed by using DAC out of the rPAC into the reference amp of this price range, the Objective 2 of which mine is a custom one made for high performance desk use with a Burr Brown op amp, RCA in, quarter inch out and various gains and JRC NJM4556. I used the DAC out of the Arcam rPAC into the O2 and also used the DAC out of the Audio Gd NFB 12.1 into the O2 to compare a popular desktop unit the Audio gd to the rPAC.  Both and all units were at around the same price range. 
The results came back were as I expected with most of the ills of the device stemming directly from it’s amplifier stage. The staging that I noticed and liked in the rPAC was still there and even better and more pronounced and clear and detailed and the qualms for the most part were less pronounced was gone. The vocals were warmer and more forward and more detailed. The highs were smoothed out but yet again another problem came and it was that the highs were noticeably more fatiguing now. They were smoothed out by a good amount while still maintaining that sharpness but it did have some fatigue in them when listening now.

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Overall headphone out:
 
Highs:
Sharp but is sonically problematic. The highs are nice and sharp but it gets very jumpy around in that range where it wouldn’t smooth out and go as the song wanted to and would constantly muddy up the vocals and mids. They weren’t harsh but nor were they detailed. I guess you can say it was a bit everywhere in it’s own confined space. They were still highly useable though as they were still sharp and could still pierce through songs.
Mids and vocals:
Prominent with adequate depth and separation. Staging of the separation is also a nice feature and add on. Not as natural as I would like them to be however as they were a bit thin compared to other units.  I would call this section to be a quite normal really. The guitars and vocals and other instruments had a nice and warm sound that wasn’t too warm or metallic. Nothing wrong with them, but nothing exciting with them either. They don’t have an affinity for male or female vocals, of European/American or Asian accents.
 
Lows:
The lows of this song have a good amount of depth and kick. Able to kick with the song without overpowering or being too little. However like any amp. It’s only easy to tell apart if that amp has problems with it’s design or implementation which this one didn’t have so really it’s nothing special past many out there. However what was easy to spot out was the punch of the lows of the unit. Which wasn’t very punchy. A bit muddy actually, more comparable to something for subs than a headphone. They didn’t have the detail or actual “oomph” to go along with many songs as with comparable units.
 
Conclusion:
The rPAC’s headphone out is underpowered by design but does have enough juice for most headphones, although most of the ones that it does have juice is, is below the devices own price range. Driveability is not 100% proportional to price but it is something that does have a relationship with and most won’t have headphones past the price of their amp and DAC at this price point.
The rPAC is underpowered or doesn’t have enough for many reference class headphones at this price because it uses USB for power. Consumer USB ports generally give out 500mA’s of power so the rPAC has to be designed to be in those limits for both the amp, DAC and other lighting and
components on it.
 
The sonic qualities of the rPac are ok for the price. Nothing special besides it’s staging that isn’t very enticing with this section. Some sonic problems however do put a damper on thigns such as a mellow sub detailed low frequency response and extension and a high frequency range that can muddy and lose control easily. Of course these are still better than a $20 device, one should be note all these sayings on the device are price related as I wouldn’t and can’t test and compare the rPAC to a thousand dollar popular device as I could probably call everything out then as can the rPAC to other devices at another price point.

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Overall DAC out:
 
Highs:
 Take 75% of the qualms of the previous section and remove it and add some others and that’s about it. The highs have signifigantly improved, the highs of course are still in their confined area but this time don’t muddy up the mids (for the most part) and is for the most part smoother than before. It is still sharp and piercing with a nice new revitalizing of detail but also a new revitalized fatigue came with it as well. IT’s a lot nicer but also a bit more fatiguing to the ears.
 
Mids and Vocals:
They were largely unchanged but now instead of normal with problems are just normal. They are more pronounced and detailed with a bit more depth. The upper mids that had problems before due to mingling with the uncertain highs are for the most part rectified with this output.
 Seperation and spatial have and are the biggest things anyone will notice. The separation was improved as other sectors before were being muddied up making it hard to even tell what was separate at some parts.  The spatial aspect is also improved and is something you would want for your speakers or even games.
 
Lows:
They are more detailed with a lot more body and punch than before but still falling short of the Dual WM8741 Wolfson Flagships found in the Audio gd. Again the lows in my opinion still hold more for those with subs as they although aren’t punchy, do have more buddy and the “oomph” that you would want with a sub.
 
Conclusion:
DAC fixed line out on the rPAC is signifigantly better than the headphone out. It truly shows off the spatial object placements that the rPAC has. This is not a hear it and it is there aspect as much as it is one that you hear after being tuned to it and comparing. IT is subtle but there and a good add on. I will more or less say that the DAC out encompasses exactly what Arcam wanted, DAC lineing out to speakers with sub units. If the headphone out was like the DAC out with the O2 then this would be a very good device for many.
 

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Overall Conclusion:
The Arcam rPAC is a very interesting unit, it packs Asynchronous USB, headphone out, no external power source, RCA fixed line out, stepped buttons, and good build in all the same unit which is farily compact at such a price. I would not recommend this device as a desktop unit alone for headphone audiophile's as there are many other that do it's job a multitude of times better but for one that can use all it's functions, this may be a good unit for you. It continuously outputs a singal to both RCA line out and headphone out allowing for ease of use and plug and play without affecting sound. It is small with a good build and only requires the USB cable it comes with for power. This unit is somewhat of a home entertainement unit you can bring around everywhere for your or your friends speaker setups. Just plug into your computer and then into your speaker or recievers and boom. Good sound with a good build, wherever you go. A few other devices from FiiO like the E7 and E17 can line out their WM8740's for the same purpose and are even cheaper but I was not able to test them at this time for their DAC out sound.
 
All in all, I would only recommend this device to those that have read this review and know what they are getting and can put this device to good use. I can imagine someone picking this up and taking it to a next location and simply plugging it in. With it's Asynchronous USB features that some tout is better than optical or coaxil S/PDIF with even less jitter. The value of this device for those that can use it is high, but for those that just want an headphone amp and DAC as this headphone forum usually is more inclined towards, it won't score as high there.
 

Full Review here:
http://www.pandatechreview.com/sennheiser-hd-215-review/
http://www.head-fi.org/t/621257/sennheiser-hd-215-review
 
Above "Star" ratings are relative to price.
 
Price paid is approx MSRP, this was lent sample

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Sound Quality
 
Introduction:
The big section you have all been waiting for! I am a very universal listener. Not exotic in artists but univeral in genres. I listen to the popular artists or songs of many genres. For example, Bach and Mozart, Linkin Park and Rise Against, Nickleback(say what you want), Owl City, Katy Perry, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Nelly, LAdy Gaga, Disturbed, Nightwish, Slipknot, Dragonforce, Drowning pool, Adele, Girls Generation, AKB48, 2NE1, TM Revolution, FLOW, Skrillex, Pendulum, xKore, Deadmou5. Etc. 
 
 
Highs:
Good highs for a studio product. They are neither harsh or over apparent. They are "visible" to the listener, but sometimes it goes by unnoticed. The HD215's do give you the highs you need but they don't make them in your face or look here half the time. This is both favored and unfavored, depending from person to person. Some very high frequency parts of songs will just display the high frequency generally without getting harsh or "lost" and or have trouble keeping it without making your head hurt from the over apparency of the headphone trying to give them major attention. They aren't the cleanest highs I have heard though but at this price point I am not complaining. There is a barricade in the highs that although they are nice, they have an invisible plateau that to people with many headphones can tell is there. Some parts just go up and oh so barely get there. So close but there is a barrier for "super highs". The high frequency will sometimes jump in and out in terms of getting slighly louder and then slightly quieter which is another apparent sonic quality of this headphone. Although nothing that will stop a DJ or most studio agents at this range. They are nice and generally clear, clean and smooth enough to get the job done though. They may lack clarity or smoothness during some more demanding parts but hold their own extremely well at this price.
 
Mids:
Good all around for this product. The vocals however aren't as "personal" and distinguished or as life like as some of this price ranges cousins can get to. I pin it largely on the soundstage but I'll get to that later. The vocals in my opinion slightly flavor more intimate people. People with very pleasurable slower not as faced paced voices. The guitars and other various instruments at this price range also do well. However they are a bit "blunt" feeling at times where it doesn't necessarily "slice" through a section. The vocals however are forward but sometimes slightly overpowered on the sides by various guitars and bass and some of the percussion instruments that fall in this range. They are slightly behind various instruments which I think is pinned on the impressive soundstage for such a product. Think of this as S-Logic by Ultrasone except a bit closer to the person ..but at the same time with less intimate vocals despite being closer.  Lastly the low frequency ranges mid bass and most frequency, upper bass frequencies (which is a bit overpowerd and weird; more later)  get mixed into the vocals frequently on songs that have them which brings you to a slight mess when the low frequency ranges try to enter the mid range, guitars may become a very fuzzy mess and vocals become muddy and hidden even more when this happens. And so thus, while the vocals and mids are fined on slower or cleaner songs that dont have a lot going on or with a lot of instruments, they get into slight troubles with more complicated songs. A regular occourance at this price range for studio's however.
 
Lows:
I was expecting a bass head headphone when I first got work I was receiving them. The Citadel style with the DJ Studio sound advertising made me prepped for some nice bass. I was a bit disappointed in the bass but overall it performs admirably along with it's brothers although, at less the precision. I found weird bass on these to say it plainly. They basically had impact but the low frequency itself would fire off either too much uppper bass frequencies at places I have never heard upper bass quantity in and thus muddying up the vocals or it had too little mid bass and or no bass extension! I found that the upper low frequency ranges of these are overly pronounced and will with many songs fire off a bit too  much at times and thus muddy up the vocals and mids to varying degrees. The mid bass that is generally very used in rap songs for that oomph punch in the back is under emphasized. The bass on these is the least neutral or accurate of the entire frequency range on this headphone(mids, lows, highs) in my opinion. There isn't a "problem" with them in terms of being able to listen, but it is not accurate. The mid bass doesn't have not just the punch that is needed. Or the actual quantity to make it feel like it's going along with the song. This is something that one won't notice unless you have experience with other headphones so it may be missed by others but it is a problem. Finally we have the lower bass, that sub oomph. There is little in here as well, not a lot of quantity or even detection of a sub bass to be honest. What does this mean? IT means that a DJ or Studio user may add too much mid or sub bass and thus lead to an extremely muddy track when played on consumer systems that already overpower the bass. Mainstream rap and hip hop songs that had a tremendous amount of mid bass had me question the problem of the lack of punch. And please note that it isn't a quantity problem. There isn't much quantity of mid bass in the Q701's but the ratio of how it goes with the other frequencies matches well and you can tell that although it isn't quantified, that it has the fulfilling presence needed. With these, it feels like you just needed to add more mid or sub bass into your music when you were making it(as that's what theese headphones are targeted at, DJ's and Studio producers). So yeah, watch out. Although I am lenient on this. The Shure SRH440 and other "Studio" recommended headphones at this price also have weird or low bass quantities as well. I have read that one head fier with HD280 Pro's mixed too much bass into his song or production he was doing as he didn't "hear enough" which ultimately turned into a muddy bass-rific mess.
 
 
Separation:
At this price point, the separation is good. That's really all there is, as I noted before, with some bass moments, the low frequency can muddy up parts of the mid frequency range which do put a damper on being able to tell which instrument is doing what. But overall individual instrument separation at this price is decent. No complaints.
 
Soundstage:
As I mentioned, these have a nice and suprising soundstage for the price. I was suprised when I first heard them. There isn't much closed shell reverb that may happen due to trying to get a wide soundstage out of a closed headphone but that doesn't seem to be a big issue nor am I detecting much. These have the vocals pulled back, kinda like S-Logic, but instead of S-Logic where it's pulled back farther with more soundstage with the singer like he is in front of you. The soundstage effect you have on these have the vocals really just pulled to each side more. Along with much of the frequency range. As none of it sounds up close and personal as a true small soundstage closeed can will have. Those that like up front and forward may have some trouble with these due to that, and when you add in the problem of "contamination" of the mids by the lows, it becomes even less a favorite for treble heads. Keep in mind I am emphasising people that like that count of stuff. The vocals are still "up front" in the sense that they aren't hidden out back. Overal, a nice boost of soundstage for some of your gaming, or classical music, but don't expect super soundstage. Sennheiser did a good job of providing a soundstage without going too far and making it sound artificial. The pulled back frequencies do make it a bit "fake" to those that are used to closed or those of us with full or semi opens but it is not artificial if that is what you want to know. A good combination and ratio of soundstage at this ratio!
 
Sibilance:
There is a very slight bit on some songs more prone to the evil ssss's and it is still there on all your music if you listen to the s's but it is in no way in your face or even apparent to most if not at all if I didn't tell you about it. Very low sibilance but it is there. 
 
 
 
onclusion:
The Sennheiser HD 215 Extreme DJ Sound headphones made for DJ and Studio use are an excellent choice at the price range for those that need it. I would recommend rechecking the song that you are making if it is bass heavy to make sure you didn't over do it due to the bass lightness on these and if you happen to be a bass head. These are not bass head headphones. They come with a nice and very well made carrying baggy as seen in the video and is of very efficent design. Despite the bass problems in my opinion, these can still largely and enjoyably used by Studio and DJ users alike. The Swivel system works on the right cup and allows you to swivel so either ear is left open of your choosing which is a nice system and has decent comfort to go along with it.
 

Full review here:
http://www.pandatechreview.com/fiio-e02i-rocky-review/
http://www.head-fi.org/t/622497/new-fiio-e02i-rocky-review
 
The 5 Star Value and 4.5 star overal score is mainly due to this device being for people that need to use it's combined functions. As a standalone portable amp at this price range, other than added bass, there is little to really like sonically for the price but for only $29 with a Microphone, and voice control and also many added on usage and everything. IT is a good device for those that want and will use it.
 
Sound section part of review]
 
Sound Quality:
 
My reference setup will be:
ComputeràS/PDIFàAudio-gd NFB 12.1 Dual Wolfson WM8741 Fixed DAC outàCustom O2 with Burr Brown OPA2228.
 
 
So how does it sound. Well the E02i is warm. Very warm. It is not as universal as many of FiiO’s other amps due to this but at a price point of $29 USD, most headphones used with it won’t really be picky in any case. The E02i is a warm and slightly muddy amp. IT does improve (more on what I mean by improve later)  on some things such as bass and has artificially sweeter sound but in the end still has trouble keeping up with other dedicated portable amps in the price bracket.  It’s soundstage is quite small even for a $30 amp when compared to others of the same bracket. Everything is very tight packed together with also less separation that you would expect. The saturation and bass impact of the E02i however sets it apart. For true audiophile’s.  This is a no no and is not generally wanted. But at the price bracket that the E02i targets, the E02i may be very much wanted for the effects it brings of warmness and bass impact.
I didn’t really go into depth there as well in my opinion, unlike headphones, the regular sound quality section is just short and sweet, the comparison section however is where things really matter as come on. I can say warm and muddy for any amp up to $300 but compared to what is the main question.
 
HOW THE AMP WORKS:
The amp does not work like a traditional one where you first set your pmp's volume and use the E02i's volume controls to control the E02i's amp. The E02i piggybacks on the PMP or iPhone/iPod's own and when you press + on the E02i, the iPhone will raise by one step which is a nice innovative dual amping way to do such a thing. It is still dual amping as it is using a 3.5mm jack but the way it piggy backs onto the iPhones interface already is a nice new thing.
 
E5 and E02i:
The E5 wins and undeniably beats the E02i in sound. The E02i suffers from lack of separation and or soundstage when compared against it’s many previous gen ago brother the E5. The E02i is just a very warm solid state amp in the sense that it just makes everything more saturated and vibrant but overly vibrant.  This does make it sound sweeter and more different to others but in terms of sound. The E02i however does have some of FiiO’s improvements, noticeably in the bass section. With both devices with bass boost OFF, the E02i delivers more punch and impact. However it does this with some not really punchy effects. Still better than the E5’s punch though. I won’t say which is better as some enjoy more punch at this price bracket even if it is muddy while others would rather not. The bass boost on with the E02i also delivers and amplifies the effects of the E02i even more. This means even more warm vibrancy and muddy bass punch compared to the E5 which handles it more sparingly. The bass boost on the E5 however in terms of technologically speaking isn’t as good as the E02i’s in my opinion. The E02i’s of course is more muddy in that it has car sub effects but at the price bracket, it significantly has more punch and just bass than the E5 could ever deliver.
 
 
iPhone 4S headphone out and E02i:
The E02i wins here. But not in an overall kind of sense. Some audiophiles would rather use iPhone or their headphones out instead of using with E02i’s amp as it doesn’t over saturate the sonic objects of the range and is more “neutral”  in some senses. But even with that said, the highs, vocals, mids and lows just sonically in a step by step comparison generally have the E02i winning with more enjoyability and some improvements. Such as steadier high frequencies and a punchier low and more “lusciously” warm vocal. The soundstage on 4S direct out is larger by a tad bit. Initially it may seem like the E02i may have an advantage over soundstage but it only feels that way initially. The direct out on the 4S has more wiggle room and spreads. I will say that the warm added bass on the E02i lessens the appearance of soundstage. With all said, I personally prefer the warmer sound as opposed to the direct out’s and the added punch, although on the muddy side is welcome. The added sonic improvements in softening out some highs and warmer vocals are also a nice side to see.
 
Sonic Conclusion:
The E02i is a good “unit” for $29 USD approx. It is not sonically as clear as the popular E5 of the same price bracket , nor is it superior in an audiophile sense. However it is superior in the things it does for the users. It adds more warmth to the music and more bass impact and overall. The added warmth for users at this price let it sound different than you would from iPhone or iPod direct out and the added bass impact and bass in itself is also welcome. I am making very generic statements on what I believe users at the price range of $29 USD find or will notice but my observations have generally shown me that they like added warmth as it shows difference and also the bass is what they also look for.

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Overal Conclusion:
While the E02i does suffer sonically when compared to it's cousin the E5, for the features it packs, it is a nice update to the FiiO line. It will dual amp and has a few nit picks here in there whilst using it but overal, it is a nice portable device to have with your smartphone. I do not know if it will work with other devices yet. Tell me in the comments on what ones you tried it with. But the controls work very well, it is a very intergrated product for use with a Smartphone and mainly an iPhone 4/4S to be exact doing operations smoothly and nicely. It has some nice bass boosting properties but the biggest point is just how it has a microphone for use in the car while using your favorite headphones as well. There are other things and annoyances and compatibility issues on using sensitive headphones, plugging in the E02i creating a pop(manual says to not have headphones plugged in, but hey, hard to follow) and also the tangly wires. This is not realy just even an amp anymore so I can't say to recommend it to an amp wanter. This is mainly a device for users that wants to be able to use their smartphones(or iPhones at the moment) for many of it's features and should be bought depending on if you want to use it for the voice control, amplification and all the other nice features that I have went through above.

Read it here:
http://www.pandatechreview.com/ultrasone-hfi-580-review/

This is going to be short, It does everything it needs too with a good DAC and many features. Some of my headphone's need quick EQ'ing or navigation and this is pretty finicky. It is a solid device but there is some quality problems such as a rattle that seems to be attributed to the LO Bypass switch and also some..not as tightly made spots you spot every now and then. This may not be the greatest amp for $150 or greatest DAC for $150...but guess what? It does them both with extra features and what not for such a price