Posts by author
Trav Wilson
A Curiosity full of Tubes and Compromises Douk Audio (also known as Nobsound), a subsidiary of Shenzhen Cavins Technology Co., Ltd., was founded in 2013 in Shenzhen China. The company…
Review: KZ ZS10 PRO | Long Live The New King
Perhaps Practice Makes Perfect – The KZ ZS10 Pro Review Another day, another new IEM from Knowledge Zenith (KZ). Seriously, I’m doubting whether KZ employees can keep the product lineup…
Balanced vs Unbalanced Audio Connections
Getting the best sound from your headphone setup can be a balancing act, but does it have to be? A typical headphone source (amplifier, DAP, etc.) supports an unbalanced headphone…
Headphone Impedance Demystified: Do I Need a Headphone Amp?
The importance of matching headphones with audio sources in the pursuit of high fidelity audio. Impedance is one of the basic specifications included with almost every quality pair of headphones…
Upgrading the Bottlehead Crack Headphone Amplifier: A Comprehensive Guide
oSo now you have assembled your stock Bottlehead Crack OTL amplifier. You could stop now and live in personal audio bliss. The Crack sounds so good, there really isn’t a…
Building the Bottlehead Crack Headphone Amplifier: A Comprehensive Guide
Originally announced in 2010, the Crack is an affordable tube-based headphone amplifier kit offered by the Bottlehead Corporation located in Poulsbo, Washington State, USA. The company was created by the…
KZ AS10 and BA10 Comparison Review
It Is What’s Inside That Counts Knowledge Zenith (KZ) was founded in 2008 by Zen Li, a classical musician, and Keith Yue, a former Audio-Technica engineer. KZ is a public…
Review: Carot One Titta and Super Titta IEMs Comparisons
The Carrot and the Stick. Packaging and Contents The Carot One Audio Revolution Titta is packaged in a small orange cardboard container with an opening tilt-split top (slightly larger than…
Review: iFi xDSD Portable Headphone DAC Amplifier
An Excellent but Unfathomable Jack of All Trades In the last few years, iFi has done much to gain success with personal audio electronics enthusiasts. They solidified their position in…
Review: Koss Porta Pro Wireless – If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
It’s 1984. You just got out of a movie double feature of Ghostbusters and the Karate Kid (and you’re looking forward to watching Terminator and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom…
The Great Headphone Cable Debate: Do expensive cables matter?
If ever there was a topic to avoid discussing with audiophiles, it would be the question of whether high-end cables improve sound reproduction. This includes anything from power cords, to…
The Ultimate Guide to Selecting the Perfect IEM Ear Tips
In-Ear Monitors (IEMs), are earphones intended to fit into the ear canal for personal music listening. Although they are easy to use, it can be tricky to achieve a comfortable fit…
The Most Interesting Headphones in the World
I don’t always dream about cool headphones. But when I do, I prefer the exquisite, the fascinating, and the all but unobtainable. Most are rare birds, pinnacles of hype and…
“Op-amp Rolling” in the Objective 2 Headphone Amplifier
Or… My adventures in trying $240 worth of boutique Op-amps in a $60 amp kit. I’ve been curious about the notion of “op-amp rolling” ever since being bitten by the…
Introduction to Grado Modifications (Beginner Friendly)
Grado Labs is known for hand-making each of their headphones and it is where I began my love of high fidelity headphones. Their headphones sound as good as they look with…
