Welcome to the review section where I share detailed impressions on (mostly portable) audio gear. I started sharing impressions online in 2010 and later became an amateur reviewer publishing on professional audio blogs. Eventually, I made a career in the audio industry (international sales management, brand building & distribution, product development, marketing & content creation, retail & consulting, and lifestyle photography) but still treat this private blog as my ‘safe haven’.
In my earlier review phase I tried to provide useful information in a mostly objective manner. I did my best to educate manufacturers and readers in regard to usability but also neutral sound. Other platforms do this even better now, so my focus shifted to providing more interesting articles. Whenever possible, I share a little insider knowledge from behind the scenes too.
Flavor of the Month: DUNU Luna
DUNU is a well-respected audiophile-first company based out of Shenzhen. After stepping outside their OEM roots, DUNU have shown strong presence in the Head-Fi community. Some of their models enjoyed great international success. Unfortunately, the brand was never well distributed in Europe. I feel bad to admit that this is...
Flavor of the Month: final A8000
The final A8000 are high-end reference earphones that use a single true beryllium driver in a complex acoustic chamber. As the Japanese company’s flagship, they promise to impress with impeccable clarity, speed and soundstage. Having succeeded in that, I award them my special flavor of the month showcase. The final...
Quick Impressions: SoundMAGIC HP1000
I share my quick impressions on the SoundMAGIC HP1000. The HP1000 are the company’s latest flagship reference headphones and are competitively priced at 269 USD excl. tax or the equivalent of 299 €. SoundMAGIC SoundMAGIC is the company of the audio engineer and sound designer Tony Xu. The name might...
64 Audio tia Fourté & Michael Jackson
This article is a review of the 64 Audio tia Fourté with a focus on the music of Michael Jackson. A lot has been said about the 64 Audio tia Fourté. Now that the limited run on the reworked Fourté Noir is over, I finally spent some time with the...
qdc Neptune versus NF Audio NA1
I had planned to write a normal review on the NF Audio NA1, but I also remembered that I never really mentioned the qdc Neptune anywhere. So I thought this would be a great chance to cover them both. My focus is on the NA1, though, I want to highlight...
Impressions: Hifiman Ananda BT
I have taken part in the Hifiman Ananda BT loaner tour on Head-Fi. Thank you very much to Hifiman for giving me the opportunity to test this high quality headphone and to share my impressions. The Ananda Bluetooth (BT) sells for around 1200 € here in Germany, which is a...
InEar ProPhile 8 vs 64 Audio A18t
It is no secret that the reference-tuned InEar ProPhile 8 are one of my favorite IEMs. In my opinion, they are possibly the best set of universals on the market. I was absolutely floored when I reviewed them three years ago on Headfonics. That was just days before the 18-driver...
Flavor of the Month: AZLA Horizon
May I present you my flavor of the month for October/ November? The rare to find AZLA Horizon secured the spot this time around and is making sure that the fabulous Oriveti OH500 get a little less playtime. I picked them up as a souvenir at e-earphone in Akihabara, Tokyo....
64 Audio U18t
The U18 are an incredibly powerful monitoring tool that effortlessly shake out an insane amount of details. They’re tuned to not have their own character and are thus not too exciting for the most part. 64 Audio mainly lets the music talk for itself. Nevertheless, playing through the U18, attention...
Lypertek TEVI
Lypertek has succeeded in creating a completely impressive overall package, which is just as impressive as the Oriveti Hi-Fi earphones according to their price range. The sound is sensational, the operation super simple and the comfort better than with any TWS I have yet had in my ears. The TEVI...
Flavor of the Month: Oriveti OH500
The Oriveti OH500 is my new flavor of the month. It is fresh and shakes up the absurd pricing for high-end gear. The OH500 are a set of very polished multi-driver hybrid IEMs that, IMO, tick all the right boxes. They are accompanied by the OH300, a cheaper and more...
Underrated: The SoundMAGIC Vento P55 V3
I do have discounted access to SoundMAGIC products, but regardless of what I paid, I think the Vento P55 V3 is an amazingly competitive headphone in the sub-150 € market. It hit the market almost unnoticed and is thus very underrated, so I though I’d write a short review. SoundMAGIC...