THE REVIEWS
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BAKOON AMP-13R REVIEW
The Bakoon AMP-13R is much like a great leader or coach or a superstar athlete in that its inclusion with any combination of capable components will lift all boats to levels that they may not have experienced, previously. Please don’t take my word for it, seek out the Bakoon AMP-13R and discover this for yourself. The truth in this case will be in the listening and the subsequent lifting of all boats/components in your respective, head-fi systems. Finally, the Bakoon AMP-13R performed flawlessly over the course of its entire stay!
PERIODIC AUDIO CARBON REVIEW
The Periodic Carbon ($399) is a minimalist design. There are no frills or fancy packaging or fancy accessories. It is a what you see is what you get IEM and the folks at Periodic Audio like it that way. The Carbon is a bass-rendering champion with few peers, at its price point. So if the Holy-Bass-Head-Grail is what you seek, you will be taken to it posthaste and you will not regret that journey. The Periodic Audio Carbon is very transparent, dynamic, and has lightening fast transients.
PRESS RELEASE: ROON 1.8 GOES LIVE FEBRUARY 9, 2021.
Roon 1.8 arrives: Powerful, user-driven software update brings a visually stunning interface, sophisticated music discovery, and deeper personalization.
VISION EARS ELYSIUM REVIEW (UNIVERSAL)
The VISION EARS ELYSIUM is a very good IEM whose midrange summons transparency and richness and transient speed, that is truly compelling. And its bass, while not the deepest, will please many if not most for its delivered quality, transparency, and its transient quickness. And there are those for whom the ELYSIUM’s electrostatic imbued treble will be manna from heaven, the cat’s pajamas, and quite lovely. And those for whom it will not.
SHANLING M8 DAP REVIEW
The Shanling M8 is an extraordinary “Portable Music Player” more detailed and extended than the DX220 AMP1 MkII, more musical and engaging than the Cayin N6II/A01, and it is as powerful as some desktop systems (and more transparent). The iBasso and the Cayin are both quite stellar, highly rated DAPs, the M8, however, is on another level altogether in what it brings to the rendering of one’s music.
OBRAVO RA-C-CU (IEM) REVIEW
The Most Expensive IEM in the World and a Masterstroke of Design Engineering!
The Obravo RA-C-CU is a TOTL IEM not unlike the TOTL super cars—the Bugatti Chiron, Ferrari 488 Pista, Koenigsegg Jesko, Lamborghini Veneno, and Pagani Zonda Revolucion. And when its needs are dutifully met, as outlined above, its owner will be greatly rewarded with next-level musicality, transparency, and engagement.
MEZE EMPYREAN WIRE REVIEW
At the time of the MEZE Empyrean review, I was aware of the upgrade cables—the Pure Copper Ultra High Drawability (PCUHD) cable ($249-$349) and the PCUHD Silver-Plated Copper cable ($399-$499)—but I had not heard either. And there were scant if any reviews, save for customer reviews, that had found the cable well worth the price of admission. I was intrigued. Could the Best Product for 2020 and AudioKey Reviews’ only DIAMOND AWARD winner, to date, sound even better?