Here is my Unboxing Video:
Unboxing, Overview & Initial Impressions of the AKG K551 headphones
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Category Archives: Audio Reviews
Custom Art – Silverline Interconnect & PFE232 custom tips – An amazing experience!
I recently bought Custom Art’s Silverline Interconnect for my portable rig and a set of custom moulded ear tips for my PFE232’s.
First, the cable:
I wanted a durable, flexible, good quality and good looking cable. Custom Art offered a cable like this for a very reasonable price of £21.
I went ahead and bought the 7cm interconnect, that has a straight jack on one end and an angled one on the other – it also is triple braided with a 5N silver cable.
I got the cable in, and ever since I have had it in my possession, I’ve loved every minute with it. It brings out the mids of the PFE232’s and doesn’t dampen the quality of the music, unlike with other cables I’ve tried in the past. More so, the cable is so tiny and extremely flexible that it works very well with my rig.
The cable was thus perfect and I hope it lasts very long for me.
Here are some pictures of the cable:
Unto the ear moulds:
The custom ear tips were extremely small in size, meaning they aren’t like full custom ear moulds. That said, with it being custom, it would block out more noise than your average ear tip. I thus went ahead and bought that for around £35. The price was extremely reasonable and very much affordable.
The quality of the finish of the ear tips is top-class, and really well done. The only negative thing I found on them, is that the hole on the end of the ear tip, meaning that the soundstage of the earphones was slightly reduced. That said, after speaking with the owner of Custom Art, Piotr, he said he could easily open the hole, in order to widen the soundstage a bit. He chose to put a small hole as it was how the PFE232’s drivers were, which is completely understandable, in order not to modify the sensational sound of the PFE232’s.
The ear tips, increased the sub-bass response and power of the mid-bass of the PFE232’s, but also due to an earphone tip that doesn’t alter the sound, unlike the Comply Foam tips, the mids were also a bit more up-front. As said above, the soundstage felt a little less open, but that could have easily been changed.
Overall the sound quality was an improvement, and the experience was great. However, for me the earphone tips weren’t comfortable for long periods of time. This has nothing to do with Custom Art, as I had the same discomfort with my 1964ears ear moulds. Thus meaning the earphone tip impressions were at fault, not the ear moulds themselves.
If I get around in making new ear impressions, I will send my tips back to Piotr, in order for them to be re-moulded (he was very kind in letting me do that).
Here are the pictures of the ear tips:
I hope this posts helps you out!
I would strongly suggest buying from Piotr, as not only was his products and craftsmanship excellent, but his customer service was absolutely phenomenal. A MUCH BETTER experience than dealing with other custom earphone companies out there, be it in the UK or in the USA.
Go check out his facebook page, for more pictures of his other works!
–TotallydubbedHD
Review of the Denon AH-C400 Earphones – A neutral sounding earphone
Pros: Neutral sound signature, highs, accessories, packaging
Cons: Lows, price, wire, design and look
Packaging & Accessories: 10/10
Build Quality: 8/10
Design & Look: 6.5/10
Microphonics (higher ratings means lower cable noise): 8/10
Isolation: 9.5/10
Comfort: 9/10
Audio Quality: 8.5/10
Value: 6.5/10 for £300-350 price tag OR 10/10 for the £150 price tag
My final Rating: 7/10: based on £350 price tag OR 9.5/10: based on £150 price tag
Purchase Date: December 2012
Purchase Price: £300-350 -> Can now be found for under £150 (review is based on £300-350 price tag)
First of all, I would like to thank Denon for sending me out the AH-C400’s to review. These headphones, are the first “premium” range earphones that Denon has released. After being a big fan of the bass quality and quantity of the previous models, like the C710 and the C751 and especially the price point they came at, I was vastly interested what the first ever balanced armature drivers from Denon would offer. The C400’s have a dual balanced armature design, which is worth noting about as it competes with the likes of Westone, Phonak Audéo, Ultimate Ears and so on.
The price point of these is what’s more interesting, as these earphones don’t come cheap. In fact they sit right in between the competition at £300 to £350, making these earphones come in at a very expensive price point. These can be found at AmazonUK & AmazonUSA.
Review of the Just Audio µHA-120 – Don’t let its size fool you
Pros: Sound quality, excellent transparency, well built, small size, battery life
Cons: Price, volume knob
Build Quality: 10/10
Design & Look: 9/10
Functionalities and ease of use: 8/10
Audio Quality: 10/10
Value: 8/10
My final Rating: 9/10
Purchase Date: September 2012
Purchase Price: £220
In September 2012, I was extremely lucky to win a raffle prize during an audio meet. When I went to pick up my prize, I had to choose between headphones I wasn’t too keen about. Then a little brown box was pointed out to me, and I wondered what was inside. I went ahead and opened it and after seeing what was inside, I immediately claimed the prize. What laid inside the box was this little amp called the Just Audio µHA-120 (JA uHA-120). At first I didn’t know what to expect, but after plugging it in with excitement, my face lit up in joy. The company behind the amp is called Just Audio, and the name of the owner of JA is called Justin, who runs everything that relates to the amp.
The JA uHA-120 can be purchased from HiFi Headphones for £220
More in-depth information of the amp can be found on Just Audio’s website, where a full description of the amp and a guide on how to change the jumper settings can be found.
Review of the Epiphany Acoustics EHP-O2D Desktop Amp – An Outstanding Amp and DAC
Pros: Sound quality, near perfect transparency, DAC functionalities, driving capabilities, design and look, small size, price
Cons: Power adapter, usb wire length
Build Quality: 10/10
Design & Look: 10/10
Functionalities and ease of use: 10/10
Audio Quality: 10/10
Value: 10/10
My final Rating: 10/10
Purchase Date: September 2012
Purchase Price: £190
I first of all would like to thank Oliver at Epiphany Acoustics for selling me the EHP-O2D at a reduced reviewer discount price. I purchased this Amp/DAC combo after wanting a something better than my soundcard (at the time it was a Asus Xonar D1, which has now been replaced with the Xonar DX on my new 2012 built PC) for my headphones. I did quite a lot of research whilst thinking about DAC combos and the EHP-O2D not only caught my eye due to its capabilities, but also due to the fact that it was built based upon NwAvGuy’s specifications.
The EHP-O2D can be directly purchased from Epiphany Acoustics.
