Category Archives: Audio Reviews

All earphone, headphone, amp & all other sound related reviews and unboxing videos will be found in here!

Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR Sound Card Review – The best and most expensive sound card on the market!

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Pros: Overall sound quality, recording options, inputs/outputs, design and look, software
Cons: Price, full compatibility with certain games, no included tools to swap op-amps

Accessories: 9.5/10
Design & Looks: 10/10
Sound Quality: 10/10
Recording Quality: 8/10
Software: 9/10
Value: 7/10
My final Rating: 9/10

Purchase Date: March 2015
Purchase Price: £185

Creative ZxR - Standing view

First of all I would like to thank Creative for sending me out the Sound Blaster ZxR Sound Card for review. It is yet again a great honour to have received the product to review.
The sound card can be bought from:
–AmazonUK for around £185
–AmazonUSA for around $235

Full specifications of the ZxR can be found on Creative’s website.

Here’s my video review on YouTube to complement the written review:

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Review of the Sennheiser IE800 Earphones – A good sound ruined by poor design

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Pros: Overall sound quality, looks
Cons: Cable, non-detachable cable, lacks soundstage, , disappointing accessories, non-changeable tips, price

Packaging & Accessories: 4/10
Build Quality: 6/10
Design & Looks: 6/10
Microphonics (higher ratings means lower cable noise) – straight-down cable: 7/10
Isolation: 6/10
Comfort: 5/10
Audio Quality: 9.5/10
Value: 7/10
My final Rating: 7/10

Purchase Date: March 2015
Purchase Price: £550

Sennheiser IE800 - Drivers

First of all I would like to thanks Sennheiser for finally sending me out a sample of one of their products to review. After years of trying to get hold of them, it’s good that I was able to finally receive an earphone for a trial review. These earphones are one of the most expensive universal earphones on the market, where they come in at a whopping £550. There are many custom fitted earphones that go easily beyond this price tag, but in terms of universals, there are very few that actually do.
Since 2012, I’ve been using my Audeo Phonak PFE 232’s and to me nothing has really come close to taking them off the throne. Some have come very close, but haven’t quite hit the sweet spot. I was therefore intrigued to see how a single “Dynamic linear-phase driver with extremely wide bandwidth (XWB)” (taken from Sennheiser’s website) would try to dethrone my PFE 232’s dual Balanced Armature drivers.
The Sennheiher IE800 can be bought from:
–Amazon UK for around £550
–Amazon USA for around $800

I shall be reviewing the earphones at the £550 price tag.

To complement this review, feel free to watch my video on it:

Now let’s get to on to written review!

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Yamaha LSX-170 Bluetooth Hi-Fi Speaker Review – A beautifully designed speaker

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Pros: Overall sound quality, design and looks, full 360 sound from the speaker
Cons: Lack of features, no handle to carry the speaker, no means of daisy-chaining, lacking accessories, price

Accessories: 4/10
Build Quality & Features: 6/10
Design & Looks: 9/10
Sound Quality: 9/10
Value: 6/10
My final Rating: 8/10

Purchase Date: March 2015
Purchase Price: £370-400

Yamaha LSX-170 - Night look

First of all, I would like to thank Yamaha for sending me out the speaker for review – I was very much intrigued to see how it would sound and more so how it would look like in-person, in its full glory.
The speaker can be bought from various different resellers for the price of £370-400. This review will be based off its MSRP of £400.
Full specs of the LSX-170 can be found on Yamaha’s website.

Here’s my video review on YouTube:

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Review of the Creative Sound Blaster Jam – An extremely lightweight & multi-functional Bluetooth headphone

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Pros: Lightweight design, NFC & Bluetooth functionalities, mids, comfort, PC compatibility
Cons: Lows, build quality and functionalities

Build quality: 7.5/10
Comfort: 9/10
Overall sound quality: 6.5/10
Isolation: 6/10
Microphone/Call quality: 8.5/10
Value: 8.5/10 (at £40 price tag)
Overall rating: 8.5/10

Creative Sound Blaster Jam - Style and Design

 

First of all I would like to thank Creative for sending me the Sound Blaster Jam Bluetooth headphones for review. For more information about the headset and its specifications can be found on Creative’s website. The headphones can be found for £40 on AmazonUK and around $50 on AmazonUSA.

Here’s my video review:

Now let’s get into the written review!

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Review of the UBSOUND Fighter – An elegant V-shape sounding earphone

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Pros: Lows, design and looks, build quality
Cons: Mids, Microphonics, comfort, accessories

Packaging & Accessories: 6/10
Build Quality: 8/10
Design & Look: 8/10
Microphonics (higher ratings means lower cable noise): 7/10
Isolation: 8/10
Comfort: 7/10
Audio Quality: 8/10
Value: 8.5/10
My final Rating: 8/10

Purchase Date: February 2015
Purchase Price: £60

UBSOUND Fighter - Presentation

Before getting into this review, I would like to thank Clara from UBSOUND for reaching out to me and offering a pair of Fighter earphones for me to review. On top of that, what I really loved is the honesty that Clara had with me, regarding the earphone – by that I mean I’ve yet to come across a manufacturer to actually say: “Please consider that the earphones have a v-shaped acoustic signature, with textured, rounded and powerful Basses, clear and clean Highs and warm Mids a bit backwarded, giving a great 3d effect and a nice warm soundstage”. Seriously, after having listened to them, I completely agree. I know this is a spoiler to the sound quality section, but I couldn’t go without saying it in the intro. Since when have you EVER come across a manufacturer being completely honest with you? I really, really like that – so top marks to Clara and UBSOUND for being honest with me prior to sending me out the earphones.

In terms of availability, in the UK they can be bought between £48 and £62 on AmazonUK, despite their MSRP being £70 on UBSOUND’s website. As the prices vary quite substantially, I’ve gone for the mid-ground and settled to review the earphones at the £60 price tag.

Now let’s get on with this review!

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