The MZ-RH1 was Sony’s last full-fledged Minidisk recorder/downloader. It could connect to digital sources via TOSLINK or USB, the latter requiring 32-bit Windows and a USB B cable, the former playing nice with nearly any optical-capable source. It downloaded. It recorded. It played.
Read moreRMAA: Fiio M6 24-bit
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It’s fair to not expect much from such a comparatively diminutive DAP. And, while the M6 has a decent EQ and filter modes, it doesn’t test as well as an iPhone. It gets a bit louder, and hisses a bit more than an iPhone SE. But it also drives earphones and headphones better at normal to loud listening levels, shows little load stress, and keeps a charge for at least 12 hours. It’s a good player with some cool features, especially in the wireless realm.
Read moreRMAA: Burson Fun 24-bit
Disclaimer: Burson sent me Play, Fun, and Bang to review at Headfonia.com as well as document as well as I can hear. Fun is a powerful headphone amp. It starts at 299$ USD. You can find out all about it here: Fun - 2W PC Class A Headphone Amp / Pre Amp.
Relevant links
RMAA: NEXTDRIVE SPECTRA X 24-BIT
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With a single proviso, Burson’s Play is awesome. With none, Fun is god-like. So god-like is it that it’s got nowhere to go but the top of my 2018 best-of list. Wow. RMAA suggests that its best op-amp set is Vivid, but I most like Classic. I reckon we’ll all have a different take.
Read moreRMAA: FiiO BTR1K 24-bit
Relevant links:
RMAA FIIO BTR1 24-bit
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Headfonia: FiiO BTR1 Review
Headfonia: FiiO BTR3 Review
Headfonia: FiiO uBTR Review
It’s almost 100 metres to the weeds at the end of my street. BTR1K got 75% of the way before its signal went soft, and 90% of the way before it completely broke up. That’s as good as the Radsone EarStudio ES100 was with Firmware 1,4, and better than every other Bluetooth DAC I’ve tried, price be damned.
Read moreRMAA: iMac Pro 2017 24-bit
Relevant links:
RMAA: 2012 27" iMac 24-bit
RMAA: NEXTDRIVE SPECTRA X 24-BIT
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The iMac Pro generally impresses me: fast, quiet, powerful, and great screen. It’s made faster high-end macro photography editing by at least 3 hours per image. Not bad.
Read moreRMAA: NextDrive Spectra X 24-bit
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Spectra X is better than is predecessor. It measures better, sends less amp noise to headphones, filters better, and comes in the same slim package. It’s quite the update/upgrade from the same company within a year. The good news is that the original Spectra was so good that if you have it, you’re golden. If you don’t, X is a worthy investment.
Read moreRMAA: Radsone EarStudio ES100 24-bit
Relevant links:
RMAA: FiiO BTR3 24-bit
RMAA: Astell&Kern XB10 24-bit
RMAA: iPhone SE 24-bit
RMAA: Apple iPhone 7 24-bit
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Disclaimer: Radsone sent me the ES100 for the purposes of this article, a review, and some YouTube coverage. It decodes just about every wireless format out there, more than breaks the 16-bit ceiling. Moreover, it spits balanced audio from its 2,5mm jack. It goes for 99$ USD on Amazon. You can find out all about it here: ES100 High Resolution Bluetooth Receiver.
Read moreRMAA: FiiO BTR3 24-bit
As you know, I love the BTR1 and uBTR, but the BTR3 is a swing and a miss. Great measurements, yes, but physical interface/orientation problems and poor wireless signal catching make the BTR3 practically rubbish to use.
Read moreRMAA: Sony MZ-NH3D 16-bit
RMAA: Sony MZ-B100 16-bit
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Minidisc VLOG - 03: Hiss ranking
Minidisk VLOG - 02: Sharp MD-DS8/9
Minidisk VLOG - 01: Elegant lies
Earlier today I finished final edits to the Hi-Res interview conducted at Sony's HQ in Osaki, Tokyo. I met some of the coolest engineers this side of Tesla. And now I'm tapping out words about one of Sony's most convincing portable MD units. Technically, the MZ-NH3D is a recorder. It just doesn't record on the fly or in situ. Rather, you've got to connect it to an old Mac or Windows computer, faff around with the Devil's own, SonicStage, and download into an MD. Think NetMD 2.0. And Hi-MD. Strange.
Read moreRMAA: Sony MZ-B100 16-bit
RMAA: Panasonic SJ-MJ500 16-bit
RMAA: Kenwood DMC-S55 16-bit
RMAA: SHARP MD-DS8/9 16-BIT
RMAA: Sony MZ-E55 16-bit
Minidisc VLOG - 03: Hiss ranking
Minidisk VLOG - 02: Sharp MD-DS8/9
Minidisk VLOG - 01: Elegant lies
Short review: the only thing the MZ-B100 lacks is a line out. Otherwise, it is feature packed. Sure, it hisses more than an iPod 5G, but that hiss is static; it lacks electronic peaks and beeps, and remains mostly stable at every volume level. If you've got to have hiss, this is the sort of hiss you want.
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