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Hello Tone Deaf Monk! You recommend the Onix Alpha dongle, but you say that it is not compatible with all devices. I want to buy this dongle and I don't know if it will be compatible with my REALME C51 smartphone? I'm afraid I'll waste my money. Can you clarify?

What is better in your opinion CCA HYDRO or AFUL MagicOne?

Does it have a quick charge? How long does it take to recharge fully?

Are my eyes fooling me? Why does she look like Macaulay Culkin to me?

@TDF, Great wrap up. Have to ask w the iBasso cable on your Onix, did you still have problems w some phones? I'm limiting my Alpha for use w my laptop. My usb-c socket became lose so I had to use loctite blue to 'glue' a cable in place. I love the sound and w upscaling from the Mac. I suspect that there may be additional firmware updates based on feedback. Lesson to anyone using these as dongles... if you use it connected to a phone and are out and moving about... its possible to put stress on the socket and they can become loose. Either use loctite blue to 'glue' the cable in... (blue is removable) or just limit it to when you're stationary. This is why having a built in battery, BT are a must if you want to use it on the go and connect using a phone. Based on TDF's recommendation I picked up an iBasso DX180 for portable listening. I realize its like carrying a second phone around, but you have both wi-fi and BT w a battery. Since its Android you can download apps like Spotify, Netflix, and others. The nice thing is that w Spotify, I can download hours of music before leaving the house so I can turn off the wi-fi or w wi-fi, make my phone a hot-spot and go wireless that way. Note: The controls (app) are a bit weird in that if I want to make it a wi-fi or BT dac, I have to go thru the app and not the general settings. (Music player) But it is good, decent battery life. Now just need to get a coax (RCA) to 3.5mm cable and test the coax output into an amp to use w my stereo player. I know that you're kinda over the CS chips. I think that you're seeing this because it may allow companies to hit a lower target price point. (Again 1/4 the price of an iBasso DC Elite.) I have to tease you a bit about the Geshelli. What no J3 or their top of the line Dayzee (I would love to see a review) ??? Met them at AXPONA earlier this year. Nice folks. Look forward to more reviews in 2025

Hi , great review.. Does this sound better than the ibasso Dx180 ?

Hello! I'd like to buy a quality DAP that will still be relevant in the years to come. I'm not sure which one to buy yet...The Shanling Onix Overture XM5 really appeals to me, but there's the FiiO M23 and the CAYIN N3 ULTRA that I've been eyeing... The CAYIN is the cheapest, but I don't know how close it is to the higher-end ones in terms of components... I'm also interested in the ibasso dx260. What do you recommend? I hope it will be with me for years to come! Thank you

I'm pretty happy with my Snowy Night and Fiio Ja11.

Thnx Monk, 4 killing the enjoyment of my newly arrived Duece. U r the turd in my new year punchbowl. Thnx again…

when using the "azla" short tips, did u have to go down a size or not..?

I only use my Onix Alpha direct from my PC, works flawlessly with incredible sound. Don't use my JDS Labs Atom 2 that much anymore. Thanks for the recommendation.

shanling eh1 vs ua6, which one do you recommend for iem only (or another sub $200 dac/amp any form factor) ? thanks and happy new year

I refuse to spend more than $500 on an iem. But my best is the SLT6 with fat freq impedance adapter.

I have an Aful P7. What 50-70 USD dongle would you suggest I buy? I don't have much for dongles and I'm a bit hesitant on buying super expensive ones (and 80USD is already expensive to me). What I currently see in online shops in my country is EPZ TP35, Moondrop Dawn Pro, and iBasso Macaron. Honestly, I don't know much about the effects of source to the resulting sound and audio shops is rare here, meaning I can't try anything out. Open to other DAC suggestions in case they're sold here and I just haven't heard of them. (I'm currently using a Jcally JM6 Pro, a 10 USD DAC dongle).

You mentioned the Shanling m5u, but in your summing up, you left it out. In your opinion, should I be saving for the dx180 instead of the m5u?

Dear Monk, My Twilights got a Mojo 2. Mojo powered by an ifi Power X 5V and Audioquest Carbon USB to my source, a Samsung tablet. All moneys well spent. Best, D. p. s. Got the Twilights for $750 last Aug. back to School sale.

Should I get this over the IE600?

I want to buy a good set, and will likely not buy anything more expensive (unless I get rich or something). I'm looking at tea pro right now (maybe hype 4). But I can stretch it to these guys maybe, if it's worth it

My girl got me a set for christmas... I had seen some bad reviews and kinda wrote the iem off and was considering other bcd iems... But after actually hearing the anvil im simply blown away. Exactly like you said, you can hear all the up top information without ever being to much. The texture on strings and vocals on live recordings(passing through-leonard cohen) amazing... The sense of the room in tracks is incredible for an iem. The bass texture, orgasmic... Pula really out did themselves with this, they built magic strait into the iem.

if you had to choose between EW 300 and S08, which one would you take?

I completely agree with your take on this one. I'm late to the party though. But thanks for recommending this IEM. I use it most days for podcasts and YT vids. I even had these on late at night listening to some Jazz the and thought I had the P5+2. The similar fit fooled me. So did the decent sound

Would love to know where to get an assortment of filters if anyone has knowledge please point me in the direction thx .

I sad to my wife - "I want the warm and gooey". Her face 😂

Other people have reviewed this and said totally different things, what they described, like that Wave Theory guy, is consistent with the graph. Maybe unit variance? Some issue? Your review is just too different and the driver is the same as in the ZVX, which is a very good sounding IEM with decent techs for the price or well beyond. It's quite good.

Again and again this, like any other review just demonstrates how different we all hear and what we prefer our IEMs to sound like. Since I got the 3T-154 I prefer them over any other single DD in my stash, no matter what I payed for them. The transparency, clarity,naturalness, timbre, excellent spatial tech, and not at last that great, surprisingly agile and structured bass just cut it for me ... ALL on a low impedance source (<0.1 Ohm) with a low impedance cable (<1.5 Ohm return) though. Can't get those suckers out of my ears.

Great review, kinda long, but that turned out to a very good thing. As I was watching our review, contemplating buying it for $529 directly from iBasso (nobody else had it in stock), Bloom Audio put it on sale for $425. Needless to say, I ordered one immediately!

KZ ZS10 PRO 2 v.s. truthhear hexa which better?

Haven’t been in the market for any piezo iems since I had the BQEYZ Spring 1, which I sold. To me they just don’t sound natural. Not a fan of piezo tweeters.

Is this a good buy for $49? Have the Draco and I like it, but not technical at all. Is this YI01 a two dd or one dd?

got into a rabbit hole Between the letshuoer s12 pro and these, which one do you recommend? can't decide

I personally would like to see more sub $50 buds. Beaters that sound good. 😅

I tried a variation of your tip to add 2mm of length to the insertion of the ear tip, I simply pulled the SpinFit W1 tips I’m using on my Pilgrims out about a millimeter and got a noticeable difference in bass. I’ll try this for a bit, then pull them out an extra millimeter and see how I like it. When I find the perfect position, I’ll put in spacers like you’re doing. Thank for that!

How is the soundstage compared to the TRN White Tiger 'Zebra'?

Hope its not like the og Tinhifi mecha c2

Good afternoon, if you have a choice between astell kern se180 and onix xm5.May I ask your opinion? Astell with 1sem and 4 sem.

Was hesitant to stay for over 30 minutes, but the passion and the music recommendation made it totally worth it. Kudos!

Glad I found this review and comparison. I just picked up a pair or UPs. I am really digging their sound signature.