Comments on Profile Post by zottel

Meet conditions, of course, yes. But still.

(If anything meet conditions can often mask subtler issues that only become apparent with extended use in a familiar setting :P)

iFi Phantom, did you test that one?

@Lyander Yup. I will never buy anything off a showroom demo impression again. Did it with Aeolus (which is great) but wasn't for long term.

@Walderstorn No, I didn’t visit the iFi stand.

care to share what the rigs / chains were?

@penguins Most headphones available were fed by A&K DAPs, which might have been not ideal, but some were fed by good amps, too. I tested Meze Empyrean and Elite, the closed RAALs, a Focal Utopia 2022, several Abyss, several ZMF, one Rosson, several DCA. Not sure if the list is complete.

The only ones that really left a “wow” impression were the ZMF Caldera and the Abyss Diana TC, both fed from a Feliks Envy. There were several others that sounded “not bad” to me, among them several ZMF and the Meze 109 pro, but compared to my own rig (Meier Daccord + Jazz + Clear Mg), they seemed like a sidegrade at best.

Ah, and I forgot the Susvara from a Feliks Envy that left no more than a “meh” impression on me. :-P

And a few Stax, which were too bright for my taste, and I was missing bass.