You Searched For Helm Bolt • Music For The Masses

These two single-chip dongles (Bolt: ESS9281 Pro, UA1: ESS9218 Pro) are superficially similar but quite different sounding…

Budget DAC/AMP Review

September 13, 2021 Jürgen Kraus (Calgary, Canada)

Helm Bolt DAC/Amp Review – Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

The Helm Bolt is a very small and light MQA certified portable DAC/amp that excels in terms of its organic/natural reproduction…

DAC/AMP Mid Price Review

June 21, 2021 Jürgen Kraus (Calgary, Canada)

HELM DB12 AAAMP Portable Headphone Amplifier Review – The Sky’s Your Limit

The Helm DB12 is a powerful portable, battery-operated inline headphone amplifier that serves the sole purpose of adding 12 dB of linear gain to your audio signal…

Essay Headphones Review Technology

June 11, 2023 Jürgen Kraus (Calgary, Canada)

Using Headphones With Your New Mac [Without An External DAC/Amp] – A Review

The latest Mac generation features a relatively good audio circuit that makes many budget dongles and headphone amps obsolete. In

Budget DAC/AMP Review

April 12, 2023 Jürgen Kraus (Calgary, Canada)

ifi Audio GO Link Review (2) – All In

PROS CONS The ifi Audio GO link was supplied by the company for my review – and I thank them

DAC/AMP Review

December 10, 2022 Jürgen Kraus (Calgary, Canada)

All-In-One DAC-Amp Chip – One Sound Fits All?

This article discusses the issue with DACs and amps on a single “all-in-one” chip.

Budget DAC/AMP Review

July 19, 2022 Jürgen Kraus (Calgary, Canada)

ddHifi TC35i Lightning To 3.5 mm Audio Adapter Review – Big Apple

The ddHifi TC35i is a dongle sonically identical to Apple’s lighting audio adapter in a more compact shape with a better shielded and more premium metal enclosure.