Wall Of Excellence
The Wall of Excellence serves the purpose of showcasing audio devices that have proven to be outstanding in every respect over time to us. It consolidates the informed opinions of seven reviewers (info on them appended below).
A device gets attached to this Wall of Excellence when based on our private and of course subjective experience it performs so well within its technical and price category as to even discourage considering homologous alternatives.
If it ain’t here, WE don’t want it!
Please note that our WoE will not be limited to devices we actually published a review of. Nonetheless, all WoE devices have for long time been or still are part of our operative gear.
We start small and plan to expand our wall according to merit.
This Site is being consistently updated…please bookmark it and keep checking back!
In this Article
LATEST ADDITIONS: final VR2000, Sennheiser HD 620S
In-Ear Monitors, Earbuds & Wearables
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| VisionEars Elysium | $3000 | Sugar midrange, sweet, sweet treble. Falls only short by its fleeting BA bass. |
| qdc Anole VX | $2000 | Resolution monster. BA timbre and BA bass the only downsides. Murders poor mastering. |
| 64Audio U12t | $2000 | Inoffensive tuning, best BA-bass around. Very resolving. High level of comfort and isolation. Slightly mushy transients and lacks the dynamics of a DD. |
| Sony IER-Z1R | $1700 | Class-leading bass response. Underrated treble that’s timbrally correct. Fit can be problematic. |
| Sennheiser IE 900 | $1500 | One of the best single-dynamic IEMs out there. Incredible end-to-end extension. Near-holographic staging and imaging. Exceptional microdynamics. Midrange a bit recessed. |
| UM MEST mk.2 | $1500 | Great all-rounder with no specific weakness. One of the safest recommendations in the TOTL range. Spectacular imaging, staging, and class-leading resolution. |
| Dunu ZEN Pro | $900 | Class-leading macro and microdynamics. Superb bass and midrange resolution. Upper-treble much improved over the predecessors. Tip-dependent sound. |
| Dunu SA6 | $550 | Brilliant tuning and nearly as resolving as certain kilobuck IEMs. More coherent than Moondrop B2/B2 Dusk. |
| Final E5000 | $250 | Thick, lushy timbre. Supreme bass, vocal, and staging performance. High end IEM amp strictly required, or tonality goes too dark and detail is lost. |
| Etymotic ER4SR | $250 | Industrial standard, reference-level IN-EAR monitor at a reasonable price. Best-in-class in isolation. |
| JVC HA-FDX1 | $250 | Cheapest premium single DD. Fantastic tonal balance and tonal accuracy with a bit of midrange glare. Comes with 3 tuning filters. |
| Tanchjim Oxygen | $250 | Clean acoustic timbre. Almost purely neutral tonality with a slight bright accent. Very good technicalities. Arguably best rec for jazz and other acoustic genres until 2X its price at least. |
| Oladance OWS Pro | $230 | These wearables are a completely new audio experience: supersized soundstage, natural sonic reproduction, excellent note definition. The most comfortable audio device one could get. |
| Ikko OH10 | $200 | Best implemented V tuning until at least 2x its price. Great technicalities. Somewhat dry timbre. Some may find them not too comfortable due to weight. |
| Penon Sphere | $160 | Greatly refined warm-balanced tonality. Elegant “satin” timbre in a 1BA with stunning bass extension and refined mids and vocals. High-quality IEM amp required. |
| Sennheiser IE 200 | $150 | A wonderfully balanced iem in all respects with a natural timbre. Beats any (more expensive) Sennheiser below the IE 600 sonically, raises the bar of its price class, and elevates Sennheiser above ChiFi. |
| Final A3000 | $130 | Clear timbre, neutral/midpushed W presentation. Phenomenal technicalities, stunning organic bilaterally full extended rendering in a biiiiig 3D stage. Acoustic / unplugged music champ until a few times its price. |
| Final VR2000 | $79 | Best model of final’s “Virtual Reality” series. Speedy driver, superb gaming performer without competition. |
| Final E3000 | $50 | Warm balanced tonality, great dynamics (macro and micro) when properly biased. Good IEM amp required. Top rec as a general allrounder up to 4 times its price. |
| Final E1000/E500 | $27/25 | E1000: bright-neutral tonality, very good tuning and technicalities for a minuscule price. Top rec for jazz and other acoustic genres up to 5 times its price. E500: recommended for binaural musical recordings and games. More sub-bass than E1000. |
| Blon BL-03 | $26 | With sound this good and price this reasonable, there is nothing much to fault except for slow bass and a slight mid-bass bleed…and poor fit for some. |
Past excellences, now discontinued or superseded
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SoftEars Turii Ti | $2500 | Perhaps the best single dynamic driver IEMs available in the market. Not as fast sounding as Dunu Luna or Final A8000, but nails the tuning and has a dense, physical reproduction that’s hard to find in the IEM space. Exceptional layering, separation, staging, and imaging caps off an excellent all-rounder. |
| Shozy Form 1.4 | $200 | An unexpectedly good allrounder. Does everything and is super comfortable. |
| Fostex TE-02 | $80 | Neutral, well resolving single DD with arid bass. Unmodded a bit spiky for some. Waterproof. |
| Moondrop Aria | $80 | Safe Harman-ish tuning. Punchy, detailed bass despite dark treble. |
| Tin Hifi T2 | $50 | Uniquely flat tuned budget iem. A classic. |
| Moondrop Crescent | $30 | Harman Target tuned single DD. Premium iem in hiding, marred by somewhat sloppy technicalities. |
| Sony MH750/755 | $10 | TBA |
Headphones
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hifiman Susvara | $6000 | Open back. Supremely natural timbre. No discernible weaknesses. The true upgrade to the Sennheiser HD600/650. Perhaps the best tuned headphone in the summit-fi range. Requires a high quality speaker amp to perform at its best. |
| Final D8000 | $3800 | Open back. Class-leading bass response with immense physicality and slam. Superb resolution across the range. Immersive staging. Metalhead endgame. Can feel a bit heavy after a while. |
| Sennheiser HD 800/800S | $1200 | Open back. Still a technical marvel. Class-leading staging and imaging. Phenomenal detail retrieval. Superb comfort and very low acoustic impedance makes these ideal for those who wear glasses. |
| Shure SRH1540 | $500 | Over ear. Closed back. Organic timbre, warm-balanced tonality. Spectacular dynamics and layering, great technicalities. Requires high quality amping. |
| Sennheiser HD 600 series | $200-$400 | Over ear, open back. HD 650: Eternal classic since 2003, slightly warmer tuning than the HD600 with more elevated mid-bass and generally better extension. The most organic midrange. Lacks staging/imaging prowess. HD 600: Unparalleled natural organic midrange and sweet treble. A classic since 1997. The closest out there to a Reference signature. |
| Sennheiser HD 620S | $350 | A closed-back HD 600 but better in all aspects: better imaging, spacing, layering, more air, more effortless rendering, more organic and punchier bass, better treble micro dynamics. The general “neutral” presentation and the timbre are very similar. |
| Final Sonorous-III/Sonorous-II | $360/320 | Over ear. Closed back. Sonorous III: organic acoustic timbre, warm-centric tonality. Beyond spectacular mids and highmids, agile punchy bass, very detailed treble. Arguably the best sub-$400 close-back allrounder. Easy to amp, a good DAC mandatory. Sound changes significantly with pad rolling. Sonorous II: clear timbre, bright-neutral tonality. Extended, flat, fast, articulated bass. Vivid, detailed and engaging highmids and trebles. Great layering and separation. Spectacular performer for acoustic instrumental music. Easy to amp, a good DAC mandatory. Sound changes significantly with pad rolling. |
| Sennheiser HD 25 | $150 | On ear, closed back. Punchy, energetic sound with decently balanced tonality. Owing to their fantastic isolation and indestructibility, they have been (not only) a DJ favourite since 1988. |
| Philips SHP 9500/9600 | $70-$100 | The Philips duo are staples in the <$100 segment. Heck, once EQ’ed, they sound better than most headphones under $200. Supreme comfort, though earpads may feel scratchy. SHP9600 brings minute improvements over the OG model (less glare in the mids, less spiky lower treble), though with EQ they are about on par. |
| Koss Porta Pro/KPH30i | $40/$30 | Both feature the same driver (with different coatings). Porta Pro: On ear, open back. A standard staple since the Walkman era. Warm, smooth, detailed, organic sound. Surprisingly wide soundstage. Tendency to catch on long hairs. KPH30i: On ear, open back. Organic timbre, balanced tonality. Multiple customization options via 3rd party pad rolling. Stunning sound quality for a minuscle price. Sadly, a bit fragile. |
Digital Audio Players (“DAPs”)
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cayin N8ii | $3500 | Best Android DAP out there. Dynamics for days. ROHM DAC has unique staging and imaging. Amp section nearly as good as Cayin C9, though lags behind in raw power and the subtleties. Heavy as a brick. |
| Lotoo PAW Gold Touch | $2800 | Beyond fantastic separation, layering, macro and microdynamics thanks to summit-fi dac and amp implementation. Zero hiss. A significant upgrade from LP6000, although still unfit for power-hungry loads. |
| Lotoo Paw 6000 | $1200 | Class-leading resolution with a neutral tonality. Superb bass texture and control. Separation and layering rivaling desk setups. Highly resolving treble without any grain or edginess. Zero hiss. Can’t drive power-hungry loads, however. |
| Sony WM1A | $1200 | Becomes a near-identical WM1Z with MrWalkman firmware. Class-leading layering and vocals. Some hiss with ultra-sensitive loads. Display is unusable in bright sunlight. |
| A&K Kann Max | $1300 | Best “value for money” A&K DAP. Colored yet exciting tonality. High output power can drive most loads (apart from certain planars). Better ergonomics than the predecessor. Not the best treble rendition in this range. UI could be better. |
| Cowon Plenue R2 | $550 | Superb dynamics (macro and micro). Warm-neutral tonality works with every type of IEM. Zero hiss. Week-long battery life. Low output power for power hungry cans. |
Past excellences, now discontinued or superseded
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Questyle QP2R | $1200 | Desktop gear level performance in a portable format. Exceptionally resolving, beautifully built. UI is frustrating to navigate. Some hiss with sensitive loads. |
| Sony NW-A55 | $180 | “The” DAP until 3X its price in terms of DAC quality and amping performance, with the added bonus of Sony DSP. Arguably the absolute best UI/UX at any price. Great power/battery management. MrWalkman firmware required. Hisses with sensitive loads. |
Desktop Amplifiers
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Benchmark HPA-4 | $3100 | If you want a truly neutral amp with a plethora of pro-level options: this is it, this is the endgame. Unfortunately, neutral sound signature can get somewhat sterile and lifeless. |
| Cayin HA-6A | $2500 | One of the best tube-amps out there. Impedance matching makes it hiss-free even with sensitive loads. Exceptional dynamics. Superb analog-sounding mids and treble. Quite forgiving with poor mastering while providing the nuances of well-mastered tracks. Very large, needs considerable desk space with good ventilation. |
| Sony TA-ZH1ES | $2200 | Intoxicating, analogue sound signature. Works excellently with IEMs and moderately power hungry headphones. Supreme craftsmanship. Not for very demanding planars, unfortunately. |
| Headamp GSX-Mini | $1800 | Class-leading build quality. Highly resolving, transparent signature. Can be unforgiving to poor recordings. Drives everything thrown at it with supreme authority. |
| Cayin iHA-8 | $999 | Excellent transparency and dynamics. 9.5W @ 32 ohms make it an absolute powerhouse. Powers anything and everything well. Needs considerable desk-space though, and consumes a lot of power from the wall-wart. Hissy with sensitive IEMs. |
| iFi Zen Can V2 | $190 | Perfect for power demanding headphones, pairs excellently with high impedance Senns/Beyers. Highly recommended to change the stock PSU to iPower/iPower X. Also, change the stock RCA interconnect while you’re at it (or go balanced from DAC line-out). |
Desktop DACs
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Holo Audio May L3 | $4800-5600 | Endgame DAC for many. No discernible weakness. Comes with a separate PSU that handles power-conditioning. Price-tag the biggest issue. |
| Schiit Yggdrasil | $2200-$2500 | Superbly engaging, class-leading microdynamics. Not a hint of glare or harshness. Pleasing while being resolving. |
| Denafrips Ares II | $800 | Smooth, engaging, though not as resolving as similarly priced Delta-Sigma DACs. The best sounding budget R2R DAC out there. |
| iFi Zen DAC V2 | $159 | An extremely versatile DAC/Amp combination unit with true balanced inputs and outputs. The most fun part is users can tweak the sound with different firmwares. |
Desktop Integrated Headphone DAC/AMPs
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| iFi Pro iDSD Signature | $2500 | Perhaps the best DAC/Amp combo out there. Analogue-ish tone with great resolving capability. Drives every headphone with authority. Gobs of sound tuning options. Price can be too much though as one can build a “stack” at this point. |
| Questyle CMA Fifteen | $2500 | A beefed up CMA-400i. Drives planar magnetic and dynamic driver headphones with supreme authority. Excellent DAC section, very competent amp section. Standout staging, alongside intoxicating midrange. |
| RME ADI-2-DAC-FS | $800 | Calling it versatile is an understatement. A dream machine for those who love to tweak and EQ. Plethora of input/output options. Zero hiss from IEM output. Sadly, a bit too clinical sounding at times. Not the best drive in terms of power hungry planars. |
| Questyle CMA-400i | $800 | Very versatile, great DAC section. Current-mode amp section drives planars with authority (apart from the most demanding ones). Superb imaging and dynamics. Sadly, can’t be used as an amp only. |
| Xduoo XA-02 | $220 | Absolutely solid all-rounder. No hints of Sabre glare and the class-A biased amp section can power most headphones and IEMs without breaking a sweat. BT connectivity and bass boost profiles are just the cherries on top. |
Portable Headphone Amplifiers
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cayin C9 | $2000 | Endgame of portable amps. Makes even TOTL DAPs sound “tame” in comparison. Timbre selection works excellently. Heavy for a portable device, however, and gets warm after a while in class-A mode. |
| Romi Audio BX2 Plus | ~$900 | “How much power do you need?” – “Yes” 6W @ 32ohms. Perhaps the most powerful portable amp out there. Dynamic sound with great layering and separation. Falls short of the top-dog Cayin C9 in terms of absolute transparency and midrange rendition. Gets warm, can exhibit noise in sensitive loads. |
| iBasso T3 | $89 | Minuscle sized featherweight wonder. Slightly lean presentation, superb staging rendering and noise control, good power due to 4 selectable gains, up to to 30h continuous play. |
Portable Integrated Headphone DAC/AMPs
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dethonray Honey | $800 | Supreme dynamics and layering. Powerful enough to drive some pesky planars and high impedance headphones. |
| xDuoo XD-05 Plus | $280 | Gobs of output power, can drive the likes of Sennheiser HD650 without much fuss. Nice DAC tuning. Can be a bit bulky if stacking with a phone. |
| iFi hip-dac2 (1, 2) | $189 | Budget awesomeness. Warm, inviting tonality and great dynamics. Staging and imaging lacks finesse like the higher tier offerings. MQA Full Decoder for outstanding Tidal Master reconstruction. Evolution of the previous hip-dac model, already listed on this Wall. Biggest miss: a line-out. |
| Qudelix-5K | $109 | Powerful Bluetooth receiver (DAC/amp) that excels by its infinite versatility in terms of functionality and customizability. Comes with comprehensive monitoring and tweaking app. A geek’s paradise at an incredible value. |
Past excellences, now discontinued or superseded
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| iFi Micro iDSD Signature | $650 | Top class DAC performance rivalling higher end desktop devices. Well implemented MQA full decoding. Very clean AMP section; powerful enough to support planars, it supersedes usual IEM overpowering shortcomings by means of a built-in down-powering switch, and IEMatch circuitry. Still reasonably portable. Different firmwares allow for some degree of reconstruction tuning selection. |
| Chord Mojo/Mojo2 | $500 | Cheapest Chord DAC/Amp. A love/hate thing, and highly dependent on source. Unique Chord staging. Controls are fiddly, gets hot. Mojo is for those who prefer warmth and want to save on some bucks, while Mojo2 gives you some unique EQ options and has a dead-neutral profile. Get both if you can. |
| EarMen TR-amp | $250 | Slightly off neutral, natural, musical presentation. Drives anything up to 300 Ω with ease. Also works as DAC and pre-amp. |
Headphone DAC/AMP “Dongles”
Dongles are little DAC/amps without battery that are powered by their source device.
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt | $300 | From Gordon Rankin, the father of USB dongle DACs. DragonFly Cobalt is the tonally most pleasing dongle we heard that will work well with the iPhone. Won’t drive planar headphones. Single ended output only. |
| Questyle M15 1, 2, 3 | $250 | Powerful, uncoloured, transparent, crisp, and speedy sound without being sterile of analytical….at a moderate current draw (works with iPhone). Great layering and imaging. A new standard. Gives its best on balanced output. |
| Apogee Groove | $200 | Stunning DAC performance competing on higher class and/or desktop products. Special competence on spatial reconstruction, bass control and general dynamics. Beefy amping quality and power. High host power demand. Not recommended for most demanding planars and multidriver IEMs. Does not work with iPhone. Single ended output only. |
| E1DA 9038SG3 | $110 | Incredibly powerful, drives all IEMs bar none (including most demanding planars) and many headphones (only excluding more demanding planars). Extremely clear and clean presentation. Amazing user-friendly app allows for customising timbre, SNR, and filter. Each unit singularly factory tuned to guarantee a level of distortion dampening difficult to find on TOTL mobile sources. A very affordable jewel, a must-have. Balanced ended output only (look for 9038D for similar quality single ended alternative). |
| ifi Audio GO link | $59 | A good sounding dongle DAC with ifi Audio quality build plus Lightning adapter, and a sort of “easter egg” balanced cabling compatibility for extra quality. Unbeatable at this price. |
| Apple Audio Adapter | $9 | The most consistent and reliable dac reconstruction at this minuscle price. Neutral-warmish sound signature with good midrange bite. Worldwide immediate availability a solid plus. By far the most energy-efficient dongle. |
Past excellences, now discontinued or superseded
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| EarMen Sparrow | $200 | Best balanced output with the biggest headroom of any dongle tested (with iPhone). Made in Europe. Superseded by Questyle M15. |
| L&P W2 | $300 | Superior to almost every dongle below it on almost all aspects (apart from Groove which drives single-dynamic drivers better). Natural, engaging tonality with great dynamics. Won’t drive planars that well either, but that’s about the only weakness. Renders most DAPs under $1000 pointless in terms of sound. Does not work well with iPhone. Superseded by Questyle M15. |
Accessories
| Name | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| CEMA Electro Acousti Cables | $40-$500 | Cables are a divisive topic, but even if you get them for aesthetic reasons – CEMA cables have been superb over time. Great customer service, they can customize stuff for every headphone/earphone out there, and they are transparent about material/construction used. Worth the premium for many. |
| DeoxIT Gold G100L Condition Solution | $21 | Audio world’s equivalent of WD40. Helps prevent contact oxidation, tarnish, reduces wear and abrasion. To be used on earphones, cables, amps…on any electrical contact. |
| Final Audio MMCX Assist | $10 | Saves you from broken MMCX connectors and fingernails. A MUST if you roll cables, especially MMCX ones. |
| ddHiFi Audio Adapters | $20-$40 | A few audio brands have similar accessories but the design of DD Audio adapters are unique, very compact and well-made. A few people noticed that they do add sound colouration. |
