D3 DAC-plus-Headphone-Amp – guest review by Dale Thorn

When the Audioengine D3 DAC arrived, I ran it for a few hours just to keep it honest, although I didn’t expect a significant change with a burn-in period. When I finally got around to listening later that evening, I thought the sound was as good as anything I’ve ever heard. In fact, having spent a great deal of time with the HRT Microstreamer and v-moda Verza recently, the first thing that I became aware of was an impression of analog-like sound.

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Shure SE420 Sound Isolating Earphones
Review


SE420 has a lot of punch within the audio spectrum where most music is heard. For $400 you get brilliant clarity throughout this region, without potential aberration from cranium-splitting highs or bowel-churning lows. A lot of money buys a lot of sound delivered to your sonic sweet spot.

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Shure I Series Integrated Sound Isolating Earphones + Mobile Headset
Review


If I am listening to music on my earphones, and the phone rings, I have to remove the music earphones, and either answer on the phone itself, or grab a wireless headset to talk on the phone. But the smart folks at Shure solved this problem for both Treo owners and iPod owners with a very clever set of products: The i2c, i3c, and i4c (or i2c-t, i3c-t, and i4c-t) “Integrated Sound Isolating Earphones + Mobile Headset, selling at $119, $199, and $319 respectively.

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E500PTH Sound Isolating Earphones
Review


When you purchase Shure’s E500PTH you are obtaining top-quality earphones with a useful microphone attachment that you’ll use frequently, and with satisfaction, for years. Just keep them away from kids, animals, and anything in your kitchen.

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