Skylab

Headphone Buyers GuideOther Personal Audio Gear Buyers Guide
2014 InnerFidelity Holiday Gift Guide
Tyll Hertsens, John Grandberg, n_maher, ljokerl, Skylab  |  Nov 25, 2014  |  25 comments

It's that time of year again, pondering over cool gifts for the audiophile or headphone enthusiast in your life can be a chore. Well, the InnerFidelity writers have just made your choosing a bit simpler by producing our Holiday Gift Guide for this year. Some really cool stuff in the guide this year. (I particularly liked Nate's DIY oscilloscope choice—man, what I woulda done to have one of those as a teen.)

So, peruse the gift guide for the next few pages and keep in mind those audio geeks you love, maybe that perfect gift will jump right out at you!

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Solid State Home Headphone Amplifier ReviewsDAC Reviews
Affordable and Transparent: The OPPO HA-1 Headphone Amplifier/DAC
Skylab  |  Nov 03, 2014  |  22 comments
My previous review here on InnerFidelity was a large black box with a forest of vacuum tubes rising up from its surface, and nary a digital function to be found. Almost diametrically opposed to that, the Oppo HA-1 ($1199) took up residence immediately thereafter in my review cue—gleaming silver, LCD display, remote control, and as modern an integrated DAC/Headphone amp as one could imagine. And yet at the risk of spoiling the surprise, or lack thereof, I will tell you that the Oppo is also outstanding, and represents somewhat of a bargain.
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Vacuum Tube Home Headphone Amplifier Reviews
The Effortlessly Nuanced Apex Audio High-Fi Teton OTL Headphone Amplifier
Skylab  |  Aug 22, 2014  |  23 comments

Attention audiophiles!!! The TTVJ Apex Teton is an amp built by and for audiophiles. No compromises, exquisite parts, and looks to explode your wife's head.

Make no mistake, a true high-end headphone amp.

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Solid State Home Headphone Amplifier Reviews
Tisbury Audio Challenge Amp 1 Solid-State Headphone Amplifier
Skylab  |  Jul 18, 2014  |  11 comments
I own British speakers. I love British speakers. My main speakers are B&W Nautilus 800's, and I LOVE them. What do I love about them? They sound very, very natural over the long haul, but they don't immediately hit you over the head with this or that. They are not flashy, but they provide superb musical satisfaction over the long haul. Nothing sticks out, and that's what provides the naturalness of the sound.

I have to think that the Tisbury fellows like this sort of British sound, because that's EXACTLY what I got from the CA-1. Nothing stuck out, but the music flowed in an remarkably natural way, and one that I would not have expected from a $600 solid state amp.

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Vacuum Tube Home Headphone Amplifier ReviewsDo-It-Yourself Headphone Amplifier Reviews
Elekit TU-8200DX Vacuum Tube Headphone/Integrated Amplifier
Skylab  |  Apr 07, 2014  |  8 comments

I always wonder what will come out of review amps once I fire them up and first listen. I always run the amp in for 10-12 hours after getting it without playing the amp at all, and then I let them warm up for an hour on the day of first listening before I strap the cans to my head. And then I eagerly press play and let the music flow. And in the case of the Elekit, flow it did indeed, and in a very pleasing way.

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Solid State Home Headphone Amplifier ReviewsDAC Reviews
Miniwatt n4 USB DAC/Headphone Amplifier
Skylab  |  Feb 12, 2014  |  6 comments

I was approached by MiniWatt to review their current USB DAC/AMP combo, the n4. I had not really heard much about this company before but they have had several previous products that were well received, including a very compact vacuum tube headphone amp. I hadn't reviewed an "inexpensive" product ($349 MSRP in this case) here on InnerFidelity for a while, so I decided to give it a try.

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Tyll Hertsens BlogHeadphone Buyers Guide
2013 InnerFidelity Holiday Gift Guide
Tyll Hertsens, John Grandberg, n_maher, Skylab, ljokerl  |  Nov 29, 2013  |  9 comments

'Tis the season, time for the InnerFidelity writers to hook you up with some cool gift ideas. We accept that many will just be looking for goodies for themselves...sorry about your wallet.

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Vacuum Tube Home Headphone Amplifier Reviews
Fosgate Signature Tube Headphone Amplifier
Skylab  |  Nov 14, 2013  |  4 comments

When famed audio designer Jim Fosgate first announced that he was going to be making a tube headphone amp, I was definitely interested, especially when I saw the first pictures of it—it's a beautiful product. For a variety of reasons, it took quite a while for me to actually hear one, which was at a Chicago headphone meet—and on that cursory listen I thought it sounded good. So finally, a review unit arrived for me to really put through the paces.

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Tyll Hertsens BlogHeadphone Buyers Guide
Ultimate Headphone Guide Articles: What is a headphone amplifier, and why do I need one?
Skylab  |  Aug 18, 2013  |  7 comments

InnerFidelity writers are busy writing basic introductory content for the Ultimate Headphone Guide. Our second entry? Skylab writes about the need for a headphone amp.

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Vacuum Tube Home Headphone Amplifier Reviews
Pathos Aurium Hybrid Headphone Amplifier
Skylab  |  Jun 17, 2013  |  11 comments

I have seen some nice looking Pathos products reviewed in the pages of Stereophile before, but I have never heard any until now. They always seemed to get enthusiastic reviews, and the pictures looked pretty. When the Aurium showed up here, I didn't have any idea what to expect sonically, but I expected and got a nice looking product.

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