u/DynamicdB

Moritz Audio Enzo “The Dolby One”

Another week another review. This week I am sharing my final impressions of Moritz Audio Enzo. As explained in my earlier post I was totally unaware of this brand up till now. Only recently I discovered them through few reviews. As you know me, I am sucker for anything exotic and new. So, I started looking out and when Moritz partnered with AudioGeek India, you know where it is going right? Yes, you are right I jumped on the opportunity and rest is history as they say. Now to know more about what I feel about this set in detail please read on.

First of all, mighty thanks to AudioGeek India and Moritz Audio for providing this review sample and opportunity. Without their help this wouldn’t have been possible.

My biases for tone & timbre DD > Hybrid > Planar

For my music choices please check music genre section.

Now that we have exchanged all the pleasantries. Let us get on with the meat and potatoes of this review.

Pros:

Atmospheric stage

Vocals

Mids

Smooth Treble

Build Quality

Cons:

Bass sub bass and mid bass both 

Ear pressure

Sibilance

Microphonic cable

Build Quality:

P.S. Please note that I received only IEMs + Cable + 3 Pairs of Ear tips and leather carry case. I didn’t receive full retail package. So, my build quality impressions are based on this only.

First thing you notice is shells are light weight and medium sized. Their shape is semi-custom. They have long nozzles & have lips. There are no protective mesh or filters on the nozzles. You can easily see sound tubes. 

Included cable has cloth sheath with four cores. It is an SPC cable. It is bit microphonic & stiff. 0.78 mm 2 pin connectors, cable separator and jack termination are made up of metal. Cable overall feels premium.

Ear tips included are medium bore or can be called wide bore and are made up of soft silicone material. They come in 3 sizes. Finally, the leather carrying case is hard type .it has enough space to carry IEMs + Ear Tips + Cable & a Dongle.

Overall Build Quality 5/5

Comfort:

Shells being light weight don’t create any pressure or pain in ears even after long listening hours. I was getting ear pressure due to venting? I don’t exactly know how but it was happening. Searched online & got few reports of the same. So, it was not an anomaly. Size is medium so fitting should not be issue for most. Nozzles provide deep fit and lips on the nozzles provide nice grip to the ear tips. No slip off. Even after being bit stiff cable can be roadie wrapped easily.  Lastly included leather case is for carrying and protecting it. Just the size is not pocket friendly. Comfort could have been perfect if not for the ear pressure issue caused by venting.

Overall Comfort 4/5

Configuration:

  Dual Plananar + 6 BA. + 1 custom 10mm DD. So total 7 driver. Impedance is 11 ohms. Sensitivity is 107.6 dB. Frequency response range is 20Hz-20KHz.

Ear Tips:

I have used provided stock ear tips.

Sources:

I have used various sources with this set. Best pairing was achieved with neutral and warm sources.  Source scaling L&P W2 ultra > Dethonray Clarinet > Cayin Ru7 > Cayin Ru6 > Fiio M21> Tempotec V3 blaze > Onix Xi Alpha. 

Music Genre Used for this Review:

Hip-hop/EDM/Rap/Rock both classic and hard/Bollywood Music/Pop/Jazz/Regional music etc.

   

https://music.apple.com/in/playlist/test-tracks/pl.u-8aAVXG6ivz8gyxX?ls 

General Sound Impressions:

Enzo has tuning switches. I preferred all switches up. Switches make subtle changes in the tuning. Play around them to arrive at your desired tuning.

Bass/Lows:

Mid bass over sub bass tuning. Sub bass you can hear but it lacks rumble. It has less physical impact. Mid bass has thump it slaps but it is quick and fast type. Decay happens very fast. You feel it but it lacks that lingering physical impact. So, it is clean and quick type. It doesn’t color Mids. This in terms is con for this set. Would have love to see bit more rumble in the sub bass and bit more physical impact in mid bass. Don’t get me wrong, I like quick and clean type of bass but at this price point few other sets have very nuanced bass that has satisfying impact in bass. For the price point the bass is not that textured or layered for my preference. Bass heads will be left wanting here.

Something to note that as I was getting ear pressure. The felt bass was not optimal & if you don’t get any such ear pressure then you might feel different about bass presentation.

Overall Bass/Lows 4/5

Mids.:

Vocals specifically I feel are the USP of this set. Vocals are forward. They are intimate enough to evoke emotions. You can pick up vocal peculiarities like voice modulation; pitch etc. female vocals shine here. They are beautiful yet don’t have edge to them. You can enjoy them without the bite.

Male vocals are similar story they feel natural and beautiful. Just lack bit of note weight. You can make out various voice peculiarities. Maybe I am missing something here. I enjoyed male vocals but the note weight issue marred my experience. Again, take this with grain of salt as my impressions are due to my biases. Your mileage might vary.

Most instruments reside in Mids. They sound great and natural. No oddities or off timbre was felt in tonality of the instruments. There is no smearing or congestion in the mids. Sibilance was only felt when it was there in the song.

Overall Mids 4.5/5

Treble/Highs:

 Treble is smooth with enough extension to cover all the details you ever need. All macro and micro details are there. They are presented very well without being right in your face. Now a days I understand why companies charge so much money. The way each frequency is tuned here to achieve their intended tuning makes you feel like Moritz wanted to create detailed set without any harshness or unwanted sharpness. It just elevates the music experience. You will get very details yet it will not overshadow other frequencies. Additionally, it will not tire you great job Moritz.

Soundstage is phenomenal here. Feels like vast stage. It is wide and tall, both make it feel like vary open and encapsulating. Mostly we get this effect in HPs. It creates spacious stage where everything is well spaced out. Nothing is competing with each other. I think after vocals, the stage is the USP of this set. You feel like you are in Dolby Atmos theatre. This adds to the realism of the music.

Overall Treble/Highs 5/5

Song Impressions:

To corelate to my findings in the sound impressions I have used following songs and my impressions of them

Ego Death by polyphia

This song is my driver speed check aka resolution capability check. The sub bass tuning here doesn’t help in the guitars especially bass guitars. They lack buzz of strings being plucked. Drums feel bit subdued again due to tuning choice. Please understand as reviewer it’s my job to critically judge gear as to create a complete picture. You may not feel the same. Why I feel the way I have written is because in this song guitars are main protagonist and they lack buzz the physical rumble. Tonality of guitars and cymbals feel bit metallic. Rest assured the song feels great to listen and nowhere sounds odd or anything is out of place. It is perfectly enjoyable on this set.

This song can easily overwhelm any set. Enzo handles it like champ. So, in turn handles the test of resolution check like champ. Overall good reproduction.

Enjoy Enjaami

I use this song to test every aspect of the set i.e. bass, mids, treble and finally stage.

Drums feel natural and due to good mid bass thump feels great. Just physical after effect are missing. Vocals are natural. All three singers and their vocal characteristics are reproduced well. There are no oddities in them. 

Stage is amazing every instrument feels properly spaced out and well represented. This matters because there are many instruments playing simultaneously. Yet there is no smearing or congestion. Overall, the entire mix sounds amazing. Good reproduction of the song.

The Great Chinggis Khan by The Hu

One of my favorite songs. This song has throat singing from the lead singer. There are reverberations of sub bass in the song (reverberations caused due to throat singing). Enzo fails to capture it. This mars the experience. Bass guitars also lack the buzz. Drums sound good. 

Sub bass rumble in the entire song feels anemic. On sets with great sub bass this sounds like next level. Emersion pulls you in. Enzo is lacking here. Song can become very intense due to high bpm. Yet Enzo handles it like champ. Overall acceptable reproduction.

Nothing Else Matters by Metallica

I am Metallica fan and one song that always stays on top of my mind is this. Whenever I buy new set or get set for review, I run this song through them.

In this song there is sibilance and the Enzo shows it front and center. Guitars sound good just lack the buzz of strings being plucked.  Drums feel good. Vocals are front and center. They sound natural. Slight metallicness in cymbal crashes. Entire mix feels cohesive. Not odd or off beat. Everything feels balanced. Overall good reproduction.

Final Conclusion:

Up till now haven’t had opportunity to listen to Moritz brand. This is my first encounter with them. To be honest I am impressed. If you want grand atmospheric stage this, is it. Never had I experienced such grand stage. All my songs felt very different for me. I was enjoying the grand feeling it was giving to all of them. Vocals are also USP of this set as per me. They sound intimate and are natural. They evoke emotions. I was mesmerized while listening to vocal centric songs. Hell even in all normal song’s vocals were elevated to next level.

Treble was smooth adding to overall presentation. It was never harsh or sharp. All details were presented exquisitely. They never felt right in my face. Entire tuning choice felt deliberate and focused on delivering that grand atmospheric experience. Full marks to the Moritz Audio for making such product. This one reminds me of my favorite old set 1 custom junior. I think those who loved that set this is direct summit fi upgrade. This is an all rounder set.

Will I buy it?  Yes, 100%. Does it meet my preferences? Not 100% but about 90%. What it does it does it great. So, it becomes valid set for me. One has to remember that no set is perfect. You have to look at its pros and cons to arrive at your conclusion. I have and I like it.

Thank you for enduring with me till the end. Now let’s grab cup of coffee and get high on safe high i.e. Music.

Moritz Audio Enzo “The Dolby One” 4.5/5     

 

Moritz Audio Enzo “The Dolby One”

Another week another review. This week I am sharing my final impressions of Moritz Audio Enzo. As explained in my earlier post I was totally unaware of this brand up till now. Only recently I discovered them through few reviews. As you know me, I am sucker for anything exotic and new. So, I started looking out and when Moritz partnered with AudioGeek India, you know where it is going right? Yes, you are right I jumped on the opportunity and rest is history as they say. Now to know more about what I feel about this set in detail please read on.

First of all, mighty thanks to AudioGeek India and Moritz Audio for providing this review sample and opportunity. Without their help this wouldn’t have been possible.

My biases for tone & timbre DD > Hybrid > Planar

For my music choices please check music genre section.

Now that we have exchanged all the pleasantries. Let us get on with the meat and potatoes of this review.

Pros:

Atmospheric stage

Vocals

Mids

Smooth Treble

Build Quality

Cons:

Bass sub bass and mid bass both 

Ear pressure

Sibilance

Microphonic cable

Build Quality:

P.S. Please note that I received only IEMs + Cable + 3 Pairs of Ear tips and leather carry case. I didn’t receive full retail package. So, my build quality impressions are based on this only.

First thing you notice is shells are light weight and medium sized. Their shape is semi-custom. They have long nozzles & have lips. There are no protective mesh or filters on the nozzles. You can easily see sound tubes. 

Included cable has cloth sheath with four cores. It is an SPC cable. It is bit microphonic & stiff. 0.78 mm 2 pin connectors, cable separator and jack termination are made up of metal. Cable overall feels premium.

Ear tips included are medium bore or can be called wide bore and are made up of soft silicone material. They come in 3 sizes. Finally, the leather carrying case is hard type .it has enough space to carry IEMs + Ear Tips + Cable & a Dongle.

Overall Build Quality 5/5

Comfort:

Shells being light weight don’t create any pressure or pain in ears even after long listening hours. I was getting ear pressure due to venting? I don’t exactly know how but it was happening. Searched online & got few reports of the same. So, it was not an anomaly. Size is medium so fitting should not be issue for most. Nozzles provide deep fit and lips on the nozzles provide nice grip to the ear tips. No slip off. Even after being bit stiff cable can be roadie wrapped easily.  Lastly included leather case is for carrying and protecting it. Just the size is not pocket friendly. Comfort could have been perfect if not for the ear pressure issue caused by venting.

Overall Comfort 4/5

Configuration:

  Dual Plananar + 6 BA. + 1 custom 10mm DD. So total 7 driver. Impedance is 11 ohms. Sensitivity is 107.6 dB. Frequency response range is 20Hz-20KHz.

Ear Tips:

I have used provided stock ear tips.

Sources:

I have used various sources with this set. Best pairing was achieved with neutral and warm sources.  Source scaling L&P W2 ultra > Dethonray Clarinet > Cayin Ru7 > Cayin Ru6 > Fiio M21> Tempotec V3 blaze > Onix Xi Alpha. 

Music Genre Used for this Review:

Hip-hop/EDM/Rap/Rock both classic and hard/Bollywood Music/Pop/Jazz/Regional music etc.

   

https://music.apple.com/in/playlist/test-tracks/pl.u-8aAVXG6ivz8gyxX?ls 

General Sound Impressions:

Enzo has tuning switches. I preferred all switches up. Switches make subtle changes in the tuning. Play around them to arrive at your desired tuning.

Bass/Lows:

Mid bass over sub bass tuning. Sub bass you can hear but it lacks rumble. It has less physical impact. Mid bass has thump it slaps but it is quick and fast type. Decay happens very fast. You feel it but it lacks that lingering physical impact. So, it is clean and quick type. It doesn’t color Mids. This in terms is con for this set. Would have love to see bit more rumble in the sub bass and bit more physical impact in mid bass. Don’t get me wrong, I like quick and clean type of bass but at this price point few other sets have very nuanced bass that has satisfying impact in bass. For the price point the bass is not that textured or layered for my preference. Bass heads will be left wanting here.

Something to note that as I was getting ear pressure. The felt bass was not optimal & if you don’t get any such ear pressure then you might feel different about bass presentation.

Overall Bass/Lows 4/5

Mids.:

Vocals specifically I feel are the USP of this set. Vocals are forward. They are intimate enough to evoke emotions. You can pick up vocal peculiarities like voice modulation; pitch etc. female vocals shine here. They are beautiful yet don’t have edge to them. You can enjoy them without the bite.

Male vocals are similar story they feel natural and beautiful. Just lack bit of note weight. You can make out various voice peculiarities. Maybe I am missing something here. I enjoyed male vocals but the note weight issue marred my experience. Again, take this with grain of salt as my impressions are due to my biases. Your mileage might vary.

Most instruments reside in Mids. They sound great and natural. No oddities or off timbre was felt in tonality of the instruments. There is no smearing or congestion in the mids. Sibilance was only felt when it was there in the song.

Overall Mids 4.5/5

Treble/Highs:

 Treble is smooth with enough extension to cover all the details you ever need. All macro and micro details are there. They are presented very well without being right in your face. Now a days I understand why companies charge so much money. The way each frequency is tuned here to achieve their intended tuning makes you feel like Moritz wanted to create detailed set without any harshness or unwanted sharpness. It just elevates the music experience. You will get very details yet it will not overshadow other frequencies. Additionally, it will not tire you great job Moritz.

Soundstage is phenomenal here. Feels like vast stage. It is wide and tall, both make it feel like vary open and encapsulating. Mostly we get this effect in HPs. It creates spacious stage where everything is well spaced out. Nothing is competing with each other. I think after vocals, the stage is the USP of this set. You feel like you are in Dolby Atmos theatre. This adds to the realism of the music.

Overall Treble/Highs 5/5

Song Impressions:

To corelate to my findings in the sound impressions I have used following songs and my impressions of them

Ego Death by polyphia

This song is my driver speed check aka resolution capability check. The sub bass tuning here doesn’t help in the guitars especially bass guitars. They lack buzz of strings being plucked. Drums feel bit subdued again due to tuning choice. Please understand as reviewer it’s my job to critically judge gear as to create a complete picture. You may not feel the same. Why I feel the way I have written is because in this song guitars are main protagonist and they lack buzz the physical rumble. Tonality of guitars and cymbals feel bit metallic. Rest assured the song feels great to listen and nowhere sounds odd or anything is out of place. It is perfectly enjoyable on this set.

This song can easily overwhelm any set. Enzo handles it like champ. So, in turn handles the test of resolution check like champ. Overall good reproduction.

Enjoy Enjaami

I use this song to test every aspect of the set i.e. bass, mids, treble and finally stage.

Drums feel natural and due to good mid bass thump feels great. Just physical after effect are missing. Vocals are natural. All three singers and their vocal characteristics are reproduced well. There are no oddities in them. 

Stage is amazing every instrument feels properly spaced out and well represented. This matters because there are many instruments playing simultaneously. Yet there is no smearing or congestion. Overall, the entire mix sounds amazing. Good reproduction of the song.

The Great Chinggis Khan by The Hu

One of my favorite songs. This song has throat singing from the lead singer. There are reverberations of sub bass in the song (reverberations caused due to throat singing). Enzo fails to capture it. This mars the experience. Bass guitars also lack the buzz. Drums sound good. 

Sub bass rumble in the entire song feels anemic. On sets with great sub bass this sounds like next level. Emersion pulls you in. Enzo is lacking here. Song can become very intense due to high bpm. Yet Enzo handles it like champ. Overall acceptable reproduction.

Nothing Else Matters by Metallica

I am Metallica fan and one song that always stays on top of my mind is this. Whenever I buy new set or get set for review, I run this song through them.

In this song there is sibilance and the Enzo shows it front and center. Guitars sound good just lack the buzz of strings being plucked.  Drums feel good. Vocals are front and center. They sound natural. Slight metallicness in cymbal crashes. Entire mix feels cohesive. Not odd or off beat. Everything feels balanced. Overall good reproduction.

Final Conclusion:

Up till now haven’t had opportunity to listen to Moritz brand. This is my first encounter with them. To be honest I am impressed. If you want grand atmospheric stage this, is it. Never had I experienced such grand stage. All my songs felt very different for me. I was enjoying the grand feeling it was giving to all of them. Vocals are also USP of this set as per me. They sound intimate and are natural. They evoke emotions. I was mesmerized while listening to vocal centric songs. Hell even in all normal song’s vocals were elevated to next level.

Treble was smooth adding to overall presentation. It was never harsh or sharp. All details were presented exquisitely. They never felt right in my face. Entire tuning choice felt deliberate and focused on delivering that grand atmospheric experience. Full marks to the Moritz Audio for making such product. This one reminds me of my favorite old set 1 custom junior. I think those who loved that set this is direct summit fi upgrade. This is an all rounder set.

Will I buy it?  Yes, 100%. Does it meet my preferences? Not 100% but about 90%. What it does it does it great. So, it becomes valid set for me. One has to remember that no set is perfect. You have to look at its pros and cons to arrive at your conclusion. I have and I like it.

Thank you for enduring with me till the end. Now let’s grab cup of coffee and get high on safe high i.e. Music.

Moritz Audio Enzo “The Dolby One” 4.5/5     

 

Moritz Audio Enzo “The Dolby One”

Another week another review. This week I am sharing my final impressions of Moritz Audio Enzo. As explained in my earlier post I was totally unaware of this brand up till now. Only recently I discovered them through few reviews. As you know me, I am sucker for anything exotic and new. So, I started looking out and when Moritz partnered with AudioGeek India, you know where it is going right? Yes, you are right I jumped on the opportunity and rest is history as they say. Now to know more about what I feel about this set in detail please read on.

First of all, mighty thanks to AudioGeek India and Moritz Audio for providing this review sample and opportunity. Without their help this wouldn’t have been possible.

My biases for tone & timbre DD > Hybrid > Planar

For my music choices please check music genre section.

Now that we have exchanged all the pleasantries. Let us get on with the meat and potatoes of this review.

Pros:

Atmospheric stage

Vocals

Mids

Smooth Treble

Build Quality

Cons:

Bass sub bass and mid bass both 

Ear pressure

Sibilance

Microphonic cable

Build Quality:

P.S. Please note that I received only IEMs + Cable + 3 Pairs of Ear tips and leather carry case. I didn’t receive full retail package. So, my build quality impressions are based on this only.

First thing you notice is shells are light weight and medium sized. Their shape is semi-custom. They have long nozzles & have lips. There are no protective mesh or filters on the nozzles. You can easily see sound tubes. 

Included cable has cloth sheath with four cores. It is an SPC cable. It is bit microphonic & stiff. 0.78 mm 2 pin connectors, cable separator and jack termination are made up of metal. Cable overall feels premium.

Ear tips included are medium bore or can be called wide bore and are made up of soft silicone material. They come in 3 sizes. Finally, the leather carrying case is hard type .it has enough space to carry IEMs + Ear Tips + Cable & a Dongle.

Overall Build Quality 5/5

Comfort:

Shells being light weight don’t create any pressure or pain in ears even after long listening hours. I was getting ear pressure due to venting? I don’t exactly know how but it was happening. Searched online & got few reports of the same. So, it was not an anomaly. Size is medium so fitting should not be issue for most. Nozzles provide deep fit and lips on the nozzles provide nice grip to the ear tips. No slip off. Even after being bit stiff cable can be roadie wrapped easily.  Lastly included leather case is for carrying and protecting it. Just the size is not pocket friendly. Comfort could have been perfect if not for the ear pressure issue caused by venting.

Overall Comfort 4/5

Configuration:

  Dual Plananar + 6 BA. + 1 custom 10mm DD. So total 7 driver. Impedance is 11 ohms. Sensitivity is 107.6 dB. Frequency response range is 20Hz-20KHz.

Ear Tips:

I have used provided stock ear tips.

Sources:

I have used various sources with this set. Best pairing was achieved with neutral and warm sources.  Source scaling L&P W2 ultra > Dethonray Clarinet > Cayin Ru7 > Cayin Ru6 > Fiio M21> Tempotec V3 blaze > Onix Xi Alpha. 

Music Genre Used for this Review:

Hip-hop/EDM/Rap/Rock both classic and hard/Bollywood Music/Pop/Jazz/Regional music etc.

   

https://music.apple.com/in/playlist/test-tracks/pl.u-8aAVXG6ivz8gyxX?ls 

General Sound Impressions:

Enzo has tuning switches. I preferred all switches up. Switches make subtle changes in the tuning. Play around them to arrive at your desired tuning.

Bass/Lows:

Mid bass over sub bass tuning. Sub bass you can hear but it lacks rumble. It has less physical impact. Mid bass has thump it slaps but it is quick and fast type. Decay happens very fast. You feel it but it lacks that lingering physical impact. So, it is clean and quick type. It doesn’t color Mids. This in terms is con for this set. Would have love to see bit more rumble in the sub bass and bit more physical impact in mid bass. Don’t get me wrong, I like quick and clean type of bass but at this price point few other sets have very nuanced bass that has satisfying impact in bass. For the price point the bass is not that textured or layered for my preference. Bass heads will be left wanting here.

Something to note that as I was getting ear pressure. The felt bass was not optimal & if you don’t get any such ear pressure then you might feel different about bass presentation.

Overall Bass/Lows 4/5

Mids.:

Vocals specifically I feel are the USP of this set. Vocals are forward. They are intimate enough to evoke emotions. You can pick up vocal peculiarities like voice modulation; pitch etc. female vocals shine here. They are beautiful yet don’t have edge to them. You can enjoy them without the bite.

Male vocals are similar story they feel natural and beautiful. Just lack bit of note weight. You can make out various voice peculiarities. Maybe I am missing something here. I enjoyed male vocals but the note weight issue marred my experience. Again, take this with grain of salt as my impressions are due to my biases. Your mileage might vary.

Most instruments reside in Mids. They sound great and natural. No oddities or off timbre was felt in tonality of the instruments. There is no smearing or congestion in the mids. Sibilance was only felt when it was there in the song.

Overall Mids 4.5/5

Treble/Highs:

 Treble is smooth with enough extension to cover all the details you ever need. All macro and micro details are there. They are presented very well without being right in your face. Now a days I understand why companies charge so much money. The way each frequency is tuned here to achieve their intended tuning makes you feel like Moritz wanted to create detailed set without any harshness or unwanted sharpness. It just elevates the music experience. You will get very details yet it will not overshadow other frequencies. Additionally, it will not tire you great job Moritz.

Soundstage is phenomenal here. Feels like vast stage. It is wide and tall, both make it feel like vary open and encapsulating. Mostly we get this effect in HPs. It creates spacious stage where everything is well spaced out. Nothing is competing with each other. I think after vocals, the stage is the USP of this set. You feel like you are in Dolby Atmos theatre. This adds to the realism of the music.

Overall Treble/Highs 5/5

Song Impressions:

To corelate to my findings in the sound impressions I have used following songs and my impressions of them

Ego Death by polyphia

This song is my driver speed check aka resolution capability check. The sub bass tuning here doesn’t help in the guitars especially bass guitars. They lack buzz of strings being plucked. Drums feel bit subdued again due to tuning choice. Please understand as reviewer it’s my job to critically judge gear as to create a complete picture. You may not feel the same. Why I feel the way I have written is because in this song guitars are main protagonist and they lack buzz the physical rumble. Tonality of guitars and cymbals feel bit metallic. Rest assured the song feels great to listen and nowhere sounds odd or anything is out of place. It is perfectly enjoyable on this set.

This song can easily overwhelm any set. Enzo handles it like champ. So, in turn handles the test of resolution check like champ. Overall good reproduction.

Enjoy Enjaami

I use this song to test every aspect of the set i.e. bass, mids, treble and finally stage.

Drums feel natural and due to good mid bass thump feels great. Just physical after effect are missing. Vocals are natural. All three singers and their vocal characteristics are reproduced well. There are no oddities in them. 

Stage is amazing every instrument feels properly spaced out and well represented. This matters because there are many instruments playing simultaneously. Yet there is no smearing or congestion. Overall, the entire mix sounds amazing. Good reproduction of the song.

The Great Chinggis Khan by The Hu

One of my favorite songs. This song has throat singing from the lead singer. There are reverberations of sub bass in the song (reverberations caused due to throat singing). Enzo fails to capture it. This mars the experience. Bass guitars also lack the buzz. Drums sound good. 

Sub bass rumble in the entire song feels anemic. On sets with great sub bass this sounds like next level. Emersion pulls you in. Enzo is lacking here. Song can become very intense due to high bpm. Yet Enzo handles it like champ. Overall acceptable reproduction.

Nothing Else Matters by Metallica

I am Metallica fan and one song that always stays on top of my mind is this. Whenever I buy new set or get set for review, I run this song through them.

In this song there is sibilance and the Enzo shows it front and center. Guitars sound good just lack the buzz of strings being plucked.  Drums feel good. Vocals are front and center. They sound natural. Slight metallicness in cymbal crashes. Entire mix feels cohesive. Not odd or off beat. Everything feels balanced. Overall good reproduction.

Final Conclusion:

Up till now haven’t had opportunity to listen to Moritz brand. This is my first encounter with them. To be honest I am impressed. If you want grand atmospheric stage this, is it. Never had I experienced such grand stage. All my songs felt very different for me. I was enjoying the grand feeling it was giving to all of them. Vocals are also USP of this set as per me. They sound intimate and are natural. They evoke emotions. I was mesmerized while listening to vocal centric songs. Hell even in all normal song’s vocals were elevated to next level.

Treble was smooth adding to overall presentation. It was never harsh or sharp. All details were presented exquisitely. They never felt right in my face. Entire tuning choice felt deliberate and focused on delivering that grand atmospheric experience. Full marks to the Moritz Audio for making such product. This one reminds me of my favorite old set 1 custom junior. I think those who loved that set this is direct summit fi upgrade. This is an all rounder set.

Will I buy it?  Yes, 100%. Does it meet my preferences? Not 100% but about 90%. What it does it does it great. So, it becomes valid set for me. One has to remember that no set is perfect. You have to look at its pros and cons to arrive at your conclusion. I have and I like it.

Thank you for enduring with me till the end. Now let’s grab cup of coffee and get high on safe high i.e. Music.

Moritz Audio Enzo “The Dolby One” 4.5/5     

 

Moritz Audio Enzo “The Dolby One”

Another week another review. This week I am sharing my final impressions of Moritz Audio Enzo. As explained in my earlier post I was totally unaware of this brand up till now. Only recently I discovered them through few reviews. As you know me, I am sucker for anything exotic and new. So, I started looking out and when Moritz partnered with AudioGeek India, you know where it is going right? Yes, you are right I jumped on the opportunity and rest is history as they say. Now to know more about what I feel about this set in detail please read on.

First of all, mighty thanks to AudioGeek India and Moritz Audio for providing this review sample and opportunity. Without their help this wouldn’t have been possible.

My biases for tone & timbre DD > Hybrid > Planar

For my music choices please check music genre section.

Now that we have exchanged all the pleasantries. Let us get on with the meat and potatoes of this review.

Pros:

Atmospheric stage

Vocals

Mids

Smooth Treble

Build Quality

Cons:

Bass sub bass and mid bass both 

Ear pressure

Sibilance

Microphonic cable

Build Quality:

P.S. Please note that I received only IEMs + Cable + 3 Pairs of Ear tips and leather carry case. I didn’t receive full retail package. So, my build quality impressions are based on this only.

First thing you notice is shells are light weight and medium sized. Their shape is semi-custom. They have long nozzles & have lips. There are no protective mesh or filters on the nozzles. You can easily see sound tubes. 

Included cable has cloth sheath with four cores. It is an SPC cable. It is bit microphonic & stiff. 0.78 mm 2 pin connectors, cable separator and jack termination are made up of metal. Cable overall feels premium.

Ear tips included are medium bore or can be called wide bore and are made up of soft silicone material. They come in 3 sizes. Finally, the leather carrying case is hard type .it has enough space to carry IEMs + Ear Tips + Cable & a Dongle.

Overall Build Quality 5/5

Comfort:

Shells being light weight don’t create any pressure or pain in ears even after long listening hours. I was getting ear pressure due to venting? I don’t exactly know how but it was happening. Searched online & got few reports of the same. So, it was not an anomaly. Size is medium so fitting should not be issue for most. Nozzles provide deep fit and lips on the nozzles provide nice grip to the ear tips. No slip off. Even after being bit stiff cable can be roadie wrapped easily.  Lastly included leather case is for carrying and protecting it. Just the size is not pocket friendly. Comfort could have been perfect if not for the ear pressure issue caused by venting.

Overall Comfort 4/5

Configuration:

  Dual Plananar + 6 BA. + 1 custom 10mm DD. So total 7 driver. Impedance is 11 ohms. Sensitivity is 107.6 dB. Frequency response range is 20Hz-20KHz.

Ear Tips:

I have used provided stock ear tips.

Sources:

I have used various sources with this set. Best pairing was achieved with neutral and warm sources.  Source scaling L&P W2 ultra > Dethonray Clarinet > Cayin Ru7 > Cayin Ru6 > Fiio M21> Tempotec V3 blaze > Onix Xi Alpha. 

Music Genre Used for this Review:

Hip-hop/EDM/Rap/Rock both classic and hard/Bollywood Music/Pop/Jazz/Regional music etc.

   

https://music.apple.com/in/playlist/test-tracks/pl.u-8aAVXG6ivz8gyxX?ls 

General Sound Impressions:

Enzo has tuning switches. I preferred all switches up. Switches make subtle changes in the tuning. Play around them to arrive at your desired tuning.

Bass/Lows:

Mid bass over sub bass tuning. Sub bass you can hear but it lacks rumble. It has less physical impact. Mid bass has thump it slaps but it is quick and fast type. Decay happens very fast. You feel it but it lacks that lingering physical impact. So, it is clean and quick type. It doesn’t color Mids. This in terms is con for this set. Would have love to see bit more rumble in the sub bass and bit more physical impact in mid bass. Don’t get me wrong, I like quick and clean type of bass but at this price point few other sets have very nuanced bass that has satisfying impact in bass. For the price point the bass is not that textured or layered for my preference. Bass heads will be left wanting here.

Something to note that as I was getting ear pressure. The felt bass was not optimal & if you don’t get any such ear pressure then you might feel different about bass presentation.

Overall Bass/Lows 4/5

Mids.:

Vocals specifically I feel are the USP of this set. Vocals are forward. They are intimate enough to evoke emotions. You can pick up vocal peculiarities like voice modulation; pitch etc. female vocals shine here. They are beautiful yet don’t have edge to them. You can enjoy them without the bite.

Male vocals are similar story they feel natural and beautiful. Just lack bit of note weight. You can make out various voice peculiarities. Maybe I am missing something here. I enjoyed male vocals but the note weight issue marred my experience. Again, take this with grain of salt as my impressions are due to my biases. Your mileage might vary.

Most instruments reside in Mids. They sound great and natural. No oddities or off timbre was felt in tonality of the instruments. There is no smearing or congestion in the mids. Sibilance was only felt when it was there in the song.

Overall Mids 4.5/5

Treble/Highs:

 Treble is smooth with enough extension to cover all the details you ever need. All macro and micro details are there. They are presented very well without being right in your face. Now a days I understand why companies charge so much money. The way each frequency is tuned here to achieve their intended tuning makes you feel like Moritz wanted to create detailed set without any harshness or unwanted sharpness. It just elevates the music experience. You will get very details yet it will not overshadow other frequencies. Additionally, it will not tire you great job Moritz.

Soundstage is phenomenal here. Feels like vast stage. It is wide and tall, both make it feel like vary open and encapsulating. Mostly we get this effect in HPs. It creates spacious stage where everything is well spaced out. Nothing is competing with each other. I think after vocals, the stage is the USP of this set. You feel like you are in Dolby Atmos theatre. This adds to the realism of the music.

Overall Treble/Highs 5/5

Song Impressions:

To corelate to my findings in the sound impressions I have used following songs and my impressions of them

Ego Death by polyphia

This song is my driver speed check aka resolution capability check. The sub bass tuning here doesn’t help in the guitars especially bass guitars. They lack buzz of strings being plucked. Drums feel bit subdued again due to tuning choice. Please understand as reviewer it’s my job to critically judge gear as to create a complete picture. You may not feel the same. Why I feel the way I have written is because in this song guitars are main protagonist and they lack buzz the physical rumble. Tonality of guitars and cymbals feel bit metallic. Rest assured the song feels great to listen and nowhere sounds odd or anything is out of place. It is perfectly enjoyable on this set.

This song can easily overwhelm any set. Enzo handles it like champ. So, in turn handles the test of resolution check like champ. Overall good reproduction.

Enjoy Enjaami

I use this song to test every aspect of the set i.e. bass, mids, treble and finally stage.

Drums feel natural and due to good mid bass thump feels great. Just physical after effect are missing. Vocals are natural. All three singers and their vocal characteristics are reproduced well. There are no oddities in them. 

Stage is amazing every instrument feels properly spaced out and well represented. This matters because there are many instruments playing simultaneously. Yet there is no smearing or congestion. Overall, the entire mix sounds amazing. Good reproduction of the song.

The Great Chinggis Khan by The Hu

One of my favorite songs. This song has throat singing from the lead singer. There are reverberations of sub bass in the song (reverberations caused due to throat singing). Enzo fails to capture it. This mars the experience. Bass guitars also lack the buzz. Drums sound good. 

Sub bass rumble in the entire song feels anemic. On sets with great sub bass this sounds like next level. Emersion pulls you in. Enzo is lacking here. Song can become very intense due to high bpm. Yet Enzo handles it like champ. Overall acceptable reproduction.

Nothing Else Matters by Metallica

I am Metallica fan and one song that always stays on top of my mind is this. Whenever I buy new set or get set for review, I run this song through them.

In this song there is sibilance and the Enzo shows it front and center. Guitars sound good just lack the buzz of strings being plucked.  Drums feel good. Vocals are front and center. They sound natural. Slight metallicness in cymbal crashes. Entire mix feels cohesive. Not odd or off beat. Everything feels balanced. Overall good reproduction.

Final Conclusion:

Up till now haven’t had opportunity to listen to Moritz brand. This is my first encounter with them. To be honest I am impressed. If you want grand atmospheric stage this, is it. Never had I experienced such grand stage. All my songs felt very different for me. I was enjoying the grand feeling it was giving to all of them. Vocals are also USP of this set as per me. They sound intimate and are natural. They evoke emotions. I was mesmerized while listening to vocal centric songs. Hell even in all normal song’s vocals were elevated to next level.

Treble was smooth adding to overall presentation. It was never harsh or sharp. All details were presented exquisitely. They never felt right in my face. Entire tuning choice felt deliberate and focused on delivering that grand atmospheric experience. Full marks to the Moritz Audio for making such product. This one reminds me of my favorite old set 1 custom junior. I think those who loved that set this is direct summit fi upgrade. This is an all rounder set.

Will I buy it?  Yes, 100%. Does it meet my preferences? Not 100% but about 90%. What it does it does it great. So, it becomes valid set for me. One has to remember that no set is perfect. You have to look at its pros and cons to arrive at your conclusion. I have and I like it.

Thank you for enduring with me till the end. Now let’s grab cup of coffee and get high on safe high i.e. Music.

Moritz Audio Enzo “The Dolby One” 4.5/5     

 

Today I was thinking to myself what to do this weekend. after a long time I am looking at two free days on weekend and nothing new to work with or tinker with. Somehow some divine intervention has

Just happened.

I received Moritz Audio Enzo. I have never tried any product from them. This is my first ever encounter with the brand. I am quite excited to test this 1DD+6BA+2Planar hybrid. Now need to open my box of sources and start pairing them with Enzo to find out synergy.

What ever may the outcome of my tinkering be. One thing is for sure my weekend is all set. See you soon in few days with my review of Moritz Audio Enzo.

Fangsound Silenos The Value Proposition

Another week another review. This week brand in question is Fangsound and product name is Silenos. You must have seen my earlier post about it. Well, this is the full review of it. Few weeks earlier I had seen Silenos being on tour with AudioGeek India and the initial views were very positive. My curiosity was stoked. Wanted to review it and so, put my nomination for it and finally got it in my hands few days back. I have spent some time with it and come to my final conclusion. What is it? Well, read on for the same.

 First of all, mighty thanks to AudioGeek India for arranging this review tour. Without their help this review wouldn’t have been possible.

I was not paid or compensated in any manner to do this review. All expressed opinions and thoughts are mine.

My biases for tone & timbre are R2R > Tubes > Delta Sigma. Please keep this in mind while reading this review.

Now that we are done with all the pleasantries. Let us get to the meat and Potatoes of the review.

My Subjective & Objective opinion (Mostly subjective):

One word, phenomenal. It looks and feels like premium industrial product where the designer has spent some time and effort to design it. It looks functional and stylish at the same time. It is substantial in weight. It creates feeling of confidence. You know it will last with all the abuse it will endure over period of time. In the world of thin rectangle metal boxes and some plastic boxes this one stands out being built like tank and confidence inspiring. 

Adorning the top is the word Silenos etched in metal flanked on both sides by huge grills for ventilation and cooling. Front is blessed with multiple output ports namely 6.35 mm, 3.5 mm, 4.4 mm & finally XLR. Neat volume knob joins the party. Two LEDs add to the cool quotient. One LED shows DAC is in use or not another one shows if the unit is ON/OFF. At the back you have plethora inputs such as XLR in and USB in. one small 4.4 mm pre out hides in all these inputs being sole output at the back. You can use it connect to external amp for different flavor. R2R flavor can be amplified using this out if for some reason you find 4W output insufficient. For me its puzzling choice but whom am I question the design choice when entire unit is portable nuclear reactor in terms of power output (14W). 

Lastly two switches one for switching unit ON/OFF & other for that nuclear option i.e. gain. Just two gain levels low & high. Again, why would you need high gain is beyond me. Just kidding bring on that sweet sweet power.  What is there on sides? Well, nothing just grills continuing providing that cooling for this reactor cum amplifier.

What did I throw at it? Well, I put it to paces with plannars such as Edition XS, My Sennheiser HD600, HD560s, VE UA Vanguard & one secret planar HP (will talk about it some day in future) also used some my oldies like AKG K361, AKG k92, Sony MDR 7506. By the way for Sony, AKG & HD560s it was overkill in pure amp mode i.e. 14W. Even in low gain I was only able to go up to 7 o’clock position where they got loud. Beyond that I didn’t venture for my sanity & literal ear safety. My Edition XS, HD600 Vanguard & other planar were topped out at 10 o’clock. Here if I engaged high gain then somewhere around 9 o’clock I had to stop to protect myself.  Power is non issue here. 

Next, I switched to R2R DAC&AMP mode here I can maneuver bit better as the power output is 4W so you can go easily bit up on volume wheel but don’t be fooled it’s still quite powerful.  Unless you are using a HP that is demanding this mode will also sufficiently & easily drive anything you throw at it. I am bit R2R SIMP so I was enjoying every bit here (spoilers).

Most Important question how is the tonality of the Silenos in both modes? Understand that in pure amp mode the sound is shaped by DAC attached to it. So, if you attach cold analytical source, it will produce similarly cold analytical output. If you connect musical warm source, it will adopt to that tonality.  As stated in my biases and spoilers above I am R2R fan. I mostly preferred connecting warm and R2R sources. My best pairings were achieved here with first R2R and then with warm sources. with cold analytical sources the presentation was not optimal for me, it enhances its cold nature for me.  Again, my experience is mine not yours & your experience may be exact opposite as it is the case in this hobby.  In short in this mode, it is very transparent source that adapts to its source partner. 

Now coming to R2R DAC&AMP mode, it has R2R flavor but it’s not that warm gooey type. It is musical & has details that are neither sharp nor blunt. They are sharp enough to give you all details but not blunt enough to make everything glossed over. They are soft rounded yet sharp. Yes, I know I am bit confusing with word salad. But to make you understand its true tonality I have to be explicit. If you like R2R flavor you are in for treat here. I was using this mode when I wanted to enjoy simple R2R flavor.

Background is absolutely pitch dark here in both modes. Only if your source is not clean will you get noise in the output. So, I would recommend clean source. This effect is more pronounced in pure AMP mode than in R2R mode. 

Soundstage is massive here and again mostly depends on system chain. Vis a vis pure amp is slightly more open in terms of stage than R2R mode. But irrespective of mode I liked the stage here. It is wide and tall, creates massive stage that provides enough space for all instruments to sit in harmony without anyone overshadowing other.  

Mids and treble I felt was not affected by pure amp mode. In R2R mode mids & treble become bit smooth in a good manner. Kind of good coloration. Again YMMV. Instruments sound rich & natural. Again, this is chain dependent. R2R plays its magic here also.

Bass/Lows were not influenced at least by me. That’s positive thing in my book.

Did I try any IEMs? Not really as I was worried that it would fry them. But I tried my few flatheads specifically 300 ohms ones and my precious Yinman 600 ohms. These three came to life on it. Specifically, Yinman, I really enjoyed them.

All my HPs were nicely synergized and I was able to extract max out of them. Specifically, Plannars were elevated to next level. Had an amazing experience. DD’s like HD600 really can be taken to next level by using analytical DAC + Tube Pre Amp + Silenos. If I keep describing more it would turn in to review of all these HP’s and faltheads. Safe to say that I had great musical experience. My hands were air drumming and my feet were stomping. I hope I have been able to create picture of how I felt while using it.

Final Conclusion:

Simple, I am sold and in process of getting my very own unit. I think I don’t need to shill it anymore. As you can see that I am smitten to smithereens. I am now thinking of all the possible pairings that I can create to elevate my listening experience. 

Sorry, I am not kind of person who goes more into technicals. If you want specs like SINAD & THDN etc. wait for someone who is more into all this will publish such data. I always believe that what my ears hear trumps what spec sheet says. On that scale this one has won over my ears & hence my wallet will open and I will add it to my audio arsenal. The price at which it is selling adds cherry on the top. I think this is the most VFM product in recent times.

Cheers to you for enduring till end. Now go grab cup of coffee and let’s get high on safe high i.e. Music.

Fangsound Silenos The Value Proposition

Fangsound Silenos The Value Proposition

Another week another review. This week brand in question is Fangsound and product name is Silenos. You must have seen my earlier post about it. Well, this is the full review of it. Few weeks earlier I had seen Silenos being on tour with AudioGeek India and the initial views were very positive. My curiosity was stoked. Wanted to review it and so, put my nomination for it and finally got it in my hands few days back. I have spent some time with it and come to my final conclusion. What is it? Well, read on for the same.

 First of all, mighty thanks to AudioGeek India for arranging this review tour. Without their help this review wouldn’t have been possible.

I was not paid or compensated in any manner to do this review. All expressed opinions and thoughts are mine.

My biases for tone & timbre are R2R > Tubes > Delta Sigma. Please keep this in mind while reading this review.

Now that we are done with all the pleasantries. Let us get to the meat and Potatoes of the review.

My Subjective & Objective opinion (Mostly subjective):

One word, phenomenal. It looks and feels like premium industrial product where the designer has spent some time and effort to design it. It looks functional and stylish at the same time. It is substantial in weight. It creates feeling of confidence. You know it will last with all the abuse it will endure over period of time. In the world of thin rectangle metal boxes and some plastic boxes this one stands out being built like tank and confidence inspiring. 

Adorning the top is the word Silenos etched in metal flanked on both sides by huge grills for ventilation and cooling. Front is blessed with multiple output ports namely 6.35 mm, 3.5 mm, 4.4 mm & finally XLR. Neat volume knob joins the party. Two LEDs add to the cool quotient. One LED shows DAC is in use or not another one shows if the unit is ON/OFF. At the back you have plethora inputs such as XLR in and USB in. one small 4.4 mm pre out hides in all these inputs being sole output at the back. You can use it connect to external amp for different flavor. R2R flavor can be amplified using this out if for some reason you find 4W output insufficient. For me its puzzling choice but whom am I question the design choice when entire unit is portable nuclear reactor in terms of power output (14W). 

Lastly two switches one for switching unit ON/OFF & other for that nuclear option i.e. gain. Just two gain levels low & high. Again, why would you need high gain is beyond me. Just kidding bring on that sweet sweet power.  What is there on sides? Well, nothing just grills continuing providing that cooling for this reactor cum amplifier.

What did I throw at it? Well, I put it to paces with plannars such as Edition XS, My Sennheiser HD600, HD560s, VE UA Vanguard & one secret planar HP (will talk about it some day in future) also used some my oldies like AKG K361, AKG k92, Sony MDR 7506. By the way for Sony, AKG & HD560s it was overkill in pure amp mode i.e. 14W. Even in low gain I was only able to go up to 7 o’clock position where they got loud. Beyond that I didn’t venture for my sanity & literal ear safety. My Edition XS, HD600 Vanguard & other planar were topped out at 10 o’clock. Here if I engaged high gain then somewhere around 9 o’clock I had to stop to protect myself.  Power is non issue here. 

Next, I switched to R2R DAC&AMP mode here I can maneuver bit better as the power output is 4W so you can go easily bit up on volume wheel but don’t be fooled it’s still quite powerful.  Unless you are using a HP that is demanding this mode will also sufficiently & easily drive anything you throw at it. I am bit R2R SIMP so I was enjoying every bit here (spoilers).

Most Important question how is the tonality of the Silenos in both modes? Understand that in pure amp mode the sound is shaped by DAC attached to it. So, if you attach cold analytical source, it will produce similarly cold analytical output. If you connect musical warm source, it will adopt to that tonality.  As stated in my biases and spoilers above I am R2R fan. I mostly preferred connecting warm and R2R sources. My best pairings were achieved here with first R2R and then with warm sources. with cold analytical sources the presentation was not optimal for me, it enhances its cold nature for me.  Again, my experience is mine not yours & your experience may be exact opposite as it is the case in this hobby.  In short in this mode, it is very transparent source that adapts to its source partner. 

Now coming to R2R DAC&AMP mode, it has R2R flavor but it’s not that warm gooey type. It is musical & has details that are neither sharp nor blunt. They are sharp enough to give you all details but not blunt enough to make everything glossed over. They are soft rounded yet sharp. Yes, I know I am bit confusing with word salad. But to make you understand its true tonality I have to be explicit. If you like R2R flavor you are in for treat here. I was using this mode when I wanted to enjoy simple R2R flavor.

Background is absolutely pitch dark here in both modes. Only if your source is not clean will you get noise in the output. So, I would recommend clean source. This effect is more pronounced in pure AMP mode than in R2R mode. 

Soundstage is massive here and again mostly depends on system chain. Vis a vis pure amp is slightly more open in terms of stage than R2R mode. But irrespective of mode I liked the stage here. It is wide and tall, creates massive stage that provides enough space for all instruments to sit in harmony without anyone overshadowing other.  

Mids and treble I felt was not affected by pure amp mode. In R2R mode mids & treble become bit smooth in a good manner. Kind of good coloration. Again YMMV. Instruments sound rich & natural. Again, this is chain dependent. R2R plays its magic here also.

Bass/Lows were not influenced at least by me. That’s positive thing in my book.

Did I try any IEMs? Not really as I was worried that it would fry them. But I tried my few flatheads specifically 300 ohms ones and my precious Yinman 600 ohms. These three came to life on it. Specifically, Yinman, I really enjoyed them.

All my HPs were nicely synergized and I was able to extract max out of them. Specifically, Plannars were elevated to next level. Had an amazing experience. DD’s like HD600 really can be taken to next level by using analytical DAC + Tube Pre Amp + Silenos. If I keep describing more it would turn in to review of all these HP’s and faltheads. Safe to say that I had great musical experience. My hands were air drumming and my feet were stomping. I hope I have been able to create picture of how I felt while using it.

Final Conclusion:

Simple, I am sold and in process of getting my very own unit. I think I don’t need to shill it anymore. As you can see that I am smitten to smithereens. I am now thinking of all the possible pairings that I can create to elevate my listening experience. 

Sorry, I am not kind of person who goes more into technicals. If you want specs like SINAD & THDN etc. wait for someone who is more into all this will publish such data. I always believe that what my ears hear trumps what spec sheet says. On that scale this one has won over my ears & hence my wallet will open and I will add it to my audio arsenal. The price at which it is selling adds cherry on the top. I think this is the most VFM product in recent times.

Cheers to you for enduring till end. Now go grab cup of coffee and let’s get high on safe high i.e. Music.

Fangsound Silenos The Value Proposition

Fangsound Silenos The Value Proposition

Another week another review. This week brand in question is Fangsound and product name is Silenos. You must have seen my earlier post about it. Well, this is the full review of it. Few weeks earlier I had seen Silenos being on tour with AudioGeek India and the initial views were very positive. My curiosity was stoked. Wanted to review it and so, put my nomination for it and finally got it in my hands few days back. I have spent some time with it and come to my final conclusion. What is it? Well, read on for the same.

 First of all, mighty thanks to AudioGeek India for arranging this review tour. Without their help this review wouldn’t have been possible.

I was not paid or compensated in any manner to do this review. All expressed opinions and thoughts are mine.

My biases for tone & timbre are R2R > Tubes > Delta Sigma. Please keep this in mind while reading this review.

Now that we are done with all the pleasantries. Let us get to the meat and Potatoes of the review.

My Subjective & Objective opinion (Mostly subjective):

One word, phenomenal. It looks and feels like premium industrial product where the designer has spent some time and effort to design it. It looks functional and stylish at the same time. It is substantial in weight. It creates feeling of confidence. You know it will last with all the abuse it will endure over period of time. In the world of thin rectangle metal boxes and some plastic boxes this one stands out being built like tank and confidence inspiring. 

Adorning the top is the word Silenos etched in metal flanked on both sides by huge grills for ventilation and cooling. Front is blessed with multiple output ports namely 6.35 mm, 3.5 mm, 4.4 mm & finally XLR. Neat volume knob joins the party. Two LEDs add to the cool quotient. One LED shows DAC is in use or not another one shows if the unit is ON/OFF. At the back you have plethora inputs such as XLR in and USB in. one small 4.4 mm pre out hides in all these inputs being sole output at the back. You can use it connect to external amp for different flavor. R2R flavor can be amplified using this out if for some reason you find 4W output insufficient. For me its puzzling choice but whom am I question the design choice when entire unit is portable nuclear reactor in terms of power output (14W). 

Lastly two switches one for switching unit ON/OFF & other for that nuclear option i.e. gain. Just two gain levels low & high. Again, why would you need high gain is beyond me. Just kidding bring on that sweet sweet power.  What is there on sides? Well, nothing just grills continuing providing that cooling for this reactor cum amplifier.

What did I throw at it? Well, I put it to paces with plannars such as Edition XS, My Sennheiser HD600, HD560s, VE UA Vanguard & one secret planar HP (will talk about it some day in future) also used some my oldies like AKG K361, AKG k92, Sony MDR 7506. By the way for Sony, AKG & HD560s it was overkill in pure amp mode i.e. 14W. Even in low gain I was only able to go up to 7 o’clock position where they got loud. Beyond that I didn’t venture for my sanity & literal ear safety. My Edition XS, HD600 Vanguard & other planar were topped out at 10 o’clock. Here if I engaged high gain then somewhere around 9 o’clock I had to stop to protect myself.  Power is non issue here. 

Next, I switched to R2R DAC&AMP mode here I can maneuver bit better as the power output is 4W so you can go easily bit up on volume wheel but don’t be fooled it’s still quite powerful.  Unless you are using a HP that is demanding this mode will also sufficiently & easily drive anything you throw at it. I am bit R2R SIMP so I was enjoying every bit here (spoilers).

Most Important question how is the tonality of the Silenos in both modes? Understand that in pure amp mode the sound is shaped by DAC attached to it. So, if you attach cold analytical source, it will produce similarly cold analytical output. If you connect musical warm source, it will adopt to that tonality.  As stated in my biases and spoilers above I am R2R fan. I mostly preferred connecting warm and R2R sources. My best pairings were achieved here with first R2R and then with warm sources. with cold analytical sources the presentation was not optimal for me, it enhances its cold nature for me.  Again, my experience is mine not yours & your experience may be exact opposite as it is the case in this hobby.  In short in this mode, it is very transparent source that adapts to its source partner. 

Now coming to R2R DAC&AMP mode, it has R2R flavor but it’s not that warm gooey type. It is musical & has details that are neither sharp nor blunt. They are sharp enough to give you all details but not blunt enough to make everything glossed over. They are soft rounded yet sharp. Yes, I know I am bit confusing with word salad. But to make you understand its true tonality I have to be explicit. If you like R2R flavor you are in for treat here. I was using this mode when I wanted to enjoy simple R2R flavor.

Background is absolutely pitch dark here in both modes. Only if your source is not clean will you get noise in the output. So, I would recommend clean source. This effect is more pronounced in pure AMP mode than in R2R mode. 

Soundstage is massive here and again mostly depends on system chain. Vis a vis pure amp is slightly more open in terms of stage than R2R mode. But irrespective of mode I liked the stage here. It is wide and tall, creates massive stage that provides enough space for all instruments to sit in harmony without anyone overshadowing other.  

Mids and treble I felt was not affected by pure amp mode. In R2R mode mids & treble become bit smooth in a good manner. Kind of good coloration. Again YMMV. Instruments sound rich & natural. Again, this is chain dependent. R2R plays its magic here also.

Bass/Lows were not influenced at least by me. That’s positive thing in my book.

Did I try any IEMs? Not really as I was worried that it would fry them. But I tried my few flatheads specifically 300 ohms ones and my precious Yinman 600 ohms. These three came to life on it. Specifically, Yinman, I really enjoyed them.

All my HPs were nicely synergized and I was able to extract max out of them. Specifically, Plannars were elevated to next level. Had an amazing experience. DD’s like HD600 really can be taken to next level by using analytical DAC + Tube Pre Amp + Silenos. If I keep describing more it would turn in to review of all these HP’s and faltheads. Safe to say that I had great musical experience. My hands were air drumming and my feet were stomping. I hope I have been able to create picture of how I felt while using it.

Final Conclusion:

Simple, I am sold and in process of getting my very own unit. I think I don’t need to shill it anymore. As you can see that I am smitten to smithereens. I am now thinking of all the possible pairings that I can create to elevate my listening experience. 

Sorry, I am not kind of person who goes more into technicals. If you want specs like SINAD & THDN etc. wait for someone who is more into all this will publish such data. I always believe that what my ears hear trumps what spec sheet says. On that scale this one has won over my ears & hence my wallet will open and I will add it to my audio arsenal. The price at which it is selling adds cherry on the top. I think this is the most VFM product in recent times.

Cheers to you for enduring till end. Now go grab cup of coffee and let’s get high on safe high i.e. Music.

Fangsound Silenos The Value Proposition