THE REVIEWS
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PRESS RELEASE: ROON 1.8 GOES LIVE FEBRUARY 9, 2021.
Roon 1.8 arrives: Powerful, user-driven software update brings a visually stunning interface, sophisticated music discovery, and deeper personalization.
VISION EARS ELYSIUM REVIEW (UNIVERSAL)
The VISION EARS ELYSIUM is a very good IEM whose midrange summons transparency and richness and transient speed, that is truly compelling. And its bass, while not the deepest, will please many if not most for its delivered quality, transparency, and its transient quickness. And there are those for whom the ELYSIUM’s electrostatic imbued treble will be manna from heaven, the cat’s pajamas, and quite lovely. And those for whom it will not.
SHANLING M8 DAP REVIEW
The Shanling M8 is an extraordinary “Portable Music Player” more detailed and extended than the DX220 AMP1 MkII, more musical and engaging than the Cayin N6II/A01, and it is as powerful as some desktop systems (and more transparent). The iBasso and the Cayin are both quite stellar, highly rated DAPs, the M8, however, is on another level altogether in what it brings to the rendering of one’s music.
OBRAVO RA-C-CU (IEM) REVIEW
The Most Expensive IEM in the World and a Masterstroke of Design Engineering!
The Obravo RA-C-CU is a TOTL IEM not unlike the TOTL super cars—the Bugatti Chiron, Ferrari 488 Pista, Koenigsegg Jesko, Lamborghini Veneno, and Pagani Zonda Revolucion. And when its needs are dutifully met, as outlined above, its owner will be greatly rewarded with next-level musicality, transparency, and engagement.
MEZE EMPYREAN WIRE REVIEW
At the time of the MEZE Empyrean review, I was aware of the upgrade cables—the Pure Copper Ultra High Drawability (PCUHD) cable ($249-$349) and the PCUHD Silver-Plated Copper cable ($399-$499)—but I had not heard either. And there were scant if any reviews, save for customer reviews, that had found the cable well worth the price of admission. I was intrigued. Could the Best Product for 2020 and AudioKey Reviews’ only DIAMOND AWARD winner, to date, sound even better?
EMPIRE EARS ODIN REVIEW
The EMPIRE EARS ODIN delivers tremendous transparency, which offers up a wealth of microdynamics and spatial cues, critical in the determination of positioning and layering, as well as a midrange laid wide open from a wealth of details.
EDITOR’S CHOICE 2020
There were quite a few incredible products this year. And if the early reviews are any indication, it will be exceptionally difficult to select 2021’s Best Products, let alone the Best Product of the Year, and Editor’s Choice! The Editor’s Choice Award for 2020…