I have a hunch that Mr. Yamagishi, the former Sony headphone and speaker designer behind Ocharaku was drinking tea before he ever sipped into the idea of the Tornado Equaliser. That singular technology has since revolutionised the upgrade earphone market among price-conscious portable audiophiles in Japan. And with the introduction of Flat-4 SUI – and TE’s successor, TEE – in 2011, the technology has found itself in a new, better pot. Twin Equalised Elements (TEE) is the new leaf that Mr. Yamagishi turned over to create SUI and now KAEDE. If you’re interested in a few different views of KAEDE, check out Ω image’s KAEDE post.

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© shigzeo for TouchMyApps, 2013. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Headphones, Inner Earphones, Ocharaku, Reviews

Yesterday, I was asked by Musica Acoustics to shoot a new earphone, the FitEar ToGo! 111. The 111 is the ToGo! 334′s younger sibling. It was released sometime in the summer in Japan and has had very few legit sales channels abroad. This version is spread with a Musica Acoustics label. Evidently, Jaben have their own label. You can pick it up from Musica for 645$. From what I understand, it is the same as the regular ToGo! 111. Correct me if I’m wrong.

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Read the rest of FitEar ToGo! 111 – This is Trance

© shigzeo for TouchMyApps, 2012. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: FitEar, Inner Earphones, Preview

Heir Audio’s youngest children have been thrust into the thick of a do-or-die competition. Custom earphone manufacturers are pounding with exceeding energy toward the lucrative – and showy – universal earphone market. I see no end in sight – and to be honest, that is a good thing. Technology handed down from top-flight customs is good stuff. Heir Audio’s 3.Ai and 4.Ai carry the goods inherited from their more expensive, custom siblings.

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© shigzeo for TouchMyApps, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Heir Audio, Inner Earphones, Review

Zip, ziiiip, wiiiiii, a mosquito. Chuka chuka chuka katakatatata, the Tsukuba Express plowing back to Akihabara. Click click click, my evil shoe-wearing neighbours on the eighth floor dancing up a spell. Summer’s heat amplifies each sound. So does after-work debauchery. So does Arcade Fire. And Markus Schulz’ Progression, Vibrasphere’s Lungs of Life, etc. and so on. Especially at the wee hours of 0:00 to 5:00. I get on fine after that. There goes my sleep. And whereas sometimes, screwing earphones into my ears helps me zone out and catch some zzz’s, screwing in the fabulous, new FitEar To Go! 334 zones me in, like never before. Hello Music!

It’s nice to meet you, I’m shigzeo, zombie.

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Read the rest of FitEar To Go! 334 earphone in Review – nonpareil

© shigzeo for TouchMyApps, 2012. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: audiophile, FitEar, IEM, Inner Earphones, rating-kiss, Review

I hated dolling out a mere GRAB to the Ortofon eQ7. But good build quality, acceesories, and sound alone didn’t do the trick. It could have been easier to wear, and the cable could have been a LOT better. It could have been the eQ5.

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Read the rest of Ortofon eQ5 earphones in Review – an earphone for all time

© shigzeo for TouchMyApps, 2012. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: audiophile, IEM, Inner Earphones, Ortofon, rating-kiss, Review

Fischer Audio have updated their best-selling DBA-02. And what an update it is. The DBA-02 MKII is a delightful earphone replete with comfort and an accessory kit that is the envy of the earphone world. How about its sound, you ask? I’ll be singing praises soon enough.

First, let’s yabber about WOWs.

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Read the rest of Fischer Audio DBA-02 MKII in Review – Bittersweet

© shigzeo for TouchMyApps, 2012. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: DBA-02 MKII, Earphones, Fischer Audio, Headphones, rating-grab

MEElectronics are hit makers. The M6 and M9 earph0nes defined perfection within their price points, sporting great build quality, good sound, and an impressive array of accessories. With the introduction of the A151, MEEl have outdone themselves in a number of areas, making on of the truly must-have earphones. Caveats aside (and yes, there are a few), this new single armature earphone is a must have for every music lover with a medium-sized budget.

[Bef0re y0u ask: my little 0h and bracket keys have been damaged by a stray glass 0f water. Please bear with me till I can aff0rd a new c0mputer!]

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Read the rest of MEElectronics A151 inner earphone in Review – KICKASS!!

© shigzeo for TouchMyApps, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: audiophile, IEM, Inner Earphones, MEELectronics, MEELectronics A151, rating-grab, Review

In 2009, Sleek Audio officially released the CT6, their first custom earphone. At its introductory price of 300$, the single driver earphone dominated the budget custom earphone world with great sound and a slew of innovations at a great price point. A LOT has happened since then, and while the CT6 remains a great earphone, it has been outclassed by newcomers. Naturally, Sleek Audio couldn’t leave it at the top of their portfolio. Enter the CT7, a completely redesigned custom iem sporting dual drivers, higher sensitivity, better artwork, and one of the rawest, fastest, most impressive sounds I’ve heard at any price.

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Read the rest of Sleek Audio CT7 custom earphone in Review – masterless sound

© shigzeo for TouchMyApps, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: audiophile, CT7, custom earphone, Custome IEM, earphone, Inner Earphones, rating-grab, Review, Sleek Audio

Nocs, a Swedish company out of… Sweden, have left a tasty impression in my ears this winter with the NS200 headset. While not flashy, the NS200 scores with lively sound and good headset implementation that impresses this Toucher with great audio performance, and a tasty remote control.

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Read the rest of Nocs NS200 headset in Review – Deep ear action

© shigzeo for TouchMyApps, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Headphones, headset, IEM, Inner Earphones, Nocs, NS200, rating-grab, Review

Recently, I Hanseled my way around CES 2011 looking for a place to sit. On my quest to find a comfy chair, I managed to lose myself under a pile of crumby marketing handouts, and half naked girls dancing to show off the features of a … wired router. Amid crappy tablets and massage chairs, I also managed to find Sonomax‘s booth and discover what I think is the coolest thing to come out of CES: 4-minute custom earphones. Originally, my mate said this Canadian company were batting with a custom earphone that is fully cured in 20 hours and sets in 4 minutes. Hmmm, I thought, that reminds me of SoundCage, a company that made a 20-minute custom a few years ago, and that is also from Canada. Well, it turns out that the SoundCage I discovered whilst getting impressions for the Sleek Audio CT6, and Sonomax are either good mates, or better bedfellows.

Feel free to discuss Sonomax products in our forums.

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Read the rest of CES 2011′s best: Sonomax’s SoundCage 4-minute custom earphone

© shigzeo for TouchMyApps, 2011. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: custom iem, IEM, Sculpted eers, Sonomax, SoundCage

Whether it’s Metallica, DJ Tiesto, Iggy Pop, Melody Gardot, or Aphex Twin belting around the spinning innards of your cassette player, it’s gonna sound fab from the Westone 4, and it’s not just that new product sheen either. No, it’s the fact that Westone nailed everything in this, the first universal earphone fitted with four speakers per side – a mean feat in any respectable dictionary.

Discuss the Westone 4 in our forums.

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© shigzeo for TouchMyApps, 2011. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Headphones, IEM, Inner Earphones, rating-grab, Review, Westone, Westone 4

Who would have thought that Sensaphonics, the stodgiest custom earphone maker on the planet, would go universal? I didn’t, and I bet that Sensaphonics USA probably didn’t either. Nope, the j-phonics is a 100% Japanese product; it begins and ends in the land of the rising sun. Cool as that may be, cooler still is the fact that its guts are brilliantly tooled, reminding me of the excellently balanced Prophonics 2X-s custom monitor. But, rather than coming wrapped in medicinal silicon, the j-phonics comes packed in cute, coloured polycarbonate shells, new internal laminatation, and a new low[er] price.

Feel free to discuss the j-phonics in our forums?

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© shigzeo for TouchMyApps, 2010. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Headphones, IEM, Inner Earphones, j-phonics, rating-kiss, Review, Sensaphonics