The term “personal audio” has several meanings. However, I most often use it to refer to earbuds, headphones, and the components such as digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and amplifiers that are used with them. These types of personal products fall into at least two categories. One covers stationary products that are made to be used in say a home or office. Another encompasses portable products made for on-the-go listening.
On the portable side of things, if I am driving to my destination, I may take Apos Audio’s Caspian headphones ($499). Slightly rolled-off on top, they facilitate long and relaxing listening sessions. To protect the Caspian, I use a mini flight case that’s specially built to hold headphones. On such trips, I will likely take a DAC/amplifier that’s roughly the length and width of a large cell phone. One example of such a component is the EarMen fully-balanced, battery-powered Angel ($399). A bit larger and heavier than my cell phone, I connect the Angel to my phone via a USB-C cable. I have yet to find a pair of headphones that it can’t drive. Conveniently, the Angel does double-duty on the night table next to my bed for those sleepless nights.
The EarMen Angel portable headphone amplifier: Perfect for high-res listening at the beach, or anywhere.
When I travel light, I opt for an in-ear-monitor (IEM) and an extremely small, thumb-drive sized DAC/amp that together fit in the palm of my hand. In such cases, I have been using Clarus Cable’s CODA USB DAC/amp ($300), paired with the Technics EAH-TZ700 IEMs ($1,200). The Coda doesn’t require a lot of power and works not only with smartphones, but with tablets and desktop computers as well. The EAH-TZ700 uses a proprietary 10 mm driver that is contained in a gorgeous vibration-dampening magnesium housing. I love the fact that the EAH-TZ700 fits inside of the CODA’s small, hard-case storage pod.
Despite the generally diminutive footprints of these products, the sound that they produce can be stunning. They are perfect for a long-distance trip or, as shown in the photos, a day at the beach.
The Technics EAH-TZ700 in-ear monitors come with balanced and unbalanced cables, four different sizes of eartips, fluid-damped voice coils, and additional features for refined sound.
Another view of the EarMen Angel. Built around an ESS ES9038Q2M DAC, the Angel can decode up to 768kHz/32-bit PCM, DSD256 via DoP, and MQA Studio.
The Clarus CODA is small in size yet packs a host of features including a volume control, selectable digital audio filters, compatibility with many popular streaming services, MQA decoding and more.
All images courtesy of Howard Kneller. Howard is the co-founder of The Listening Chair with Howard Kneller, a reviewing and news organization for all things audiophile.
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