@andrewchoppa — Sonic Compass

Listening StoryAmplifier (headphone)

LAiV Crescendo Verse

“A warm, organic R-2R all-in-one with deep punchy bass and a wide stage that drove hard planars and IEMs with ease.”

15 Oct 2026

Eufonika H5 KPCU

“A handmade Polish OTL tube amp with solid-state speed and detail, and a holographic stage. Brilliant on 100 to 600 ohm headphones, wrong for IEMs.”

3 Oct 2026

SoundPEATS H3

“A true wireless set that punches well above its price: deep controlled bass, forward vocals and a vast stage, with an EQ that lets you shape it.”

1 Oct 2026

Juzear Nimbus

“An entry-level IEM with a zinc alloy shell, glass faceplate, three tuning nozzles and a great cable, tuned warm, punchy and clean.”

29 Sept 2026

ZMF Headphones Tessidera

“A warm, natural, weighty planar in a wooden cup. Stock it's safe and musical; with the thick pads and no mesh it becomes something special.”

24 Sept 2026

Schiit Audio Asgard X with Mesh DAC

“A small Class A desktop amp with two outputs that sound a little different. With the Mesh DAC card it is a natural, full-bodied, holographic all-in-one for US$549.”

21 Sept 2026

HiFiMAN HE1000 WiFi

“A flagship planar with the DAC, amp and Wi-Fi inside the cups. On Wi-Fi it gets very close to my wired Unveiled setup, with no cable at all.”

17 Sept 2026

Palavox Steel Heart

“A seven-driver tribrid built like a reactor core. Deep, fast bass and a holographic stage that surrounds you, and it wants a good source.”

16 Sept 2026

Juzear Light Shuttle

“A warm, vocal-led tribrid with tight, deep bass and a smooth, safe treble. Wide and precise on the stage, though not holographic.”

14 Sept 2026

NiceHCK NX8Ti LE

“An eight-driver titanium tribrid with big, fast bass, forward lush mids and a bright-neutral top end. The standout is the imaging, some of the best Choppa has heard at any price.”

10 Sept 2026

Listening StoryStreamer

Arylic LP20 Music Streamer

“A card-deck-sized streamer with an AKM DAC inside. Through my Schiit Asgard X it gave a pitch-black background and a wide, clean sound, and it stays close to a rig many times its price.”

8 Sept 2026

Listening StoryEarbuds

Unique Melody UXUE

“A US$299 true wireless tri-brid with a wide, holographic stage and sharp detail. The sound comes first; battery and the case come second.”

7 Sept 2026

NiPO A200 Pro

“A cassette-shaped, phone-mounted DAC and amp that is quiet, wide and detailed, with real power from the 4.4mm output. A warmer, more open step on from the A100.”

4 Sept 2026

HiFiMAN Arya WiFi

“The Arya sound without the stack: a measured, full-bodied planar with the DAC and amp inside the cups, once the app and firmware sorted the setup.”

2 Sept 2026

Listening StoryEarbuds

Roseselsa Ceramics MK2

“A big V-shaped true wireless earbud with LDAC, huge punchy bass and an airy treble, for about US$30.”

1 Sept 2026

Listening StoryOver-ear (closed)

SMSL C200 Pro

“A compact desktop DAC and headphone amp with a built-in power supply that sounded neutral, clean and quiet to me on everything from planars to IEMs, with a decent stage for the price.”

6 Aug 2026

Sivga SV021 Pro V2

“A wood-cupped closed-back that Sivga retuned after complaints about honky mids on the original: natural, weighty vocals, full and tight bass, a smoothed non-sibilant treble and a wide stage for a closed-back under US$200.”

2 Aug 2026

Cozoy D1

“A US$30 single dynamic driver IEM with a bright V-shaped, Harman-leaning tuning: tight mid-bass punch, a lively top end with good separation, and a flatter, left-to-right stage.”

23 July 2026

Listening StoryEarbuds

FiiO UTWS17 (Link TWS)

“FiiO's flagship Bluetooth ear hooks for detachable-cable IEMs. Across four IEMs I could not pick them from a wired DAP, with a silent background, natural timbre and a wide stage.”

16 July 2026

Listening Story

Fosi Audio Merak

“A small desktop CD player from Fosi Audio with a Cirrus Logic DAC, a 210 mW headphone output, an optical out and one-touch ripping to USB. Clean, resolving and non-fatiguing, and not portable.”

14 July 2026

Softears Edge

“A titanium-shelled 11mm single dynamic driver IEM with huge but fast bass, forward and clean mids, non-sibilant treble and a tall, holographic stage.”

13 July 2026

Tangzu Li Zhi

“A flagship single 10mm diamond-diaphragm dynamic driver IEM with deep, tight, well separated bass, natural and emotional mids, and a transparent, non-sibilant treble that stays fatigue-free.”

8 July 2026

Listening StoryAmplifier (headphone)

CCZ Tiangong Pro (CZ12)

“A six-driver, all-metal budget IEM with a clean, controlled low end, a vocal-forward lift in the upper mids, very clean treble and a stage that sounds much bigger than its price.”

5 July 2026

Aune A17

“A fully discrete Class-A headphone amp and preamp that drove everything from HE6se V2 planars and the Genesis One to a 600 ohm DT880 and KZ IEMs, with a linear, resolving sound, weight in the bass and a holographic stage.”

3 July 2026

Aune AR5000 MK2

“A light, all-metal open-back with a big, well-separated stage, forward and natural vocals, detailed treble without sibilance and controlled, deep bass, easy to drive from almost anything.”

30 June 2026

Muse HiFi Muse 300

“A desktop DAC and headphone amp with its own operating system, a 5-inch screen and three hardware sound modes: a balanced setting, a warmer tube mode and a treble-forward ACG mode.”

25 June 2026

Listening StoryAmplifier (headphone)

Lily Audio Genesis 1

“A 75mm piezoelectric CrystalCore open-back that is very hard to drive and very rewarding when it is: huge stage, fast transients, big bass, no sibilance on this revision, light and comfortable on the head.”

22 June 2026

Erzetich Bacillus II+

“A compact class-AB, dual-mono, fully balanced headphone amp that drove everything I own, from 300 ohm dynamics to the HE6se V2, with tight bass, smooth detailed treble and a wide, holographic stage.”

3 June 2026