Welcome! My name is Nick Smith, an Australian audiophile with nearly 30 years in the hobby.
My journey began in the early 90s with cassette tapes, Sony Walkmans & earbuds, after which I gravitated to speaker setups & CD players at home, then later in the early 2000s to headphones when MP3 files were in vogue.
Things have come full circle as I now do all my listening with high-end earphones & portable audio players, and couldn’t be happier with the effortless resolution & precision these devices provide. I also attend classical music concerts to re-connect with the sound of real instruments, a heavenly experience no audio playback system can fully emulate.
I love reviewing audio gear, so please reach out to me here or at Head-Fi where my username is Bosk.
Musical Taste
I listen mostly to electronic genres, classical music & orchestral movie soundtracks these days.
Occasionally sprinkling in vintage pop, rock or vocal classics largely from the 70s, 80s & 90s.
After collecting music for over two decades I’ve amassed nearly two thousand DSD & FLAC albums.
Current Portable Audio Gear
Earphones UM Mest MKIII CIEM • ISN EBC80 CIEM • Tahsin Sevgel Model2 CIEM • ISN H60 CIEM • TSMR SHOCK • ISN H20 • KBEAR CEPHEUS • Penon Quattro • TSMR X • ISN EST50 • Penon Turbo • TSMR Feat • ISN Neo3 • Penon Fan2 • Simgot EA1000 • ISN Neo5 • KBEAR KB02 • Penon DOME • NiceHCK F1 Pro • Simgot EM6L • Penon Globe • Kiwi Ears Quartet • ISN Neo1 • JIALAI Carat • Truthear Zero • NiceHCK DB2 • Tanchjim Oxygen
Devices Luxury & Precision P6 Pro • Luxury & Precision W4 • Hiby R3II • Xuelin Clear • Shozy BT-10 • Penon Tail • Penon OS133
Cables Penon Totem • Effect Audio Code 24 • Penon Pyramid 8W & 4W • Hakugei Sky-Bolt • Effect Audio Code 24C • Penon ASOS+X • ISN T-OCC • Penon Renata • Effect Audio Code 23 • Penon ASOS+ • Effect Audio Ares S • NiceHCK AceOrpheus • Penon ASOS • NiceHCK DragonScale 2 • Penon Leo Plus • Simgot LC7 • NiceHCK DragonScale • Penon Obsidian • NiceHCK FirstTouch • NiceHCK BlackCat Ultra • Penon Vocal • NiceHCK BlackSoul • NiceHCK BlackCat
Previous Portable Audio Gear
Earphones Canpur 622B • UM Mason Red Halo FE • FiR Audio XE6 • Noble Audio Spartacus • Penon Impact • Penon 10th Anniversary • Final Audio A8000 • Sennheiser IE600 • Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 • Dita Dream • Dunu Luna • Empire Ears ESR MKI • Empire Ears Spartan IV • 64 Audio U8 • Shure SE535
Devices Cayin N6III with R202 & C201 cards • Luxury & Precision P6 Pro HK Edition • Cayin RU7 • iBasso PB5 • Luxury & Precision E7 • Brise Tsuranagi V2 • Cayin C9 • Mass Kobo 475 • Astell & Kern SR35 • Hiby R6 Pro II • iFi Go Bar 10th Anniversary • Cayin N8ii • Shanling M6U • Aroma Audio A100TB • iBasso DX240 • iBasso DX300 • ALO Audio Continental Dual Mono • Astell & Kern SR25 • Astell & Kern SP1000M • Astell & Kern SR15 • Sony NW-ZX300 • ALO Audio Rx • Astell & Kern AK380 • Vorzuge Pure II+ • Astell & Kern AK70 MKII • Cayin C5 • Sony WM1A
Cables PWA Orpheus Shielding IC • PW Audio 1950s Shielding • Brise Yatono Mini Ultimate IC • Liquid Links Venom • DHC Chimera IC • PW Audio 1950s Clone • Liquid Links Martini • Effect Audio Ares S 8 Wire • Effect Audio Eros S • Effect Audio Cadmus 4 wire • ALO Audio Reference 8 • CEMA Tianwaitian • Effect Audio Leonidas 4 wire • Effect Audio Ares II 8 wire • Effect Audio Ares II 4 wire