Budget HeadFi Fun: Hunting for under $100 Headfi

Long, long time ago, well almost a decade to be exact, I found my first headfi headphone: the powerhouse Sennheiser HD-477. It's the beginning of a love affair that I didn't expect to last such a long time.

2014, with a new office came a need for a new budget HeadFi piece to stay in my desk drawer, ready to serve me anytime. But being in an open space office, a close full size headphone is ideal. My trusted favorite Ultrasone HFI450 is my first choice, but I don't have the heart to leave it back in my desk drawer. There it began my hunt for a new closed headphone, it must have sound so good that I want to use it, but cheap enough to leave it behind in my office drawer.

After months of search without result, I have tested several budget headphones and ended with a collection of sound signature in my head that I love but at the same time didn't get selected. Here are theorist of candidates:
1. Panasonic RP-HX550
2. Sennheiser HD 202

As my player, my trusted SanDisk Sansa CLIP+ 8GB.

As my reference: Audio Technical M-50

Since I have not selected.any one of those 2 headphones, I keep on searching.

My review, or rather my take, on the 2 candidates:

1. Panasonic RP-HX550


Just being.launched in 2014, Panasonic new headpiece the RP-HX550 is definitely my biggest surprise. Found by accident while trying to go to a Men's Room in a mall in Jakarta, the HX550 looks inviting with those brushed metal finished on closed plastic earpiece look stylish and definitely worth to test. At $80, I would consider it a bargain.

First Look Impression: nice finish with the plastic and metal material combo. The single wire connector with a flat tangle-free cable definitely add to its premium style.

First Sound Impression: Wow, V shaped equalizer
High - smooth and detailed, it didn't register as high fidelity high, but it is at participating with the like of Sennheiser HD 202 with a winning smoothness. For those looking for detailed smooth sounding high frequency in headphone, this is a keeper.
Mid - the singer voice is less focused and rather weird sounding. I would not recommend HX550 to voice headfi lovers.
Low - I am shocked by the sound, a good shock. It is clear and deeper with more details than expected from Panasonic headphone, especially consumer version. Don't get me wrong, HX550 is a warm headphone with a touch of treble details. Definitely a keeper for music lover, but not for voice centric lover. Lower in fun (bass) and details compared.to Audio Technical M-50, but details and soundstage to.match M-50.

2. Sennheiser HD 202


Bass monster on-ear Sennheiser HD 202 definitely will satisfy bass lovers and also superior in details.compared to Beats headpieces. Being closed unit, HD 202 has straight forward sound, especially compared to the older brother that I happened to own HD 477 (open headphone with better details and soundstage).

This headphone felt like I was wearing subwoofer for a.headphone. Bass details are replaced by bass explosion, a powerful one that is.
High - sweet
Mid - good
Low - powerful volume and impact but lacking.details
I would say inability to deliver details of music is what made me doubtful, especially compared to M-50.

Which will be my earpiece? I will let you know soon

Sony Xperia Z Ultra Hands On Review

Alright, for those who followed.this blog, you know that I'm a suckered for Samsung Galaxy Note N7000, aka the original Galaxy Note. In recent years, that is the smartphone that I used for over 18 months until it became too obsolete that everything become unbearably slow to operate.

2013 is probably the slowest year for me in regards of Android smartphones, except for 2 smartphones: Asus Padfone 2 and Sony Xperia Z series.

I must say, those 2 enticed me with their creative solutions that I decided to buy Asus. Unfortunately, that was a decision that I regretted due to hardware flaws and weaknesses.

2014, I went backward and purchase the abdominal Sony Xperia Z Ultra, this 1920x1080-true-HD-6.44"-screen-2.2ghz-quad-core is the current record breaker of thinnest and biggest screen for a phone category.

As an old fan.of SGNote, stylus writing capabilities and features to support it are something that I yearned when using Asus Padrone 2 or my just retired Polytron Quadra HD. Sony creatively put an incredible amount features to their Z series, including their giant Z Ultra. Those features made my SGNote becomes a museum piece.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra exceptional and useful features (that I know of, and I believe I will find more soon enough):

- Reading/Accessing portable hard disk
Z Ultra ability to access portable hard disk makes my life easier. I don't rely on transferring files using flash memory and computer anymore on the go.  However, accessing big capacity (1TB or above) portable HDD is proven to be hardwork for the unit since the limited electricity power Z Ultra has. Connection easily severed and lost power several time. Looks like there is a limit how long Z Ultra can.supply power to the HDD unit.

- Stylus replacement: pencil, pen, or anything made of iron
Did I hear a "Huh?" Well, it is unique. Sony decided that the users of Z Ultra are people who like pens and pencils so forget the stylus and go straight to use pen and pencil as stylus instead.  Brilliant decision with some risks like screen scratches etc. Solution, screen protector.
I also found out that Samsung C-Pen (not the same as SGNote's faithfull S-Pen), which uses metalized rubber, work like they were born for each other on Z Ultra.
With this feature, users can freely use almost anything to write, annotate or sketch on Z Ultra. Why bother buying a stylus then? Well, users will still need stylus since pens and pencils will scratch Z Ultra screen surface in the long run.

- NFC Easy Connection
Whoa, Sony pretty much exploded NFC trends by applying easy connection features that now tons of NFC accessories are now available in the market. Samsung and HTC have NFC features.but they don't really put NFC as part of their main strategic feature.

- Dust and Water Proof
Sony might not be the first, but they certainly the one to  explode water and dust proof smartphones worldwide. I would.say shame on Motorola for not exploring Defy series further. Now, Samsung has noticed the.Zip series success and launch Galaxy S5 with water and dust proof feature.

- Power Management
HTC One was the first high end smartphone that featured this newer unique feature, however HTC limits this features to only One series. Sony produces almost every middle and top range of their products with Sony's stylized Power Management. Of course, HTC in turn quickly add more products with this feature and Lenovo follow suits to flood the market with affordable Android smartphones with Power Management features pre-installed.

- Being a tall unit with almost 2 cm/1 inch space on top and bottom of the screen means Z Ultra is the current best suited Android for gaming and multimedia consumption

What else can I say, last year I.made a mistake on deciding to buy Asus. This year Z Ultra has gone down in price and become my new favorite smartphone.

Of course there are some drawbacks:
- Painfully gigantic size for a.phone
- Flaps here and flaps there mean extra efforts required to access USB and the rest of the connections
- Glass (front and back) means scratches and fingerprint magnet, self explanatory here, Sony people might talk to Apple people a bit too much
- New screen means trip and error, luckily Z Ultra uses the 2nd generation 1920x1080 HD Triluminous Bravia technology so it is superior to the previous ones on Z, but not necessarily better than IPS and Super Amoled

Final words on my first 1 week living with Z Ultra, I fell in love and Z Ultra is definitely my concubine. Please don't tell my wife.