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Less is more - Dethonray
Today I would like to introduce a relatively unknown manufacturer who wants to stand out from the competition with his "less is more" approach.
Anson, boss and mastermind at Dethonray, wants his products to be down to the absolute essentials to reduce are: The sound. Everything that could negatively affect the sound quality is left out.
This means, among other things, that his digital audio player (DAP) DTR1+ has to do without a large touchscreen, apps or internal memory. The design with the large golden buttons on the front is reminiscent of the early days of mobile MP3 players and could well be described as retro chic. Here, Dethonray swim clearly against the current of what is currently available and popular on the market.
You don't have to make any compromises when it comes to the sound, on the contrary:
The DTR1+ can easily keep up with the best far above its price range. In general, I would like to describe the sound of this tiny and light player as very great!
When testing with the Empire Ears Odin, I had the feeling that I was listening to open over-ear headphones and not an in-ear monitor. By the way, the DTR1+ also gets along very well with large headphones, because it has more than enough power.
The Honey H1 DAC/AMP for mobile use goes one step further and catapults the sound in combination with the DTR1+ to unimagined heights. Rarely have I heard so much pressure and joy from such a small and comparatively inexpensive mobile headphone amplifier. Of course, the Honey H1 also works great with other DAPs, smartphones, tablets or laptops!
By the way, Dethonray offers downloadable presets for various in-ears and headphones for the Honey H1, which can be used to adjust the sound of the device. They even provide their own preset for their own in-ears, the Tender1.
The Tender1 are the only in-ears that Dethonray offers. And here, too, Anson's "Less is more" approach can be found, because the Tender1 only has one single driver, but one that has it all: A planar magnetic driver!
It needs one thing above all: lots of power to fully exploit its strengths. Fortunately, the DTR1+ has a special "Extra High Gain" mode that provides the necessary "juice" and has the Tender1 well under control.
All-inclusive package
So the three devices that Dethonray has offered so far form a perfect unit and could be an all-round carefree package for one or the other music lover where you can be very happy for a very long time and in all situations.
But Dethonray's products are also excellent individually as "playmates" for other equipment, especially since the price/performance ratio is simply right.