Best External Hard Drive

Can a portable headphone amplifier satisfy demanding audiophiles? (Albuquerque Journal)

The Furutech Cruise headphone amplifier

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

There’s good sound, and there’s high-end sound; the difference is in the
details. Case in point: the little Cruise USB digital-to-analog headphone
amplifier from Alpha Design Labs by Furutech.

The Cruise sounds clear, clean and remarkably transparent. Regarding the
details, connectivity comes in two flavors, there’s a 3.5 mm analog stereo
line input and 24/96 USB digital input. The Cruise can run off its external AC
power supply, internal rechargeable lithium ion battery, or USB power from
your computer. Furutech claims the battery is good for 80 hours of playback
time.

High-end gear has to look the part, and again the Cruise scores. It may be a
little thing, but it feels solid. Mirror-polished, nonmagnetic stainless-steel
end caps flank a curvy, high-gloss carbon fiber body. Resting on my desktop
the Cruise absolutely looks the part; it’s the real deal.

I started my listening sessions with my 12-year-old Sennheiser HD 580 full-
size headphones. I have to admit that I never really used them all that much
over the years. They are “hard to drive” and can sound lifeless and boring
with a lot of amps, and only sound their best …

Albuquerque Journal

Buying The Best External Hard Drive