ARCTIC, previously known as Arctic Cooling, has been around for nearly 25 years now with physical offices in North America, Europe, and Asia and a vast retail network spread across more than 65 countries. The company is known for good quality products offering high value to end users, and we’ve reviewed several ARCTIC products already—the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III seems especially popular among our readers. But if there was ever a product segment that made ARCTIC famous, it would be the fans that are used on those coolers. If I could get a dollar every time I saw a request for an ARCTIC fan review, I’d be happily retired by now. I am happy to say the wait is over, and today we cover the ARCTIC P12 PWM.
Did you know TechPowerUp has already done a review of an ARCTIC fan product? Granted that it was over 16 years ago and it’s a USB fan, but at least no one can say we’ve never reviewed one. But seriously though, the ARCTIC P12 PWM and its various associated fan siblings have been immensely popular for years. It’s not a new fan thus, and ARCTIC doesn’t even claim to win any performance metrics. In fact, the P12 PWM is even listed as a case fan—one of the main reasons I was hesitant to cover it, given I test fans on a radiator with higher airflow restriction than a typical case filter or even air cooler. But then ARCTIC has been pairing its AIO cooler radiators with these very fans, so I figured we might as well put it to the test! The exact version being examined today is the P12 PWM PST (PWM sharing technology), offering RPM readout and control passthrough if you want to daisy-chain fans together on a radiator. It comes in three color options but is otherwise functionally identical to the standard ARCTIC P12 PWM fan, although please note that the P12 PWM PST CO is slightly different in that it is meant for continuous operation and uses different fan bearings (dual ball bearings) compared to the other two. Let’s thank ARCTIC for providing review samples to TechPowerUp and begin with a look at the product specifications in the table below.
I would like to thank APNX for supplying the review sample.
If you have not yet heard of APNX – short for Advanced Performance Nexus, don’t fret. The brand displayed one case in 2023 – the C1. We reported on that and their compact product range at Computex in 2023. APNX is now following this up with the V1 series, which they showed off at Computex in 2024. It comes in a total of six different configurations. You can pick between three variants without wood, in black, white or a mix of the two and then two versions with wooden accent, one in black and one in white. Those latter ones carry the model name APNX V1-W, and we received the white version for review.
Specifications
APNX V1-W
Case Type:
Mid-Tower
Material:
Steel, plastic, and tempered glass
Weight:
N/A
Slots:
7
Drive Bays:
2x Internal 2.5/3.5″ 4x Internal 2.5″
Motherboard Form Factors:
Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX
Dimensions:
290 x 485.5 x 500 mm
Front Door/Cover:
N/A
Front/Right Fans:
3x 120/2x 140 or 160 mm (optional)
Rear Fans:
1x 120 mm (optional)
Top Fans:
3x 120/2x 140 mm (optional)
Bottom Fans:
3x 120/2x 140 mm (optional)
Side Fans:
N/A
Front/Right Radiator:
120/140/240/280/360 mm
Rear Radiator:
120 mm
Top Radiator:
120/140/240/280/360 mm
Bottom Radiator:
120/140/240/280/360 mm
Side Radiator:
N/A
I/O:
1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 2x USB 3.0 1x Audio Combo
Fan/LED Controller:
Dedicated LED button with wiring
Compatibility:
CPU Cooler: 170 mm GPU: 395 mm PSU: 220 mm (including cables)
‘).appendTo(‘body’); $(window).scroll(nextPageScrollHandler); } if (evt.touches.length==0) $(‘#keep-scrolling-buffer’).removeClass(‘show’); else { if ($(‘#keep-scrolling’).hasClass(‘show’)) $(‘#keep-scrolling-buffer’).addClass(‘show’); } }); }); ]]>
Shanling was established in 1988, making it one of the most experienced audio brands globally. It has a highly respected product history, and much in the way of developed and patented technologies along the way. Shanling is one of the first names many think when it comes to portable audio, either with its digital audio players (DAPs) or IEMs, and we’ve covered one each of Shanling’s wired and wireless IEMs before. Today we take our first look at Shanling’s audio player range, and it emphasizes the portable audio aspect in more ways than one.
Shanling’s portable audio player lineup covers the iPod Shuffle-sized M0 all the way to flagship DAPs such as the M9 which impressed me a lot at the Shenzhen International Audio Show. In fact, it was at that very show that Shanling debuted its latest audio player—the M8T which offers a hybrid solid-state transistor or tube-based amplification pathway. While I will aim to cover it in more detail via a full review if Shanling reciprocates my interest, they did offer me a recently released and more budget-friendly DAP at the show itself. I ended up bringing back the Shanling M1 Plus with me, and have been using it for a few weeks now. It comes in black or silver colors, is highly portable, comes with an optional case accessory, has an integrated color touchscreen display, and actually shies away from Android to maintain a more pure music player experience. Let’s take a closer look at the M1 Plus in this quick look article which begins with a look the product specifications below. Thanks to Shanling for providing a sample to TechPowerUp!
Packaging and Accessories
The Shanling M1 Plus ships in a reasonably sized box, fairly close in size to a typical IEM product box to give you more context. There’s an external sleeve in white with the brand logo and product name on the front, and we also see a cutout at the top revealing not only the inner box but also the brand’s marketing slogan. This continues on the back with some product specifications listed in multiple languages, contact information for the company, and certification stickers too with more on the sides—the customary Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless badges make a showing as expected. The inner box is gray and fairly simple with just the aforementioned slogan and another logo on it. Lift the lid to reveal the audio player right away, placed inside a thick foam sheet with a machined cutout to snugly hold it, and another foam section on the underside of the lid for added protection. I appreciated the pull tag and finger cutouts, making it easy to remove the player and access the bottom layer. Shanling provides a decent set of accessories with the M1 Plus, and these are neatly packed in two separate sections as seen above. We get a multi-language quick start guide (online version here) going over the setup and use of the player, an introduction to the brand and its products, a spare screen protector for the display, and a short USB Type-C to Type-A cable to help charge the internal battery and use for data transmission from, say, your PC desktop/laptop to transfer music files, or to use the M1 Plus as a USB DAC/amplifier.
Nearly every modern DAP comes with a case accessory, be it included in the box or available as an optional extra. This helps with better grip in holding the player in your hands in addition to protecting the DAP’s chassis and providing a more secure surface to lay down on your desk, for example. It’s optional because some still prefer how the DAPs look without a case, and this is a similar argument to using your phone with or without a case. Regardless, Shanling provides a case made specifically for the M1 Plus, down to the cutouts to fit the buttons and knob on the DAP as we will soon see, and it ships in a separate cardboard box if you end up ordering one. There’s hilariously a lot of foam to protect this case too, which is supposedly green in color but feels more like teal to me. Pull out the foam insert and now you have a case that’s ready to be used with the M1 Plus. There’s a faux leather exterior with frankly better stitching quality than I expected, and a soft Alcántara-like inner surface to prevent any scratches to the DAP. Oh, and it costs all of $5 when purchased with the M1 Plus, so I feel you might as well get it just in case.
Closer Look and User Experience
At 86 x 61 x 17 mm and weighing under 120 g, the Shanling M1 Plus is one of the most portable audio players in the market today. Shanling itself makes even smaller sets, including the M0 Pro that I feel deserves more attention, but this is a good balance of being pocketable, easy to hold in the hands, and still have a large enough display to use properly. I have the silver version here, with the other color being all-black for a stealthier look. We see branding on the bottom bezel, with the unit having a 3.2″ 320×480 pixel LCD touchscreen panel. The chassis looks to be CNC-machined aluminium alloy, and certainly feels anything but cheap. More branding is seen on the back panel which also hosts the Hi-Res Audio stickers, and this is also where we find the M1 Plus supports up to 10 W of charging—actually quick for a device in this class/price range, although Shanling claims up to 15 W of accelerated charging is possible. The sides have protruding edges that meet towards the back, and this helps provide room for your fingers to naturally grasp it in case you go without a case.
On the right side is a cutout which accommodates a knurled volume control wheel that doubles up as a power/lock button too. The opposite side has three buttons, already raised at an angle to visually indicate which side to push down, for media playback controls. Thankfully there is no play with any of these buttons or the wheel, with tighter manufacturing tolerances making for a stable experience. At the top we see a 3.5 mm single-ended headphone output, which is also a line output or coaxial SP/DIF output, alongside a 4.4 mm balanced headphone output. The bottom side contains a microSD card slot—the M1 Plus supports cards of capacity up to 2 TB—and USB Type-C input that allows the M1 Plus to be used as a USB DAC/amp as well as for data transfer of files from your PC to the microSD card. There is no local storage available, with the tiny amount of embedded onboard flash memory taken up by Shanling’s MTouch OS running on its Ingenic X2000 system platform driving the player in the absence of an Android operating system more expensive DAPs tend to use.
The optional case fits like a glove, although removing it is not easy given the wheel and buttons all have a tiny slope downwards. That said, I imagine no one will have to take this case off anyway given it looks nice and also prevents the sharper corners on the metal chassis from having a mishap. The cutouts allow room to access all the I/O features, and don’t block the indicator lights around the volume wheel either as seen above.
Press down and hold the volume wheel for ~2 seconds to turn on the M1 Plus, and you will notice the indicator light turning on immediately, with the display going from the loading animation to being ready to use in under 10 seconds. The indicator light color can be changed in the menu, and the swift turnaround time for the DAP is a result of the stripped-down platform that prioritizes local playback. This means there is no way to add apps or widgets if you are used to an Android-based player, thus the M1 Plus is not for everyone. At the same time, for someone like me who prefers using local playback anyway and with a rich collection of FLACs/MP3s, this is a non-issue. Helping alleviate the lack of streaming is Tidal, which comes pre-installed, but here too you should know this version does not allow offline downloads, meaning it will always stream and requires an internet connection. I don’t use Tidal, so my poor Qobuz account for when I like to just discover new music and artists is left relegated to the side. The Shanling player app works really well though, offering excellent file distribution and allowing easy navigation/sorting to find what you are looking for. It’s extremely smooth too, and I also appreciated it picking up all the details from the files—lyrics, album covers, and so on. There’s a pull-down menu with shortcuts, similar to an Android device, and we can even get double tap to wake the screen when you enable it in the settings. The device as a whole is extremely smooth to use, no doubt a result of the highly optimized and streamlined MTouch OS and the smaller screen allowing the screen resolution to not be a bottleneck in use while also not being demanding on system resources. Note that there is a limit of 20,000 tracks at a time, but this seems to be more the norm with DAPs than an exception. I saw some people mention there may be occasional lag if you have a lot of album artwork, although I did not experience this in my testing.
Here we can see the default loading screen, which prompts you to choose the language when you first start the device. It then goes over how to use the touchscreen to pull up various elements, which helps lower any entry barriers. The GIF above then shows the three screens filled with the pre-installed apps/shortcuts, which we see are primarily dedicated to making local playback easier. The system settings menu allows you to, among other things, change the operating language, enable a wireless network with Wi-Fi networks over 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz supported here, network settings for DLNA/Airplay and Bluetooth, control the display brightness and idle timeout, set the date and time of the device, allow for a car mode which turns on the M1 Plus when it gets charged and turns it off a minute after being disconnected, the aforementioned double tap to wake, locking the buttons to prevent accidental hits, rotating the screen if you prefer to have the volume wheel on the left or headphone outputs on the bottom, and changing between some pre-installed system themes. Firmware updates happen over the internet or if you have a firmware file on the microSD card, although there was not one available at the time of testing—not a surprise given this is a fairly new product that is already polished/bug-free. But be aware that you can’t have both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connected simultaneously, owing to a hardware limitation.
The playback settings are accessible via the pull-down menu too, and these are going to be more in use as you get familiar with the player as well as your own music preferences. Some of the important options get their own shortcuts as we saw before, including gain (low or high), USB playback setting, and output setting. The rest are in the larger selection, and here you get your choice of digital filters (native from the DAC), system-wide 10-band EQ from -6 to +6 dB going from 32 Hz to 16 kHz and with various preset EQ filters, play mode, changing the max volume for ear safety, a memory setting for default volume, DSD playback options, and whether you wish to allow volume control when using the M1 Plus as a USB source. Memory playback settings are extremely useful given the nature of the M1 Plus prioritizing local playback, and you can also enable some channel balance if the recordings and/or the headphones/IEMs themselves have mismatch—I did not notice any channel imbalance from this source even at lower volumes. In an ideal world, we’d have full PEQ on offer here, but I get that Shanling can only do so much on this device. I do wish the EQ sliders were more responsive though—use deliberate steps rather than forcing a smoother movement to your desired value.
The Shanling M1 Plus uses an ESS SABRE ES9069Q 2-channel DAC, hence those digital filters, with MQA decoding that feels untimely in late 2024, even if now the Tidal support makes more sense given this was no doubt planned out before MQA was phased out of Tidal. An in-house FPGA processor is combined with independent crystal oscillators (audio clock) and good quality componentry throughout, including the widely regarded and now discontinued ELNA Silmic II capacitors. Amplification comes via two SG Micro SG8282 op-amps providing up to 47/187 mW at 32 Ω off the 3.5/4.4 mm outputs in low gain mode, respectively, going up to 195/661 mW with high gain off the same outputs. As such, there’s actually a lot of power here to even drive some more demanding headphones—think more on the higher impedance than lower sensitivity side though. I expect most people will use the M1 Plus with IEMs, making for a highly portable personal audio solution. Here I would recommend starting with the 3.5 mm output first given the lower output impedance; I noticed some slight background hiss with more sensitive IEMs connected to the balanced output.
The M1 Plus has a 2100 mAh battery inside, allowing for a standby time of 270 hours as well as up to 12.5 hours of use off the single-ended output and 10 hours with the 4.4 mm balanced output which matched my findings well enough. Charging takes <1 hour with a fast charger, with the volume wheel indicator light turning red when charging—you can have it be green or blue otherwise, it does not change based on playback rate/type as with some other sources. Shanling also claims a highly respectable 24 hours as a pure Bluetooth transmitter, with a Qualcomm SoC providing Bluetooth 5.2 bidirectional connectivity and rich codec support in the form of AAC/SBC/aptX/aptX HD/LDAC. You can also use this as a USB DAC/amp, providing up to 32-bit, 384 kHz in addition to DSD256 playback. Note that you may need the Shanling USB drivers installed for this though. Natively off the player, you get up to 32-bit, 768 kHz in addition to DSD512 playback. Also, there’s a companion app for your phone called Shanling Eddict Player available on Android and iOS platforms allowing you to remotely control playback on the M1 Plus, but I really don’t see the point when this is so portable and likely to be in your hands anyway. Another thing to be aware of is the M1 Plus doesn’t like to be used when charging, meaning the battery will always be in use. I wish there was an option to bypass the internal battery when you are, say, at a desk with easy access to power.
The Shanling M1 Plus measures quite well for a device in this price/size segment, and the overall sound signature is clean and analytical, perhaps a touch dry. I honestly can’t expect much more here, knowing the M1 Plus is not a high-end DAP and is intended to provide a highly convenient listening experience on the go. There’s no coloration to the sound thus, and thus I also didn’t notice anything extra going on in terms of subjective changes to how dynamic tracks sound or whether the soundstage is now automatically wider as some might say. In fact, even the Bluetooth experience was more than satisfactory to where I do see the M1 Plus hanging well with many portable DAC/amps too. Knowing this is a player with a responsive display on top makes it better. I personally have a lot of local music files as mentioned before, so being able to forego the phone with my IEMs of choice is a nice touch. Battery life isn’t bad either for this device, especially since I found myself using the 3.5 mm output more often than not. Shanling does try to boast the 661 mW power output as among the highest, if not the very highest, in its class, yet I suspect most people don’t realize how little power most IEMs and headphones actually need. Given this is not a full review, I’ll end things by saying the Shanling M1 Plus is a compelling device—especially for its asking price—with some compromises. If you are interested in purchasing one, the Shanling M1 Plus currently sells for $209 from the Shanling store, and the same from authorized vendors, with the case bundle costing $5 more.
Despite higher priced headphones and earphones getting more attention from people, simply because they tend to be out of our reach and thus usually only interactable via reviews, there is no doubt that the budget-friendly in-ear monitors market has never been more competitive than it is now. In fact, we are at the point where you can get a nicely tuned set for $20 or less now, leaving no excuse for brands that try to charge a lot for terribly tuned IEMs. So far, 2024 has seen some compelling releases in this segment, with more to follow in the new year to offer different takes on tuning so you can now try out products, see what tuning works best for you, and then go from there for more expensive offerings if you so wish. Today we look at MOONDROP’s latest affordable IEMs entry, and thanks to SHENZHENAUDIO for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp!
MOONDROP is not new to the ~$20 price range, and I’d argue it was the original Chu which started this race 2.5 years ago. The CHU has since been supplanted by the CHU 2 that brought back the detachable cable, while there was yet another, even less expensive line forming with the MOONDROP Quarks, the Quarks DSP, and now the Quark2—don’t ask me why it’s not Quarks 2. This set costs less than $20, has an integrated DAC with Type-C connector allowing you to connect directly to your phone or laptop without needing an external source, an in-line microphone with volume and media playback controls, and adopts a bullet-style form factor with small shells that insert into the ear canal for good isolation while still being comfortable. Surely this promises to be a product that will interest many of our readers? Let’s put the MOONDROP Quark2 to the test in our review today which begins with a look at the product specifications in the table below.
MOONDROP Quark2 In-Ear Monitors
Shell:
Plastic/polycarbonate shells
Cable:
(Probably) copper conductor with in-line microphone and controls
Driver Units:
7.8 mm LCP dome + flexible suspension diaphragm dynamic driver
Frequency Response:
20 Hz-20 kHz
Impedance:
Not provided
Sensitivity:
Not provided
Cable Length:
4 ft/1.2 m
Warranty:
One year
Packaging and Accessories
Packaging is on the simpler side for the MOONDROP Quark2, which isn’t surprising given the more value-oriented offering it aims to be. Forget the artwork MOONDROP is known for, we don’t even get a decorative banderole on the small cardboard box. The brand and product names are on the front, with a sticker that has the product specs on it helping seal the box. I still appreciate that MOONDROP managed to include a factory frequency response curve here though. Open the box to see the IEMs pointing inward through a cardboard sheet, with the cable looping through a cutout into the layer beneath. There we see some paperwork in the form of a quick start guide going over the usage and maintenance of these IEMs, in addition to a warranty/QC card and, of course, some female artwork because it’s MOONDROP. The Quark2 comes with no carry case or soft pouch, although we do get some silicone ear tips in sizes S/M/L. These are generic single-flange tips that are certainly worth trying out, although you may wish to consider aftermarket tips if you do not get a decent fit and/or seal with them.
Closer Look
The MOONDROP Quark2 has a permanently attached cable similar to the Quarks DSP we saw before, with a Type-C digital connector headed to the source. There is a DAC underneath the branded plastic housing to convert the digital audio signal to analog in addition to adding in any EQ filters that MOONDROP may deem fit—the Quark2 is also a DSP set, for those wondering. There is very little information otherwise provided about the cable, so I can only speculate that underneath the basic silicone sleeving is a pure copper conductor. We then see a branded gray circular splitter without any cable cinch, and then comes a bonus feature in the form on an in-line microphone with tactile volume/media playback/call controls on the split wire headed to the right channel itself. Both channels terminate on the underside of the IEM shells where L/R markings help indicate the left and right channels, respectively.
The MOONDROP Quark2 reminds me a lot of the Quarks DSP in that both are tiny IEMs compared to the average set sold today. The newer Quark2 even looks similar, except for the back where there seems to be an injection molded plastic casing housing the driver and the rest of the shell. This becomes the de facto faceplate thus, down to the many holes cut in it. The circular form factor also allows for a similarly shaped dynamic driver to be placed inside, although we then see a clear section made of polycarbonate and the actual driver through it. The front section has damping materials to act as an acoustic filter to tame the treble response of the set, and this is also the IEM nozzle, with a 6.15 mm diameter at the very end, and 5.6 mm before. There is a metal mesh placed towards the end to prevent contaminants from entering the acoustic chamber. These are clearly bullet-style IEMs which fit straight into the ear canal rather than having the cable go over and around the ears, thus the lack of a cable cinch isn’t as big a deal as the lack of a shirt clip to minimize microphonics from the IEM and microphone cable in use. Installing the provided ear tips is simple enough given the hard stop provided where the nozzle meets the wider part of the shells, as seen above. Using the Quark2 is as simple as plugging the Type-C connector into the equivalent port on a compatible phone or computer. My phone immediately recognized the set as earphones ready to go, and we can also see how the IEMs with the cable work cohesively in this gray color scheme. MOONDROP also confirms the DAC used here is a new chip, which bodes well compared to the issues faced by the DUSK. It’s capable of decoding up to PCM 32-bit/384 kHz playback, which is plenty for anyone using this set with a phone or laptop.
Fit and Audio Performance
Seen above is the right side of the MOONDROP Quark2 installed in an anthropomorphic pinna that does well in showing my own experience with these. I have average-sized ears, and found the provided size M silicone tips to work best. Given the Quark2 is a straight-insertion set of in-ear monitors, it would be a fair assumption that it will fit just about anyone, as long as the 6.15 mm nozzle width at the very end is not a dealbreaker. The smaller size and bullet-shaped shells directly enter the ear canal and the cable falls straight down meaning you have more leeway in positioning the IEMs in your ears than with the more common approach of the cable going around the back of the ear and being a support point at the top. The Quark2 is held in place just by the fit achieved in your ears then, which makes having a good seal all the more critical. These weigh ~4.5 g per side to where I had zero physical fatigue even for longer periods of use. I still recommend finding a cable clip to secure the cable to your shirt, if only to help with keeping the in-line microphone fixed in place when you want to use it while also reducing any potential cable microphonics.
The MOONDROP Quark2 uses a single dynamic driver per side to no surprise, knowing these are budget IEMs. The compact shells mean a micro driver is used, with a 7.8 mm liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) dome + flexible suspension diaphragm and neodymium N52 magnets driving it back and forth. The diaphragm is associated with a copper-clad aluminium wire (CCAW) voice coil. The acoustic chamber has a special cavity design meant to make the most of the driver assembly that feeds straight into the ear canals, after having gone through the acoustic filter in the closed front cavity anyway. All this comes together to make for a set of IEMs that MOONDROP does not even provide the impedance and sensitivity values for, albeit it’s a non-factor here given the integrated DAC/amp in the cable that powers the drivers in addition to doing some onboard DSP work too. The in-line microphone is also automatically recognized, so you actually end up with a headset and not just headphones with the Quark2.
Testing was done similar to all other IEMs including the MOONDROP x Crinacle DUSK. Seen above is the measured frequency response for both channels of the Quark2 plotted against my personal IEM target, which can be inspected further here if interested. I have also added in the average response against the Harman 2019v2 in-ear target given this seems to be clearly what MOONDROP was aiming for with the Quark2. I’ll also mention that the channel balance on my sample is excellent by all metrics irrespective of pricing, let alone for a more affordable set such as this one.
I am not the biggest fan of the Harman target for IEMs as I’ve mentioned several times before. In fact, I am quite tired of all the IEMs still being released that are tuned to match this target, again at various price points. Of course I understand that this is one of the most research-backed earphone targets based on user preferences across different backgrounds. It ultimately recognizes that the average consumer likes a fairly substantial bass and treble presence—usually matching each other, and this is why the V-shaped tuning is also popular with mainstream IEMs and headphones. While the Harman in-ear target helps keep the mids be cleaner compared to a more traditional V-shaped sound, I personally think it has too much bass and too much ear gain. There’s also the part where the mid-bass feels tucked in, allowing for some lost impact for the likes of bass guitars and drums. The Quark2 goes for a Harman-like tuning, but has a few tiny changes worth noting. The sub-bass is slightly lower, and the mid-bass tuck is less pronounced. Likewise, the ear gain is also less than a pure Harman-tuned set to where vocals don’t come off as shouty in the ears. The mids in general also feel more prominent, aiding instrument classes too. A deeper fit can affect how the mid-treble sounds to you (length modes), but overall I’m content with the treble extension and general lack of timbre issues. In this price range, tonality is by far the most important since you really can’t expect a lot of subjective goodness. The Quark2 isn’t going to win any detail retrieval or dynamic range awards, let alone precise imaging and a wide soundstage, perhaps. I will give it credit for being punchier than I thought it would be though, and of course the tuning will favor sub-bass impact too. More importantly, there was no background hiss I noticed with the Quarks DSP or even the DUSK, although some of this could just be the driver not resolving everything to the same extent the DUSK does. The in-line mic is okay in a pinch, but won’t replace even an inexpensive lapel mic, although it’s more about the convenience of having it on the same cable as the IEMs.
For context, I have the MOONDROP Quark2 compared here against some other affordable IEMs I’ve tested, including of course the previous entry in the lineup which was the Quarks DSP. There’s a lot in common here, yet the Quarks DSP can be more comfortable with its even smaller shells and nozzle. It goes for a bassier tuning, although comes off more distorted compared to the Quark2 that also manages to hit harder in the mid-bass. The Chu 2 costs slightly more and offers a detachable 2-pin cable, which also means you need your own source, and you lose out on the in-line mic w/controls. It’s warmer sounding than the Quark2 and has more treble presence too, which makes it feel more detailed to an extent. But there’s really very little else differentiating the Chu and Quark lines from MOONDROP now, so I don’t think we’ll see a Chu 3 at this rate. The TangZu Audio Wan’Er S.G comes in a variety of colors and finishes now and is my personal pick from a tuning point of view too. It also goes for a detachable cable, and sounds better to my ears with most vocals and instruments being reproduced more accurately. The Truthear HOLA was another option before it got discontinued, although there is the newer GATE which aims to pick up where the HOLA left, I’ll see if I have time to cover it separately. The Quark2 isn’t for everyone, yet it’s a good starting point for people to try out a more balanced tuning compared to V-shaped sets prevalent in this price range. The likes of KZ dominate the sub $20 market too, and they tend to overwhelm consumer choice by releasing dozens of IEMs that all seem and sound very similar. I can’t recommend KZ in general owing to the poor marketing and customer service I’ve seen from the brand multiple times. As it stands, the MOONDROP Quark2 costs $16.99 from authorized retailers including SHENZHENAUDIO, as of the time of this article. It’s not going to hurt most wallets and even a basic phone dongle sometimes costs more than that to where you do get a lot more bang for your buck here.
I have reviewed over 350 keyboards to date, covering pretty much anything you can think of. Yet there happens to be one, just one, keyboard in the 40% form factor I have talked about before. That was nearly eight years ago, and for good reason—a 40% keyboard is scoffed at by so many people for various reasons. Some claim it’s poor value for money from a $/key metric, which is just funny to me. Others point out there are simply too few keys to use, which in turn necessitates the use of layers. Another subset of people talk about how smaller form factor keyboards have poor customization options, which again are almost a must-have to allow for the keyboard to be set up as your wish. I can count on the fingers of one hand how many 40% keyboards I’ve even seen in real life, and that includes the Vortex Core from 2017 as well as the subject of today’s review—the Epomaker TH40.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really inclined to review this initially for a combination of those reasons listed above. Yet Epomaker tells me the TH40 is wildly successful, being purchased a lot by those in the IT industry. I can see a smaller keyboard such as this being handy for programming maybe, although the lack of a dedicated console key is already making me question it. Regardless, there’s also the gaming community which is seeing this as a handy macro/game-pad, with wireless connectivity and the travel strap adding to the portability aspect. Then there’s the part where the TH40 comes in two colors and two switch options and, more importantly, is compatible with VIA, meaning you are not tied to any of the other software suites used by Epomaker’s keyboards which are… less than ideal. The key layout attracts attention too, with a key between L.Shift and Z and the split spacebar adding to the question on how easy is it to actually use this keyboard. We’ll cover all this, and more, in our review which begins with a look at the product specifications in the table below. Thanks to Epomaker for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp!
Specifications
Epomaker TH40 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard
Layout:
44-key, 40% form factor in a modified US ANSI layout
A big thank you to Beelink for supplying the review sample.
Beelink is well on its way to being a mainstream option in the mini-PC market for PC enthusiasts. Formed in 2011, Beelink has managed to adapt to the needs of both small businesses and enterprises alongside regular consumers, delivering high-quality systems to fit numerous use cases. All of this has culminated in their continued growth, and should things continue as they are, brand awareness should remain on the rise.
In this mini-PC review you will get a chance to see something downright innovative thanks to Beelink. The GTi12 Ultra is one of their newer systems and comes equipped with an Intel Core i9-12900H, 32 GB of memory, and a 1 TB NVMe SSD, none of which is anything new. What is new is the built-in PCIe x16 slot (electrically x8) that works with their EX Dock which is also being tested in this review. This dock offers the ability to install an extra M.2 SSD or high performance Wi-Fi module along with a dedicated graphics card, giving this tiny system the ability to function like a proper high-end desktop without the massive footprint. While there are some limitations, this combo from Beelink is certainly interesting and I can’t wait to see what it can do, so let’s take a closer look before diving into the benchmarks.
Specifications
Model:
Beelink GTi12 Ultra + EX Dock
Dimensions:
System: 158 x 158 x 55.8 mm Ex Dock: 225 x 179 x 64.7 mm
Crucial P3 Plus 1 TB 2x M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 x4 (1x Occupied) System 1x M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 x1 (EX Dock shared) 1x M.2 2230 PCIe Gen 4 x1 (EX Dock shared with M.2 2280)
1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A 10 Gbps (Front) 4x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A 10 Gbps (Rear) 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 10 Gbps (Front) 1x Thunderbolt 4 (Rear) 1x SD Card slot (Front) 1x HDMI 4K 60 Hz (Rear) 1x DisplayPort 1.4a 4K 144 Hz (Rear) 2x RJ45 (Rear) 1x 3.5 mm Audio (Front) 1x 3.5 mm Audio (Rear) 1x PCIe 4.0 X16 slot (@x8) via EX Dock 1x USB 2.0 via EX Dock 2x Wi-Fi antenna connectors via EX Dock
Communications:
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2×2 Bluetooth 5.2 2x Intel I226V 2.5 GbE LAN
Cooling:
Active cooling (heatsink/fan)
Operating System:
OS tested: Windows 11 Pro OS included: Windows 11 Pro
Warranty:
1 year
MSRP:
$918 MSRP
‘).appendTo(‘body’); $(window).scroll(nextPageScrollHandler); } if (evt.touches.length==0) $(‘#keep-scrolling-buffer’).removeClass(‘show’); else { if ($(‘#keep-scrolling’).hasClass(‘show’)) $(‘#keep-scrolling-buffer’).addClass(‘show’); } }); }); ]]>
It’s finally here! The hotly anticipated Core Ultra 9 285K Arrow Lake-S desktop processor is in our hands, and we can’t wait to tell you all about it. The 285K is the flagship processor model from this generation, and logically succeeds the Core i9-14900K. It has all the cores this silicon has to offer—8P+16E, with all the on-chip technologies. It’s also fully unlocked and ready for you to take it on an overclocking adventure. The Arrow Lake architecture denotes many firsts for Intel in the desktop market. Notably, this is the company’s first desktop processor with a chiplet-based disaggregated design. The mobile segment got it with the Core Ultra Meteor Lake, and Intel has been making chiplet based Xeon Scalable server processors for a few years now. Intel is pricing the Core Ultra 9 285K at $589. Given its core-count and pricing, its apparent rivals from the AMD camp are the Ryzen 9 9950X Zen 5, and the Ryzen 9 7950X3D Zen 4.
The Core Ultra 9 285K comes with a maxed out 8P+16E core-configuration. Intel has updated both core types with Arrow Lake. These amount to eight Lion Cove P-cores, with a nominal generational IPC increase, and 16 of the swanky new Skymont E-cores. Skymont was the star of the show with Lunar Lake, as Intel achieved a nearly 50% IPC leap over the Crestmont low-power island E-cores powering the previous generation Meteor Lake. With Arrow Lake, these Skymont cores achieve a 32% IPC jump over the Gracemont E-cores from Raptor Lake. Besides the increased IPC, these E-cores even run at higher clock speeds than Gracemont, which means multithreaded productivity workloads are in for a treat. The 285K is technically a 24-core/24-thread processor. The Lion Cove P-cores ditch SMT. So any gen-on-gen multithreaded performance improvements over the i9-14900K rest squarely on stronger cores and new technology, despite a decrease in total thread count.
We’ve extensively detailed the Arrow Lake microarchitecture in our architecture preview article, which went live a couple of weeks ago. As we mentioned, this is Intel’s first desktop processor that’s based on chiplets. The guiding philosophy is that rather than building one large monolithic silicon on the latest foundry node (expensive, compounded by lower yields per wafer), Intel identifies specific IP blocks that benefit the most from a switch to the latest foundry node—in this case, the CPU complex—and build a chiplet with it that’s smaller (higher yields per wafer thanks to smaller dies). The Compute tile houses the CPU cores, and is built on the TSMC N3B (3 nm) node, which is more advanced than the TSMC N4P (4 nm) node that AMD builds its Zen 5 CCDs on. With this, Intel is taking back foundry technology leadership from AMD after a long span of five years. The iGPU is built on a separate chiplet that uses the still fairly advanced 5 nm TSMC N5 node, while the rest of the processor with the various I/O controllers, and an integrated NPU, are built on TSMC 6 nm—same node as the cIOD on Ryzens.
This is Intel’s first desktop processor with an NPU, but it isn’t the latest NPU 4 from Intel that you find on Core Ultra 200V Lunar Lake mobile processors, but rather the older NPU 3 unit from Core Ultra 100 series Meteor Lake, which can only do 13 TOPS. It hence misses out on Microsoft Copilot+ native acceleration, but don’t fret—there’s still a lot you can do with 13 TOPS, Windows 11 can put the NPU to good use in its many in-built apps and utilities, and so can Microsoft Teams. Intel has given Arrow Lake-S a fairly powerful iGPU based on the Xe-LPG graphics architecture, and an updated media engine that can accelerate AV1 and HEVC encoding. There are a few changes to the I/O. For starters, DDR4 support is removed, as the memory controllers are re-engineered. The number of PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU are increased to 20, so you can use a Gen 5 NVMe SSD without subtracting PCIe lanes from the x16 PEG slot. There’s also integrated Thunderbolt 4.
Each of the eight Lion Cove P-cores on the 285K comes with a 3.70 GHz base frequency, and the P-cores boost up to 5.70 GHz. The classic Turbo Boost algorithm boosts P-cores up to 5.50 GHz. Turbo Boost Max 3.0 pushes a couple of cores up a notch to 5.60 GHz, and from there, provided your cooling solution is up to the task, Thermal Velocity Boost enables 5.70 GHz. The 16 E-cores, divided into four clusters, tick at 3.20 GHz with an impressive 4.60 GHz boost frequency. Each P-core comes with a dedicated 3 MB L2 cache, while each E-core cluster shares a 4 MB L2 cache among four E-cores. The P-cores and E-core clusters share a 36 MB L3 cache.
Being the successor to the ROCCAT Burst Pro Air, the ambidextrous Burst II Air is much lighter at just 46 g, despite having a solid shell. PixArt’s PAW3395 sensor sees use, along with Titan optical switches for the main buttons, and up to 120 hours of battery life are cited when using Bluetooth.
