Canor Crius H5S: A Reference Headphone Amplifier According to i-fidelity.net

In early November 2026, the online magazine i-fidelity.net reviews the Canor Crius H5S headphone amplifier, which also features an integrated preamplifier and digital-to-analogue converter. The unit is awarded reference status:

“How convincingly the technical design of the Crius H5S performs in practice becomes apparent from the very first bars of Keith Jarrett’s ‘Spheres’. In the fourth movement, the pianist draws sounds from the organ whose character goes far beyond what one would normally associate with this instrument. Some notes seem almost ethereal, while others possess a peculiar, floating intensity. Harmonic structures emerge that appear as fascinating as they are fragile and which, particularly when presented in this way, surpass the results achieved by most loudspeakers. Here, you get closer to the music, much closer.

Through the Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled, the Canor unfolds the tonal landscape with remarkable naturalness. The individual layers of sound are delicately separated without compromising the musical coherence. Particularly impressive is the stability of the timbres. Even when the organ ventures into complex harmonic territory, every change remains clearly discernible. At the same time, the reproduction conveys a convincing impression of the surrounding acoustic space.

The next step is to switch from the unbalanced 6.3 mm jack connection to the balanced Cardas Parsec cable. […] The balanced connection lends the reproduction an additional, almost unexpected sense of naturalness that cannot be attributed to individual frequency ranges. Sonic events are more clearly separated in space, subtle harmonic structures gain definition, and the entire presentation sounds more energetically stable and spacious. […]

The longer one listens in this way, the more difficult it becomes to return to the unbalanced connection. Yet the Crius H5S also performs at a high level through its jack outputs. The balanced option simply reveals the additional potential inherent in the combination of amplifier and headphones. […]

Through the balanced connection, an almost physical presence develops. This is by no means merely a matter of bass extension or volume. What matters is the precisely controlled energy with which the low frequencies underpin the entire musical performance. The bass forms a deep, pitch-black foundation upon which the voice and choir unfold with impressive clarity. This combination thus achieves a level of quality that we have never before experienced with headphones.

[…]

At this point, the more affordable Sennheiser HD 480 PRO also comes into play. What the Crius H5S manages to extract from these headphones is equally astonishing. After all, the Sennheiser is currently the editorial team’s ‘workhorse’. The exceptional control exercised by the Slovakian amplifier ensures that these headphones, too, perform with high precision and remarkable dynamic discipline. However, the difference compared with the Hifiman HE1000 Unveiled remains clearly audible. The latter’s superior resolution and spatial differentiation elevate the overall reproduction to another level. The Canor makes these differences audible without exposing the shortcomings of the more affordable headphones. […]