CANJAM '09 was UN-BELIEVEABLE~! - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

Father Schu · #1 (**permalink**) 06-03-2009, 12:43 AM

Wow! That was one hell of a first headphone event to attend. I know what I was expecting, but this went well beyond all of my expectations on the shear size and scope of equipment to see and hear.

The Vendors that sponsored the event, brought their wares, and donated to the raffle were awesome. They really helped to elevate it to a huge scale. Between Headroom, TTVJ, Whiplash, ALO, Focus, RSA, UE, Head-Direct, just to name a few, it was a headphone listener’s paradise. And regarding the raffle, damn there were some really nice prizes (I think upwards of $17,000 worth). I think a few of the members really scored, winning like 5 or 6 prizes each!

Anyway, I went there looking to hear the differences between the W5000’s and the D7000’s in order to determine which closed phone I preferred. In the process I got to listen to a number of phones I had never even seen in person including PS1000’s, HD800’s, ED9’s, ED8’s, AD2000’s, R-10’s, HF-2’s, GS1000’s, L3000’s, UE11’s, UE10’s, D5000’s, HD-650’s, DX1000’s, etc. along with a multitude of high quality headphone amps and cabling. To all the Head-Fi members that brought their personal equipment and were so generous in letting attendees listen, compare and experience it, thank you so much for your generosity.

I’d like to personally thank the organizing committee and volunteers for making this happen on such a grand scale. Booking the venue, contacting suppliers, printing/designing handouts/posters/badges, soliciting raffle prizes, coordinating equipment setup, determining display room logistics, organizing guest speakers, signing people in, etc., etc., etc. I’m sure the list goes on and on and on. I can only imagine the number of hours that were freely put into getting this thing off the ground.

909 (David)
Edwood (Edwin)
Iron_Dreamer (Peter)
jp18801 (John)
Jasper994 (Aaron)
LFF (Luis)
Velogreg (Greg)

You guys ROCK!

I’ve gushing about this to friends and co-workers since Sunday but nobody seems to understand

danik · #2 (**permalink**) 06-03-2009, 07:08 AM

Absolutely agree. Awesome event. Thanks so much!

j2kei · #3 (**permalink**) 06-03-2009, 09:05 AM

it was pretty darn sick. i never expect to ever listen to PS1000, stax o2mk1, r10, l3000, ue11, hf-2, ed9, ed8, hd800 so freely and easily as it went in canjam. truly a wonderful experience. really sad that i couldnt attend day 2 due to schoolwork

Iron_Dreamer · #4 (**permalink**) 06-05-2009, 06:20 AM

Thanks guys, the satisfaction for us came in seeing just how much everyone enjoyed themselves. I even had a ton of fun chained to the desk handing out badges and t-shirts, just because everyone was so darned excited!

SACD-Man · #5 (**permalink**) 06-05-2009, 06:32 AM

Actually thank you for taking the time to attend the show!! Without members talking to us, we have no idea what folks are listening for..

trigg3rhappy · #6 (**permalink**) 06-07-2009, 07:34 PM

Dang, everyone seemed to have such a great time at CanJam 09.
I wanted to go pretty bad, but I was tied down that day in an underground lab doing work =/

I did stay tuned on for the updates on head-fi, blogs, and twitters, which were quite constant that day. If I went, I probably would have tried out the hd800, ps1000, hf-2, AKG702, r10, orpheus, and some STAX. Would have been nice to try out the NekoAudio D100 dac, RSA Raptor, etc. that I've been wanting to hear.

Probably would have been nice to try out stuff I was planning to buy such as the Grado sr325is and Senn hd650.

edstrelow · #7 (**permalink**) 06-08-2009, 07:30 PM

Absolutely! As a first-timer, the meet was a much better than I had anticipated. I also thank and congratulate the organizers on a first class operation.

I was able to try what seemed like an amazing number of set-ups put on by the members, who I thought were the backbone of the meet, more so than the distributers.

I brought my own music and carted my own Stax Sigma/404 around to other set-ups when my own display of Sigmas was not too busy.

I gained a new perspective on the differences among the top tier of stat amps (alas, none of which I will probably ever own) and the differences between top dynamic and electrostatic phones,

I am still amazed that so many people set up $5-10K worth of equipment and then just let others play with them, often just walking away.

Father Schu · #8 (**permalink**) 06-10-2009, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edstrelow

I am still amazed that so many people set up $5-10K worth of equipment and then just let others play with them, often just walking away.

That blew me away also, that people were so generous with their expensive equipment with total strangers (although I would expect Head-Fi Members to be respectful people with others gear). The whole experience was just fantastic all the way around and I would highly recommend any that have never been to try and attend in the future.

JUDOHAWK · #9 (**permalink**) 06-11-2009, 05:18 AM

Im new to this site but that sounds like alot of fun. But living in North Dakota kindof presents a challenge attending something like that. Maybe Ill find some money and get to go in the future xD

Iron_Dreamer · #10 (**permalink**) 06-11-2009, 06:32 AM

Living in ND is only a challenge if you have problems with flying and/or driving.

And it's still better than being from the other ND in my book. (Notre Dame)

amb · #11 (**permalink**) 06-13-2009, 04:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edstrelow

I am still amazed that so many people set up $5-10K worth of equipment and then just let others play with them, often just walking away.

That's the spirit and level of trust we have for each other in this community. As these meets get bigger each year I hope it won't become lost.

IPodPJ · #12 (**permalink**) 06-13-2009, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edstrelow

I am still amazed that so many people set up $5-10K worth of equipment and then just let others play with them, often just walking away.

I did that, and I'm still amazed at the fact that so many people were so trusting there. There were several times I had reservations about walking away from my HD800 but everyone was great. (Only a few people took gear to other tables without asking, and some returned it to the wrong table.) But it was a Class A event and the organizers did a fantastic job, as did all of the vendors and members.

moonboy403 · #13 (**permalink**) 06-13-2009, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ

I did that, and I'm still amazed at the fact that so many people were so trusting there. There were several times I had reservations about walking away from my HD800 but everyone was great. (Only a few people took gear to other tables without asking, and some returned it to the wrong table.) But it was a Class A event and the organizers did a fantastic job, as did all of the vendors and members.

From my observation, the new wave of people that came in toward the end of Sat were the ones who didn't really take care of people's gear. They would pile headphones on top of each other after they auditioned them.