CanJam 2009 Impressions

[ServinginEcuador]

Two things stand out from the two days I spent at CanJam 2009:

1. I really liked the Luxman P-200 amp Todd the Vinyl Junkie had running the pair of HD800. Great sounding amp that got little attention, but deserved more.

2. The HD800 are definitely my next, and likely last, headphones.

I'll also add that it was a blast getting to meet up with so many old head-fi friends, and make some new ones. I'm glad I went to the show, and hopefully it will come around again somewhere that I can attend again. It was a LOT of fun.

[pcf]

Originally Posted by ServinginEcuador

2. The HD800 are definitely my next, and likely last, headphones.

Not sure if they are you last headphones. People who are buying the HD800, PS1000 or Edition8.. want the lastest and the greatest. There will be new BEST ones coming out later. We heard that about Ultrasone Edition 9 before..
Anyways, happy listening!

[riceboy]

shellylh I really enjoyed your impressions. Thanks for sharing them. Your experiences with the gear I've heard are very similar. Sounds you had a great time.

Thanks to everyone and their impressions. Keep them coming

[GreenLeo]

Originally Posted by johnsonad

...

Fang and his wonderful wife from Head Direct had two great new products. The first is a orthodynamic set of cans that sound great. Let it be known that I hate electrostats no matter what the model (yes, especially the HE90’s). These are a planar type headphone and really sounded nice to me. Second was the HiFi-Man which was in prototype stage at the meet but will be a great product at the price point. I had a quiet moment first thing on Sunday to A/B the internal DAC against a Meridian 508.20. The HiFi-Man had midrange to die for with a wide soundstage and I’ll be excited to hear it when finished.

...

Thanks for the impression. So the amp section of the HiFiMan is not finished yet, or you didn't try the amp of the HiFiMan?

[Jon L]

Comments To Follow. *Impressions being added*



New PS Audio PerfectWave transport and DAC, connected via proprietary I2S connection. Too bad the optional network bridge is not available yet (what I think sets this combo apart), but the system sounded rich, detailed, smooth, with a hint of liquidity thrown in, thanks at least partly to Senn HD800, Grado PS1000, and Cary 300 SEI 300B goodness with EAT 300B tubes.





Grado HF-2's. Beautiful cans and thankfully much lighter than PS1000 Unmistakable Grado goodness and character and very enjoyable and musical. In direct comparison to HD800, it does not have the ultimate extension of very top or deep bottom or ultimate low-level resolution, but it sounds more fun with more mid-bass quantity and punch as well as more involving (coloreful?) character. To each his own.



Blue Hawaii SE driven by Sony 5400ES. Yup, the amp is as good as people say. I would say this is the first time I've heard O2 Mk I and Mk II not sound "dark." I was rather surprised in the mid-bass quantity difference between Mk I and Mk II, as Mk II subjectively had at least 4-5 dB more mid-bass to me, sometimes preferable but not always.





Three Heed Canamps with Ultrasones. I thought Ultrasone 900 was especially very nice, with smooth yet detailed presentation out of these small amps yet with commanding bass density and richness.





Lector 7T CDP sounding very analogue driving Heed Canamps + Ultrasones.





Stax OII Mk II. It has much more midbass quantity than Mk I, which Spritzer calls bass "hump," but it can be so much fun, something the lovers of Grado PS1/PS1000 can appreciate, I'm sure.



Headphile woodied Senn HE60 "baby orpheus" sounded very nice out of BHSE.



Edwood relaxing after a hard weekend.



Senn HD800. I listened to it out of various setups, and the word that comes to mind is chameleon. I've heard it sound ripe and colorful, dry and fast, powerful and driving, polite and linear, you name it. It does seem to reveal what's upstream, and if I wasn't a 'stat guy, I would probably get one.

Directly compared to Grado PS1000, the usual Grado vs. Senn dichotomy still emerges. PS1000 has more bass impact and drive, more forward/involving midrange, yet HD800 has more overall refinement and control as well as top-end extension. I did appreciate how HD800 handles pop recordings and sibilants with more grace than Grado.







HD800 battles PS1000.









Eddie Current Zana Deux and Balancing Act. Superb tube amplification at its finest IMO. I have never, ever heard Senn HD600 sound this good, driven by Balancing Act. Harmonic overtones beautifully layering the rich fundamentals without slowing down speed or impact; no Senn veil here, folks. And I loved HD800 out of Zana Deux, probably more than HD600 out of ZD. If HD800 shows you what's upstream, the upstream was strong, resolved, clean, and just beautiful.



Manley Stingray with integrated iPod dock.



Ultimate Ears Table.



Woo Audio WES Electrostat amp prototype. Headphone community is now enjoying an embarrassment of riches in 'stat amps! Just a couple years ago, the Orpheus amp or Singlepower ES1 would pretty much be it, but now we also have the Woo WES and GES, Blue Hawaii SE, Ray Samuels A-10, Frank Cooter's 'stat amp, not to mention the Singlepower ES-1 and ES-2's.

Having spent most of the day listening to as many 'stats as possible on each and every 'stat amp, I'm happy to report that every single combo is at least good and some combo's just out of this world!

The Woo WES here is reportedly using the AmpOhm oil capacitors inside (which is a good thing IMO) and sounded closer to the ES-1 signature than Blue Hawaii SE. I wish it had a better source feeding it than the big Denon CDP, but even then, it had a very detailed and clear sound if not as smooth and powerful as BHSE. There is a lot of potential here with upgraded parts Jack Woo plans to offer, including VCaps, and of course, tube rolling.

[Jon L]

More.





Top view of Woo WES.



Back view of Woo WES.









Luxman CDP and Amp. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to try this





TTVJ 307a Amp.





As usual, lots of gear in Headroom's suite. Big Wadias providing signal.



Sweet vintage Krell transport spinning discs. Oldie but definitely goodie.

















Head Direct's Orthodynamics.







Donald North Audio (DNA)

[Jon L]

Some more.



Ray Samuels B52 dynamic amp.



Ray Samuels A10 Electrostat amp. I have heard that this amp is geared towards Senn 'stats and HE audio 'stats more than Stax OII; however, I personally found myself enjoying the OII Mk II pretty well on it. I'm not a big Meridian GO8 CDP fan, so I could hear the CDP's sound signature through all the 'stats, which may or may not be a good thing depending on if you like the Meridian sound.

Of note, Senn HE60 sounded *really* good out of A10 for some reason, and I could see how some people might even prefer HE60 over even HE90 in this setup. In fact, the various Senn HE90's at this meet didn't quite have that extraordinary "magic" I have heard previously with this 'stat, and I'm not quite sure why...

Now that I think about, perhaps the answer is in tube choices and setup. I have always though the tube/setup that's optimal for Senn 'stats is very different from what makes Omegas sing, and at this meet, Staxes were singing sweeter than usual vs. Senn's.





Hajime Sato providing rare import CD's on behalf of East-West Imports.









"Stacker" hybrid amp. By the time I got there, the system was being taken down unfortunately.



Singlepower ES-1 sounded as good as ever driving OII Mk I, HE60, and HE Audio. If BHSE is clear spring water pumping strong from a geyser, Singlepower seems to be slightly rose-tinged, delicate yet tasty delicacy from Mountains of France somewhere. It seems to me the Marantz SA7s1 CDP and a bunch of Virtual Dynamics cabling were definitely lending a strong hand to the bold, smooth, and detailed presentation here.



Woo Audio WA5 300B amp, powering whatever people threw on them, including K1000's.
The Woo Audio DAC is the shiny object on left top corner.













909's beloved Reimyo CDP and Eddie Current HD2 amp sounding as good as ever. HD800, L3000, and HF2 sounded so different from each other it was amazing.







Frank Cooter's electrostat amp. The three-piece masterpiece utilizing Mercury-Vapor rectifiers and some ungodly goodies inside and out. Hopefully it won't go into production for general sale because quite a few people will be broke then...







The venerable Singlepower ES-2 with every electrostat ever produced hanging around for fun. The whole system driven by APL-modded Esoteric player sounded significantly different from other 'stat setups, sounding impossibly grain-free and almost water-color effortless on top.

Omega I 'stat was especially beguiling in this setup, definitely *not* sounding dark or over-bloomy like some accuse OII of being.

[Jon L]

Moar.



B24 speaker-amp version. Incredible build quality inside and out.







Blue Hawaii dressed in pretty wood on the right.











Singlepower SDS-XLR tower of power with balanced Sony R-10 headphones. Unlike the amp's appearance of mass, girth, and intimidation, the sound was twinkly, light, and fast as all out.

[AudioCats]

any ortho impressions?

[purk]

Thanks for wonderful pics Jon!

[Lil' Knight]

Originally Posted by vpivinylspinner

The best part of my day happened when I want to Cetoole, who had won four raffle prizes yesterday, and asked him to rub my tickets for today for luck. I ended up winning the Headroom Ultra Micro Dac, Shure SE530s and Yuin OK3s. And he won another amp, the Rudistor. 8 Tickets and 5 were winners. That guy is like a shaman or something.

Priceless.

[melomaniac]

Originally Posted by AudioCats

any ortho impressions?

not to be found today. even asked a staffer to point them out to me. made do with several (!) AKG1000 listening sessions...

[cheemo]

OMG! Thanks for the pics Jon L! Need to pick my jaw up from the floor, amazing collection of rigs...sheesh.

[2deadeyes]

Thanks for pics - eager to hear some stat impressions.

[vcoheda]

great pics! thanks for posting.