CanJam 2009 Impressions

[glitch39]

this is way, way cool

[emelius]

got a bryston dac, got a ps audio wave dac, cary exciter dac, reimyo 777...there's even a freakin' berkeley audio alpha dac...

then the buffalo32!...

anyone?...thanks for the pics...more impressions please...

[AudioCats]

I thought the wood housing fancy thingey on HeadDirect table (hung next to a pair of J's, in one of the pictures) is ortho, anybody took a listen?

[Borat]

The gear impressions and pictures are appreciated, but I wanna hear about any crazy high jinks going down this weekend. Clearly with that much scotch being consumed there's gotta be some fun stories.

Man, I so wish I could have gone to this. I passed by that area on my way to a family function on Saturday. And I also had a weekend filled with studying for final exams. Dammit, I'm not even going to remember any of this organic chemistry in a few months, but I would've remembered CanJam LA for years. I need to get my priorities straight.

From the looks of it, the organizers did an awesome job. Way to represent SoCal. Congrats guys!

[melomaniac]

yes, I could smell the scotch on the hilton corridors... but here's a moment I captured, sorry about the terrible quality of this cellphone pic: ray listening to justin's most recent miniature amp...

[Jon L]

There is a good reason the impressions are slow in coming from everyone. The poor SoCal organizers looked about half-dead by Sunday afternoon from the continuous work and stress. Thank you guys all for the tremendous work!

Personally, I tried my best to play my reference tracks on every single system in order to form some sort of coherent comparisons, and I tell you, I was *SICK* of them by the end and my brain fried.

After I left, I immediately had to go to a local fave steak joint for some rich, prime rib to regain some energy before writing down some impressions.

[Germancub]

First off let me say I had a wonderful time. Thank you so much to everybody that set this up and everybody that brought your gear out for us to listen to! Everybody was just wonderful.

Some quick impressions from me...

Stax Omega II w/Blue Hawaii: Jaw dropping performance, my first listen with electrostatic headphones was definitely a memorable one. Oddly enough, I found the bass a tinge on the heavy side! Never expected that in a million years.

Sennheiser Orpheus: I honestly wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be for the price. I honestly think the Omega II's sounded better to me.

AKG K1000: Definitely, without a doubt in my mind, the most mind-blowing head, uh phone/speaker, experience of my life. I just sat there with my mouth open at how incredible these things are. I can't believe they discontinued these!

AKG K701/2: Heard with many various amps and A/B'd directly with my own K601's that aren't completely burnt in yet. Cemented my decision in getting my K601's honestly. To my ears, the K701 is a bit too treble-centric compared to the K601 and just not as fun to listen to.

HD800: By far THE most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. I have fairly big ears but they felt lost in that big coliseum of a cup. The only headphone I felt was improved night and day with balancing! Definitely a beautiful headphone in every possible way but not my favourite.

PS1000: Very much like the GS1000's but much richer, more organic and fun to listen to. It basically fixes all of the problems that I found wrong with the GS1000 (kind of bright, lifeless... etc).

DT880 250 and 600: I really loved these, I found the 250 ohm version to be a bit better listen to me, I suppose it wasn't as laid back as the 600 ohm version but alas, more musical. Very impressive cans, as they were my first beyers to hear. Definitely on my list for an upgrade in the future!

Heed Canamp: For the price, this is probably the nicest sounding amp I have heard with my AKG's to my ears.

DNA: Donald North- one of the nicest guys I've ever met in my life shares my sentiments about the DT880's and allowed me to A/B the K701 vs. K601 extensively on his wonderful amps. I cannot believe the potential of these headphones with this mind-blowingly good sounding tube amp.

Ultrasone Edition 9/8: I can say with confidence I like the Edition 9's better than the 8's. It could be the fact that the 8's I heard were fairly new and not quite broken in but in comparison to the 9's they sounded a bit compressed, oddly enough.

Ultrasone Zino: Really incredible portable phones, quite bass heavy but in a good way. Can't believe how great they are for only 99 dollars.

Ultrasone- all the rest: The HFI-780's and Pro 900's were definitely a great listen. Amazing soundstage for closed cans for sure! I really found there to be a consistency in the entire Ultrasone range and I quite liked the house sound!

That's all I can remember for now, I'm going off of only 4 hours of sleep so forgive me for it being a mess. If you don't agree with my impressions, that's because they're... my impressions! Anyway, thanks again everybody and hope to see you all!


These are only my amateur opinions, and yours may and will vary!

[santacore]

What a great event. Thanks again to all the organizers, venders, and volunteers.

I was able to make it back today for a few hours and I'm glad I did. I got some more time with the new Grado HF-2's today and had a totally different experience. Through the TTVJ 307A amp the HF-2's sounded great. Not rolled off at all like I felt yesterday through the Manley. The 307A amp really impressed me and the Grado's sounded good too. I don't know that I'd run out and grab them, but I thought they were a really nice phone. The amp is really something special and if you've got a lot of cash I'd suggest giving it a listen.

Along with the Locus room, I spent a lot of time in the Woo Audio room today. Having not experienced the Woo products before I went through the whole line up. All I have to say is they make some really great amps. Not surprisingly I thought the WA5 amp, HD800's, and the forthcoming Woo DAC was one of the best experiences I had all weekend. What an incredible combination!!! If it wasn't for the price, I would have walked out the door with that system. Extremely dynamic, music, with a great top and bottom end. I will definitely be keep that system in mind for the future. I can't wait to hear how the DAC turns out when they are done. Very impressive!

I heard a lot of mixed reviews of the new HD800's. With the right amp I thought they sounded dynamite. They are totally different from the HD650's, but in a good way. I still think they are over-priced, but I really did like them, and would love to own a pair.

That's it for now. Time to get some rest and reflect on a great weekend!!!

[El Cucuy]

Hi guys!

Back in San Diego now, I just parked the car in the garage and will unload it in the morning. I'm guessing Bob Clarke (Profundo) and his wife are only just landing in S.F.
We had such a great time showing our components. The Basis 2200 turntable sure drew a lot of attention around our setup.
Most of all, it was a real blast meeting everyone. Bob and I were both heartened by the presence of so many younger attendees than we're used to seeing at other audio related venues (CES, Stereophile, etc). I guess we did not know what to expect, going into the show as it was our first ever headphone meet. The common denominator (aside from being nice people) was the genuine interest in music and not just the gear.

Thanks also go to all the Head-fi staffers and volunteers for a job very well done. They always met me with a smile and kind hellos. All very appreciated.

Dan Muzquiz
Blackbird Audio/Gallery

[zippy2001]

I just got home from CanJam. All I can say is that I had an awesome time! I really need to thank Jude for inventing Head-Fi, the organizers (John, David, Greg, Ed, Aaron, Luis) for putting on a fantastic meet, all the vendors that turned out to support this great community, and last but not least, all of the great members that make Head-Fi so great.

Here are some of the highlights of the meet for me

Listening to the HD800 on the Headroom BUDA and Ultra DAC, what a great combination, they had plenty of low end, with a nice musical presentation of the mids and highs. They were detailed but not hyper analytical. I really loved them.

I was on hand for the unveiling of the HF2 and was fortunate enough to actually take home #23. The HF2 look great and sound great. I am not a Grado expert, but love the way they present music with a little more punch in the low end. They are a great headphone that will keep me satisfied for quite a while and maybe even tame my lust for the HD800.

The Eddie Current Zana Deux sounded great with some juicy vinyl and his phono preamp. The Balancing Act with the 307A tubes in it sounded wonderful with his balance AD2000. Both of these amps sounded great.

I was finally able to listen to the HeadAmp Blue Hawaii SE with the O2 Mk1 and now know what all the hype is about. They sounded absolutely stunning, they were one of the best sounding combinations at the meet for me. They absolutley rocked to Dire Straits and Genesis.

The Woo Audio WA22 balanced amp with a pair of balanced HD650 were a great rig. This was one of the best HD650 rigs that I had heard before.

The headphone that is at the top of my custom IEM list is the JH13, with 6 drivers per ear . They sounded like music should, very realistic and very well balanced.

Joe Harley's talk about Blue Note was very entertaining and enlightening. Steve Hoffman put on another great session with some stories and excellent music.

And last but not least was the great raffles from both days, let's just say that I was very lucky . A great big THANK YOU to all the vendors and especially Music Matters, Crossroads, Lavry, Ultimate Ears, ALO, Whiplash Audio.

I had a blast and it was great meeting everyone at the meet.

[moonboy403]

Originally Posted by 1UP

Ooh, can't remember his username but his Zana Deux and ATH-AD2000 pairing was also fabulous!

That belonged to Ironbut.

[arnesto]

I listened to the HD800, HD600, Omega 2, and the PS1000.

When A/Bing the HD800 to the HD600, this is a very obvious upgrade, the HD800 have as much detail as an electrostatic like the Omega 2.

The HD600 are nice, but not in the same league as the HD800.

Comparing the HD800 to the Omega 2, I didn't get a chance to A/B them, but some Omega 2 sound kinda flat to me on some music. I think the HD800 and the Omega 2 are in the same league as the top headphones, but the HD800 sound more dynamic to me and I prefer them.

As far as the PS1000 go, I don't understand the hype. I think they are not in the same league as the other top headphones. I think they are a step down. They probably have the same driver as the $60 pair on the SR80.

I also really liked guzziguy's Singlepower Extreme Platinum amplifier. Because tubed amplifiers tend to have a colored warm tonal sound, which I do not like.
This one was neutral and the detail was superb. I don't know if this was because of the amplifier or the source, but it sounded great.

[sandchak]

Originally Posted by arnesto

As far as the PS1000 go, I don't understand the hype. I think they are not in the same league as the other top headphones. I think they are a step down. They probably have the same driver as the $60 pair on the SR80.

You surely hate the Grados !

[BIG POPPA]

Freakin awesome pic's. Thank you Jon L and everyone else for posting pic's.

[gilency]

I have never been to a meet before. it was mind blowing. The sheer variety of amplifiers and headphones was mind numbing. Like somebody else mentioned, I was surprised at how many young people where there, not just us middle age (and over) guys. Definitely a memorable experience. I spoke with this guy who gave me a rundown on the Stax systems. My thanks go to all the guys who contributed, from the organizers to the volunteers, the companies who supplied prices for the raffle, and mainly to the guys who constitute the core of this community, the ones who brought their equipment to share with everybody else.