CanJam 2009 Impressions

[Kclone]

Originally Posted by dallan

HF-2 yes. I was blown away, don't know if it was the set up or what but it had a great sound, had bass the whole nine yards. I wasn't thrilled with the new offering, i think that was the PS-1000.

Okay, I'm going to play devil's advocate. Are you sure it wasn't just brighter or had more whiz and bang and may not be a good phone for long term? I guess I am curious why Grado would have a 500 dollar headphone in their lineup that a lot of people may prefer the sound of over the a lot more expensive PS1000. As someone who has the PS1000 on order, the emergence of the HF-2 is concerning. If it is that good, I could have saved some dough.

[olblueyez]

Why not just tell us which amp sounds better than the Zana? Why all the Secret Squirrel stuff? If people dont explain why they say things then why post? I know its CanJam but if you can write one sentence then why not two?

[dallan]

[KONAKONA]

HiFiMAN 801 impressions???

[santacore]

Overall I had a great time. Nice hanging out with you a bit dallan.

The HF-2's did sound nice, although possibly a bit dark and rolled off in the high end. That said, they were a nice change from most of the brighter Grados that I've heard. I really dug the Manley 300B preamp that was driving them. To bad that one's not cheaper, I'd seriously be tempted.

I got a short session with the HD800's and they sounded good. A little on the bright side but very good. To my ears they are big departure from the HD650's. The price is ridiculous, but I do want to hear more of them.

The Eddie Current stuff was dynamite as usual. The Zana Deux sounds great as I remember and is really tempting me. Unfortunately Craig didn't have the ZDT hooked up, but it did look nice.

I had a great time hanging out with Lee at Locus Audio/Cryo parts. He had a bunch of cool stuff and to check out. In particular I was digging the Trafomatic amp. I hope to stop by tomorrow to hear it some more.

The folks at Manley labs were great to talk to and had a nice looking new version of the Stingray. It now has headphone outs and a iPod dock. Unfortunately I was talking to much about pro audio and never sat down to listen. Hopefully I can give a check tomorrow.

I enjoyed my time at the Lavry table. Dan and his wife were a pleasure to talk to and I enjoyed hearing his DA11. The headphone amp sounded much better then I remember the DA10 sounding. I would expect the DAC section to also sound better too. Overall a very nice product from great people.

Donald from DNA audio also has a great looking new tube amp. I really enjoyed listening to it and love his design ideas. That's another amp I want to spend more time with.


That sums up some of the highlights. There was just too much gear and to many rooms to go through. With any luck I'll get back there tomorrow to catch a bit more.

Thanks again to all the venders and organizer for making this happen. I couldn't have asked for a better event!!!!

[olblueyez]

Originally Posted by gilency

they had a prototype without the shell. The smallest Pico is really small but sounds great. I was also surprised to find out that the guy who designed them is really young. He looked like he is 18. Nice kid. Smart kid. He also had the Blue Hawaii or something like that, a wonderful Stax amplifier.

The new BH Stax amp is hot to trot huh. Sure is beautiful.

[dallan]

Originally Posted by Kclone

Okay, I'm going to play devil's advocate. Are you sure it wasn't just brighter or had more whiz and bang and may not be a good phone for long term? I guess I am curious why Grado would have a 500 dollar headphone in their lineup that a lot of people may prefer the sound of over the a lot more expensive PS1000. As someone who has the PS1000 on order, the emergence of the HF-2 is concerning. If it is that good, I could have saved some dough.

I am curious too. I just liked the sound of it better. The bass was better and i just liked the overall presentation better, not really brighter just seemed like the instruments fit together in a nicer way. Not that the PS-1000 was bad, and maybe it had a bit bigger soundstage due to the larger cup size, just didn't like the presentation as much.

[gilency]

I was dizzy with so much stuff to try and look at. I got to compare a DT880 vs 701 vs a Stax (not sure which one). I am telling you, the Stax was amazing. I liked them more than the HD 800.
And then there is this guy who left UE (he designed their phones!) and started a new company (JHAudio at jhaudio.com). His new custom IEM's have 6 drivers per side! 2 for lows, 2 for mids and 2 for highs. What I was surprised is the big soundstage they have. And it sounded very balanced too. It sounded clear all accross the spectrum. All for 1100.00

[KingStyles]

The folks at Manley labs were great to talk to and had a nice looking new version of the Stingray. It now has headphone outs and a iPod dock. Unfortunately I was talking to much about pro audio and never sat down to listen. Hopefully I can give a check tomorrow

I saw a picture of that amp posted a couple of weeks ago but they have no imfo on there site about it yet.

[olblueyez]

I'm surprised Boomana isn't sitting in front of Justin's table, I think she is in line for one of the new Blue Hawaii's.

[gilency]

Originally Posted by olblueyez

The new BH Stax amp is hot to trot huh. Sure is beautiful.

it is not just beautiful. It sounds like heaven. I want it, I want it, I want it!

[Blackmore]

Thats a very typical comment when you dont like GS1000 sound sig, so, nothing surprise me so far.
Another thing, regarding "almost" same as PS1. If thats the case, hmmm, I would say Grado GS1000 all the way, at least for me...

I think we need more reality up here and where the hell are PS1000.

ps Koss KSC75 sounds brilliant under USD 15, no way you can beat that one, ever

Originally Posted by dallan

I have to go back and catch up on these pages but I listened to a lot today and my biggest surprise and the catch of the day for the price was the HF-2 from Todd. Under $500. and sounded great! and i am not normally really that into Grados. I thought they sounded better than the PS-1000s. so there.

[olblueyez]

Originally Posted by gilency

it is not just beautiful. It sounds like heaven. I want it, I want it, I wan it!

When I win the lottery I will buy two of them with the mac daddy stax cans, one for me and one for you!

[dallan]

Originally Posted by santacore

Overall I had a great time. Nice hanging out with you a bit dallan.

The HF-2's did sound nice, although possibly a bit dark and rolled off in the high end. That said, they were a nice change from most of the brighter Grados that I've heard. I really dug the Manley 300B preamp that was driving them. To bad that one's not cheaper, I'd seriously be tempted.

I got a short session with the HD800's and they sounded good. A little on the bright side but very good. To my ears they are big departure from the HD650's. The price is ridiculous, but I do want to hear more of them.

The Eddie Current stuff was dynamite as usual. The Zana Deux sounds great as I remember and is really tempting me. Unfortunately Craig didn't have the ZDT hooked up, but it did look nice.

I had a great time hanging out with Lee at Locus Audio/Cryo parts. He had a bunch of cool stuff and to check out. In particular I was digging the Trafomatic amp. I hope to stop by tomorrow to hear it some more.

The folks at Manley labs were great to talk to and had a nice looking new version of the Stingray. It now has headphone outs and a iPod dock. Unfortunately I was talking to much about pro audio and never sat down to listen. Hopefully I can give a check tomorrow.

I enjoyed my time at the Lavry table. Dan and his wife were a pleasure to talk to and I enjoyed hearing his DA11. The headphone amp sounded much better then I remember the DA10 sounding. I would expect the DAC section to also sound better too. Overall a very nice product from great people.

Donald from DNA audio also has a great looking new tube amp. I really enjoyed listening to it and love his design ideas. That's another amp I want to spend more time with.


That sums up some of the highlights. There was just too much gear and to many rooms to go through. With any luck I'll get back there tomorrow to catch a bit more.

Thanks again to all the venders and organizer for making this happen. I couldn't have asked for a better event!!!!

Yes nice hanging out with ya, I want to check the Lavry table too, that is the thing i really need to upgrade-my dac. The dacmagic is okay but not great, my music fidelity with the external psu is better but i think starting to get dated and it is over with my mid-fi not at the computer due to the dacmagics usb port.

And i agree completely, the amp feeding the HF-2 .... the Manley was awesome, thus probably colored my opinion of the HF-2.

[dallan]