[goatkidbaahcity]

But guys - we have to know how Storm measures on a 711 clone when clumsily laid out on a table under loud show conditions! No other measurements will do!

 

[deep2285]

But guys - we have to know how Storm measures on a 711 clone when clumsily laid out on a table under loud show conditions! No other measurements will do!

 

[emdeevee]

Quick vid from my boys @stephenkostas and @DiFazio:

Thanks to you guys so much for your calm room which made for such nice demos! I spent a good deal of time on both days with you guys and felt more like a hang with friends being in the room! Thanks again for tolerating me!

 

[csglinux]

I'm going to address this since I'm the one who personally attended to you. To provide full context, this gentleman pulled up to our booth, listened to STORM, then placed it down. When I inquired as to what he thought of the STORM, he just replied "not bad" and proceeded to pull out a giant pelican case full of measuring equipment without consulting any of us manning the booth. I notified him that we are not allowing measurements, as the units we have for demo are engineering samples that we produced that met QC standards and are representative of the final sound, but that we did not let out as production units as the graphs just don't look pretty as we print out the measured response for all launch edition clients, even though they are all technically up to spec. He then proceeded to insert STORM into the coupler anyway, and when I questioned him again, he said he was taking an impedance measurement (which does not require insertion into a coupler), so now I have to stop attending to other folks at the booth and get up and walk behind this gentleman just to make sure that he's not secretly taking a measurement he can misconstrue later, taking up time I could spend attending to others and also taking up space at our booth while others are waiting to audition.

We are more than happy for folks to measure our creations. Subtonic believes that both measurements and listening are required to create a great audio product. Tuning is a blend of art and science. If anyone wants to measure our products, we will be more than happy to accommodate with some prior notice. For media, or even individuals, do feel free to contact us prior to events to arrange this. In fact, an audio community member, @listenerwww , asked us for a unit to measure on Saturday, mentioning that B&K was allowing the public to use the 5128 HATS that they brought to the show. Our entire team was also curious about how STORM measures on 5128, so we arranged for a mutual friend who had purchased a production STORM to loan a unit for a short while on Sunday to get the measurements taken. Listener described this on this thread a few posts up but I think they opted to omit the fact that we greenlit it as they weren't sure if we wanted others to trouble us for such arrangements in the future, but the fact is that we are more than happy to accommodate.

There were at least 4 clients with STORMs on the show floor with STORM and we could have helped you get in touch with them for measurements given prior notice. But you don't contact us prior about any of this, come to our booth and just pull out your equipment and take up booth time and space without the minimum courtesy of asking us first, then proceed to try to run a measurement anyway despite specifically being told not to, taking up my time and capacity to attend to others at the booth. Just with that in mind, I was extremely disincentivised to offer to arrange anything for you. And now I am glad I didn't after you posted this, which shows that, one, you didn't pay any attention to the explanations given to you, and two, you don't seem at all interested in the STORM as your first priority is pulling out your measurement rig instead of engaging with any of us to try to understand the philosophy and design of STORM, and also understand why the design and shell are the way they are. And if you did, perhaps we could have helped you out with tip selection to get you a better fit, as we have with many clients and attendees, including several ladies with small ears.

I don't get the need to be so dismissive and unfriendly in person, and so presumptive in your comments here. Just talk to us, we don't bite. And what do we have to hide? Nothing, there are multiple 711 clone measurements available online. And we clearly provide measurements from a B&K 4195 on our website, and 5128 measurements taken at the show are also now available publicly, both of which are systems that we believe are more accurate than your GRAS, clone or otherwise.

Of course, we are always open to critique, we just ask that one gives STORM a fair shot with at least a couple of tries with different tips and sources before coming to a conclusion, especially since STORM's extended treble and bass presentation is quite sensitive to fit and seal. I vividly remember this interaction, as it stood out as the most unpleasant part of an otherwise great weekend.

Your comments including ones like this that you made about EE are, quite frankly, plain insulting to manufacturers like ourselves and EE, and for the record, Odin is still extremely popular with many of its owners and is still recommended often today despite having been on the market for a considerable amount of time now.

Our entire team believes that although measurements don't tell the entire story, they are still an important metric and a tool that can help many to get closer to their ideal setup. Behaviour like yours turns people off learning about this area. It hurts the cause and progress that can be made from a better understanding of measurements and measurement systems more than helping it. TL;DR: Your attitude receives an emphatic thumbs down from me.

I'm sorry this interaction didn't end more pleasantly, but your recollection of events doesn't correlate with mine. I always ask everybody before I measure anything. As we discussed, I would have been much more interested to see impedance and distortion/waveform error than FR from a B&K rig. I'll admit you caught me off guard, because this was the first time I'd ever been told no, but at your request I stopped at impedance.

I've previously purchased IEMs whose prices are (almost) in the ballpark of STORM, but only did so after both listening and looking in detail at measurements. If I'm going to spend that amount of money, I want to do both the test drive and see the spec sheet. Those that don't see the need for the latter - please see paragraph #4 in my original post.

 

[Smirk 24]

I've previously purchased IEMs whose prices are (almost) in the ballpark of STORM, but only did so after both listening and looking in detail at measurements. If I'm going to spend that amount of money, I want to do both the test drive and see the spec sheet. Those that don't see the need for the latter - please see paragraph #4 in my original post.

Regardless of whether you’ve purchased IEMs in the ballpark of Storm or exceeding it, heck even if it’s a $15 IEM, you’re not entitled to measurements if the manufacturer refuses for any reason they choose. Please show a little respect.

 

[csglinux]

Regardless of whether you’ve purchased IEMs in the ballpark of Storm or exceeding it, heck even if it’s a $15 IEM, you’re not entitled to measurements if the manufacturer refuses for any reason they choose. Please show a little respect.

If you had been there, you would have seen that I was respectful. As requested, I did not take measurements beyond impedance, and even that hasn't been published anywhere.

I will sign off at this point so as not to further derail this thread, but one last cry in the wilderness before I go... Those of you with the pitchforks are your own target here, because you're perpetuating a cycle in which manufacturers can simply create something different each year and convince you that different = better. Again, paragraph #4.

 

[AsciiJC]

I love canjam!

 

[DraconicNerd]

Thanks to you guys so much for your calm room which made for such nice demos! I spent a good deal of time on both days with you guys and felt more like a hang with friends being in the room! Thanks again for tolerating me!

Seconded, I probably spent close to 3 to 4 hours in there over both days trying out the great collection of gear there. Thanks for putting up with me trying like 15 pieces of gear haha. It was such a great environment!

 

[SemperMalum]

Finally managed to get my thoughts/impressions in text format. Issue is that it turned out to be massive so I'm going to spoiler it in case people don't want to read the large amount of text! I had a laaaarge list of items and knocked out a lot.

Spoiler: Warning: word vomit for Day 1

So, I figured I'd post my impressions for CanJam as this was my first one and I only recently just got back into the headphones hobby. It's been a few weeks but had some time to really write out my thoughts.

Trying to go in order as much as possible. I'm also going to try not to detail out each headphone sound or breakdown but will, rather, post impressions if a booth/room has several offerings with which were my favorite.

I was also primarily interest in over ears as I'm not the biggest fan of IEMs but I did try a few.

Day 1:

Some comments in the prior thread were correct! The staff at Irvine Marriott are extremely friendly and super helpful. I arrived (on Saturday) at 9:15 and snagged a ChargePoint spot to charge my car. Ample parking there. Was even able to check into my room early and drop off bags. I did arrange for my friend to meet up with me with this being his first foray into the high end headphones market as well. Also met up with another Head-Fi'er from the JM Audio XTC thread @Zhon

After the 'rope drop', walking in felt almost overwhelming with how everything was spread out and not really knowing how to really get going. But, the Headphones.com booth being right at the front with an open seat and some helpful people changed that pretty quickly.

Headphones.com Booth: Had the opportunity to listen to, in order, the Meze Emphyrean, the Dan Clark Expanse and then the Focal Clear. I didn't want to take up too much time at a station but I'm almost certain that I could have spent the entire day 1 at this booth and would have been completely satisfied. Each that I listened to were fantastic in their own way but I actually found myself really enjoying the Expanse the most here (I tend to prefer a warm sound and love bass but thought the Expanse handled it the best here which surprised me). I also was on a dCs stack.

Audeze Booth: Only spent a moment here (this time, had more on day 2) but the Maxwell is a freaking hit (played a little bit of RE4 Remake). I did start talking to an Audeze PR rep (forgot the gentleman's name) about the Sony news but, as expected, it's a bit tight lipped at this time.

Focal Booth: Tried the Stellia and the Utopia. Was definitely more of a fan of the Utopia (Stellia was not my taste) but wasn't the most satisfied with all the Focal offerings I tried out. Was very surprised by this; I liked the Utopia well enough but it felt way too pricey vs my enjoyment of them. But, I definitely get the hype.

Wandered around where Moondrop/Topping/Truthear was: Tried out a Sennheiser HD800. Soundstage monsters. But, yeah, not my cup of tea for my generally preferred music. But, I could absolutely see why some people could have that as their end game based on the type of music they love and what they want emphasized the most.

T+A Booth: tried out the T+A cans (I believe the Solitaire P and the T). They are super competent but they really didn't stick out to me compared to a lot of the others on the floor. The people at the booth were extremely pleasant, though, so I enjoyed hearing the difference between everything. I also tried the Solitaire Wireless which was fantastic albeit a bit pricey. Probably enjoyed those the most even if it took a moment to pair.

Austrian Audio: the Composer was probably my friend's favorite headphone that he tried. I really enjoyed them. Felt like they really took to the source and had a lot of impact on bass when the song called for it. I don't think it excelled in anything in particular but it didn't have many flaws. I think the price, though, is a bit high for the performance.The Austrian Audio staff were extremely friendly. I think we hit the sweet spot of time because they were busy both days following this.

Drop Booth: the Grell was there. I think they were only okay. They're mostly not for me and my preference in tuning. I'd be curious to price but the only thing that had really that stood out was the soundstage and presentation but everything else was only okay with them. I wasn't impressed but they definitely feel in line with the Drop/Sennheiser series.

Audio-Technica Booth (long winded text ahead): By far some of the best looking headphones. Ever. I don't think anything can compare. I got to try the gorgeous Narukami and the ATH-W2022. Narukami was definitely more neutral and effortlessly clean. But, my freaking goodness, the W2022 was amongst the top 3 headphones I heard this entire weekend and probably will ever in my life. That warmth, the mids, everything. Great soundstage (not the best but they're closed back) but probably the best tuned warm headphones I heard. I felt like my ears were getting a lovely hug (vocals were rich and lush) and the bass was some of the best I've ever heard. I wish I had tried the AWAS to compare of that could even capture a fraction of how good the W2022 are because I would have just thrown my credit card at them. Yeah, W2022 are worthy of the hype and they're just art. If I had a bucket list, they're right at the top.

Ultimate Ears: super friendly staff. Tried the Premier. Really freaking good IEM but hard to say if I can tell the difference between an IEM with 21 drivers vs a Sony IER-Z1R that I tried out later. Having it custom molded though I imagine would be super freaking comfortable so there's that. I'm also not an IEM person so there's that too.

Heddphone Booth: tried out the Headphone 2 (but did not try out the original there. Hindsight, I should have to get a frame of reference). These were interesting; it was one of those headphones where it felt like having some speakers placed at my ears. Bass wasn't as impactful as I'd like but the soundstage felt right without being just soundstage for the sake of soundstage. Was a bit bright at the top out of most I heard. Very detailed though. Not necessarily my cup of tea but I could see a lot of people being happy with this.

Hifiman Booth: Busy as heck here! I only really had a chance to listen to the Audivina but I did end up listening to the Arya Organic (elsewhere), HE1000se and the Susvara. To be honest, my favorite of all the Hifiman I heard has to be the Arya Organic. I enjoyed the Susvara but knowing the price, I couldn't (personally) conceptualize paying that much for it based on a comparison with the others in their line up. But that's definitely just my take on them. But the Arya Organic is very, very good. Great detail, great soundstage, dynamic and the bass felt right given the overall presentation. I really can't think of a negative with them and would probably put that on my list.

Fostex Booth: Listened to the TH909 (I believe) which were very good for certain music. Very fun and absolutely a great basshead headphone with some decent soundstage and some flaws elsewhere. I wouldn't say this would be an endgame headphone but it would be an amazing complimentary addition based on just how fun it is.

Spirit Torino Booth: this was very interesting to me. These were so expensive and yet probably my least favorite out of everything I tested. I listened to two sets including the Valkyria and I just did not like them. They didn't excel at anything in particular (just seemed very competent as a whole) while being kind of heavy. Maybe I picked the wrong tracks to listen to? I was not impressed which is surprising because I remember reading another person's impressions as being their favorite of a different show. The TWS IEM they had was better but way expensive for my tastes. The gentleman running the booth was very nice and accommodating though.

Somewhere along the way, I tried an Abyss phi TC (don't recall which booth) but I didn't really get a chance to fully enjoy the sound as we ended up taking a break right after this. It sounded amazing but hard to come up with words as I could have been suffering from audio fatigue so the break helped reset the pallette so to speak.

ZMF Booth (Day 1): came in but it was very busy. Had a good shot pre-opening but it was filled with people most of the day. Tried out the new prototype and the Atticus; really enjoyed the new set vs the Atticus, TBH. Very comparable overall. This was my first time trying ZMF and I 100% get the appeal along with Zach and his team being super accommodating and friendly for everyone in the room.

Dan Clark Booth: had a great experience there. Got a chance to listen to the Stealth, the Corina and the Voce. The electrostats were very good. As flawless as I've ever heard. I can see the appeal. I actually preferred the Stealth a bit more followed by the Voce as it felt like the Voce was warmer. Soundstage was amazing for both but the tuning felt better on the Voce for me.

Mimic Audio Booth (Day 1): so, the Modhouse was basically called for almost the entire day 1 that I could see. I figured, while we were waiting for the Warwick Audio booth line to shorten up, to try out the Stax SR-L700 MK2 there. Wow. These were freaking amazing. I didn't know what I expected but it reminded me a lot of the Heddphone 2 but it felt more tuned right to me. Loved the clarity, soundstage, everything. Bass felt a bit better here too but I had a good seal and could see myself doing an EQ with it to really get more warmth out of it.

Warwick Acoustics: the staff here were incredibly friendly and accommodating. I definitely felt like some people were taking advantage, at times, with how lax they were on the time limit but it wasn't too bad overall. I got to try both the Bravura and the Aperio. I actually favored the Bravura a bit more for the sound signature and found the Aperio a bit too bright for my tastes but it could have also been the source. Was hard to really put into words how I felt about them. Very immersive soundstage and probably one of the best there but it didn't excel necessarily in the way I was hoping. The Bravura was more my taste. The only issue was that both of them were hooked up to specific offline songs but one of the exhibitors there actually allowed me to plug in my phone and play my own source. Bravura was absolutely awesome this way; bass wasn't the best but handled every very well from top to bottom.

Sennheiser HE-1: Had one of the last listenings of the day on Saturday. @ericpalonen was an awesome host and we talked all about the HE-1, the DMS (very pleasant to talk to BTW, ran into him a few times) video where they pranked people with the stolen HE-1 and just, in general, was an absolutely chill atmosphere. Listening to the HE-1, I think everyone has echoed it for the most part but I think it's one of the best headphones I've ever listened to. Warmth, sound stage, detail, clarity, extremely good (not the best) bass - it was a complete package and did everything as close to the best as possible. I initially started to put on all the same reference tracks that I've listened to the entire weekend but, halfway through, I knew it wasn't necessary and switched gears on just listening to songs that I loved. There is just a certain quality that's hard to put in words. Without hyperbole, probably the best headphones I've ever heard that I'll probably never be able to own (without buying it illicitly on eBay ).

Other things: I noticed a lot of faces that I've seen either YT or the Head-Fi forum but, as anticipated, everyone was coming and going and/or already talking and in full conversations so I didn't get the chance to really meet people (beyond someone that I had already arranged with) and other quick interactions (with like DMS, Zach with ZMF, etc.). After Day 1, it seemed like some of the exhibitors made their way over to a restaurant around the corner (Bosscat) and I did meet the SJY owner who is very cool.

Here's a cornucopia of pictures as well. Sorry! Probably should have been more cognizant about not getting my hand in some of them but that's something I'll work on in future CanJams.

 

[Hiker816]

Finally getting around to posting my CanJam impressions. Better late than never, right?

Disclosure: I don’t know what I’m talking about. Seriously, I became a lawyer so I wouldn’t have to deal with numbers, and I have no idea how any audio gear works. At all. And this was my first CanJam. Also, my musical tastes are a little idiosyncratic. I listen almost exclusively to technical instrumental progressive rock and metal, and acoustic guitar (my playlist for this CanJam is at the bottom). I have a theory that all audiophiles fall somewhere on a spectrum of “I listen to music to relax” and “I listen to music to be energized”, but most fall at one of the poles. I am decidedly on the “listen to be energized” side of the spectrum. You’ve been warned. FYI, I tested amps using my DCA Stealth.

Amps​

Feliks Audio Envy: I sat down at a dealer’s table and listened to the Envy Performance Edition. Frankly, it didn’t sound very good. Muddy, lacking in detail, not particularly dynamic. After all I had heard about it, I couldn’t understand what went wrong. I decided to give it another chance—this time at the Headphones.com booth with a standard edition—the next day. I’m glad I did. Listening to my own playlist through their Matrix Audio DAC and their DCA Expanse out of the SE output, it sounded like a completely different amp. Good speed, exceptional resolution and detail, very good dynamics and instrument separation, and top-notch timbre.

Zahl HM1: When I first auditioned the Zahl at the Headphones.com both on Saturday morning, I was told not to connect my own source. Using their source and music I wasn’t particularly familiar with, I wasn’t initially all that impressed. But when I switched to Class A from Class A-Servo, it was a shockingly different experience—everything came alive. (Apparently I’m in the minority, as the representative said most listeners preferred the Servo mode). Instrument separation and especially dynamics seemed to take a big leap forward. Drums were particularly crisp and hard-hitting. The soundstage knob also made a much more appreciable difference than I expected, though not in the way I expected. I thought it would expand the soundstage side to side, but it instead it pushed everything except the center back, or forward. With the ambient show noise, I couldn’t clearly recognize the effect of the bass and treble adjustment knobs, though.

Since the Rep told me I might be able to try my own source at the end of the day when it was less crowded, I kept circling starting about 5:30, but it was always being used. At 6:05 (after show closing), it was empty and I sheepishly asked the other Rep there if she was closing up or if I might be able to listen for a few minutes. To my delight, she said with a smile that if I happened to sit down and start listening while she was packing up other equipment, she wouldn’t stop me (thank you!). So that’s what I did. I went through my entire playlist with much less show noise. Speed was very good, and resolution, detail, bass, instrument separation, imaging, and soundstage even better, timbre as good as it gets. But really, it’s the dynamics that impressed me. And the Class A vs Servo, and soundstage adjustment, aren’t gimmicks. They’re actually really cool and useful, at least to me.

Mass Kobo 465: This is a phenomenal amp. It does everything right. Using my Stealth and my own playlist, speed is great—even better than the Zahl. Resolution and detail are fantastic (equal to or a touch behind the Zahl), dynamics stellar, instrument separation, imaging, and soundstage are great, timbre great (though maybe just a tiny bit artificial on some tracks), bass is great, and treble is very good. (I also tried the Mass Kobo with their show Utopia and Susvara, and it was impressive, but I don’t get along with either of those headphones as well, so it wasn’t as informative). There is nothing fancy about this amp. It doesn’t have any bells or whistles. It just sounds awesome.

So which is better, sonically, between the Mass Kobo and Zahl? I don’t know. I couldn’t A/B them at the show, and couldn’t even listen to them back to back because of lines. I’m pretty sure I’d be a very happy man with either (and, in fact, my Zahl order arrived a few days later!). The substantial cost difference and the extra features in the Zahl would have to be relevant considerations for most people, I would think.

L0rdGwyn Aegis: Special mention for this amp, which was set up in the ZMF room. I didn’t spend a ton of time on it, mostly because it’s a self-build kit and I lack even the most rudimentary of skills to assemble something like this, so if it was good, I would just be torturing myself. And, of course, it was tortuously phenomenal. I listened on one of ZMF’s show VCs, but I own the VC, so I’m familiar. The Aegis sounded just so . . . right. I want one. I’m jealous of those with the skills to build themselves one.

Headphones​

Austrian Audio Composer: First, let me say the reps there were super friendly, helpful, and enthusiastic about their product. For good reason. I was immediately struck by how comfortable these are. Light, perfect clamp. I can’t actually think of another headphone that’s more comfortable, in fact. Strangely, they were using a dongle DAC at the show—not sure which one. And it was plugged into their new Full Score One amp. This headphone is as open as it gets, so show room noise was a problem. But from what I could tell, both the bass and treble were excellent. Dynamics and timbre were quite good as well. Everything else was in the decent category for me. Since they were bragging about how easy this headphone is to drive and how great a portable it makes, I pulled out my iFi Go Blu and tried that. Strangely, it sounded substantially better to my ears. Everything was in the good to great category for me, and not just for being run on a tiny portable DAC/amp. I’d be very curious to hear this on a great DAC, and maybe a TOTL tube amp.

Meze Elite: I hadn’t planned to listen to this headphone, but I walked by their room on Sunday and there was a seat open, so what the heck. Based on what I had read, I didn’t expect to like this headphone. But I did. Dynamics, instrument separation and imaging, and bass were all much better than I expected.

Mod House Tungsten (Double Magnet): I didn’t get to spend much time with this, but came away really impressed with its dynamics, instrument separation, and bass.

HEDDphone 2 (off Lina stack): For some reason, I was expecting a sound signature on this like a ribbon driver. It doesn’t sound like that. At all. But I couldn’t get much of a sense of what it did sound like because the show noise was just too overwhelming when listening to this one.

Stax SR-X9000 (off Blue Hawaii): Based on what I had read, I wasn’t sure how much I would like this headphone. But I was surprised. Speed, resolution, and timbre were all great as one would expect from an e-stat, but dynamics and bass were also much better than I anticipated.

Warwick Aperio (and Bravura): I was very anxious to test the Aperio in Warwick’s soundproof booth, so I headed there first on Saturday morning. I ended up being the first listener. They wouldn’t let me listen to my own source, and none of their music selections were close to what I normally listen to, however. Maybe it was because I was listening to unfamiliar music or because it hadn’t had much time to warm up, but I wasn’t enthralled. The next day, I tried both the Aperio and Bravura at the Headphones.com booth. Ambient noise was more of a problem, but I was able to listen to my own music and that made a huge difference. Dynamics, instrument separation, timbre, and bass were pretty solid for the Aperio, and the same but just a notch down for Bravura. On my list to demo under better conditions.

Sennheiser HE-1: I have never heard such a transparent and realistic headphone. The gear just got out of the way. Resolution and clarity, instrument separation and imaging, and timbre were ridiculous, and bass and dynamics really solid. I really wish they made a cheaper version of this without the bells and whistles. I’ll gladly open the headphone case myself to save some cash. Sennheiser’s @ericpalonen, was also incredibly nice, candid, and helpful.

Spirit Torino Valkyria: Based on what I had read, I was incredibly curious and excited about this headphone. I gather some CanJam attendees weren’t very enthused about it. But to my ears, it sounded glorious. And that was off a Shanling M30, not Spirit Torino’s matched amp. I couldn’t get a great sense of its resolution and detail given the show noise, but speed, dynamics, instrument separation and imaging, timbre (especially), and bass all blew me away. I went back and listened a second day, and loved it again. I would love to hear this off a TOTL amp. This was one of the highlights of the show for me.

Non-Gear-Related-Thoughts: I came to CanJam on a mission to try gear and that, combined with my misanthropic nature, meant I didn’t socialize as much as I should have. But I met a fellow head-fi’er from my neck of the woods for breakfast, which was great. And, I arranged to grab a drink with Danny @SageM from RAAL-requisite. He has gone out of his way with amazing customer service for me so many times that I owed him. (I don’t want to get specific so as to avoid creating expectations that might not be possible to meet for every customer, but let’s just say that from Danny, I’m confident you’ll get the best customer service you’ve ever had). RAAL-requisite wasn’t presenting at the show but Danny attended for a day as a participant. I expected to chat with him for 20 minutes since I know he needed to make the rounds. We ended up talking for three hours. It was great to get the backstory on RAAL-requisite and to generally chit chat about music and gear. It was a great way to close out the show.

Thanks to all the organizers for making my first CanJam an epic event!

*Playlist used: Syncatto: Patterns, “See You on the Other Side” & New Places, “Awake”; Night Verses: From the Gallery of Sleep, “No. 0” and “No Moon”, and Every Sound Has Color in the Valley of Night: Part 1, “8 Gates of Pleasure”; Rodrigo y Gabriela, In Between Thoughts a New World, “In Between Thoughts a New World”; Polyphia, Remember That You Will Die, “Playing God”; Strawberry Girls, Prussian Gloom, “Nightmare/Dream Sequence”; Yes, Yessongs, “Yours is No Disgrace”

 

[dleblanc343]

Finally managed to get my thoughts/impressions in text format. Issue is that it turned out to be massive so I'm going to spoiler it in case people don't want to read the large amount of text! I had a laaaarge list of items and knocked out a lot.

Spoiler: Warning: word vomit for Day 1

So, I figured I'd post my impressions for CanJam as this was my first one and I only recently just got back into the headphones hobby. It's been a few weeks but had some time to really write out my thoughts.

Thank you for the kind words on the W2022, there really is nothing like it out there. It's also very unconventionally different than our usual offerings, but I also believe it to absolutely be the statement piece of our 60 Years in Hi-Fi.

AWAS is very good, but more mid-centric, neutral/warm, but also great upper vocal presence and energy. If I can rank some of our more recent woodies from warmth to brightness it would be as such:


W2022 - W1000Z - AWAS (Sakura) - AWKG (Kurogaki) - AWKT (Kokutan) - W5000 Raffinato - L5000


Cheers,

 

[OnlySoMany]

Can't knock it until I hear it but it's a wild proposition for me to think the best pairing with a $17,000 amp is a $200 headphone.

Facts

 

[SemperMalum]

Thank you for the kind words on the W2022, there really is nothing like it out there. It's also very unconventionally different than our usual offerings, but I also believe it to absolutely be the statement piece of our 60 Years in Hi-Fi.

AWAS is very good, but more mid-centric, neutral/warm, but also great upper vocal presence and energy. If I can rank some of our more recent woodies from warmth to brightness it would be as such:


W2022 - W1000Z - AWAS (Sakura) - AWKG (Kurogaki) - AWKT (Kokutan) - W5000 Raffinato - L5000


Cheers,

For sure! They're an amazing, beautiful set honestly and sounds as gorgeous as they look. If I had unlimited disposable income, the W2022 would be the one for me.

 

[SemperMalum]

Follow up with Day 2 impressions. Less word vomit.

Spoiler: Day 2 impressions

Man, Day 2 was way more chill after trying out everything I wanted. Having demoed as much as I did on day 1 (or I imagine repeat CanJams) meant that Day 2 was way more about enjoying everything. I still went to sections and booths but had more time to talk and hang out.

Headphones.com Booth: went back to this booth. Actually had my JM headphones with me which I think a few staff listened to (mine are tuned warm though so not entirely everyone's taste). A lot of time though was spent hanging around and talking.

SJY at the Headphones.com booth area: Also got a chance to listen to some special prototypes from Jeffrey at SJY. Both are subject to change but there was the Umi and I believe the Horizon. The Umi feels like it bridges the gap as a planar with the really awesome detail, sound stage but has awesome bass. I don't think I'd need to EQ the bass at all in this case. They are a freaking great set and made me a huge believer. The Horizon, which I believe are the upcoming flagship from him which are a bass head's dream. I wish I had a chance to spend more time with them but they're definitely something to keep an eye on.

Audeze Booth Day 2: Had a chance to listen to a few in the line up including the LCD-X, MM-100, LCD-5 and the CRBN. Honestly, I thought the MM-100, especially for the price and performance, were the things that stood out the most to me here. My goodness they're a great planar as well. I think if I had a chance to EQ the LCD-X or the LCD-5, I probably would have gotten more out of them. The CRBN felt like an amazing competent headphone. But the MM-100 being at the price point it was punched way above its weight. I think it'll be a massive hit for people at its price bracket.

Did a lot of wandering and talking this day. Did find myself at the Schiit booth and had a chance to try out their new products (Skoll and Midgard). They were pretty good! Made me wish I had brought my own vinyl to listen to on their stack.

VZR Booth: had a chance to listen to their gaming headset. Played an orchestra track from the Dark Knight. My friend wasn't the biggest fan of these but I thought they would be fantastic for gaming; very good detail and imaging. I'd probably not pick them for straight music but it's a good alternative if you're not getting a Maxwell or something.

Abyss/Stax/Woo room: I came back to this room twice. Wow. I kinda wish I had prepared better and stayed in this room longer.

First time I went in, I was able to try the Abyss MR hooked up with the Tube Mini. They were absolutely good with everything. Swapped out pads as well that really helped tune it to my preference. Sat next to DMS who was enjoying a different set of the MRs.

I started realizing what the Tube Mini was, though, and was super curious. I feel bad for not asking if it was okay for me to use my JM on them but I was absolutely curious. They paired so freaking well with my JM Opus.

Questyle: Had a chance to try the Final D8000. Questyle's amp was also freaking gorgeous and I'm a sucker for transparent electronics. I really, really liked the Final D8000 but it was hard to say it excelled at any one thing. It stuck out to me as being very comfortable but everything else was kind of line with a lot of everything else I had heard. Not in a bad way at all. I believe I also listened to the Hifiman HE1000se at this booth or in this area but I didn't like it nearly as much as I liked the Arya Organic.

Moondrop Booth: listened to the Para and the Venus. The Venus was heavy but had a good balanced/neutral sound to them. I actually ended up enjoying the Para more though, as it felt better on the head, and I think their neutral signature works better with the bass response.

Crosszone Booth: Had a moment at this booth as well. The staff here were very nice. I listened to all three there (CZ-1, CZ-8a and the CZ-10) and enjoyed the CZ-10 the best for the warm sound. The others didn't have the exact clarity or natural sound I was expecting. I didn't really come away with the best impression here but would definitely say that the CZ-10 was very solid albeit probably at a price I wouldn't necessarily entertain.

Mimic Audio Day 2: Back here again but this time I got to listen to both the double sided Tungsten and the single sided Tungsten. I actually enjoyed the single version better as I felt the double's more neutral tone was good but not my taste. It was in that same vein of competent and very good at everything but nothing really stood out to me. The single sided version felt warmer and was more to my preference. I really enjoyed them. Long line of people wanting to try them out, though, so I didn't get to spend more time with them to get more of an impression of them but I would say that I like the Single ended version better.

Source AV booth: Nice guys here! I was getting a bit fatigued with listening but saw that they had the Sony IER-Z1R so wanted to try them out. Wow. If I was going to go with any higher end IEM, I could see this one being my end game for IEMs. Loved the sound from these as it checks a lot of my boxes.

Yamaha Booth: I did previously write about my experience with the Yamaha flagships but it bears repeating that they're great and the staff were especially accommodating here.

Special shout-out to the DMS Headphones. They're fantastic. Rough to look at for now but the potential is there. I love the low end on these but they do a lot of things extremely well. I can't wait to see the end results.

ZMF room: Came back and there were some Roon issues but it cleared up after some time. Day 2 meant it was less busy and had more time to appreciate the line up here. Listened to the Caldera and the Aeolus. Actually found that I loved the Aeolus the most. I also listened to the Verite Closed and enjoyed that set but found the Aeolus being as open but with incredible low end was probably my favorite that I tried in the ZMF room. The staff were super friendly. Also that JDS + ZMF amp is amazing looking. Really fun set up there.

Stax in the Abyss/Woo room: I didn't get a chance to fully enjoy any of the Stax line up here but listened to the Stax SR-009. That is an amazing electrostat. Details, mid-range, they were a beast in those categories. Was very surprised by how much I liked them but man are they expensive. It made me wish I had spent more time trying any of the others there but, alas, this was my last stop being heading out.

Overall: I would absolutely recommend going to CanJam if you're interested at all. I may even consider going to an out of state one just to meet up with some people that I know that would also be invested in the hobby. Only thing is that I wish I had been more assertive in talking/getting to know people but I did end up meeting and adding a few people on Discord through CanJam. Looking forward to next year's whether it's back to SoCal or to a different area like Dallas or Chicago.

 

[Nk1133]

Finally getting around to posting my CanJam impressions. Better late than never, right?

Disclosure: I don’t know what I’m talking about. Seriously, I became a lawyer so I wouldn’t have to deal with numbers, and I have no idea how any audio gear works. At all. And this was my first CanJam. Also, my musical tastes are a little idiosyncratic. I listen almost exclusively to technical instrumental progressive rock and metal, and acoustic guitar (my playlist for this CanJam is at the bottom). I have a theory that all audiophiles fall somewhere on a spectrum of “I listen to music to relax” and “I listen to music to be energized”, but most fall at one of the poles. I am decidedly on the “listen to be energized” side of the spectrum. You’ve been warned. FYI, I tested amps using my DCA Stealth.

Amps​

Feliks Audio Envy: I sat down at a dealer’s table and listened to the Envy Performance Edition. Frankly, it didn’t sound very good. Muddy, lacking in detail, not particularly dynamic. After all I had heard about it, I couldn’t understand what went wrong. I decided to give it another chance—this time at the Headphones.com booth with a standard edition—the next day. I’m glad I did. Listening to my own playlist through their Matrix Audio DAC and their DCA Expanse out of the SE output, it sounded like a completely different amp. Good speed, exceptional resolution and detail, very good dynamics and instrument separation, and top-notch timbre.




Zahl HM1: When I first auditioned the Zahl at the Headphones.com both on Saturday morning, I was told not to connect my own source. Using their source and music I wasn’t particularly familiar with, I wasn’t initially all that impressed. But when I switched to Class A from Class A-Servo, it was a shockingly different experience—everything came alive. (Apparently I’m in the minority, as the representative said most listeners preferred the Servo mode). Instrument separation and especially dynamics seemed to take a big leap forward. Drums were particularly crisp and hard-hitting. The soundstage knob also made a much more appreciable difference than I expected, though not in the way I expected. I thought it would expand the soundstage side to side, but it instead it pushed everything except the center back, or forward. With the ambient show noise, I couldn’t clearly recognize the effect of the bass and treble adjustment knobs, though.

Since the Rep told me I might be able to try my own source at the end of the day when it was less crowded, I kept circling starting about 5:30, but it was always being used. At 6:05 (after show closing), it was empty and I sheepishly asked the other Rep there if she was closing up or if I might be able to listen for a few minutes. To my delight, she said with a smile that if I happened to sit down and start listening while she was packing up other equipment, she wouldn’t stop me (thank you!). So that’s what I did. I went through my entire playlist with much less show noise. Speed was very good, and resolution, detail, bass, instrument separation, imaging, and soundstage even better, timbre as good as it gets. But really, it’s the dynamics that impressed me. And the Class A vs Servo, and soundstage adjustment, aren’t gimmicks. They’re actually really cool and useful, at least to me.




Mass Kobo 465: This is a phenomenal amp. It does everything right. Using my Stealth and my own playlist, speed is great—even better than the Zahl. Resolution and detail are fantastic (equal to or a touch behind the Zahl), dynamics stellar, instrument separation, imaging, and soundstage are great, timbre great (though maybe just a tiny bit artificial on some tracks), bass is great, and treble is very good. (I also tried the Mass Kobo with their show Utopia and Susvara, and it was impressive, but I don’t get along with either of those headphones as well, so it wasn’t as informative). There is nothing fancy about this amp. It doesn’t have any bells or whistles. It just sounds awesome.




So which is better, sonically, between the Mass Kobo and Zahl? I don’t know. I couldn’t A/B them at the show, and couldn’t even listen to them back to back because of lines. I’m pretty sure I’d be a very happy man with either (and, in fact, my Zahl order arrived a few days later!). The substantial cost difference and the extra features in the Zahl would have to be relevant considerations for most people, I would think.

L0rdGwyn Aegis: Special mention for this amp, which was set up in the ZMF room. I didn’t spend a ton of time on it, mostly because it’s a self-build kit and I lack even the most rudimentary of skills to assemble something like this, so if it was good, I would just be torturing myself. And, of course, it was tortuously phenomenal. I listened on one of ZMF’s show VCs, but I own the VC, so I’m familiar. The Aegis sounded just so . . . right. I want one. I’m jealous of those with the skills to build themselves one.

Headphones​

Austrian Audio Composer: First, let me say the reps there were super friendly, helpful, and enthusiastic about their product. For good reason. I was immediately struck by how comfortable these are. Light, perfect clamp. I can’t actually think of another headphone that’s more comfortable, in fact. Strangely, they were using a dongle DAC at the show—not sure which one. And it was plugged into their new Full Score One amp. This headphone is as open as it gets, so show room noise was a problem. But from what I could tell, both the bass and treble were excellent. Dynamics and timbre were quite good as well. Everything else was in the decent category for me. Since they were bragging about how easy this headphone is to drive and how great a portable it makes, I pulled out my iFi Go Blu and tried that. Strangely, it sounded substantially better to my ears. Everything was in the good to great category for me, and not just for being run on a tiny portable DAC/amp. I’d be very curious to hear this on a great DAC, and maybe a TOTL tube amp.

Meze Elite: I hadn’t planned to listen to this headphone, but I walked by their room on Sunday and there was a seat open, so what the heck. Based on what I had read, I didn’t expect to like this headphone. But I did. Dynamics, instrument separation and imaging, and bass were all much better than I expected.

Mod House Tungsten (Double Magnet): I didn’t get to spend much time with this, but came away really impressed with its dynamics, instrument separation, and bass.




HEDDphone 2 (off Lina stack): For some reason, I was expecting a sound signature on this like a ribbon driver. It doesn’t sound like that. At all. But I couldn’t get much of a sense of what it did sound like because the show noise was just too overwhelming when listening to this one.

Stax SR-X9000 (off Blue Hawaii): Based on what I had read, I wasn’t sure how much I would like this headphone. But I was surprised. Speed, resolution, and timbre were all great as one would expect from an e-stat, but dynamics and bass were also much better than I anticipated.

Warwick Aperio (and Bravura): I was very anxious to test the Aperio in Warwick’s soundproof booth, so I headed there first on Saturday morning. I ended up being the first listener. They wouldn’t let me listen to my own source, and none of their music selections were close to what I normally listen to, however. Maybe it was because I was listening to unfamiliar music or because it hadn’t had much time to warm up, but I wasn’t enthralled. The next day, I tried both the Aperio and Bravura at the Headphones.com booth. Ambient noise was more of a problem, but I was able to listen to my own music and that made a huge difference. Dynamics, instrument separation, timbre, and bass were pretty solid for the Aperio, and the same but just a notch down for Bravura. On my list to demo under better conditions.

Sennheiser HE-1: I have never heard such a transparent and realistic headphone. The gear just got out of the way. Resolution and clarity, instrument separation and imaging, and timbre were ridiculous, and bass and dynamics really solid. I really wish they made a cheaper version of this without the bells and whistles. I’ll gladly open the headphone case myself to save some cash. Sennheiser’s @ericpalonen, was also incredibly nice, candid, and helpful.




Spirit Torino Valkyria: Based on what I had read, I was incredibly curious and excited about this headphone. I gather some CanJam attendees weren’t very enthused about it. But to my ears, it sounded glorious. And that was off a Shanling M30, not Spirit Torino’s matched amp. I couldn’t get a great sense of its resolution and detail given the show noise, but speed, dynamics, instrument separation and imaging, timbre (especially), and bass all blew me away. I went back and listened a second day, and loved it again. I would love to hear this off a TOTL amp. This was one of the highlights of the show for me.



Non-Gear-Related-Thoughts: I came to CanJam on a mission to try gear and that, combined with my misanthropic nature, meant I didn’t socialize as much as I should have. But I met a fellow head-fi’er from my neck of the woods for breakfast, which was great. And, I arranged to grab a drink with Danny @SageM from RAAL-requisite. He has gone out of his way with amazing customer service for me so many times that I owed him. (I don’t want to get specific so as to avoid creating expectations that might not be possible to meet for every customer, but let’s just say that from Danny, I’m confident you’ll get the best customer service you’ve ever had). RAAL-requisite wasn’t presenting at the show but Danny attended for a day as a participant. I expected to chat with him for 20 minutes since I know he needed to make the rounds. We ended up talking for three hours. It was great to get the backstory on RAAL-requisite and to generally chit chat about music and gear. It was a great way to close out the show.

Thanks to all the organizers for making my first CanJam an epic event!

*Playlist used: Syncatto: Patterns, “See You on the Other Side” & New Places, “Awake”; Night Verses: From the Gallery of Sleep, “No. 0” and “No Moon”, and Every Sound Has Color in the Valley of Night: Part 1, “8 Gates of Pleasure”; Rodrigo y Gabriela, In Between Thoughts a New World, “In Between Thoughts a New World”; Polyphia, Remember That You Will Die, “Playing God”; Strawberry Girls, Prussian Gloom, “Nightmare/Dream Sequence”; Yes, Yessongs, “Yours is No Disgrace”

@Hiker816 Could you tell me how L0rdGwyn Aegis performs against the amps you've mentioned and which price point it competes.
Thanks in advance .