Wanted to say a big thank you all for a great headphone event!
The exhibits, location, attendance and setup were perfect.
Okay I live close by but besides the general ease of getting there, Russell square hotel is a really nice venue. Great ambient match from the inside too, with the whole building similar to famous attractions like the Ritz and Harrods.
I learnt a real lot yesterday, and for me having been an audiophile for 5+ years it demonstrates a massive change. Back then blind buying was all there was. I remember spending (and wasting) hundreds of pounds/hours trying to decipher probable purchases. But now with events like this it's much easier, not just in terms of giant volumes of demo equipment at hand but also direct access to industry insiders.
So just a few impressions, and shopping list additions, from my few hours at canjam London.
Impressive
- Pendulum Stance S1+
Great design, fit, form and function, especially the volume dial on the side of the cups. Awesome!
This is probably the first wireless Bluetooth headphone I’ve heard and not thought about sound compromises.
- Beyer DT 1770 (250ohms)
I didn’t know this existed until I saw it on the table.
Quite a hard clamp, probably more than the dt770 80, this sounded very good as a closed back. Isolation was solid and the sound was involving, smooth and decently bassy.
Think they’re priced around the £500 mark, so a bit different from the DT770’s.
- JH audio Angie (universal)
The layla’s outside my price range, though the $1k angie is easier to swallow. Sound was similar to my sig pro’s (silver cable). Impressive in that it properly resembled a full sized headphone.
- hd klassik Headphone optimizer
I’ve come across the concept before, amps being optimized for a specific headphone (Beresford offered to do this for me). The active switch functionality was really good, meaning the amp could be used for any phone when de-activated (red) and when activated for that specific phone. The difference between active/inactive, with the HD700 in particular, was large, let’s put it that way!
Great talking to the person at the stand as well (can’t remember the name...sorry!)
- Questyle QP1R
Sound was fantastic, bettering my mp3 player probably more than the AK340. Build quality, dimensions and the volume dial all are fantastic, looking like something you’d buy from a department store rather than from a DIY enthusiast.
The UI probably takes time getting used to, though perhaps the scroll-wheel was at fault (wasn’t near sensitive enough).
- Hifiman HE400S
Brilliant headphone that I enjoyed listening to in quite a long demo actually! I enjoyed this listen more than all the other Hifimans on the table and hope to get one for myself soon.
- SpinFit silicone eartips
This could be my re-entry ticket to universal iems. For my phonak’s they didn’t have with them the correct size (lost at the airport I think!), though trying the tip elsewhere left me thinking this might be the solution to a 5 year long problem.
Interesting
- AKG N90
Was weird to see a headphone work like this. The resultant sound was good though not reference level, especially for the price. Overall the product felt like it was from an audiologist or physics lab rather than a hifi-store (though the color scheme atones for that somewhat).
- AKT5p
The bass is surprisingly larger than the standard T5p’s. Wonder what they did to it?
- MadDog Ether
I’ve long been a fan of closed headphones and came in expecting this to probably be the best. From quite a few sources, it sounded very good but not reaching the heights I thought it would especially at this price.
- Beyer T1 v2
As with the DT1770, first learned about it yesterday.
Quite a few positive cosmetic changes especially with the removable cable and some to the driver also (addition of a rubber ring I think). The cable is much more manageable and being replaceable increases versatility obviously. To me these sounded distractingly hard on the treble and a bit too splashy, though it could have been just this single headphone knowing beyerdynamic.
Above is a selection really, having come across much more worth talking about.
But all in all, a fantastic event and looking forward to the next one (even if it’s not in London!)
