2015 CanJam @ RMAF Impressions thread - (October 2-4, 2015)

[HeadphoneAddict]

My son (HeadFanatic) and I arrived late, about 6PM, so we didn't get to see much today.  Got to say hi to our good friend Michael Goodman from CEntrance, as well as Jaime Harvey at JH Audio, and EJ at Westone, and my favorite gang at HiFiMan.
 
I did listen to the HiFiMan Edition-X headphones with my iPhone 6+ headphones and via CEntrance HiFi-M8 and was impressed during my first impressions.  I'd guess it's about 3-5db more efficient with my iPhone than my HE-1000, so the bass is a little fuller when un-amped.  With the CEntrance HiFi-M8 they have a bit punchier bass and spaciousness, and the mids with female vocals were nice and full.  Treble was crisp and detailed.  My son agrees with these statements.
 
I also tried a new portable headphone prototype that can go from open to closed, and these I think make a good competitor to the V-MODA XS and Sennheiser Momentum on-ear or HD-25.  The mids (with and without the rear cover to the drivers) sounded the same, with maybe a slight closed tonality, but it did not become pronounced even with the covers in place, although the bass seemed 2-3db more powerful with the covers.  I could use them either way.  I don't see that they would block much sound from coming in or out, like closed headphones made to isolate could do.  This could change with the design of the rear covers.
 
Overall looking forward to Saturday and Sunday, and I'm on a scheduled panel in the Westone room at 12 noon tomorrow, to compare their AK340 > ES60 IM rigs to a Gamut CD/Preamp/Amp speaker rig.
 
I really need to bug V-MODA for info about the Hi-Def M-100 and XS that they showed off last year too.  Planning to try out the CEntrance HiFi-Skyn and mini-DACport too.  I want to try out my JH Audio Roxanne and Westone ES60 with as many portable rigs as I can as well.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Prototype audiophile quality pen by AudioQuest (center). Suggested for use only at CanJams to take notes on high end gear. Expected retail price $499 for the silver and $899 for the gold. I haven't A/B tested it yet with the beyerdynamic pen or the Sennheiser pen. I expect the SennPen to draw warmer and deeper ink and the beyer pen to be brighter and more controversial.

 

[Bazile]

I expect pens to be the next hot item.  After all, the writing is on the wall...

 

[olegausany]

Lyrus audio




Model 9. Bright, clear, transparent, not a lot of bass, but very controlled. Anemic from the iPod, but much better bass from a good amp. Very comfortable headband, but my ears touched the speakers. Comfortable pads, but not quite thick enough for me. Not sure what thicker pads would do to the sound signature.

Overall, very hard to listen critically to open headphones in a crowded room, but this company will be a player.

They had two pairs, one with the darker wood, which I would take over HE1000 and other, with lighter wood, and I would agree are bright

 

[olegausany]

Lyrus audio




Model 9. Bright, clear, transparent, not a lot of bass, but very controlled. Anemic from the iPod, but much better bass from a good amp. Very comfortable headband, but my ears touched the speakers. Comfortable pads, but not quite thick enough for me. Not sure what thicker pads would do to the sound signature.

Overall, very hard to listen critically to open headphones in a crowded room, but this company will be a player.

 
Nice.  Did they have any pricing?  I'll have to check if website is available.

Yes they have office in Colorado and the price mentioned is 1800 and while They're on heavy side definitely not as heavy as Audeze including LCD4 which are still too heavy

 

[Allanmarcus]

oBravo was again showing the hybrid (AMT/dynamic) headphones.

To my surprise, they are also showing prototype hybrid IEMS too! One is a hybrid Planner / dynamic for about $900. The other is a hybrid AMT/dynamic IEM for $2400. Both sounded great to me. They must have very tiny elves to make them. If you are at can jam, they are worth a listen. Look for the Asian couple and a fairly bare table at the end of the second to last row of tables.

 

[doublea71]

Any impressions on the new Pioneer DAP? So jealous of everyone that could make it - have a blast, peeps.

 

[mikesale]

An interesting DAP I will be returning to today after only 5 minutes yesterday from Questyle

 

[mikesale]

 
Amazing conversation and listening at the end of the day yesterday with "Audio Zenith" about the PMx2. 
 
In my opinion, Alex is a "must see & hear" destination. His ability to express his thoughts and approach and the elegance of the design approach has been the most rewarding thus far. I hope to be able to return to do some more auditioning and putting the PMx2 upon the top of my list for next HP purchase.
 
I was able to do a direct comparison of the PMx2 with the new Dharma and was able to identify some distinct differences in a head-to-head on Female Jazz Vocals and Cello in about the 8k-10k range. The Dharma is definitely a comfortable and intriguing headphone, but for my money the PMx2 is possibly in a class with the HiFiMan HE-1000 I was able to audition at the local meet for clarity and technical resolution and, IMHO, even better for some of the brightness that I get from the HE-1000s that wasn't there on the top end of the PMx2. That said, I wasn't able to do sufficient auditioning of the PMx2, nor a h2h with the HE-1000 to come to anything close to a conclusion.

 

[jwbrent]

Anyone listen to the new A&K AKT1p headphones?

 

[RHA Team]

Morning guys!

Cheers to everyone who stopped by yesterday, great catching up with people and meeting some new faces. 
 
If you're coming down to the show today, be sure to come and check out the T20i!
 
 
 
Quote:

Prototype audiophile quality pen by AudioQuest (center). Suggested for use only at CanJams to take notes on high end gear. Expected retail price $499 for the silver and $899 for the gold. I haven't A/B tested it yet with the beyerdynamic pen or the Sennheiser pen. I expect the SennPen to draw warmer and deeper ink and the beyer pen to be brighter and more controversial.

Make sure to swing our table later!

 

[ejong7]

LMAO I can see it now the next subthread : Pen-Fi

 

[raybone0566]

Nice.  Did they have any pricing?  I'll have to check if website is available.

Around 2k for model 9

 

[AudiophileTL]

  Anyone listen to the new A&K AKT1p headphones?

I was able to listen to these with both the AK240 and my Luxury & Precision L5, though I do not have nay expensive IEMs to compare them to, I thought these sounded amazing. The bass in particular while listening to Billed Jean in DSD and some 24 bit hip-hop on my DAP was very full, clean, deep, and not too tight. I am a borderline basshead but hate it when the bass drowns out any other aspect of the frequency spectrum and I thought these had almost a perfect amount of bass. Not sure they are worth the $1K price tag though compared to my GR07 Bass edition (which I don't love by the way). Was not however very impressed with the other Byer-AK over the ear headphones, they were solid but nothing special listening to with the AK380.
 
Overall, in about 4 hours I got to experience maybe 1/10th of what I wanted to. Was extremely impressed with the Sony top level Walkman with the PHA amp or whatever its called, with their top of the line hi-res headphones, easily the best experience I have had with portable audio. That's an expensive combo though...

 

[Barra]

Wow, that was fun, but a long mind scrambling day where things start to blend toward the end.