Being my third year at RMAF, this trip was more about specifics and friends and less listening. While I hit all the obvious “must hears”, it was less rushed and more for fun. Feeling happy with my current HP lineup, this time around I was more interested in the holes in my current setup – mainly office speakers and a DAC that pairs nicely with my Eddie Current Black Widow as well as a DAP with better SQ than my current AK100ii. Been eyeing the Ygg given that it takes my BW performance to the moon compared to my Havana 2 DAC that limits the performance – too much of a good thing given the Havana’s tubes and the BW’s euphonics. However, I really want a speaker setup in my office too as HPs can be a pain to deal with when it gets crazy. Also been unable to adjust back to my AK100ii SQ after being part of the Aune tour given the superior performance of its $350 M2. Would have come home with the M2, but the gal working the booth said that she couldn’t let go of the unit until Sunday and I was only there for Saturday.
Overall Mood
As exciting as it is at an event as loaded with goodies as RMAF/CANJAM, the circus tent this year was a bit of a distraction. There were power fluxuations from the generators that burnt out equipment and made the lights flicker as well as made some have to reboot computers and struggle to find passwords. It was on a raised platform that felt like plywood under the rug so when listening, not only did you have a higher noise level, but when someone walking by stepped correctly on the same board your chair was on, it would launch you in the air a bit. Regardless, it was a fun experience anyways – one I really enjoyed. Had
@bimmer100 and his wife and
@miceblue in from Seattle, plus
@nmatheis from Portland who I unfortunately missed – so had fun checking things out with friends. Was bummed that
@Torq wasn’t able to make it too from Seattle.
Wow Moments
While some of these wow's I was expecting, many I was not. The Sony Walkman was the biggest surprise of hte show. These wows are contrasted next by disappointments, but here is what I liked:
- Spring DAC: One of my first stops was to the Headamp booth to hear the new Spring DAC that has been getting much attention lately. It is a strong candidate for pairing with my EC BW. Boy it did not disappoint, it has a detailed out of the way clarity that allows the amp to excel in performance. It was a beautiful build as well. Very, very interested in getting the DAC connected to my BW to see how it pairs. Here is what it was hooked up to:
- GS-X MkII: Never had much love for this amp in the past feeling that it was too bright for my tastes. While it was always paired with TOTL HPs, it made them feel bright and stringent too – not my preference. However, paired with the Spring DAC, the stringent bright was gone and the amp sung like a champion. It was the best sounding setup at RMAF except maybe the Ether/Cavalli Tungsten depending on your signature and headphone preferences. The GS/Spring was paired with the H1K v2 and was the best I have heard the H1K ever.
- Blue Hawaii: Again, have heard the blue Hawaii before and had not thought it lived up to its reputation, but now understand that appeal when paired correctly with the Spring DAC. Now, the blue Hawaii has girth and weight to the note allowing it to play pop, rock, and anything else thrown at it, not just classical music. Here is how it was paired with two HPs connected:
- Ether Electrostat: Sounded wonderful. The only problem I felt was that it was sitting side by side with the 009 which made the Ether sound stage seem small, and overall a lesser headphone. However, I do not know the price point comparison so this may be a moot point.
- Stax 009: I have always agreed that the 009 belonged above the TOTL HP status in the EXOTIC range, however, I have always felt that it was a one trick pony only good for classical. Powered by the spring dac, it had a whole new level of performance allowing it to excel with all genres – classical, electronica, pop, and even rock. I have a new founded respect for the 009 and would like to have a LCD4, Abyss showdown – winner take all.
- Sony: While there was a language barrier at both Sony booths, there was a mutual respect for the power of their products. While the previous products were nice, the new Walkman was probably the biggest surprise wow of the show. BTW, per the Sony Reps the new Walkman lineup will launch in November for US customers around mid-month. The product is finished and logistics/supply is the current stage of development.
- Walkman NW-WM1Z (Copper): WOW!!!! Nailed it!!!!! Finally another standalone DAP that does not need an amp – bonus, it last 30 hours per charge. While the Paw Gold had been my vote for the best DAP SQ ever, I think the WM1Z matches or surpasses it, with the WM1Z kicking its but in UI and capabilities. It seems to drive full sized HPs with power to boot with TOTL desktop SQ plus a 30 hour battery life and a world class UI. It ticks all the boxes strongly. Now my disclaimer – my Hidition CIEM is broken and I didn’t bring my full sized cans so I was stuck with an unfamiliar HP that may be driving some of this excitement. Did try an IEM that I had with me that I am not as intimate with and it sounded wonderful, but Sony did not have the typical lineup of CANs to test it with. Now this copper body makes the player weigh about 3 to 5 pounds – guessing not actually a real figure – which not everyone will like, but I love. It has the girth and the size that makes it useful and gives me confidence that I will not break it. BOTTOM LINE: if you are all about SQ – nailed it, if you are all about UI/ergonomics – nailed it if you can deal with the weight.
- Walkman NW-WM1A (Aluminum): Again - WOW!!!! Nailed it!!!!! However, this is a tougher call as the music was not all DSD like the copper and the supplied music seemed to be captured at low volume. At first I thought that the copper had a bigger amp, but not true, the only difference according to the Sony reps was the copper frame with provides better grounding and better premium cabling internally to take advantage of the better grounding – 4-wire braided Kimber kable®. Found a matching DSD song one both and played again and found the volume to be the same strong performance. While I like the copper weight better, the black aluminum is more my style and the performance seems to be pretty much the same to my ear. While the jury is out on the performance difference, I believe the price is supposed to be around $2400 vs. $1200 so the aluminum is what I would be buying.
- New MDR-Z1R Headphone: My concern in auditioning the Walkman lineup was that the HP may be driving my excitement. Felt great and sounded great, but again, unfamiliar equipment and no ability to hear on various equipment side by side with HPs I know. Regardless, it sound great and ergonomics were outstanding. However, I feel comfortable with what I own so I am not looking for new HPs.
- TA-ZH1ES Headphone Amplifier: Not so much. Because it was there and the Walkman was charging from it, I took a listen, but really didn’t see it adding anything to the equation. The Walkman was just good enough on its own. Moving on.
- ELAC Speakers: Walking through the halls and listening to $250K setups one after another they started sounded alike with different flavors. But I was surprised to hear that one of the rooms that matched the rest was powered by a $500/pair set of speakers – how can that be. So this year I brought friends and I made a special trip to their room to meet Andrew – the designer – to hear them with a more discriminating ear. We were not disappointed. But I was surprised to hear that he had a new model out.
- New: ELAC Uni-fi UF5 Floorstanding Speaker (Black, Single) $499 prime Amazon: Ok, where is he hiding the 15 inch subwoofer. While these are not the $200K each Focal Utopia Grande EM speakers, they could hold their ground against most speakers in the show. It was a small room and there was a little congestion in the setup in comparison to the other more elaborate setups in the more expensive rooms, but now I am just being picky. However, the rich bass response is where these really stand out compared to the others. Many rooms felt bass light, but the ELAC sounded bass natural which I can only do at home with a pair of 12 inch subwoofers in the system. These are definitely going to be added to my home office to complete my system.
- Ether Flow / Cavalli Tungsten: This was set up with two different DACs and Dan persuaded me to listen to the proper setup. However, the power dimed and we were locked out of the laptop driving the proper setup. So I started with the other setup and loved the sound of the Ethers, but not to a degree that trumped my current love for the HEX. The Tungsten drove a very liquid sound, but the bass still felt lighter than I was enjoying on the HEX setup. Overall, loved it, winner, most comfortable open and closed headphone ever. But I came back for the other setup later to hear the difference. Wow, where did all that bass come from? The unknown DAC from his hometown made all the difference in the world and made the Ether raise to a whole new level as well as the Tungsten. Now it is one of the best setups of the show along with the Headamp / Spring DAC setups. However, the price of this DAC about triple the Spring making me wonder how the Tungsten would sound with the Spring and how much further this may take the Ether. Anyways, it is a must listen.
- Empire Ears / Adel: This was a must listen for me after hearing so much about the Zeus and myself having an affinity for crossovers. My personal theory is that the SE5 and my NT6 pros top the TOTL CIEM list for so long given the lack of driver games and due to the 5 way crossover providing purity of sound at different frequencies. BTW, Jack was great – everyone should go by and talk with him as it is nice to know who you are working with as he gives confidence that he cares and you are going to get great service.
- Zeus R vs. Zeus R Adel: Wow for both, but they are very different with tradeoffs going either direction. My favorite in the end was the non-adel version given more definition and transparency at the expense of a little less sound stage. The airiness of the Adel module felt like air control added to the treble making some areas stringent and the bass while larger felt less controlled and detailed. Both are TOTL SQ, however, you have to choose your favorite in the end. The other value add of the adel was the ability to change up the sound at a whim, but I am not one to do this. In fact, I prefer not to have the switches that many are sporting now as I would pick a favorite and stay there anyways. Having heard the majority of the TOTL CIEMs at this point, I can comfortable say that these both are in a rarified group at the very top. My biggest disappointment at CANJAM was that I didn’t get back to the Empire booth as planned for another listen to complete my opinion and retest my feelings. Was also supposed to try some new adel tech that required the inventor to be there who was at lunch. Bummer, next year I hope to be able to try again.
- New/Protype Spartan: Unfortunately, I cannot remember if this had the Adel module. While I think it did as it was part of my conversation, I cannot confirm. Regardless, this was a new prototype that is not released and it was wonderful – another wow moment. It sounded much like my Hidition NT6pro – only 4 drivers 4 way vs. 6 drivers 6 ways. It had the same transparency and performance without having the NT6 extension both directions. My love for the NT6 pro is that it has less and bigger drivers doing the same job without the complexity of larger driver counts providing cleaner sound. This was what I felt about the prototype too. The Zeus is holographic, but there is a lot going on while the Spartan is about purity and simplicity which shows up in transparency and focused detail. I really wanted to hear it again and hear more about the pricing given its current $750 price tag. Wish I had time to go back.
- Aune M2 vs. M2pro: This was an exciting trial for me that I have been waiting a while for. The Aune tour allowed me to try the m2 standard and the b1 amp which rocked my world. It uses the AKM AK4490 chip used in the AK380 and the Caylin iDAC which I love both. However, it is being used in a setup that only costs $350 or $550 pro. This Aune setup unlike the AK380 is powerful enough that it does not require an amp. While I prefer adding the B1 to run my LCD2 it sounds great without and is not needed for my NT6pro to sound stellar. So top DAP SQ and in a stackless setup – all for $350. What has stopped me? Well, the pro is supposed to be a significant step up in SQ. So I needed to hear what I am missing for myself. The Aune secret sauce besides the TOTL Dac chip is the focus on the clocks. The pro upgrades to even better asynchronous clock chip for greater clarity. In listening the Pro was clearly a set up from the non-pro. But if jitter that the clocks correct is a unruly overgrown lawn, the M2 is a fresh cut lawn and the pro is a putting green. The pro is better, but the M2 is good enough for the LCD2 that has euphonics that will cover a lot of the difference up anyways. Decided that I will go plain rather than chocolate and save the money for a full featured DAP like the Sony Walkman copper, or more likely aluminum.
- iFi PRO iDSD: Didn’t really care about iFi, but both Seattle friends did so I ended up there with them. Wow, glad I did. The SQ was stellar and surprised me given that it uses a sabre dac that I despise. So I have to give credit where the credit is due. However, if I was going to choose, I would take the Cayin iDAC given the price and superior performance in the same form factor. Plus the Cayin iDAC pairs very nicely with my EC BW having been on the tour so it is in my DAC running.
Disappointments
With so much fanfare and so much promise, there are always disappointments in the auditions – sometimes due to setup, and sometimes due to performance, maybe bad location for auditions. Regardless, here are some of the headliners that did not thrill.
HiFiMan
Don’t get me Wrong, the HEX is my favorite headphone right now, but again, the music sucked, the HPs needed more breaking in limiting their performance, and the electrostatic star of the show was not as good as their lessor models.
- New HEX/H1K Cable: Loved the ergonomics, but was unable to test the sound difference given the demo headphones just came out of the box and were stringent. The new rubber feel is wonderful and feels like it would have better longevity than the old stiff version.
- HEX: Not being broken in, the HEX was very bright and stringent. I feel the HEX needs an upgrade cable to sound its best as well so the new cable may still be holding it back. However, @bimmer100 has one in Seattle that is broken in and loves it – plus he is using the upgraded cable. Will have to try it at our next local meet.
- H1K: The one at the HiFiMan booth had the same issue as the HEX not being broken in. However, there was one at the Headamp booth that sounded wonderful on the new Spring DAC/GSX setup, but that is another story. Ultimately, from what I am hearing, the only difference is the cable and the thinner design/cups with the same drivers so it is an ergonomic change verses SQ. Ergonomically, it was great but subtle and not enough to justify and upgrade, but first time buyers are getting a better product.
- Shangri-La electrostatic: While it is a great SQ that is produced, it is not my cup of tea. It is too etheric and too bass light to get my toes tapping and is outclassed by the H1K/HEX sitting right next to it. However, the design is beautiful.
- Supermini: It was ok, but gave me no reason to buy it over the competition.
Chord
Don’t get me wrong here either as I consider the MOJO to be a work of art, but my focus was on hearing the DAVE.
- DAVE: Don’t waste your time without an external amp. I heard it with the LCD4, sucked. A friend heard it later with the utopia, didn’t feel there was any reason for me to take another listen. This was a real disappointment for me given that this is supposed to be one of the best DACs available now. Chord presenters should have found a super-amp to pair it with to show its potential. Hopefully next year.
Nordost Cables
In seattle, Nordost cable are all the rage, especially the power products. So when I heard they were doing a/b demos in their Nordost room I had to hear and bring friends.
- Qv2/Qk1: These line harmonizers are all the range in seattle and my local group swears by them so I was expecting great things. At $300 a pop and multiple recommended, they are not cheap, but not expensive either if I could hear the value. So the demo allowed us to hear with 2 of each, then with none, then adding back two of the same, then the other two, all with the same song. This is using a very high end setup end to end with premium power and cables throughout. Needless to say, we didn’t hear a difference. But they are very pretty and impressive in presentation.
- Power Cables: Now we moved on to power cables listing to a stock PC cable and then moving to the Valhalla 2. Here there was an obvious difference that we can all hear. At the same volume level on the amp, the sound level increased noticeably going to the better cable. I had the same experience at home when trying out a high end power cable so this was expected. The not as noticeable difference is in the dynamics which go up as well with the right song. It feels like the power cable almost acts like a capacitor, but I am told it simply stop bottlenecking the current when it is called upon.
- Sort Kone: Finally, in the demo vibration management is another area of concern that Nordost addresses. We a/b tested the cones and again, didn’t hear the difference. Of course the presenter did and others in the room agreed.
Audeze
The LCD2 is my go to headphone and my favorite overall is the 4 with a great love for the X, so knowing them well, I didn’t listen to them. The disappointment is only for their new IEMs that didn’t wow like I wanted them to. I wanted an LCD4 style IEM for $600 – am I asking too much?
- iSINE20 In-Ear: Being my favorite HP manufacturer, I am going to blame my weird ear canals for this as I don’t typically do well with IEMs. I was hoping that a great seal was not required, but it is as I had no bass perception at all. While the Empire Ears demo kicked Audeze’s ass, to be fair, these are priced at $600 vs. the Zeus R $2K.
Shanling M1
It was not there to hear. Love the form factor and want to retire my Clip collection. If it can stand alone as a DAP, even better, but not expecting it to be my go to DAP, just driving some Bose speakers in the bedroom. Bummed to not find it.
Woo Audio
Being too far away from everything else, it wasn’t worth auditioning as I could not A/B the results. Last year, they were in the mix so I was able to go back and forth and really nail down what I like. Stellar systems like this need perspective or they all sound great.
Conclusion
So to keep it short, I will end here.
Until next year.......
