2016 Tokyo Fujiya Avic Autumn Headphone Festival Report
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Oct 28, 2016 at 9:59 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 17
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This year's Autumn event, as usual, took over the upper half of Nakano Sun Plaza. Five floors and hundreds of manufacturers is nothing less than an overwhelming experience, and I could barely, and inadequately cover the manufacturers and products I was interested in. Meeting friends again was the most fun, as well as meeting people in the industry who had travelled from overseas to be here.
 
 
 
I met Ray Kimber, who has had a long relationship with Sony, who showed me what was on his Walkman. Have a look and see if you can figure out what was special about the track he was playing.
 
Then, of course, there are the locals, such as this weird guy who borrowed my camera to take a selfie:
 

Nathan (Shigzeo)
 
FUJIYA AVIC Store
 

 

 
Friday afternoon before the show is the time I always drop by the Fujiya Avic headphone store and check out what they have on display. They had managed to avoid having to rent a larger space by having the IEM displays on the outside. Also, if you want to sit down and listen to a piece of gear, they have a lovely chair and table space for that purpose. 
 
APEX Sangaku + Korg Nutube
 

 
Pete Millet, who is quite familiar to the older generation of Head-Fi members, if not the newer, contacted me to say that by lucky chance, he would be in Tokyo at the time the festival was on. He brought with him his latest amp which uses the Korg Nutube. Essentially the Nanotube is a modern, ground-up tube design which doesn't require large amounts of power.
 
Korg kindly offered to display the Sangaku on their table, alongside a display of other small amps and a pyramid of Nutube. Not requiring a lot of power, Pete could make it much smaller than usual. However the sound is not small -- with a touch of harmonic warmth, the Sangaku is a fast-sounding hybrid amp that delivers a spacious presentation with both HD800 and the Ether Flow.
 
 
 
To demonstrate just how low-power it is, Korg also had a number of amps, including a 9V powered portable on display. 
 
ALO Audio Vega IEMs
 

 
One of my first stops at the show was to see Ken Ball, whose Andromeda IEMs had impressed myself, as well as many other people. The Vega announcement had taken everyone by surprise and I was very keen to audition his take on a single-dynamic driver pair of IEMs. 
 
Suffice to say, they were way up there. It was the same instant great feeling I'd had with the Andromedas, yet with that dynamic driver kick added to the mix. Considering I'd only shortly before auditioned the HiFiMan Shangrila and Sennheiser HE-1 set, pretty much anything I listened to by that stage had to be pretty impressive, and these were.
 
HiFiMan Shangri La
 
  
L-R: Jude and George Tashiro (from Head-Fi Japan), HiFiMan Japan staff, Shangri La tube close-up.
 
On Friday evening HiFiMan Japan kindly invited us to spend a couple of hours listening with the Shangrila at their new office. Jude had brought his Chord DAVE with him, so we would get to hear the rig at its best. 
 
What we heard was an incredibly spacious presentation that reflected the stereo image of the music to an uncanny degree.  Putting on something like a recent Chesky binaural album (Alexis Cole or Macy Grey for example) the singer was spot-on in front and the instruments far out to the sides, as if they were in the room. What is more, according to Fang Bian, the design, which he has been working on for 8 years, still has a couple of changes in store to improve the sound quality even further.
 
MrSpeakers
 

 
Dan Clarke was joined this show by Cavalli Audio and the Ether Flow and C Flow were being demoed through a prototype Liquid Tungsten. The voicing of the electrostats has also been finalised, and Dan suggested I try some techno with them, as they are voiced unlike other 'stats out there. The sound is closer to that of the Ether Flow, and with the Liquid Lightning amp the pairing does a great job with techno and electronica, whereas it was a bit subdued for my tastes with acoustic music. However with a Blue Hawaii, which had at the last show, Dan reckons they are more lively-sounding.  Interestingly, they'll work at a higher bias voltage, so it will be possible to kick them up a notch or two with a suitable amp.
 
OBravo
 
  
 
Of all the speakers I've auditioned, my realistic ideal would be a pair of Heil tweeter-based ELACs, and my desktop speakers are ADAM ARTists which use them as well, so it has always been interesting to audition OBravo's headphones and IEMs which use those drivers. 
 
Reputedly the most expensive IEMs on the planet, the EAMT-1x, with their wood, metal and ceramic housing, indeed have a presentation unlike any other. I was expecting them to be bright, but the tuning was quite a bit darker than expected out of my AK380, so I reckon they'll require a longer audition to get a real handle on their capabilities.
 
Sonoma
 
  
 
With the researchers at Warwick University wondering what to do with 8 years of research, Sonoma, famous for their DSD-recording workstations, came up with the idea to use the technology in headphones, and the result is the M1 headphone system, a complete electrostatic rig. The High Precision Electrostatic Laminate can be manufactured very easily, and is installed in single-strator (rather than the usual two-side dual strator) mount inside the headphones. The amp outputs 1300V, a consequence of the single-sided design, and includes an ESS Sabre DAC. 
 
David Kawakami of Sonoma and Martin Roberts of Warwick Audio Technologies were on hand to talk about the system in detail. Rather than try and write it all down, I asked him if he'd do it for us, on video:
 

 
Even though I couldn't try it with my own music, as the prototype on display had stopped working when someone else plugged in their own device previously, the sound quality was very impressive, with the light, airy and detailed sound typical of high-end electrostats. What is more, they reputedly have a frequency response that is pretty much flat down to 10 Hz.
 
Given the whole rig is going to be $4995, this could be a single-purchase end-game option.
 
Van Nuys
 
 
 
The guys at Van Nuys have bags, pouches and accessories for just about everything you can imagine, and even if they don't, many of their models come in a range of sizes and can have numerous different accessories attached. As usual, they had a very small sample (I'm really not kidding here) of their range, mostly consisting of pouches for DAPs and other audio gear.
 
DigiFi
 
   
 
One of the coolest things about living in Japan is that you can buy a magazine with a DIY hi-fi kit. What is more, you can link the kits together to make a whole mini-system. DigiFi had a variety of kits and parts on sale, as well as examples of completed kits and systems.
 
Pioneer
 
 
 
The Stellanova system was once again on display. Controllable from your smart phone and available in multiple colours, it has a very minimal footprint, very much suited to small Japanese apartments or people who want an unobtrusive system. It also includes a CD ripper so that you can transfer all your music.
 
Wikia / Head-Fi Japan
 

Me, taking a break at the Head-Fi Japan table.
 

Myself, Ethan, Sean (Anakchan) and George. Photo by Jude.
 
Third_eye (Ethan), who is the producer of CanJam Global, came out to the show to meet everyone. We didn't forget to take him to Akihabara and fill him up with local cuisine. 
 
Ultrasone
 

 
25th Anniversary Jubilee Edition.
 
Spacious! With stunning wood and a pure silver inlay, they are beautiful headphones. Due to the queue, we were limited to 3 minutes of listening. Ultrasone seems to have taken what they learned from the Edition 5 a step further with these headphones. Typically for Ultrasone, the bass is quite prominent, but they don't sound the least like a pair of closed-back headphones. The main downside is that they aren't going to be as detailed-sounding as a top pair of planars or electrostats, which in their price range they would be more competing with. However they are a limited edition pair for people who like what Ultrasone does.
 
 
 
   
 
Edition 8 EX
 
CEO Michael Willberg Explained to me that they’d taken all the feedback from customers about the Edition 8 and upgraded the model to the EX. Larger all around, they have easily detachable ear pads with more space and a higher quality detachable cable that uses Lemo connectors. Underneath are angled drivers, first seen in the Edition 5 add to the S-Logic design.
 
This brings out a very spacious sound for a pair of closed-backed headphones, much like the Jubilee, solidifying the Edition 8 as the most premium closed-backed headphones available. While the detail retrieval and absolute lack of harshness didn’t seem to match other headphones in its price range, the heavier bass reproduction will suit some tastes much better. 
 
  
 
Tribute 7
 
Probably the first thing I noticed in the Edition 7 Tribute box was the included frequency response graph, which included the frequency response of the original Edition 7. 
 
After listening to the more spacious-sounding Edition 8 EX, and Jubilee Edition, the Edition 7 Tribute was a technical step back, with a more closed-in presentation. However, one thing it did that the others didn’t was make me want to listen through whole tracks. It had a wonderfully engaging, but not overblown sound. After listening I completely understand why it was considered to be something of a legendary pair of headphones.
 
 
 
Oct 28, 2016 at 9:59 PM Post #2 of 17
Part II below. Here's an intermission with a ... I forget the name of the character ... standing outside Sun Plaza who kindly posed for pictures.
 

 
Oct 29, 2016 at 3:50 AM Post #3 of 17
Noble Audio
 

 
John Moulton - The Wizard - had flown over with his wife to the show and I took the time to sit down and have a listen to his latest IEMs. 
 
The Katana is very light-sounding, more like a pure monitor with no bass emphasis at all. The new metal K10s were more to my taste, offering a greater degree of bass, though the treble is still quite strong. 
 
DITA Audio
 

 
It's always a pleasure to talk to Danny of DITA Audio and this time, not surprisingly, the discussion turned to removable cables. He had not originally intended to make a removable cable for his IEMs, but did so not just after much urging from people such as myself, but because people were cutting and modifying his IEMs to add a socket for them. As he'd rather add the socket himself, that is what he did. I have had a handmade version of his cable for some time now which I was using with my UERMs, and the lack of harshness when using it, especially with IEMs that have a brighter treble, makes me enthusiastic for what Danny has created. 
 
The DITA cable will, uniquely for an IEM cable, have a change-able plug system on the source end, allowing one cable to be adapted to 3.5mm, 2.5mm and even the new 4.4mm 5-pole plug, as well as others as required.
 
Focal
 
I couldn't not take the given opportunity to listen to the Utopias from a Chord DAVE, so I picked up a card for an allotted 15 minute slot. One thing I wanted to find out is if that speed I had heard in San Francisco would translate into micro-detail retrieval as well. 
 
In the end, the answer was "no", but in all my life I have never experienced a pair of headphones that could go from loud to quite to loud as fast as the Utopias can. Sudden loud sounds in the music come so fast that it's a shock. Even if the Utopias have a tuning that is not euphoric, nor a soundstage to impress like the electrostats I auditioned prior, what they do well they do like nothing else. 
 
justear
 

 
While they are not selling outside their single shop in Tokyo, their chief engineer, Tomohiro Matsuo has designed a new tuning, which he calls "New Monitor". While the original monitor tuning is very bass light, the new tuning has more bass and is more listenable, possibly closer to Ultimate Ears' old Reference Monitor.
 
Kimber Cable
 
I had a long chat with Ray Kimber (pictured in the first post) about the manufacturer of his cables, one of which I used in my HD800 S review. While expensive, it was interesting to hear the lengths (ha!) to which the cable is assembled to ensure it works reliably for a long time, such as removing air from the ends and injecting nitrogen to prevent oxidation of the wire, before sealing the ends permanently. 
 
Sony
 

 
Last show I was mightily impressed with the hear.on 100ABN wireless noise-cancelling headphones, so I was eager to check out the latest 1000X, which has displayed the Bose QC35 for Jude. Suffice to say, even just using my iPhone they sounded very good, so I hope I can check them out using Sony's high-res transmission, which is reported to sound even better.
 
I also sat down and had another listen with the Z1R and new Sony Walkman. Sadly I felt it didn't have a high enough volume setting for them -- personally I had much better results with their new desktop DAC/amp. Most of my impressions are in the Sony thread, but suffice to say I believe they definitely have made a successor to the R10, as long as you like the rather dark sound signature, especially with the very much DSD-sounding Sony equipment. Out of the desktop amp, the level of detail retrieval is right up there with at least the best I've heard through the planar headphones I own.
 
If you spotted correctly in my photo in the first post, I had a listen to a 11.2 MHz DSD file that Ray Kimber had recorded himself. That's something I wouldn't mind having another listen to on the full desktop Sony rig.
 
Ocharaku
 
 
 
The latest evolution of the clever Flat-4 design, the Plus, which uses opposing dynamic drivers connected via a tube, consists of two variations, one with a black tube and one with red. Each tube is different in length by 2mm, altering the timing of the drivers. Which tube is better depends on the length of your ear canals, which one determines by listening to each. That turned out to be the red one for me. 
 
The Flat-4 is still one of my favourite acoustic IEMs, and steady improvements to the design over the years have made it more enjoyable to audition each time.
 
  
 
The Donguri, named from its acorn-like shape has also been upgraded. The original features a "turbine" system of internal acoustic management and the latest version adds a second, smaller turbine right inside the nozzle. The sound with this was quite a bit darker but seemingly a bit more precise than without. 
 
Echobox Audio
 
 
 
Chatting to Tom Maciaszek of Echobox, It turns out that the item that had attracted the most attention at shows was bamboo version of their hip-flask-shaped player, the response to which saw them decide to put it into production alongside other woods. Another big change is that the player will be sold with Android 6, allowing native high-res playback. 
 
Kura Da
 
  
 
While this unique manufacturer has remained something of a novelty for many years, that may not be for much longer. On display was a prototype of a pair of metal headphones which housed nothing but the driver. Despite their table being located, next to a manufacturer of small speakers, which annoyingly interfered with listening, a short audition had this prototype doing some impressive playback, with quite a bit more bass than the design would suggest. 
 
Final
 
   
 
Fans of Final will surely love the unique sound signature of the new, 3D-printed and vented LAB II, which has much in common with other top-of-the-line Final IEMs. A carefully considered shallow insertion depth, almost like earbuds, results in a lovely, mellow presentation. 
 
For those on a more regular budget, the new metal FI-BA-SS was quite nice, though for preference I would have liked a sweeter treble.  The F7200, which fits a full-range balanced armature driver inside a metal tube had more bass than such a design would suggest and uses an MMCX connector.
 
Lotoo
 

 
I saw a member ask about the PAW Pico so I had to check it out. Devoid of a user interface, the Pico can be used as a basic standalone player, or better still, via Bluetooth to a smart phone where it will be controlled by a special app! No interface = no jitter and noise from extra electronics = better sound and the sound I heard from it was surprisingly good. Such a brilliant idea that I wonder why nobody else has thought of it (or if they have, why I don't know about it).
 
TakeT
 

 
New for the show was their Soundstage Activator, which consists of a 3.5mm plug and 3.5mm socket with a resistor built in, giving a small amount of crossfeed. This is related to another new product for speakers which allows variable crossfeed from stereo through to mono.
 
Sennheiser
 
  
 
Of course there was no way we were going to miss a chance to audition, once again, the HE-1 system. We only wish we could have done so beside the Shangri La, using Jude's DAVE. But we weren't going to ask and they would have said no, as they also did when I asked if I could use my AK380 as a source. Maybe one day!
 
Rogers
 
   
 
Spotting random prototype headphones on manufacturer tables has become par for the course at these shows, but totally out of left field were prototype planars from Rogers. Yes, that Rogers who make speakers for the BBC. And out of my AK380 they sounded very like planar headphones with a fairly even frequency response. 
 
Unique to the design are snap-on cups that seal off the back (and presumably change the frequency response in turn). 
 
Elekit
 

 
One manufacturer that is local to me is Elekit, that, as the name suggests, manufacture kits for everything from science experiments to audio gear. And their amps, all of the tube variety have quite a following. Some years ago I went with a friend on a factory tour. Their kits are sold by Victor Kung in Canada, with translated instructions.
 
ASP
 

 
Anakchan spotted that Analog Squared Paper, the small boutique manufacturer of handmade amps, had a DIY mod with a Korg Nutube. No word on how it sounded though.
 
 
 
Oct 29, 2016 at 7:22 PM Post #4 of 17
Amazing photos Currawong! Wish I could make it out to that show. Maybe someday..... What was your "sound of the show"? Anything new stand out for you?
 
Oct 31, 2016 at 1:17 AM Post #6 of 17
  Amazing photos Currawong! Wish I could make it out to that show. Maybe someday..... What was your "sound of the show"? Anything new stand out for you?

 
Overall, I think I found a lot more gear that sounded great than I had in the past. I'm not sure how much of that was luck and good decisions or if things are simply getting better. This all the more so because my first experiences were the Shangri La (soundstage and imaging out of this world) and HE-1 (detail and imaging out of this world) on respective days, so anything after that simply had to be excellent for me to be impressed. 
 
That all being said, notable were the following:
 
ALO Audio Vega: Instant "yes" upon listening. I'd been thinking for a while that the best possible IEMs (bar things like the KSE1500 and new Audeze iSine) would be a dynamic + BA combo. The Vega might just change my mind.
Kura Da prototype: Removes all the issues with open headphones by having nothing the sound can bounce off. I want to try them again. 
Sony MDR-1000X: The A100ABN with the bass that was previously missing, and noise cancelling that works very well. If someone wanted headphones that would be good enough, but doesn't want to get into the hobby the way many of us do, these + a high-res BT Sony Walkman could be end-game for them.
 
  Did no one bother to listen to the denon d7200?

 
I missed Denon, which shows how overwhelming the show can get. A funny thing happened with the Denon guy though: This model came out in a cosplay outfit to be photographed next to some or other large anime character sign, or mascot, I forget. I went to take a photo and was told not to. What? That certainly discouraged me from wanting to go and see him to find out if anything is new and may well be the reason I didn't see the D7200.
 
Oct 31, 2016 at 11:27 AM Post #7 of 17
Overall, I think I found a lot more gear that sounded great than I had in the past. I'm not sure how much of that was luck and good decisions or if things are simply getting better. This all the more so because my first experiences were the Shangri La (soundstage and imaging out of this world) and HE-1 (detail and imaging out of this world) on respective days, so anything after that simply had to be excellent for me to be impressed. 

That all being said, notable were the following:

ALO Audio Vega: Instant "yes" upon listening. I'd been thinking for a while that the best possible IEMs (bar things like the KSE1500 and new Audeze iSine) would be a dynamic + BA combo. The Vega might just change my mind.
Kura Da prototype: Removes all the issues with open headphones by having nothing the sound can bounce off. I want to try them again. 
Sony MDR-1000X: The A100ABN with the bass that was previously missing, and noise cancelling that works very well. If someone wanted headphones that would be good enough, but doesn't want to get into the hobby the way many of us do, these + a high-res BT Sony Walkman could be end-game for them.


I missed Denon, which shows how overwhelming the show can get. A funny thing happened with the Denon guy though: This model came out in a cosplay outfit to be photographed next to some or other large anime character sign, or mascot, I forget. I went to take a photo and was told not to. What? That certainly discouraged me from wanting to go and see him to find out if anything is new and may well be the reason I didn't see the D7200.


Did you not hear the dita dream? As someone who loves the truth I would be surprised that you did not find the dream to be among your top picks if you heard it :)
 
Oct 31, 2016 at 3:54 PM Post #8 of 17
   
Overall, I think I found a lot more gear that sounded great than I had in the past. I'm not sure how much of that was luck and good decisions or if things are simply getting better. This all the more so because my first experiences were the Shangri La (soundstage and imaging out of this world) and HE-1 (detail and imaging out of this world) on respective days, so anything after that simply had to be excellent for me to be impressed. 
 
That all being said, notable were the following:
ALO Audio Vega: Instant "yes" upon listening. I'd been thinking for a while that the best possible IEMs (bar things like the KSE1500 and new Audeze iSine) would be a dynamic + BA combo. The Vega might just change my mind.
Kura Da prototype: Removes all the issues with open headphones by having nothing the sound can bounce off. I want to try them again. 
Sony MDR-1000X: The A100ABN with the bass that was previously missing, and noise cancelling that works very well. If someone wanted headphones that would be good enough, but doesn't want to get into the hobby the way many of us do, these + a high-res BT Sony Walkman could be end-game for them.
 
 

 
I'll have to track a few of these down to give them a listen. I might be in the market for new noise cancelling headphones next year so I'll definitely give those 1000X's a look.
 
Oct 31, 2016 at 6:53 PM Post #11 of 17
 
Kura Da
 
  
 
While this unique manufacturer has remained something of a novelty for many years, that may not be for much longer. On display was a prototype of a pair of metal headphones which housed nothing but the driver. Despite their table being located, next to a manufacturer of small speakers, which annoyingly interfered with listening, a short audition had this prototype doing some impressive playback, with quite a bit more bass than the design would suggest. 

 
This one looks VERY interesting
 
Oct 31, 2016 at 7:58 PM Post #13 of 17
Was JVC not attending this year?

 
Yes, they were. This report only covers <1/10th of what was there, maybe not even 1/5th. Another problem is, a lot of the really interesting stuff is hidden under-the-table. Unless you know the engineers, you never even know it is there.  Then there is the task of deciding which manufacturers are likely to have products that are not only new, but interesting, for me as much as anyone else, because there is just too much. By Sunday afternoon I pretty much don't want to listen to anything any more unless it is going to amaze me or it does something usefully unique (like the Lotoo, which I should add the Lotoo to Best of Show. It sounded way better than it looks). Then I have wanted every time to make videos, but they take time and many of the people there are not native English speakers and are reluctant. Then one always gets into lengthy discussions about everything with familiar friends and so-on. If only I had another day, or a whole week... I really wish I could do it once a month as this stuff doesn't stand still.
 
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