I remember being all set to order the ALO Continental for my ATH-W3000ANV's back in July, but after speaking to the guys at ALO, I decided to wait to see what the fuss over their new Pan Am was all about. And I'm glad I did. The Pan Am is a neat piece of gear that I was able to audition two days running at RMAF's Can Jam 2012. On the first day, I spent time with the Audeze LCD3's and really enjoyed the combination. I didn't take notes, but distinctly recall how fun, lively and musical this combination is.
On the second day, I brought my ATH-W3000ANV's along and did A/B testing with the National, the Continental and the Pan Am. I was torn between the National and Continental for the first several listens, ultimately leaning toward the Continental by a very small margin. The National being the smallest of the lot is clear, quick, responsive, and everything you'd expect from a solid state. The Continental on the other hand, has a touch more warmth and depth; and although I'd hardly call it slow, the Continental wasn't nearly as crisp and quick as the National. I was hard-pressed to declare a winner as each has a lot going for it. And if your parameters had you opting for a more portable unit, I'd say you really couldn't go wrong with either.
When I rotated the Pan Am into the mix however, the depth and openness of it's presentation took things to a whole new level...as well it should. Now, don't expect it to replace a full-size desktop just yet, but for the ease of portability it offers along with a nice price point, it's a worthy contender. For full size headphones that you probably won't be jumping on a plane with, the Pan Am is really a super semi-desktop and/or move-around-the-house unit. And just what I've been waiting for.
As an aside, I was able to do an A/B comparison with all three of the ALO's using the W3000's and LCD2's. I wasn't nearly as impressed with the LCD2 as I had been with bigger brother LCD3 using these portable units. And switching from the LCD2 to W3000ANV seemed more of a lateral move than anything, with my ears leaning more toward the finesse of the W3000's with each of the ALO offerings. Of course, I would've preferred making the comparison using the LCD3, but alas Tyll Hertsens of Inner Fidelity was busy doing his own comparisons across the table from me. And just as I thought he was done, Tyll proceeded to film his interview with ALO's founder Ken Ball. (Yep, that's me in the orange shirt).
Peace