[genefruit]

what you all think about Spirit Torino’s flagship? Sounded very interesting to me. I haven’t made up my mind on it yet.

Were you able to make music selections on the flagship rig? When I was there, one of the Torino guys had the device in hand and was choosing the music and volume.

 

[Slim1970]

what you all think about Spirit Torino’s flagship? Sounded very interesting to me. I haven’t made up my mind on it yet.

It was very good, I just don’t know about $12k good. The Valkyria paired with the Sigfrid amp was indeed a crazy listen. With that said, I actually thought the amp was holding it back somewhat. I say that because the The Pulsar’s at $5.5k sounded just as amazing on a different amp. What got me with the Pulsar’s was I thought I was in the Canjam crowd when Andrea first turn them on. I didn’t think anything was playing. I pulled them off my head and said there is nothing playing. It was at that moment I realized it was a live recording being played through the headphones. I was in awe at the sense of realism the Pulsar’s conveyed. I never heard anything like that from headphones before. Anyone at the show, listen to both the Valkyria and Pulsar’s and report back. Both are amazing headphones

 

[fuhransahis]

Zach had SO many good amp pairings, it was easy to miss, lol!. My focus today is going to be hearing this Decaware OTL compared to the Glenn OTL Zach also had. Should be some fun listening comparisons.

If you happen to discover any pricing/launch info plz do share as well!

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Here is a cross post from the Watercooler which is where I normally hang out on Head fi. I have been busy with some other Headfiers including @goldwerger. We've been hanging out and he is very bad for me as he has introduced me to Electrostatic headphones. First heard the CRBN and didn't like it and then after the show, we got to hear to Stax SR-X9000. To me, this headphone is the star of the show, especially when hearing it paired with the electrostatic tube amp from Eksonic, the T2 and the M3 Pricasti DAC. It was rendering a 2-channel type experience. This system was spectacular.

So far, I have been pretty restrained from a lot of spending. I did end up purchasing a CEntrance Ampersand portable high powered amp.

https://centrance.com/ampersand/

This little amp is smaller and lighter than all of my DAPs and yet it can deliver 6 watts of power and drive a Susvara and 1266TC very well. This amp would allow me to travel with my Susvara or 1266TC.

Loved finally meeting Zach and Bevin from ZMF. They had well over 20 headphones of all types for sale and they had a lot of tube amps including their prototype collaboration and some custom amps. I already have bought the Verite Closed and Atrium in Koa wood. So, I used those headphones as reference sets and compared them against the new Auteur Classic. It is very nice especially at the $1499 price point. It is very competitive with HD800S and Arya in that price range. It has a nice warm sound and sounds great on their tube amps.

Went to Bloom and heard the Campfire Supermoon and Meze Advar. The Supermoon is technically very impressive and it is tuned pretty well. I can absolutely understand why @Rockwell75 loves it. I think its most noticable strength is its imaging and dynamics. Great resolution and you can hear every instrument with great placement on the stage. The only problem I had with it and the reason why I will not be buying it is that I did not like its timbre. I think this is just a personal preference issue and it was quite surprising to me since I love both DD and Planar timbre in the full sized headphone world. The Supermoon just sounded a bit unnatural to me at the same time I was very impressed with it technically.

The Meze Advar has to be one of the best builds of any IEM in the market today. It feels really nice in my hands. It has the traditional single DD sound and I found it a direct upgrade to my Oriolus Isabellae. I will probably buy one of these in the future for the combination of its great sound and great looks. But I am not buying it now because I have too many IEMs. I will pick it up once I reduce my collection a bit.

Went to Musicteck and got to hear the Fir IEMs again. It's so interesting how listening sessions can change over time your perception of IEMs. This time around, the KR5 was too bright. The NE4 had the best tuning especially with the LP6. I really love the LP6 and I am going back and forth on whether or not to buy it. It sounds a lot like the LP6 Ti 7AE. But Andrew tells me that the 7AE wins every head to head competition with the LP6. They sounded very similar and extremely awesome to my ear. My guess is I will buy one and get on the wait list for the LP7. Andrews says his wait list already has 35 people on it. This DAP is going to be spectacular.

This leaves us with the XE6. I liked it a lot more this time around. This time what I really liked about it is the bass impact. That is what grabbed my attention. All of the FIR IEMs have it. So, any of these IEMs would be great to own to get that sound. I would like to pick one up, but maybe I will wait until the next listen at CanJam Socal. I am very intrigued by the Stax headphones and my finally start going down that rabbit hole.

Also heard the Oriolus szalayi which is a tribrid with a DD, BA and Planer driver. I must admit, I did not like it. It was very bright and the sound was very incoherent. It looks like a Jewel on the faceplate but it's not the same.

The new Dita single DD is spectacular. It is a single DD with a big soundstage. I would like to A/B test the Advar and the Dita Perpetua. OMG. I just looked it up. It's priced at $2999 for a single DD. No wonder it sounded so good. I was really taken by this IEM because normally a single DD has a very small stage. Not the Perpetua. I will have to listen to it again. This would be my dark horse IEM like the Red Halo FE was at CanJam NYC.

I forgot to mention. I did a pretty extensive A/B test of the Orpheus cable with the First Time cable driven by the N8ii and paired with Jewel. My Jewel has the First times and the Musicteck Jewel had Orpheus. I put the same tips on both sets. To my ear, the Orpheus was slightly better. It tightens up the sound and makes it a bit cleaner and tighter. I would give it about a 3% edge at most. I was really worried that I was going to really love the cable. Fortunately, I did not hear much of a difference at all. I am not buying one. The cable is very nice to the touch. In fact, it is almost indistinguishable from the First Times Shielding which looks just like the Orpheus. I can see buying one if you just want a single IEM and you want the best of the best to go with it. For me, I would much rather buy an LP6 than an Orpheus as that DAP is spectacular and does far more for a Jewel than the Orpheus cable does and it's cheaper.

 

[Skyediver]

If you happen to discover any pricing/launch info plz do share as well!

Did talk to Zach briefly about this. Launch still up in the air based on Decaware due to parts supply chain issues (who isn't facing this?), pricing still to be defined but likely in the $3,500 area.

 

[goldwerger]

Here is a cross post from the Watercooler which is where I normally hang out on Head fi. I have been busy with some other Headfiers including @goldwerger. We've been hanging out and he is very bad for me as he has introduced me to Electrostatic headphones. First heard the CRBN and didn't like it and then after the show, we got to hear to Stax SR-X9000. To me, this headphone is the star of the show, especially when hearing it paired with the electrostatic tube amp from Eksonic, the T2 and the M3 Pricasti DAC. It was rendering a 2-channel type experience. This system was spectacular.

So far, I have been pretty restrained from a lot of spending. I did end up purchasing a CEntrance Ampersand portable high powered amp.

https://centrance.com/ampersand/

This little amp is smaller and lighter than all of my DAPs and yet it can deliver 6 watts of power and drive a Susvara and 1266TC very well. This amp would allow me to travel with my Susvara or 1266TC.

Watching your face light up as you heard those first notes on the X9000 was worth it

I’m definitely getting that one as soon as they become available. What a remarkable headphone!

 

[Python002]

Anybody doing ear impressions without the purchase of ciems?

 

[Christer]

It was very good, I just don’t know about $12k good. The Valkyria paired with the Sigfrid amp was indeed a crazy listen. With that said, I actually thought the amp was holding it back somewhat. I say that because the The Pulsar’s at $5.5k sounded just as amazing on a different amp. What got me with the Pulsar’s was I thought I was in the Canjam crowd when Andrea first turn them on. I didn’t think anything was playing. I pulled them off my head and said there is nothing playing. It was at that moment I realized it was a live recording being played through the headphones. I was in awe at the sense of realism the Pulsar’s conveyed. I never heard anything like that from headphones before. Anyone at the show, listen to both the Valkyria and Pulsar’s and report back. Both are amazing headphones

In my very strong opinion, NO headphone, absolutely NO headphone can EVER be worth 12kUSD except possibly for its weight in "Gold or Titanium" !
SQ-wise I have reasons to suspect it may sound as coloured and cheap and glary as it looks! I may be wrong as far as its SQ is concerned, but one thing is certain, I would not wear such oversized bright and shiny Ear Rings even if I were a woman!
This seriously overpriced toy, looks very suspciously geared towards the " RICH EYE-CANDY CROWD" !

Cheers CC

 

[Karnicopia]

This was my first can jam and I really tried to focus on getting my ears on as much stuff as I could which was actually really easy to do I just wandered around until I found empty seats listened to what they had available and after a few passes I was able to hear pretty much everything I wanted. It's just stunning the amount of equipment and headphones here you can really listen to whatever you are interested in and while I was expecting to have my home rig put to shame and in a lot of ways it was I was actually pretty impressed with how it holds up to some of the best setups I'm likely to hear. There's room to grow for sure but I wasn't embarrassed by the sound that I get in comparison which was a nice surprise.

Another good surprise was some of the ones that resonated with me the most were surprises to me based off of what I would have thought coming in and I think the two that really got me here were the LCD 5 and HE 1000 I'm pretty sure it's the SE but I am pretty far from an expert on them. With some of the descriptions of the LCD 5 as shouty I thought it would really get to me but I thought that was a stunner it had an amazing tactile feel and grip and just sounded nice and I heard that toward the end of the day when I was getting a little tired but just really enjoyed the sound out of it. This was at the headlamp booth and I also really liked the Real Circumaural here too that was another one that just seemed to do everything well for me. Then the HE 1000 I really enjoyed out of the Wells Audio setups this was one of the setups that really blew me away and may have completely shifted my thought processes in how I would want to move forward as I'm giving a lot of thought to picking up a HE 1000 now because of this and I heard the headphone on a few setups and just really liked it seemed really effortless relaxing and incredibly resolving and sounded great on acoustic music also the HE closed back (I think the R10p )I just really enjoyed that one as well and in general I really enjoyed Hifi Man. Then I guess the one I expected to like the Atrium out of the Airmid was one of my favorite setups of the show and going against the Lina stack that is saying something but that is an absolutely beautiful amp and I really loved the sound out of the Atrium as well really dynamic, musical engaging and I thought the treble was beautiful it had my head nodding and I also heard this out of a few setups including the GOTL which was also great but man that Airmid is special and I think one of my favorites of the entire show. I also really enjoyed the Stax 9000 out of the BHSE and the TC out of the Lina stack, I kind of felt like both of these setups were outside of what I am looking to spend but I really enjoyed being able to listen to them. Also was able to spend some good time with the Spirit Torino Pulsar and that was another one that I thought was really stunning it had beautiful lush midrange and really natural and dynamic sound that I really enjoyed and they all have me thinking pretty hard about where I would go next.

I guess CanJam left me with more questions than answers so far lol but it has been great and there is no other way I could have listened to setups like these it's just mind blowing the collections of stuff you can hear, there isn't anything in particular that I didn't like or thought sounded bad it really is just different flavors of high quality sound but it was cool to see what resonated with me and I think it was more noticing this. Some things is I wish I had a better set list of songs but I kind of enjoyed listening to what other people were listening to in the history and picking some of my favorite songs. I barely got to scratch the surface with IEMs but headphones was my main focus and I was able to hear everything I wanted. I'm sure I missed some but I may go back today and give second listens. The headphones ZMF has there are really beautiful they have a few Verite Closed there that I would one hundred percent buy if I didn't already love mine and really great stabilized but also just the regular woods as well. It's kind of cool that you can pick out your specific headphone with grain and everything without a wait or wondering what the end result will look like which is a great way to buy a ZMF. The discounts being offered seem really great too so I did stop by 64 audio a bit (they were great and I also really enjoyed Centrance booth) and may check out the other IEM's too more today but those discounts have me thinking a bit too. Haven't even messed with IEM cables but they had a great selection of those too but these are just lower on my priority list right now.

 

[benjifx19]

Sadly I didn't see the Meze 109 prototype set up anywhere. That was one I was hoping to get a chance to hear asap. But what I did get a chance to listen to I quite enjoyed.

The Diana TC with that Lina stack was indeed a lot of fun. Endgame stuff. Got a chance to sit down with the Atrium and Auteur Classic for 10-15 minutes each. I could've spent a lot more time with either of them. Both are great, though I'm probably more inclined to actually get the AC . I spent some time with the IE600, which I also quite liked despite not usually being able to handle extra treble. Another for different reasons. Lastly, I had a few minutes the RU-6, which is a really neat little dongle DAC and something I could easily talk myself into buying.

I was sincerely hoping the final 109 prototype was going to be unveiled by now. That is the inclination i got at CANJAM NYC. It is definitely my next headphone even after getting Empyreans. Sorry you did not get the chance

 

[Monsterzero]

but man that Airmid is special and I think one of my favorites of the entire show.

Its a fantastic sounding amp. With amazing transparency, esp. for an OTL, wide stage and musicality, its def a keeper. If you go back today ask Zach to let you hear the VO out of the Airmid. Theres a special synergy going on right there.

 

[wazzupi]

I second your preference. Listened to Atriums out of a few amps, as well as Verite at a previous show, and ended up preferring the Auteur Classics to both. I feel like the Atrium was more detailed and a better technical performer, but the balanced, mostly neutral sound and good timbre of the Auteur Classic really won me over.

dCS Lina was amazing, hands down the best digital source I've ever heard, completely transformed a track that I am very familiar with but until now thought had poor recording quality. I tested this track on a few multi thousand dollar DACs at the show and still thought it was poorly recorded. However it sounded much better on the Lina. Looking forward to trying out the Chord Dave tomorrow for a comparison. (Note: of course the Lina is objectively not worth the money, would much rather have a Panigale in my garage or several European ski holidays than spend 30K on some headphone system, I did think it sounds good though).

I really enjoyed the digital audio primers from Michael Goodman and Rob Watts. Although I did not understand some of the technical stuff they helped me understand why two DACs that both have "beyond audible" performance can sound different.

Third on auteur classic came away preferring it over the other vc/atrium

This was my first can jam and I really tried to focus on getting my ears on as much stuff as I could which was actually really easy to do I just wandered around until I found empty seats listened to what they had available and after a few passes I was able to hear pretty much everything I wanted. It's just stunning the amount of equipment and headphones here you can really listen to whatever you are interested in and while I was expecting to have my home rig put to shame and in a lot of ways it was I was actually pretty impressed with how it holds up to some of the best setups I'm likely to hear. There's room to grow for sure but I wasn't embarrassed by the sound that I get in comparison which was a nice surprise.

Another good surprise was some of the ones that resonated with me the most were surprises to me based off of what I would have thought coming in and I think the two that really got me here were the LCD 5 and HE 1000 I'm pretty sure it's the SE but I am pretty far from an expert on them. With some of the descriptions of the LCD 5 as shouty I thought it would really get to me but I thought that was a stunner it had an amazing tactile feel and grip and just sounded nice and I heard that toward the end of the day when I was getting a little tired but just really enjoyed the sound out of it. This was at the headlamp booth and I also really liked the Real Circumaural here too that was another one that just seemed to do everything well for me. Then the HE 1000 I really enjoyed out of the Wells Audio setups this was one of the setups that really blew me away and may have completely shifted my thought processes in how I would want to move forward as I'm giving a lot of thought to picking up a HE 1000 now because of this and I heard the headphone on a few setups and just really liked it seemed really effortless relaxing and incredibly resolving and sounded great on acoustic music also the HE closed back (I think the R10p )I just really enjoyed that one as well and in general I really enjoyed Hifi Man. Then I guess the one I expected to like the Atrium out of the Airmid was one of my favorite setups of the show and going against the Lina stack that is saying something but that is an absolutely beautiful amp and I really loved the sound out of the Atrium as well really dynamic, musical engaging and I thought the treble was beautiful it had my head nodding and I also heard this out of a few setups including the GOTL which was also great but man that Airmid is special and I think one of my favorites of the entire show. I also really enjoyed the Stax 9000 out of the BHSE and the TC out of the Lina stack, I kind of felt like both of these setups were outside of what I am looking to spend but I really enjoyed being able to listen to them. Also was able to spend some good time with the Spirit Torino Pulsar and that was another one that I thought was really stunning it had beautiful lush midrange and really natural and dynamic sound that I really enjoyed and they all have me thinking pretty hard about where I would go next.

I guess CanJam left me with more questions than answers so far lol but it has been great and there is no other way I could have listened to setups like these it's just mind blowing the collections of stuff you can hear, there isn't anything in particular that I didn't like or thought sounded bad it really is just different flavors of high quality sound but it was cool to see what resonated with me and I think it was more noticing this. Some things is I wish I had a better set list of songs but I kind of enjoyed listening to what other people were listening to in the history and picking some of my favorite songs. I barely got to scratch the surface with IEMs but headphones was my main focus and I was able to hear everything I wanted. I'm sure I missed some but I may go back today and give second listens. The headphones ZMF has there are really beautiful they have a few Verite Closed there that I would one hundred percent buy if I didn't already love mine and really great stabilized but also just the regular woods as well. It's kind of cool that you can pick out your specific headphone with grain and everything without a wait or wondering what the end result will look like which is a great way to buy a ZMF. The discounts being offered seem really great too so I did stop by 64 audio a bit (they were great and I also really enjoyed Centrance booth) and may check out the other IEM's too more today but those discounts have me thinking a bit too. Haven't even messed with IEM cables but they had a great selection of those too but these are just lower on my priority list right now.

Try out the spirit Valkyria titanium (there is a 6k version black) I thought it was the most impressive headphone at canjam.

Also where was the canjam after party !! Haha

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Third on auteur classic came away preferring it over the other vc/atrium

The Auteur classic is definitely a great headphone. I almost bought one even though I already own the VC and Atrium. Tonally, it's in between the VC and Auteur with it being a bit warmer than the Atrium with good bass, but not as much impact as the VC with arguably better tuning or at least more in the direction of reference. It is different enough to own all 3 headphones. I decided against it because I heard some electrostatic headphones that I really liked and I am going down that rabbit hole instead of deeper in the current one.

Try out the spirit Valkyria titanium (there is a 6k version black) I thought it was the most impressive headphone at canjam.

I will have to listen to it. The Stax SR-X9000 is so far my favorite headphone in CanJam Chicago.

Also where was the canjam after party !! Haha

https://www.yelp.com/biz/happy-lamb-hot-pot-chicago

We closed it down. I think Warren went there 3 times this week.

 

[wazzupi]

The Auteur classic is definitely a great headphone. I almost bought one even though I already own the VC and Atrium. Tonally, it's in between the VC and Auteur with it being a bit warmer than the Atrium with good bass, but not as much impact as the VC with arguably better tuning or at least more in the direction of reference. It is different enough to own all 3 headphones. I decided against it because I heard some electrostatic headphones that I really liked and I am going down that rabbit hole instead of deeper in the current one.

Imagine not naming said electrostat !! Share hehe I agree with the above. I really liked the new raal and at its price point I think it’s a steal !

I will have to listen to it. The Stax SR-X9000 is so far my favorite headphone in CanJam Chicago.

Oh wait is this the one ? Sorry I posted that before reading this

 

[ToroFiestaSol]

I agree. The T2 in particular was awesome and I made a point of listening to the Blue Hawaii and the LTA Z10e soon after the T2 and Aeras to compare. T2 won that contest hands down although I did like the sense of space the LTA amp imparts. The Aeras packs a lot of sound quality into a relatively small desktop footprint.

How does the Aeras sound compared to the BHSE? I'm sure the T2 is the best amp but the Aeras looks very intriguing, very elegant form factor and design.