MY CANJAM CHICAGO 2023 OVERVIEW
It was a joy returning this year to CanJam Chicago. The venue has changed since last year, but the vibe remained the same: compared to its NYC sibling, the Chicago show offers a more relaxed and less crowded opportunity for extended listening sessions, and ample opportunities to reconnect with other wonderful community members.
With some exceptions, my main focus was to demo headphones and headphone amplifiers. As is now my habit, to create a consistent baseline, I carried with my AK2000 (with both XLR and RCA line-out cables) which I’ve used to plug directly to all amps in order to use the same source consistently. For the purpose of testing amplifiers, I carried with me my Hifiman Susvara headphones.
The following are my very personal impressions from the show, in which I hope to share my experiences and my impressions of the products showcased in the show, rather than offer any in-depth product reviews. I hope this proves helpful, or at least entertaining.
There were several exciting new headphones showcased at this year’s CanJam Chicago, such as ZMF’s prototype of its to-be-released closed-back mobile headphone, and the superb upcoming Mod House Tungsten. Several new IEMs, such as the Kinera Loki, and Noble Audio’s Stage 3. As well as several exciting new amplifiers, such as the first demo of Ray Samuel’s new B-21 Raider estat/dynamic amp, Sprit Torino’s hot-from-the-oven Amplifica Torino, and HeadAmp’s estat beast of an amp, the new Grand Cayman, as well as a prototype for a new CFA3 amplifier. There were also numerous product revisions, including the ampandsound Nautilus Rev 2 transformer-coupled amplifier, and the latest Hifiman Arya Organic headphones.
I sat down early this morning thinking I will do a short writeup, and as often happens to me, I find it is now late night (or early morning) and I’ve gone overboard. So, in order to help you skip my diatribe, I’m sharing below an index of all products mentioned here, so you can skip and skim.
But first, a shoutout to my dear Head-Fi friends, with whom I’ve spent much of these two days together, listening, eating, and drinking:
@HiFiHawaii808 ,
@Zachik ,
@buke9 , and
@NovaFlyer .. To some of the nicest people in this business, who remain community members at heart: Bevin and Zach (ZMF), Fumie and Jim (Noble), and Stephen (Bloom).. and a special thanks to the Head-Fi team that puts together these wonderful events:
@third_eye ,
@AxelCloris ,
@jude ,
@warrenpchi , and
@joe. It was also so nice to connect with old and new Head-Fi friends at the show:
@Skyediver ,
@genefruit ,
@number1sixerfan ,
@wazzupi , and many more.
DAY 1
- ZMF new closed-back (headphones - PROTOTYPE)
- ZMF/JDS Labs collab (amps - PROTOTYPE)
- ZMF Ultra Perforated pads (pads - NEW)
- Lithium Alkali (headphones - NEW)
- DCA Expanse (headphones)
- Crosszone CZ-1 and CZ-8A (headphones)
- Viva Egoista 845 (amp)
- Fostex TH900 and TH909 (headphones)
- Sprit Torino Amplifica Torino (amp - NEW)
- Spirit Torino Valkyria and Pulsar (headphones)
- Noble Audio Prestige (TWS in-ear - NEW)
- Nobile Audio Stage 3 (IEMs – NEW)
- Sennheiser HE 1 (system)
- Kinera Imperial Loki (IEMs – NEW)
- Meze Elite Tungsten with Angled Pads (pads - NEW)
DAY 2
- ampandsound Nautilus Rev 2 (amp - REVISION)
- Final D800 Pro Limited Edition (headphones)
- Double Helix Chimera (cable)
- Mod House Tungsten (headphones - NEW)
- Ray Samuels Emmeline II, B-52 (amp)
- Ray Samuels B-21 Raider (amp - NEW)
- Hifiman Arya Organic (headphones - REVISION)
- HeadAmp Grand Cayman (amp - NEW)
- HeadAmp CFA3 (amp - PROTOTYPE)
- Boulder 812 (AIO streamer/DAC/pre/amp)
- Sennheiser IE 600 and IE 900 (IEMs)
DAY 1
As is now my habit, my first stop was at
ZMF. Meeting
@zach915m ,
@BooUrns , Kevin, and the rest of the team now feels like a happy reunion.
You can always expect a cornucopia of exquisitely made headphones, as well as a dizzying array of amplifiers (to which I’m always drawn like a moth to a tube’s flame). ZMF has been launching new products at a dizzying array over this past year, and this show was no exception.
I was very excited to try out Zach’s protype of his
upcoming new closed-back headphones. Expected to be priced at $1k or slightly above, these headphones (to be named) are intended to offer a more mobile option, offering high sensitivity and low impedance to be easily driven by any device. Following ZMF’s recently launched Atrium Closed, an outstanding top-tier closed-back headphones (
my review), I was curious to see what will trickle down the product line. As you can see in the picture below, the new closed-back look retain ZMF’s quality of craftsmanship and esthetics, while offering a slightly slimmer profile. To accommodate that, new 3.5mm connectors will be used. Some components, such as the headband, will be sourced for scale, but the headphones will be hand built by ZMF. A portable carrying case will be added.
The headphone tuning isn’t finalized, but at its prototype stage already sounds great. Perhaps a bit of lift in bass and a slight damping in the lower treble may get it toward that ZMF house sound. I can’t wait to test the next iteration of these headphones when tuning is finalized. There aren’t really many great closed-back headphones at this tier and, coupled with ZMF’s outstanding build quality and brand following, I suspect these headphones will prove to be a popular gateway to the ZMF product for many consumers, and a popular addition for a mobile use case for others.
ZMF has introduced over the years several amp collaborations. Earlier this year, they launched the wonderful Decware//Reference ZMF TOL (
my review). Next up is the new
ZMF/JDS Labs amp collaboration, is a new solid date amplifier expected to be released imminently. Some small design tweaks are still expected but what you see below is the near-finished product. With (but of course..) wood paneling, the chassis cover is reminiscent of an aircraft hangar, or perhaps an old radio, and offers a small and minimalist desktop-friendly footprint. Very cool. A cool Vu meter upfront wraps up the retro vibe. Feature wise, the most notable is an impedance selector upfront to ideally match both low and high impedance headphones. For those looking for a great one-and-done amp solution for all ZMF headphones, this may be worth consideration.
Sound wise, I tested it with both the new closed-back prototype, as well as with the AC and AO, and found it offers very clear and neutral amplification.
Following the launch of the Caldera headphones late last year (
my review), a new line of “Caldera” pads has been introduced. Most recently, ZMF added the
Caldera Lambskin Ultra Perforated pads to this lineup. Unlike the other Caldera pads, which are perforated on their outside and head-facing rims but solid on the inside, the Ultra Perf pads are perforated throughout. I’ve heard mention that these pads work well with the Atrium Open and was curious to try that combo. I found that not only do they work well but may possibly sound even better than the on the Atrium Open then the current stock pads (Universe Lambskin Perforated), offering a slightly better resolution for mid bass while increasing air and soundstage even further. I took a pair home with me and have been happily listening to this combo all day as I type these notes!
Last but not least, I always have a blast listening to the many amplifiers at the ZMF room. Zach’s personal Airmid (made by
@L0rdGwyn ) was there. This OTL amp (alas, unobtanium
) is possibly my personal all-time favorite. With ZMF dynamic headphones, it has the most expansive soundstage of any amp I know.
I also had to take a picture of the Decware/ZMF OTL side by side with the Decware Taboo (a stellar combo when the former is used as a preamp into the latter). Zach rolled in a couple of monster Elrog rectifiers. A moth to the flame and all..
As I headed out,
@warrenpchi tapped my shoulder. “You got to meet someone” he said. He always does that, and it’s always a harbinger of something new brewing. Warren introduced me to Dan Ruby, aka
@DeweyCH , the founder of Lithium Headphones. Dan was there showcasing his first fully developed new headphones, the
Lithium Alkali. It is really wonderful to see a passionate community member follow through on their passion and get into the business. Building a new headphone, from scratch. Ponder that. I haven’t listened to them enough to offer detailed sound impressions but, priced (and now available!) at $600, I can definitely say they are well made to find a healthy market. I can’t wish Dan enough success!
I next stopped at Dan Clark Audio to demo the
DCA Expanse. These headphones have many deeply enthusiast users, some of whom (and whose ears) I respect greatly. Personally, it is not for me. Something about its presentation seems too sterile for my taste, as if they had been tuned to a graph rather than to ears. At least, not to my ears. I do think that if you really like headphones that closely follow the Harman graph and want that super accurate tonal balance, these headphones can be an excellent choice for you, and I’d warmly recommend that you demo them. I tend to seek more “character” and body in my headphones, it’s just my bias.
Quickly getting out of the way the only other products at the show that didn’t jive with me, I tried the Crosszone headphones at Mimic Audio’s (wonderful, wonderful) stand. These are some serious odd ducks. The
Crosszone CZ-8A sounded to me more like en entry level headphone and I was surprised to find it priced a $2,000.
The
Crosszone CZ-1 are unique dual driver headphones (meant to mimic the concept of separate twitter and woofer drivers of a speaker). Priced at $2,500 they are positioned to compete with higher end headphones. Regrettably, I found their tuning is rather wonky and took them off after a couple of minutes. With that out of the way, it was sonic bliss from here on.
I’ve heard the
Viva Egoista 845 at CanJam NYC earlier this year and I was excited to give it a second listen. This massive unit is made in Italy and looks the part. A real eye candy (including those massive output tubes). It is also massively expensive at $18,000 if I recall correctly. Leaving aside the aspect of value, an always subjective matter, it is really an excellent amp. It drove my Susvara with ease, offering an expansive soundstage, with a hint of reverb and warmth for what was a satisfyingly lush presentation. I think if you owned this amp, you would divide your attention equally between listening and looking at it (and love doing both
).
I next stopped by Fostex’s table and gave both the closed-back
Fostex TH900 and open-back
Fostex TH909 a listen and quite enjoyed both of them. Offering a very enjoyable mildly V-shaped tuning, they are both light and super comfy. I don’t need any of those in my current stable, but I can see myself picking one up in the future for sheer fun. Because they are.
It is always a blast to reconnect with
Spirit Torino‘s perennial Italian duo: chief product designer Andrea Ricci, and CEO Giordano Zacchini. Passionate and gregarious, I love reconnecting with them every time.
A brand new Spirit Torino headphone amp made a showing at this show – the “
Amplifica Torino”. A solid state amplifier, it has the quirky design language of Spirit Torino (which I quite liked in this packaging). Targeted at around $3,000 if memory serves, this small unit offers 3 inputs (one balanced and two single ended) and pre-amp outs (balanced and single ended), and a gain selector. Most importantly, it sounded terrific driving my Susvara, offering a very clean and linear amplification. If you’re on the market for a solid state amp at this price range, this is one of two new commercial offerings introduced in this show, which you may want to put your radar (with the other being HeadAmp’s new CFA3; see further below).
I took the opportunity to listen again to Spirit Torino’s top-of-the-line headphones: the titanium-based
Valkyria and its younger aluminum sibling, the
Pulsar. There is definitely a notable tuning to these headphones that is engaging, conveying the feel of a live concert. I always lament their extraordinary price of $12,000 and $6,000, respectively. They are certainly built to value in material and craftsmanship, but imho are massively mispriced to gain traction. The Valkyria would have been a formidable and differentiated player in the vibrant $4,000-$6,000 market segment. Still, I will continue to keep an eye out. Who knows. Perhaps, one day, in a classified ad far, far away..
One of my favorites stops at any CanJam is
Noble Audio. First and foremost, Fumie and Jim Moulton, partners in business and life, are good friends and some of the nicest people in this business. Second, my personal all-time favorite IEM is the Noble Sultan. Something about the Noble house sound connects with me. And Noble have been furiously launching exciting new products over the past year, including the Viking Ragnar, Ronin, and Kublai Khan.
Putting priorities in proper order, Fumie shared with me some wonderful Japanese cookies. I am going to be chasing those in NYC specialty stores for sure…
As for Audio…
Noble showcased two new products at this show: Prestige, an in-ear TWS which will be launched in a couple of weeks in Asia. And the just-launched new Stage 3 IEM.
I have had a chance to spend some time previously with the Noble FoKus Mystique, a TWS which Noble launched earlier this year, priced at $359. By far, the best TWS I’ve heard to date, with an astounding bass and very good resolution (unfortunately their passive seal didn’t fit my extreme use case of the noisy NYC subway). The
Noble Prestige has pushed the sound envelope even further. Priced at $600, they are positioned in the upper echelon of the TWS space. I was so impressed with their sound quality that I put my name down to get a pair as soon as they would be launched. One pet peeve: while charged via regular USB-C, the casing design requires a plug that is longer than market standard, so the use of a Noble supplied USB-C cable would be needed.
Noble Stage 3 is the company’s newest entry-level wired IEM, also priced at $600. It has 3 drivers: one dynamic for lows, and two BA drivers for mids and highs. The housing of these IEMs is distinctly smaller, which (to me) offered an unusually easy and comfortable fit. My good friend
@Zachik loved them and ordered a pair.
With sonic appetites satiated, it was time to tend to our corporal ones. For our first group lunch, we hopped over to Portillo’s from some great Americana and local fair, include a Chicago hotdog and Italian Beef. It was the perfect pit stop.
Sennheiser conveniently offered advance an online signup this year to demo their flagship headphone system, the illustrious
Sennheiser HE 1. By virtue of some good fortune, and the generosity of time of
@ericpalonen , I got to spend nearly half an hour listening to this state-of-the-art system. Made from Carrara marble, when the system is powered on, a lid slickly opens up to reveal the electrostatic headphones ensconced therein, while tubes silently and proudly glide upward from their hidden abode, like sentinels ready to take their shift at daybreak. This ensemble oozes with the extreme build luxury expected at $59,000.
An all-in-one system, the HE 1 was designed with full control of an optimized signal chain, start to finish. Combining tube and transistor amplification, it has high voltage MOS-FET amps integrated right into the headphone cups to avoid any cable capacitance between the output stage and drivers. The integrated DAC uses 8 chips (4 in parallel for each of its L and R channels). And the tubes are spring loaded and housed in that aforementioned Carrera marble for maximum damping and noise reduction.
So, how does it sound? In short, abso-f%#!-ing-lutely fantastic
@Zachik snapped this picture of me listening which I wasn’t aware of (thanks buddy!) which captured the moment so well.
It is my second time listening to this system, and so I relaxed into the music and listened to several full tracks across multiple genres. An unusual opportunity for a quiet, relaxed, and uninterrupted listen. As expected, this system is supremely resolution and offers fantastic imaging and an expansive soundstage. But what really got me was, first, its timbre. I’ve seen some folks walking out of this demo euphoric and others underwhelmed. I suspect the latter were expecting a unique trick or sound signature. Rather, the HE 1 is unique in its utter fidelity. No party tricks. Everything just sounds very real. Second, the HE 1 has beautiful bass with just the right quality and quantity, which offers both excellent dynamic range for classical orchestral music, as well as great slam for pop and rock music that sounds natural and organic.
If you’ve never tried it, sign up for a demo at a future CanJam or where it may be offered. It is an experience worth having for any audiophile. I promise you will find the experience highly memorable.
My next stop was
Bloom Audio where I was happy to reconnect with
@stephenkostas . In response to my “What’s the latest worth trying?” Stephen handed over the new
Kinera Imperial Loki IEMs. Priced at $3,099, Kinera is now taking first aim at the top of the market. I really enjoyed them and found both resolution and, especially, soundstage and imaging to be excellent. If there were something I’d want more of, it would be a weightier bass. But I have a personal bias with IEMs that lean warmer than neutral (recall that my reference is the Noble Sultan) so I believe the Loki may be extremely appealing to most. Importantly, I haven’t tried tip rolling, which may have a substantial impact on bass tuning. I will try to do that next time I demo it. I do highly recommend giving these a listen.
Next I tried the
Meze Elite with the new Angled Pads, now available in Tungsten matt color scheme alongside the original shiny Aluminum color. I’ve briefly owned the Elite before letting them go; I appreciated their sound and stellar design, but they lacked the excitement and emotional connection to the music I need. Therefore, I was really delighted to find the new Angled Pads making a massive improvement for me. So much so that I was contemplating getting a pair at that moment. The angled pads are made from Alcantara and angled with the thicker part facing toward the back of the ear and the thinner part to the front. Meze has the best pad rolling system I’ve seen on any headphones, it’s just so ridiculously easy to snap pads on and off. Hats off to their design ingenuity. Sonically, with these pads, I got more air and a better soundstage and, most important to me, a meatier and presentation of the mids which I was previously craving. Well done!
We were getting hungry again and it was time for another group dinner, this time at Kura Revolving Sushi Bar. Watching
@HiFiHawaii808 happily put our orders on the tablet overhead, and then gleefully intercepting our plates flying off the conveyor belt, was an absolute riot. It cracked us up.
DAY 2
I started off the second day at
Mimic Audio which had one of the best selections in this show, featuring a stellar assortment of higher-end products. A big thanks to Chris for humoring my requests and sharing his insights. Accompanied by
@HiFiHawaii808 , we started with the recently upgraded
ampandsound Nautilus Rev 2. This transformer-coupled beast of an amp - driven by a pair of KT88’s output tubes, a high gain 12AX7 input tube, and a pair of 5AR4 rectifier tubes - can drive any headphones with great control awing to its gobs of linear power (note: the Nautilus is also an integrated amplifier with 8 ohm speaker taps). To my understanding, upgrades in this revision were made to the power supply and in better custom hand-wound output transformers.
Memory based comparisons are challenging, but my perception is that this was a notable upgrade. I loved this amp! So much so that I started running hypotheticals in my head to figure out where I would put it at home (nowhere, unless 3 of my current 5 tubes amps made room, and that isn’t happening
). If you are considering a single top-tier amp that could drive any headphones, try to get a demo of this unit (price $11,000).
Chris had on hand a pair of
Final D800 Pro Limited Edition which he said was the last one available of that limited batch of 200 (presumably, since sold). I switched from the Susvara and put these on. Truly wonderful headphones, with excellent technicalities and a slightly warmer and denser tone compared to the Susvara. These days, I enjoy the Caldera for its warm tuning and weightier notes, and the Susvara for its effortless speed and excellent imaging and resolution. But if I were looking for a single great planar headphone set, this would be placed right in the middle of those attributes and potentially offer a great singular option. I might venture a guess that this model may become sought after on the secondary market in future years.
Connected to these was the massive
Double Helix Chimera headphone cable, the top of the spear in Double Helix’s quiver of exotic handcrafted high-end cables. This one was Chris’ personal cable. He shared with us that this product was born out of him commissioning it as a custom build from Peter at Double Helix. The cable is made of a mix of separate threads of copper, silver, and gold. Massive, yet very pliable and ergonomic, it will set you back a modest $4,000 for a 6’ length. Put differently, it costs as much as some of the most expensive headphones out there.
Leaving aside question of value (again, a question to which the correct answer is only relevant in the eyes of the beholder), I was really curious to test what marginal impact such a cable could make. I had a real opportunity: ealry morning with the who show floor quiet, my revealing Susvara connected to the excellent Nautilus amplifier, and the cable I happen to have brought with me by chance was the Double Helix entry-level Molecule SE (a very thin cable that it very convenient on the go). Could I perceive the difference between Double Helix lower and highest tier cables?
The answer to this must be preceded with the massive caveat that this was a totally non-blind test, screaming with bias. But, to my biased self, the answer was a yes. Most notable to my perception, the soundstage felt expanded in a very satisfying way.
@HiFiHawaii808 has a famously low threshold of resistance and, to both my regret and big relief, cut a quick deal and bought that cable on the spot. Thank you Jim. You are a true friend.
The best at Mimic was saved to last. Chris handed over to me a pair of headphones and said “try these”. Explaining these were the
Mod House Tungsten, new headphones that would shortly be released. Well built, with comfortable and plush pads, I plugged them into the Nautilus and gave them spin. I believe that this was the quickest headphone purchase I ever minute. 3 minutes revealed what was one of the best resolving and tuned headphones I’ve listened to. Priced at $1,500, I will venture to say that the Tungsten easily compete with headphones in the $3,000-$6,000 segment. A very big statement from a very short listen (well, I did stick around for quite bit more after to enjoy them
). I put my name down to get a pair as soon as they become available. These easily win the best-in-show for value to price! One cautionary note to the trigger happy: these headphones are hard to drive. Hard. I don’t know whether their sensitivity specs would show them to be in the 70s or the 80s dB/mW range, but on the Nautilus the volume knob was around where I had it for the Susvara. Make sure you have a powerful amp when you get them. That said, driven by a great amp, the Tungsten exhibits superb technicalities, timbre, and tonal balance. Did I say I liked them?
Right next to Mimic was
Ray Samuels Audio which I’ve earmarked as a priority stop for this show. I have never previously had the privilege of listening to a Ray Samuels’ amplifier but was really happy to learn that Ray will be there on Sunday. I was very excited to meet him in person and find out what the buzz was all about. A fountain of knowledge, it was a pleasure to meet this expert veteran who continues to build some of the most unique headphone amplifiers.
Ray brought with him two amplifiers. Both share a two-chassis build, with a separate power supply chassis. My impression in talking to Ray was that the power supply is an area to which he dedicated significant attention in design and materials and. It is likely a critical contributor to what makes his unique house sound shine through.
The first amp I tried was the
Emmeline II, B-52 ($5,350), an output transformerless amp that can also be used as a preamp. For the demo, Ray brought to the show his personal set of the Sony MDR-R10, a rare treasure. In my book, it shows a supreme level of both courage and trust in the community. The R10 are low impedance headphones, which may seem like an unusual choice; but I happen to have a pair at home and know that, with some OTLs (not all) it can have surprising synergy. Obviously, this combo was chosen for a reason. To say that it sounded great would be an understatement. It sounded exquisite, superb, phenomenal! My R10 is the “bass light” version, while this was the “bass heavy” version, but they are rather close in tuning, and this was as good as I’ve heard these headphones.
The second amp was a brand new
B-21 Raider. It is a two-in-one product that offers both dynamic and electrostatic solid-state amplification. I have a general bias/prejudice of buying separate, dedicated components, finding for each user case the best in class. Consequently, I approached this demo with a grain of skepticism. And I was summarily proven wrong. After talking with Ray, I learned that these are really two separate amps placed inside a common chassis, and even the power supply has separate provisions for each of those amplifiers (as best I understand it).
I tested the dynamic amp with both my Susvara and a pair of Caldera. Both sounded great. However, I was mostly curious to try the electrostatic amp section. I tried it with both the Hifiman Shangri-La Jr. and Stax SR-X9000 headphones. I own the X9k and so I am quite familiar with them. I have also had the opportunity to try them on numerous amps. Therefore, they offered me the most useful personal reference point. Show conditions, new toy syndrome, and all other caveats in play.. to my taste, I’ve never heard the X9k sound better (including on my Mjolnir Carbon, Kerry’s fabulous T2, and Justin’s Grand Cayman). At this point, I started to perceive Ray Samuels’ “house sound”, a common thread of an impression I experienced across both his products: a certain tightly controlled bass, a “bite” if you will, with an excellent and grounded center image; coupled with a very clear and open presentation. I love the X9k, but while they have an unusually good bass for an estate, I’ve found missing a certain tightness and punch. For me, B-21’s synergy with the X9k was superb. For the purpose of conveying a feeling and sentiment, rather than accuracy, it felt like retaining all the benefits of speed, air, and space of supreme estat headphones, while coupling them with the grounded bass control and body of great planars.
Next, I walked over to
Hifiman to say hi to Roger. The
Arya Organic caught my eye and I decided to sit down and give it a listen. I’ve owned the Arya V2 and used it in high rotation over the course of a year or so. Roger shared that some of the HE1000 technologies have trickled down into this newest revision of the Arya (I didn’t get into the details) and, esthetically, to my taste the brown/reddish wood accents are definitely a welcome aspect of that. Otherwise, the build and comfort are identical to prior Arya’s, which I have always found light and comfortable. The Arya Organic are positioned mid-tier in Hifiman’s extensive product line, priced at $1,300. The demo unit was paired with Hifiman’s EF600 DAC/amp (which I used exclusively as an amp).
I found that the biggest selling point of this new revision is their deep, tight, and weighty bass extension. If it weren’t redundant, I’d describe it as “organic”
. These are planar magnetics headphones that sounds planar. Great frequency extensions, and a hint of the traditional planar timbre (especially in the mids). I think that, at this price point, they are very competitive and offer a unique offering with a clear sound signature. They should appeal to those listening to rock, pop, EDM, and other bass heavy or rhythmic music. For those focused more exclusively on acoustic music, such as quiet vocals, jazz, or classical, I would probably recommend dynamic driver headphones.
It was nearing the end of the second, for which I savored a stop I knew I had to make with Justin at HeadAmp. I first tried the upcoming
HeadAmp Grand Cayman electrostatic tube amplifier at CanJam NYC. I will not exaggerate if I said that, at that show, demo-ing the Grand Cayman with the Shangri-La Sr. headphones was a formative experience. It was, in fact, the only combination that possibly superseded my then first listen of the Sennheiser HE 1. The Grand Cayman will be priced in the $15,000-$20,000 (to be determined) and, if one added the Shang Sr.’s $18,000, we would get a $35,000 system (give or take a few cents); to which we would need to add a DAC, commensurate to level, and this would get us to a similar zip code. Yes, the air is rather thin at the Head-Fi stratosphere.
Alas, neither HeadAmp nor Hifiman had any Shangri-La Sr. at hand. This left the Stax SR-9000K that Justin had for demo. I really liked this combo. But at this point, the top prize for synergy for the X9k goes to Ray Samuels’ new B-21 Raider amp (see my impressions above). But the Grand Cayman does edge out my beloved Mjolnir Carbon, offering a more organic and cohesive (less diffused) soundstage. If you are in the market for this amp, you probably have the Shangri-la Sr. within your reach. Consider trying that stellar combo if you can!
The Grand Cayman uses 4 Emission Labs 20B V4 output tubes. There are directly heated triodes that do not have direct equivalents afaik. Prior to the output stage are two gain stages rather than one, meant to reduce impedance to a minimum before the output stage. A plethora of 6v and 12v tubes can be rolled in those slots. Two rectifier tubes are used, one per channel.
Justin is still making small tweaks to some of the components. Nonetheless, pre orders can already be placed. This amp is nearly locked in, and what you demo will be pretty much what you would get.
Justin also showcased a prototype of his upcoming
HeadAmp CFA-3. The CFA-3 is a popular solid-state amplifier design, conceived by amp designer extraordinaire
@kevin gilmore and introduced to the market about 3 years ago. Built to date by a select small cadre of custom builders and the DYI community (see
CFA-3 Head-Fi thread), I believe that this would be the first commercially available build of this design. As a proud owner of a CFA-3 amp (mine was built by the highly respected builder
@Dukei from Sweden) I was quite intrigued to give this listen. Buying a product from a known commercial brand is a requirement for most consumers. While the quality/cost of a custom build is usually a healthy multiplier of its equivalent commercial build, the simple reality is that most consumers would not take this route, which requires patience and faith. Therefore, in my view, it is great that this fantastic amp design would now be available to a wider audience.
The CFA-3 is an extremely powerful single-state amp that is highly resolving, with a special strength in its treble resolution, which in turn offers a very airy and open soundstage. I use mine mostly to drive planar headphones, as well as to offer speed and sparkle to more bass dense or decay rich presentations.
Justin’s build is compact. The demo unit had a transparent chassis but the final one may be a traditional enclosure, or perhaps partially exposed. TBD. The heat sink placement is also not yet finalized. But the internals are nearly done, where most of Justin’s focus was on sourcing quality components (such as capacitors) and pm miniaturization. We discussed the shielding of the power source in this design; CFA-3 amps are so powerful that, unless their power source is put in a separate chassis, sensitive headphones are best avoided with a single-chassis build. Justin is confident he will pull this off. I am sure he will. The target price is around $4,000 if memory serves.
How does it sound? It sounded pretty identical to my custom built CFA-3. That is great news.
I then spotted the
Boulder 812, used at Audeze’s to demo the LCD-5. Boulder Amplifiers, based in Colorado, designs and builds high-end DACs and Amplifiers for the 2-channel market. I’ve been rather curious about this product since it was launched last year. This is Boulder’s first headphone system. Roon Ready, this is an all-in-one Streamer/DAC/Pre-Amp/Headphone amp, cased in a very sleek chassis which Boulder machines itself in-house. It costs around $12,000 with a clear aim at the higher-end consumer market.
The 812 spec of 200 mW output power into 32 Ohm seemed unexpectedly low when first published. Surely, a company renowned for its power amps that is making its first foray into the headphones space would not have such a lower ceiling. I’ve been wondering if that was simply because this device was really meant to be used predominantly as a DAC/pre-amp in a 2-channel system, with a headphone out added on as mere courtesy feature; or whether it was conservative number for some unknown reason. I tested the 812 with both the Audeze LCD-5 and Susvara. I drove the LCD-5 very well and sounded good with the Susvara, but without a lot of headroom. As far as the DAC, it is a proprietary Boulder design. Pictures of the unit’s innards posted somewhere online suggest it may be a ladder DAC.
The unit sounds very good. I personally prefer my Bricasti M3 as a DAC so I would find it hard to justify this price point. But, for what it’s worth, it is a truly beautifully built unit that offers great all-in—one functionality in a small form factor for the price insensitive (and, likely, to Boulder brand loyalists).
The show was nearing its conclusion, and my last stop was at Sennheiser. I wanted to try the
Sennheiser IE 600 and IE 900 IEMs. I like the sound of single dynamic drivers (having previously owned the Final A8000). I started with the IE 900 and, at its current promotional discount price of $1,000, found its technical performance outstanding. Very good resolution, clarity, and frequency extension at both ends. I can see why it has so many fans. For my own preferences, it was a little thin bodied.
When I switched to the lower tiered IE 600, currently discounted at $500, I was immediately hooked. It wasn’t as technically complete as the IE 900, but it was very good, while offering a thicker presentation which I found extremely enjoyable. It was the last few minutes of the show. I stepped over to Bloom Audio and placed an impulse order. I have seen received them (fast shipping!) and found that tip selection has a dramatic impact. Switching from foam to silicone, I found a complete seal and deep bass. These are really so much fun! Their only drawback are the stock cables that are somewhat plasticky and retain some memory. I do think these may benefit from a nice after-market cable. Time enough for that..
THE SEQUAL AWAITS
Flight delays were rampant post show, which gave us an excuse to squeeze one last group meal together (if you’re ever in the neighborhood, go to Kuma’s Corner and order the “Deep Fried Cream Cheese and Chorizo Stuffed Jalapenos, Raspberry Jalapeno Jam”. Enough said
). Thanks to Brent and Teresa for going out of their way to drive Zachi and me to the airport post dinner to our respective delayed flights. A classy send off. You guys rock!
The entire gang has since confirmed our travel plans for CanJam SoCal and I can’t wait to reconnect with all of you in three months, as well as with all of your readers in this wonderful community. See you all there!!
