zexk
Head-Fier
I have never been to CanJam, but one question I always have is do the headphones get cleaned after each use? I can't imagine trying on a pair headphones with ear pads full of face grease.
CanJam Chicago 2023 Impressions Thread (June 24-25, 2023)
- Thread starter AxelCloris
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Python002
100+ Head-Fier
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Anyone know if there was a tralli to demo there?
Had a great time today! I only did a small amount of listening, so mostly social stuff today. Was great catching up with the various vendor teams. Looking forward to my demo (and purchase?) of the HE1 tomorrow.
I heard a rumor that someone is bringing the Shang Sr tomorrow, which I blind bought about a month ago, and don't have yet. So, if that happens, eager to hear them on a BHSE and the Grand Cayman.
Wish that Woo Audio, and a few others made it out, but man ZMF has an amazing presence, but Hifiman, and Headamp were no slouches at this show either. Thank you to the Head-Fi staff, and vendors teams for putting this on, and looking forward to more great sessions tomorrow!
I heard a rumor that someone is bringing the Shang Sr tomorrow, which I blind bought about a month ago, and don't have yet. So, if that happens, eager to hear them on a BHSE and the Grand Cayman.
Wish that Woo Audio, and a few others made it out, but man ZMF has an amazing presence, but Hifiman, and Headamp were no slouches at this show either. Thank you to the Head-Fi staff, and vendors teams for putting this on, and looking forward to more great sessions tomorrow!
Limiting my impressions to new release headphones:
Audeze Maxwell: Expectations were high for this one, and it did not disappoint. I knew that it’s more of a mass-market headphone than an audiophile headphone, so I played a lot of my favorite indie pop tracks that have less than perfect recording quality. The Maxwell presented them all in a very favorable light, with a forward and clean sound. Notes were well-separated and the headphone presented detail without putting a microscope to the music. Vocals were very clear and bass was high enough to be enjoyable with pop songs, but didn’t bleed into the mids. I was surprised that there was very little of the reverb/echo effect that characterizes closed backs. On the flip side, soundstage was fairly poor and notes did not have a great sense of weight nor impact. For a $300 “do everything” Bluetooth headphone I think the sound quality is much cleaner and more balanced than Bose / Sony / Beats and it will be my default recommendation for normal people who want normal headphones.
Audeze MM-100: The MM-500 is one of my favorite headphones, so I was eager to see whether Audeze could capture the high level of detail, laser-focused imaging, and balanced frequency response at a much lower price point. I can say they have hit their targets on all three counts. The balanced response with extremely clear mids is almost a carbon copy of its bigger brother. Instrument separation is amazingly good for the price point. I just bought an HD-660 S2 which I enjoy, but found that things get slightly blurred together. The MM-100 is around twice as precise as the Sennheiser in instrument placement and separation. Note decay is razor sharp as opposed to the more gradual decay of the Senn. That’s a quality I like, but I could see how others prefer the more natural decay of the 660 S2. Vocal tracks are where the MM-100 shines, but I did note that vocals sounded slightly artificial or plastic-y, depending on the singer, an effect not present in the more expensive MM-500. The bottom line is that in my opinion, the MM-100 is the best full-size headphone made under $600. The fact that it’s substantially cheaper than many of its rivals from Sennheiser, Moondrop, Hifiman, etc just adds to the amazing value.
Dekoni Cobalt: A bit of a miss in my opinion. Booth rep said they prioritized a balanced response and detail retrieval and cautioned me that it wouldn’t be bass-heavy enough for EDM. I think that to some extent the design targets were met, and it’s definitely leaning towards a neutral-ish sound signature. The problem is that it sounds like I am listening to nice speakers inside of a marble bathroom. The cup resonances are just too high. I actually wrote down “in the cave effect” in my notes. Sadly the Audeze Maxwell paired with my phone was better in every way than the Cobalt run off a decent amp/dac.
Lithium Alkali: This was a surprise. I had never heard of this company before today. I met the designer through random conversation and he graciously let me try his headphone. I ran the Alkali off the T+A HA200 headphone amplifier to ensure that electronics would not limit the performance of the headphones. I think there is a good base here that needs a little more development. The level of detail was very good, especially considering the $600 price point. I was satisfied with soundstage and image separation as well. The problem was that I heard a constant resonance / reverb / echo effect. I have no idea how this is possible because this is a completely open-back design, there is barely any material covering the back of the driver. However, the ear cup is about twice as deep as a typical ear cup. I’m guessing the deep walls of the ear cup may contribute to the reverb effect I heard. If this was eliminated I would rate the headphones as very competitive in the $600 price point.
ZMF closed-back prototype: Not sure what to call this one since there is no name. I only got to listen to one song but impressions were positive. I would rate the detail retrieval as very close to my Focal Clear. The sound was full and warm. Bass was heard, but I felt that the headphone would be a more enjoyable listen if the bass was boosted a bit. That’s just my preference, I only point this out to say that this headphone did not have overwhelming bass. As I listened to a bass solo, I found the transition between bass notes to be blurry, with the notes smearing into each other. The overall FR was slightly V-shaped, but as a fan of neutral headphones I still enjoyed this one. Overall, my listening experience was enjoyable and I could imagine them as perfect office headphones that allow music to be a beautiful background instead of attracting your attention with a false sense of detail or over-emphasized sections of the FR spectrum. If I remember correctly, the target price will be under $1000. I think the more under they get, the more attractive the headphone will be. At a $1000 price point it’s getting dangerously close to ZMF’s other, better headphones.
I’d like to give a big thank you to the ZMF team for answering all my questions. I purchased an Auteur Classic and they were very helpful in my audition process, pointing out different amplifiers to try and why they would / would not be a good match, as well as providing other models to compare. Multiple staff members helped me figure out which of the various woods would best suit me, explain some features of the headphone, the production process, etc. They really went above and beyond what I would expect exhibition booth staff to do and made me feel 100% confident in my purchase. I’m looking forward to buying more ZMF headphones in the future!
Audeze Maxwell: Expectations were high for this one, and it did not disappoint. I knew that it’s more of a mass-market headphone than an audiophile headphone, so I played a lot of my favorite indie pop tracks that have less than perfect recording quality. The Maxwell presented them all in a very favorable light, with a forward and clean sound. Notes were well-separated and the headphone presented detail without putting a microscope to the music. Vocals were very clear and bass was high enough to be enjoyable with pop songs, but didn’t bleed into the mids. I was surprised that there was very little of the reverb/echo effect that characterizes closed backs. On the flip side, soundstage was fairly poor and notes did not have a great sense of weight nor impact. For a $300 “do everything” Bluetooth headphone I think the sound quality is much cleaner and more balanced than Bose / Sony / Beats and it will be my default recommendation for normal people who want normal headphones.
Audeze MM-100: The MM-500 is one of my favorite headphones, so I was eager to see whether Audeze could capture the high level of detail, laser-focused imaging, and balanced frequency response at a much lower price point. I can say they have hit their targets on all three counts. The balanced response with extremely clear mids is almost a carbon copy of its bigger brother. Instrument separation is amazingly good for the price point. I just bought an HD-660 S2 which I enjoy, but found that things get slightly blurred together. The MM-100 is around twice as precise as the Sennheiser in instrument placement and separation. Note decay is razor sharp as opposed to the more gradual decay of the Senn. That’s a quality I like, but I could see how others prefer the more natural decay of the 660 S2. Vocal tracks are where the MM-100 shines, but I did note that vocals sounded slightly artificial or plastic-y, depending on the singer, an effect not present in the more expensive MM-500. The bottom line is that in my opinion, the MM-100 is the best full-size headphone made under $600. The fact that it’s substantially cheaper than many of its rivals from Sennheiser, Moondrop, Hifiman, etc just adds to the amazing value.
Dekoni Cobalt: A bit of a miss in my opinion. Booth rep said they prioritized a balanced response and detail retrieval and cautioned me that it wouldn’t be bass-heavy enough for EDM. I think that to some extent the design targets were met, and it’s definitely leaning towards a neutral-ish sound signature. The problem is that it sounds like I am listening to nice speakers inside of a marble bathroom. The cup resonances are just too high. I actually wrote down “in the cave effect” in my notes. Sadly the Audeze Maxwell paired with my phone was better in every way than the Cobalt run off a decent amp/dac.
Lithium Alkali: This was a surprise. I had never heard of this company before today. I met the designer through random conversation and he graciously let me try his headphone. I ran the Alkali off the T+A HA200 headphone amplifier to ensure that electronics would not limit the performance of the headphones. I think there is a good base here that needs a little more development. The level of detail was very good, especially considering the $600 price point. I was satisfied with soundstage and image separation as well. The problem was that I heard a constant resonance / reverb / echo effect. I have no idea how this is possible because this is a completely open-back design, there is barely any material covering the back of the driver. However, the ear cup is about twice as deep as a typical ear cup. I’m guessing the deep walls of the ear cup may contribute to the reverb effect I heard. If this was eliminated I would rate the headphones as very competitive in the $600 price point.
ZMF closed-back prototype: Not sure what to call this one since there is no name. I only got to listen to one song but impressions were positive. I would rate the detail retrieval as very close to my Focal Clear. The sound was full and warm. Bass was heard, but I felt that the headphone would be a more enjoyable listen if the bass was boosted a bit. That’s just my preference, I only point this out to say that this headphone did not have overwhelming bass. As I listened to a bass solo, I found the transition between bass notes to be blurry, with the notes smearing into each other. The overall FR was slightly V-shaped, but as a fan of neutral headphones I still enjoyed this one. Overall, my listening experience was enjoyable and I could imagine them as perfect office headphones that allow music to be a beautiful background instead of attracting your attention with a false sense of detail or over-emphasized sections of the FR spectrum. If I remember correctly, the target price will be under $1000. I think the more under they get, the more attractive the headphone will be. At a $1000 price point it’s getting dangerously close to ZMF’s other, better headphones.
I’d like to give a big thank you to the ZMF team for answering all my questions. I purchased an Auteur Classic and they were very helpful in my audition process, pointing out different amplifiers to try and why they would / would not be a good match, as well as providing other models to compare. Multiple staff members helped me figure out which of the various woods would best suit me, explain some features of the headphone, the production process, etc. They really went above and beyond what I would expect exhibition booth staff to do and made me feel 100% confident in my purchase. I’m looking forward to buying more ZMF headphones in the future!
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Thoroughly enjoyed day one of my second Canjam (after NY earlier this year). Highlight was spending time with the Noble folks and their wares! The Ragnar was just a tad too sharp for me. Ronin a great all rounder. The KK really stood out to me - absolutely killer bass & lovely highs. Very tempting!
No sign of a Trailli - had my eye out for one, and/or the Mentor, and didn’t see either unfortunately! Knew it was unlikely based on the vendor list.
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Everyone who has come through to listen to the HE 1 has been an absolute joy to talk to...from musical preferences, line of work, passion for sound, other gear to try, where they are from, life stories, etc etc...sort of like a campfire chat but with the glow of tubes instead of an open flame. Rock on Head-Fi!
great to meet you Eric, was really fun connecting in person.
The HE1 demo was a blast (and such a lucky break to get 25 min of quiet listening time). Will share more with my overall CanJam Chicago impressions that I’ll post after the show. But these headphones are always such a wonderful treat
