Listening to some "Marriage of Figaro" arias through my recently acquired FatFreq Maestro Mini..... some thoughts....
This was my first CanJam, and the experience was everything I had hoped for and more. I was pretty sure I would enjoy myself, but I was surprised by how much fun I had meeting people, trying out gear, and discussing the finer points of audio. I got quite a few music recommendations along the way. Always a bonus. We're here for the music, after all.
I'm mostly happy with my electronics and cables right now, so I spent almost no time at all looking and demoing those. I'm also not much of an over-the-ear headphone listener - but IEM's are my jam. It's like the people who can identify all the subtle elements of a fine wine but can barely tell a lager from an ale when it comes to beer.
So I mostly just listened to every IEM I could. A lot of them. So many. My ears are still kinda sore.
My mission was to try as much as possible, and buy something in the $1000-$1500 range to be a kind of "companion" for my Thieaudio Monarch V1 set. That one is fantastic, but lean and unforgiving. I want something FUN and musical, but no slouch on the delicacy of the treble and realism of the vocals. Basically, an "enjoyment" set to go along with my "critical" set.
Anyway, here are the standouts:
Linsoul Booth:
Xenns Tea Pro - Will satisfy people who would have gotten the Dunu Davinci, but wanted more refined BAs to go with it. It's also a more comfortable shape. Solid bass, as you can tell from the graph. This is a great blind-buy for those who are into the "meta+bass" tuning.
Thieaudio Monarch V3 - Less "thump" than the Tea Pro, but with much more detail. The ESTs really deliver the clarity and spaciousness without sounding overly crispy like the piezoelectric drivers that are being used in the sub-$300 space. This was a contender until I heard...
Theiaudio Prestige LTD - I think this was the ultimate all-around-er below $1500. Excellent deep bass from the DD, fast and articulate mid-bass courtesy of the BAs, highly realistic vocals and midrange, with loads of sparkle and air up top BUT without any harshness. This is what the Monarch V1 _should_ have been, imo. I think if I didn't already own the first-gen Monarch I would have purchased this model.
Thieaudio Oracle Mk3 - This was a "baby" Prestige LTD. If someone wanted to go "one and done" below $750 this would be my recommendation.
Thieaudio Origin - The quadbrid! The bass on this one was something else. I felt some notes down in my throat - an experience I've never had before with an IEM. This is done with no real compromises in vocals. From the graph I was expecting it to be a "specialist" IEM, but I listened to quite a bit of classical and opera through it, and never felt like the bass was overpowering the rest of the instruments. Chamber music sounded particularly good, as did solo harpsichord. And of course, rock and metal tracks were visceral and intense. Truly surprising. This goes on the shopping short list.
There were a few others that I tried, but I didn't find them as impressive as these 5.
FatFreq Booth:
FatFreq Maestro SE - An excellent FUN presentation that didn't seem to sacrifice any clarity and detail, even though it had loads of bass. This booth changed my thoughts about what "bass-head" could mean. I'm used to that term describing tubby, bloated bass that bleeds all over the mids. Fun for a song or two, but so much of the mix is obscured it defeats the purpose. Not this. I had my eyes (and ears) opened to what bass could be.
FatFreq Deuce - I just spent a few minutes with this since I have one on the way from the pre-order back in July. It has landed in my country, so hopefully it gets delivered.
My impressions were very positive, though I thought the bass adapter was totally overkill. Very pleasing and tonally balanced.
FatFreq Maestro Mini - This was aggressive in all the right ways. I felt like it slapped me in the face, but in a way that let nearly all the nuances of the music through. When reviewers had described it as "hedonistic" I thought that was a silly term. But now I see exactly what they were talking about. 15 minutes after putting it on I decided to get one.
They had the Grand Maestro Anniversary Edition there, but I never got a chance to listen to it. Well, that's not completely true - on the last day nobody was listening to it and I could have, but I was fighting some hearing-fatigue and there were all those tuning modules.... I couldn't give it a fair hearing. Next time.
Bloom Audio:
64Audio Solo - Fantastic sounding planar. I think there's been a lot of interest in "cracking the code" of planar drivers. They seem to have all the characteristics that would make them amazing for IEMs - they move a lot of air, they can start and stop much faster than a DD, you can get the full range of sound from a single driver, etc... This one sounded the way a TOTL planar should sound.
64Audio Nio - Big surprise for me. Extremely natural sounding, with authoritative bass and holographic vocal presentation. I was shocked it was as "inexpensive" as it was, given how good it sounds. Plus it comes with tuning modules??? This goes on the short list with the Thieaudio Origin.
IceLab Prismatica - My favorite all-BA set of the weekend. It had a little bit of BA timbre in the highs, but much less than my Etymotics. It sounded fast, but not necessarily effortless - thus, less forgiving than I wanted for this purchase. Though I'm a sucker for DD bass, this
almost tempted me away from glorious DD depth.
Headphones.com:
Symphonium Titan - Great bass. But I had just gotten spoiled to the FatFreq gear 10 feet away from their booth. The treble wasn't as clear, and vocals were not as forward as the Maestro Mini. For some genres this would be great, but not for my taste. I had nearly blind-bought this online a few months ago. There isn't a substitute for hearing it first. Thanks, CanJam!
HiSenior Mega5EST - There is so much hype around this set. It was nice to finally hear it in person. As advertised... it sounded "normal" and a little bit boring. I can understand why so many people have suggested getting a "bass" edition or "bass+" edition. If I was looking for the "ultimate neutral" IEM this would be on my short list. But I enjoyed the Thieaudio Oracle Mk3 more. The Hisenior was both small and non-fatiguing. A good "all day listen" set for sure.
MusicTeck:
Tons of super-high-end gear at this booth. It was always busy. What was really fun about it was the camaraderie. Someone would be listening to something, and when they would finish, the people around them would ask what they thought about it - and then people would suggest what to listen to next. It was probably the most community-stacked of the event.
Brise Fugaku - Yeah, I had to try the $17,000 IEM. It was.... amazing. Truly amazing. It handled everything I threw at it, managing to be both extremely detailed and resolving while also being fun to listen to. Because of its unique driver setup it REQUIRES its own dedicated amp. I don't think it would be feasible to carry it around because the amp is heavy, and the cable is very thick and heavy enough that the listener really needs to be seated the whole time. But oh man - the sound. The tweeters are, imo, an advance on EST implementations. They manage to have the same resolution as an EST but without the ethereal/body-less sound that ESTs are known for. Might be a game-changer if the technology can be brought down to "normal" products. The tuning was quite intoxicating. Definitely the (unobtainable) star of the show.
Canpur CP622B - Great sound. No weaknesses that I could hear. I might have wanted a little more bass authority (energy was fine and speed was fantastic). Great balance and sparkle. My notes read "I just want to keep turning it up".
PMG APX SE - While I preferred the bass texture on this compared to the Canpur, I think the tonality of the Canpur sounded more natural to my ears. I thought the imaging was sharper on the Canpur as well. This was a great lesson for me - just because a set seems like it would be better on paper, and you love the graph, doesn't mean you'll love the way it sounds
in your own ears. However, I was definitely in the minority on this one. I think most people who heard both preferred the PMG.
Lime Ears Terra - Very easy to like, though it sounded like it had BAs, if that makes sense. Ultimately I want the drivers to magically disappear and reveal the music - but I could definitely hear the BA timbre on this one. However, after my ears adjusted I think it would be pretty easy to like. Very balanced. Would be a fantastic all-rounder (and the least expensive thing I tried at this table).
Forte Ears MacBeth - While this one was always in use at the table, I was able to hear someone's personal set. BONUS: they also had the Ambition cable attached! This was one of my favorites. I was surprised by the bass - BA with BC is a magical combo. Vocals were especially clear and realistic. This was a "close your eyes and savor the experience" IEM. Great imaging, soundstage was both wide and deep. Anyone shopping in this price range should audition a pair. The ESTs were beautifully implemented.
I had about 10 minutes with the Unique Melody Multiverse Mentor and MEST3. I thought they both were amazing, but my ears were a little overstimulated at this point, so I don't trust my notes on them.
SIVGA:
They had mostly circumaural headphones, so I just heard this one IEM:
SIVGA Que - These sounded very nice, and they were surprisingly well made. I did not guess they were as inexpensive as they are. I think they make a great impulse buy or gift for someone new to head-fi, especially when you consider how complete it is out of the box. Nice cable, nice tips, nice leather case. They have sturdy metal shells with wooden faceplates. I think a lot of people would enjoy listening to these.
Campfire:
Campfire Astrolith - Best planar I've ever heard. I feel like Campfire really figured out the planar driver and brought them (two per side in this case!) to their full potential. Very resolving, fast, great imaging, deep bass that doesn't get boomy. I tried the Trifecta as well, and while I liked that one too - I can see why it wouldn't be for everyone. The Astrolith, however... I think almost everyone will appreciate this. If you want the sharp bite of a BA, then you might be disappointed, but everyone else should hear this at least once to know what an all-planar set can do in the right hands. Why isn't there more hype surrounding this? For me, I thought it eclipsed the 64Audio Solo (at double the price, though).
Noble Audio:
The folks at this booth let me try basically everything. My two favorites were:
Noble Chronicle - I can totally see why there was a line the first day to hear this. Had a very natural, open sound. Probably the widest soundstage of any IEM I've ever heard. It didn't even sound like an IEM - very spacious. I'm guessing this is due to their implementation of the BC drivers. Instrument separation was top-tier. I think if Noble made a general-release version of this they should have no trouble selling them.
Noble Ronin - This one traded some of the soundstage of the Chronicle for slightly more forward and clear vocals. I think if I had both the Ronin and Chronicle I would listen to the Ronin 70% of the time. My personal favorite of their table. It splits the difference between the overly (again, to my ears) bright Viking Ragnar and the bassy Onyx. This one was JUST RIGHT.
Sennheiser:
I have the IE200, but always wanted to hear what the IE900 and IE600 sound. No surprise here - I preferred the IE600. It sounded more rich and full-bodied. After so many ENORMOUS quadbrids, the tiny and lightweight IE600 was strangely refreshing. I'm struggling to think of a better single DD out there. Heck, I don't think I've heard a better single driver IEM with the possible exception of the 64Audio Solo. It is priced accordingly.
Ok - some shoutouts!
Warren - for letting me borrow his personal ForteEars MacBeth. You were very welcoming to this newcomer, so thank you.
The crew over at Bloom - Matthew let me borrow his own personal 64Audio Nio (with an Effect Audio cable - people had some FANCY cables at this event OMG). AD hooked me up with a sweet discount on some demo units - including my final choice: Thieaudio Origin. Sierra, Caleb, and Emily had some great suggestions and helped me out a lot.
The FatFreq booth - They were doing ear impressions the entire time, while answering nonstop questions (including some about shipping issues on the Deuce!). They were the most patient people of the weekend and I'm sure they're completely exhausted. Yeo helped me get an upgrade cable for my Maestro Mini and was just generally a great guy. The experience gave me such a positive impression for the brand. I'm a fan.
Ken Ball at Campfire - We had a wonderful conversation talking about tuning and eartips before I realized who he was. Then - a longer, insightful conversation about planar technology after I raved about how good the Astrolith sounds. It must be an odd experience to watch people as they listen to your "babies" but he was a class act.
And then, of course, all the people who showed off their gear, shared their insights and favorites, and made this such a warm and friendly environment. I definitely want to go again - this time for the electronics.
-Pork Chop (wearing the Symphony X shirt the first day)
. I don't think there is a bad item on the menu and one of the few places that has good smoked turkey.
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but thanks for following along to my CanJam journey.
