CanJam Hong Kong 2025 Event and Impressions Thread (January 18-19, 2025)

[Steranko]

Looking great, Paul!!! @Steranko

I hope I get a chance to hear them soon!

Hi Slumberman,

Thanks, btw I got a chance to audition the Clara Ti with a colleague, it is an extremely well made IEM. The sound is very balanced and comfortable whilst retaining good details in the treble. This event showcase a lot of fantastic IEMs and great for audiophiles, Congratulations! Catch up soon!

 

[EnigmaFotos]

The S22 is slightly harder to drive at 24 ohms impedance. There is a new crossover PCB which is the brains behind it. A Tribrid driver IEM with the following RF graph. I highly recommend listening to the classical pieces on this for the audition. I prefer if you audition this and get a feel since everyone has different tastes. Hopefully I can get to CanJam Socal to allow you to audition it.

Very interested in hearing this. I hope you can make it out to California!

 

[third_eye]

CanJam Hong Kong 2025 was fantastic, and such a great way to start our 2025 show season! We wanted to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all the exhibitors and attendees that came to our inaugural CanJam Hong Kong show, and we can't wait to come back again in 2026!

 

[jwilliamhurst]

I read Alpha Omega Fulgrim was going to be at CJHK and no impressions at all

 

[Redcarmoose]

 

[Tristy]

Think I just found my new favourite reviewer

 

[theveterans]

Super informative impressions! I've known her channel for quite a while already she should be getting more exposure for her production quality

 

[Ace Bee]

Alright I was there and it was quite a very vibrant Can Jam. I didn't really listen to much as I went for only half a day.

Highlights for me are:

ES Lab's EX-1a and ES-2a
I know Benson from work he did on my Sony MDR-R10. The guy is a breath of fresh air. A genius that doesn't quite know it and very honest. I went to his booth to pick up some variety of foams to try for my R10, but managed to listen to his new electrostatic products. These are truly remarkable items at a rather relatively accessible price point.

I believe the EX-1a is going to be around 900 bucks. It has excellent resolution and clarity. I don't know anything in that price range that can compete with it on those criteria. It is also tuned really well will an uncolored sound signature. Bass quality and punch is good for me, but the only area I felt perhaps could be improved was the sub bass extension. The bass that is there is quality, punchy, taut and fast, it's just not going to rumble rumble rumble, but it is tastefully done. This represents an amazing value at an accessible price point for those interested in maybe jumping in to electrostatic headphones.

The ES-2a is a really well done headphone. It has excellent body and that low bass that I felt a tad missing on the EX-1a is here. Very weighty sound that belies the typical electrostatic sound. In fact, according to Benson electrostatic headphones don't necessarily need to sound thin. He reckons we associate this thinness to electrostats because most of our introduction to those type of headphones have been with Stax, which he argues, this thinness is part of their actual deliberate tuning. Well I think he managed to prove his point. You have here an electrostatic headphone with excellent richness and body, with great bass weight, and again the tuning is superb. He's not going for a super colored sound. The sound here is rather unadulterated, with some slight warmth from the bass. It's rather spacious as well with pin point imaging as you'd expect. I'd love to hear this more in a quieter environment. I reckon this is better than the flagship products of some well known and established brands.

Hercules Audio Moses

The Hercules Moses is actually quite good. I thought it was impressive with its stock cable, but wouldn't have parted with my money. Something felt missing. Before I left, I was invited to listen with their upgrade cable which has no name yet. Now it felt truly special. It has outstanding resolution and space. Excellent clarity all round and with this cable it became more effortless and refined. I really liked it, it was both musically engaging and amazing technical prowess. I believe I heard the price was at $4200

Campfire Audio Clara:

I haven't delved much into the IEM world since the Sony IER-Z1R, an IEM I still own and hold in high regard after all these years. Recently I picked up the Eminent Ears Ruby, an IEM I think people are sleeping on. I wasn't really in the market for another IEM, but I listened to the Clara and was really drawn to its sound signature. This is an IEM with superb coherency. It just brings the music together and is at one with it. As such, it's a more subtly detailed IEM, not lacking in resolution, but emphasizing musicality over downright look at me technicalities. It's gently sloping towards the dark side. The treble here is super delicate and the tips one wears is really essential as some tips I am finding can perhaps kill the highs a bit too much. The bass is well done, a bit above what I would personally prefer, but it is still less than the Ruby. The main thing here with this IEM is that its tuning/signature allows you to simply get into the music. It has a level of refinement and ease with with it presents the music that simply allows you to listen for hours without fatigue. I ended up purchasing one at the show. I seldom buy IEMs these days, but this one has some magic to it.

Ruby is the first iem in multi-kilobuck range that made me feel irresistibly drawn towards it, held back by my inadequate account balance only. Can you perhaps give a comparison between the Clara and the Ruby? May help me decide. Thanks in advance.

 

[oocircusoo]

I am glad that Hong Kong can host this audio event.

Made a lot of friends here
We also exchanged a lot of ideas on audio matching

Here are some photos of the day

 

[RogueCrusher]

Alright I was there and it was quite a very vibrant Can Jam. I didn't really listen to much as I went for only half a day.

Highlights for me are:

ES Lab's EX-1a and ES-2a
I know Benson from work he did on my Sony MDR-R10. The guy is a breath of fresh air. A genius that doesn't quite know it and very honest. I went to his booth to pick up some variety of foams to try for my R10, but managed to listen to his new electrostatic products. These are truly remarkable items at a rather relatively accessible price point.

I believe the EX-1a is going to be around 900 bucks. It has excellent resolution and clarity. I don't know anything in that price range that can compete with it on those criteria. It is also tuned really well will an uncolored sound signature. Bass quality and punch is good for me, but the only area I felt perhaps could be improved was the sub bass extension. The bass that is there is quality, punchy, taut and fast, it's just not going to rumble rumble rumble, but it is tastefully done. This represents an amazing value at an accessible price point for those interested in maybe jumping in to electrostatic headphones.

The ES-2a is a really well done headphone. It has excellent body and that low bass that I felt a tad missing on the EX-1a is here. Very weighty sound that belies the typical electrostatic sound. In fact, according to Benson electrostatic headphones don't necessarily need to sound thin. He reckons we associate this thinness to electrostats because most of our introduction to those type of headphones have been with Stax, which he argues, this thinness is part of their actual deliberate tuning. Well I think he managed to prove his point. You have here an electrostatic headphone with excellent richness and body, with great bass weight, and again the tuning is superb. He's not going for a super colored sound. The sound here is rather unadulterated, with some slight warmth from the bass. It's rather spacious as well with pin point imaging as you'd expect. I'd love to hear this more in a quieter environment. I reckon this is better than the flagship products of some well known and established brands.

Hercules Audio Moses

The Hercules Moses is actually quite good. I thought it was impressive with its stock cable, but wouldn't have parted with my money. Something felt missing. Before I left, I was invited to listen with their upgrade cable which has no name yet. Now it felt truly special. It has outstanding resolution and space. Excellent clarity all round and with this cable it became more effortless and refined. I really liked it, it was both musically engaging and amazing technical prowess. I believe I heard the price was at $4200

Campfire Audio Clara:

I haven't delved much into the IEM world since the Sony IER-Z1R, an IEM I still own and hold in high regard after all these years. Recently I picked up the Eminent Ears Ruby, an IEM I think people are sleeping on. I wasn't really in the market for another IEM, but I listened to the Clara and was really drawn to its sound signature. This is an IEM with superb coherency. It just brings the music together and is at one with it. As such, it's a more subtly detailed IEM, not lacking in resolution, but emphasizing musicality over downright look at me technicalities. It's gently sloping towards the dark side. The treble here is super delicate and the tips one wears is really essential as some tips I am finding can perhaps kill the highs a bit too much. The bass is well done, a bit above what I would personally prefer, but it is still less than the Ruby. The main thing here with this IEM is that its tuning/signature allows you to simply get into the music. It has a level of refinement and ease with with it presents the music that simply allows you to listen for hours without fatigue. I ended up purchasing one at the show. I seldom buy IEMs these days, but this one has some magic to it.

Any more insight as to comparison of ES-1a vs ES-2a? Changes in build, driver, etc?

 

[M700LTR]

Highlights for me were the Zahl. Tried the Audma, didn't care for the soundstage button which was one of their selling points. The 'crossfeed' button is another selling point, but I hardly heard noticeable changes. Overall, it's one of the better solid state amps. I rate it over the Bliss. But asking price is way too high to compete with Zahl, used AIC.

Got to try the Mass Kobo 465. Another unicorn. Really wish anything other than Diana Krall was playing though. Boulder 812 was acting up again. No luck since the Guangzhou trip.

 

[eddy0616]

If you have a chance, try the Essence Ears Evolve. I think it might have some of the best tuned vocals I've ever heard. They're in the same booth as Hercules Audio. The Hercules Audio Moses sounded a bit strange to me, but still enjoyed it since it's so different to everything else.

Could you share the sound impressions of these two brands? The Essence Ears EVOLVE looks very beautiful.

 

[Alexcargtz]

Could you share the sound impressions of these two brands? The Essence Ears EVOLVE looks very beautiful.

I only tried each for about 10 mins, but from what I rember Essence Ears had two models: EVO and EVOLVE.

I forgot what the EVO sounds like, so it must be pretty meh, not that special. However, the EVOLVE was clearly focused on vocals, and oh man did they sound beautiful. It made vocals the main focus on every song I tried, and would describe them as sweet. I have to go try them again when I have a chance. I generally like specialist sets more than "balanced" ones, so it was a breath of fresh air.

For the Moses, I just thought they weren't dynamic at all, so genres like Hip Hop or electronic music don't work well with them. I found they work better with slower songs. They didn't fit my library or tastes, however, I've tried hundreds of IEMs and I have never heard an IEM that sounds like the Moses. There's something interesting about it that sounds a bit ethereal? I don't even know how to describe it. I'm pretty sure they fit a very specific niche taste of music, so it's either you love the tuning or you hate it. I would say definitely try it before you buy it. Overall, I appreciate the Moses since I don't believe I've heard anything like it before, so props to Hercules Audio.