[KT66]

Really enjoyed today, the best London meet yet, would love to have seen Grado and VModa there, and I didn't see Jude once, which was a shame, his presence matters.
 
I went to only find out about DAPs and closed portable headphones, so avoided lots of jewelry and £1k+ products.The best sound I heard
was the T5p with my 901/minibox. Great to see lots of new products there.
 
Overall was got me was just how friendly and enthusiastic people were, lets compare this to HIFI News shows of old at Heathrow, 
a completely different experience, closed doors, not allowed to touch or play with most products and reps who only want to talk to industry folk
 
Viva Head-Fi
Viva the personal audio revolution.
 
will write in depth more with photos later.

 

[NigelJ]

Any pics of the AQ NightOwls?

AQ asked for no pictures as they were a prototype and the cable was very much a prototype, being the correct cable but with the splitter being poorly fitted heat shrink. Externally the NightOwl is very similar to the NightHawk except that the cups are a dark carbon grey colour rather than fake wood grain, although made of the same material, and the grills are replaced by a slightly domed cover. The cups no longer have the left and right markings impressed on the outside, rather the dust cover within each ear pad is marked with L's and R's. The NightOwl will come with two sets of ear pads, one similar to the NH and the other set with a microfibres covering. It will come with a different more flexible cable, I believe not solid core, that has a plastic rather than textile covering. The NH will also be updated with the dark grey cups and new cable; supposedly whilst quite liked in the UK for its traditional look the fake wood was a big turn off to customers in other markets and the solid core cable resulted in lots of warranty claims.
With the NH type pads the NO had a slightly more traditional headphone sound, I felt that the microfibre pads were somewhere between the two but conditions were not ideal for detailed assessment and I was feeding them from an older iPod (my only portable source, but with familiar classical and jazz). Whilst the NO is a closed back design and more isolating than the NH I am of the opinion that the isolation is not as high as some other closed back headphones.
It was stated that the NightOwls would sell for £100 more than the NightHawk in the UK, so I guess $100 more in the US.

Sunday update: I tried them again today with a wider range of music and thought that there was less difference between the NO and the NH than I thought yesterday, though still the NH was slightly darker with less treble than the NO. On the NO I generally preferred the leather pads, except for a couple of test tracks; the AQ representative manning the stand (sorry missed the name) stated that they had had their first chance to do the comparison on Sunday morning, and also preferred the leather pads. He also agreed that the NO provided limited isolation and added that there was some sound leakage from them. Overall, I preferred the the NH, including the price , and plan to get a pair.

 

[Highbury73]

I really enjoyed my first CanJam so thanks to all.  Highlights were hearing a Chord Dave feeding LCD 4's.  The HE6 / HE 1000 combo and the Ethers on the end of Cavalli amps.  Can't wait to get my Liquid Gold next month now - excitement levels are now through the roof!  The whole experience was super friendly and well organised.  I was worried the wife and baby would be bored but they loved it! 

 

[leaky74]

AQ asked for no pictures as they were a prototype and the cable was very much a prototype, being the correct cable but with the splitter being poorly fitted heat shrink. Externally the NightOwl is very similar to the NightHawk except that the cups are a dark carbon grey colour rather than fake wood grain, although made of the same material, and the grills are replaced by a slightly domed cover. The cups no longer have the left and right markings impressed on the outside, rather the dust cover within each ear pad is marked with L's and R's. The NightOwl will come with two sets of ear pads, one similar to the NH and the other set with a microfibres covering. It will come with a different more flexible cable, I believe not solid core, that has a plastic rather than textile covering. The NH will also be updated with the dark grey cups and new cable; supposedly whilst quite liked in the UK for its traditional look the fake wood was a big turn off to customers in other markets and the solid core cable resulted in lots of warranty claims.
With the NH type pads the NO had a slightly more traditional headphone sound, I felt that the microfibre pads were somewhere between the two but conditions were not ideal for detailed assessment and I was feeding them from an older iPod (my only portable source, but with familiar classical and jazz). Whilst the NO is a closed back design and more isolating than the NH I am of the opinion that the isolation is not as high as some other closed back headphones.
It was stated that the NightOwls would sell for £100 more than the NightHawk in the UK, so I guess $100 more in the US.

Thanks for the insight, much appreciated; I assumed as much re pictures.

From what you say, I'm guessing they're just more of a closed back NH than a portable version? I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with IEMs next.

 

[NigelJ]

@third_eye. Can I please have the badges for both the 2015 and 2016 London CanJams as I have attended both, and will be at the 2016 one again tomorrow.

 

[deafdoorknob]

glad (and envious) that ppl are having so much fun!

just out of curiosity, was the neve amp on demo? if so, any impressions?

thanks

 

[NigelJ]

From what you say, I'm guessing they're just more of a closed back NH than a portable version?

Yes, very much the same design and with a similar case. Visually the only external difference between the NightOwl and the revised NightHawks wil be the lack of the grill, the remainder of the design is the same, the headband, yokes and suspension appear identical.

Edit: Just to add, the AQ person I spoke to stated that the protein leather pads were not identical to the current NH pads but apart from the left and right markings the difference was not obvious to me. I failed to ask if the revised pads would be on the revised NH (the protein leather ones as the NH will still only come with one set,unlike the NO).

 

[gearofwar]

Sorry, I'm an iem person. Would someone post impression on Lime Ears Aether? Thanks.

 

[leaky74]

Yes, very much the same design and with a similar case. Visually the only external difference between the NightOwl and the revised NightHawks wil be the lack of the grill, the remainder of the design is the same, the headband, yokes and suspension appear identical.

Thanks again; I'll be to keen to give them a listen when I get the opportunity.

 

[yates7592]

Subbed.

 

[Wailing Fungus]

So this was my first Canjam event, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to the organisers and the manufacturers who took part.
 
What follows are my very limited impressions of the gear I listened to. Please note these were in show conditions, only 5-10mins per listen and my ears!:
 
1More 
E1001 IEMs (via my Plenue 1): I thought these offered excellent value, particularly at the show price - £79 for a triple driver hybrid (£99 non-show price) - sounded very nice out of my Plenue 1, quite balanced and rounded. Very good and definately worth a listen. My only small issue is that I would prefer an over-ear version (personal preference). 
 
Atomic Floyd
Super Darts Titanium (via my Plenue 1): Solid little things, and lightweight as well (unlike the stainless steel version which is quite heavy in comparison and had a tendency to droop). I quite liked these, but they weren't better "enough" than the 1Mores.
 
Flare
Flares (pre production) IEMs (via my Plenue 1): Have to say I was not too impressed with these, they sounded quite congested. I think I was having fit/seal issues so this may have affected the sound. Nice and compact though.
  
FLC
FLC8/8S (via my Plenue 1): despite the unruly memory wire, these fit very well and sounded similar to the 1More E1001s, which perhaps says more about the value offered by the E1001s. Didn't try any of the different filters which the 1Mores don't have.
 
Focal
Elear (via Naim Dac V1): Wow, these made an impression right away. Nice amounts of bass, decent soundstage with great mids and controlled treble. Build quality was excellent, just slightly less than the Utopia.
 
Elear (via Questyle CMA600i, at the Questyle booth) - If anything, I preferred this combo to the Naim DAC V1 on the Focal table. This further cemented for me that the Elear is a great headphone, and one that I will be ordering in the near future. 
 
Utopia (can't remember what was driving them): yes these are are step up from the Elear, greater clarity and control, but lesser bass. However, to me they are not worth the extra money over the Elear. Build quality was excellent.
 
Hifiman
HE-1000 (via Hifiman EF6): I admit I struggled to see what all the fuss was about with the HEK, I found it a bit too big and the sound was not noticeably better than the Elear, or the build quality for that matter. There also appeared to be an issue with the volume control on the EF6, very stiff in places and at a certain point the channel imbalance was very noticeable. A shame. 
 
Meze Audio
99 Classics (via my Plenue 1): These were the version with the bigger pads, although for me they were still a bit small. I really like the look of them, but was not particularly taken by the sound though. Nothing wrong with it, but not enough to justify me buying a pair beyond what I already have.
 
Mr.Speakers
Ether Flow C (via Liquid Tungsten prototype): A really nice combination, sound very good for a closed can. First time I have listened to these and didn't see if there were any of the non-Flow Ether C's to compare. 
 
Noble
Kaiser 10U (via my Plenue 1): Really liked this a lot. Also a fan of the new metal housings, a step up from the previous acrylic(?) ones. The K10's gave a very balanced sound, no one area too prominent or recessed. Might possibly drop on these during the next Black Friday sale.
 
Katana (via my Plenue 1): Not too dissimilar to the K10U, but has a cleaner sound with less bass in comparison to the K10. I preferred the K10.
 
Sennheiser
HD800 (via HDVD800): great soundstage, lots of detail. No noticeable treble issues that I could hear, although unsure if this is being masked by the HDAV800?
HD800S (also via HDVD800): I preferred this to the original HD800, same great soundstage but a bit more warmth and bass. Lovely.
 
The one small problem with these two cans is that they were both being driven by the HDVA800, so if both cans were in use you had to agree with you neighbour how loud you both wanted it. 
 
Stax
SR009 (via Headamp Blue Hawaii): Oh my god, best thing I heard at Canjam (I didn't listen to the Orpheus or MSB setup). Effortless, great sound, everything where it should be. At one point there were four of us at the Headmap table, two on the Blue Hawaii with SR009s, then two on the GSX-MK2 with an LCD4 and the HEK, with some Kendrick Lamarr playing, all bobbing along. Just a great setup. But too much for me, unfortunately. My lottery win setup.
 
Ultrasone
Tribute 777 (can't remember what was driving them) - Pricey, very pricey for the sound. Which isn't to say they sound bad, far from it, but to me, the Elears at £800 offered better sound at less than half the price. 
 
I was also able, thanks to @moedawg140, to try out the Campfire Audio Andromeda. They sounded really good - "amazeballs" to quote Moe, but unfortunately for me, the shape of the metal housing was too sharp on my ears. I couldn't keep them in for more than 2 minutes. Damn. Thanks again to Moe for arranging this opportunity for visitors to listen to such a wide range of IEMs and headphones.
 
And to finish with some pics (potato phone i'm afraid):
 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Middy]

Any thoughts from the Mr speakers stand
Flow and Electrostats.... Hope it was a good day for all....

 

[AndrewH13]

Most amazing sound? Sound coming from way behind you on Realizer 16 after profiling your ears. It really does simulate an Atmos system using just Sennheiser 800s.

 

[leaky74]

Nice write up; I've been toying with picking a pair of the 1More up for a while

 

[Wailing Fungus]

part of me wishes I had bought a pair at the show