[WCDchee]

I agree the Ether C was amazing with Liquid Tungsten, one of the best from the show although not quite as good when running the Ether C from the GOV2 directly.
One thing that puzzled me is the difference between the two LCD-4 at the show. One was very detailed and balanced, the other much darker when running from the same gear/songs. Really says something about the product variance.
Highlight for me was returning home with the GS-X MK2 even if I did not plan on buying anything. I just could not resist after auditioning it with the HEK.

That is one heck of a pairing the GSX and the HEK, a Friend has that setup and there is literally nothing to complain about in that pairing, insane transparency, speed, and dynamism. The bass slam is the best I've heard in an open headphone, it might not have the midbass body of the audeze, but the sub bass presence and slam is incredible, and even the audeze's I find don't measure up in that aspect.

 

[mark2410]

Mark,

I'll read fully later, however, must ask, were you a doctor in a former life?

Hehe, you know I jest! Hope the ear plugs worked for you??

lol, i do know you jest but yeah i somewhat made a point of scrawling so that it makes more difficult to read from the other side of the desk as a write.  not that my handwriting was ever very neat.  plus the notes are really meant for me rather than the public but last year people asked for them so i dont have any problems posting them.

 

[ibbreezy]

My first Canjam and it was a blast. Managed to do most of what I wanted, but also managed to socialise quite a bit with my fellow attendees and the people behind the products. Thanks to those who let me try stuff that wasn't on show.
 
Didn't take notes, so the following is from memory and very vague and general. Plus I'm not very good at "impressions"/reviews. 

 
For me the highlights were:
 
Lime Ear's Aether IEM: Tried 2 different pairs on 3 different cables over 2 days, and loved it. But especially the bass boosted mode, which I absolutely adored. Am 99% sure I will buy soon.
 
Custom Art 8.2 IEM: Tried 2 pairs over 2 days. My second try sounded a lot better than my first go. It might be due to the tips and/or my left ear insertion. A very nice balanced full bodied sound without being either too thick or thin.
 
FLC Celeste IEM: My surprise (IEM) of the show. Never even heard of them before, but tried the Celeste demo and was very impressed by it. Not sure which of the 108 sound signatures the demo was set on though. Good to see something new, and looking forward to seeing how distinct the signatures will be.
 
Labkable cables: Tried their Samurai and Takumi cables with my Zeus-R and ended up buying the Samurai. Very nice looking cables, and the Samurai paired well with my Zeus-R. My first balanced cable too. They are also from Hong Kong so will definitely visit them next time I'm there.
 
DAP-wise, I tried the Echobox Explorer, Questyle QPR1, Opus 1 and 2 and Shanling M5. Thought the QPR1 sounded best, although it hissed with my Zeus-R and I could not get use to the wheel. Similar situation with the Shanling M5 with the hiss and wheel, although this had some harshness to it. I'll be keeping a look out for the final release of the Explorer as a potential back up/streaming DAP. There were some issues with the formatting of my sd card that I hope they will fix. Didn't get too much time with the Opus 1 and 2, but after knowing the price of the Opus 1, I came away with the feeling that I would have chosen that over my P1. 
 
Smyth Realiser A16: Pretty much the same as what everyone else has said about it. Would be great for gaming.
 
 
Low points:
 
Missing out on the two biggie headphones, and headphones in general.
 
Not managing to visit the Noble stand for the 2nd time (I was pushed for time the 1st visit) and I totally missed the JH stand for some reason. 
 
People winning stuff I wanted.

 

[third_eye]

Here are the SHaG results! For those that did not collect their prizes, we'll be in touch over the course of this week and next via email in order to get your mailing address info. Please be patient as many are still traveling. Congrats to all the lucky winners!
 

SHaG Exhibitor	Prize	Winner
AKG (Harman)	Dual Driver Earphones	Callum B.
AKG (Harman)	AKG Y50 Red	Daniel B.
AKG (Harman)	AKG Y50BT Blue	Rafal S.
AKG (Harman)	AKG K550MKII	Jacky K.
AKG (Harman)	JBL Everest 700 Elite Black	Stuart H.
Atomic Floyd	SuperDarts Titanium	Maurice W.
Audioquest	DragonFly Red & Jitterbug combo	Levi L.
Brainwavz	HM5 + Sheepskin leather earpads and Hengja Stand	Mark T.
Brainwavz	HM2 + Hengja stand	Manuela P.
Cavalli Audio	Liquid Spark	Riccardo G.
Chord Electronics	Mojo	Agnieszka P.
Custom Art	Harmony 8.2 Universal	Terence T.
Echobox Audio	Finder + T-Shirt	Eu Jin O.
Echobox Audio	Finder + T-Shirt	Sara G.
Fiio	FiiO A3 portable headphone amp	Adam D.
Flare Audio	Isolate Pro (solid titanium Ear Protectors)	Duncan R.
Flare Audio	Isolate (solid aluminium Ear Protectors)	Stefan K.
FLC Technology	A copy of a Chinese famous bronze ware: Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow	Colin F.
Focal	Listen	Andrew H.
Fostex	TH610	Peter K.
Hifiman	HE400i	Mark T.
Hifiman	Edition S	Dillan M.
Jerry Harvey Audio	Roxanne Universal	Henrik S.
Lime Ears	Aether voucher with custom finish options chosen by winner	Sujeet K.
Meze Headphones	99Classics Maple/Silver	Sara J.
Mitchell & Johnson	GL1’s and GL2’s	Jaskaran S.
Mitchell & Johnson	MJ1’s and MJ2’s	Colin S.
Moon Audio	Silver Dragon V1 IEM cable, Either 2 pin or MMCK, winner's choice	Stewart B.
Noble	Katana Universal IEM	MIchael M-S.
Questyle	QP1r DAP	Danut I.
RHA	T20i Black	Anna K.
Rupert Neve	Rupert Neve Headphone Amplifier	Stefan H.
Sennheiser	HD650/Apogee Groove bundle	Johnson T.
Snugs	Custom Snugs	Mattias J.
Trinity Audio	Phantom Hunter	Adrian M.
Ultrasone	Ultrasone Performance 840's	Micah R.

 

[Mython]

Mark,

I'll read fully later, however, must ask, were you a doctor in a former life?

Hehe, you know I jest! Hope the ear plugs worked for you??

 
 
If he asks you to cough for him, RUN! 

 

[AntonD]

Hi
 
A little late posting my experience. I was there for the 2 days. My 1st CanJam too.
 
Background - My static system is comprised of Chord Electronics DSX1000, Naim Supernait 2, Spendor A6, Music supplied by NAS, MinimServer all CD & HD material ripped to WAV.
 
I am quite new to the headphone market and most of these brands are new to me. My experience therefore is very limited. My highlights were:
 
Chord Electronics
Went to see my friends here 1st as I am already an owner of some of their products.
 
Chord Hugo with LCD2 - Wow! This did blow me away. A wonderful clear and spacious sound with great vocals reproduction. I listened to much familiar music that I regularly play in my static system. I was very surprised at how close the rendition was. I can still remember the sound now and I am quite confident a unit will be coming my way.
 
Chord Mojo with LCD2 - was good but i preferred the Hugo so went back to Hugo for more. Sorry Mojo. I will say that for the price this is an amazing product though.
 
Cavalli Audio & Mr.Speakers
I was interested in listenning to the Ether Flow and didn't really know anything about Cavalli.
 
Ether Flow with Liquid Gold (not sure what DAC) - OMG, sorry! This was the best sound these ears have ever heard until the next day (see below)
Again, with Tidal I listened to much familiar music that I regularly play in my static system. I can honestly say I have never heard these tracks like this (minus the bass). I could not believe the clarity, soundstage, vocals and such a beautifully flowing sound. I listened for quite a while thanks to Warren and was in audio heaven.
Ether Flow with Chord Hugo as DAC & Liquid Tungsten - OMG, even better! 

 without a shadow of doubt the best sound these 46 year old ears have ever heard, period! All of the above as with Liquid Gold but just MORE. Not sure how I will find the funds to purchase this but this has made me re-evaluate my next HiFi path to take.
 
Mr.Speaker Ether Flow - My favourite headphone of the show. So light, a beautiful sound. Dan was really nice to speak to as well. Suffice to say I will be purchasing a pair when ready in the UK.
 
I have fallen in love with Cavalli Audio!
 
Queststyle
QP1R DAP - i was very intrigued to listen to this and compare with my Sony ZX2. I think the headphones were HiFiMan 560 but not sure. Very impressive sound and much better in all areas than my ZX2 IMO. I tried the ZX2 for comparison and had to turn the volume up to max to even get close. The QP1 was at half volume. I think an extremely good product for the money. Best sound I have heard from a DAP. Not sure about the controls though!
 
Noble
Listened to all their models other than the last 2 sets as they were over the £1000 mark.
I used my Sony ZX2 as source.
 
Trident - I was really surprised how good the sound was. Very clear, good soundstage too. I didn't realise in ears can sound this good. They blocked out quite a lot of background noise too.
 
Savanna - I did not notice an difference IMO
 
Savant -  Yes, really liked these. Trident but MORE!
 
Django - I very much liked these. Would purchase if i decide to go for an InEar.
 
I was also surprised at how comfortable and light they all were. I do travel a lot and I don't like bulk so I think I have found my new portable rig: Django & Sony ZX2, simples! 

 
Summary
Overall, I really enjoyed the show and met some very friendly and informative people. I will come next year too and who knows, maybe attend an international event. Very sorry for my rambling above and probably not well explained auditions. Congratulations to the organisers and volunteers for a great event 

 
Oh, can I please have a London 2016 badge?

 

[FortisFlyer75]

 

Thanks for explaining, sure, balanced is more an icing on the cake if it happened to have it for me.

Just think a dedicated line out is a feature a lot of people still want and need as this is the most I have heard from others talking about the new arm M20 regarding this omission.  

I have to agree this M20  it does sound detailed and musically involving than players out there that cost more and at end of day if it sounds good enough it will not stop me getting it but just to use into my speaker hi-fi for example via my Hugo would of been easier with the normal line out that are found in daps. 

Will try the hp as a line out all the same if I decide to get this.  

What sealed it for me was the sound staging correction over the M2 yet kept the same detailed sound and signature. 

Look forward to this coming out whenever that is??....

What do you mean regarding the soundstage?

Also, just curious how they compare to some other top tier players you've tried?

The first A&R sounded great apart from it was having a tendency to just sound all left and right field and no natural music centre of the stage which was a weird experience and off putting which was gutted about as I was so close to buying the first one but his one seems to have placement of instruments more natural and can now hear it from left to right, not just left and right.  
Plus they have done away with the volume rocker wheel which caused some issues and made it more iem friendly to the old one as there was hiss with some iem's. 
 
Considering the first A&R was something like £800+ it has also come down to £600 which makes it greater value for a sound that detail wise was say up there or even better than the new Opus #2 or find it more musically engaging dynamic wise than AK 300 or any AK come to that! Sorry there, I've tried so hard to like the A&K sound which is finely polished, maybe to refined yet for me way over priced for the sound on offer. 
 
It is more resolving than the Pioneer I've heard but yet to try the Onkyo which will hopefully be soon. 
 
I put it above the Lotto Paw I heard and I would say it competes evenly with the Hi-Fi man and the Questyle QPR-1 in a lot of areas. 
 
It is now on my short list until I hear the Onkyo. Still hoping for Sony to get their act together on a ZX2 replacement and was impressed with the Opus #2 sound yet they are all dearer than the M20 which is very good value just based on a standalone dap SQ side of it.  
 
I don't think daps have to cost the earth like the A&K's, I heard for the first time the "Tolberone bar"  Pono player and for the money is a good little player despite it's odd shape and for many finicky UI system. Or even Shangling I was really surprised at for the money albeit was show day price also but couldn't imagine a player with this sound and build quality for the money around 5-7 years ago. 
 
So yes, A&R have kept the detail and signature of the first one but now smaller, lighter and cheaper which makes it one worth auditioning before committing to some dearer players that scale to the £1K mark.  
 
Why there was only one M20 on show discretely sitting on the Sennheiser stand left me a bit perplexed really and i only knew about it from a friend who had been on the stand earlier.  

 

[WCDchee]

The first A&R sounded great apart from it was having a tendency to just sound all left and right field and no natural music centre of the stage which was a weird experience and off putting which was gutted about as I was so close to buying the first one but his one seems to have placement of instruments more natural and can now hear it from left to right, not just left and right.  
Plus they have done away with the volume rocker wheel which caused some issues and made it more iem friendly to the old one as there was hiss with some iem's. 

Considering the first A&R was something like £800+ it has also come down to £600 which makes it greater value for a sound that detail wise was say up there or even better than the new Opus #2 or find it more musically engaging dynamic wise than AK 300 or any AK come to that! Sorry there, I've tried so hard to like the A&K sound which is finely polished, maybe to refined yet for me way over priced for the sound on offer. 

It is more resolving than the Pioneer I've heard but yet to try the Onkyo which will hopefully be soon. 

I put it above the Lotto Paw I heard and I would say it competes evenly with the Hi-Fi man and the Questyle QPR-1 in a lot of areas. 

It is now on my short list until I hear the Onkyo. Still hoping for Sony to get their act together on a ZX2 replacement and was impressed with the Opus #2 sound yet they are all dearer than the M20 which is very good value just based on a standalone dap SQ side of it.  

I don't think daps have to cost the earth like the A&K's, I heard for the first time the "Tolberone bar"  Pono player and for the money is a good little player despite it's odd shape and for many finicky UI system. Or even Shangling I was really surprised at for the money albeit was show day price also but couldn't imagine a player with this sound and build quality for the money around 5-7 years ago. 

So yes, A&R have kept the detail and signature of the first one but now smaller, lighter and cheaper which makes it one worth auditioning before committing to some dearer players that scale to the £1K mark.  

Why there was only one M20 on show discretely sitting on the Sennheiser stand left me a bit perplexed really and i only knew about it from a friend who had been on the stand earlier.  

Thank you for this, I agree with you on AK, even the 380 did not really float with me.

I am really looking forward to hearing those two daps

 

[krismusic]

lol, i do know you jest but yeah i somewhat made a point of scrawling so that it makes more difficult to read from the other side of the desk as a write.  not that my handwriting was ever very neat.  plus the notes are really meant for me rather than the public but last year people asked for them so i dont have any problems posting them.

Sorry. CBA to transcribe your notes?

 

[mark2410]

Sorry. CBA to transcribe your notes?

well there is that too.  last year my notes had been intended for my eyes only but i was explicitly asked for them by a few people so eventually i said, okay ill post pics of them. yes, doing that rather transcribing them is done for my own convenience because ive got better things to do than spend half a day doing so.

 

[TokenGesture]

Was it as well attended as last year? From pictures it doesn't seem to have been. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[Duncan]

Was it as well attended as last year? From pictures it doesn't seem to have been. Hope I'm wrong.

I personally don't know the 'gate' numbers, and I don't know if they'll be announced, however - whilst pictures would agree with you, it must be considered that the hall is a fair bit larger than the floorspace that was in use last year...

 

[musicday]

The London CanJam was a success and was nice to meet lots of nice and friendly guys. I remember talking to a guy about watches also

 but my favourite of the show was Cavalii Tungsten with the Ether C Flow.. it sounded  magically with any genre music I tried, and I did  that for around 30-40 minutes.
Can't wait to hear them again when they will be available in UK.
Many thanks to Ethan and the CanJam team for making this event possible again in London.

 

[ejong7]

I don't know the exact final number but it definitely has more attendees than last year.

On a separate note, if somebody lost their fitbit-type band please contact me.

Also, if anybody is interested in the cavalli liquid gold banner as a souvenir feel free to contact me. It will be the last of its kind.

 

[Middy]

I don't know the exact final number but it definitely has more attendees than last year.

On a separate note, if somebody lost their fitbit-type band please contact me.

Also, if anybody is interested in the cavalli liquid gold banner as a souvenir feel free to contact me. It will be the last of its kind.

And this is why I like it here ...The people..Nice