[Skint]

So, another great CanJam, only there for a few hours but got a lot in. I was really looking for endgame IEM for myself and the wife, but also nice to check out all the expensive gear on show.

My Favorites (in order):

1. EE Legend X/Valkyrie - man I can't decide. Listened to the LX before and it's bass/everything is exceptional, but damn, the Valkyrie has the best high's I have ever heard on anything ever - totally addictive. If the LX had the Valkyrie high end electrostat I think it would be the end to all IEM searching.
2. EE Bravado - so close to the LX for basically 1/4 the price, amazing.
3. Vision Ears Elysium - Identical high end to the Valkyrie, but prefer the rest of the EE signature, not by a lot though
4. InEar SD5 - perfect musical sound sig, very very good fit and well built nozzle (that can be replaced) - really good for the price (around €1K)
5. 64 Audio A12t - probably my favorite in their whole lineup, does everything well.
5. 64 Audio Tia Forte Noir - improves on the original in seemingly all areas, which I love, but that price tag...

Everything else (no particular order):

1. Tried the CA Solaris & Equinox - nice but nothing special, maybe needs more powerful DAP? (using the Cowon Plenue M2)
2. Rupert Neve new DAC (the big one) - a thing of beauty and totally transparent, like a window into the music, the guy thinks around £4k retail when released but their still testing it out a bit.
3. Fiio M11 pro - very nice DAP, quick, good screen, clean transparent sound. However won't replace my Cowon.
4. DX220 - preferred this with it's tube amp to the M11 pro, nice warm analog and musical sound. TBH the M11 & DX220 are very similar, but I would likely end up with the DX220 as it's replaceable amp section appeals to me and better in the hand for right handed users.
5. Again my custom Angie's are my preference in the whole JH lineup.
6. Westone W80 always impresses me. Not enough to be my favorite but the sound that thing produces from such a small shell is really impressive. If I was after a small IEM (for small ears or whatever) that would be my choice.
7. Not sure if it's me or the noisy room but all the headphones I tried (Empyrean, Stellia, Utopia) were very bass light. Mid's and Highs all there but distinct lack of bass. Seems a recurring theme with headphones at the shows. Only headphones I heard with good bass were (at previous shows) the MR Speakers Ether open back and Sennehiser HE1 (in a private room). If I had time I would have tried that listening booth, very good idea btw.
8. Obravo EAMT-1c was really nice, good in all areas and very wide sound - again that price tag! Their new Cupid is nice, but nothing special to me.


As usual everyone at the stands were super cool and patient while I keep switching back and forth between IEM's or whatever. Well organized show as usual, shout out the whole CJ crew. I think a lot of tables could have a few more chairs/setups, EE and Campfire for sure!

I am now a believer in the new Electrostats for an IEM high end, definitely a game changer - I expect we'll be seeing more and more. Gutted I couldn't listen to the Noble Khan but ran out of time. Would like to see the effect of Eltrostats on DAP battery life. I had to turn my player +50% volume over my Angie's to get the same volume level (especially bad with an Electrostat/DD mix).

See you all next year.

 

[Watagump]

So, another great CanJam, only there for a few hours but got a lot in. I was really looking for endgame IEM for myself and the wife, but also nice to check out all the expensive gear on show.

My Favorites (in order):

1. EE Legend X/Valkyrie - man I can't decide. Listened to the LX before and it's bass/everything is exceptional, but damn, the Valkyrie has the best high's I have ever heard on anything ever - totally addictive. If the LX had the Valkyrie high end electrostat I think it would be the end to all IEM searching.
2. EE Bravado - so close to the LX for basically 1/4 the price, amazing.
3. Vision Ears Elysium - Identical high end to the Valkyrie, but prefer the rest of the EE signature, not by a lot though
4. InEar SD5 - perfect musical sound sig, very very good fit and well built nozzle (that can be replaced) - really good for the price (around €1K)
5. 64 Audio A12t - probably my favorite in their whole lineup, does everything well.
5. 64 Audio Tia Forte Noir - improves on the original in seemingly all areas, which I love, but that price tag...

Everything else (no particular order):

1. Tried the CA Solaris & Equinox - nice but nothing special, maybe needs more powerful DAP? (using the Cowon Plenue M2)
2. Rupert Neve new DAC (the big one) - a thing of beauty and totally transparent, like a window into the music, the guy thinks around £4k retail when released but their still testing it out a bit.
3. Fiio M11 pro - very nice DAP, quick, good screen, clean transparent sound. However won't replace my Cowon.
4. DX220 - preferred this with it's tube amp to the M11 pro, nice warm analog and musical sound. TBH the M11 & DX220 are very similar, but I would likely end up with the DX220 as it's replaceable amp section appeals to me and better in the hand for right handed users.
5. Again my custom Angie's are my preference in the whole JH lineup.
6. Westone W80 always impresses me. Not enough to be my favorite but the sound that thing produces from such a small shell is really impressive. If I was after a small IEM (for small ears or whatever) that would be my choice.
7. Not sure if it's me or the noisy room but all the headphones I tried (Empyrean, Stellia, Utopia) were very bass light. Mid's and Highs all there but distinct lack of bass. Seems a recurring theme with headphones at the shows. Only headphones I heard with good bass were (at previous shows) the MR Speakers Ether open back and Sennehiser HE1 (in a private room). If I had time I would have tried that listening booth, very good idea btw.
8. Obravo EAMT-1c was really nice, good in all areas and very wide sound - again that price tag! Their new Cupid is nice, but nothing special to me.


As usual everyone at the stands were super cool and patient while I keep switching back and forth between IEM's or whatever. Well organized show as usual, shout out the whole CJ crew. I think a lot of tables could have a few more chairs/setups, EE and Campfire for sure!

I am now a believer in the new Electrostats for an IEM high end, definitely a game changer - I expect we'll be seeing more and more. Gutted I couldn't listen to the Noble Khan but ran out of time. Would like to see the effect of Eltrostats on DAP battery life. I had to turn my player +50% volume over my Angie's to get the same volume level (especially bad with an Electrostat/DD mix).

See you all next year.

The chair thing is always kind of interesting. If you just get one table, you only get 2 chairs for people to sit in. At Socal I grabbed an extra one just for us at the booth. The part that is cool, is people come over and if the chairs are being used, we speak with them anyhow and ask what they want to hear, so they just stand and listen. Very few want to wait for a chair to open.

 

[slapo]

The Eikon is an excellent headphone - with great isolation to boot..

Yep. When I heard them last year, they caught me off guard. This year, priority has to be given to other purchases. Next year is, hopefully, going to be the year of the Eikon for me.

 

[Imusicman]

Can I ask how much the Verite closed cost? It’s not listed on their website yet and I haven’t seen any announcement on price.

Don’t quote me but I think the official price is £2400 less show discounts. This is the first time they have been demonstrated and won’t ship out until September

 

[Zachik]

Noble just have that understated magic

Not surprising given the designs are done by a Wizard

 

[baseonmars]

Don’t quote me but I think the official price is £2400 less show discounts. This is the first time they have been demonstrated and won’t ship out until September

I thought that was the dollar price?

 

[Imusicman]

I thought that was the dollar price?

I don’t know anything about the dollar price? I’m quoting what it costs in the UK delivered

Hope this helps

 

[baseonmars]

I don’t know anything about the dollar price? I’m quoting what it costs in the UK delivered

Hope this helps

My mistake - I guess those figures are usually about the same number after import and taxes. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[Nik74]

Any details that you could add about the HEDDphones' sound? I am really excited about these, and at this point sound impressions are hard to come by. Seems like they're getting compared to ribbon and electrostatic headphones quite a bit, do they have that same sort of resolution and detail? Any mid-fi level headphones that you could compare to? Anything you got in this regard would be very appreciated.

. I spent exactly 5 minutes listening to them as at the time there were people standing and waiting for their turn. I put them on straight after listening to the Shangri-la jr which very surprisingly didn't do much for me. I found the HEDDphone sound very insightful, precise, incisive, with great weight, pace and rhythm, very neutral and perhaps with a slight tendency to a metallic tinge in the higher frequencies in the same way a HD800 could sound if not well driven-but more resolving. The prototype I tried was way too heavy for long listening sessions, 650g they said, and a 3-d print design so the finished product will feel very different and hopefully lighter. I asked for the price out of genuine interest because they ll be on my radar and was very surprised at the $1700 tag, I was expecting to hear something in the $4-5K range. For sure a design to look out for and for my tastes I imagine it would blossom through a good valve amp.

 

[krismusic]

So, another great CanJam, only there for a few hours but got a lot in. I was really looking for endgame IEM for myself and the wife, but also nice to check out all the expensive gear on show.

My Favorites (in order):

1. EE Legend X/Valkyrie - man I can't decide. Listened to the LX before and it's bass/everything is exceptional, but damn, the Valkyrie has the best high's I have ever heard on anything ever - totally addictive. If the LX had the Valkyrie high end electrostat I think it would be the end to all IEM searching.
2. EE Bravado - so close to the LX for basically 1/4 the price, amazing.
3. Vision Ears Elysium - Identical high end to the Valkyrie, but prefer the rest of the EE signature, not by a lot though
4. InEar SD5 - perfect musical sound sig, very very good fit and well built nozzle (that can be replaced) - really good for the price (around €1K)
5. 64 Audio A12t - probably my favorite in their whole lineup, does everything well.
5. 64 Audio Tia Forte Noir - improves on the original in seemingly all areas, which I love, but that price tag...

Everything else (no particular order):

1. Tried the CA Solaris & Equinox - nice but nothing special, maybe needs more powerful DAP? (using the Cowon Plenue M2)
2. Rupert Neve new DAC (the big one) - a thing of beauty and totally transparent, like a window into the music, the guy thinks around £4k retail when released but their still testing it out a bit.
3. Fiio M11 pro - very nice DAP, quick, good screen, clean transparent sound. However won't replace my Cowon.
4. DX220 - preferred this with it's tube amp to the M11 pro, nice warm analog and musical sound. TBH the M11 & DX220 are very similar, but I would likely end up with the DX220 as it's replaceable amp section appeals to me and better in the hand for right handed users.
5. Again my custom Angie's are my preference in the whole JH lineup.
6. Westone W80 always impresses me. Not enough to be my favorite but the sound that thing produces from such a small shell is really impressive. If I was after a small IEM (for small ears or whatever) that would be my choice.
7. Not sure if it's me or the noisy room but all the headphones I tried (Empyrean, Stellia, Utopia) were very bass light. Mid's and Highs all there but distinct lack of bass. Seems a recurring theme with headphones at the shows. Only headphones I heard with good bass were (at previous shows) the MR Speakers Ether open back and Sennehiser HE1 (in a private room). If I had time I would have tried that listening booth, very good idea btw.
8. Obravo EAMT-1c was really nice, good in all areas and very wide sound - again that price tag! Their new Cupid is nice, but nothing special to me.


As usual everyone at the stands were super cool and patient while I keep switching back and forth between IEM's or whatever. Well organized show as usual, shout out the whole CJ crew. I think a lot of tables could have a few more chairs/setups, EE and Campfire for sure!

I am now a believer in the new Electrostats for an IEM high end, definitely a game changer - I expect we'll be seeing more and more. Gutted I couldn't listen to the Noble Khan but ran out of time. Would like to see the effect of Eltrostats on DAP battery life. I had to turn my player +50% volume over my Angie's to get the same volume level (especially bad with an Electrostat/DD mix).

See you all next year.

Very cool show report. A great shame you didn't hear the Khan. I would have been very interested in your take on it. If you are in the market for aTOTL Iem, you really need to hear Noble. If you are in UK, Gisele at Aid 2 Hearing in London has demo models. I felt that the Empire didn't excel in the midrange. I heard the Valkerie and the Wraith. I only heard the 64 18. And the Forte Noir. Both very good. Preferred the 18. Felt that the bass could become too much over time. I think the Noble is something very special. I didn't hear the Nieve Dac amp. I just would not spend that on electronics but I really liked thier amp. The Warwick 5k set up was lovely I didn't hear the 20k. Total respect for the excellent listening booth. A great show.

 

[krismusic]

The chair thing is always kind of interesting. If you just get one table, you only get 2 chairs for people to sit in. At Socal I grabbed an extra one just for us at the booth. The part that is cool, is people come over and if the chairs are being used, we speak with them anyhow and ask what they want to hear, so they just stand and listen. Very few want to wait for a chair to open.[

I'll happily stand for the good stuff. I did appreciate it when an exhibitor on the Beyerdynamic stand gave me his seat though. Nice expression of respect for the customer.

 

[CANiSLAYu]

Any word on the FiiO M11 Pro pricing?

 

[baseonmars]

Any word on the FiiO M11 Pro pricing?

Around the £700 mark, perhaps a little more. Release is set for October.

 

[Leetransform25]

Has anyone tried out the K5 Pro at all?

 

[DecentLevi]

Did anyone get to try the Stax Lambda L300 limited edition version (if it was there)? I got to try it at the same vendor HeadAmp last month at SoCal CanJam and it was very memorable, right up there with some of my all time favorites and I've got one on order for my e-stat amp.