CanJam London 2019 Impressions thread
Jul 27, 2019 at 8:42 PM Post #76 of 277
Yes, heard the ‘normal’ M11. And had I never listened to the Pro, I would be a happy chap. But to my ears there’s no going back once I heard the Pro. The THX amp makes a huge difference. If they price it right it will be Fiio’s biggest selling Dap ever. And will compete with very expensive flagships.

Curious, what IEMs did you use when listening and comparing M11 to M11 Pro? When you say clean/black background, though not as bad as X5iii it replaced, M11 has a noticeable hissing with sensitive IEMs (Andro, Solaris, U18t, Fourte, etc) and a bit of a flat low-end response. I'm curious if they stepped it up with M11 Pro, though it's not their flagship DAP and I guess they do need to leave some room to wow their customers with the next flagship :)

Im confused i asked if it came with a 4.4mm not if it came with a headphone jack. Ibasso sells a tube amp module the newest amp module and it only has 3.5mm so ya its a valid question and these companies make some stupid calls.

I think someone mentioned that design is identical except they took away one micro SD slot, thus I assume it still has 2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced outputs (very convenient, imho), but I hope someone who attended the show can confirm. AMP9 (iBasso) only has 3.5mm because there is only room for a single NuTube, the same way Cayin N8 routes the output of NuTube only to 3.5mm jack.

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Jul 27, 2019 at 8:58 PM Post #77 of 277
I think someone mentioned that design is identical except they took away one micro SD slot, thus I assume it still has 2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced outputs (very convenient, imho), but I hope someone who attended the show can confirm. AMP9 (iBasso) only has 3.5mm because there is only room for a single NuTube, the same way Cayin N8 routes the output of NuTube only to 3.5mm jack.
Thats why ill never buy a dap from them.
 
Jul 27, 2019 at 9:32 PM Post #78 of 277
Another fun CanJam! A quick summary of my notes:

I tried almost all bluetooth headphones I could find (Mobius, Auido Technica MSR7B and DSR7BT, Almiron, EH3 NC), and found them all lacking in max volume. I'm really surprised it's not a more common complaint. I recently returned Sennheiser MTW for the same issue.

Fiio are going to have some trouble with the EH3 NC if they keep using those horrible earpads. They make a squishing sound, enough to evaporate any feeling of quality.

Really, really liked the chord mojo/poly combination, brought a smile to my face. Very sad that it's wifi focused and doesn't support aptx/ldac (only SBC), what are they thinking? Would have bought on the spot.

I was quite negative on the Fiio Q5 last year, but I can see now that they are filling a niche that no-one is trying to enter. It sounded better this year, probably due to the AM3E amp, whatever they had attached last year wasn't doing the Q5 justice. I'm really tempted to pick this up and an AM5 module. The bluetooth was a little flaky though, it was only working thorugh LDAC with my Samsung S10e, aptx was breaking for some reason.

Fiio BTR5. This was interesting, they bumped up the power compared to the other BTR models. I can see them pricing it at £100+, worth it? Maybe.

Didn't bother too much with IEMs this year, since buying the IMR R1 last year. Did a direct comparison with the Atlas, save your money, the copper filters on the R1 is close enough.

The Solaris sounds great, although surprisigly bulky/awkward. If you can afford it, an easy recommend.

Not sure why Campfire Audio thought we needed a custom version of the Atlas, it was already so small and convenient. The Equinox sounds as expected, so it's fine I guess.

Finally tried the Cascades and can confirm they are better than the Sony MDR-1AM2 (which I also returned recently), to reference a recent thread. Not as much bass as people make out, but still more than most. Less sibilant than the Sony's, which is nice. The price is insane for what you're getting though, £300 would be about right. The way the cables point forward is awkward AF, I don't make headphones, but it's hard to understand what was wrong with straight down.

Shure SE535 and SE846. I moved away from balanced armatures a few years ago, these were a reminder of why. Pure balance armatures just sound lifeless to me, it doesn't matter how many of them there are or what techniques are used.

Shure KSE1200. I had a little trouble with these, they kept distorting, even at a reasonable volume. Didn't blow me away, maybe they were broken.

Astell&Kern Kann Cube. Giant, heavy block of metal with sharp edges. As relevant to me as the $7.5K Conrad-Johnson amp with the burning hot volume knob...

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Glad I went this year, can't wait until next year!
 
Jul 27, 2019 at 9:50 PM Post #79 of 277
Im confused i asked if it came with a 4.4mm not if it came with a headphone jack. Ibasso sells a tube amp module the newest amp module and it only has 3.5mm so ya its a valid question and these companies make some stupid calls.
Yes, I knew what you were trying to ask, I just simply referred to it as headphone jack. Sorry for any confused caused

Another fun CanJam! A quick summary of my notes:

I tried almost all bluetooth headphones I could find (Mobius, Auido Technica MSR7B and DSR7BT, Almiron, EH3 NC), and found them all lacking in max volume. I'm really surprised it's not a more common complaint. I recently returned Sennheiser MTW for the same issue.

Fiio are going to have some trouble with the EH3 NC if they keep using those horrible earpads. They make a squishing sound, enough to evaporate any feeling of quality.

Really, really liked the chord mojo/poly combination, brought a smile to my face. Very sad that it's wifi focused and doesn't support aptx/ldac (only SBC), what are they thinking? Would have bought on the spot.

I was quite negative on the Fiio Q5 last year, but I can see now that they are filling a niche that no-one is trying to enter. It sounded better this year, probably due to the AM3E amp, whatever they had attached last year wasn't doing the Q5 justice. I'm really tempted to pick this up and an AM5 module. The bluetooth was a little flaky though, it was only working thorugh LDAC with my Samsung S10e, aptx was breaking for some reason.

Fiio BTR5. This was interesting, they bumped up the power compared to the other BTR models. I can see them pricing it at £100+, worth it? Maybe.

Didn't bother too much with IEMs this year, since buying the IMR R1 last year. Did a direct comparison with the Atlas, save your money, the copper filters on the R1 is close enough.

The Solaris sounds great, although surprisigly bulky/awkward. If you can afford it, an easy recommend.

Not sure why Campfire Audio thought we needed a custom version of the Atlas, it was already so small and convenient. The Equinox sounds as expected, so it's fine I guess.

Finally tried the Cascades and can confirm they are better than the Sony MDR-1AM2 (which I also returned recently), to reference a recent thread. Not as much bass as people make out, but still more than most. Less sibilant than the Sony's, which is nice. The price is insane for what you're getting though, £300 would be about right. The way the cables point forward is awkward AF, I don't make headphones, but it's hard to understand what was wrong with straight down.

Shure SE535 and SE846. I moved away from balanced armatures a few years ago, these were a reminder of why. Pure balance armatures just sound lifeless to me, it doesn't matter how many of them there are or what techniques are used.

Shure KSE1200. I had a little trouble with these, they kept distorting, even at a reasonable volume. Didn't blow me away, maybe they were broken.

Astell&Kern Kann Cube. Giant, heavy block of metal with sharp edges. As relevant to me as the $7.5K Conrad-Johnson amp with the burning hot volume knob...

--------------------------------------
Glad I went this year, can't wait until next year!
Would you consider the Cascade and the 1AM2s to have similar sound signatures by any means?

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Jul 27, 2019 at 9:59 PM Post #81 of 277
they can talk about the next Dave because it's not started yet, however there is definitely something happening Mojo wise

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Jul 27, 2019 at 10:43 PM Post #82 of 277
A&K were there, buried deep in the Audeze booth. I think I saw at least 3 Cubes; one being hogged on the A&K booth, one at Hifonix and at least one other, but I don't recall where.
Damn, I total missed them :frowning2:....
 
Jul 27, 2019 at 11:05 PM Post #83 of 277
Yes, heard the ‘normal’ M11. And had I never listened to the Pro, I would be a happy chap. But to my ears there’s no going back once I heard the Pro. The THX amp makes a huge difference. If they price it right it will be Fiio’s biggest selling Dap ever. And will compete with very expensive flagships.
I’ll try my best. For me personally the M11 (non pro) sounds lovely, but it still sounds like a dap. (I’ve heard so many over the years and it’s rare for me to be blown away anymore sadly).
The M11 (non pro) does nothing wrong, and for the price it’s a steal. It has that typical smooth AK dac sound. I liked it a lot.

But!.....the Pro is literally like listening to a desktop amp on first listen. Really took me by surprise. It was literally effortless at delivering the music. Yes, the AK smoothness was there (my personal fav dacs so that works for me), but the amp side with the THX AAA just takes it to a whole new level. I honestly could have just sat there all day listening. Effortless as I said, with such a clean sound. Emotional connection to the music was there instantly......It’s been a long time since I heard a dap and then instantly smiled, then laughed at the fact Fiio have worked this magic (no offence Fiio). If someone had blind tested me and said ‘flagship, £2000 etc) I would have believed them. To me it’s that good. And I shall be buying one as soon as UK release!!
Great, just what I didn't want to hear. I want the Pro now :laughing:
 
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Jul 28, 2019 at 1:06 AM Post #85 of 277
The team at Heinz Electrodynamic Designs worked tirelessly the last few weeks to put the finishing touches on their prototype "HEDDphone". Anyone gotten the chance to put it through the paces or at least a brief try? And what about that electrostatic listening booth?
 
Jul 28, 2019 at 1:53 AM Post #86 of 277
Curious, what IEMs did you use when listening and comparing M11 to M11 Pro? When you say clean/black background, though not as bad as X5iii it replaced, M11 has a noticeable hissing with sensitive IEMs (Andro, Solaris, U18t, Fourte, etc) and a bit of a flat low-end response. I'm curious if they stepped it up with M11 Pro, though it's not their flagship DAP and I guess they do need to leave some room to wow their customers with the next flagship :)

Initially listened to it with my sons Sony MDR-7506 out of the 3.5mm, as such a neutral headphone is perfect to show a daps capability’s. And it really did as I put. Then I tried it with the FH7’s they had and my own Jupiter’s. Didn’t notice any hissing but can’t guarantee as noisy place and I was just too happy at what I was hearing to care either way.
As for your low end question, that was the part that took my by surprise first. Was listening to Eagles ‘Hotel California’, and the low end thump at the beginning of that song was pure desktop produced. And don’t get me started on the vocals. Like I said, pure emotion.

As for Fiios ‘flagship’ in the near future, I can’t even imagine what they will do there to beat the Pro. Just suffice to say Fiio are steadily becoming to my eyes and ears the company to go to above all in the dap market.

I applaud them and thank them (@JamesFiiO) on their dedication to bringing us such good products.
 
Jul 28, 2019 at 1:55 AM Post #87 of 277
I couldn’t make it as had to be out of town precisely this weekend
Hope all is going well

Does anyone know if they will be putting on sale any gear post show?
Keen to buy a new Dac/Amp for my office listening and any excuse is a great excuse...

hifiheadphones.co.uk has some deals which will continue post-show. Use code CANJAM19 for 20% off on these makers:
  • Shanling
    • Except M2x, which on the flyer is £125 instead of £199.99, so that's 37.49% off
  • Final
  • Periodic Audio
Their offer runs until 5 August.

Does the BTR5 have 2.5 or 4.4 balanced output?

I think it's just 3.5 unbalanced.

It's conceivable (though unlikely) that it had 2.5 balanced and I didn't notice. But it definitely doesn't have 4.4.

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Jul 28, 2019 at 2:24 AM Post #89 of 277
Initially listened to it with my sons Sony MDR-7506 out of the 3.5mm, as such a neutral headphone is perfect to show a daps capability’s. And it really did as I put. Then I tried it with the FH7’s they had and my own Jupiter’s. Didn’t notice any hissing but can’t guarantee as noisy place and I was just too happy at what I was hearing to care either way.
As for your low end question, that was the part that took my by surprise first. Was listening to Eagles ‘Hotel California’, and the low end thump at the beginning of that song was pure desktop produced. And don’t get me started on the vocals. Like I said, pure emotion.

As for Fiios ‘flagship’ in the near future, I can’t even imagine what they will do there to beat the Pro. Just suffice to say Fiio are steadily becoming to my eyes and ears the company to go to above all in the dap market.

I applaud them and thank them (@JamesFiiO) on their dedication to bringing us such good products.
I totally agree...with M11 and FH7 FiiO made this business seriously competitive and that's a great sign for us.
 

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