Another great Canjam London - many thanks to
@third_eye,
@jude and all the others behind the scenes (and the booths!) that made it happen.
Been writing up some proper impressions at the moment (up to 8000 words from just the gear I heard over the two days, and still growing!) but a few brief highlights from me:
The good:
EE Valkyrie - good punchy bass, great detail in the highs, bright but enjoyable sig, nice smallish form factor. Felt like a breath of fresh air in the ear, and nice to hear an estat model with some bass. Maybe not quite as detailed as their flagships in all areas, but pricetag reflects that, and you don't feel robbed of resolution. Inagine it could get fatiguing after a few hours listening.
64 Audio U12t - was the sweet spot in their Tia range for me. Nice bass weight, good (but not mind blowing) resolution and a good sense of airiness and soundstage. Honourable mention to the Fourte Noir - probably the best model of theirs I've tried for timbre and overall technical prowess as a whole, but still kept going back to the 12t if I had to pick just one to listen to.
Acoustune - great to finally see them at a UK show. Both the current models (HS1650 and 1670) were very good for the price. 1650 is bassy and emotional, 1670 is less bassy (but not bass light) and more crisp in the treble. The 1650 still pushed out good detail for a £650 single DD, but the 1670 just had a sharper tuning and more obvious detail throughout. They convey emotion in a similar style to the old Final Audio tunings, and the insane quality of their build and accessories really showed what can be done in the sub $1000 bracket. The newer models that are awaiting release were an iterative upgrade on both. I ended up purchasing the 1650, as the warm but detailed sound was the most enjoyable thing in my price bracket I heard all weekend, and just made me enjoy anything I listened to through it.
Vision Ears - both the Erlkonig and Elysium impressed, although both are priced stratospherically. The Elysium had a pleasantly musical signature that sits between neutral and natural, and highs that were a match for anything at the show. The choice of a DD based midrange helps keep the emotion in the tuning, and while it loses a touch in terms of final resolution compared to some other models in this area, it was just just plain enjoyable to listen. That estat treble is something to hear - great headroom, snooth as butter but extended highs, tons of air. Not sure if they will be able to justify £3k for a four driver tribrid, but if money was no object, these are worth a listen.
If money is not even an object but just a downright irrelevance, the Erlkonig is an IEM that has a tonality and presentation that competes with over ear cans for me. Rich, warm and very resolving in a subtle way, this gives that rich sort of tube / analogue tonality to music while not skimping on bass or details. Very well done, and the accessory pack is on another level, along with the feel of the silver shells. Is it worth £4k? Depends if that is a lot of money to you - it's definitely a beautiful listen, but not a bang for the buck one in my opinion.
Jomo Audio Trinity Brass - probably the best IEM I heard at the show as an all rounder. Nice substantial bass, stacks of resolution and a butter smooth and airy top end with the estat tweeters. This is just musical, pure and simple - it has the trick of presenting music in a warm and engaging way but still surprising you with just how much detail is pushed into the sound - feels almost effortless to me. Again, price is high but if I had a lottery win, this would be high on my shopping list.
Obravo Cupid - great planar/DD hybrid sound. Tends towards dark and musical, with a lot of bass in the mix, but then surpasses expectations with blistering treble speed and unexpected clarity up top. Not a TOTL flagship killer, but definitely a contender for the sub-$500 market crown at the moment IMHO. Build is solid brass and very sexy too. One thing to note - tip and seal is very important with these - the right tip really expands the soundstage and presents a much more cohesive sound.
The "meh":
EE Wraith - technically impressive in the most part, but sounded much better to me with the Ares II+ copper cable suggested by Josh at EE instead of the Cleopatra. Couldn't quite click with the signature, and despite a good seal and fit the soundstage felt a bit flat in depthd and a little odd. Sounds like the Zeus with more bass, but less coherence - would be willing to give it another try, but didn't feel as flagship to my ears as the LX or Valkyrie.
Obravo - the rest of their models sounded nice, but WAAAY overpriced. Not for me.
64 Audio - the N8t was something I expected to like, and the bass detail and texture is top notch, but the whole tuning just lacked air for me, and left me longing for the additional detail and air the 12t was offering. Definitely a specialist IEM.
Edit: various typos corrected.
