c3po
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2009
- Posts
- 86
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- 63
In Regard to the HEDD 'Crinkle'; I've had a pair for about 9 months now and the only crinkle I get is when putting them on/taking off.A bit late but a huge thank you to the organisers of CanJam London 2022. It was a very useful show.
While I’m handing out thanks, I’ll make a special shout out to dCS for supporting the show in such a major way. Not only a large number of identical and very high quality systems to listen to and in a somewhat quieter environment than the main hall, but also for bringing so many different headphones. This made it really easy to assess the performance of all those headphones. I can honestly say that without dCS my time at this show would have been much shorter and somewhat disappointing as hearing all these top tier headphones was exactly what I wanted to do.
Another big thank you goes to Dekoni Audio. On the Saturday I managed to lose a tip from one of my SoundMAGIC E80. The guys at Dekoni sorted me out with a pair of their memory foam Mercury tips. I didn’t realise until I got home and looked at their website, how much these tips cost. Service indeed! Thank you guys and I will be sure to buy more Dekoni tips as they work really well – better than the tip I lost! It would have been a very long ride back to Somerset without them.
I brought my own music source to the show in the form of the Plenue R2 with an optical cable. Most exhibitors were only too happy to let me plug it in. A big fat black mark to the guy at Hifonix for which the simple act of putting a plug into an already vacant socket was too difficult and he ‘wasn’t going to change any of the setups’. This same chap also said that the T1 was completely lacking in emotion. My opinion obviously differs on that! This doesn’t inspire me with any confidence in ever using Hifonix as a dealer.
So what did I think of all the headphones on offer? Most of them were planar magnetic and left me feeling the same way as my LCD-X does. I just don’t find them very musical or involving. Some were better than others but I wouldn’t take any of them over my T1.1. This included the LCD5, LCD4z, MM-500, RAD-0, Empyrean, Elite, Abyss 1266, Abyss Diana, Ether 2, all the HifiMAN range. I guess I just prefer dynamic headphones.
The T1 gen 3, was in the dCS room and I did enjoy those but only with certain genres. With anything already strong in the bass, they were just overpowering. I think they might make a great complement to my T1.1 but they are not an all rounder. The ClearMg and Utopia were wired to a Naim Unity Headphone Edition and didn’t quite hit the spot. The upper mids were a bit too present for me. This is an area of the spectrum I am very sensitive to. It has to be smooth and clean and not too loud. The Utopia was present in a couple of other systems but didn’t fare any better. Sadly I didn’t pack the Hugo2 as this might have told a different story. Note for next year!
That was about it for dynamic phones – OK the HD800 was there in various guises but I already know I don’t like them. I really wanted to hear a ZMF Verité but ZMF seemed to be entirely absent. Shame on them as they have a dealer in south-west London.
So with time to spare, I lighted upon the Raal|requisite table. I wasn’t expecting to like these. I had preconceptions from what others have written about the bass and about comfort and practicality. Tut tut! These were amazing. The only headphones at the show to make me cry. Twice! Oh my goodness. Such speed and so clean and so musical and just amazing. I really like these. The SR1a/b? with the valve amp was truly special – annoyingly as I really don’t want a room heater! I can’t justify that price for a winter-only amp. Even the solid state amp is more than I was thinking I might spend on a headphone amp. It is also a low powered speaker amp so if I still had high efficiency speakers then I might be able to make a case. My current speakers are only 90dB/W. These headphones (or should I say ear speakers?) have particular amp requirements. If I just bought a pair of SR1a/b with the amp adaptor, I could use them with my Arcam A32. This is a more affordable proposition and brings the price into line with other flagship headphones. Further investigation will be needed to determine if the Arcam is good enough. It sounds great with my speakers. I’ve never tried the headphone socket so I must get around to that but the Raal would connect to the speaker terminals anyway so who knows. Unfortunately the only UK dealership for these is Hifonix (see my comment above). Oh dear!
I shouldn’t talk about ribbons without also mentioning the HEDDphone. I was curious to see how these would feel on my head given their legendary weight but actually I found them quite comfortable and they didn’t ponderously flop about like the LCD-X does when I turn my head. The HEDDphone sounds very good but just like the LCD-X it crinkles when you put it on. However, unlike the LCD-X, it continues to crinkle with every movement of you head. The HEDDphone then sounds great if you listen with a still head. Now with planar magnetics that is easy to do as they are not a very involving listen (my ears, etc…). Not so the HEDD. It is very musical and joins in with a crinkly background as soon as you start moving to the music. Shame as it sounds good otherwise and is rather more affordable than the Raal (which doesn’t have this issue). Perhaps HEDD should take a look at the new Raal headphone, the one with the semi-open ear pads and try something similar.
There was one other item at the show that got me excited and that was the xMEMS microspeaker prototype IEM. These sounded really good in spite of the rather basic (in audiophile terms) dongle DAC that was being used to drive them. Very fast. Very low distortion. These microspeakers are relatively cheap and have the potential to turn the IEM market on its head. I can’t wait to hear some commercial products based on these. I’m putting off buying any more IEMs until these are available.
While I’m on the subject of IEMs, why were the xMEMs the only wire-down set of IEMs at the show. I have tried very hard to get used to the over-ear or wire-up style of IEM wearing and I just can’t. I wear glasses a lot, mainly sunglasses as I have sensitive eyes. I also like to wear a cap. I find over-ear wiring very uncomfortable. I own the iBasso IT01 and love the sound but just can’t get on with the fit. They don’t stay in my ears very well either, even with foam tips. Why have IEM makers moved almost entirely to over-ear except for the very cheapest models?
Anyway, enough from me. I now know where I need to go for my next headphone fix even if I don’t want to go there. The Raal|requisite system was the sound of the show for me.
I can sit with them on for hours at a time every day, leaning over my computer, turning around to adjust the amp, looking up and around searching for stuff and no crinkle sound. But then again i'm not listening to any music that requires 'Head Bopping', just jazz, classical and some subdued modern tracks, No Heavy Metal or Dance.
I don't find them heavy at all, but then I'm used to them now. I suppose initial impressions from a quick trial would give you the wrong perception, these are a cracking (not crackily) set of headphones, clarity is amazing