[betula]

It's the influencer era but there are still ways around it. Reading as much as possible in comparison to YT channels helps quite a bit in making better decisions on audio gears. I have purchased a lot of IEMs based on user reviews from Headfi and I personally haven't had a bad experience until now. I almost never watch YT videos.

Most Head-Fiers with a little experience know this, but the majority of those YT viewers don't even know, Head-Fi exists.

 

[mbirand]

I'm not the person you addressed this question, but I'm happy to volunteer my point of view if you would like and in the hopes it can be another helpful point of reference to others

I've heard both Storm and VE10; not hugely in depth and not in the same session, but I found both to be extremely impressive.
I've recently heard things like EE Raven, the Fir Audio IEMs, Campfire Trifecta and Supermoon and such like.
But funnily enough, when I listened to the VE10, my first thought was that it reminded me most of the Storm, rather than those others.
Perhaps the Rn6 was the closest in tuning out of those others I've heard.
But yes, VE 10 reminded me of the Storm; my impression would be that the Storm was a bit more neutral.
I feel the V10 had a bit more warmth in the low end (just a tinge; by no means a 'warm' IEM) which added a sweet touch of musicality, and I think it had a bit more shimmer perhaps too.
Storm was *comparatively* more neutral-reference in tuning, and as such it might come across to a listener as being slightly more technical, but I think this is more a factor of tuning rather than any actual disparity in technical prowess between the two IEMs.

As always, this is just the thoughts of one person, based on relatively brief listening, so please treat them as just an additional piece of information and don't go buying either of them solely based on my comments. Well, unless you want to pay me commission or something, in which case, please proceed

thank you very much for sharing your impressions. that information is exactly what i was looking for.

 

[ostewart]

Ok, so here is a quick overview of how the show was for me.
Disclaimer 1) it was very well attended and the main floor was quite noisy.
Disclaimer 2) All these impressions are my experience and therefore my own preference, my subjective opinion. Please don’t be offended if I didn’t like your personal favourite bit of gear.

Saturday
Booked in for the first session of the day with the Sennheiser HE-1. This was located upstairs in it own listening room.
Wow what can I say? What a way to kick off a CanJam weekend.
I had a 15 min slot of pure audio heaven. The HE-1 was hooked up to a DCS DAC and sounded phenomenal. Obviously I will never own something like this but boy what an experience. I would encourage anyone who has not yet had the opportunity to try this out to do so.

Next stop ZMF again upstairs in the room door. Congratulations to Zach, Bevin and the team for providing such a great set up. I kid you not there must have been getting on for nearly a 100 headphones in that room. All beautiful in design. All set up on high quality rigs. Incredible. I enjoyed all of the their offerings but I didn’t really have a standout.

Next up was the DCS room. Another fantastically well set up room. Oh boy talk about a kid in a sweet shop. My personal favourite here was the LINA stack? Not sure if that’s the right name or how you spell it. I particularly enjoyed this with the Meze Elite.

Next stop was in the main hall. I made a beeline for Vision Ears as I was keen to try out the new VEX and also revisit the EXT.
I liked the VEX but was not blown away by it. The fit was fine but I didn’t really like the design all that much. Kind of looked a bit cheap looking to me. Certainly not the usual high standards that I’ve come to expect from Vision Ears. I had a problem with the fit on the EXT which was no surprise as I struggled with it when I had it on loan as part of a tour. The VEX was probably one of the biggest disappointments and surprises to me. Maybe I was hoping for too much?

Next was Astell & Kern to treat the Aura. This time the VE design was top notch and much more to my taste. Sound wise, again I liked it but it didn’t blow me away. Again maybe my expectations were set too high. It’s hard to say what does 4K sound like but for me it felt overpriced. I came away from both stands feeling more than happy with my Phonix with no desire to add to my stable.

Next was Noble. Absolutely stunning designs, esp some of the wood options. What wasn’t so good for me though was the fit. Unfortunately I could not achieve a single seal with their IEM’s despite trying a handful of sets. Shame because if they sounded half as good as they looked it could have been wonderful.

Next was Campire Audio. To be honest they weren’t really on my radar but I thought I’d try them anyway and I was so glad I did. The Trifreca was extremely impressive. Big, bold, muscular sound almost headphone territory. Hard to describe but a wonderful, engaging experience. I also very much liked the Super Moon. Very enjoyable planar in an IEM.

Next I tried the Raven and the Evo. Again not really on my radar but I enjoyed both very much. The Raven is BIG but to my surprise it was quite a good fit and the EVO fit me even better. Both sounded great. Different but great. If I had to pick one I would opt for the EVO. I just connected with it from the first song to the last.

Next was Elise Audio. They covered a wide range of gear but I was mainly there for the XE6, RN6, Singularity & the Elysian audio IEM’s.
I really enjoyed the RN6 and can see why it’s receiving so much praise. Definitely a very versatile IEM and easy to recommend. The XE6 was brilliant fun. Some songs on this set gave me several wow moments. I’m not sure if I could live it full time but if I was in the right mood to rock out these along with the Trfecta would probably be my first choice to party with.
Next up was the Elysian X.. I didn’t know much about this IEM prior to the show but I really liked its tuning. Great fit and great sound.
Next was the Singlarity. I liked it, particularly the Bass but something about the treble area didn’t quite gel with me. Good but not great is how I would rank it.
Next was the Diva. Loved this one. Particularly when the bass switch was turned to its max setting. I think there were 3 settings/profiles to choose from. I know I will be in the minority on this one but I actually preferred it to the Anilator ( please forgive the spelling) I A/B them for a good 15-20 mins on two separate days and still came to the same conclusion.

Next was the Storm. I really enjoyed this one. Extremely nice coherent tuning. Also the design in the flash was stunning.

I finally managed to audition the UM Mentor. Wow I loved this IEM. Stunning new design and oh boy the Mids. The Mids were to die for. For me this one ticked a lot of boxes. For a couple of £1000 for a used example this is probably going to me next purchase

I tried lots of other gear but these were the main one’s I wanted to share. I hope it’s not too long

I also preferred the Diva to the Annihilator

 

[shez.]

Just wanted to say a massive thanks and congratulations to the organisers, head-fi team, exhibitors and everyone else involved!

I consider myself lucky to be able to see so much across a vast range of headphone gear with virtually zero effort (not just because I live in London haha).

And I remember 10+ years ago when getting any pre-purchase demo was virtually impossible so I'd drive myself nuts by reading and re-reading reviews. Don't take these demo opportunities for granted!

Initially I actually went to troubleshoot my Focal and Abyss headphones, both with poor build quality. Focal in particular don't seem to consider a headband as an important part of their flagship headphones - the sheer amount of disturbingly creaky Stellias and Utopias even at the show was scary. And no, It's not wear and tear, but poor build quality and shoddy design.

But I was pleasantly surprised to see Ultimate Ears Pro have a stand. Was wondering a few weeks ago about how their new "UE Premier" flagship CIEM sounds. I highly rate my UE18+ Pro's from a sound perspective and design/fit/build/service perspective.
Tried the universal demo premier with a great reference point: the difference between my custom UE18+ and the universal demo UE18+
The guy at the stand was really cool, and had vast experience in this field which was interesting to hear about.
Most likely this is my next IEM!

Also enjoyed the Questyle stand - another cool guy!
I've used my CMA 12 Master almost daily for 4+ years. Definitely looking forward to their upcoming 18 Master which I had no idea existed until today.


Other points:
1) Free hotel WiFi was really good, consistent and fast all day long.
Don't remember it being this good in a few previous shows. Only a few demo rigs I came across had streaming problems, which probably wasn't because of the wifi

2) Rooms upstairs were well done
Filled with plenty of demo rigs, ZMF and DCS. Got to listen to loads of solid setups for my Abyss Dianas (which don't pair that well with the Questyle).
No shortage of headphones in the ZMF room
And the DCS rigs were flawless and well put together!

Maybe one/two of the larger open-backed stands downstairs (like Audeze) could have got a room for better isolation
But I agree with an earlier poster here - too many rooms is a bad thing - some hi-fi shows I've been to are like games of hide and seek with 50+ rooms!

3) Demo headphone units were mostly pristine and the hall & rooms were all well air-conditioned
Didn't leave the show feeling like my hair stank of other peoples ear pad sweat! Lots of exhibitors used pristine demo units which was really nice to see.

4) Perfect amount of people vs demo rigs
Didn't need to queue for much and it was easy to get conversations in with exhibitors (difficult in busy shows such as Bristol hi-fi show)

5) Jude is an ocean of knowledge, a personal audio grand master!
Always learn a lot when being lucky enough to speak to people of this calibre


Again, thanks for putting this show on and hopefully see you all at the next CanJam London

Is the Premier upgrade over 18+, or has different tuning? Which 18+ version do you have?

 

[Delacaff]

Kallyste Amethyste amp plus Camerton Binom-er was bassy, pretty good with Massive Attack, but not so with Jimi Hendrix. Definitely a fuller, clearer sound than my home kit, but pricey. I think I’d need a quieter room to try these out to really understand.

Do you remember which pad model was mounted on the Camerton? There are 3 different pad models and each of them bring something different to the playback. The hybrid furry pads are the most bassy.

 

[Kentajalli]

My highlight of the show, slam master.

I did try this one out.
Indeed sounded very good.
It ran very HOT! but the designer was very tight-lipped about the design of it, calling it a secret. Somebody should tell them, that secret doesn't work over here in the West (he was from Japan).
If I was to pay his asking price, I need to know about the design and technology used.
He said, it was neither Class-A nor Tube based. I asked him because of how hot it was running.
It did drive a pair of hifiman Susvara (very low sensitivity) and my own Audeze LCD-XC (high sensitivity) without breaking sweat.
So he has done a good design, but Secret? I didn't like that!

 

[DarginMahkum]

So he has done a good design,

That it can drive the Susvara does not mean that it is a good design. I am not saying it is not, but it is not the benchmark. In this day and age, designing an amplifier is not rocket science. So for me no matter what procedure he followed in reinventing the wheel, it is just a wheel, in the end - though possibly a good one. Secret? Come on...

I watched the first Rob Watts presentation on the first day. I think it was a good overview. He wasn't afraid to share some of his secret. Only thing that left me feel like "oh, come on" moment was when he repeated the -300 dB distortion hearing story. I wish he would have a setup that he can prove that. If Charles Darwin would be with us in the room, he would be very confused with his explanation that our brain possess the capability to process some information that is not needed for a large predator like us in the evolutionary process, that doesn't need to hear the insects walking on a tree, and that our auditory receptors are also a bottle neck - which can be confirmed with the other predators like cats which need to hear the tiniest of the noises in the wild, with more sophisticated receptors in larger numbers and a more sophisticated auditory system. We didn't evolve to be audiophiles in the end, but to survive.

I should have asked him about this but, maybe next year I will bring it up...

 

[vsg28]

That it can drive the Susvara does not mean that it is a good design. I am not saying it is not, but it is not the benchmark. In this day and age, designing an amplifier is not rocket science. So for me no matter what procedure he followed in reinventing the wheel, it is just a wheel, in the end - though possibly a good one. Secret? Come on...

Not really a secret, he shares progress photos of his builds on social media all the time. These are a few from the 465, for example:

(Edit) A photo of him with the 465 he brought along from Japan:

 

[AsciiJC]

Taking my discovery thread post and posting here of my impressions on the spirit torino iems!:

First of all, they are pretty ugly and you cannot deny that. The choice to add the faceplate as one of their flagship headphones and a straight nozzle is certainly controversial, which has caused some fit problems for some people. Generally, this is the case with straight nozzle iems that do not have an angled body, but they fit me well enough to where i can use them for long listening sessions. Isolation however is...not good. They isolate, but not to where it mutes the outside world. But they have absolutely grown on me for design, it reminds me of abstract art and I love abstract.

Sound as well is fairly unique. With a dark tuning on the stock nozzle and a fairly large treble spike somewhere, its something that won't be liked by those who enjoy bright sound signatures. Despite that, the sound is enjoyable and fun. Its resolution isn't the best for a beryllium with slightly being tight together. The bass is punchy and has a nice kick to it, with the red nozzle it becomes boomy and heavy. The black nozzle reduces that and adds treble which i find to help a lot with its sound.

I am not going to recommend this to someone desiring the best of the best. This is for those searching for the unique, the strange and different, as it is definitely for that purpose. Nothing about the IEM is conventional, and that is why I bought it at canjam london yesterday. Its not aiming to be the best, its spirits own take of an IEM, and they did well for a first!

 

[CantScareMe]

Is the Premier upgrade over 18+, or has different tuning? Which 18+ version do you have?

I've got the latest version of them UE18's (3rd version I believe - plus pro's). It hasn't been updated since I bought it, put it that way!

There was a pretty large difference IMO between the demo version of the UE18+ pro and my custom (with perfect fit)

But comparing the demo premier vs the demo 18+ pro, the premier is a clear upgrade, definitely (and it is £1000+ more expensive too!)

 

[vsg28]

FiiO had a lot of things on display although I have experience with most of them. Instead, I focused on the yet-to-be-released FT5 open-back planar magnetic headphones they were soliciting feedback on:

The tonality came off mildly V-shaped bordering on warm-neutral similar to the FT3. I did notice some sub-bass drop, possibly from the worn/uneven pad surface, and FiiO says this will ship with leather and suede pads similar to the FT3. The good news here is the pads are larger and the FT5 is also a better looking/feeling set if the FT3 was too aggressive for your taste. Pricing is finalized at $400, I did give them a few more suggestions on the tuning so let's see if they address it- especially for the upper mids that came off somewhat compressed.

There was also a BR13 Bluetooth receiver on hand, albeit not connected to anything:

Given I also review keyboards, I was happy to see the upcoming FiiO keyboard also present in one of two colorways it will be sold in:

Similar to the Moondrop DASH, this is a 75% form factor keyboard that has an integrated DAC/amp (dual CS4131 from what I know) offering 3.5 mm SE (2 Vrms) and 4.4 mm balanced (4 Vrms) outputs. What is different from the Moondrop keyboard is an integrated volume knob as well as the use of Gateron switches over first-party offerings. While this is a far more practical offering, I do think it's somewhat safe compared to the original design render shown off last year. The space bar stabilizers also weren't great in my testing and I'll see how this performs when finalized for sale later this year.

 

[DarginMahkum]

FiiO had a lot of things on display although I have experience with most of them. Instead, I focused on the yet-to-be-released FT5 open-back planar magnetic headphones they were soliciting feedback on:



The tonality came off mildly V-shaped bordering on warm-neutral similar to the FT3. I did notice some sub-bass drop, possibly from the worn/uneven pad surface, and FiiO says this will ship with leather and suede pads similar to the FT3. The good news here is the pads are larger and the FT5 is also a better looking/feeling set if the FT3 was too aggressive for your taste. Pricing is finalized at $400, I did give them a few more suggestions on the tuning so let's see if they address it- especially for the upper mids that came off somewhat compressed.

There was also a BR13 Bluetooth receiver on hand, albeit not connected to anything:



Given I also review keyboards, I was happy to see the upcoming FiiO keyboard also present in one of two colorways it will be sold in:


Similar to the Moondrop DASH, this is a 75% form factor keyboard that has an integrated DAC/amp (dual CS4131 from what I know) offering 3.5 mm SE (2 Vrms) and 4.4 mm balanced (4 Vrms) outputs. What is different from the Moondrop keyboard is an integrated volume knob as well as the use of Gateron switches over first-party offerings. While this is a far more practical offering, I do think it's somewhat safe compared to the original design render shown off last year. The space bar stabilizers also weren't great in my testing and I'll see how this performs when finalized for sale later this year.

Oh, wow! I missed the keyboard!

One of my comments on the FT5 was that the isolation didn't work well on my head. Top of the pads has a good seal but under my ear it was not. There was a slight opening, so the seal was not good.

 

[lights]

This show was my first time listening to Ultimate Ears and I thought the UE Premier sounded incredible. I was skeptical about the high driver count and huge shells, but I thought they were the best sounding IEMs at the show, I enjoyed them more than the Tia Fourté, Odin or VE Aura.

 

[majid]

No, although some people do. I'm red/green blind, others may be yellow/blue blind. It's not always easy to describe. I'd be able to distinguish a yellow, for example, but there will be other colours I can't distinguish. Some will be ok, others not. Sometimes if two colours are next to each other I can see a difference, but if they are moved apart then I can't. Bottom line either way is that the Hugo as it is just isn't an option because of this. When objects are colour coded I often have to ask someone what the colours are.

Have you tried apps like this one when you don't have someone handy to ask?
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/color-blind-pal/id1037744228

Not that it excuses Chord's inexcusable UI choices (or the use of micro-USB in 2023).

Desktop DAC+Amp (same footprint of the 12 master and 15).

Their naming is confusing for these new releases - they've called their portable DAC/Amp the CMA 18 and the desktop the CMA 18 Master

I think it's "CMA 18 Master" and "CMA 18 Portable", but yes, very confusing.

I watched the first Rob Watts presentation on the first day. I think it was a good overview. He wasn't afraid to share some of his secret. Only thing that left me feel like "oh, come on" moment was when he repeated the -300 dB distortion hearing story. I wish he would have a setup that he can prove that. If Charles Darwin would be with us in the room, he would be very confused with his explanation that our brain possess the capability to process some information that is not needed for a large predator like us in the evolutionary process, that doesn't need to hear the insects walking on a tree, and that our auditory receptors are also a bottle neck - which can be confirmed with the other predators like cats which need to hear the tiniest of the noises in the wild, with more sophisticated receptors in larger numbers and a more sophisticated auditory system. We didn't evolve to be audiophiles in the end, but to survive.

We were not always apex predators, at least not on evolutionary time scales. Being able to locate the leopard hungrily eyeing us from a couple hundred meters aways was a survival trait.

Just as DSD takes a 1-bit signal and converts it into something with 19-bits or so dynamic range by trading time and higher sampling frequency for dynamic range, I can easily imagine the brain doing similar processing tricks to coax more out of the ears. Similarly, our eyes' fovea only has about 3MP's worth of resolution, but the brain makes the eyes scan the scene and synthesizes a much higher-res mental picture. Not that our audition is a slouch, we are only a couple bels above brownian motion as our noise floor.

 

[dbull12]

What a great event. I’m already missing getting to listen to my favourite tunes on amazing kit. Having attended countless trade shows as a stand person, I appreciate it from the other side. Plus knowing how slap dash companies I have worked for have been this event was so well organised. Thanks to everyone for organising a great event.

I’m not a reviewer or very good at describing listening well, but here are my impressions in order of how it happened:

I’m in the market for a new headphone amp, possibly a new DAC should I be unable to buy a friend's Chord Dave and generally curious about everything else, especially higher-end IEMS.

Sennheiser HE1
I started Saturday with these beauties. I’d tried to pre-listen so I was ready, but it still took the first track (Charles Mingus: Better Git it in yo self) to warm up and let my ears relax. At this point I thought, why all the fuss? It was great, but where were the tears … so I switched up to an all time favourite (Godspeed! You Black Emperor: Bosses Hang) and suddenly there were hairs on the back of my neck going up and I felt pretty emotional. I am impressed.

DCS
Moving on from the HE1 to DCS, I was preparing myself to be let down, but I wasn’t. I was lucky enough to be able to try my HD800S with the Abyss Diana and Susvara at the same time.

In 2022 I didn’t rate the Lina, they couldn’t really drive my Sennheisers, but I think my assistant that time hadn’t shown me everything I needed. This time I learned about the two gain settings on the amp and the multiple output voltages on the DAC. Great, I could see how all the headphones performed under different voltages and gains to see what it was like to hear an underpowered Susvara.

On the Lina: I enjoyed it and think it is pretty good, I felt that it gave me more than my current stack through the HD800S, but when I got to the Susvara I really knew these were good.

On the Susvara: Even when underpowered I heard more than ever before. When full powered they were fantastic, wider, clearer, richer sound. Lovely. They may go on a purchase list, but see below for competition.

On the Abyss: really good, but hard to wear. Less clarity than the Susvara, but highly comparable.

ZMF Room
I didn’t know the family ZMF would be there. Great chats and thanks for taking the time to educate me on all things ZMF. I really liked the Caldera and took the opportunity to test it in comparison to my HD800S that I brought with me on both the Ferrum stack (Oor + Wandla) and the Holo Audio stack (Bliss + May).

On the Caldera: they were richer and more balanced than the Sennheisers. Definitely a step up and possibly as good as the Susvara from my Lina listening.

On Ferrum: amplification was great, definitely why the Oor is on my current buy list, the Wandla definitely sounded good. Possibly punching higher than it’s price point. Listening later on the Hifonix stand and it wasn’t as good. Definitely crowd noise affecting me feeling anything special that I felt at ZMF.

On Holo Audio: amplification was very good, much fuller sound. I’m not sure what settings the May was using, but I felt something odd with percussion. Sort of bursting balloons rather than sharp snares. Will have to try again, but couldn’t get a chance on the Audeze stand.

Audeze Seminar
I enjoyed this, light and easy to follow. I chatted with Chris on Sunday about this. Nice guy. The memorable quote from him I liked was, “closed back headphones are like gluten free bread. You have it because you need it, not because you want it”

Rob Watts Seminar
Interesting, and seeing the same one live after seeing it on YouTube meant more of it sunk in. I have to remember some seminars are 401, not 101 and require prior reading. Therefore I skipped Sunday’s transient session knowing I’d need Google and time to catch-up, which I can do assuming the seminar is on YouTube.

Soundz
These guys are great people. I got time to listen to the Avant and they were the best IEMs I’d ever heard coming from IE600. Not quite like over ear headphones, but getting to that experience. I also listened to the Flame. Initially I didn’t like it, but as I sat back during one track I got them. More relaxed, but in the same vein as Avant.

Hifonix
I gave money to charity raffle, sad to hear about the family cancer challenges.

I got a second go at the Ferrum stack, not so good this time, but enjoyable.

Golden Sound and co. were next to me talking about some new amps and headphones. We had a nice chat and so I had to try the recommended kit.

Kallyste Amethyste amp plus Camerton Binom-er was bassy, pretty good with Massive Attack, but not so with Jimi Hendrix. Definitely a fuller, clearer sound than my home kit, but pricey. I think I’d need a quieter room to try these out to really understand.

Audeze
Comparing LCD-4Z to HD800s with Burson Timekeeper. The Timekeeper is good, made my HD 800s sound great even compared to the LCD 4z, which were richer and revealed more. Bass on massive attack was great.

I like Audeze and just found them cumbersome for multi hour listening when at work or I’d have bought the LCD-X last year. The LCD-4Z are great and I can put them next to Susvara and Caldera to try next time I have free cash.

Sennheiser
The IE900 we’re clearer and better, but not double the price better than the ie600. Nice to try, but compared to the other IEMs, I won’t get any more from them. Love the IE600 though.

Hedd
These are lovely guys and we spoke a lot about fit as much as sound. Handmade bands with different types of cushioning should make these a good purchase one day. However, all I could feel was pain on the crown of my head. They do sound lovely. Worth checking out and I support them developing this tech: impressive.

64audio
Not much time left meant I rushed my time and only got to try the u12t. Amazing. First over-ear full size headphone sound from an IEM. I almost grabbed an open box deal, but that wasn’t my focus for the day so skipped it.

So that was 2023, bring on 2024 and hopefully some beer and food with some of y’all next time. Everyone is so friendly.

Good to see another fan of GY!BE on here, I'm going to be seeing them live for the first time next month! For my time with the HE-1 at CanJam Chicago I listened to Jigsaw Falling Into Place by Radiohead and Wild Is The Wild by Nina Simone, but you have me wishing I squeezed in some of their music too. Of all the types of music I love, I think the atmosphere and crescendos of post-rock and post-metal have to be some of the things that resonate with me most.