This years show had a great selection of interesting gear, and it was nice meeting people and having a chats with fellow enthusiasts. I ran out of time and didn’t get to try IEMs and even everything I wanted to. I also tried a lot of stuff last year (Audeze, hifiman, final etc) so I wont expand on those much this year.
Caveat: I am a vintage planar/stat fan, sensitive to treble peaks, resonances and not generally a fan of dynamic headphones (with some exceptions).
Gear was either tested with the exhibiter setup, or sometimes with my iPhone to iFi micro iDSD black label . The Canjam conditions have high ambient noise, so take impressions with a pinch of salt, the are very high level, chain dependent, and may easily change with long term home demo-ing of gear.
Kaldas Research/Inox,
It should be noted that Kaldas’ Inox closed back electrostatic headphone present is still
not the final design but a “Development Mule”, that may not have been evident to those present who heard it.
This is the only closed back electrostat (soon) on the market, and they have done a great job in making it not sound closed, which is difficult for an electrostat so I tip my hat off to them. Pretty good extension both ways, electrostatic clarity, I would have preferred a little warmer tuning, but others may prefer it like this.
Very nice build and design
It was a pleasure to meet the owner Aumkar who is knowledgeable and passionate about developing headphones and a vintage headphone fan.
Their
RR-1 open back looks very cool and performed technically great, though I need more bass and warmth in the sound for my tastes. Price wise it is one of the most affordable electrostatics on the market.
The
Altiat Cal.1H dynamic surprised me, because I am not a big dynamic fan, with the stock pads it was warm and did not have a peaky or out of control treble like a lot of dynamics have to my ears. I really enjoyed it. There was a model with an alternative pad, but that took away the warmth I enjoyed with the stock pad.
The unit with the 2 tone colour finish looked great.
Audeze:
I tried most of Audeze range in the past so only spent a small amount of time with them.
Also all the guys at the stand were super friendly and great to talk to, Chris, Richard, and the UK dealer chap.
Audeze Maxwell: IMO the best closed back planar I have heard. And amongst the top few closed back headphones I have heard period (more on that later…this is vs Legendary headphones…). Probably the best value price/performance planar out there. I heard it last year but didn’t post yet, but one of my best finds.
People may not (like I did!) pay attention to it since it is a gaming headset, but it is a superb music headphone.
Audeze CRBN: I tried the CRBN out of 3 amps on the day;
Blue Hawaii SE: Wow, the CBRN on this was amazing. Rich , lush, detailed, balanced. It did lack a little sub-bass for me (below 40Hz), but everything from there and above was pretty much perfect. Vs the Stax X9000, the Stax had more deep bass and a more open sound, but the CRBN on this rig had better 3-dimensionality and a more realistic tone and timbre to me.
One of my show highlights. Thank you to the rep there for his patience, a v.friendly guy. And thank you to Chris at Audeze who brought the CRBN to another stand for me.
LTA Z10e; that it was demo’d on at the stand; it wasn’t my taste, I know some preferred it, but I found the upper mids were a bit hard with this amp for me. It is a full tube amp, but supsisingly I didn’t get on with it.
iFi Phantom: it was also on the Audeze stand, but most didn’t get to try it. On the ‘Tube’ mode, which uses a real tube pre-stage, the CRBN also sounded great. It also has X-bass, which when activated with the 20Hz setting for me, elevated the CRBN to almost flat and was just great.
Viva Belva mega stack + DCs TOTL DAC: Thank to a fellow member (
@TheAbyss2022 ) I managed to briefly hear his CRBN out of this mega rig, and it sounded glorious…similar to the Blue Hawaii SE setup above, but with more bass authority.
Hifonix private room:
Raal Immanis; upstairs on the massive super expensive Viva and DCs setup at Hifonix’s private room. It was very impressive, one of the best at the show (the setup was over £150k which is way out of my league but was a great experience). I didn’t try the Raal downstairs at Elise as it was so busy there so it is difficult to know how much of my impression was from the amp here. The Raal had pretty much spot on balance across the frequency spectrum, there were hints of mids resonance for me, which is usually there in ribbon drivers, but had been tuned and controlled really well here in the Immanis. A really superb job by Raal. This was one memorable audio experience.
I wasn’t a fan of the frame’s aesthetics, it was a bit too gold blingy for me, the cups didn’t swivel etc. But perhaps the design was to minimize weight.
Hifiman Shangrila Shang Sr: There was a Shang Sr. driven by the Viva Audio Egoista STX. I must caveat by saying that I think I didn’t gel with the Ergoista STX’s sound signature. But the Shang Sr running from this was perhaps my biggest disappointment of the event. Compared to other high end electrostatics (HE-1, HE-90, X9000, CRBN) and even the overall balance from the mini Shangrila, the Senior was just too thin and a slightly etchy sounding to me. It lacked deep bass (and bass magnitude in general). I was surprised by a review further up talking about how this better body and bass vs the x9000, I felt completely the opposite, and so did 4 other people I met who tried them. It did have good microdetail and transients etc. but that didn’t save it for me.
Sennheiser:
Some really great and friendly guys working on the Sennheiser stands. The HD660s2 sounded really great. It’s signature was more like a HD600 than HD650. But it very much extended the deep bass and treble where the HD600 rolls off on both ends. A very balanced headphone.
I loved the HD600/650 as usual. Total classics.
Heard the HD800s which surprised me in that it wasn’t bright like I remembered a HD800 to be (I cannot remember which model I heard previously). Just a really great spacious sound. Lacked a bit of deep bass but other than that great.
Meze:
I only had a short time at Meze.
Empyrean 2 running out of a DCs Lina stack sounded really great and one of my show highlights. I almost thought the DCs was on some sort of EQ mode because it presented details in a warm way I hadn’t heard elsewhere. I would like to have more time with it, but my short impression is I loved it. It had hybrid leather/velour pads on.
A very kind gentleman next to me had his original Empyrean (with leather pads) as well and let me try it. With a quick A/B i found his had a slightly stronger treble, which surprised me as it wasn’t as per most comments. Other than that they had quite similar sound signatures, I felt the new Empyrean was more to my taste.
The
Elite just had a little too much treble zing, it felt perhaps a bit more in control than the Empy2, I preferred the Emperyeans.
Lyric II ; it was ‘ok’ to me, right after the Empyreans it was a league below IMO. Sounded reasonable for closed back planars, better than some others I have tried, but I find my Audeze Maxwell is better balanced in the closed back planar world.
HiFiman:
Shangri-la Mini ; out of it’s companion amp was quite pleasant. Strangely I found it was overall much more balanced (it has bass!) vs the Shang Sr. It was still a bit too strident in trebles for me, which is a theme for most Hifiman’s contrary to my taste. It would be nice to hear this out of a warm tube amp as it may be better.
I wasn’t a great fan of the frame, the headband looks just like the HE-400se one. But kudos for at least making a new large driver stat that isn’t EXTREMELY expensive but just a bit expensive.
Susvara Unveiled: I didn’t get to directly compare it to the OG Susvara. I heard it on a few rigs around the floor, and It was pleasant. I am not usually a Hifiman fan because I find their treble too much for me (or at least a few peaks too much), this sees to have a smoother treble than the original Susvara to me, and though its easier to drive, it is amp dependand in that it shows the amp and DAC characteristics quite a big, sounding warmer or more colder depending on the rig it was used on.
Stax:
Was there a Stax stand? They were on the list but sadly I didn’t see one.
Stax X9000: There were a few X9000 at the event. It was difficult to judge completely due to the ambient noise, but I was impressed. Out of the Headamp Blue Hawaii SE it sounded just great, strong deep bass, controlled mids, lush trebles that didn’t make me wince, and an open wide stage. Part of this could be the Blue Hawaii’s warm signature. It is a bit pricey, but a very nice Stat that could be endgame for a lot of people.
Out of the Ergoista STX it lost a bit of that huge deep bass and warm magic but was still pleasant.
Warwick Audio:
Warwick had a sound proof booth, which certainly made the experience much better and easier to judge.
The pricier Aperio was warmer, had bigger bass and midbass,, vs the lower priced Bravura. I listened near the end of Sunday. Those who listened on Saturday said the headphones sound the opposite way round on Saturday (including a guy I was in the booth with on Sunday). So not sure what is going on there, maybe the Aperio changes sound after being plugged in for ages.
I didn’t judge the most fine technical detail but both were balanced and very capable sounding, either would be fine based on the taste of wanting warmer or more neutral on the day.
I would have probably been more impressed had I not heard the HE-1 last year. I would describe these as a poor man’s HE-1, they seem to lack something in terms of overall musicality, perhaps they would improve with a tube amp like the HE-1 did. The biggest flaw for me is that you cannot use them with a Standard 5-pin Stat amp. They also use DSP to achieve their very balanced sound.
TLDR: both very nice and balanced, missing a bit of final magic. I would say the £40k Aperio isn’t much of a value proposition vs the £6k Bravura. The Bravura maybe a good solution for those wanting a high quality setup without going too deep into headfi and changing amps etc. I would like to hear it with a Tube-preamp into it, it might become better with that.
ZMF:
ZMF Caldera: with the warmer tube amps on display the Caldera is really great. One of the best tuned planars around IMO. Well done to Zach for it. Im not particularly into wooden headphones and the design etc, but I am impressed such a good tuning is there with the grilles not being so open etc.
Bokeh: a bit too much uncontrolled resonance in the lower mids for me. Sounded pleasant but not my cup of tea (I am not that into dynamic anyway). Lots of others loved it.
Misc Headphones:
Austrian Audio the Composer: out of their own amp, even though it was a dynamic, I really liked it, alongside the HD600 it may be one of the nicest dynamics I have tried. Warm sound, no strange treble resonances, really strong dynamic bass, and a musical signature. It was a surprise for me.
Camerton Binom-ER: this planar was at the Hifonix stand. A bit bloaty and peaky stock, but pleasant. BUT, if one presses down the earpads to better the seal and
slightly reduce driver distance to ear, then it sounds pretty great, nice and balanced and rich.
IMO this headphone is very heavily borrowing design from the classic Sansui SS-100, which is also why it inherited it’s awkward angle and bad sealing without pressing the cups down…
Because of this design homage it does look lovely though.
Modhouse Tungsten DS: This was at the (very well run) Elise Audio stand, running off a huge tube amp (Auris Audio Headonia 300B). Good extension on both ends, but it just wasn’t for me, upper mids were a hint hard, a bit too much treble zing for my sensitive ears. Maybe I need to try it from a different chain.
Abyss Diana DZ: I have not heard the TC, but the DZ had a nice overall balance to the sound. I don’t have much more comment because it didn’t blow me away or make me think its terrible. Wasn’t completely my cup of tea, but I could see people enjoying it.
Viking Weave Cables: these guys had 3 prototype headphones on displace with dual dynamic drivers in each cup. One had peerless drivers and the other 2 had glass dome drivers. They were all pretty warm without typical dynamic can sizzle. They had various pad options. There was a bit of midbass bloom and resonance for me, but otherwise a pleasant and spacious sound. The three versions ranged from very warm to just warm. I think I preferred the one ‘in the middle’ which was glass driver.
Mass-Kobo: uncle-san from Mass-Kobo was here again this year showing 3 of his amps, alongside the nice lady next to him who is very cheerful and friendly. I heard them last year, so I gravitated back to the 465, which was always in high demand at the show, and nearly everyone I spoke to loved this amp. It has mega power, and drives with visceral authority, with very strong punchy bass.
I’ve lost track a bit of what I heard on there. There was an original Susvara (which this amp was designed for) which sounded nice out of it. I also heard a head-fiers Focal Utopia from it which sounded great. And I tried my own Yamaha orthos from it which it was great with. The amp is on the warmer more analog signature, but not mushy at all, very strong and clear.
Highly recommended.
There was also a Japanese branded headphone, closed back with carbon fibre finish cups, there on the stand, I forget the name (will add if i find out), it wasn’t to my taste.
Amps
Feliks Audio Envy 25th Anniversary Edition; at the Hifonix stand driven by some very fancy huge tube DAC I didn’t catch the name of. This sounded beautiful, 3-dimensional, musical, detailed. Focal Utopias sounded great on it, as did the Suvara unveiled.
ZMF Lord Gwynn: Wow what a beast, I loved this amp. Sounded warm, powerful, 3 dimensional, and it had BASS. Ran the Caldera from this and it sounded superb, as well as my vintage Yamaha, it had never sounded better. This is an amp I would like to own.
Glenn OTL: In the ZMF room. It was very nice, again 3dimentional tubeyness. But compared to the Lord Gwynn it lacked the deep bass oomph and was just tipped over into not warm enough for me, so not for me in the end.
Fiio K11 R2R: briefly comparing the R2R vs the normal DAC/Amp, the R2R was warmer, and maybe a bit more analog sounding. Canjam conditions were hard to judge though. A pretty nice value proposition.
Other:
It was great meeting people and thank you to those who generously let me try their headphones.
Special shout out to
@TheAbyss2022 for letting me try his CRBN and Utopia out of various amps.
And
@kiling92 Who is a top chap, letting me try his legendary R10, as well as his friend who shared his PX-100.
The chap who let me try his Empyrean, and the other people during the day I had interesting chats with.
The engineer at iFi who is super enthusiastic, friendly and knowledgeable.
And to
@GREQ for much during the event weekend.
I also got to share my love of vintage orthos with a few people, with a rare variant of a Yamaha HP-2, and most were pleasantly surprised
Ran out of time to try IEMs and many other stuff. Will post a few pics later to append
Some photos to go along with this;
SJY Horizon at Z reviews stand (barely got to hear it , but it did sound decent with the 5 seconds it was on my head, worth checking more), single sided magnets, gold diaphragm:
Legendary Sony R10:
Headamp Blue Hawaii SE (not sure about the colour choice), Stax X9000, Audeze CRBN (all superb)
Electorstatic hangout (Shang Sr, X9000, CRBN, Viva STX)
Ginormous Viva amp setup.... . RAAL Immanis triple ribbon array (interestingly Sineaptic were the first to market with a headphone ribbon array).
Camerton's sleek design (Sansui SS-100 es-que)
Elise Audio's gigantic tube amp Auris Audio Headonia 300B, Modhouse Tungsten DS
Mass Kobo uncle-san and my Yamaha's. Warwick Aperio driver
Abalone for days, Abyss Diana and DCs matching amp.
ZMF LordGwynn amp (amazing), feeding my Yamaha's beast power.
And finally, who needs RAAL, and all the other TOTL stuff... here is the ZMF stand's Glenn OTL powering the real star of the show, Sennheiser PX-100 (sounded nice!).
@kiling92
it’s been a pleasure share all together this passion.
. Not possible to hear everything but spent time talking, not listening. Rocking the WM1Z og and Pentaconn brass tips. Usual show conditions disclaimer, take nothing seriously. No headphone or IEM fit issues on the weekend, usually take S/MS tips.
green, blue Hawaii is something I didn't know I wanted until now 
