[jamato8]

Considering how great the reviews were for this 108K USD amp, I realized this Amp put out only 1.6W 32ohms per channel. So all the talk about power as indicator for driving Susvara well kinda fell flat.

Quality of the watts and the distortion within that range is all important. Some amps (most) will sound the best in the lower level of power output. And for most music, the power needed is much lower than most realize. It is the headroom that is needed loud passages and heavy bass hits.

 

[jude]

How fast is a headphone driver? Dan Foley (formerly with Audio Precision) is going to be giving a seminar on a new testing method to actually test how fast a driver responds. The seminar is beginning in moments, in the Ziegfeld Room, on the fourth floor, two floors below the CanJam registration desk. You can get there via the escalators behind the registration desk or (of course) the elevators.

 

[Hofy]

Same as the old one

So far from what I can tell is that the Vali3 is nothing more than a Vali2++ with a better case.

 

[Not so fat head]

Count yourself lucky. Nestle is pretty bad chocolate, and that XL is the equivalent of 2 cans of soda in refined sugar.

Really? Nestle close to $25 billion last quarter.

 

[jamato8]

Really? Nestle close to $25 billion last quarter.

It is milk chocolate. That covers up a lot of what would be bad with the chocolate. It isn't healthy, too much sugar and you are better off with dark chocolate, for the heart, vessels and even the teeth.

 

[the01player]

Has anyone listened to the SJY Horizon at CanJam and have any impressions? I'm interested in them and wanted to purchase during the pre-order sale period but can't make it to CanJam to have a listen myself!

 

[Acts]

Any more impressions of the Elysian pilgrim. Rly interested in this set.

 

[pkcpga]

It is milk chocolate. That covers up a lot of what would be bad with the chocolate. It isn't healthy, too much sugar and you are better off with dark chocolate, for the heart, vessels and even the teeth.

You do realize that mainstream branded dark to milk chocolate usually have about the same amount of sugar the only difference is cream to bean ratio. Cocoa bean is like a coffee bean. Dark chocolate tends to have more caffeine than milk. Hersey milk is 24g of sugar, Hersey special dark is 20g. Some of the labels like Tony’s chocolate the dark has more sugar than the milk since it needs more to make it sweet. So I’d read each label before making that claim. It’s like claiming black coffee is much better for you than coffee with cream if both have two scopes of sugar the cream is the only difference.

 

[mattiastomas]

Best find of canjam

Pizza rat

 

[jamato8]

You do realize that mainstream branded dark to milk chocolate usually have about the same amount of sugar the only difference is cream to bean ratio. Cocoa bean is like a coffee bean. Dark chocolate tends to have more caffeine than milk. Hersey milk is 24g of sugar, Hersey special dark is 20g. Some of the labels like Tony’s chocolate the dark has more sugar than the milk since it needs more to make it sweet. So I’d read each label before making that claim. It’s like claiming black coffee is much better for you than coffee with cream if both have two scopes of sugar the cream is the only difference.

Buyer be ware. Some do but I don't buy those, as I don't want the sugar, so no, the number of different dark chocolates I have here, do not have high sugar, very low sugar contact in fact. I do not use Hersey chocolate nor any with much of any sugar and mostly organic.

Anyway, this is off the subject of what this thread is about.

 

[F208Frank]

About to leave show to see my kid, random unexpected items that stood out to me:

1. STORM IEM: I read polarizing things about the IEM so was curious to try for myself.

I asked if I could just use my sony DAP (due to familiarity) with the Subtonic, but the staff gave me this hesitant look so I just took their advice and used an external amp.

By sheer dumb luck I took their nearest Mass Kobo Portable Amp
+ WM1ZM2 + Subtonic... just WOW.

That combo was absolutely bonkers. I am still thinking about this combo after I left the show.

2. Campfire Trifecta....I see why so many people love this IEM, very cohesive, detailed, and musical at the same time. I found myself bopping my head while staring at the sea of people at the event like a weirdo with a grin on my face. Tee hee hee hee....

3. Rossini DAC APEX, killer. I loved how DCS had the same amp for all 3 different DACs: Lina vs Bartok vs Rossini. Their room imo was the best set up room with the most effort put into it. Makes sense since they are selling gear at brand new car type pricing.

4. T+ A HA200 DAC/AMP....was very impressed with the build quality and equally impressed with their pricing, such a beautiful sounding, elegant, simple single box.

5. The 5th that stood out from the show to me was a person and not an item. Every time I run into Jack from Empire Ears, he always indirectly makes me self reflect. I have been to Can Jam for 4 separate years and this guy is ALWAYS super positive, happy, with a light weight mentality, but still serious about his biz.

I always admired people like Zach from ZMF, Jack from EE, Andrew from Bloom Audio, Joe and his sons from Abyss grinding out their booths in person being super hands on. I am sure it is a lot of work and keeping a constant friendly attitude towards potential customers when you are tired from flying and setting up must be exhausting.

All in all great show, people were polite and the lines were not as bad as I thought. It is very evident that the hobby has grown based on seeing such a wide range of people at the show. I also thought to myself if both T+A and DCS taking notice and trying to grab more market share within the headphone/desktop segment of the audio industry... shows that this niche hobby of ours really grew quite a bit over the last decade. Remember when the HD800s came out and we were all O.O at the price?

Happy listening all.

 

[Xerosnake90]

So far from what I can tell is that the Vali3 is nothing more than a Vali2++ with a better case.

Yup, as is the case in most of Schiit's long running staples

 

[XERO1]

So far from what I can tell is that the Vali3 is nothing more than a Vali2++ with a better case.

The Vali 2++ (stupidest name ever) has 60V rails while the Vali 3 has 100V rails (according to its info card). There are probably some other small tweaks to its circuit design as well.

 

[chrisnyc75]

@chrisnyc75 had mentioned earlier that he found the Immanis on the leaner side. He may have had different fitment, or maybe he played some even bassier tracks than did I (?).

So, I made a beeline to the Raal booth as soon as I got there, like 10am, and Danny was still setting up the chain. He had an ipad plugged in with like 15 tracks downloaded on it and no wifi for streaming anything else. I only knew 2 of the tracks, and I didn't know either of those particularly well. It's very hard to judge a new headphone - particularly one of exotic tech - using tracks you do not know. I should have asked to plug in my phone, but tbh he seemed like he had so much going on trying to get set up I didn't want to add looking for a usb-c cable to his plate. lol I'm glad you liked them, though! And to be clear, I didn't NOT like them, my comment was really just to highlight my only nitpick with an otherwise mind-blowing experience. At that level we do want to pick apart every nit, you know. Also, even at 10am it was far too loud to get a reliable impression of these EXTREMELY open headphones, so please take my impression with a grain of salt.

Best tube amp I have heard is the Viva Egoista 845.

I spent some time with the Egoista 2A3, which I found particularly interesting as a 2A3 amp owner myself, and was really impressed. Really wish I had my Utopia with me to plug in for a true 1-to-1 comparison. In any case, I love seeing more 2A3 designs on the market and I really like the Viva aesthetic!

 

[VandyMan]

I guess the downside of the biggest CanJam ever is the noisiest CanJam ever. I had a good time, but it was too loud in most places to get too much of a sense of anything I was hearing. I did get to hear some headphones that I'd like to listen to more in better conditions:

- Austrian Audio Composer: These were in a quieter area. The table was doing very little business, which was surprising after the hype around these. I was impressed with what I heard.

- Grell + Drop OE1: Very interesting. Definitely want to hear again. If they are priced around $400 (may have misheard), these could be a huge bargain.

- Focal Bathy: If I traveled by plane more often, I'd audition these again.

- Real Immanis: Beautiful looking headphones. Hard to believe this is the same people who designed the look of the CA-1b. They are very open and it was impossible for me to get a sense of the sound as there were conversations happening all around me.

- Both Warwick Acoustics systems: I'm sorry I never got to hear these in the listening booth. I was resistant because I disliked their previous model. The setup at Headphones.com was a bit strange. They were trying to show off the GoldenSound DAC, but the Brava does an analog to digital conversion on its analog input, so they were degrading the sound with this setup. They are both really good headphones system and I'd love to hear them under better conditions. (Side note: Not a fan of the trend of reviewers having sidelines with manufactures. Pick a team.)

- Headamp Grand Cayman driving the STAX X9000 and DCA Corina. I was not controlling the music, but for my taste the Corina holds its own with the X9000. Corina is much more accurate (like an electrostatic DCA Stealth) and the X9000 has more of that ethereal electrostatic sound. Even with 300b tubes, the Grand Cayman did not blow me away vs the BHSE, but again, show conditions with very open headphones. I heard the X9000 in a few setups and I have decided that I don't need to upgrade my 009s unless I find it at a great price used.

Also:

- Focal Utopia: Very good headphone, but the 2022 version sounds rolled off in the treble.

- Hifiman: The HE-1000SE always pleases, but then switching to the Susvara the difference is clear. I really like the Susvara, but I like the electrostatic headphones I already have even better.

- Woo/STAX room - Smaller setup than past years. Nice to check in with them and say hello.

- Headamp CFA3 - Was unable to get a chance to try it.

- Abyss room smelled like hot farts. Skipped it.

- DCS and Viva Audio rooms - Packed and very loud both times I stopped by. Skipped them.

- ZMF room - Also packed and very loud. I got to hear the Caldera Closed prototype and thought it was very good. Did not sound closed, but had good isolation. I could see folks who want a livelier presentation preferring these over the Stealth, but I prefer the Stealth personally. Also, got to hear the Auteur Classic and the Atrium. Both sound pretty good, but not my cup of tea. They were in the very back of the room where it was a bit quieter. Would have liked to hear the rest of their line, but it was madness in the room and I could not deal with it.

(Skipped the IEMs this year.)