Main impression from this Canjam: So many WM1Zs! WM1Zs everywhere! Every IEM vendor had a stable of WM1Zs lying around. And when there were not enough WM1Zs for some reason, it seemed that every other person brought their own anyway. I think it was the Empire Ears table (and they had a small table) that when I stopped by had 5 WM1Zs on it, 3 of which were visitors'. Last year, it was like that with the Mojos. I wonder what flavour the next year's meet is going to have.
I already have most of the flagship over-ears in my drawer of poor decisions, so I mainly went to try out some IEMs to see if there's anything out there I would prefer over what I already have and/or perhaps find a good beater universal. Some more disclaimers: my test tracks were primarily modern rock with male vocals and nothing that would emphasize soundstage. Strictly no violins or halls with a lot of reverb. Think the National, Spoon, the New Pornographers, and the Beastie Boys (because that's what it was). Anyway, on with the impressions:
Jomo Trinity: Big bass and very recessed mids. It was so, so very clearly not my thing.
Jomo Flamenco: Very competent BA sound. There are some tuning differences between it and my A18t (the mids on the Flamenco felt a bit more forward), but I felt they were more comparable than not, especially after spending 10 minutes with Trinity.
Sony IER-M9: Wish I spent more time with that guy. It did not impress me the way the Solaris did later on, but it did nothing wrong either. I can see it being a grower. On the other hand, the IER-Z1R sizzled like crazy. I found its tuning to be very bright and distracting. It's possible that tip rolling could solve this, but I suspect the solution may involve foams, and I don't do foams.
qdc Anole VX: Whoever used it before me switched it to the "super bass" mode, and I have to say that the bass boost is neither gentle nor tastefully done. It is quite obnoxious and it intrudes into the midrange. We fixed that, and the reference tuning was fine, but like the Flamenco, it had a competent BA sound in the same overall ballpark as the A18t.
I loved the Solaris, and this is coming from someone who did not like the Andromeda at all. I camped out at the CA booth for at least half an hour. Solaris really tempted me. I did not hear any midrange issues that other people mentioned with the music I tried, and the bass was great. I kept swapping between the Solaris and the A18t, and the woolen BA bass of the A18t was a total embarrassment after the Solaris. Possibly related, but the Solaris also had this beautiful decay with some music that may or may not be perfectly neutral (it was new to me, and I'm talking about tracks I've listened to with every kind of gear for years), but it sounded amazing. The only reason I did not make a rash decision right there and then is because the Solaris a) sticks way out of my ears and b) is super-sensitive to positioning. Put the two together, and I get the feeling that I'd have to microadjust them every 20 seconds, which is a good way to drive oneself nuts. Also, forget about walking with them, etc. Despite all that, I am still mulling it over.
I then dropped by the 64Audio booth to spend more time with the Trio. I amused the guys manning the booth by busting out both WM1Z and WM1A so that I could do some quick-switch comparisons between the Trio and the A18t. In any case, I really liked the Trio. I did not have enough time with either the Trio or the Solaris to know which one I would ultimately have liked better (and I had no way to compare them directly), but my first impression is that I could happily live with either. Of course, Solaris is something like $800 cheaper than the Trio. But Trio is way smaller and unobtrusive..."Why not both?" is a reasonable question. Let's see what the 64Audio raffle says. They also mentioned that I could send my customs in for a $49 "deep cleaning," and maybe I will? It sounds like a good idea.
While there, I also listened to the N8t universal demo, and it did not do anything for me at all. Bass was no better than Trio, and everything else was kind of meh. The notable deficiency to me was its fizzy, splashy treatment of drums. Drums would splash all over the soundstage instead of staying localized. Anyway, I ended up not spending much time with it, and I think I'm going to be alright.
Now, the few over-ears that I've tried:
I did not realize that the Abyss was a refresh. I did listen to it because I wanted to have a known reference in mind after listening to the Diana. Abyss TC still sounded very much Abyss-y, but I did notice that the top end was smoother (in a good way) than on my CC. I've written off that observation at the time, but now I will consider sending my CC for an upgrade, should that option open up.
Speaking of Diana, I thought it was a very good headphone, even if there is no reason for me to get one. It is very close to its big brother in terms of sound (though with quicker subbass roll off), even when driven straight out of WM1Z. My main gripe with it is the comfort. The angle of the earcups is fixed in a way that doesn't quite work for my head, and I felt pressure and discomfort build up very quickly. Mind you, the Abyss is not an ergonomics dream either, but in a different and more adjustable way. Anyway, Diana's pretty good, and I'd take it over the Utopia.
Focal Stellia: Sounded a bit veiled to me. Fine for a closed headphone, I guess, but I'd say that Eikon is still better tuned.
ZMF Verite: Fine, but I yearn for a more exciting sound these days, and Verite did not do it for me. Zach helped me try it with both pads, and I preferred the sound with the Verite pads, but it was still no Diana. It's possible, however, that the culprit was the Hugo 1 driving the headphone. (ZMF booth had a lot of Hugo 1s around.)
Empire Ears Legend X: Would not maintain good seal in my ears with any tips that I tried. I ended up holding them as I was listening, which may explain why they sounded so muffled to me. I was not a fan.
Finally, I stopped by the Audeze table, mostly to bitch about the earhooks of the LCD-i4 falling apart all the time. The guy was like, yup, we're re-engineering the whole thing, and iSine/LCD-i4 will soon have permanently-attached ear locks "like the Beats." I don't know what that is, and I don't like it.
Also, LCD24 is a non-thing. The guy I talked to was clearly on the business side, and he was like "the engineers keep trying to make it happen. It's not happening."
