[MrCatsoup]

Late post, but was at Canjam for about 2 hours earlier today and it was a wonderful experience! Thanks to all the staffs at the booth. I'm glad I had the chance to demo many of the cans I've wanted to hear for so long.

 

[kumar402]

I hope in future we have more DAC manufacturer joining the show.
In CanJam I felt DAC took a backseat and many even decided to keep it under the table.
I tried Susvara with Ferrum Oor and it was just off sounding and then I saw dragonfly Cobalt being used as DAC and I tried Susvara with Feliks amp with Aurender A20 before it so was difficult to say how Oor would have compared to Feliks amp as DAC were different and were miles apart in price point.
I would have loved to try Rockna, Weiss, MSB etc. Not sure if those were there.

 

[orrman]

so here it goes, my first canjam.. impressions of gear I listened to, thoughts about gear I currently own, questions on where to next, and general commentary about canjam as an experience all to follow below.

tl;dr - it's a great social/hobby experience but very mediocre experience to actually evaluating gear (most gear, depending on what and where though). I will go probably every year now. Unless something new comes out that I can't wait for, I see little point in going to more than one canjam a year unless it's for friends (again, the social side of it).

disclaimer - I will take everything written below with huge skepticism, it's very hard to listen on the main floor, especially with open back headphones or comparing amps and since all I listened to is high end it's all probably good so it's more a matter of taste and preferences over something being bad so even harder to compare. I tried to listen to most of this list more than once to get a few different perspectives and experiences to make sure what I thought makes sense to me


Headphones:

• ZMF Caldera [ZMF and Woo rooms, mostly with DCS Lina stack] - First listen was with a Woo Audio OTL, it was terrible. Shouty, uncontrolled, nothing I was expecting. Quick discussion with a nice head-fier led me to believe it is the only ZMF that works better with solid states. I later confirmed that with the ZMF team and they're personal preferences with it as well. On the second day I listened to it with the Cayin solid state for a few minutes and it did not fair well with me so I moved to a full DCS Lina stack with it and it did much better. Generally speaking I'm not a fan of the idea that it needs such a stack to perform well to my ears. Bass was plenty detailed and quick but not very weighty, clear separation between it and the mids. Highs were present and much nicer than the day before. It's definitely closer to neutral than I'm used with ZMFs which takes the mind some time to get used to (ZMF bias I guess). Overall - far from my favorite ZMF (I rank it probably 4th with the VO), I don't feel it's really a competitor to the Susvara or my Final D8KPLE. Not for me, won't follow up with more listening
• ZMF Atrium Closed [ZMF room and Woo rooms, mostly Feliks Envy] - I really liked this one. Impressed me with both a Woo Fireflies and later even more with the Feliks Audio Envy where it really shined. It was noisy with medium and high impedance settings but I'm not sure if that's the amp or the headphones or the pairing. Mids were a little recessed, bass is impressive. It's the more oomphy type. Meaty and large compared to the VC's more accurate and tight but it's totally a matter of preference and music generes. Guitar timbre was better on the Caldera. Notes were clearer on the Caldera as well (especially trailing). I personally prefer it to the VC but I can see how others will feel differently. I also prefer the Atrium open because of stage and air. If I ever need a closed back, this is probably it. Olive wood is gorgeous
• Solitaire P [main floor, with T+A HA200] - Comfortable, interesting bass, I had higher hopes for it. My D8KPLE was more enjoyable to me. Not worth it for me, won't follow up with more listening
• Yamaha YH-5000SE [main floor, with the newer RME balanced] - Wow was this a dissapointment and I seriously don't get what others are finding in it. Warm tilt, treble rolled of more than I'd like, mids a bit too much recessed. They look great and are very comfortable. Maybe it's the RME that held them back but I doubt it. Felt mid-fi and definitely not worth the asking price for me. Hard no thank you very much, unless someone convinces me I'm completely wrong, I have zero interest in trying it again
• Audeze MM500 [main floor, with Weiss 502 I think] - Step back LCD-5 but too much clamp for me. I wanted to like it considering how much I liked the 5 but was really not comfortable and I took it off quickly. Might be very good for smaller heads and smaller budgets. I'd stick to the LCD-5 if possible.
• Dan Clark Corina [side room, with BHSE or Grand Cayman] - quite a short listen, wasn't really impressed. There are other estats that are so much better than this one that it's a pass for me.
• Audeze CRBN - it's a no for me. I prefer the Stax sound by a lot or the LCD-5 to stay with Audeze stuff. Nope.
• Stax X9000 [Woo room with 3ES, Main floor with Viva STX] - A true contender for best in show for me. Extremely comfortable, disappeared on my head. It's controlled, balanced, crystal clear and crisp but far from analytical or dry. Excellent bass for an estat. Synergy with 3ES was excellent but that could be the room lower noise helping. I took my brother with me on the first day, he has zero experience with our hobby. When he listened to the X9K/3ES combo he was mind blown. Mentioned how much better it was compared to everything else he heard that he also enjoyed. It's really special. I'm going back and forth on if this is a definite buy for me, only because of wait time and investing in estats as an end game. Zero doubts on the sound quality and if worth the price. It is.
• Hifiman Shangri La Sr [Headamp room with Grand Cayman] - I'm sorry Shang, my heart belongs to the X9000 and it's probably turning me against you. It's not you it's (probably) me. But I call the shots here. It's now been a few times I heard it, I'm still waiting to hear what everyone else hears. It's bright and technical, a tad boring for me, and bass was non existent. I'm sure it'll sound much better with the T2 or STX. It's out of my budget anyway, but I'll keep going back and trying it every time I get a chance
• Meze Elite [Woo room with WA23, Main floor with HM1 and Viva 845] - Scroll down to see what award this has won. It's the most comfortable headphones I've ever tried. Truly remarkable how it disappears on my head. I wish it were more technical. I can see how for many it's truly end game. I could listen to it for hours it's so fun and lush and just right. I noticed what I'm missing the second I switched to my D8KPLE on the same chain with the WA23 and was suddenly a bit sad. I was sad my Final wasn't as comfortable and I was sad the Meze isn't a little more technical and with a bit more grunt. It's a matter of preference, I'd love to own one if I had the spare cash, most comfortable ever, we will meet again one day.
• Warwick Bravura [headphones dot com booth at the main floor] - the gain switch broke on its way to canjam, really couldn't listen to it with all the noise and volume turned to max. Maybe next time.

General thoughts on the headphones - My current stable is probably perfect for me (Susvara, D8000 Pro Limited Edition, HD650 and Mysphere 3.2). Only thing I really think about are the Stax X9000. I enjoyed more time with Audeze, Abyss, Focal and Sennheiser this weekend but I don't miss any of them. Made me feel great about my journey and selections.


Amps, DACs and Chains:

• dCS Lina stack - First time I listened was at the headphones dot com booth, I wasn't impressed. Conversations with people around me made me believe that the amp is the weak link. I wanted to try the DAC with the WA23 at the Abyss table but couldn't get to it. When I tried it the second day with the Caldera it was better to my ears. The room was also much quieter obviously. It's impossible to test this stack in these conditions. I doubt I'll feel it's worth the $30K, but I want to listen again because I'm curious
• Enleum HPA-23RM (with TT2 Mscaler) - drives the D8KP easily with great synergy, bass powerful but not very accurate or extended, female vocals are good, small stage, not piercing at all but plenty detail on top. It is TINY. I love the form factor and with a DAP I could see this a really great portable rig but also desktop end game for a lot of people. I tried it with the Susvara, that should be left for its bigger brother. I tried the HD800S as I was told the current drive will make miracles with it. I didn't feel like it did that but it was still a good pairing. Regular voltage output was meh. I wish I could justify a use case for it as I love the house sound and how it's built. Not for me (for now).
• ZMF Decware OTL collab - tried it at the ZMF room with the Atrium Closed Olive, it was fun but no match to the Feliks Envy. Can't say much more at the moment.
• T+A HA200 - Wow I loved it! The build is immaculate, it sounds terrific, total control of the Soli P and my D8KPLE. If I were ever to downsize my system, this is probably the top of my list. I asked if I could take one home, we will meet again for sure
• Feliks Euforia Evo - tried it at the main floor with a Utopia 2022 and my D8KPLE. It sounded good with both, better with the Utopia. I hoped for more magic but impossible to tell with all the noise. Doesn't fit my headphones collection but left a good impression
• Feliks Envy - to be honest I didn't love it with the Utopia 2022. I enjoyed it much more with the ZMF Atrium Closed. Personally for me it's not worth the asking price, see one below to understand why. Very nice but a pass for me, better options for the money personally
• Eksonic T2 - Kerry was super friendly and we had a great chat. The 007 sounded really really good with the T2. Too bad the DACs weren't on par with it (Soekris and Denafrips Ares). I hoped he'd have a X9000 but he couldn't get one for the show. It's too expensive for me considering I'm still a planars first type of listener but I can see how that's the way to go for anyone dedicated to estats or just with more free cash to spend on this hobby. Neck to neck with the Viva STX for me. Liked it a lot. Probably worth the money.
• Viva STX and Viva 845 - these are HUGE. To a point where it's not something I'd like to own. I appreciate they went all out on source gear. Serious stuff going on but deserving of a side room to better listen to it. Appreciate from a far for me.
• Woo Audio WA23 - Oh wow did I fall in love with this one. Just the right amount of tubiness and I kept coming back to it. Granted it was paired with a Mola Mola Tambaqui and I tried it first with the Meze Elite (warm and lush complete sound to die for) and afterwards with the D8KPLE (step up in technicalities, still amazing tonality). I left truly impressed and this competes for best of show for me. tbh I'm not a huge fan of how it looks but the size of it compared to what I'm used to with the WA33 really stunned me. It's definitely a piece of art/decor and not only an amp. 100% will meet again, it's making me rethink some of my gear plans
• Holo Audio Bliss with the Holo May - As far as I know it was the only Bliss at the show, tried it at the Audeze booth with the LCD-5. It took the May a step in the right direction in my opinion. A little more technical. Added nice textures and speed. It's really hard to say more with all the noise around but generally speaking I left impressed. Felt like it matched well with the LCD-5 and balanced some of its quirks that I was used to EQing. Not a fan of the size and build. Happy I tried it, even happier with my personal solid state decision for this year, see below
• Zahl HM1 - If I were to listen to only a single piece of gear it would be the HM1. This entire weekend and the whole reason I came for canjam was to validate my blind decision of committing to buying one when it's available later this year. I've listened to it four times over the two days with the Susvara, my D8KPLE, Meze Elite and regular D8KP. The first day - something felt wrong. I wasn't sure if it was my ears, my headphones, the amp or the Weiss DAC connected to it. It was distorting the bass. It was the first thing I went to listen to. It wasn't even 11am on Saturday and to say it was a rocky start is an understatement. I turned away and figured I'll come back again. I came to test it out to decide if I'm keeping my order or passing it to whoever is the potential lucky #26 in line. Second time around it was made clear to me that the +15db gain mode on the back isn't working properly. It might be a bad match to the rather hot Weiss 502 or simply this unit. Turning it to 0db or the Weiss to minus-a-lot quickly fixed everything. We also switched to the second input just to make sure. Smile was back on my face. I now understand all the impressions and everything I read about it and Michael Zahl the last few months. Also had a great conversation with the staff about it. It sounded marvelous. Full control of everything I threw at it. Bass was similar to what I remember feeling of how the WA33 controlled the Susvara. D8KP was a great pairing. Meze stepped up a notch in technicalities (still not enough though). The EQ was noticeable even though it's subtle. The soundstage knob a bit less with the noise around me, I'll need to revisit it. I'm keeping my order. The feature set, basically having two amps in one with the servo vs pure class A options, the build, and most importantly the sound - it's exactly what I feel I'm looking for in my main chain amp. I'm excited I'll be spending much more time with it. Haven't heard a better solid state ever. Planars + Class A will always be my favorite.

General thoughts on gear - it's very hard to judge any of it with the noise conditions, especially on the main floor. I was happy to see more higher end DACs compared to what I heard previous canjams had. It's probably impossible to compare DACs here. I'd love to see some more high end servers/streamers around. Maybe next year. As for next steps - I have some thinking to do. WA23 left an amazing impression on me. HM1 sounded amazing. Do I really want to chase estats this year? Is my money better used by changing my LTA Z10E to a WA23 considering the savings of not buying a X9000 and selling the LTA? First world problems!

Awards:

• Most surprising - Meze Elite (for comfort and build quality)
• Most disappointing - Yamaha YH-5000SE (hot take mid-fi)
• Best Headphones - Stax X9000 (but is it worth it?)
• Best Amp - Zahl HM1 (Don’t you love it when a plan comes together)
• Best in Show - Wa23 / Mola Mola chain (synergy at its finest)

 

[Niyologist]

The Drop + Ultrasone Signature X was captivating in many ways. They heavily reminded me of the Ultrasone Signature Studio, but with a warmer and richer sound. It's a steal for $250. My Signature Studio cost around $400, but that was nearly five years ago. The comfort is excellent too. I can wear those headphones for hours.

 

[daijobudes]

Xmems

A very interesting concept, sound like combination or in watch terms marriage of Dynamic Driver and BA. A very consistent and flowing music with elements of DD bass and dynamism, together with clarity and detail of ba

Very nice concept! Interesting to try the final product!

New iem flagship hifiman

Extremely good! A real rival to Turii Ti

It has somewhat warm and resolving signature. Plenty of everything - nothing lacks. Also imo it’s a longer lifespan as Hifiman refreshes their flagship iem every 4-5 years.

 

[Zhanming057]

Yamaha YH-5000SE [main floor, with the newer RME balanced] - Wow was this a dissapointment and I seriously don't get what others are finding in it. Warm tilt, treble rolled of more than I'd like, mids a bit too much recessed. They look great and are very comfortable. Maybe it's the RME that held them back but I doubt it. Felt mid-fi and definitely not worth the asking price for me. Hard no thank you very much, unless someone convinces me I'm completely wrong, I have zero interest in trying it again

You should re-evaluate. I would call them a bit bass light, but treble is a strong point and on treble extension and imaging alone I'd put them up against any flagship planar that I've heard. This is coming from someone who once had the Abyss 1266 Phi with a system I would put up against anyone's Abyss setup. They're also definitely not warm - I'd say slightly colder on the neutral side, or (paraphrasing a Japanese owner) a "faint blue" background.

I doubt the RME rig is the problem, since Yamaha themselves seem to really like the source. But they don't isolate as well as most open-backs because of the weight and construction, so I would find a place to demo them in a quiet environment. I had my pair on for an hour or so over at the DCS room this morning, and everyone who tried them were extremely impressed - and this is a pairing that I thought was merely passable for the price.

If you tried them with the suede earpads - I found those to be a bit softer and warmer sounding and more sensitive to fit. The leather pads are much better re: treble extension.

 

[kumar402]

About whole FatFreq iems - I dont know why these iems are advertised- they’re definitely not in the same league with 64audio, Fir audio, Noble Audio, Empire Ears, AuR Audio ,Elysian Acoustics, Sennheiser , Jomo Audio , Softears, Oriolus, Hyla Audio, Campfire Audio, Vision Ears, Moondrop… etc
These iems are not well built, they sound bloated and muddy, I tried them with TOTL cables : Brise Audio Yatono Ultimate, Effect Audio Centurion. With Ibasso dx 320 x. Maybe something was off, but I doubt that.
Hiby RS8 was kind of a big surprise for me- it is de

Maestro Mini is better buy IMO. Maestro SE with good seal and music do have deep sub bass and then not that much of mid bass so shouldn’t sound muddy. Maestro do have some peaks though in treble somewhere and was apparent when I switched to it from Traillii. With N7 DAP though the peak was gone

 

[zach915m]

ZMF Caldera [ZMF and Woo rooms, mostly with DCS Lina stack] - First listen was with a Woo Audio OTL, it was terrible. Shouty, uncontrolled, nothing I was expecting.

@orrm -haha yeah I can understand it being tough to like a headphone after a first impression like that. I do wish you heard it first on a non OTL, lower impedance planars weren't really meant to be used on high impedance OTL. We tried it in the ZMF room and even the bass wobbles weirdly when the impedance of the amp is above that of the driver. Just a sad fact for most planars and OTL amps.

The Caldera does really change on different amps, and can be warm and liquid in Cayin tube amps that are transformer coupled, or tight and quick on something like a headamp.

Thanks for giving it another listen today regardless.

 

[G8torbyte]

@orrm Likewise I was enchanted with the Meze Elite paired with a Feliks Euphoria when I did a quick sit-down with it in the main area. Very comfortable and engaging.
Also enjoyed T+A's set up as well.

 

[Benesyed]

ZMF Caldera [ZMF and Woo rooms, mostly with DCS Lina stack] - First listen was with a Woo Audio OTL, it was terrible. Shouty, uncontrolled, nothing I was expecting.

@orrm -haha yeah I can understand it being tough to like a headphone after a first impression like that. I do wish you heard it first on a non OTL, lower impedance planars weren't really meant to be used on high impedance OTL. We tried it in the ZMF room and even the bass wobbles weirdly when the impedance of the amp is above that of the driver. Just a sad fact for most planars and OTL amps.

The Caldera does really change on different amps, and can be warm and liquid in Cayin tube amps that are transformer coupled, or tight and quick on something like a headamp.

Thanks for giving it another listen today regardless.

thank you so much for having such a great presence and great team!

I was curious what the set up was at the back of the room far corner next to your prototype.

I really loved how the Caldera sounded on that!

 

[orrman]

ZMF Caldera [ZMF and Woo rooms, mostly with DCS Lina stack] - First listen was with a Woo Audio OTL, it was terrible. Shouty, uncontrolled, nothing I was expecting.

@orrm -haha yeah I can understand it being tough to like a headphone after a first impression like that. I do wish you heard it first on a non OTL, lower impedance planars weren't really meant to be used on high impedance OTL. We tried it in the ZMF room and even the bass wobbles weirdly when the impedance of the amp is above that of the driver. Just a sad fact for most planars and OTL amps.

The Caldera does really change on different amps, and can be warm and liquid in Cayin tube amps that are transformer coupled, or tight and quick on something like a headamp.

Thanks for giving it another listen today regardless.

I wasn't planning on that OTL being my first attempt with it but your room was so busy yesterday and suddenly I saw it in the other Woo room and thought "ha why not give it a try".
I'm glad I tried it again today. I think it has a lot going for it but personally I'd take the Atrium open over it. I feel like I'm better served with my other planars for that type of listening but it's definitely a matter of preference.
I really wanted to try the HA300 that was there in the back with Caldera AO AC and VC but this lady sat there for so long I eventually gave up knowing I was short on time and that would've taken a while.

The whole crew was really nice and I know I'll regret not taking one of the Olive ACs home with me but I really don't need a closed back these days lol

 

[zach915m]

thank you so much for having such a great presence and great team!

I was curious what the set up was at the back of the room far corner next to your prototype.

I really loved how the Caldera sounded on that!

That table had the JDS/ZMF proto, the Sparkos Aries, then the Sonnet Morpheus and two transformer versions of the ECP Ravenswood 3F.

That table also had the Cambridge Streamer dac on it, I've really been enjoying those for their ease of use and that Wolfson dac sound!

 

[gammi]

Did you get any time with the LE? If so, how much different is it compared to the regular?

I tested the LE and the Pro back to back. The LE at the Final booth on a Feliks Envy and the Pro at the Headphones.com booth on the Zahl HM1. First listen on the LE I wasn't impressed. Couldn't really pinpoint it, just nothing wowed me. Then the Zahl and Pro was actually one of my favorite combos at the show, go figure. Open, textured bass, detailed highs, just all around good. Hard to say if the difference was mainly the amp or the headphones, unfortunately couldn't test both on the Zahl.

Other thoughts:
-I was very impressed with was the Atrium closed. Call me crazy but I compared them back to back with the Caldera on the Cayin HA-300B MK II and I strangely felt the Atrium sounded more open. The Caldera just sounded veiled in comparison. Odd, I know. Perhaps it's because closed backs have an advantage at a show where there is background noise.
-The Zahl HM1 "soundstage knob" didn't do anything when I first tried it. Then I put on The Chain by Fleetwood Mac and wow, I could hear everything get squished and pushed in front of me when I went from full wide to full narrow. Very interesting how some songs it did nothing and some it was very apparent. I was listening with the Susvara at that time.
-Stax SR-X9000 was the estat to have imo. I felt the Shangri-La didn't do anything better but is almost 3x the cost and the Corina felt fuller but because of that I felt it lost the estat magic. I'm not sure the AMTS tech is a good match for estats and I say this as someone who loves the Expanse. In its effort to make it more balanced, it took away what makes estats stand out and why I'd want one in my collection. Felt like there wasn't any need to own the Corina when I already have the Expanse, whereas the Stax feels like it fills a gap in my collection. Closest I have to the Stax would be my RAAL CA-1a.
-I compared my Expanse with the LCD-5 on the Holo Bliss and I wish I could remember what track it was but there was a song I put on that started off kind of quiet and then had two quick drum hits and it kind of startled me how hard they hit, I've not felt my Expanse do that from any other amp, I felt it kick my head lol.
-I didn't like the DCS Lina very much. It just didn't feel special like a $31k setup should. I plugged my Expanse into it and couldn't really find anything I felt it did better than my home setup aside from probably separation. Also I was oddly disappointed listening to the Abyss 1266 on the Lina stack. It was my first time listening to them, and from what I had read, I was expecting hard hitting bass. So I put on some hip hop songs with some nice bass and... it just wasn't there. I was told by another attendee that I probably didn't have them positioned well on my head and that they're especially sensitive to that, so possibly that was the issue.

Overall my favorite gear was Zahl, D8000Pro, X9000, Bliss and Atrium closed. Those all stood out to me in some way as doing something special, even in the noisy show environment.

 

[Nago]

so here it goes, my first canjam.. impressions of gear I listened to, thoughts about gear I currently own, questions on where to next, and general commentary about canjam as an experience all to follow below.

tl;dr - it's a great social/hobby experience but very mediocre experience to actually evaluating gear (most gear, depending on what and where though). I will go probably every year now. Unless something new comes out that I can't wait for, I see little point in going to more than one canjam a year unless it's for friends (again, the social side of it).

disclaimer - I will take everything written below with huge skepticism, it's very hard to listen on the main floor, especially with open back headphones or comparing amps and since all I listened to is high end it's all probably good so it's more a matter of taste and preferences over something being bad so even harder to compare. I tried to listen to most of this list more than once to get a few different perspectives and experiences to make sure what I thought makes sense to me


Headphones:

• ZMF Caldera [ZMF and Woo rooms, mostly with DCS Lina stack] - First listen was with a Woo Audio OTL, it was terrible. Shouty, uncontrolled, nothing I was expecting. Quick discussion with a nice head-fier led me to believe it is the only ZMF that works better with solid states. I later confirmed that with the ZMF team and they're personal preferences with it as well. On the second day I listened to it with the Cayin solid state for a few minutes and it did not fair well with me so I moved to a full DCS Lina stack with it and it did much better. Generally speaking I'm not a fan of the idea that it needs such a stack to perform well to my ears. Bass was plenty detailed and quick but not very weighty, clear separation between it and the mids. Highs were present and much nicer than the day before. It's definitely closer to neutral than I'm used with ZMFs which takes the mind some time to get used to (ZMF bias I guess). Overall - far from my favorite ZMF (I rank it probably 4th with the VO), I don't feel it's really a competitor to the Susvara or my Final D8KPLE. Not for me, won't follow up with more listening
• ZMF Atrium Closed [ZMF room and Woo rooms, mostly Feliks Envy] - I really liked this one. Impressed me with both a Woo Fireflies and later even more with the Feliks Audio Envy where it really shined. It was noisy with medium and high impedance settings but I'm not sure if that's the amp or the headphones or the pairing. Mids were a little recessed, bass is impressive. It's the more oomphy type. Meaty and large compared to the VC's more accurate and tight but it's totally a matter of preference and music generes. Guitar timbre was better on the Caldera. Notes were clearer on the Caldera as well (especially trailing). I personally prefer it to the VC but I can see how others will feel differently. I also prefer the Atrium open because of stage and air. If I ever need a closed back, this is probably it. Olive wood is gorgeous
• Solitaire P [main floor, with T+A HA200] - Comfortable, interesting bass, I had higher hopes for it. My D8KPLE was more enjoyable to me. Not worth it for me, won't follow up with more listening
• Yamaha YH-5000SE [main floor, with the newer RME balanced] - Wow was this a dissapointment and I seriously don't get what others are finding in it. Warm tilt, treble rolled of more than I'd like, mids a bit too much recessed. They look great and are very comfortable. Maybe it's the RME that held them back but I doubt it. Felt mid-fi and definitely not worth the asking price for me. Hard no thank you very much, unless someone convinces me I'm completely wrong, I have zero interest in trying it again
• Audeze MM500 [main floor, with Weiss 502 I think] - Step back LCD-5 but too much clamp for me. I wanted to like it considering how much I liked the 5 but was really not comfortable and I took it off quickly. Might be very good for smaller heads and smaller budgets. I'd stick to the LCD-5 if possible.
• Dan Clark Corina [side room, with BHSE or Grand Cayman] - quite a short listen, wasn't really impressed. There are other estats that are so much better than this one that it's a pass for me.
• Audeze CRBN - it's a no for me. I prefer the Stax sound by a lot or the LCD-5 to stay with Audeze stuff. Nope.
• Stax X9000 [Woo room with 3ES, Main floor with Viva STX] - A true contender for best in show for me. Extremely comfortable, disappeared on my head. It's controlled, balanced, crystal clear and crisp but far from analytical or dry. Excellent bass for an estat. Synergy with 3ES was excellent but that could be the room lower noise helping. I took my brother with me on the first day, he has zero experience with our hobby. When he listened to the X9K/3ES combo he was mind blown. Mentioned how much better it was compared to everything else he heard that he also enjoyed. It's really special. I'm going back and forth on if this is a definite buy for me, only because of wait time and investing in estats as an end game. Zero doubts on the sound quality and if worth the price. It is.
• Hifiman Shangri La Sr [Headamp room with Grand Cayman] - I'm sorry Shang, my heart belongs to the X9000 and it's probably turning me against you. It's not you it's (probably) me. But I call the shots here. It's now been a few times I heard it, I'm still waiting to hear what everyone else hears. It's bright and technical, a tad boring for me, and bass was non existent. I'm sure it'll sound much better with the T2 or STX. It's out of my budget anyway, but I'll keep going back and trying it every time I get a chance
• Meze Elite [Woo room with WA23, Main floor with HM1 and Viva 845] - Scroll down to see what award this has won. It's the most comfortable headphones I've ever tried. Truly remarkable how it disappears on my head. I wish it were more technical. I can see how for many it's truly end game. I could listen to it for hours it's so fun and lush and just right. I noticed what I'm missing the second I switched to my D8KPLE on the same chain with the WA23 and was suddenly a bit sad. I was sad my Final wasn't as comfortable and I was sad the Meze isn't a little more technical and with a bit more grunt. It's a matter of preference, I'd love to own one if I had the spare cash, most comfortable ever, we will meet again one day.
• Warwick Bravura [headphones dot com booth at the main floor] - the gain switch broke on its way to canjam, really couldn't listen to it with all the noise and volume turned to max. Maybe next time.

General thoughts on the headphones - My current stable is probably perfect for me (Susvara, D8000 Pro Limited Edition, HD650 and Mysphere 3.2). Only thing I really think about are the Stax X9000. I enjoyed more time with Audeze, Abyss, Focal and Sennheiser this weekend but I don't miss any of them. Made me feel great about my journey and selections.


Amps, DACs and Chains:

• dCS Lina stack - First time I listened was at the headphones dot com booth, I wasn't impressed. Conversations with people around me made me believe that the amp is the weak link. I wanted to try the DAC with the WA23 at the Abyss table but couldn't get to it. When I tried it the second day with the Caldera it was better to my ears. The room was also much quieter obviously. It's impossible to test this stack in these conditions. I doubt I'll feel it's worth the $30K, but I want to listen again because I'm curious
• Enleum HPA-23RM (with TT2 Mscaler) - drives the D8KP easily with great synergy, bass powerful but not very accurate or extended, female vocals are good, small stage, not piercing at all but plenty detail on top. It is TINY. I love the form factor and with a DAP I could see this a really great portable rig but also desktop end game for a lot of people. I tried it with the Susvara, that should be left for its bigger brother. I tried the HD800S as I was told the current drive will make miracles with it. I didn't feel like it did that but it was still a good pairing. Regular voltage output was meh. I wish I could justify a use case for it as I love the house sound and how it's built. Not for me (for now).
• ZMF Decware OTL collab - tried it at the ZMF room with the Atrium Closed Olive, it was fun but no match to the Feliks Envy. Can't say much more at the moment.
• T+A HA200 - Wow I loved it! The build is immaculate, it sounds terrific, total control of the Soli P and my D8KPLE. If I were ever to downsize my system, this is probably the top of my list. I asked if I could take one home, we will meet again for sure
• Feliks Euforia Evo - tried it at the main floor with a Utopia 2022 and my D8KPLE. It sounded good with both, better with the Utopia. I hoped for more magic but impossible to tell with all the noise. Doesn't fit my headphones collection but left a good impression
• Feliks Envy - to be honest I didn't love it with the Utopia 2022. I enjoyed it much more with the ZMF Atrium Closed. Personally for me it's not worth the asking price, see one below to understand why. Very nice but a pass for me, better options for the money personally
• Eksonic T2 - Kerry was super friendly and we had a great chat. The 007 sounded really really good with the T2. Too bad the DACs weren't on par with it (Soekris and Denafrips Ares). I hoped he'd have a X9000 but he couldn't get one for the show. It's too expensive for me considering I'm still a planars first type of listener but I can see how that's the way to go for anyone dedicated to estats or just with more free cash to spend on this hobby. Neck to neck with the Viva STX for me. Liked it a lot. Probably worth the money.
• Viva STX and Viva 845 - these are HUGE. To a point where it's not something I'd like to own. I appreciate they went all out on source gear. Serious stuff going on but deserving of a side room to better listen to it. Appreciate from a far for me.
• Woo Audio WA23 - Oh wow did I fall in love with this one. Just the right amount of tubiness and I kept coming back to it. Granted it was paired with a Mola Mola Tambaqui and I tried it first with the Meze Elite (warm and lush complete sound to die for) and afterwards with the D8KPLE (step up in technicalities, still amazing tonality). I left truly impressed and this competes for best of show for me. tbh I'm not a huge fan of how it looks but the size of it compared to what I'm used to with the WA33 really stunned me. It's definitely a piece of art/decor and not only an amp. 100% will meet again, it's making me rethink some of my gear plans
• Holo Audio Bliss with the Holo May - As far as I know it was the only Bliss at the show, tried it at the Audeze booth with the LCD-5. It took the May a step in the right direction in my opinion. A little more technical. Added nice textures and speed. It's really hard to say more with all the noise around but generally speaking I left impressed. Felt like it matched well with the LCD-5 and balanced some of its quirks that I was used to EQing. Not a fan of the size and build. Happy I tried it, even happier with my personal solid state decision for this year, see below
• Zahl HM1 - If I were to listen to only a single piece of gear it would be the HM1. This entire weekend and the whole reason I came for canjam was to validate my blind decision of committing to buying one when it's available later this year. I've listened to it four times over the two days with the Susvara, my D8KPLE, Meze Elite and regular D8KP. The first day - something felt wrong. I wasn't sure if it was my ears, my headphones, the amp or the Weiss DAC connected to it. It was distorting the bass. It was the first thing I went to listen to. It wasn't even 11am on Saturday and to say it was a rocky start is an understatement. I turned away and figured I'll come back again. I came to test it out to decide if I'm keeping my order or passing it to whoever is the potential lucky #26 in line. Second time around it was made clear to me that the +15db gain mode on the back isn't working properly. It might be a bad match to the rather hot Weiss 502 or simply this unit. Turning it to 0db or the Weiss to minus-a-lot quickly fixed everything. We also switched to the second input just to make sure. Smile was back on my face. I now understand all the impressions and everything I read about it and Michael Zahl the last few months. Also had a great conversation with the staff about it. It sounded marvelous. Full control of everything I threw at it. Bass was similar to what I remember feeling of how the WA33 controlled the Susvara. D8KP was a great pairing. Meze stepped up a notch in technicalities (still not enough though). The EQ was noticeable even though it's subtle. The soundstage knob a bit less with the noise around me, I'll need to revisit it. I'm keeping my order. The feature set, basically having two amps in one with the servo vs pure class A options, the build, and most importantly the sound - it's exactly what I feel I'm looking for in my main chain amp. I'm excited I'll be spending much more time with it. Haven't heard a better solid state ever. Planars + Class A will always be my favorite.

General thoughts on gear - it's very hard to judge any of it with the noise conditions, especially on the main floor. I was happy to see more higher end DACs compared to what I heard previous canjams had. It's probably impossible to compare DACs here. I'd love to see some more high end servers/streamers around. Maybe next year. As for next steps - I have some thinking to do. WA23 left an amazing impression on me. HM1 sounded amazing. Do I really want to chase estats this year? Is my money better used by changing my LTA Z10E to a WA23 considering the savings of not buying a X9000 and selling the LTA? First world problems!

Awards:

• Most surprising - Meze Elite (for comfort and build quality)
• Most disappointing - Yamaha YH-5000SE (hot take mid-fi)
• Best Headphones - Stax X9000 (but is it worth it?)
• Best Amp - Zahl HM1 (Don’t you love it when a plan comes together)
• Best in Show - Wa23 / Mola Mola chain (synergy at its finest)

Now that's what I call a great review! Love it when people aren't afraid of harsh critique.

Prices keep increasing with every release while those so called endgame products often fail to even content with stuff half their price.

 

[zach915m]

Another I was very impressed with was the Atrium closed. Call me crazy but I compared them back to back with the Caldera on the Cayin HA-300B MK II and I strangely felt the Atrium sounded more open. The Caldera just sounded veiled in comparison. Odd, I know. Perhaps it's because closed backs have an advantage at a show where there is background noise.

Color me paranoid, {and also my highly bias opinion and goal was for the Atrium Closed was for it to have a big diffuse stage} - but were you switching the impedance between low and high in the Ha300 between the two headphones?

The high impedance on the 300b is much better than an OTL into the Caldera, but it would be nice and warm.