Hey guys-
Just got home a few hours ago, and thought I'd share some of my brief impressions of a few things that really impressed me.
The transparency of the SR-009 - Wow, just wow. The SR-009 fed by the Woo WES is the most transparent headphone system I have ever heard. Absolutely, phenomenally impressive. But, of course, everyone knows the SR-009 is a stunner.
The bass of the LCD-3 - You don't realize how much visceral texture and impact the SR-009 is missing until you put a pair of these on. The SR-009 is incredibly neutral, but methinks may roll off the low frequencies a little bit. The LCD-3 shares the same essential sound signature as the LCD-2, in a more comfortable package (dat earpad!), a bit more transparency, and even more awe-inspiring bass.
The weird but awesome Unique Melody Merlin - My favorite IEM of the show. What a weird little earbud! 4 balanced armatures + a dynamic woofer is very hard to wrap your mind around as you listen, but it sounds incredibly fun. As has been stated before, the soundstage of these is absolutely phenomenal. And the bass is incredible - deep, powerful, punchy - without overpowering the mids and highs generated by those armatures. This was the one thing I was most tempted to purchase at the show, but I've been avoiding major purchases for like a year now and am trying to keep up my streak
The ridiculousness of the Woo monoblock- I didn't actually listen. I just stood in awe at the idea of a towering $10,000 monoblock created for the purpose of driving headphones. I think this industry may be getting a bit nuts (this is probably old news). On the other hand, the new Woo CD Transport and DAC are typically beautiful Woo pieces, and relatively reasonable at ~$1,100 each (if memory serves).
The professionalism of the room as a whole - Even moreso than the last few years, the CanJam room felt really legit this year. Lots of great vendors around, and the whole thing felt very professional and civilized. I think it likely made us headphone folks look good to anybody there for the main show who decided poke their head in at the curiosity in the back of the hotel. I guess the slight downside to this is that there wasn't much of a member rig section, which I think is nice to have because you get some more unorthodox or discontinued equipment showcased, and experienced folks to give unvarnished opinions to anybody who wanders downstairs, but the room was still really great, and it was wonderful to see many of you. Many thanks to Jude and John (and any other organizers I may have missed, sorry!) for putting forward the best of what our community has to offer.
