CanJam Shanghai 2024 Impressions Thread
- Thread starter AxelCloris
- Start date
That is just ridiculous.
And this is coming from someone who understands ridiculous.
Thanks to all the Head-fi organizers who helped to make this all happen. It was great to listen to everything and reconnect with everyone here. Looking forward to next year and London next month.
Ken @Campfire Audio
Ken @Campfire Audio
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psy472
500+ Head-Fier
Is it due to the lack of American participation in this CanJam? Why is there no exciting reviews of gears? The Susvara unveiled their Unveiled and we still don’t have an impression. How sad…
Yes doesn’t seem like any active head-fiers went to China. We’ll have to wait for London I guess!
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Thank you so much for posting your impressions of the show! Reading impressions like yours is the best part of CanJam!Me and @someyoungguy sitting here like
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So almost give up on posting anything as it takes glacial pacing to connect to any website especially with VPN here. Had to remove all the pics I took as well.
I only spent half day on both days, as it was my first time to Shanghai and I found it a rather interesting and picturesque city to explore. The usual caveats of Can Jams not being the best place for any critical analysis applies, and all one can really do is mention things that stood out somewhat to them for further investigation. These are my superficial findings.
I went to the Focal booth hoping to find the Utopia 2022, but alas it was not available. I tried the Hadenys. These are quite good, nothing egregiously bad at all, but for some reason not quite pulling me into the music. I opted to leave not feeling impressed at all. Most should read this as the headphones not embarking on any trickery to impress one on short listening bursts.
I haven't focused on IEMs for quite a long time, but since the array of headphones am used to in Can Jams like New York and Socal weren't available it was a nice opportunity to delve back into this IEM world to see how things have progressed. I tried the QDC Emperor and was rather impressed. This has excellent resolution and a rather musical sound. I was more impressed with them on the first day than I was on the second day, but these might be worth checking out again. Clarity here is quite astounding and imaging was amazing.
Vision Ears EXT left an impression as a rather natural and big sound. Quite an engaging listen. The Vision Ears Phœnix was even more highly resolved. It brings out a very beautiful and spacious sound with more micro details. Feels like a no compromise taken kind of IEM. I was quite impressed with this, but not as much as the next IEM I tried.
On a whim, I opted to try the Elysian Annihilator. There is something rather special going on with this IEM. Of all the others that I tried none really made me want to part with my money. This has quite a regal sound signature or tuning. The treble here is exquisite and as much as it was pumping out great detail, I could sense no grain or haziness whatsoever. I don't know of much headphones with this retina like quality to detail retrieval. It is an unapologetically non-reference tuning that works amazingly well. The bass might actually be a bit too much for me, but as a cohesive whole this is an incredible IEM that is engaging and everything sounds great through it. This will be an amazing all rounder perhaps. I am looking to find a pair. It will join the only other IEM I have which is the Sony IER-Z1R. I sold off a couple IEMs a few years ago when I went full in on headphones.
A really nice and surprising find was the Sennheiser 620S. The tuning here is really fantastic, just sit back and enjoy your music. The tuning was so agreeable that I spent 40 minutes just listening and relishing my music without realizing it. I had planned to spend 10 minutes max. Can you get headphones with more powerful and detailed bass, am sure you can. Can you find headphones with more resolution, of course, but might you enjoy them as much? I would argue perhaps not necessarily. A lot of what gets lost in the relentless quest for technicalities is the core foundation that the tuning should still enable one to enjoy the music first. This headphone in my view is a reminder of that. The bass here is sufficient for me, Not a lot of deep bass that you can feel, and it isn't going to be weighty and bombastic like say an Atrium. You might hear more mid bass actually. Mids are nicely detailed and not overly warm. They are rather spacious with good imaging. Tamper expectations here, but on a whole for less than 400 bucks, these are awesome and I am looking to pick up a pair.
I tried the Susvara Unveiled the first day, but lined up for over 35 minutes just to listen for 5 minutes with half the time trying to see a track I recognize. Only artist I could recognize was Adele. Every other track was in written in simplified Chinese characters and not music am familiar with. All I could gather from the first day was that they sounded really good with surprisingly intimate vocals. On the second day I had better luck, because as I was lining up, myself and two other guys got invited to the private room where they had the Shangri La system, the Susvara Unveiled and the Susvara OG connected to the EF1000.
I am one who thought that the Susvara OG was good, but not great. I personally think of them as too hyped. The Susvara unveiled seems more efficient and so loudness bias is in its favor, but I definitely prefer them to the original. In fact, I preferred them driven off the EF1000 more than the Shangri La system. The Shangri La system no doubt has amazing technicalities and resolution, but its treble is to piped up to influence detail. I personal think of the Susvara OG in this light as well, aspiring to be a bit too ethereal. The Susvara's unveiled aren't as ethereal, as there is more gravitas to everything. The overall sound seems more weighty and realistic. They are superbly open in terms of clarity and you'll notice this markedly so over the original. The midrange is truly what I enjoyed from this headphone. Again Adele is the only artist I recognized, but I think her tracks are a good indicator of midrange quality. I was really surprised at how intimate the vocals were on the Susvara Unveiled. Amazingly refined and very very emotive and weighty relative to the OG and Shang Sr system. This is a more agreeable sound signature to me (more musical), a tinge more warmth and gravitas, but still more highly resolved than the original. Piqued my interest enough to definitely wanna hear them again.
I only spent half day on both days, as it was my first time to Shanghai and I found it a rather interesting and picturesque city to explore. The usual caveats of Can Jams not being the best place for any critical analysis applies, and all one can really do is mention things that stood out somewhat to them for further investigation. These are my superficial findings.
I went to the Focal booth hoping to find the Utopia 2022, but alas it was not available. I tried the Hadenys. These are quite good, nothing egregiously bad at all, but for some reason not quite pulling me into the music. I opted to leave not feeling impressed at all. Most should read this as the headphones not embarking on any trickery to impress one on short listening bursts.
I haven't focused on IEMs for quite a long time, but since the array of headphones am used to in Can Jams like New York and Socal weren't available it was a nice opportunity to delve back into this IEM world to see how things have progressed. I tried the QDC Emperor and was rather impressed. This has excellent resolution and a rather musical sound. I was more impressed with them on the first day than I was on the second day, but these might be worth checking out again. Clarity here is quite astounding and imaging was amazing.
Vision Ears EXT left an impression as a rather natural and big sound. Quite an engaging listen. The Vision Ears Phœnix was even more highly resolved. It brings out a very beautiful and spacious sound with more micro details. Feels like a no compromise taken kind of IEM. I was quite impressed with this, but not as much as the next IEM I tried.
On a whim, I opted to try the Elysian Annihilator. There is something rather special going on with this IEM. Of all the others that I tried none really made me want to part with my money. This has quite a regal sound signature or tuning. The treble here is exquisite and as much as it was pumping out great detail, I could sense no grain or haziness whatsoever. I don't know of much headphones with this retina like quality to detail retrieval. It is an unapologetically non-reference tuning that works amazingly well. The bass might actually be a bit too much for me, but as a cohesive whole this is an incredible IEM that is engaging and everything sounds great through it. This will be an amazing all rounder perhaps. I am looking to find a pair. It will join the only other IEM I have which is the Sony IER-Z1R. I sold off a couple IEMs a few years ago when I went full in on headphones.
A really nice and surprising find was the Sennheiser 620S. The tuning here is really fantastic, just sit back and enjoy your music. The tuning was so agreeable that I spent 40 minutes just listening and relishing my music without realizing it. I had planned to spend 10 minutes max. Can you get headphones with more powerful and detailed bass, am sure you can. Can you find headphones with more resolution, of course, but might you enjoy them as much? I would argue perhaps not necessarily. A lot of what gets lost in the relentless quest for technicalities is the core foundation that the tuning should still enable one to enjoy the music first. This headphone in my view is a reminder of that. The bass here is sufficient for me, Not a lot of deep bass that you can feel, and it isn't going to be weighty and bombastic like say an Atrium. You might hear more mid bass actually. Mids are nicely detailed and not overly warm. They are rather spacious with good imaging. Tamper expectations here, but on a whole for less than 400 bucks, these are awesome and I am looking to pick up a pair.
I tried the Susvara Unveiled the first day, but lined up for over 35 minutes just to listen for 5 minutes with half the time trying to see a track I recognize. Only artist I could recognize was Adele. Every other track was in written in simplified Chinese characters and not music am familiar with. All I could gather from the first day was that they sounded really good with surprisingly intimate vocals. On the second day I had better luck, because as I was lining up, myself and two other guys got invited to the private room where they had the Shangri La system, the Susvara Unveiled and the Susvara OG connected to the EF1000.
I am one who thought that the Susvara OG was good, but not great. I personally think of them as too hyped. The Susvara unveiled seems more efficient and so loudness bias is in its favor, but I definitely prefer them to the original. In fact, I preferred them driven off the EF1000 more than the Shangri La system. The Shangri La system no doubt has amazing technicalities and resolution, but its treble is to piped up to influence detail. I personal think of the Susvara OG in this light as well, aspiring to be a bit too ethereal. The Susvara's unveiled aren't as ethereal, as there is more gravitas to everything. The overall sound seems more weighty and realistic. They are superbly open in terms of clarity and you'll notice this markedly so over the original. The midrange is truly what I enjoyed from this headphone. Again Adele is the only artist I recognized, but I think her tracks are a good indicator of midrange quality. I was really surprised at how intimate the vocals were on the Susvara Unveiled. Amazingly refined and very very emotive and weighty relative to the OG and Shang Sr system. This is a more agreeable sound signature to me (more musical), a tinge more warmth and gravitas, but still more highly resolved than the original. Piqued my interest enough to definitely wanna hear them again.
Lyssky
100+ Head-Fier
This makes it all the more weird and incomprehensible for me.
why? you saved 7K lol
Hey guys - I have posted my Canjam impression in the Watercooler thread. Feel free to read it!
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...ge-all-welcome.957426/page-6062#post-18170309
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...ge-all-welcome.957426/page-6062#post-18170309
BenJoe
New Head-Fier
I had some time at the VIP room as well. I have similar feelings about the Susvara Unveiled. As great as the Shangri La is, I find the Unveiled more enjoyable overall. Maybe it’s the warmth that you are talking about makes them more welcoming and easier to the ears.
I probably should have listed to the OG first. But went back to the OG after listening to the Unveiled, the OG sounded like working hard to make everything sound good meanwhile the Unveiled could do it quite effortlessly. I’m not sure if EF1000 is a good paring so to the OG. I’ve listened to this pairing on two occasions, and find the OG rather a little tame while presenting everything very nicely.
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