UntilThen
Headphoneus Supremus
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- Jun 16, 2015
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Great event guys. Love the pictures. I hope to be there next year if there's one.
Should do it in Malaysia next time, overall cheaper for everyone (somewhat for us Malaysians); e.g. hotel stay, food, travel. Our economy needs a little boost and it'll benefit overseas travellers because of our "awesome" exchange rates. Hahaha
My Canjam Impressions, aka "How many times can I listen to Hotel California?"
...
At the AAW booth, I tried out the Q, Nebula 1 and 2 and came away impressed with them. I tried the Nebula 1 prototype (at least I think it was a prototype at that time) at Mook last year and was very disappointed at how it was tuned. But the actual production Nebula 1 was tuned much more to my liking.
While the Nebula 2 was priced slightly more, I felt that it wasn't a step up from the 1, more of a side-step due to their different sound signature. The 2 is more neutral, the 1 is more warm, so you'll likely prefer one over the other.
The Q is an unbelieveably small unit, I should have taken a photo of it! Seriously, if it was in your ears and the cable broke off, I don't see how you can take it out without having someone pry it out for you. I've listened to a few micro drivers before, such as JVC's and RHA, and was expecting the same sound: Small bass presence, abit thin and lacking in body. But I was wrong. The Q sounded like a full fledged dynamic driver, with fantastic bass and full-bodied mids. Out of the 3, I think the average non-audiophile consumer might appreciate the Q the most. I might get one due to how portable it is but it's still a prototype. At the proposed price, I think it's fair but those who have not heard it because will likely pass it by due to how unassuming it looked. Must hear it to believe it!
At the LMUE booth, I was excited to see the AD02 since I was a huge fan of the AD01 given its low price tag for the performance. The AD02 is even more lowly priced and aimed to be used for sports since it has some form of water resistance. The mids and highs were fantastic for its price when I heard it through a female vocal song, but the bass was too bloated and totally bled into the mids, when I tried it with my bass track. I highlighted this to Teo and the staff which they acknowledged, but they said it was a compromise that they have to make given its low price point.
Finally got to try the Shure KSE1500 as hearing the widely differing feedback on it. My own experience is: It actually has an electrostatics sound. It was a little bright, the mids were enjoyable and musical and the bass was amazing. While not as good as the best dynamic drivers, the bass out of these were much preferable to the punchy bass from BA. Ultimately though, I would likely only pay $500-$600 for it.
Managed to track down the Cavalli Liquid Spark and had a listen to it but honestly.... I was disappointed with what I heard through my Hum. Everything sounded a little muddied and the HUM lost the clarity that made me find in love with. It MIGHT just be a bad pairing but.... I guess I'll wait for the final production unit before saying more.
Lastly, the biggest surprise of the show: A mysterious prototype earphones that look like a normal wood clad earphones you can find at a mall and has a MSRP of under $100. However, the sound quality is so amazing good that my wallet was somehow magically in my hand without me recalling I ever took it out. Even if priced at $200, it might be the best sub $200 earphones I have ever heard, but unfortunately, there is only that one unit in existence so far. DEFINITELY keeping out an eye for it when it's available for sale. The guys at MS know what I'm referring to but I'll refrain from revealing more details for now as I don't want to leak anything I'm not supposed to.
Will probably get my fair share of stick for this......but I found the KSE1500 quite disappointing and highly overpriced.. They do deliver music in an effortless fashion, great stage and separation but I feel they're quite genre specific. If you were someone who listened classical/orchestral they might be a good fit. I don't find them all that suitable for portable use either and would worry about mishaps with the fixed cables, so much so that I probably wouldn't enjoy my music. Technological feat, yes......but I'd take the DITA IEMs over these. The entry level Stax rigs sound better if your intended use is at a desk.
For someone who's better headphones have all been planar based thus far, I came to Canjam wanting to hate the HD800S. Things did not go according to plan and I now want a pair! They sounded brilliant with the HDVD800. It's still quite pricey, but for simple folk like me I would consider that an end-game setup.
Does anyone have a ballpark figure on the Shangri-La's possible price? I know its going to be exorbitant but I'm curious to know
No one tried the ultrasone edition 8?
Listened to it and the vocals are amazing
Will probably get my fair share of stick for this......but I found the KSE1500 quite disappointing and highly overpriced.. They do deliver music in an effortless fashion, great stage and separation but I feel they're quite genre specific. If you were someone who listened classical/orchestral they might be a good fit. I don't find them all that suitable for portable use either and would worry about mishaps with the fixed cables, so much so that I probably wouldn't enjoy my music. Technological feat, yes......but I'd take the DITA IEMs over these. The entry level Stax rigs sound better if your intended use is at a desk.
For someone who's better headphones have all been planar based thus far, I came to Canjam wanting to hate the HD800S. Things did not go according to plan and I now want a pair! They sounded brilliant with the HDVD800. It's still quite pricey, but for simple folk like me I would consider that an end-game setup.
Does anyone have a ballpark figure on the Shangri-La's possible price? I know its going to be exorbitant but I'm curious to know
My bro bought AAW Nebula 1 from CanJam, and in my opinion it sounds very2 good! Balanced tuning with good clarity.
And yes, LMUE D02 is another best band for the buck to go IEM. Very light and sounds great! Mildly bassy but overall quite balance and clear sounding. Great for on the go and sport.
Me too kinda disappointed with Shure KSE1500. Definitely not my cup of tea. Instrument separation was not very good, and dynamic is still far from satisfying, at least for the asking price.
I wasn't impressed with Cavalli Liquid Spark either. Sounds ok, kinda beefy sounding, but not very resolving. Detail and resolution was not better than the output of my ifi micro iDSD headphone output.
+1 on KSE1500.
Yes, the HD800S tuning is good. I have HD800, and I like the way Sennheiser tuned the new HD800S. It is a better sounding HD800, an evolution, and not a departure for the original HD800 sound signature.
No one tried the ultrasone edition 8?
Listened to it and the vocals are amazing