CanJam Singapore 2025 Impressions Thread (April 5-6, 2025)

[singingbee]

any impressions of the campfire audio alien brain

 

[tamtrum]

My first time attending a Canjam in Singapore, was great to meet friends from all around Asia and the Oceania islands.

Day 1 SG Canjam Impressions:

I tried the two iems with my fiio BTR17 and epro propeller Pro01 tips because I like how they tame upper treble for me. I didn’t listen too hard for technical performance because Bluetooth lol.

7th Acoustics Asteria: I think they sealed the front volume of the DD, so I get driver flex. Bass is so so, wasn’t dynamic enough for my taste. Mids are tuned for male vocals, female vocals has an upper mids dip so it sounds dry. Not my style of mids overall since I mostly listen to female vocal tracks (newjeans, the Maria’s) . I think there’s a lower treble rise to give that treble bite which I’m whatever about but it is there. Rest of the treble is done fine. Price is $3800 usd, shell fit is ok, nozzle on the larger side but not the largest.

Mysticcraft Hex: shell is quite large, probably won’t fit people with small ear canals. Overall sounds like a more refined fugaku. It’s midbassy, I find that Lee from Elysian likes to have his mids scooped and then elevated so you get what I believe is a weird texture to vocals (similar to Annihilator). Treble I think is done well. It’s linear and rolls off where it should. Overall, this iem isn’t for me but it does accomplish the task of being a fugaku killer for the price of $9000 usd. One gripe I have is the resin shell.

My highlight of the show on day 1 is Viking weave Draupnir headphone, @skedra did a great job integrating 2DD’s. Tastefully done sub and midbass, comes with a switch to bump up like 60 hz or something which is pretty fun at the expense of your sensitivity going down to a noticeable amount. In its “bass light” mode (which isn’t really bass light relative to other headphones) I like the mids and treble on this headphone a lot. Mids sound maybe a touch warm on both genders of vocals and I give this a plus. Treble has a cut somewhere I think maybe in mid treble? But overall I think thetreble leans dark which is great. I can listen to all my bright tracks with no problems. I tried draupnir on the Zahl HM1 and my Btr17 and I heard a difference in scaling, so bonus points. Comfort is awesome it’s light and headstrap design is great. In the basslight mode the sensitivity is pretty good, I can power it off my Btr17 ok. In the bass mode, I’d have to switch to my 320max. The design of it is gorgeous, carbon cups with gold flakes, the yolks are made of carbon too. Also the pads are magnetic!!! They’re easy to take off and pop back on. Don’t know what the price will be but I’d come back into the headphone space to pick one up.

2nd Day Impressions, every iem tried with propeller tips and Btr17.

Noble Audio Onyx: pretty midbassy, the deletion of the upper mids is like not how I like my female vocals but if you don’t care about vocals i can see the appeal. I had some mild driver flex

Noble Audio shogun:
Bassy and mid forward, not terrible but yea cool design on the 4.4mm connector with the katana handle.

Campfire alien brain: this iem reminds me of the Clara in some ways. Decent tuning I think CFA went for a fun approach here.

Nostalgia audio pendragon: I had bad driver flex which I think led to channel imbalance so I couldn’t tell which side was correct.

Palavox akasha: bright, mid forward, wasn’t interesting.

Prisma Audio Lumen iem: bass was lighter than I’d like, upper mids was dipped somewhere and then it was bright, overall is ok, I can see this being appealing for people who like analytical listening. Not the type of iem I go for nowadays but I definitely see the market.

Prisma Audio Lux iem: solid all arounder for me, just balanced all around from subbass to upper treble. Some might call it “not technical enough” I think it’s the right amount. I like this iem because it hits the type of neutral I look for in an iem. Both Lux and Lumen are a good shell size too, good job to Josh from Prisma Audio. I’m hoping both Lux and Lumen go in production this year. This was my highlight listen for day 2.

Overall show highlight for me was the Draupnir headphone from Viking Weave. Skedra mentioned he’s looking to open preorders around SoCal so I’m looking forward to that.

PS: Seeing the early morning beyblade battle upstairs on Sunday was awesome haha.

 

[yaps66]

Posted on Watercooler:

First post in a while! So CanJam Singapore 2025 is done a dusted after sending off some of the best people I know at Changi Airport! A tinge of sadness has set-in as we transit back to normalcy!

What was the highlight for me? Has to be Mysticraft Acoustic Research Hex. This is the apex in terms of the technology and sound reproduction. So balanced, pulpable and engaging.

Other iem highlights for me include Fugaku, Mephisto, Serenity, Omnium Ti, Moses, Project K, Clara, Astrolith, Yu9, Mysticraft Acoustic Research Tribid, and Ventura White. Didn't take any notes so hopefully did not miss any.

For headphones, highlight for me was the CRBN 2.

The lasting memory will be the catch-ups and new friendships forged. This is such a precious community. Lifelong friends made! This pictures tell it all!

 

[Hiker816]

Overall show highlight for me was the Draupnir headphone from Viking Weave. Skedra mentioned he’s looking to open preorders around SoCal so I’m looking forward to that.

That's terrific! I was really impressed with the Draupnir when I heard it at the last SoCal. Any photos? I wonder if it looks different than it did then.

 

[llysender]

it looks exactly what you think it might look like: the ruby/sapphire but green.

i tried it, the most annoying thing is the ringing of the BC driver when you tap on the iem. You can also hear a bit of ringing when just moving around as well.

Yeah I was hopping someone took pics since I kninna forgot and just enjoyed myself trying out stuff and it was my personal fav. Didnt find BC ringing but since its BC I wouldnt be surprised that it acts differently for different people.

 

[crush]

7th Acoustics Asteria: I think they sealed the front volume of the DD, so I get driver flex. Bass is so so, wasn’t dynamic enough for my taste. Mids are tuned for male vocals, female vocals has an upper mids dip so it sounds dry. Not my style of mids overall since I mostly listen to female vocal tracks (newjeans, the Maria’s) . I think there’s a lower treble rise to give that treble bite which I’m whatever about but it is there. Rest of the treble is done fine. Price is $3800 usd, shell fit is ok, nozzle on the larger side but not the largest.

Surprised to see the Asteria coming in with such a high price tag, considering the announcement of the Rawon which must then be priced higher. Oof.

 

[wolfstar76]

See so many familiar faces!

 

[LoneFurrow]

That's terrific! I was really impressed with the Draupnir when I heard it at the last SoCal. Any photos? I wonder if it looks different than it did then.

It looks pretty nuts now...

 

[Yefry]

So far only one impression for Aful, a positive one:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/aful-performer-impressions-thread.966207/post-18642143

And Fiio, a negative one here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new-fiio-fx17.976337/post-18632973

My local store has Fiio FX17 but I'm not gonna waste my time with those heavy shells, I already know they won't fit my small ears. If Fiio continue with these heavy titanium shells I can't be bothered to give them my money sadly. I respect Fiio as a brand but the comfort is top priority for me. Aful does a better job at having lighter shells and better fit.

The new AFUL looks promising considering its price target, I'll definitely keep an eye on it, thanks for the link

About the Fiio FX17 it seems that Fiio has its own design philosophy and they are continuing with it, I too like the nice, light transparent shells, often more comfortable but also weaker, obviously any product that causes discomfort in the ear subtracts points as it happened to me with GM but the iem seems to have the technology and the price interesting enough to spark the interest of audiophiles.

About the negative review I read it days ago and the truth is that I didn't take it into account, I don't remember a single IEM that produces distortions speaking of any price target and these IEMs are tried and tested hundreds of times by many people and in this case during several shows, I refuse to believe that nobody noticed that the biggest TOTL in 18 years of a brand like Fiio produces distortions even though everything is possible, whatever it is I like the risk and I hope to try FX17 for myself and clear up any doubts

@zxcero

Solid impressions, I hope AFUL continues to refine the product before its launch, I like to support brands that offer advanced configurations in their IEMs without applying the crazy prices of other TOTLs

PD

I forgot the new stupid rule about being able to post two messages in a row

 

[weexisttocease]

Surprised to see the Asteria coming in with such a high price tag, considering the announcement of the Rawon which must then be priced higher. Oof.

Asteria is the flagship not the Rowan.

 

[nhat_thanh]

The final hour of Canjam Singapore 2025. Thank Jude and the Head-fi crew, together with all the brands who attended and everyone who came for making this such an amazing event! Here’s to the next one!

 

[decur]

The Final D8000 DC Pro is flying under the radar, methinks. Its just such a lovely-sounding headphones, such a great and natural tonality, from bass to mids to treble, lightweight, comfortable and the whole package, really. Final Audio has really knocked it out of the park with this one.

did final have the d8000dc(non pro) version there for demo? if so,and you listened to them,any thoughts?

 

[crush]

Asteria is the flagship not the Rowan.

Seems Google was a bit misleading then. That's good to hear though

 

[Stzz]

Is Mysticraft a side project of Lee from Elysian?

 

[AzAnime]

Highlights​

• Moses is really good. TOTL timbre and vocals. Lacks a bit of treble. Very smooth listening for those who really like a warmer sound with rich vocals.
• Look out for Hercules Audio Prototype for $400 usd. Sounds like 1-2k usd pair
• Kiwiears Astral amazing budget set for $200. Already preordered one lol.
• HEX really good. More of neutral tuning with lots of details. Very resolving but a bit too neutral in the mids for me.
• Mysticraft Tribid surprised me. I thought it was $3k usd but for $1k highly recommend. (Bought 2)
• AME Raven is great. Very immersive experience even though vocals are recessed. One of the surprises for me
• Mephisto is a solid all rounder A tier set. Lacks the special sauce for me as compared to Macbeth especially the Macbeth mids were a standout.
• Lime Ears Maris very good. I might get one depending on price and availability.
• Crinears Meta is very solid and not just hype. Very solid budget set. Crinears Reference is very good too but comes EOY.
• Agis II is rly good. Spartacus successor with more treble which was missing in the original set. Vocals are recessed but it's still clear. Is one of the pairs I will be looking to get in the near future.
• PS10 is an amazing DAP. One of the best I've tried. It's a natural sound signature with a wide soundstage with great clarity and imaging. S Tier dap that I'll be looking forward to upgrading to.
• Chronicle is really good. One of the widest SS I've heard. Debatable if summitfi tier. Lacks a bit of clarity.
• Legionears Prototype is really good midfi set and depends on the price but it has solid bass and TOTL mids. Lacks a bit of spice for the treble.

Thank you for your compact review! I really like these pinpoint style of summaries.