CanJam SoCal 2016 Impressions Thread (March 19-20, 2016)
Status
Not open for further replies.
Apr 6, 2016 at 3:53 PM Post #631 of 658
   
Yes.  
smile.gif

 

 

 
Apr 9, 2016 at 12:47 AM Post #632 of 658
So I just wanted to pop in to talk about my fun day today.  As many of you know I moved to LA about a month ago, just before Canjam.  The Source A/V had a big room full of TOTL gear (including the only HD800S at the show!) and it was the first time I'd heard of them.  I got to know the owner, Jason Lord, pretty well when I ran him over with my go-kart, sending him to the hospital for 30 stitches in his finger.  
redface.gif
  Fortunately, he's a BAMF and wasn't nearly as upset about it as I was and we bonded pretty well over the incident.
 
Today, I finally got to head down to his shop and check it out.  I was hanging with @warrenpchi and @mikemercer and checking out what the shop had to offer.  It's mostly a crazy 2-channel and home theater heaven on earth.  Tons of listening rooms and theater rooms setup for amazing sound.  I listened to my 5.1 DVD-A version of Porcupine Tree's "Deadwing" in one of the theaters, with full on recliners, and it was a treat!  I know I'll never be able to afford most of the systems on display so I was happy to take advantage while I was there.  
biggrin.gif

 
But the coolest part of the store for me is the area that he has dedicated to personal audio.  He's got a range of great headphones from all the top brands (STAX, MrSpeakers, Sennheiser, Audeze, etc) all there with SE and Balanced cables for demoing.  Below the headphones hanging on the wall is a range of top amps and DAC's (Woo Audio, Sim Audio, Questyle, Sim Audio, Astell & Kern, Cavalli coming soon, etc.)  It's a little personal audio playground!
 
The ability to mix and match gear and demo all the TOTL gear in one place blew me away.  I got into this hobby when I was living in Las Vegas.  There was nothing like this for headphones out there so I had to constantly buy and sell on the classifieds here to get my education on differences in gear.  Having a resource like this now is just awesome and I encourage anyone local to LA to check his shop out.  It's like a headphone meet that's always open!
 
And Jason himself is a breath of fresh air.  He's a straight shooter and will never BS you; it's just not in him.  That isn't always a good thing, but you get used to it.  
wink.gif
  That he cares about personal audio as much as 2-channel and home theater is evident in the care he put into the personal audio selection.
 
Like I said, I'm new in town and this is the first chance I had to check it out and I've never seen anything like it.  Normally these 2-channel sales guys will take one look at me in my ripped jeans and t-shirt and go back to their conversations.  The Source A/V doesn't run like that.  Kudos to Jason for putting together a great shop with a welcoming environment.
 
Why am I writing this?  Because I don't think they really got much love in this thread and I thought it'd be nice to give them a shout-out now that I've seen the place.  Anyone else been down there to check it out?
 
Apr 9, 2016 at 1:01 AM Post #634 of 658
Thanks for sharing Stillhart. Is this the one you are referring to?
http://thesourceav.com/

 
Yep, that's the one!  If you go check it out, tell Jason I said to show you his scar.  
biggrin.gif

 
Apr 9, 2016 at 1:53 AM Post #639 of 658
Thank you. Gotta check out with him if I need appointment for headphone auditioning and if I can bring my own headphone for comparison.
Sure bring your cans - amps ..whatever helps you get to audio nirvana
 
The Source AV TSAVJason Stay updated on The Source AV at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
https://www.facebook.com./pages/The-Source-AV-Design-Group/153623164648713 http://www.twitter.com/TheSourceAV http://www.instagram.com/Thesourceavdesign http://thesourceav.com/ Products@TheSourceAV.com
Apr 9, 2016 at 3:26 AM Post #642 of 658
Stillhart - Nice write-up/impressions on The Source A/V! There was a meeting a few months ago that had some Head-Fiers/friends attend, and there were quite a few audio equipment that was shown and unveiled. It was quite the event! Here's the link to The Source A/V event (page 3 is when the pictures start to show): http://www.head-fi.org/t/781290/the-questyle-mr-speakers-enigmacoustics-mcintosh-stax-focal-subpac-audeze-noble-kimber-rha-meet-the-source-a-v-in-torrance-california-10-17.
 
Apr 9, 2016 at 5:11 AM Post #643 of 658
Alright, time for me to finally post some impressions.  I've been insanely busy at work and have had a bit of a cold, so I haven't really gotten around to this.  At this point, I doubt I have anything to add that hasn't already been said, but here are some quick impressions:
 
Cavalli Audio: Might as well start big.  That Liquid Tungsten.  Quite possibly the best headphone amp I've ever heard.  I didn't get too much time with it, but I was thoroughly impressed from the bit of time that I did have.  Listening to Portishead's "The Rip" was nothing short of mind-blowing.  I just used the HD 800's that were in the room, and I'm not sure if I've ever heard wide of a soundstage from headphones before.  In addition, the Liquid Spark was a fantastic little portable amp that could definitely pose as a bigger product.
 
MrSpeakers: I've been a big fan of the Ether series since I first heard it last year.  It's really cool to see more companies getting into the electrostatic game.  The Ether Electrostatics sounded great.  Definitely one of my highlights of the show.  These had a very wide sound stage and a great neutral sound signature with great extension in both directions.
 
Sennheiser: I didn't spend as much time with the HD 800S's as I would've liked, but I liked what I heard.  I have a feeling that with a very good amp, such as the Liquid Tungsten, I would prefer the original HD 800's.  I would be very curious to hear a cross between these two headphones, where the spike in the treble gets smoothed, but the bass is left alone (or at least the bass signature; I wouldn't mind seeing the lows being able to extend further without losing accuracy).
 
Audeze: I have been able to tour Audeze in the past, so it was very nice hanging out here for a bit.  I enjoyed the LCD-4 through their King amplifier.  As an LCD-X owner, I'd love to have some time to compare the two.  Also, props for the calibrated VU meters on The King amp.  I think that's a really nice touch.
 
HiFiMan: So. Many. Big. Amps.  I came mainly to listen to the Shangri-La, and I liked what I heard, but I think I might've preferred the Ether electrostatics.  I'd really need more time with both to make a better judgements though.  The Ethers will clearly win the price/performance battle though.
 
Meze: As others have said, the Classics 99 is fantastic at its price point.  I was pleasantly surprised listening to it, and thoroughly enjoyed Wilco's "At Least That's What You Said" through them, even when listening to a lossy version of it from my cell phone.
 
Taction Technology: This is an interesting idea.  I don't think I'd want it for music, but it could be a lot of fun with movies or gaming.
 
Chord: That little Mojo is great!  I also really liked the Hugo TT.  I thought the Dave was cool, but it's price/performance was a bit lower than I'd like.  I also wasn't huge on the look of the GUI.  The big squares that would change colors at what seemed to be a random pattern as opposed to gradual changes in addition to the font used just didn't look like a premium product to me.  They kind of reminded me of my first work with web design back when I was in middle school.
 
Woo Audio: That new semi-portable WA8 is fantastic!  Another one of those products that sounds bigger than it is.  I own a standard WA7 with the original solid-state power supply.  I'd really love to have some time to compare it side-by-side with the tube power supply and compare the new amp board to the new one.  I'm sure the DAC is the biggest improvement, but I don't use my WA7's DAC since I got my Grace Design m920.
 
Modwright Instruments: I've been familiar with Modwright's two-channel gear for a while now, and have had a number of chances to listen to it, so I was excited to see them making a dedicated headphone amp, and a tube one at that.  I loved the design of the Tryst, and the sound even more.  Plenty of power, no noticeable noise floor, and to use a cliché, very musical.
 
Wells Audio: The Headtrip is an absurdly good amp, but at its price point, it should be.  That Milo on the other hand is crazy expensive, and man, what a beast.  I spent quite a while listening to it with the Dharma D1000's they had, and it didn't disappoint at any volume or with any track I threw at it.  I very much enjoyed talking with Jeff Wells about the design of the amp, and as someone who works in manufacturing, I really appreciate him trying to design it to go together as easily as possible to keep the price down.  I think that this approach led to a very cool design as well, and I look forward to seeing what the production version will look like.  I think the production version of this amp will be one of the best amps available at its price point.
 
HeadAmp Electronics: The GS-X Mk II was one of the first high-end headphone amplifiers that I ever heard, and I make sure to spend some time with it every time I have a chance.  It's still one of my favorite headphone amps.  It pairs well with everything I've tried with it, including the HD 800's, which few amps can make sound as good as this amp can.
 
Linear Tube Audio: I really liked the MicroZotl 2.0 amp.  It sounded very good, and the clear top was really cool.  Those red screws to hold it all together are a very nice aesthetic touch.
 
Airist Audio: Very nice staff, and a really good sounding setup.  Their stack with some HD 800's were very musical and enjoyable.  I need to give them props for the design of the volume knob on their Heron 5 amplifier.  I really like the design here.  Custom knobs are a great way to make an aesthetic name for yourself, and this amp is no exception.  If I were to nitpick, I would like to see the shape of the power button match the shape of the volume knob (the power button has a rounded top, while the volume knob has a flatter look), and I'd like to see the set screw on the volume knob be moved to the opposite side (if it's on the side opposite the pointer, it will mostly be facing down where it won't be seen when the amp is being used).  Very good work from a new company.
 
Questyle Audio: That Golden stack was very good.  Quick, tons of power, and pulls off gold, a color I'm not often a fan of, very well.  I didn't spend too much time here, but I very much enjoyed what I heard.
 
Brüel & Kjær: This was very cool to see.  I do production as well as research & development for AEA, and I use their calibration microphones on a regular basis with an Audiomatica CLIO testing system, so I was really excited to see what they would have here (they were probably the biggest surprise for me to see on the list of exhibitors).  I didn't bring any equipment to test, but just watching them run some tests was very interesting to see, especially as someone who deals with audio testing equipment on a regular basis.

In addition to the equipment, I would like to thank everyone that I met on Sunday.  I ended up meeting a ton of cool people and hanging out for several hours after CanJam.  @Hansotek, thanks for introducing me to everyone, and thanks to everyone else @AxelCloris, @mikemercer, @conquerator2, @weirdfishes, @Stillhart, @warrenpchi, and everyone else whose names I don't know for inviting me in!  Talking about equipment was cool, and talking about music was even cooler!
 
Apr 9, 2016 at 8:28 AM Post #644 of 658
   
Yep, that's the one!  If you go check it out, tell Jason I said to show you his scar.  
biggrin.gif

Nice!  Sounds like really good people and a really cool shop!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top