[salavat]

I love IEMs, and Layla has been my "lottery pick" cIEM since I first heard it. After listening yesterday, i think I'd rather have Lola. The dynamic midrange is outstanding and gives vocals an aliveness that is much more reminiscent of full sized cans than in ears. I tried Lola twice, and the second time, had the bass attenuator adjusted slightly east of 1:30, and that was sublime. Great sound across the board, although I personally don't love IEMs with adjustable pots as part of the system.

Thanks! Have been waiting for impressions on Lola.. What about resolution of Lola as compared to Layla?

 

[darveniza]

A few Comments very short

*No Empire Ears booth
*64 Audio A18 if you are at the show audition these. They are awesome.
*Opus nice to try all of their DAP's.I hope had the budget for Opus 2. Opus 3 will handle Tidal and Spotify
*AK Kahn is just to big,will do streaming.
*Effect Audio,pretty great cables,was able to try a few
*Campfire Continental V5 soun signature is really great.Needvto invest.Andromedas continue to be a TOTL
*RHA very nice guys,their Dcamp would be a buy after the V5

Will post more later

 

[Watagump]

A few Comments very short

*No Empire Ears booth
*64 Audio A18 if you are at the show audition these. They are awesome.
*Opus nice to try all of their DAP's.I hope had the budget for Opus 2. Opus 3 will handle Tidal and Spotify
*AK Kahn is just to big,will do streaming.
*Effect Audio,pretty great cables,was able to try a few
*Campfire Continental V5 soun signature is really great.Needvto invest.Andromedas continue to be a TOTL
*RHA very nice guys,their Dcamp would be a buy after the V5

Will post more later

 
EE had their flight cancelled due to weather, didn't know if you knew that.

 

[Trager]

No love from any budget-fi guys? C'mon guys audio isn't just all summit-fi with $10k amps and $5k headphones

There was much less noteworthy budget-fi at this CanJam than the last two that I attended. I was actually talking about this to a couple people at the show. Personally, I was shopping for an Oppo PM-3 alternative, and there was nothing even close (on price point or quality in that budget range).

Tried out the 1More Quad driver, and it's good, but I think the price point isn't right. At $200, you start looking at IEMs that fit your particular taste more specifically, and that's above good gift giving range. $100 for triples is a price I'll pay to introduce someone to good sound.

 

[bmichels]

Thanks darveniza.

Did 64 audio also had the FOURTÉ for auditioning ?

 

[Trager]

Thanks! Have been waiting for impressions on Lola.. What about resolution of Lola as compared to Layla?

I didn't A/B them, but I didn't notice a perceptible difference. Then again, the liveliness of Lola kind of commanded my attention, so that's something to consider.

 

[drbobbybones]

Great impressions. Did you ever try the Utopia with your WA22? If so, would you say you prefer the "tubier/warmer" sound of the WA22 with a headphone like the Utopia. Or does the WA33 blow away the WA22 overall?

I have tried the Utopia with my home WA22 setup, but they also had one at the show next to a WA33. And I was the first person in the room, so I was able to A/B them pretty extensively.

The Utopia with the WA33 really is something special. It's definitely less "tubey" than the WA22, but it has much better soundstage and realism. It actually seemed to make the soundstage larger with the Utopia than I have ever heard. The imaging with this combo is unbeatable for my tastes.

I was really impressed with the WA33 and think they really hit the mark with this unit. I asked Jack Wu to include speaker outs and he said he could do that as a custom order, but they wouldn't have that on the initial release.

 

[FullCircle]

The Noble X is at the show
 
 

 

[Mediahound]

The Little Labs Monotor really seems to be a hidden gem. Jonathan Little knows his stuff, I chatted with them yesterday and came away impressed with his amp design and signal philosophy. I'm seriously considering buying this amp.

 

[DecentLevi]

My biggest standouts after trying 80% of everything:
 

1. Woo Audio WA33 300B tube amp with Focal Utopia: Effortless, transparent, immaculate energy, pristine realism, visceral impact
     Almost brought me to tears. MUST TRY.
2. Cavalli Audio Liquid Tungsten amp with Focal Utopia via DAVE DAC: Much of the same as above including spine tingling realism, would need an A/B which isn't feasible
3. Mr. Speakers Ether C Flow (with unknown amp): My 2nd listen to this can I've confirmed it's the best closed back I've ever heard.
   Superb realism, great tonality, details, lush mids, nicely extended treble but not fatiguing, and was said to work well balanced or SE depending on amp.
4. Brainwaves B300 IEM's: linear yet slightly 'musical' signature, dynamic, clear crisp, good stage, bass that's not too overdone or underdone
5. MONOTOR amp from Little Labs: very impactful, transparent amp with amazing detail and soundstage, especially for it's modest / transportable size and modest price. 
6. Newest prototype DAP from Pioneer: superb performer of a DAP with amazing soundstage, detail and subterranean bass reproduction. Full Android functionality

 

[Odin412]

Did anyone check out the new Cavalli chassis? It looks cool and a bit strange at the same time. But it has fans! They're supposed to be silent, but I much prefer the open design of Woo Audio amps.

​Yes, it's very cool. It looks like the headphone amp that Darth Vader would buy ("the Force is stong in this one..."). I'll see if I can take a picture of it today.

 

[DecentLevi]

The Little Labs Monotor really seems to be a hidden gem. Jonathan Little knows his stuff, I chatted with them yesterday and came away impressed with his amp design and signal philosophy. Ask to see the power supply, it's as big as the amp, has some major power caps in it! I'm serious considering buying this amp.

YES GO FOR IT, today his $30% off sale ends, so he said about $440 cash only vs. $600

 

[unknownguardian]

Any news/update of the liquid spark at the show?

 

[DecentLevi]

I have tried the Utopia with my home WA22 setup, but they also had one at the show next to a WA33. And I was the first person in the room, so I was able to A/B them pretty extensively.

The Utopia with the WA33 really is something special. It's definitely less "tubey" than the WA22, but it has much better soundstage and realism. It actually seemed to make the soundstage larger with the Utopia than I have ever heard. The imaging with this combo is unbeatable for my tastes.

I was really impressed with the WA33 and think they really hit the mark with this unit. I asked Jack Wu to include speaker outs and he said he could do that as a custom order, but they wouldn't have that on the initial release.

I second that. The WA 33 struck me as at least 2x more impressive in sound, but $8K is a bit hard to attain

 

[darveniza]

Thanks darveniza.

Did 64 audio also had the FOURTÉ for auditioning ?

The Fourte Was there and its quite interesting .sound is impressive very close to A18. However there is a bit ectra for me on the BA's that draw me to the A18