[Odin412]

My impressions are forthcoming. First some pictures:
 
This is the prototype Cavalli single-ended amp. It's doesn't have an official name yet, but it's sometimes referred to as the 'Liquid Tungsten Light'. It sounds phenomenal:

 
Next we have the official Cavalli Liquid Tungsten. This is the amp that Darth Vader would buy. Yes, those are two fans on top. They're really quiet - I put my ear next to them and couldn't hear any noise:

 
The Front of the Liquid Tungsten:

 
The Woo Audio WA22 with some custom tubes. I like the 'horns' on the middle tube:

 
The prototype Woo Audio WA33. I'm no tube expert, but I believe that some of the tubes used on this amp are very expensive:

 

[OldRoadToad]

 
This one-----> http://hifipig.com/pioneer-unveils-new-digital-audio-player/
Looks great, let's see

There is all so an Onkyo version, all though I do not have a link to it.  It was at the Onkyo/Pioneer booth at the show. Both are nice with the Onkyo running approximately $50 more ($450 I believe).  They all so told me that given I primarily listen to traditional Jazz and Pop vocals that the Onkyo would suit me better.  I have no idea if that is so but I do like both brands just fine and own an Onkyo TX-NR818 and a Pioneer Elite SX-N30.
 
They both look very nice.
 
ORT

 

[bobeau]

  Apparently there's a new Audeze HP called the LCD-Pro, is this true has anyone heard it.

 
My friend who is looking for an open can in the $500-1k area ultimately decided this is what he wanted after listening to maybe 2/3 of what was on the open floor.  I recall it was described to us as a lighter, more cost effective variant of the LCD-X.  

 

[zept0sec]

  My impressions are forthcoming. First some pictures:
 
This is the prototype Cavalli single-ended amp. It's doesn't have an official name yet, but it's sometimes referred to as the 'Liquid Tungsten Light'. It sounds phenomenal:

 

 
I think that's the unit tentatively known as "Liquid Ambiance". I believe the "Tungsten Light" aka "Mini-Platinum" aka "Rouge" was the other unit in the middle of the table. I certainly await its release.

 

[Mediahound]

Apparently there's a new Audeze HP called the LCD-Pro, is this true has anyone heard it.

I too would like some info on this headphone.

I listened to it yesterday. It doesn't sound as good as the LCD-X. Although it's definitely lighter than any of the LCD prior models. The representative told me it's geared towards people mainly like recording engineers to work with headphones on all day and need the light weight and a reference headphone. The build quality feels quite a bit cheaper being that it's mostly plastic.

 

[Bacon Bits]

I listened to it yesterday. It doesn't sound as good as the LCD-X. Although it's definitely lighter than any of the LCD prior models. The representative told me it's geared towards people mainly like recording engineers to work with headphones on all day and need the light weight and a reference headphone. The build quality feels quite a bit cheaper being that it's mostly plastic.

do you have any pics?

 

[neueziel]

I listened to it yesterday. It doesn't sound as good as the LCD-X. Although it's definitely lighter than any of the LCD prior models. The representative told me it's geared towards people mainly like recording engineers to work with headphones on all day and need the light weight and a reference headphone. The build quality feels quite a bit cheaper being that it's mostly plastic.

i felt the same way

 

[FranTBW]

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.

Ah, okay. I was looking at Brainwavz cos I liked the B150 more than the 1More Triple, and was wondering if they had any discount for the show, like they did at CanJam Singapore.

 

[FranTBW]

This one-----> http://hifipig.com/pioneer-unveils-new-digital-audio-player/
Looks great, let's see :etysmile:

That looks amazing, I actually really want it now. How does it compare to it's bigger brother, the XDP-300R?

 

[Odin412]

Here are my impressions from this year’s CanJam SoCal. As background I’m very treble-sensitive and tend to have a strong negative reaction to harsh or strident treble, so please keep that in mind as you read my impressions.
First, the new venue. CanJam goes upscale! The hotel is very nice. I was worried about traffic and parking, but the drive was OK for me and $16 for valet parking is reasonable. LA Live is a short walk away with a number of restaurants – I thought the Red Mango frozen yoghurt was quite delectable.
Abyss. This headphone looks like a medieval torture device - or maybe a steampunk headphone. The design may not be for everybody, but I love it. The headphone has astounding dynamics and a good sense of space, but I felt that the treble was a little too sparkly for me.
HeadAmp Blue Hawaii with Stax SR-009. The Blue Hawaii is a fantastic amp for electrostatic headphones (more on that below), but I find the SR-009 too lean and bright for my taste. It does have a great sense of ‘air’, though. HeadAmp also had a GS-X with a Focal Utopia and an Audeze LCD-4. Lots of nice toys! I thought the pairing with the Utopia was particularly good.
Sony MDS-Z1R. This is a new closed headphone that I quite like. It has good bass and is very smooth with no stridency in the treble. In the Woo Audio room this was paired with the WA22 and I really enjoyed that pairing. Very entertaining and musical.
ZMF Atticus and Eikon. I came to CanJam convinced that the Atticus was the model for me, but found that I really like the Eikon. I own the Omni/Ori and the sound signature of the Atticus is closest to that of the Omni, but the Eikon is on a whole new level. Very neutral with strong bass and smooth, non-fatiguing treble. Well done!
Focal Elear with Naim amp/DAC. I wanted to spend some time with the Elear and it didn’t disappoint. Very open and dynamic with good bass and smooth treble. Nicely built and very comfortable. I like!
Ampsandsound Leeloo with MrSpeakers Aeon and Agartha with Ether. Some people complain that tubes sound colored. I say let tube amps be tube amps! The Leeloo/Aeon combo sounded spectacularly warm and musical. The Agartha uses the famous 300B tubes and has the midrange magic that comes with that.
Cavalli single-ended prototype with Ether C. This combo was astoundingly good. The thing that makes Cavalli amps really special is that they are very resolving and detailed without becoming bright or strident. They are very ‘liquid’ and musical. I don’t know how Alex does it – magic is my best guess. I’m really looking forward to this amp.
Cavalli balanced prototype with Ether. From what I understand this is kind of the successor to the Liquid Crimson, but balanced. Very dynamic and open sound.
MrSpeakers Ether Electrostat with Blue Hawaii amp and Yggdrasil DAC. I reserved my spot early and got 15 minutes with one of the best sounding headphone rigs in the world in the ‘quiet’ room. This combo is just superb – transparent and detailed yet musical and enjoyable. And this headphone can really play bass!
Beyerdynamic Amiron and DT-1990 Pro. The 1990 sounds really open and transparent with good, strong bass, but the Amiron really did it for me. Very comfortable, smooth and musical with a warmer sound that we’re used to from Beyer. I’m told that the Amiron was named by a German engineer who’s married to a French lady (‘Ami’ is French for friend. ‘old me in your loving arms! Those of you who’ve watched the British sitcom ‘allo ‘allo know what I mean, those of you who haven’t have no idea what the hell I’m talking about – and you’re missing out.)
Sennheiser HD 800S. The friendly folks at the Sennheiser booth played some of the same tracks that they use to demo the HE-1. Although the 800S doesn’t give the same sense of being there in the studio when the recording was made it sounded very nice and open.
Schiit Audio. I had a great time at the Schiit booth and got a chance to listen to a number of combos. Gungnir/Mjolnir with Aeon, Ragnarok/Yggdrasil with Ether, Valhalla 2 with HD 800S and a Beyerdynamic DT-1770 Pro kindly lent to me by a friendly fellow enthusiast. (If you’re reading this – thanks for letting me borrow your cans!) Finally I tried the Jotunheim with the LCD-XC, and that’s the best that I’ve heard the XCs sound in any setup. I also tried it with the Ether and since there was a balanced/unbalanced adapter I couldn’t resist the temptation to compare the two. Result? The balanced drive sounds more dynamic and ‘punchy’. I will have to visit the Schittr store soon to check it out.
Woo Audio GES with Stax SLR-700. This is Woo’s baby electrostatic amp and it sounded amazing with the 700! I take back what I said above about Stax headphones being bright. This combo was amazing – very smooth and musical, and with good bass too! I heard a piano track and the piano sounded so alive and present.
Woo Audio WA33 with Focal Utopia. Now we get to one of my real ‘wow’ moments of this CanJam. This combo is fantastic! I’m not a huge Queen fan, but I’ve never heard ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ like this. So alive and present – it’s like you’re inside the recording. Astounding.
Audeze LCD-Pro. This is Audeze’s upcoming headphone ($1,200 in a couple of months). It’s made of metal and is much lighter than their current LCD models. I found it sturdy and well made. It has the carbon fiber headband from the LCD-4 and is very comfortable. It’s voiced to sound more neutral with less treble ‘sparkle’ than the LCD-X. I really liked it – it’s smooth across the treble and it still has the Audeze bass. No one quite does bass like Audeze, IMHO.
MrSpeakers Ether Flow with Cavalli Liquid carbon and Schiit Gungnir multibit DAC. Every time I get a chance to listen to the Ether Flow I think it sounds better and better. This time it wsa hooked up to the Liquid Carbon and the combo is excellent. There was a Schiit Mjolnir 2 amp hooked up to the same DAC and I had to switch between the two to compare. The Mjolnir has a bit more punchy bass and is maybe a tiny bit brighter to my ears while the Liquid Carbon is smoother overall. I also got to try the Ether with the Woo Audio WA5, which has a very warm and ooh so seductive sound.
So, a quick TL; DR summary:

1. I really like the Focal Elear.
2. The new ZMF Eikon deserves all the praise that it has received.
3. The WA33/Utopia combo is sensational.
4. I can’t wait for the new Cavalli amps.

​​A good time was had by all. See you all next year, I hope!
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Liquid Tungsten

 

 
I loved how it sounded at RMAF last year and the new chassis is simply amazing! Very impressive.

 

[heliosphann]

  My impressions are forthcoming. First some pictures:
 
This is the prototype Cavalli single-ended amp. It's doesn't have an official name yet, but it's sometimes referred to as the 'Liquid Tungsten Light'. It sounds phenomenal:

 
Next we have the official Cavalli Liquid Tungsten. This is the amp that Darth Vader would buy. Yes, those are two fans on top. They're really quiet - I put my ear next to them and couldn't hear any noise:

 
The Front of the Liquid Tungsten:

 
 

 

 That is beyond beautiful...

 

[EZE99]

For the IEM fans, I did a lot of acquiring at CanJam SoCal.  I will be posting reviews of the following items in the next few months:  Noble Audio Kaiser Encore, Noble Audio Katana, (Maybe a Noble Audio Savant), CA Dorado, CA Vega, CA Orion, CA Andromeda, 1More Quad Driver, and probably a 64Audio U18.  Look forward to being able to share my opinions!

 

[ranfan]

  For the IEM fans, I did a lot of acquiring at CanJam SoCal.  I will be posting reviews of the following items in the next few months:  Noble Audio Kaiser Encore, Noble Audio Katana, (Maybe a Noble Audio Savant), CA Dorado, CA Vega, CA Orion, CA Andromeda, 1More Quad Driver, and probably a 64Audio U18.  Look forward to being able to share my opinions!

Hey thanks Eze, Did you try the JH Lola too?
Also looking forward to your reviews, much appreciated.
- an IEM fan

http://www.head-fi.org/t/843559/jh-audio-lola-impressions-and-discussions/

 

[DecentLevi]

  what new pioneer dap ???

 
Slight slip on that one: It's actually their new DAP under the name Onkyo which is a collaboration with them and Pioneer (Japanese made with US input). It was a prototype of their soon to be released DAP called Onkyo DP-X1A, which is due out in around 2 months, MSRP about $899. I must have spent nearly half of the meet comparing performance of DAP's and IMO this one knocked them all dead. The FiiO X5 v3 and Opus DAP's sounded artificial and flat soundstage by contrast. The Sony Walkman NW ZX100 came close but fell short of on the overall refinement / realism for me. The Questyle QP1 may have been comparable but didn't get the chance to A/B the two. Overall I was mesmerzied on every good full size can and IEM I paired this upcoming Onkyo DAP with, with everything from dynamics to sub-bass, clarity, realism, soundstage, etc.
 
NOTE: I was only comparing this to other low-to-mid tier DAP's at less than $1,200. That is to say I had not tried the pricier Sony,  FiiO, etc. DAP's above this price point.

The Z1R is amazing. It doesn't have a reference sound, but it doesn't matter. So fun to listen to and so comfortable to wear.

Well kudos on that but I feel those aren't worth the money. The sound for me is overtly muddy, non-detailed, rolled off and rather limp. I guess the Z1R is expensive just for the technology / design but they don't tick any of my sonic boxes. And I've tried them on a variety of rigs and source tracks.