[DecentLevi]

I enjoyed meeting everyone, many new faces and dozens of old too. It seems the mood was top notch and (basically) everyone was in the best of spirits on both days. I think the venue was better than the last two L.A. area ones, being in a more laid back, new area and just the right venue size also with all rooms in the same area as opposed to down the hall and up to another level like before.

Besides the ubiquitous DAC Chord Hugo 2 and it's newer Chord Hugo TT2 which are both astonishing with well deserved popularity among hi-fi audio enthusiasts, another DAC the struck me was something from Benchmark. While I didn't get a chance to actually stop by that stand-up booth in the corner exhibiting Benchmark DAC's, I was awestruck by just a brief listen with one of their DAC's connected to a Benchmark SS amp on the HifiMan table that was powering their flagship electrostat headphone. While I wasn't quite sold on the HifiMan's, I did experience one of the most realistic sound reproductions of my entire life, which was is no small part a product of the DAC behind it. I'm in the dark on the Benchmark line... would somebody mind telling me which DAC model that was and any thoughts? Perhaps how it compares sound-wise to the likes of Chord Hugo 2 or Hugo TT2?

Speaking of Grado, I finally got around to trying all their prominent models. My favorite was their PS200, which the exhibitors agreed. It had a large soundstage, transparent, detailed and smooth 'buttery' sound, seeming slightly bright as well. Though I'm personally not a fan of the wide foam pad concept which would seem to absorb a bit of heat.

PS - the Hedd.Audio website for the new HEDDphone is now live again for a cool read! It's also a ribbon (electrodynamic) transducer like the new Raal SR1A but unique making it the first headphone of it's kind.

 

[DecentLevi]

Having an interest in nearly everything there: Headphones, IEMs, DACs, amps, DAPs I've never had a chance to attend any seminars to date - at least I still get the rare chance to talk directly to some of the product designers and others behind the industry.

Still more impressions to come later; going off my notes.

 

[singleended5863]

Thats exactly how I imagined the valkyries as you described them. I wonder how it compares to the new audio 64. Did you had a chance to hear them?

Any thoughts on if valks could have better or higher sub bass vs phantom?

In this case I did listen to both and my impression goes to Valkyrie which has better defined and punchier bass and the high and mid are somehow drew me completely to the musics. At least Valkyrie didn’t disappoint my ears with more songs than I listened to the new 64 audio IEM which has nice SQ except the sibilant.
I don’t know how much does new 64 cost but the price of Valkyrie is very reasonable ($1400 IEM/ $1599 CIEM).

 

[Vitaly2017]

In this case I did listen to both and my impression goes to Valkyrie which has better defined and punchier bass and the high and mid are somehow drew me completely to the musics. At least Valkyrie didn’t disappoint my ears with more songs than I listened to the new 64 audio IEM which has nice SQ except the sibilant.
I don’t know how much does new 64 cost but the price of Valkyrie is very reasonable ($1400 IEM/ $1599 CIEM).

Totaly agree that price tag on valkyrie is really good and if the rumor is true that it comes with eros 2 then holly smokes that a really good bang for the buck. Also the sound quality is outstanding as you say )

More I read more I feel love for the new valkyrie...
Maybe it is normal since I hugely adore the phantom.

 

[singleended5863]

if the rumor is true that it comes with eros 2 then holly smokes that a really good bang for the buck

It is confirmed by Jack Vang on that day right after I was done listening and asking him the price of CIEM.

 

[MadDane]

The only problem with CanJams is, there are not enough in the year. Now there is even one less with RMAF being out of the lineup. The show is still going on, but its no longer a CanJam event. I have SO much fun doing these its actually a relief from every day life. Seeing a couple of people I haven't not seen for a couple of years was great, Maurice AKA MoeDog and Gary from Headphone Guru. Maurice was very helpful at making some candy disappear. Meeting new people is always great also, but some people I thought I would meet that post here either didn't come, or didn't say hello.

I unfortunately only got to try a few items before I had to leave, as our grand daughter became ill and we had to head home. A real disappointment as the only headphone event I've ever been to was the SF headfi meet several years ago.

Missed the sennhieser HE1 appointment, many items I wanted try and people I wanted to meet.

Maybe next time....

 

[Watagump]

I unfortunately only got to try a few items before I had to leave, as our grand daughter became ill and we had to head home. A real disappointment as the only headphone event I've ever been to was the SF headfi meet several years ago.

Missed the sennhieser HE1 appointment, many items I wanted try and people I wanted to meet.

Maybe next time....

I hope she is better, that's more important.

 

[Watagump]

It is confirmed by Jack Vang on that day right after I was done listening and asking him the price of CIEM.

Be careful with that Jack Vang guy, he went to Panda Express and didn't bring us any. Someone better not come say he was doing us a favor, its delicious.

 

[JohnIgel]

I thoroughly enjoyed my first CanJam! There was so much to see and hear that it actually became slightly overwhelming trying to keep track of all that I heard.

Highlights:

Schiit booth and listening to Grado GS3000e on the Ragnarok Amp. Nice sounding headphones!

Focal Stellia, wow what a superb all around sound, big soundstage, detailed, great tonality and musical!

Periodic Audio, loved the new Carbon IEM's; definitely a step up from the Berylliums.

Campfire Audio, I own and love the Andromeda S IEM's. I was blown away by the Solaris. It has the most cohesive sound I've ever heard in an IEM. It's closer to a set of speakers in your ear than anything else. There's a pair of Solaris IEM's in my future!

ZMF, ah ZMF. My first listen to the ZMF house sound and I love it! Zach and Bevin are great and were very helpful. A CanJam is not the best place to compare all of the nuances between the various open-backed models, but there was something about the Eikon's that had great synergy with me and my Sony WM1A DAP. Thanks Zach and Bevin for selling me your last set of special edition birds-eye burl Eikons!

 

[Bassslayer0488]

Anyone have any impressions of the RAD-Zero? I’ve seen headphonics initial impressions and it seems very promising, but I want to know what some of the community thinks.

 

[Zachik]

Hawaii, really? We heard all about your flight experience from CA to NY in Feb, don't know if would could hear about your trip to Hawaii

So true! We'll never hear the end of it if or when Eric go to Hawaii...

 

[Zachik]

Be careful with that Jack Vang guy, he went to Panda Express and didn't bring us any. Someone better not come say he was doing us a favor, its delicious.

Man - your bar is sooooo low!

 

[Watagump]

Man - your bar is sooooo low!

Ahem, you bought something from the same guy who went and got Panda Express.

 

[Zachik]

First, I would like to thank @third_eye @AxelCloris @joe @jude and @warrenpchi for organizing yet another fun and exciting CanJam for us.
I have met a LOT of old friends - too numerous to list by now!
Also made some new friends... and Eric @Watagump

My notes (at no particular order):

• Noble (a.k.a. CandyJam): Khan was very very impressive. Mic drop. Their candy was #1 of the show by far - kudos to whoever brought them...

• Empire Ears Bravado:
  • 1 dynamic + 1 BA
  • Great sound and great bass! (I love bass.........)
  • Comes with really nice Effect Audio cable. Had show special 15% off and free impressions for custom fit… Been a bad boy, and made an impulse buy!

• Empire Ears Valkyrie:

• Very comfy fit, for universals (fitting universal IEMs is always a pain… literally… so this means a lot)
• Very detailed, but bass too light for my taste

• ZMF: @zach915m and @BooUrns are THE best, and always fun to hang out with! Most attention was obviously on the latest additions to the collection: Aeolus and Verite. Both open back. Both amazing - Aeolus for fun and musicality, Verite for reference level while still being musical.
• Focal Stelia: big disappointment. They're not bad....... if they were $800. For their asking price you can do much better IMHO.

• Campfire audio
  • Atlas - painful fit for me - nozzle felt very thick to my poor ear canals… Sound bassy and warm. Highs very far from being shrilling (positive)! A lot of body (positive)! Too thick for “busy” or complex tracks at times (small negative). $1299
  • Equinox (custom) - same dynamic driver as Atlas. Due to tuning slightly less bass but still plenty of it. $1499. Seem to handle busy passages slightly better.
  • Solaris - has Atlas’ dynamic and Andromeda’s BAs. $1499. Very good bass but less than previous two. Not as thick - more air. Highs still not shrilling. Definitely step up from Atlas. Again, painful insertion / nozzle is too thick for my ears. Handles complex tracks a little better than previous two.
  • Polaris - best fit for my ears. Good bass but not as controlled. Highs closer to being shrilling but not quite there. Struggled with complex tracks. Single dynamic plus single BA.

• FiiO
  • FH7 - A strong buy recommendation! Amazing IEMs. With foam tips I got good fit and seal. You’d need to pay 3-4 times more to step up IMHO. $450.
  • FH5 - Approx. half price but big step down from FH7. Not bad IEMs, but worthwhile saving for the FH7.
  • M11 - Great DAP for $450. Not as smooth / warm as X5iii (positive or negative - depending on your taste) but technically a big step up. With 2 microSD card slots, super snappy GUI, gorgeous screen and digital out - I am considering this one to replace my music server PC…
• Jomo
  • Trinity - step up from FiiO FH7 but at $2800... Dynamic driver for lows, BA for mids and estat for highs. Very impressive but very pricey! On same level as Noble Khan.
  • Quatre - step down from Trinity. 1 x dynamic plus 3 BAs. Bass adjustable with filters. Highs on the borderline of being piercing but not quite crossing the line. Auditioned with black filter, which has least amount of bass, and it was very satisfying to me. (and I love bass…) $1400. I think FiiO FH7 at 1/3 the price is a much better value and not sure it is a step down from the Quatre!

• HyperX cloud alpha
  • Pretty decent gaming headphones for $90. Nothing exciting for audiophiles.

• Meze
  • Rai Solo - Will be out in 2-3 months for $200 or so. Single dynamic driver. Meh.
  • Rai Penta - much better. Similar driver configuration to FiiO FH7. $1100. FiiO might have smoother highs.
  • Both Meze IEMs small and fit very well.

• Grado
  • $99 Grado 80 - nice for the price. Not my preferred sound signature.
  • $350 special edition HF3. Big improvements. Weird Semi-on-ear pads don’t work for me. Flat on ear foam from Grado 80 interchangeable so that could be better.
  • $1795 GS3000 are much better. Nice cocobolo wood. Grado also have (but not at CanJam) GS1000 and GS2000 ($995 and $1295) which are same size and shape, mostly different wood (according to Richard Grado).

• Audeze new LCD-GX
  • Highs too sharp and piecing. Lows and mids are nice. Tried 2 different amps and highs were unpleasant through both! Not for me.
    

All in all - great show once again!
Was very sad going back to work on Monday...

 

[csglinux]

Many thanks to the headfi staff, especially @third_eye for all their efforts in organizing another amazing CanJam. Thanks also to each and every one of the very friendly and helpful vendors there. You guys all rocked Only problem - there was way too much kit there to properly audition in only two days and I didn't cover more than about 20% of what I'd hoped to hear.

Some thoughts in a rough chronological order of my two days there:

Spoiler: The Irvine Marriott Hotel

Great venue. OMG, this place had best bottled water I have ever tasted. Or was I just experiencing a placebo effect?...

Spoiler: A&K T9ie

This is the "upgraded" version of the Xelento, made by Beyerdynamic for Astell & Kern. The Xelentos are one of my all-time favorite headphones, so any possibility of an improved Xelento meant this IEM was first on my list, so I headed straight for the A&K booth at 10am Saturday.

Xelento (top) & T9ie (bottom)

The previous A&K T8ie was only a fairly subtle tuning difference from the Xelento. That's not the case here - the T9ie is a totally different headphone. They have almost completely gone away from any type of V-shape to what looks more like a Etymotic type of neutral/reference sound. That's fine - I'm sure a lot of people will love it. But for me, it feels like all the Xelento magic is gone. The low-end is good, with a gentle rise into the sub-bass, but the mids have been almost completely removed (bear in mind the FR graph below is raw, so DF compensated it'll look like there's a chunk missing from the mids) and the treble rolls off a little sooner than those of the Xelento. The Xelento's aren't perfect - they have a slightly heavy mid-bass. But I feel A&K went a bit too far here. If I want an Ety-like signature, I can use an Ety. Etys are one third of the price, have better treble extension and better isolation. Sadly, I think this one's a miss - at least for me

P.S. A&K also had some "Billie-Jean" IEM on display. To me it lacked low end punch and didn't appeal at all, so I didn't even bother to measure them. Sorry, A&K

Spoiler: Grado HF3

Very nice headphone. For the price, an amazing headphone. Super light-weight and comfy too. I lack the equipment to measure over-ears, but it sounded great. Allegedly this one's very close to the Harman target response curve.

Spoiler: Noble Khan

Thankfully the race to be the first IEM with 256 BA drivers per side seems to have been abandoned. Most manufacturers are now concentrating on a smaller number of BAs with the occasional dynamic driver or estat/piezo combo. The Khans are very pleasant-sounding headphones - perhaps a tad bright for me, and with the usual fit issue I always have with multiple drivers stuffed into one large enclosure. But I can easily see how people like the sound of these:

P.S. In the end, I didn't eat any of their twizzlers.

Spoiler: RAAL's SR1a ribbon headphones

They look really weird. They sound amazing. Completely different to any other headphone experience I've had. I would have loved to have been able to A/B these against the HE1. The HE1 was/is great, of course, but both HE1 and SR1a had controlled environments (RAAL didn't allow us to use our own source material) with a very noisy environment for the RAALs. That doesn't make for the easiest of comparisons. But I'd have to say the SR1a was the best sub-$60,000 audio experience I had at CanJam.

Spoiler: 64 Audio Tia Fourte ii

The new mystery IEM from 64 Audio looks uncannily like the Tia Fourte. It sounds uncannily like the Tia Fourte. Its frequency response also looks uncannily like that of the Tia Fourte (many thanks to 64 Audio for allowing me to measure them):

Now I've seen larger differences in FR than this just by swapping L and R earbuds in the coupler, or from changing cables. I would say the Fourte ii (yes, I know they haven't named it yet, but c'mon, it's obvious) is a step in the right direction, but the changes from the original Fourtes are ridiculously tiny. If you "upgrade" to these from the first generation Tia Fourte, you're pretty much just paying for a placebo effect. You'll get a much bigger change in FR by keeping your gen 1 Fourte and just swapping out your eartips.

Update. Ok, so they called it "Noir" instead of "ii". My bad. Should a very slight re-tuning really justify a $200 price increase?

Spoiler: Chord M Scaler

I continue to be very impressed with Rob Watts and the effort he puts into getting every last decimal place in accuracy from his DAC designs and I'm a big fan of the Hugo2 as a portable source. I'd previously auditioned Chord's new M Scaler using my KSE1500s, but honestly hadn't heard that much of an improvement. This time I had Rob guide me to make sure I was listening to an appropriate test track and was pressing the right buttons on the M-Scaler and was using appropriate headphones. This time... I also couldn't hear a significant improvement. I wouldn't say there wasn't a change in depth, but it was soooo subtle to my ears. In a portable device I could use every day, maybe. In a desktop device I'd rarely use, that's a tough call, even if money were no object.

Spoiler: Sennheiser HE1

Big thanks to Sennheiser for actually allowing us to listen to some of our own source material this time (via Tidal). That was much appreciated. Yes, it's a very, very good headphone. I'd still have liked the opportunity to A/B it against some other TOTL headphones to see just how much better it really is. I think an SR1a/HE1 shoot-out would have been fun and instructive.

Spoiler: Empire Ears Valkyrie & Wraith

The Empire Ears Valkyrie is not a bad IEM. It's just not entirely to my (admittedly) picky taste in FR. The Empire Ears Wraith is a little more interesting - more balanced/neutral sort of sound. Both the Valkyrie and the Wraith are fairly large, multi-driver IEMs, so the usual fit issues apply. Overall, I still prefer the sound of the older EE model, the Legend X. Legend X is still physically large in comparison to my Xelentos, but it's an awesome-sounding IEM:

Spoiler: QDC Anole VX

Many thanks to @McMadface for letting me listen to his pair of these, right after he had purchased them. I had a pretty limited listening time with them, because we were in such a rush on the Saturday, but they sounded very good to me with the bass switch up. An IEM with a built-in EQ (bass/mid/treble) - very cool!

Spoiler: Kaldas Research Conquest

Very competitively-priced electrostats. Their booth location was pretty noisy at the time I was there, but from what I heard they sounded fine. At this price ($500, albeit without an electrostatic amp), I'm sure these will sell.

Spoiler: DUNU Titan 6 and DK4001

I've been a fan of DUNU for a while and was wanting to try out both these IEMs. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the Titan 6 to fit in my ears. During some unsuccessful tip-rolling, one of the supplied SpinFit Cp360 tips came off in my ear canal and fishing that out was a fun experience. I then ran out of time to measure it, so I can't give any impression on the Titan 6, other than to tell you that its silicone tips can easily slide off its nozzle. The DK4001 is much better, ergonomically, than anything I've ever seen before from DUNU. It's just beautiful, with 5 drivers packed into a very tiny shell. I really like the build of this IEM and had no issues at all with fit, comfort or seal. Its sound was very good, but, to my ears, still not quite at the level of the Xelentos. I wish that resonance peak were pushed a little farther north:

Spoiler: Meze Audio Rai Penta

There has been lots of buzz around this IEM. For my taste, it rolls off slightly too soon at both ends, but otherwise it's not bad:

Spoiler: FiiO FH7, M11 & M5

FiiO's FH7 also seems to have got a lot of people excited. I wasn't quite as thrilled by it. It's not bad, but it's a little bright in its stock (neutral) configuration and FiiO hadn't brought any of the other filters with them, so I was only able to listen in that "neutral" configuration:

I didn't get time to try the FiiO M11, but I did get a quick look at the M5. Wow - nice device! Of course, kudos really goes to Shanling here for their M0, which is clearly what FiiO have copied with the M5. But the M5 has some additional features, its UI seems is snappier and the clip case (that comes with the M5) looks to be better than the one you can buy (separately) for the M0. Retail price will apparently be around the same as that of the M0 (~$100).

Spoiler: Questyle QPM

This audition didn't go quite as planned. The demo QPM instantly ate my 256 Gb microSD card, wouldn't read it, and then stubbornly refused to give it back. Apparently this was a known problem with this particular QPM model, but not known to the folks manning the TSAV booth. I still don't know if Bruce ever managed to extract it. I fear it ended up in that place in the sky where all good SD cards go when they die...

Spoiler: Jomo Audio Trinity

For a large-ish multi-driver universal IEM, this fit my ears remarkably, unusually well - almost like a custom IEM. Apparently Jomo scanned many ears in order to find an average ear shape, and they claim the Trinity should fit about 75% of people. It fit great on me. The sound wasn't exactly what I like (a bit too much mid and lower treble for me), but despite the dynamic driver for the lows, they are not vented, which means they actually have very good isolation:

Spoiler: A&K SP2000

This one was a real puzzle for me. I'd heard the SP1000 before and was kind of meh on it. The SP2000 specs (on paper, at least) still aren't as good as something like the DX220 (which is less than 1/3rd the price). A&K were kind enough to let me measure a couple of SP2000 (stainless steel and copper variants) on my RME unit, and the measured specs came out even worse - IMD and THD higher than those of my V40 smartphone. Its z-out is disappointingly high, given the price. The first copper unit I tested also had a sizable channel imbalance - but these were pre-production units, so (hopefully) units sold will have more careful QC. But holy crap, the SP2000 sounds amazing. This literally gave me a sleepless night. I cannot figure out why it sounds so good when it measures so poorly. I asked Rob Watts about this and he suggested this may be down to some distortion that I simply like the sound of. (In comparison to the DX220, the QP1R also has high levels of THD, but also sounds very good to me.) I'd love to find out what's going on, but in the meantime, who cares? In terms of pure listening enjoyment, the SP2000 is, to my ears, a wonderful-sounding DAP. This is the one product from CanJam that I'm actually thinking about pulling the trigger on. (It releases in August.)

Spoiler: Moondrop Buds

Almost forgot - I also listened to a new $300 earbud from Moondrop which sounded really great. Apparently this was an upgrade to the Liebesleid, but the vendor's English wasn't all that good, so I didn't catch its name. Anybody know? (It looked exactly like the Liebesleid, with that notch on the L bud.)

Apologies to all those vendors I didn't get to. Don't take it personally. There just wasn't enough time! Next year though...