[awhinyheadphone]

Did anyone try the LCD5 that has also heard the Ananda/Arya/HeK?

I ordered the LCD5 and am hoping the clarity is going to be comparable coming from HifiMan cans

I've owned all those Hifiman headphones at some point before I auditioned the LCD-5 at CanJam. I don't know if the LCD-5 quite reaches HE1000se level clarity but it's certainly competitive and has a much more pleasant, natural tonality. Hifiman's midrange, other than the Susvara, is not competitive against the LCD-5. Comfort is arguably better as well, your ears won't touch the cups in the LCD-5 just like Hifiman's but I prefer circular shaped cups over Hifiman's oval shaped cups so your opinion may vary.

 

[TaronL]

Was there no A&K with sp2000T

The SP2000T won't be hitting North America until October and Astell&Kern didn't exhibit so unfortunately none of the vendors had one to show off either.

 

[thecrow]

All impressions were made using a P6 Pro in LO as the dac.

Here are my thoughts on the stuff that stuck out in my mind that I got to demo.

**Susvara**
Not sure I need to say much about this one. I heard it for the first time Saturday morning and was walking back to my room with my own set under half an hour later.

**Ferrum Stack**
This, imo, was one of the biggest stand outs of the show. Certainly more on the forward side the resolution and separation were so utterly fantastic it was apparent even on the floor. I think staging was a bit less on the organic side but I would realy want more time for a finer detail review. I used literally everything I brought with me (d8kp, LCD-R, Soli P, Utopia, HD800S, and sus) and it never once had a misstep. IMO this should be quite high up everyone's consideration list for a 3k stack. TBH I damn near bought it at the show (they were running a discount that made it 2700 USD) but ultimately I think I'm buying bakoon from a friend (and going to demo an AIC-10 in a week or two) so ima hold off since I can basically buy one whenever for this.

**Amps & Sound**
So Ima lump all these together. This booth is where I spent a large portion of the show. I was initially attracted over here because I heard a mogwai OG at my local hifi shop and was utterly and entirely blown away by the voicing but was left wanting a bit more resolution. Well, to my honest surprise, *nothing* at their booth had the mogwai magic. Not Nautilus, not kenzie, not ovation, and not rockwell or agartha. All of them were good and detailed and have slightly different voicings but not what I was looking for. I'm sad I didnt get to hear the Bigger Ben or the Mogwai SE at the show but I suspect bigger ben wont have what I was looking for either given Nautilus is just dual mono BB (though I have been told by someone who owns a mogwai SE that he agrees with my opinions at the show, so maybe that does have the magic). All that said, all was not lost. It was in the last 2 hours of the show I finally decided to give the headphones.com forge a listen. Low and behold, the magic was back and with solid levels of resolution to boot (not the absolute best, but given the price point and the incredible voicing I think they are acceptable). I was even sufficiently happy with the amount of slam they gave susvara. I ended up walking away at the end of the show with their 32/300 ohm demo unit.

EDIT: I also want to say that I seem to be in the minority here. It seems only me and one other person liked the mogwai/forge sound more than the naut and rockwell in my friends group with one taking an amp home from justin and a few more pretty heavily considering trading up to a naut.

**Raal CA**
Honestly, a massive disapointment here for me. The rep said the pads that arrived on them made the bass bloomy so they literally cut out circles of un-finished/un-wrapped foam. Even ignoring the part where without pads they will likely sound nothing like the production units, the ones on the floor were shouty as all ****. I'll still hold some hope for when they get proper pads on them as this weekend reinforced my idea that raal's have the best timbre ive ever heard, but I was pretty annoyed they even showed the cans in the state they were in tbh.

**HE-60**
Now this was a very interesting one. A man I came to become friends with at the show brought a set of HE-60 with him. Apparently he bough it used in the early 2000s and when it arrived the amp it came with was broken beyond repair. Having never gotten a replacement or an adaptor before this weekend was the first time he had ever heard the headphones after owning it for nearly 15 years. To say I was blown away would be a fair bit of an understatement. Essentially an HD600 with everything bad about it (stage, veil, nuance) fixed it is a lush organic sound signature that *very much so* appeals to me. If I do ever decide to go down the stax route for sure I will 100% be hunting down a set.

**Shang Jr**
So while hifiman said there would be shang sr transducers at the show unfortunately they weren't. The Jr though was already quite impressive though. Off of the Jr amp and with music i dont know its obviously a bit hard to get a fantastic grasp of whats going on, but an absalute immediate stand out was the complete and utter lack of bass bleed while still having some kick. This honestly surprised the hell out of me and I think I have a new bar for what "no bass bleed" means. Even sus on 13r doesnt compete here. Truly truly surprising outcome. This one isnt on my desire level of HE-60 but if i do go estat I will probably get a set to play with and it has made me even further want to try Sr. I just wish I had gotten more than 4 songs on it over the course of the weekend.

**Rognir & R10-P**
Ima put these both in the same category because while they sound quite different my impresion of both was the same. Separation, stage size, and detail were at actually shocking levels. Both higher than stealth and probably VC. Unfortunately the tuning on both of them was just completely cursed. The rognir I could actually see myself putting up with the tuning of tbh, but the R10P was just flat out *bad*. Emphasized in all the wrong places, had some weird resonance issue, and was fatiguing as hell. A damn shame given how much performance they forced out of that driver IMO.

**Enleum 23R**
Honestly, with how hard nuance is to pick out at the show I couldn't get much of an impression. What i did get was that I am fairly confidant the 23r and 13r are tuned fairly differently with the 23r seeming to split the difference between the 13r and something cleaner like the ferrum stack.

**Zaehl HM1**
EDIT: I have been told by others there is a very solid chance it was actualy broken at some point.

Honestly, I though it was down right bad. Not like bad for its price but just over all. Maybe it was broken by the time I got to it (I almost hope it was tbh). It was so grainy and i'll articulated I could hear the issues with sus and d8kp even on the show floor. I got 3 songs and and just left for an early lunch on the second day. I guess Ill read reviews if they come out and try it if one happens to fall on my desk but I currently have absolutely 0 interest left in even possibly entertaining buying this amp.

**The Things I missed**
TBH I completely forgot to try any and all IEMs at the show. I was massively looking forward to trying the EE Evo and just forgot to even look for it. I did try the CRBN and LCD-5 and while I am intrigued I was using entirely unfamiliar system with music i didn't even know so i cant really draw any conclusions at all. Luckily my local shop will be getting all 3 in within the next couple months anyways so ill get better demos there.

If i read it correctly congrats on your new susvara.

(of course depending on personal preferences) they are superb and imho magical when deservedly driven well (again to your satisfaction).

i won’t say they will be everything to everyone but they are WOW to me

(but i also need other hps too and am lucky enough to have the utopia and hd800 around too for variety)

ps i hope you picked them up nicely priced too

edit: and i am confident that (since you only just heard them) these will get better and better the more you get acquainted with them Character, detail and texture will be popping up everywhere. Good times!!!

 

[eskamobob1]

If i read it correctly congrats on your new susvara.

(of course depending on personal preferences) they are superb and imho magical when deservedly driven well (again to your satisfaction).

i won’t say they will be everything to everyone but they are WOW to me

(but i also need other hps too and am lucky enough to have the utopia and hd800 around too for variety)

ps i hope you picked them up nicely priced too

edit: and i am confident that (since you only just heard them) these will get better and better the more you get acquainted with them Character, detail and texture will be popping up everywhere. Good times!!!

Haha, thank you! I was able to get a deal that left me satisfied for sure. And yah. I hope to hear more and more of these as time goes on. As usual I need tome to truly understand the nuance of the can

 

[thecrow]

Haha, thank you! I was able to get a deal that left me satisfied for sure. And yah. I hope to hear more and more of these as time goes on. As usual I need tome to truly understand the nuance of the can

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Me love orange!!!

For someone like me not living in the US, it would be great option. I actually wouldn't even mind paying an "entrance fee" to access the material. I find it fair. That would convince people to see it on site when possible and not pay a second time.

I disagree, quite strongly, we are in the middle of a global pandemic, travel is a bigger pain in the Heine than ever. Offer a contest only,open to attendees of the seminars for audio gear, then make the seminars available online. It gives the manufacturers and HeadFi far more “reach” than attendees only.

I find it quite short-sighted that videos of seminars aren't standard practice, come on man!

 

[ImMcLovin]

Really enjoying reading all of your impressions as canjam london is not happening...
While i love reading about headphones and desktop stuf. And i have heard a few of the high end cans.
However i am more into daps and Iems. And i did not seem to see many discussing them.

Was there no A&K with sp2000T? Shanling seems to be quiet about its M9.

No IEMs in a spotlight? Well apart from Evo, as im getting my own.

Anyone like minded with highlights?

I spent 70% of the time at CanJam listening to IEMs. Didn't get to try any sources since I ran out of time and I barely had time for headphones. For some reason, even after auditioning headphones, I haven't heard one where I am like wow I gotta have that. IEMs are a different story.

I don't have detailed notes or anything and after auditioning a lot of IEMs, you kind of forget what each really sounds like so most of this will be a "good, meh, or pass" kind of notes. Some IEMs you'd probably expect to be on here like the U12t or MEST are not listed since I already owned/heard them extensively.

All listened on my Shanling M8.

Empire Ears:
I posted this on Empire Ears thread, but I'll post it here

EVO is definitely my favorite out of the whole line up. As an LX owner, I definitely think the EVO is an upgrade to the LX in every way except for comfort. On the LX, I wished it had a bit more to the low end and the EVO provides just that. It is on the large side, but it is pretty comfortable for how large it is and is fairly light weight. Although, after listening to the EVO, I don't regret buying the LX. It's still really good and tried it with better cables and surprisingly found there is a noticeable difference in sound quality. A really good paired cable opens up the LX quite a bit and starts to bridge the gap a little between a standard LX and EVO (although EVO still will be better don't get me wrong).

Odin I remember having high technical ability, but tuning is not quite for me. The upper mid-range is bit too forward to my liking and I wanted more out of the low end. I will try again tomorrow to see if I have the same opinions.

Bravado MkII seemed like a safer tuning, but I think it's good for the price. Doesn't have the technical ability of the other IEMs to be expected, but a great entry level for sure.

Hero was a pleasant surprise. I remember this being a fun IEM, but with some spice in the higher frequencies. Quite a unique sound.

Valkyrie MkII I like more than what I remember of the Valkyrie Mk1. Still definitely a V-shaped IEM, but there was a bit more weight in the mid range than in Valkyrie Mk1. Still too V-shaped for my tastes, but not as V-shaped as the Mk1 or as refined at least.

ESR MkII was the biggest surprise. I actually reaaally liked this one. I generally find neutral IEMs kind of boring and normally gravitate towards warm-neutral/warm/L-shaped IEMs. This sounded engaging, but it still had a reference frequency. If there was just a little more weight or oomph in the low end, this would be a fantastic complement to my LX. Like slap the U12t low end with this and oh my, insta-buy for sure. I'd potentially consider replacing my Andromeda with the ESR MkII.

64 Audio:
N8 Universal demo: I really liked this one. Had a musical full bodied sound to it. One of my favorite from 64 audio.

Tia Trio: I also liked this one. Don't remember much though besides hearing the nice decay of the dynamic driver. Might prefer over U12t.

U6t: Was fairly surprised. Aside from less technical ability than U12t, had a bit more filled out lower mid range and a bit more engaging or exciting than U12t since I consider U12t a pretty laid back IEM. Still an easy going listen.

Nio: Pretty laid back warm sound. Pretty good.

Duo: Pretty easy listen as well with a sense of openness. There is a lack of clarity to it. Solid IEM, but not my first choice. Interesting to have open back in an IEM.

Symphonium Audio:
Helios: Don't remember much regarding the sound. Nozzle is quite big

Campfire Audio:
Solaris 2020: Nice engaging listen, could see myself owning this tbh. Only had a quick listen, but am considering getting it over my CA Andromeda 2020

Vega 2020: Wasn't as dark as I was expecting. Fun listen. I preferred it over (Dorado 2020 w/ silicon tips). Dorado 2020 w/ foam tips is better than Vega 2020.

Honeydew: Comfortable. Quite bassy, I remember enjoying it a bit for its price range.

Noble:
FoKus Pro: Probably best TWS that I've heard based on a very brief listen. Ended up pre-ordering it.

Sultan: Had a very brief listen, remember enjoying it.

Jerry Harvey:
Jolene: Definitely surprised since I generally don't like the tuning of JH audio. First JH audio IEM I liked. Natural sounding monitor with a great mid-range and low-end. If you like JH Audio's house sound, probably the best IEM they offer.

Roxanne: After listening to Jolene, sounds thin and meh

Etymotic:
ER4SR: Fairly reference sound with emphasis on a good mid-range. Mid-range is the main focus for sure. Good detail.

ER4XR: Sounds like the BA is trying too hard with its increased low end impact. Doesn't sound as crisp as I'd expect.

EVO: Going from ER4SR and ER4XR, sounds like the sound has more breathing room comparatively. Upgraded Etymotic sound with a good clean mid-range, but you can tell low end still has BA bass. Cable is really thin.

ThieAudio:
Monarch/Clairvoyance: Great for the price and even above its price range. Personally prefer the tuning of Monarch for sure. Not sure if it's both or which one, but not quite as smoothed out of a sound as some great higher end IEMs. Hear a bit of shoutiness either in the upper-mids or somewhere in the treble. Would definitely recommend though.

 

[Lyssky]

As one of the minority that is interested in HiFi in Turkey, CanJam is my dreamland. I envy each and every one of you since it’s extremely difficult for me to visit one. Treasure it!!

 

[DarginMahkum]

**Rognir & R10-P**
Ima put these both in the same category because while they sound quite different my impresion of both was the same. Separation, stage size, and detail were at actually shocking levels. Both higher than stealth and probably VC. Unfortunately the tuning on both of them was just completely cursed. The rognir I could actually see myself putting up with the tuning of tbh, but the R10P was just flat out *bad*. Emphasized in all the wrong places, had some weird resonance issue, and was fatiguing as hell. A damn shame given how much performance they forced out of that driver IMO.

R10P: At least they got rid of that ridiculous headband and replaced it with something that reflects the HFM brand. It is not the build quality or the materials etc. It is that, that old type of rigid design belongs to the past century.

Rögnir: I wonder which tuning was there at the show, because there are two (though I never heard anyone havig the first tuning, which should have more bass. thicker mids and less treble).

 

[Andykong]

R10P: At least they got rid of that ridiculous headband and replaced it with something that reflects the HFM brand. It is not the build quality or the materials etc. It is that, that old type of rigid design belongs to the past century.

Rögnir: I wonder which tuning was there at the show, because there are two (though I never heard anyone havig the first tuning, which should have more bass. thicker mids and less treble).

The Rognir appears at Canjam SoCal is the bass heavy version.

 

[Sajid Amit]

I spent 70% of the time at CanJam listening to IEMs. Didn't get to try any sources since I ran out of time and I barely had time for headphones. For some reason, even after auditioning headphones, I haven't heard one where I am like wow I gotta have that. IEMs are a different story.

I don't have detailed notes or anything and after auditioning a lot of IEMs, you kind of forget what each really sounds like so most of this will be a "good, meh, or pass" kind of notes. Some IEMs you'd probably expect to be on here like the U12t or MEST are not listed since I already owned/heard them extensively.

All listened on my Shanling M8.

Empire Ears:
I posted this on Empire Ears thread, but I'll post it here

EVO is definitely my favorite out of the whole line up. As an LX owner, I definitely think the EVO is an upgrade to the LX in every way except for comfort. On the LX, I wished it had a bit more to the low end and the EVO provides just that. It is on the large side, but it is pretty comfortable for how large it is and is fairly light weight. Although, after listening to the EVO, I don't regret buying the LX. It's still really good and tried it with better cables and surprisingly found there is a noticeable difference in sound quality. A really good paired cable opens up the LX quite a bit and starts to bridge the gap a little between a standard LX and EVO (although EVO still will be better don't get me wrong).

Odin I remember having high technical ability, but tuning is not quite for me. The upper mid-range is bit too forward to my liking and I wanted more out of the low end. I will try again tomorrow to see if I have the same opinions.

Bravado MkII seemed like a safer tuning, but I think it's good for the price. Doesn't have the technical ability of the other IEMs to be expected, but a great entry level for sure.

Hero was a pleasant surprise. I remember this being a fun IEM, but with some spice in the higher frequencies. Quite a unique sound.

Valkyrie MkII I like more than what I remember of the Valkyrie Mk1. Still definitely a V-shaped IEM, but there was a bit more weight in the mid range than in Valkyrie Mk1. Still too V-shaped for my tastes, but not as V-shaped as the Mk1 or as refined at least.

ESR MkII was the biggest surprise. I actually reaaally liked this one. I generally find neutral IEMs kind of boring and normally gravitate towards warm-neutral/warm/L-shaped IEMs. This sounded engaging, but it still had a reference frequency. If there was just a little more weight or oomph in the low end, this would be a fantastic complement to my LX. Like slap the U12t low end with this and oh my, insta-buy for sure. I'd potentially consider replacing my Andromeda with the ESR MkII.

64 Audio:
N8 Universal demo: I really liked this one. Had a musical full bodied sound to it. One of my favorite from 64 audio.

Tia Trio: I also liked this one. Don't remember much though besides hearing the nice decay of the dynamic driver. Might prefer over U12t.

U6t: Was fairly surprised. Aside from less technical ability than U12t, had a bit more filled out lower mid range and a bit more engaging or exciting than U12t since I consider U12t a pretty laid back IEM. Still an easy going listen.

Nio: Pretty laid back warm sound. Pretty good.

Duo: Pretty easy listen as well with a sense of openness. There is a lack of clarity to it. Solid IEM, but not my first choice. Interesting to have open back in an IEM.

Symphonium Audio:
Helios: Don't remember much regarding the sound. Nozzle is quite big

Campfire Audio:
Solaris 2020: Nice engaging listen, could see myself owning this tbh. Only had a quick listen, but am considering getting it over my CA Andromeda 2020

Vega 2020: Wasn't as dark as I was expecting. Fun listen. I preferred it over (Dorado 2020 w/ silicon tips). Dorado 2020 is better than Vega 2020 w/ foam tips.

Honeydew: Comfortable. Quite bassy, I remember enjoying it a bit for its price range.

Noble:
FoKus Pro: Probably best TWS that I've heard based on a very brief listen. Ended up pre-ordering it.

Sultan: Had a very brief listen, remember enjoying it.

Jerry Harvey:
Jolene: Definitely surprised since I generally don't like the tuning of JH audio. First JH audio IEM I liked. Natural sounding monitor with a great mid-range and low-end. If you like JH Audio's house sound, probably the best IEM they offer.

Roxanne: After listening to Jolene, sounds thin and meh

Etymotic:
ER4SR: Fairly reference sound with emphasis on a good mid-range. Mid-range is the main focus for sure. Good detail.

ER4XR: Sounds like the BA is trying too hard with its increased low end impact. Doesn't sound as crisp as I'd expect.

EVO: Going from ER4SR and ER4XR, sounds like the sound has more breathing room comparatively. Upgraded Etymotic sound with a good clean mid-range, but you can tell low end still has BA bass. Cable is really thin.

ThieAudio:
Monarch/Clairvoyance: Great for the price and even above its price range. Personally prefer the tuning of Monarch for sure. Not sure if it's both or which one, but not quite as smoothed out of a sound as some great higher end IEMs. Hear a bit of shoutiness either in the upper-mids or somewhere in the treble. Would definitely recommend though.

The Monach is indeed impressive and easily performs above its price point, IMO.

Very few IEMs have the sort of consistency of performance across both FR and technical performance parameters the way the Monarch does.

 

[branislav]

As one of the minority that is interested in HiFi in Turkey, CanJam is my dreamland. I envy each and every one of you since it’s extremely difficult for me to visit one. Treasure it!!

It would be a dreamland if you could get rid of the people and have a listen to all the gear by yourself...I understand why you may be envious, but honestly as glad as Im that I went, it was a pain in the butt, to be honest...Imagine taking the time and money to fly over, cab fare, hotel and you show up in a noisy room full of people trying to listen to all this gear you've been reading about for years. Very few signs and banners, so you find yourself leaning over people trying to figure out what amps and 'phones the exhibitor has to offer. Or you wait to listen to a headphone for 15 minutes, only to find out they are actually someones phones and you won't be able to listen to them...then you wait your turn, sit down, look at the music selection where you don't recognize anything, you look behind you and you have people waiting their turn themselves so you feel guilty spending too much time there....anyway, I found it tiring. Highlights, new Audeze C(a)RB(o)N driven by Mjolnir, and Wells Audio needs props for his highly musical, yet dynamic systems, especially the more expensive one (surprise).

 

[Lyssky]

It would be a dreamland if you could get rid of the people and have a listen to all the gear by yourself...I understand why you may be envious, but honestly as glad as Im that I went, it was a pain in the butt, to be honest...Imagine taking the time and money to fly over, cab fare, hotel and you show up in a noisy room full of people trying to listen to all this gear you've been reading about for years. Very few signs and banners, so you find yourself leaning over people trying to figure out what amps and 'phones the exhibitor has to offer. Or you wait to listen to a headphone for 15 minutes, only to find out they are actually someones phones and you won't be able to listen to them...then you wait your turn, sit down, look at the music selection where you don't recognize anything, you look behind you and you have people waiting their turn themselves so you feel guilty spending too much time there....anyway, I found it tiring. Highlights, new Audeze C(a)RB(o)N driven by Mjolnir, and Wells Audio needs props for his highly musical, yet dynamic systems, especially the more expensive one (surprise).

The experience is fatiguing I see. But you must understand that as a Turkish citizen I should spend more than LCD-5 money in order to attend this meeting and not to mention our currency vs dollar.
As a result it is almost impossible anyway. Also being unable to audition 99% of the flagships and even the mid-priced headphones here in Turkey makes me drool more.

 

[pbui44]

I was reading about Audeze and realized that their offices are like four blocks from where I work. I had no idea. Unfortunately I see no way to turn this to my advantage.

Test their prototype rigs on your lunch breaks.

 

[blaked]

Test their prototype rigs on your lunch breaks.

I have a pretty permissive employer, but I think they'd get upset at my five-hour lunch breaks!