CanJam SoCal 2021 Impressions Thread (September 25-26, 2021)
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Post 1 of 2: Outside the CanJam Experience
This post will be mostly off-topic, so I'll put the contents in a spoiler tag. It's basically a blog of the CanJam weekend, not of CanJam itself. If you're local to SoCal, or have plans to visit (hopefully the next CanJam event will be held in SoCal still), this might be a fun read.
This post will be mostly off-topic, so I'll put the contents in a spoiler tag. It's basically a blog of the CanJam weekend, not of CanJam itself. If you're local to SoCal, or have plans to visit (hopefully the next CanJam event will be held in SoCal still), this might be a fun read.
CanJam to me is more than just the best headphone convention experience, it's also about interacting with the community in-person, and being able to do things around the area; it's a travel experience. Whether it's CanJam SoCal, London, NYC, RMAF (rest in peace), Shanghai, Shenzhen, or Singapore, planning out the weekend for things to do might be something to consider when attending one of these events.
Even though I'm local to the SoCal area, I took the Friday and Monday off from work to hang out with friends in the community. @Muinarc and I booked an Airbnb near the Marriott hotel where CanJam SoCal was held in order to explore both the Los Angeles and Orange counties a bit.
Anyways, that's my blog of the weekend. Reading over it, it was pretty much just food stuff, haha. Hopefully it was a fun read though.
Even though I'm local to the SoCal area, I took the Friday and Monday off from work to hang out with friends in the community. @Muinarc and I booked an Airbnb near the Marriott hotel where CanJam SoCal was held in order to explore both the Los Angeles and Orange counties a bit.
On the Friday we headed off to Amoeba Music in Hollywood for the ultimate record store shopping extravaganza: the perfect activity to start the CanJam weekend. They just changed locations in April (a few city blocks away from the original location), but this new location is densely packed in comparison.
The vinyl records section is huge compared to the original location, in line with how vinyl sales have been outpacing CD sales in recent times. Muinarc had a Discogs list of albums to look for, and I'm always on the lookout for exotic CDs whether it's tech jargon ones like SBM-CDs, SHM-CDs, SACDs, or just some cool-looking albums. We found a few albums published by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, which we both agree usually have some of the best-mastered versions of songs, and I found a Pink Floyd DSotM SACD for $20.
After CD shopping, we headed off into...the infamous LA traffic. TWO FREAKING HOURS LATER, we arrived at the Airbnb in Orange County. Without the crazy traffic, it would normally take around 45 minutes to get from Hollywood to Orange County. The Airbnb was super cozy, very well-furnished with lots of entertainment options, and the host was very inviting.
Feeling hungry after the drive, we walked over to Koco Sushi for dinner, and they did not disappoint.
^ salmon skin hand rolls; 9/10 pretty awesome overall
^ Santa Ana roll; 8/10 the popcorn crayfish was a bit messy to deal with
^ spicy tuna tempura roll; 9/10 would recommend getting
^ baked popcorn lobster roll; 10/10 although the popcorn lobster was messy, by itself this roll is delectable
^ dragon roll; 5/10 pretty standard
Feeling stuffed, we walked back to the Airbnb to catch some sleep and saw a nice SoCal sunset.
The vinyl records section is huge compared to the original location, in line with how vinyl sales have been outpacing CD sales in recent times. Muinarc had a Discogs list of albums to look for, and I'm always on the lookout for exotic CDs whether it's tech jargon ones like SBM-CDs, SHM-CDs, SACDs, or just some cool-looking albums. We found a few albums published by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, which we both agree usually have some of the best-mastered versions of songs, and I found a Pink Floyd DSotM SACD for $20.
After CD shopping, we headed off into...the infamous LA traffic. TWO FREAKING HOURS LATER, we arrived at the Airbnb in Orange County. Without the crazy traffic, it would normally take around 45 minutes to get from Hollywood to Orange County. The Airbnb was super cozy, very well-furnished with lots of entertainment options, and the host was very inviting.
Feeling hungry after the drive, we walked over to Koco Sushi for dinner, and they did not disappoint.
^ salmon skin hand rolls; 9/10 pretty awesome overall
^ Santa Ana roll; 8/10 the popcorn crayfish was a bit messy to deal with
^ spicy tuna tempura roll; 9/10 would recommend getting
^ baked popcorn lobster roll; 10/10 although the popcorn lobster was messy, by itself this roll is delectable
^ dragon roll; 5/10 pretty standard
Feeling stuffed, we walked back to the Airbnb to catch some sleep and saw a nice SoCal sunset.
On the first day of CanJam, we went to the venue early since I had the first volunteering shift. Before getting there, we stopped by Buenas Coffee nearby to get coffee and a bite to eat. I got a mocha, and you can tell they used cocoa powder instead of chocolate syrup, which I appreciate, and we ended up getting a refreshing coconut roll for breakfast (7/10 for the mocha since I would have liked more cocoa, and 9/10 for the coconut roll, that was awesome). While waiting for our coffees, we noticed on of these long power bars in the outdoor seating area; exhibitors at CanJam should consider getting one of these for their tables, haha.
At the Marriott (which is apparently pronounced "marry-it" and not "marry-ought"), I was stationed at the COVID-19 Head-Fi waiver station at the registration desk. Upon opening at 10 AM, there was a steady stream of attendees checking in for the first 1.5 hours. The check-in process was slower than normal due to the COVID-19 requirements in California, but it went smoothly overall.
At the end of the day, I got to catch up with fellow Head-Fiers (@AxelCloris, @Evshrug, and @Makiah S). It had been over two years since I last saw them, so it was fun to hear their stories. We ended up walking over to a restaurant plaza near the Marriott and we joined the waitlist for a table at HiroNori ramen. While waiting for the table, we chatted over a small-ish bite at the nearby food court. I ended up getting a bubble tea at Presotea because boba is life.
^ Not listed here, but I got a brown sugar milk tea with tapioca. The milk tea variant is rarer to see compared to the brown sugar milk, so I wanted to try it here; 3/10 it was underwhelming and too sweet; there are better-tasting options in LA county.
The wait time for our table was listed at 1.5 hours, but we headed back to the restaurant 45 minutes later, and I'm glad we did because as we were walking up to the restaurant, they were calling our name.
^ tonkotsu ramen; 7/10 the broth, garlic paste, and the pork were good, but the noodles were kind of standard, a bit overcooked, and the egg wasn't as flavorful as other places. I prefer Shin-Sen Gumi over HiroNori since you can completely customize your order, and they use the thinner style ramen noodles, not unlike the experience of Ichiran in Japan.
^ pork buns; 3/10 the pork belly was basically all fat and had the texture of mush. There was also way too much of the teriyaki-like sauce, which made the whole thing really salty. The pickled onion was refreshing to have in it since it provided a textural difference from the fluffy bun and mushy meat.
At the Marriott (which is apparently pronounced "marry-it" and not "marry-ought"), I was stationed at the COVID-19 Head-Fi waiver station at the registration desk. Upon opening at 10 AM, there was a steady stream of attendees checking in for the first 1.5 hours. The check-in process was slower than normal due to the COVID-19 requirements in California, but it went smoothly overall.
At the end of the day, I got to catch up with fellow Head-Fiers (@AxelCloris, @Evshrug, and @Makiah S). It had been over two years since I last saw them, so it was fun to hear their stories. We ended up walking over to a restaurant plaza near the Marriott and we joined the waitlist for a table at HiroNori ramen. While waiting for the table, we chatted over a small-ish bite at the nearby food court. I ended up getting a bubble tea at Presotea because boba is life.
^ Not listed here, but I got a brown sugar milk tea with tapioca. The milk tea variant is rarer to see compared to the brown sugar milk, so I wanted to try it here; 3/10 it was underwhelming and too sweet; there are better-tasting options in LA county.
The wait time for our table was listed at 1.5 hours, but we headed back to the restaurant 45 minutes later, and I'm glad we did because as we were walking up to the restaurant, they were calling our name.
^ tonkotsu ramen; 7/10 the broth, garlic paste, and the pork were good, but the noodles were kind of standard, a bit overcooked, and the egg wasn't as flavorful as other places. I prefer Shin-Sen Gumi over HiroNori since you can completely customize your order, and they use the thinner style ramen noodles, not unlike the experience of Ichiran in Japan.
^ pork buns; 3/10 the pork belly was basically all fat and had the texture of mush. There was also way too much of the teriyaki-like sauce, which made the whole thing really salty. The pickled onion was refreshing to have in it since it provided a textural difference from the fluffy bun and mushy meat.
On the second day of CanJam, we slept in and got a hearty breakfast at Bruxie for chick'n'waffles. We like this place since chicken and waffle places aren't all that common here and it's a pretty heavy meal.
^ cute birb sign, and scorching hot coffee (which tasted awesome, surprisingly, considering this isn't a coffee place)
^ El Jefe on the right; 10/10 this had the perfect balance of flavors with the pickled onion, coleslaw, sweet waffle, and carnitas-spiced chicken. I would definitely get that one again. On the left is the Kickin' hot Chicken; 7/10 it tasted pretty good overall but the oil from the Nashville-like chicken made the waffle soggy, and the lettuce seemed like a weird choice instead of coleslaw. If you got a side of maple syrup, that would pair really well with this 'sandwich'.
After that, we stopped by the Mitsuwa Japanese grocery store a few miles away from CanJam since they have the famous MoDo mochi doughnuts in the food court. MoDo is the original mochi doughnut shop from Hawai'i, so it's an eating experience like no other: chewy mochi combined with the fried doughnut form factor, dunked in delicious Asian-inspired flavors and you've got a heavenly dessert. We got some fresh doughnuts to bring to CanJam, and by fresh, I mean straight off of the frying oil cooling rack.
^ Left to right, top to bottom: pumpkin spice, black sesame, matcha, cookies and cream, honey, earl grey; 9/10 would highly recommend getting some to try, but you have to eat them while they're still fresh or else they get soggy.
After the CanJam show, we talked with the same group of Head-Fiers as yesterday regarding the event and our overall impressions. We walked over to a different plaza to grab burgers for dinner at The Counter. They offered bison meat burgers, which is quite rare to see, so I took the opportunity to build my own burger, similar to what I make at home.
^ Apparently that burger, which is the same burger I make, costs $26; 6/10 tasty but I can make the same thing for a fraction of the cost. If anything, it does carry the home-made kind of taste and appearance, so that's good. Maybe I should open my own bison burger restaurant?
Back at the Marriott, just like CanJam SoCal 2019, I got a vanilla ice cream scoop with chocolate syrup from their restaurant bar area.
^ 5/10 $6 scoop of generic ice cream and is nothing special
Also just like CanJam SoCal 2019, we had to say our goodbyes here as people had early flights the next morning. : (
This is always the bittersweet part of any CanJam event for me. Until next time!
^ cute birb sign, and scorching hot coffee (which tasted awesome, surprisingly, considering this isn't a coffee place)
^ El Jefe on the right; 10/10 this had the perfect balance of flavors with the pickled onion, coleslaw, sweet waffle, and carnitas-spiced chicken. I would definitely get that one again. On the left is the Kickin' hot Chicken; 7/10 it tasted pretty good overall but the oil from the Nashville-like chicken made the waffle soggy, and the lettuce seemed like a weird choice instead of coleslaw. If you got a side of maple syrup, that would pair really well with this 'sandwich'.
After that, we stopped by the Mitsuwa Japanese grocery store a few miles away from CanJam since they have the famous MoDo mochi doughnuts in the food court. MoDo is the original mochi doughnut shop from Hawai'i, so it's an eating experience like no other: chewy mochi combined with the fried doughnut form factor, dunked in delicious Asian-inspired flavors and you've got a heavenly dessert. We got some fresh doughnuts to bring to CanJam, and by fresh, I mean straight off of the frying oil cooling rack.
^ Left to right, top to bottom: pumpkin spice, black sesame, matcha, cookies and cream, honey, earl grey; 9/10 would highly recommend getting some to try, but you have to eat them while they're still fresh or else they get soggy.
After the CanJam show, we talked with the same group of Head-Fiers as yesterday regarding the event and our overall impressions. We walked over to a different plaza to grab burgers for dinner at The Counter. They offered bison meat burgers, which is quite rare to see, so I took the opportunity to build my own burger, similar to what I make at home.
^ Apparently that burger, which is the same burger I make, costs $26; 6/10 tasty but I can make the same thing for a fraction of the cost. If anything, it does carry the home-made kind of taste and appearance, so that's good. Maybe I should open my own bison burger restaurant?
Back at the Marriott, just like CanJam SoCal 2019, I got a vanilla ice cream scoop with chocolate syrup from their restaurant bar area.
^ 5/10 $6 scoop of generic ice cream and is nothing special
Also just like CanJam SoCal 2019, we had to say our goodbyes here as people had early flights the next morning. : (
This is always the bittersweet part of any CanJam event for me. Until next time!
The next morning, Monday, we left the Airbnb, and said goodbye to the friendly host. We stopped by the nearby Micro Center to shop for computer parts and test our luck with any GPUs that might have been stocked. No luck on the GPUs, and the experience was sub-par since they're still working on big renovations in the store. It's still fun to peruse through their stock though.
After that, we headed back into LA county and we stopped by The Donut Man to get their famous whole-strawberry doughnuts. I like going to this place because it's a small mom-and-pop shop that got famous.
^ 9/10 would highly recommend trying, but you need to eat it with a knife and fork, and the doughnut isn't as good overnight
Although we beat the LA traffic this time around for our commute back into LA, we didn't beat the gasoline prices. Gas is insanely expensive here compared to the rest of the country...
^ as of October 3, premium-grade gas is now over $5/gallon ($4.79/gallon regular), whereas the average cost in the USA is $1.50/gallon less.
After that, we headed back into LA county and we stopped by The Donut Man to get their famous whole-strawberry doughnuts. I like going to this place because it's a small mom-and-pop shop that got famous.
^ 9/10 would highly recommend trying, but you need to eat it with a knife and fork, and the doughnut isn't as good overnight
Although we beat the LA traffic this time around for our commute back into LA, we didn't beat the gasoline prices. Gas is insanely expensive here compared to the rest of the country...
^ as of October 3, premium-grade gas is now over $5/gallon ($4.79/gallon regular), whereas the average cost in the USA is $1.50/gallon less.
Anyways, that's my blog of the weekend. Reading over it, it was pretty much just food stuff, haha. Hopefully it was a fun read though.
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Post 2 of 2: The CanJam Experience
Not a bad-sounding headphone overall. It has more of a consumer type of tuning to it, so kind of warm-sounding overall. It didn't quite sound like a planar magnetic headphone, at least not compared to what I'm used to hearing with the Mobius, but it didn't sound bad. It had an inoffensive sound signature, so I feel like I could listen to music for hours without fatigue. I was surprised to hear the sound pretty much stay the same between the different DSP modes: ANC on, ANC off, and transparency mode.
The ANC was pretty good I think. It did a nice job drowning out the background noise of the CanJam show floor, and the sounds of the booth people talking were pretty muffled out.
I haven't heard a good transparency mode before and I was surprised at how it sounded. I guess it was doing the job well because it sounded almost like an open-back headphone in terms of noise isolation (i.e. lack thereof).
Comfort-wise, these were a bit small on my head, but they weren't uncomfortable. They have an all-plastic build, so they're light.
The touch controls worked pretty well, but there was a delay between the input and the action.
At $399, these are on the pricier-end of what I would consider buying, but then again, I'm not really in the market for an ANC Bluetooth headphone and I haven't really explored the market.
First of all, this thing is a beast of a unit and reminds me of the SPL Phonitor X: dials, switches, and crazy lights everywhere. This is a very functional, a la pro-audio, focused device. The lights are absurdly bright though (see photos), and you can only disable the VU meter lights unfortunately.
The unit sounds really clean and provides 1.6 W of output power, which is impressive for a transportable unit. The I/O of the unit is equally as impressive: 4x headphone outputs (6.3 mm, 3.5 mm, 2.5 mm, and XLR), USB C input, APTX Bluetooth. Being battery-powered, the background sounded really black with the LCD-2 and instrument separation was fantastic.
At $750, I think the M8 V2 is a great bang for your buck if you're looking for a transportable unit that sounds great and has a lot of EQ features. This is a pretty feature-packed device.
The bass level of the EVO was borderline too much for my taste, and the overall sound signature is very dark.
It had a good sense of instrument separation and the frequency response was very smooth otherwise. I was talking to the representative at the Etymotic booth and he agreed that the EVO is a completely different sound from the ER4SR that I'm used to.
This is probably among the least ergonomic headphones I've worn. They're extremely heavy, have an adjustable headband with like 4 clicks, and the earcups are the thickness of the earpads, which are thick, so the entire thing is like 2 times thicker than a normal headphone.
The sound signature was kind of bright midrange, and then just a ton of crunchy upper-treble to the point where it was fatiguing, like listening to a mosquito ringtone. Not my preferred sound.
A surprisingly good-sounding combo! I don't know what sounded like what since the two were setup as a system, but the sound was very inoffensive and I didn't expect it to be $329-ish. That is a very affordable price for the sound you're getting and the convenience of a Bluetooth open-back headphone.
^ The phoenix Empyrean at the Headphones.com booth, which on a side note, was always busy at the show.
The Elite looks pretty much identical to the Empyrean, but having a silver color instead of bronze (or red for the phoenix limited edition). The same comfort of the Empyrean also carries over to the Elite.
I'm not a big fan of the Empyrean's sound (it's a very warm-tilted sound to me with sparkle), but the Elite is a different story. It sounded more neutral to my ears, with a slight warm tilt still, and has better dynamics overall. I'm not sure what the differences are in terms of the Elite versus the Empyrean, but I like them.
At $4000, it's a pretty steep price, but the overall awesome sound is pretty compelling. At least compared to other headphones in this price tier, it feels, and looks very premium.
^ I'm not sure what model these are, but they were pretty
It's been a while since I've heard a Noble in-ear. The Noble 4 was my favorite of the bunch back in the day, so I asked the representative there what in-ear was their most neutral/flat. I listened to the Zephyr and I was pleasantly surprised with its sound. It, like most in-ears these days, sounded warm overall, but I think I Can Jam to it. Among driver types for in-ears, dynamic drivers have the hardest-hitting bass to me, and it sure does hit hard in the Zephyr.
I liked the sound overall, although for a more reference sound, I still prefer the UE Reference Remastered, which is a different sound signature at a similar price point.
SR1a
I like the sound out of these with the HSA-1b amp. I heard the SR1a at CanJam 2019 and wasn't a big fan of the sound coming from whatever setup Danny had back then (he couldn't remember either when I asked him). This time around, the SR1a sounded more dynamic and had better bass presence.
The novelty of the earspeaker "wing" design never ceases to amaze me, and it's a lot of fun being able to adjust the sound on the fly. The cartridge design of the driver is also an engineering marvel.
SR2
Unlike the SR1a...I didn't like the SR2 at all. It sounded extremely bright and crunchy to me. They also seemed to lack dynamics compared to the SR1a, so overall this was a miss for my ears, which is unfortunate. The bass sounded pretty linear on the other hand, so that's a positive point for the SR2.
Yooo, I was really surprised at the imaging of this headphone; this is a very different headphone experience.
The Model One manages to make sounds sound like they're coming from speakers from behind your head (for me at least).
In terms of sound, it has an inoffensive sound not unlike that of the HD600. When I heard it, I thought it was going to be $400+, but as it turns out, it's $350. The build quality is pretty solid, and the comfort level was great for me.
I'm guessing the sound presentation won't be for everyone though. Although I think it does a fantastic job at imaging, even I don't think I would get the headphone since I like hearing headphones as headphones, not speakers. I don't mind using a crossfeed EQ to make headphones sound less stereo.
And those are my impressions. I tried to cover most of the booths, but there's so much to do at these events with so little time. For those who couldn't attend the event, or even for those that did, I hope this post provides some insight to the items I covered.
Firstly I want to thank the Head-Fi crew @jude, @third_eye , @joe, @AxelCloris, @HF_Ryan, @warrenpchi for even making this event possible. Without them, there wouldn't be a CanJam event this year. Given the current situation of COVID-19, and especially in California, I wasn't sure if CanJam this year would even happen. I'm glad it worked out in the end though.
Secondly, I want to thank all the exhibitors who were able to make it to the show. The event wouldn't have happened if no one showed up. This show happened during an unprecedented time, so it was a very different CanJam experience.
Thirdly, I want to thank everyone who participated in the SHAG (scavenger hunt and giveaway). Participating in the SHAG can be a double-edged sword: on the one hand, people will go to your booth just to collect the stamp; on the other hand, people will go to your booth and you get increased exposure. I would have never really stopped by the Atlas booth, for example, were it not for the SHAG, and I'm glad I did (see impressions below). The prizes for this event's SHAG were plentiful, and generous.
Secondly, I want to thank all the exhibitors who were able to make it to the show. The event wouldn't have happened if no one showed up. This show happened during an unprecedented time, so it was a very different CanJam experience.
Thirdly, I want to thank everyone who participated in the SHAG (scavenger hunt and giveaway). Participating in the SHAG can be a double-edged sword: on the one hand, people will go to your booth just to collect the stamp; on the other hand, people will go to your booth and you get increased exposure. I would have never really stopped by the Atlas booth, for example, were it not for the SHAG, and I'm glad I did (see impressions below). The prizes for this event's SHAG were plentiful, and generous.
The event itself seemed pretty good in terms of COVID-19 guidelines. Social distancing wasn't really a thing, as that would be really hard to do at an event like this, but I think it was managed pretty well.
Of course due to the nature of this event (i.e. sharing equipment between attendees and the sheer volume of attendees), wiping down equipment wasn't always done. This would be hard to do at this type of event, so that's understandable.
I did my best to use hand sanitizer when I finished up at an exhibitor's booth. After CanJam, I did a COVID-19 test the following Wednesday (negative), got my booster shot on Thursday, did a test on Friday (negative), and did another test on Saturday (negative). I'm still feeling great today!
- Proof of vaccination, or a negative PCR test result, were required for registration.
- The Marriott hotel provided bottles of hand sanitizer for exhibitors.
- The Marriott had staff to ensure everyone entering the venue had a wristband or badge, ensuring they were registered for the event.
- Many of the exhibitors had alcohol wipes to wipe down gear.
- I saw people frequent the restrooms to wash their hands, or use the hand sanitizer stations.
- People mostly had face masks on at all times during the event.
Of course due to the nature of this event (i.e. sharing equipment between attendees and the sheer volume of attendees), wiping down equipment wasn't always done. This would be hard to do at this type of event, so that's understandable.
I did my best to use hand sanitizer when I finished up at an exhibitor's booth. After CanJam, I did a COVID-19 test the following Wednesday (negative), got my booster shot on Thursday, did a test on Friday (negative), and did another test on Saturday (negative). I'm still feeling great today!
Since not everyone was able to attend the event, I kind of went around the venue on Saturday to record the show floor in binaural audio. Hopefully this gives you a feeling as to how the show was at its busiest time (2-4 PM on Saturday was pretty much as busy as it got).
Also, I did attend the Amplifiers 101 seminar on Saturday. I had meant to attend the other seminars, but I got caught up talking to other folks at the show. I likewise recorded the seminar in binaural audio. After reviewing the video, I guess next time it would be fine to record the video at 1080p 30 FPS because an hour's worth of 4k footage chewed up memory on my card like no other. I really enjoyed Justin's talk. I don't know too much about tube amps, but I am from Seattle and we used to have meetups at Bottlehead headquarters. Tube amps are beautiful pieces of nostalgia.
^ On a side note, The Source AV table was always crowded, and Justin's side of the table was pretty much always occupied
As mentioned in a different post, @Evshrug has made a few YouTube videos regarding headphones 101, which was another seminar. I like the simplicity and creativity in his videos, which is what I lack in my own, haha.
Also, I did attend the Amplifiers 101 seminar on Saturday. I had meant to attend the other seminars, but I got caught up talking to other folks at the show. I likewise recorded the seminar in binaural audio. After reviewing the video, I guess next time it would be fine to record the video at 1080p 30 FPS because an hour's worth of 4k footage chewed up memory on my card like no other. I really enjoyed Justin's talk. I don't know too much about tube amps, but I am from Seattle and we used to have meetups at Bottlehead headquarters. Tube amps are beautiful pieces of nostalgia.
^ On a side note, The Source AV table was always crowded, and Justin's side of the table was pretty much always occupied
As mentioned in a different post, @Evshrug has made a few YouTube videos regarding headphones 101, which was another seminar. I like the simplicity and creativity in his videos, which is what I lack in my own, haha.
My preference for audio systems is sound signature first, then the details and nuances of the sound. I can usually tell within seconds of listening if the sound signature isn't to my liking, in which case I usually won't give it a serious listen.
My preferred sound signature is a diffuse field "flat-ish" target. I own a Focal Clear, STAX SR-207 and 404, Etymotic ER4SR; Audeze LCD-2 and Ultimate Ears Reference Remaster for more 'fun' sound signatures.
Usually I don't like in-ear earphones because they tend to sound waaaaay too bassy for me (e.g. ER4XR sounds too bassy for me, which is why I got the ER4SR). I own a Moondrop KXXS, which closely follows one of the Harman-target curves, and I find it to be too bassy; though that kind of sound signature is nice for when I go jogging around the neighborhood.
I tend to listen to music at lower volume levels.
My preferred sound signature is a diffuse field "flat-ish" target. I own a Focal Clear, STAX SR-207 and 404, Etymotic ER4SR; Audeze LCD-2 and Ultimate Ears Reference Remaster for more 'fun' sound signatures.
Usually I don't like in-ear earphones because they tend to sound waaaaay too bassy for me (e.g. ER4XR sounds too bassy for me, which is why I got the ER4SR). I own a Moondrop KXXS, which closely follows one of the Harman-target curves, and I find it to be too bassy; though that kind of sound signature is nice for when I go jogging around the neighborhood.
I tend to listen to music at lower volume levels.
As with all audio conventions (whether it's CanJam, RMAF, or even ones like the NAMM show), the background noise level is quite high.
One of the sponsors for the event was Qobuz. I don't know too much about this service compared to Tidal, but the majority of exhibitors were using Qobuz, and because of that, there were a lot of internet connectivity issues.
This event was very much focused on "online" media, which sucks because if there are issues with connectivity, the whole system kind of fails. A handful of exhibitors had failed systems because of this, and offline media playback options were limited and rare. Fortunately, some exhibitors had USB cables and allowed you to connect a smartphone or DAP to the playback system. I have a bunch of offline audio test tracks on my phone, for example, so that made it far easier to use than trying to search for something on Qobuz and have it fail because it couldn't connect.
Other exhibitors had either control of the playback system, or had offline media of seemingly random selections, so you were forced to hear songs that you might not know. Some exhibitors had a single track from a famous album, but it wasn't the song you would normally listen to from the album. Seriously, what??
I prepped my phone, DAP with microSD, and a USB flash drive with media that I could use for testing. My phone was the best option for the times I could use one of those three mediums. This experience was kind of sub-par and was the most disappointing thing of the show compared to previous years.
One of the sponsors for the event was Qobuz. I don't know too much about this service compared to Tidal, but the majority of exhibitors were using Qobuz, and because of that, there were a lot of internet connectivity issues.
This event was very much focused on "online" media, which sucks because if there are issues with connectivity, the whole system kind of fails. A handful of exhibitors had failed systems because of this, and offline media playback options were limited and rare. Fortunately, some exhibitors had USB cables and allowed you to connect a smartphone or DAP to the playback system. I have a bunch of offline audio test tracks on my phone, for example, so that made it far easier to use than trying to search for something on Qobuz and have it fail because it couldn't connect.
Other exhibitors had either control of the playback system, or had offline media of seemingly random selections, so you were forced to hear songs that you might not know. Some exhibitors had a single track from a famous album, but it wasn't the song you would normally listen to from the album. Seriously, what??
I prepped my phone, DAP with microSD, and a USB flash drive with media that I could use for testing. My phone was the best option for the times I could use one of those three mediums. This experience was kind of sub-par and was the most disappointing thing of the show compared to previous years.
You all probably know by now, but Audeze's booth was easily among the busiest at the show. Having not one, but two new flagship headphone announcements, it was kind of expected. On Saturday they only had one LCD-5 out for demo, and one CRBN; on Sunday they had another LCD-5 available.
CRBN
^ note that's Mark Cohen of Audeze, not Dr. Mark Cohen of the University of California Los Angeles
https://samueli.ucla.edu/people/mark-cohen
https://www.smrtimage.com/research
Holy moley this was the headphone of the show for me. I'm an electrostatic headphone fan, and the CRBN's bass surprised me. I find the SR-009/009S to be too bright for me and I much prefer the Dan Clark Audio VOCE over them.
I don't know how the Mjölnir Audio Carbon sounds since the only thing usually at these shows is the Blue Hawaii, but the CRBN sounded pretty solid out of it. Volume-wise, I needed to turn the volume knob quite a ways for the CRBN, so either the Carbon doesn't output a lot of power (which I doubt since it's made by spritzer/Mjölnir Audio), or the CRBN isn't very sensitive (whose technical specification is unlisted on Audeze's website). Speaking of Mjölnir Audio though, their website is dead...so I can't find the official specs of the Carbon.
There was good texture and presence in the bass region, more so than the other estats I've heard, but it didn't overwhelm the midrange.
The midrange had excellent clarity and timbre overall, but was a tad bit warm-sounding to me from the bass region. Unlike any other estat I've heard, the bass seemed to take the main stage away from the midrange, as the mids seemed laid-back in comparison (which reminds me a bit of the 007 MKI from memory). The frequency response sounded more linear/smooth overall compared to what I'm used to hearing from the SR-404.
The treble, like a lot of estats, was silky smooth and retains a lot of detail overall.
Image separation paired with the Carbon sounded excellent, which is another feature I find estats to do well compared to other transducer types.
The soundstaging seemed a bit small compared to the 009/009s/VOCE to me, and was more rounded than the SR-Lambda series. Compared to what I'm used to hearing with the Lambda series, the images were spaced more around my head versus left/right and vertical, which I appreciate.
Also like most estats, I was able to turn up the volume really high without experiencing any fatigue. The other transducer types don't seem to be able to replicate this effect, and I have no idea why.
Comfort-wise, these rock. Audeze's headband on the CRBN is quite comfortable. Paired with the supple leather earpads, the CRBN fits snugly, but not too snug on my head. The oval-shaped earcups fit on my head pretty well even with glasses on. At 300 g, this thing is insanely light!
The "cube" pattern on the earcups' grill is also pretty unique-looking. I feel like I've seen this pattern somewhere else, but I can't put my finger on it at the moment. I'm not sure if the cable is removable (I forgot to ask Audeze about it), but the strain relief parts from the earcup look more sturdy than those of STAX. The cable of my SR-207 is dead and I can't easily fix it, unlike the cables of the newer headphones.
LCD-5
I got to hear the LCD-5 on both setups at the show.
Sound signature-wise, it's immediately evident that the CRBN and the LCD-5 share a similar sound. The LCD-5 sounded a bit grainier to me in comparison, and didn't quite have the silky smoothness to it unlike the CRBN.
To my surprise, maybe it was due to the amp (Bryston), or maybe the cable (Atlas Zeno Harmonic XLR with the Grun earth connected to nothing), or maybe the different selection of music, but I thought the LCD-5 had better instrument separation compared to the CRBN. Images were more clearly defined and the background seemed blacker to me. The other LCD-5 was connected to a different audio system and it didn't have that same effect.
Comfort-wise, the LCD-5 absolutely sucks for me. The new carbon fiber headband is much less flexible than the one on the CRBN. The clamping force felt like a vice grip on my head, pressing my glasses quite hard on my head. I had to take the headphones off after a few minutes of listening because it was so uncomfortable, and even though the LCD-5 is lighter than other LCD headphones, it felt heavier on my head. In the hand, the LCD-5 does feel much lighter though.
The new acetate tortoise-shell earcup assembly looks pretty cool, but it's subtle and you have to be in the right light to see the pattern.
Both headphones are a staggering $4500 USD though...that's quite the price. The CRBN makes a little more sense since they're made to order and it's a completely different manufacturing process.
CRBN
^ note that's Mark Cohen of Audeze, not Dr. Mark Cohen of the University of California Los Angeles
https://samueli.ucla.edu/people/mark-cohen
https://www.smrtimage.com/research
Holy moley this was the headphone of the show for me. I'm an electrostatic headphone fan, and the CRBN's bass surprised me. I find the SR-009/009S to be too bright for me and I much prefer the Dan Clark Audio VOCE over them.
I don't know how the Mjölnir Audio Carbon sounds since the only thing usually at these shows is the Blue Hawaii, but the CRBN sounded pretty solid out of it. Volume-wise, I needed to turn the volume knob quite a ways for the CRBN, so either the Carbon doesn't output a lot of power (which I doubt since it's made by spritzer/Mjölnir Audio), or the CRBN isn't very sensitive (whose technical specification is unlisted on Audeze's website). Speaking of Mjölnir Audio though, their website is dead...so I can't find the official specs of the Carbon.
There was good texture and presence in the bass region, more so than the other estats I've heard, but it didn't overwhelm the midrange.
The midrange had excellent clarity and timbre overall, but was a tad bit warm-sounding to me from the bass region. Unlike any other estat I've heard, the bass seemed to take the main stage away from the midrange, as the mids seemed laid-back in comparison (which reminds me a bit of the 007 MKI from memory). The frequency response sounded more linear/smooth overall compared to what I'm used to hearing from the SR-404.
The treble, like a lot of estats, was silky smooth and retains a lot of detail overall.
Image separation paired with the Carbon sounded excellent, which is another feature I find estats to do well compared to other transducer types.
The soundstaging seemed a bit small compared to the 009/009s/VOCE to me, and was more rounded than the SR-Lambda series. Compared to what I'm used to hearing with the Lambda series, the images were spaced more around my head versus left/right and vertical, which I appreciate.
Also like most estats, I was able to turn up the volume really high without experiencing any fatigue. The other transducer types don't seem to be able to replicate this effect, and I have no idea why.
Comfort-wise, these rock. Audeze's headband on the CRBN is quite comfortable. Paired with the supple leather earpads, the CRBN fits snugly, but not too snug on my head. The oval-shaped earcups fit on my head pretty well even with glasses on. At 300 g, this thing is insanely light!
The "cube" pattern on the earcups' grill is also pretty unique-looking. I feel like I've seen this pattern somewhere else, but I can't put my finger on it at the moment. I'm not sure if the cable is removable (I forgot to ask Audeze about it), but the strain relief parts from the earcup look more sturdy than those of STAX. The cable of my SR-207 is dead and I can't easily fix it, unlike the cables of the newer headphones.
LCD-5
I got to hear the LCD-5 on both setups at the show.
Sound signature-wise, it's immediately evident that the CRBN and the LCD-5 share a similar sound. The LCD-5 sounded a bit grainier to me in comparison, and didn't quite have the silky smoothness to it unlike the CRBN.
To my surprise, maybe it was due to the amp (Bryston), or maybe the cable (Atlas Zeno Harmonic XLR with the Grun earth connected to nothing), or maybe the different selection of music, but I thought the LCD-5 had better instrument separation compared to the CRBN. Images were more clearly defined and the background seemed blacker to me. The other LCD-5 was connected to a different audio system and it didn't have that same effect.
Comfort-wise, the LCD-5 absolutely sucks for me. The new carbon fiber headband is much less flexible than the one on the CRBN. The clamping force felt like a vice grip on my head, pressing my glasses quite hard on my head. I had to take the headphones off after a few minutes of listening because it was so uncomfortable, and even though the LCD-5 is lighter than other LCD headphones, it felt heavier on my head. In the hand, the LCD-5 does feel much lighter though.
The new acetate tortoise-shell earcup assembly looks pretty cool, but it's subtle and you have to be in the right light to see the pattern.
Both headphones are a staggering $4500 USD though...that's quite the price. The CRBN makes a little more sense since they're made to order and it's a completely different manufacturing process.
Not a bad-sounding headphone overall. It has more of a consumer type of tuning to it, so kind of warm-sounding overall. It didn't quite sound like a planar magnetic headphone, at least not compared to what I'm used to hearing with the Mobius, but it didn't sound bad. It had an inoffensive sound signature, so I feel like I could listen to music for hours without fatigue. I was surprised to hear the sound pretty much stay the same between the different DSP modes: ANC on, ANC off, and transparency mode.
The ANC was pretty good I think. It did a nice job drowning out the background noise of the CanJam show floor, and the sounds of the booth people talking were pretty muffled out.
I haven't heard a good transparency mode before and I was surprised at how it sounded. I guess it was doing the job well because it sounded almost like an open-back headphone in terms of noise isolation (i.e. lack thereof).
Comfort-wise, these were a bit small on my head, but they weren't uncomfortable. They have an all-plastic build, so they're light.
The touch controls worked pretty well, but there was a delay between the input and the action.
At $399, these are on the pricier-end of what I would consider buying, but then again, I'm not really in the market for an ANC Bluetooth headphone and I haven't really explored the market.
First of all, this thing is a beast of a unit and reminds me of the SPL Phonitor X: dials, switches, and crazy lights everywhere. This is a very functional, a la pro-audio, focused device. The lights are absurdly bright though (see photos), and you can only disable the VU meter lights unfortunately.
The unit sounds really clean and provides 1.6 W of output power, which is impressive for a transportable unit. The I/O of the unit is equally as impressive: 4x headphone outputs (6.3 mm, 3.5 mm, 2.5 mm, and XLR), USB C input, APTX Bluetooth. Being battery-powered, the background sounded really black with the LCD-2 and instrument separation was fantastic.
At $750, I think the M8 V2 is a great bang for your buck if you're looking for a transportable unit that sounds great and has a lot of EQ features. This is a pretty feature-packed device.
Stealth
To be honest, I don't like the tuning of the Stealth. Something about it sounded like there was a missing frequency, or something sucked out from the frequency response; the mids just sounded off to me.
The fit of the Stealth also didn't quite work on my head, similar to the Æon series of headphones. The triangular-shaped earpads must not work for my head shape because the bottom of the earcups don't really press on my head and I have to press on the bottom of the earcup to get a better seal. With the better seal, noise isolation is really fantastic. Were it not for the earcups' shape, the Stealth is really comfortable to wear. Even though it's 415 g, it doesn't feel that heavy on my head.
That being said, I think the Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System is a fantastic piece of engineering, and from what I was hearing, it really has potential. Although I thought the frequency response sounded weird, the soundstage of the Stealth sounded super open, it's insane. I turned my head when listening to some orchestral tracks because I thought I was listening to an open-back headphone for a moment. I had to take off the headphones and double-check that I was listening to the closed-back Stealth; it's that open.
At $4000, for the sound and fit on my head, it's not for me personally. I'm looking forward to seeing how the AMTS technology evolves though; that's a brilliant piece of engineering.
VOCE
I think the VOCE still sounds fantastic. Between it and the SR-009/009S, I prefer the sound of the VOCE as I always found the 009s to be too bright.
To be honest, I don't like the tuning of the Stealth. Something about it sounded like there was a missing frequency, or something sucked out from the frequency response; the mids just sounded off to me.
The fit of the Stealth also didn't quite work on my head, similar to the Æon series of headphones. The triangular-shaped earpads must not work for my head shape because the bottom of the earcups don't really press on my head and I have to press on the bottom of the earcup to get a better seal. With the better seal, noise isolation is really fantastic. Were it not for the earcups' shape, the Stealth is really comfortable to wear. Even though it's 415 g, it doesn't feel that heavy on my head.
That being said, I think the Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System is a fantastic piece of engineering, and from what I was hearing, it really has potential. Although I thought the frequency response sounded weird, the soundstage of the Stealth sounded super open, it's insane. I turned my head when listening to some orchestral tracks because I thought I was listening to an open-back headphone for a moment. I had to take off the headphones and double-check that I was listening to the closed-back Stealth; it's that open.
At $4000, for the sound and fit on my head, it's not for me personally. I'm looking forward to seeing how the AMTS technology evolves though; that's a brilliant piece of engineering.
VOCE
I think the VOCE still sounds fantastic. Between it and the SR-009/009S, I prefer the sound of the VOCE as I always found the 009s to be too bright.
The bass level of the EVO was borderline too much for my taste, and the overall sound signature is very dark.
It had a good sense of instrument separation and the frequency response was very smooth otherwise. I was talking to the representative at the Etymotic booth and he agreed that the EVO is a completely different sound from the ER4SR that I'm used to.
The LCD-XC on the Ferrum stack, combined with the Atlas cable, sounded heavenly. I've never heard the LCD-XC sound like this before and this made the XC on a completely different level from what I remember it.
The bass hit hard and deep, and the instrument separation was on-par with some of the best open-back headphones. The OOS power supply combined with the Atlas cable probably contributed the most to those characteristics. I don't know exactly how the Grun grounding works, but the shield of the cable was attached to the DAC being used in this chain, instead of being on the amp's chassis ground.
The bass hit hard and deep, and the instrument separation was on-par with some of the best open-back headphones. The OOS power supply combined with the Atlas cable probably contributed the most to those characteristics. I don't know exactly how the Grun grounding works, but the shield of the cable was attached to the DAC being used in this chain, instead of being on the amp's chassis ground.
This is probably among the least ergonomic headphones I've worn. They're extremely heavy, have an adjustable headband with like 4 clicks, and the earcups are the thickness of the earpads, which are thick, so the entire thing is like 2 times thicker than a normal headphone.
The sound signature was kind of bright midrange, and then just a ton of crunchy upper-treble to the point where it was fatiguing, like listening to a mosquito ringtone. Not my preferred sound.
A surprisingly good-sounding combo! I don't know what sounded like what since the two were setup as a system, but the sound was very inoffensive and I didn't expect it to be $329-ish. That is a very affordable price for the sound you're getting and the convenience of a Bluetooth open-back headphone.
^ The phoenix Empyrean at the Headphones.com booth, which on a side note, was always busy at the show.
The Elite looks pretty much identical to the Empyrean, but having a silver color instead of bronze (or red for the phoenix limited edition). The same comfort of the Empyrean also carries over to the Elite.
I'm not a big fan of the Empyrean's sound (it's a very warm-tilted sound to me with sparkle), but the Elite is a different story. It sounded more neutral to my ears, with a slight warm tilt still, and has better dynamics overall. I'm not sure what the differences are in terms of the Elite versus the Empyrean, but I like them.
At $4000, it's a pretty steep price, but the overall awesome sound is pretty compelling. At least compared to other headphones in this price tier, it feels, and looks very premium.
^ I'm not sure what model these are, but they were pretty
It's been a while since I've heard a Noble in-ear. The Noble 4 was my favorite of the bunch back in the day, so I asked the representative there what in-ear was their most neutral/flat. I listened to the Zephyr and I was pleasantly surprised with its sound. It, like most in-ears these days, sounded warm overall, but I think I Can Jam to it. Among driver types for in-ears, dynamic drivers have the hardest-hitting bass to me, and it sure does hit hard in the Zephyr.
I liked the sound overall, although for a more reference sound, I still prefer the UE Reference Remastered, which is a different sound signature at a similar price point.
SR1a
I like the sound out of these with the HSA-1b amp. I heard the SR1a at CanJam 2019 and wasn't a big fan of the sound coming from whatever setup Danny had back then (he couldn't remember either when I asked him). This time around, the SR1a sounded more dynamic and had better bass presence.
The novelty of the earspeaker "wing" design never ceases to amaze me, and it's a lot of fun being able to adjust the sound on the fly. The cartridge design of the driver is also an engineering marvel.
SR2
Unlike the SR1a...I didn't like the SR2 at all. It sounded extremely bright and crunchy to me. They also seemed to lack dynamics compared to the SR1a, so overall this was a miss for my ears, which is unfortunate. The bass sounded pretty linear on the other hand, so that's a positive point for the SR2.
Yooo, I was really surprised at the imaging of this headphone; this is a very different headphone experience.
- Audeze's Mobius uses DSP to emulate surround sound.
- RAAL's SR1a uses the "wing" design to change the direction of sound.
- DCA's Stealth uses the AMTS to acoustically tune the sound and tame resonances.
- VZR's Model One uses an acoustic lens to change the direction and frequency tuning of the sound.
- I have no idea what Ultrasone's S-Logic is, but I could have sworn it was a similar thing.
The Model One manages to make sounds sound like they're coming from speakers from behind your head (for me at least).
In terms of sound, it has an inoffensive sound not unlike that of the HD600. When I heard it, I thought it was going to be $400+, but as it turns out, it's $350. The build quality is pretty solid, and the comfort level was great for me.
I'm guessing the sound presentation won't be for everyone though. Although I think it does a fantastic job at imaging, even I don't think I would get the headphone since I like hearing headphones as headphones, not speakers. I don't mind using a crossfeed EQ to make headphones sound less stereo.
I've never really listened to Westone's stuff before, so I gave the W30 and W80 a listen. Both were kind of too warm-sounding for my preferences.
I chatted with the folks at Westone about the Bax cabling though. I use the SuperBax cable for my UE Reference Remaster and I hate it; it easily tangles, always seems to debraid somehow, feels 'sticky', and the beige color is off-putting. Westone uses the same connector as the UE RR (T2), but their Bax cable is super thin, silver in color, doesn't appear to be braided as tightly and thus won't become unbraided, and feels smoother. They said they would be getting a shipment of their cables soon and would let me know when they arrive. How nice of them!
I chatted with the folks at Westone about the Bax cabling though. I use the SuperBax cable for my UE Reference Remaster and I hate it; it easily tangles, always seems to debraid somehow, feels 'sticky', and the beige color is off-putting. Westone uses the same connector as the UE RR (T2), but their Bax cable is super thin, silver in color, doesn't appear to be braided as tightly and thus won't become unbraided, and feels smoother. They said they would be getting a shipment of their cables soon and would let me know when they arrive. How nice of them!
And those are my impressions. I tried to cover most of the booths, but there's so much to do at these events with so little time. For those who couldn't attend the event, or even for those that did, I hope this post provides some insight to the items I covered.
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I guess that Violectric/Niimbus should be more than up tu snuff too?
thecrow
Headphoneus Supremus
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No issue with the niimbus whatsoever based on how easily it handles my susvara
and i found the v280 served the lcd4 really well - so i would say no issue with lcd5 either (for v280 or 281)
Post 1 of 2: Outside the CanJam Experience
This post will be mostly off-topic, so I'll put the contents in a spoiler tag. It's basically a blog of the CanJam weekend, not of CanJam itself. If you're local to SoCal, or have plans to visit (hopefully the next CanJam event will be held in SoCal still), this might be a fun read.
CanJam to me is more than just the best headphone convention experience, it's also about interacting with the community in-person, and being able to do things around the area; it's a travel experience. Whether it's CanJam SoCal, London, NYC, RMAF (rest in peace), Shanghai, Shenzhen, or Singapore, planning out the weekend for things to do might be something to consider when attending one of these events.
Even though I'm local to the SoCal area, I took the Friday and Monday off from work to hang out with friends in the community. @Muinarc and I booked an Airbnb near the Marriott hotel where CanJam SoCal was held in order to explore both the Los Angeles and Orange counties a bit.
On the Friday we headed off to Amoeba Music in Hollywood for the ultimate record store shopping extravaganza: the perfect activity to start the CanJam weekend. They just changed locations in April (a few city blocks away from the original location), but this new location is densely packed in comparison.
The vinyl records section is huge compared to the original location, in line with how vinyl sales have been outpacing CD sales in recent times. Muinarc had a Discogs list of albums to look for, and I'm always on the lookout for exotic CDs whether it's tech jargon ones like SBM-CDs, SHM-CDs, SACDs, or just some cool-looking albums. We found a few albums published by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, which we both agree usually have some of the best-mastered versions of songs, and I found a Pink Floyd DSotM SACD for $20.
After CD shopping, we headed off into...the infamous LA traffic. TWO FREAKING HOURS LATER, we arrived at the Airbnb in Orange County. Without the crazy traffic, it would normally take around 45 minutes to get from Hollywood to Orange County. The Airbnb was super cozy, very well-furnished with lots of entertainment options, and the host was very inviting.
Feeling hungry after the drive, we walked over to Koco Sushi for dinner, and they did not disappoint.
^ salmon skin hand rolls; 9/10 pretty awesome overall
^ Santa Ana roll; 8/10 the popcorn crayfish was a bit messy to deal with
^ spicy tuna tempura roll; 9/10 would recommend getting
^ baked popcorn lobster roll; 10/10 although the popcorn lobster was messy, by itself this roll is delectable
^ dragon roll; 5/10 pretty standard
Feeling stuffed, we walked back to the Airbnb to catch some sleep and saw a nice SoCal sunset.
On the first day of CanJam, we went to the venue early since I had the first volunteering shift. Before getting there, we stopped by Buenas Coffee nearby to get coffee and a bite to eat. I got a mocha, and you can tell they used cocoa powder instead of chocolate syrup, which I appreciate, and we ended up getting a refreshing coconut roll for breakfast (7/10 for the mocha since I would have liked more cocoa, and 9/10 for the coconut roll, that was awesome). While waiting for our coffees, we noticed on of these long power bars in the outdoor seating area; exhibitors at CanJam should consider getting one of these for their tables, haha.
At the Marriott (which is apparently pronounced "marry-it" and not "marry-ought"), I was stationed at the COVID-19 Head-Fi waiver station at the registration desk. Upon opening at 10 AM, there was a steady stream of attendees checking in for the first 1.5 hours. The check-in process was slower than normal due to the COVID-19 requirements in California, but it went smoothly overall.
At the end of the day, I got to catch up with fellow Head-Fiers (@AxelCloris, @Evshrug, and @Makiah S). It had been over two years since I last saw them, so it was fun to hear their stories. We ended up walking over to a restaurant plaza near the Marriott and we joined the waitlist for a table at HiroNori ramen. While waiting for the table, we chatted over a small-ish bite at the nearby food court. I ended up getting a bubble tea at Presotea because boba is life.
^ Not listed here, but I got a brown sugar milk tea with tapioca. The milk tea variant is rarer to see compared to the brown sugar milk, so I wanted to try it here; 3/10 it was underwhelming and too sweet; there are better-tasting options in LA county.
The wait time for our table was listed at 1.5 hours, but we headed back to the restaurant 45 minutes later, and I'm glad we did because as we were walking up to the restaurant, they were calling our name.
^ tonkotsu ramen; 7/10 the broth, garlic paste, and the pork were good, but the noodles were kind of standard, a bit overcooked, and the egg wasn't as flavorful as other places. I prefer Shin-Sen Gumi over HiroNori since you can completely customize your order, and they use the thinner style ramen noodles, not unlike the experience of Ichiran in Japan.
^ pork buns; 3/10 the pork belly was basically all fat and had the texture of mush. There was also way too much of the teriyaki-like sauce, which made the whole thing really salty. The pickled onion was refreshing to have in it since it provided a textural difference from the fluffy bun and mushy meat.
On the second day of CanJam, we slept in and got a hearty breakfast at Bruxie for chick'n'waffles. We like this place since chicken and waffle places aren't all that common here and it's a pretty heavy meal.
^ cute birb sign, and scorching hot coffee (which tasted awesome, surprisingly, considering this isn't a coffee place)
^ El Jefe on the right; 10/10 this had the perfect balance of flavors with the pickled onion, coleslaw, sweet waffle, and carnitas-spiced chicken. I would definitely get that one again. On the left is the Kickin' hot Chicken; 7/10 it tasted pretty good overall but the oil from the Nashville-like chicken made the waffle soggy, and the lettuce seemed like a weird choice instead of coleslaw. If you got a side of maple syrup, that would pair really well with this 'sandwich'.
After that, we stopped by the Mitsuwa Japanese grocery store a few miles away from CanJam since they have the famous MoDo mochi doughnuts in the food court. MoDo is the original mochi doughnut shop from Hawai'i, so it's an eating experience like no other: chewy mochi combined with the fried doughnut form factor, dunked in delicious Asian-inspired flavors and you've got a heavenly dessert. We got some fresh doughnuts to bring to CanJam, and by fresh, I mean straight off of the frying oil cooling rack.
^ Left to right, top to bottom: pumpkin spice, black sesame, matcha, cookies and cream, honey, earl grey; 9/10 would highly recommend getting some to try, but you have to eat them while they're still fresh or else they get soggy.
After the CanJam show, we talked with the same group of Head-Fiers as yesterday regarding the event and our overall impressions. We walked over to a different plaza to grab burgers for dinner at The Counter. They offered bison meat burgers, which is quite rare to see, so I took the opportunity to build my own burger, similar to what I make at home.
^ Apparently that burger, which is the same burger I make, costs $26; 6/10 tasty but I can make the same thing for a fraction of the cost. If anything, it does carry the home-made kind of taste and appearance, so that's good. Maybe I should open my own bison burger restaurant?
Back at the Marriott, just like CanJam SoCal 2019, I got a vanilla ice cream scoop with chocolate syrup from their restaurant bar area.
^ 5/10 $6 scoop of generic ice cream and is nothing special
Also just like CanJam SoCal 2019, we had to say our goodbyes here as people had early flights the next morning. : (
This is always the bittersweet part of any CanJam event for me. Until next time!
The next morning, Monday, we left the Airbnb, and said goodbye to the friendly host. We stopped by the nearby Micro Center to shop for computer parts and test our luck with any GPUs that might have been stocked. No luck on the GPUs, and the experience was sub-par since they're still working on big renovations in the store. It's still fun to peruse through their stock though.
After that, we headed back into LA county and we stopped by The Donut Man to get their famous whole-strawberry doughnuts. I like going to this place because it's a small mom-and-pop shop that got famous.
^ 9/10 would highly recommend trying, but you need to eat it with a knife and fork, and the doughnut isn't as good overnight
Although we beat the LA traffic this time around for our commute back into LA, we didn't beat the gasoline prices. Gas is insanely expensive here compared to the rest of the country...
^ as of October 3, premium-grade gas is now over $5/gallon ($4.79/gallon regular), whereas the average cost in the USA is $1.50/gallon less.
Anyways, that's my blog of the weekend. Reading over it, it was pretty much just food stuff, haha. Hopefully it was a fun read though.
Really nice to read. But also (and this is not about you, I am sure you are fit as a fiddle) I have a better understanding as to why America has a weight problem. Even the sushi looks like a heavy meal.
Here are my listening notes. I'm not interested in headphones and so went to IEMs for the most part. Before I get into the impressions, I'll say that most of the fun was in getting to know other members of the community and the company staff and engineers about topics aside from headphones/IEMs as consumables, tbh. Otherwise it felt like heading to the farmer's market to get groceries.
To describe myself a little bit, I value transparency, texture/tactility, and instrument separation as intangibles in my sonic reproduction. My preferred tuning targets are the In-Ear Fidelity neutral target with a bass shelf that has a bit more midbass/body than the Harman bass shelf does for analytical listening, and something close to the Sony WF-1000XM4 stock tuning for a relaxed target.
NB/EDIT: I primarily used this playlist on the iBasso DX300 with amp11mk1 and a few songs off of this playlist to assess the transducers below. . Notably, I occasionally sampled from this playlist: .
I spent a lot of time with some IEMs and the ifi GO Blu:
Dunu Falcon Pro (reference nozzle): Thick Done Right. Very good sense of dynamic range. Lot of midbass but only gets a bit unclear in busy passages with female vocals. Otherwise it's a very chill listen with excellent sense of tactility, note weight, and surprising clarity and instrument separation, on average. The transparency nozzle helps a bit with the relaxed mids. Very eargonomic fit.
Dunu Zen Pro: IEF Neutral with Slam. As someone who owns a Prisma Audio Azul and considers the Blessing 2 mildly V-shaped, the Zen Pro sounds like neutral with excellent, detailed slam and decent extension. The bass feels like it's always there and actually underneath yet never in the way of the mids and highs. It feels like the bass is one cake layer that goes up to my mouth, above which the vocalists and cymbals and the like exist. Excellent instrument separation, in that regard. Very good microdetail and overall resolution, along with great sense of body. Pretty eargonomic fit. Out of all the items I listed here, this one was my favorite.
Dunu SA6: Very good example of laidback and detailed. Very good sense of heft to drums. Imaging is alright, but clean electric guitars stay clean sounding. Bass is nicely elevated and rounded but not quite as tactile as its DD cousins. Mids are a bit gritty but don't get in the way of actual vocal grit. Extended and non-intrusive treble. Also quite eargonomic. This is def a dead ringer for a baby u12t. Speaking of which...
64audio u12t: The step up from the SA6. Excellent example of laidback and detailed. Consonant sounds and drumkits had great body in the Zen and Falcon Pro, but here it's on another level. It's very close to a DD in tactility but comes up a bit short to how the Zen Pro slams, imo. m20 module seemed excellent for my live performance test track but the m15 module seemed best for it as an all-rounder. Great extension on both ends, with plenty of instrument separation, imaging and sense of staging distance to boot. A little big but fairly comfortable in the ear.
Symphonium Helios: Fun yet lean and clean. Fun subbass and very clean vocals at the expense of some midbass body. Not as dynamic as the U12t but solid on this front, as it makes cymbals, snares, and synths only a bit more compressed/pancake-y. Images better than the SA6, with great reproduction of vocal grit. The subbass helps makes some harmonies and beats more authoritative and satisfying than on the U12t. I actually prefer the Helios with Sedna Crystals for the additional air. It is leaner and cleaner in tonality than the U12t, I think. For better or for worse. Felt slightly bigger than the u12t and a little too tall for the Weiss cable I brought with me.
ifi GO blu: Beautiful BT DAC/amp. With the XBass and XSpace analog EQ, my copy of the Prisma Audio Azul was a perfect pairing for it. Has fewer features than my Qudelix-5k, but the knob, 4.4mm connection, and other few features it has are pretty well done, though its Bluetooth range seems to be somewhere inbetween that of the Qudelix-5k and BTR5. For sure, the Qudelix-5k easily outranges this, lasts longer, and is ultimately the better pick insofar as Bluetooth DAC/amps go imo, but that analog EQ and build is quite nice.
The following items got less ear time than the ones above. Not due to them being lower quality items, but due to fatigue, time constraints, or environmental constraints.
Auribus Acoustics Everest: Excellent all-rounder. Very well-extended into the subbass, despite being an open-back dynamic. Mids sounded spot-on, and the treble just needs to be bumped up a bit to being a great example of neutral. Satisfying rumble and slam. Comfortable to wear. Great imaging and resolution.
Philphone: Very good headphone. Bass is great, there's none of the treble peakiness I felt with the E-Mu Rosewood, and mids sound less harsh or dry. Imaging and microdetail is also great. Very lightweight.
Dunu Luna: According to Tom from Dunu, it was pretty hard to tune the beryllium driver with their patented driver design (which they have improved upon, as the Zen Pro and Falcon Pro demonstrates!) and that does seem to show. Overall, the tonality is fine but the treble is kinda sharp sounding and the mids are a bit hollow. However, the bass is tighter and punchier than on the Zen Pro, with better resolution to boot.
Moondrop Variations: Well tuned, for sure. Mids sound overly gritty. Bass is fun though could use a bit more slam. Treble is actually detailed but could use a bit more air. But busy passages make this IEM kinda average in separation, like with the Blessing 2. I had issues with the Blessing 2 bass being too forward and I'm having them here again.
Thieaudio Clairvoyance (so hard to visually tell this apart from the Monarch): Brighter than the Variations, kinda thin sounding actually. Vocal grit is smoothed over and kinda...wispy even. Nice bass. Very mixed bag imo. A pain to wear for my concha.
Thieaudio Monarch: Okay this one is way better. Leaner and cleaner than the Clairvoyance, but not lacking midbass or body for fast and slow drumkit sections. Unlike the Clairvoyance, resolution and microdetail is excellent in the mids. Also a pain to wear for my concha.
Blessing 2 Dusk: Well-tuned. My sibilance track is a bit harsh on even the HD600, so having none here at all is a job well done. However, this still sounds as smoothed over as I recall the B2 was. Nice bass.
64audio tia Duo: Dipped mids were very distracting, I didn't want listen to this one very much. With the intermediate amount of isolation, you can tell (with no music playing) that there are conversations happening next to you, but can't really make out the words.
Meze Elite: Felt as boxy and cloudy as the Focal Stellia did. Could not tolerate listening to either for more than a few seconds. I would never want to own anything with that sound signature out-of-the-box unless I got them for free.
To describe myself a little bit, I value transparency, texture/tactility, and instrument separation as intangibles in my sonic reproduction. My preferred tuning targets are the In-Ear Fidelity neutral target with a bass shelf that has a bit more midbass/body than the Harman bass shelf does for analytical listening, and something close to the Sony WF-1000XM4 stock tuning for a relaxed target.
NB/EDIT: I primarily used this playlist on the iBasso DX300 with amp11mk1 and a few songs off of this playlist to assess the transducers below. . Notably, I occasionally sampled from this playlist: .
I spent a lot of time with some IEMs and the ifi GO Blu:
Dunu Falcon Pro (reference nozzle): Thick Done Right. Very good sense of dynamic range. Lot of midbass but only gets a bit unclear in busy passages with female vocals. Otherwise it's a very chill listen with excellent sense of tactility, note weight, and surprising clarity and instrument separation, on average. The transparency nozzle helps a bit with the relaxed mids. Very eargonomic fit.
Dunu Zen Pro: IEF Neutral with Slam. As someone who owns a Prisma Audio Azul and considers the Blessing 2 mildly V-shaped, the Zen Pro sounds like neutral with excellent, detailed slam and decent extension. The bass feels like it's always there and actually underneath yet never in the way of the mids and highs. It feels like the bass is one cake layer that goes up to my mouth, above which the vocalists and cymbals and the like exist. Excellent instrument separation, in that regard. Very good microdetail and overall resolution, along with great sense of body. Pretty eargonomic fit. Out of all the items I listed here, this one was my favorite.
Dunu SA6: Very good example of laidback and detailed. Very good sense of heft to drums. Imaging is alright, but clean electric guitars stay clean sounding. Bass is nicely elevated and rounded but not quite as tactile as its DD cousins. Mids are a bit gritty but don't get in the way of actual vocal grit. Extended and non-intrusive treble. Also quite eargonomic. This is def a dead ringer for a baby u12t. Speaking of which...
64audio u12t: The step up from the SA6. Excellent example of laidback and detailed. Consonant sounds and drumkits had great body in the Zen and Falcon Pro, but here it's on another level. It's very close to a DD in tactility but comes up a bit short to how the Zen Pro slams, imo. m20 module seemed excellent for my live performance test track but the m15 module seemed best for it as an all-rounder. Great extension on both ends, with plenty of instrument separation, imaging and sense of staging distance to boot. A little big but fairly comfortable in the ear.
Symphonium Helios: Fun yet lean and clean. Fun subbass and very clean vocals at the expense of some midbass body. Not as dynamic as the U12t but solid on this front, as it makes cymbals, snares, and synths only a bit more compressed/pancake-y. Images better than the SA6, with great reproduction of vocal grit. The subbass helps makes some harmonies and beats more authoritative and satisfying than on the U12t. I actually prefer the Helios with Sedna Crystals for the additional air. It is leaner and cleaner in tonality than the U12t, I think. For better or for worse. Felt slightly bigger than the u12t and a little too tall for the Weiss cable I brought with me.
ifi GO blu: Beautiful BT DAC/amp. With the XBass and XSpace analog EQ, my copy of the Prisma Audio Azul was a perfect pairing for it. Has fewer features than my Qudelix-5k, but the knob, 4.4mm connection, and other few features it has are pretty well done, though its Bluetooth range seems to be somewhere inbetween that of the Qudelix-5k and BTR5. For sure, the Qudelix-5k easily outranges this, lasts longer, and is ultimately the better pick insofar as Bluetooth DAC/amps go imo, but that analog EQ and build is quite nice.
The following items got less ear time than the ones above. Not due to them being lower quality items, but due to fatigue, time constraints, or environmental constraints.
Auribus Acoustics Everest: Excellent all-rounder. Very well-extended into the subbass, despite being an open-back dynamic. Mids sounded spot-on, and the treble just needs to be bumped up a bit to being a great example of neutral. Satisfying rumble and slam. Comfortable to wear. Great imaging and resolution.
Philphone: Very good headphone. Bass is great, there's none of the treble peakiness I felt with the E-Mu Rosewood, and mids sound less harsh or dry. Imaging and microdetail is also great. Very lightweight.
Dunu Luna: According to Tom from Dunu, it was pretty hard to tune the beryllium driver with their patented driver design (which they have improved upon, as the Zen Pro and Falcon Pro demonstrates!) and that does seem to show. Overall, the tonality is fine but the treble is kinda sharp sounding and the mids are a bit hollow. However, the bass is tighter and punchier than on the Zen Pro, with better resolution to boot.
Moondrop Variations: Well tuned, for sure. Mids sound overly gritty. Bass is fun though could use a bit more slam. Treble is actually detailed but could use a bit more air. But busy passages make this IEM kinda average in separation, like with the Blessing 2. I had issues with the Blessing 2 bass being too forward and I'm having them here again.
Thieaudio Clairvoyance (so hard to visually tell this apart from the Monarch): Brighter than the Variations, kinda thin sounding actually. Vocal grit is smoothed over and kinda...wispy even. Nice bass. Very mixed bag imo. A pain to wear for my concha.
Thieaudio Monarch: Okay this one is way better. Leaner and cleaner than the Clairvoyance, but not lacking midbass or body for fast and slow drumkit sections. Unlike the Clairvoyance, resolution and microdetail is excellent in the mids. Also a pain to wear for my concha.
Blessing 2 Dusk: Well-tuned. My sibilance track is a bit harsh on even the HD600, so having none here at all is a job well done. However, this still sounds as smoothed over as I recall the B2 was. Nice bass.
64audio tia Duo: Dipped mids were very distracting, I didn't want listen to this one very much. With the intermediate amount of isolation, you can tell (with no music playing) that there are conversations happening next to you, but can't really make out the words.
Meze Elite: Felt as boxy and cloudy as the Focal Stellia did. Could not tolerate listening to either for more than a few seconds. I would never want to own anything with that sound signature out-of-the-box unless I got them for free.
Thanks for the impressions. As an i4 owner also, any standouts in the closed IEM world that match or best it (with EQ of course) that you have heard?
For raw tonality, I still prefer the Prisma Audio Azul, insofar as closed IEMs go. Treble extension past the limits of my hearing (17KHz-18KHz), good sense of dynamic range, very resolving, transparent mids, and tactile midbass/lower-mids (to my preference) for 300 USD while also sporting a beautiful blue shell? Its tuning is tantamount to being the only tuning I can trust to sound good. The portability is just a bonus.
To clarify, the i4 with EQ lets me get very close to the Azul's tonality and also lets me enjoy the Nectar Sound Pollinator's technicalities - and then some, regarding resolution - while walking around the park or sitting at the office. It's basically a portable fusion of my favorite IEM and my favorite headphone. I don't think this form factor can be beat unless the LCD-i5 somehow is worlds better than the i4.
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As a former owner of the Stellia, I cannot confirm this at all. But then, you seem to have known what you hate after a few seconds ...
eskamobob1
Headphoneus Supremus
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Really nice to read. But also (and this is not about you, I am sure you are fit as a fiddle) I have a better understanding as to why America has a weight problem. Even the sushi looks like a heavy meal.
Rofl. Yup. Sushi in socal seems to always be baked and smothered in crap. Its almost hard to find a more traditional sushi place if you dont wnat to spent $100+/head
Stuff Jones
1000+ Head-Fier
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Post 2 of 2: The CanJam Experience
Firstly I want to thank the Head-Fi crew @jude, @third_eye , @joe, @AxelCloris, @HF_Ryan, @warrenpchi for even making this event possible. Without them, there wouldn't be a CanJam event this year. Given the current situation of COVID-19, and especially in California, I wasn't sure if CanJam this year would even happen. I'm glad it worked out in the end though.
Secondly, I want to thank all the exhibitors who were able to make it to the show. The event wouldn't have happened if no one showed up. This show happened during an unprecedented time, so it was a very different CanJam experience.
Thirdly, I want to thank everyone who participated in the SHAG (scavenger hunt and giveaway). Participating in the SHAG can be a double-edged sword: on the one hand, people will go to your booth just to collect the stamp; on the other hand, people will go to your booth and you get increased exposure. I would have never really stopped by the Atlas booth, for example, were it not for the SHAG, and I'm glad I did (see impressions below). The prizes for this event's SHAG were plentiful, and generous.
The event itself seemed pretty good in terms of COVID-19 guidelines. Social distancing wasn't really a thing, as that would be really hard to do at an event like this, but I think it was managed pretty well.
- Proof of vaccination, or a negative PCR test result, were required for registration.
- The Marriott hotel provided bottles of hand sanitizer for exhibitors.
- The Marriott had staff to ensure everyone entering the venue had a wristband or badge, ensuring they were registered for the event.
- Many of the exhibitors had alcohol wipes to wipe down gear.
- I saw people frequent the restrooms to wash their hands, or use the hand sanitizer stations.
- People mostly had face masks on at all times during the event.
Of course due to the nature of this event (i.e. sharing equipment between attendees and the sheer volume of attendees), wiping down equipment wasn't always done. This would be hard to do at this type of event, so that's understandable.
I did my best to use hand sanitizer when I finished up at an exhibitor's booth. After CanJam, I did a COVID-19 test the following Wednesday (negative), got my booster shot on Thursday, did a test on Friday (negative), and did another test on Saturday (negative). I'm still feeling great today!
Since not everyone was able to attend the event, I kind of went around the venue on Saturday to record the show floor in binaural audio. Hopefully this gives you a feeling as to how the show was at its busiest time (2-4 PM on Saturday was pretty much as busy as it got).
Also, I did attend the Amplifiers 101 seminar on Saturday. I had meant to attend the other seminars, but I got caught up talking to other folks at the show. I likewise recorded the seminar in binaural audio. After reviewing the video, I guess next time it would be fine to record the video at 1080p 30 FPS because an hour's worth of 4k footage chewed up memory on my card like no other. I really enjoyed Justin's talk. I don't know too much about tube amps, but I am from Seattle and we used to have meetups at Bottlehead headquarters. Tube amps are beautiful pieces of nostalgia.
^ On a side note, The Source AV table was always crowded, and Justin's side of the table was pretty much always occupied
As mentioned in a different post, @Evshrug has made a few YouTube videos regarding headphones 101, which was another seminar. I like the simplicity and creativity in his videos, which is what I lack in my own, haha.
My preference for audio systems is sound signature first, then the details and nuances of the sound. I can usually tell within seconds of listening if the sound signature isn't to my liking, in which case I usually won't give it a serious listen.
My preferred sound signature is a diffuse field "flat-ish" target. I own a Focal Clear, STAX SR-207 and 404, Etymotic ER4SR; Audeze LCD-2 and Ultimate Ears Reference Remaster for more 'fun' sound signatures.
Usually I don't like in-ear earphones because they tend to sound waaaaay too bassy for me (e.g. ER4XR sounds too bassy for me, which is why I got the ER4SR). I own a Moondrop KXXS, which closely follows one of the Harman-target curves, and I find it to be too bassy; though that kind of sound signature is nice for when I go jogging around the neighborhood.
I tend to listen to music at lower volume levels.
As with all audio conventions (whether it's CanJam, RMAF, or even ones like the NAMM show), the background noise level is quite high.
One of the sponsors for the event was Qobuz. I don't know too much about this service compared to Tidal, but the majority of exhibitors were using Qobuz, and because of that, there were a lot of internet connectivity issues.
This event was very much focused on "online" media, which sucks because if there are issues with connectivity, the whole system kind of fails. A handful of exhibitors had failed systems because of this, and offline media playback options were limited and rare. Fortunately, some exhibitors had USB cables and allowed you to connect a smartphone or DAP to the playback system. I have a bunch of offline audio test tracks on my phone, for example, so that made it far easier to use than trying to search for something on Qobuz and have it fail because it couldn't connect.
Other exhibitors had either control of the playback system, or had offline media of seemingly random selections, so you were forced to hear songs that you might not know. Some exhibitors had a single track from a famous album, but it wasn't the song you would normally listen to from the album. Seriously, what??
I prepped my phone, DAP with microSD, and a USB flash drive with media that I could use for testing. My phone was the best option for the times I could use one of those three mediums. This experience was kind of sub-par and was the most disappointing thing of the show compared to previous years.
You all probably know by now, but Audeze's booth was easily among the busiest at the show. Having not one, but two new flagship headphone announcements, it was kind of expected. On Saturday they only had one LCD-5 out for demo, and one CRBN; on Sunday they had another LCD-5 available.
CRBN
^ note that's Mark Cohen of Audeze, not Dr. Mark Cohen of the University of California Los Angeles
https://samueli.ucla.edu/people/mark-cohen
https://www.smrtimage.com/research
Holy moley this was the headphone of the show for me. I'm an electrostatic headphone fan, and the CRBN's bass surprised me. I find the SR-009/009S to be too bright for me and I much prefer the Dan Clark Audio VOCE over them.
I don't know how the Mjölnir Audio Carbon sounds since the only thing usually at these shows is the Blue Hawaii, but the CRBN sounded pretty solid out of it. Volume-wise, I needed to turn the volume knob quite a ways for the CRBN, so either the Carbon doesn't output a lot of power (which I doubt since it's made by spritzer/Mjölnir Audio), or the CRBN isn't very sensitive (whose technical specification is unlisted on Audeze's website). Speaking of Mjölnir Audio though, their website is dead...so I can't find the official specs of the Carbon.
There was good texture and presence in the bass region, more so than the other estats I've heard, but it didn't overwhelm the midrange.
The midrange had excellent clarity and timbre overall, but was a tad bit warm-sounding to me from the bass region. Unlike any other estat I've heard, the bass seemed to take the main stage away from the midrange, as the mids seemed laid-back in comparison (which reminds me a bit of the 007 MKI from memory). The frequency response sounded more linear/smooth overall compared to what I'm used to hearing from the SR-404.
The treble, like a lot of estats, was silky smooth and retains a lot of detail overall.
Image separation paired with the Carbon sounded excellent, which is another feature I find estats to do well compared to other transducer types.
The soundstaging seemed a bit small compared to the 009/009s/VOCE to me, and was more rounded than the SR-Lambda series. Compared to what I'm used to hearing with the Lambda series, the images were spaced more around my head versus left/right and vertical, which I appreciate.
Also like most estats, I was able to turn up the volume really high without experiencing any fatigue. The other transducer types don't seem to be able to replicate this effect, and I have no idea why.
Comfort-wise, these rock. Audeze's headband on the CRBN is quite comfortable. Paired with the supple leather earpads, the CRBN fits snugly, but not too snug on my head. The oval-shaped earcups fit on my head pretty well even with glasses on. At 300 g, this thing is insanely light!
The "cube" pattern on the earcups' grill is also pretty unique-looking. I feel like I've seen this pattern somewhere else, but I can't put my finger on it at the moment. I'm not sure if the cable is removable (I forgot to ask Audeze about it), but the strain relief parts from the earcup look more sturdy than those of STAX. The cable of my SR-207 is dead and I can't easily fix it, unlike the cables of the newer headphones.
LCD-5
I got to hear the LCD-5 on both setups at the show.
Sound signature-wise, it's immediately evident that the CRBN and the LCD-5 share a similar sound. The LCD-5 sounded a bit grainier to me in comparison, and didn't quite have the silky smoothness to it unlike the CRBN.
To my surprise, maybe it was due to the amp (Bryston), or maybe the cable (Atlas Zeno Harmonic XLR with the Grun earth connected to nothing), or maybe the different selection of music, but I thought the LCD-5 had better instrument separation compared to the CRBN. Images were more clearly defined and the background seemed blacker to me. The other LCD-5 was connected to a different audio system and it didn't have that same effect.
Comfort-wise, the LCD-5 absolutely sucks for me. The new carbon fiber headband is much less flexible than the one on the CRBN. The clamping force felt like a vice grip on my head, pressing my glasses quite hard on my head. I had to take the headphones off after a few minutes of listening because it was so uncomfortable, and even though the LCD-5 is lighter than other LCD headphones, it felt heavier on my head. In the hand, the LCD-5 does feel much lighter though.
The new acetate tortoise-shell earcup assembly looks pretty cool, but it's subtle and you have to be in the right light to see the pattern.
Both headphones are a staggering $4500 USD though...that's quite the price. The CRBN makes a little more sense since they're made to order and it's a completely different manufacturing process.
Not a bad-sounding headphone overall. It has more of a consumer type of tuning to it, so kind of warm-sounding overall. It didn't quite sound like a planar magnetic headphone, at least not compared to what I'm used to hearing with the Mobius, but it didn't sound bad. It had an inoffensive sound signature, so I feel like I could listen to music for hours without fatigue. I was surprised to hear the sound pretty much stay the same between the different DSP modes: ANC on, ANC off, and transparency mode.
The ANC was pretty good I think. It did a nice job drowning out the background noise of the CanJam show floor, and the sounds of the booth people talking were pretty muffled out.
I haven't heard a good transparency mode before and I was surprised at how it sounded. I guess it was doing the job well because it sounded almost like an open-back headphone in terms of noise isolation (i.e. lack thereof).
Comfort-wise, these were a bit small on my head, but they weren't uncomfortable. They have an all-plastic build, so they're light.
The touch controls worked pretty well, but there was a delay between the input and the action.
At $399, these are on the pricier-end of what I would consider buying, but then again, I'm not really in the market for an ANC Bluetooth headphone and I haven't really explored the market.
First of all, this thing is a beast of a unit and reminds me of the SPL Phonitor X: dials, switches, and crazy lights everywhere. This is a very functional, a la pro-audio, focused device. The lights are absurdly bright though (see photos), and you can only disable the VU meter lights unfortunately.
The unit sounds really clean and provides 1.6 W of output power, which is impressive for a transportable unit. The I/O of the unit is equally as impressive: 4x headphone outputs (6.3 mm, 3.5 mm, 2.5 mm, and XLR), USB C input, APTX Bluetooth. Being battery-powered, the background sounded really black with the LCD-2 and instrument separation was fantastic.
At $750, I think the M8 V2 is a great bang for your buck if you're looking for a transportable unit that sounds great and has a lot of EQ features. This is a pretty feature-packed device.
Stealth
To be honest, I don't like the tuning of the Stealth. Something about it sounded like there was a missing frequency, or something sucked out from the frequency response; the mids just sounded off to me.
The fit of the Stealth also didn't quite work on my head, similar to the Æon series of headphones. The triangular-shaped earpads must not work for my head shape because the bottom of the earcups don't really press on my head and I have to press on the bottom of the earcup to get a better seal. With the better seal, noise isolation is really fantastic. Were it not for the earcups' shape, the Stealth is really comfortable to wear. Even though it's 415 g, it doesn't feel that heavy on my head.
That being said, I think the Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System is a fantastic piece of engineering, and from what I was hearing, it really has potential. Although I thought the frequency response sounded weird, the soundstage of the Stealth sounded super open, it's insane. I turned my head when listening to some orchestral tracks because I thought I was listening to an open-back headphone for a moment. I had to take off the headphones and double-check that I was listening to the closed-back Stealth; it's that open.
At $4000, for the sound and fit on my head, it's not for me personally. I'm looking forward to seeing how the AMTS technology evolves though; that's a brilliant piece of engineering.
VOCE
I think the VOCE still sounds fantastic. Between it and the SR-009/009S, I prefer the sound of the VOCE as I always found the 009s to be too bright.
The bass level of the EVO was borderline too much for my taste, and the overall sound signature is very dark.
It had a good sense of instrument separation and the frequency response was very smooth otherwise. I was talking to the representative at the Etymotic booth and he agreed that the EVO is a completely different sound from the ER4SR that I'm used to.
The LCD-XC on the Ferrum stack, combined with the Atlas cable, sounded heavenly. I've never heard the LCD-XC sound like this before and this made the XC on a completely different level from what I remember it.
The bass hit hard and deep, and the instrument separation was on-par with some of the best open-back headphones. The OOS power supply combined with the Atlas cable probably contributed the most to those characteristics. I don't know exactly how the Grun grounding works, but the shield of the cable was attached to the DAC being used in this chain, instead of being on the amp's chassis ground.
This is probably among the least ergonomic headphones I've worn. They're extremely heavy, have an adjustable headband with like 4 clicks, and the earcups are the thickness of the earpads, which are thick, so the entire thing is like 2 times thicker than a normal headphone.
The sound signature was kind of bright midrange, and then just a ton of crunchy upper-treble to the point where it was fatiguing, like listening to a mosquito ringtone. Not my preferred sound.
A surprisingly good-sounding combo! I don't know what sounded like what since the two were setup as a system, but the sound was very inoffensive and I didn't expect it to be $329-ish. That is a very affordable price for the sound you're getting and the convenience of a Bluetooth open-back headphone.
^ The phoenix Empyrean at the Headphones.com booth, which on a side note, was always busy at the show.
The Elite looks pretty much identical to the Empyrean, but having a silver color instead of bronze (or red for the phoenix limited edition). The same comfort of the Empyrean also carries over to the Elite.
I'm not a big fan of the Empyrean's sound (it's a very warm-tilted sound to me with sparkle), but the Elite is a different story. It sounded more neutral to my ears, with a slight warm tilt still, and has better dynamics overall. I'm not sure what the differences are in terms of the Elite versus the Empyrean, but I like them.
At $4000, it's a pretty steep price, but the overall awesome sound is pretty compelling. At least compared to other headphones in this price tier, it feels, and looks very premium.
^ I'm not sure what model these are, but they were pretty
It's been a while since I've heard a Noble in-ear. The Noble 4 was my favorite of the bunch back in the day, so I asked the representative there what in-ear was their most neutral/flat. I listened to the Zephyr and I was pleasantly surprised with its sound. It, like most in-ears these days, sounded warm overall, but I think I Can Jam to it. Among driver types for in-ears, dynamic drivers have the hardest-hitting bass to me, and it sure does hit hard in the Zephyr.
I liked the sound overall, although for a more reference sound, I still prefer the UE Reference Remastered, which is a different sound signature at a similar price point.
SR1a
I like the sound out of these with the HSA-1b amp. I heard the SR1a at CanJam 2019 and wasn't a big fan of the sound coming from whatever setup Danny had back then (he couldn't remember either when I asked him). This time around, the SR1a sounded more dynamic and had better bass presence.
The novelty of the earspeaker "wing" design never ceases to amaze me, and it's a lot of fun being able to adjust the sound on the fly. The cartridge design of the driver is also an engineering marvel.
SR2
Unlike the SR1a...I didn't like the SR2 at all. It sounded extremely bright and crunchy to me. They also seemed to lack dynamics compared to the SR1a, so overall this was a miss for my ears, which is unfortunate. The bass sounded pretty linear on the other hand, so that's a positive point for the SR2.
Yooo, I was really surprised at the imaging of this headphone; this is a very different headphone experience.
- Audeze's Mobius uses DSP to emulate surround sound.
- RAAL's SR1a uses the "wing" design to change the direction of sound.
- DCA's Stealth uses the AMTS to acoustically tune the sound and tame resonances.
- VZR's Model One uses an acoustic lens to change the direction and frequency tuning of the sound.
- I have no idea what Ultrasone's S-Logic is, but I could have sworn it was a similar thing.
The Model One manages to make sounds sound like they're coming from speakers from behind your head (for me at least).
In terms of sound, it has an inoffensive sound not unlike that of the HD600. When I heard it, I thought it was going to be $400+, but as it turns out, it's $350. The build quality is pretty solid, and the comfort level was great for me.
I'm guessing the sound presentation won't be for everyone though. Although I think it does a fantastic job at imaging, even I don't think I would get the headphone since I like hearing headphones as headphones, not speakers. I don't mind using a crossfeed EQ to make headphones sound less stereo.
I've never really listened to Westone's stuff before, so I gave the W30 and W80 a listen. Both were kind of too warm-sounding for my preferences.
I chatted with the folks at Westone about the Bax cabling though. I use the SuperBax cable for my UE Reference Remaster and I hate it; it easily tangles, always seems to debraid somehow, feels 'sticky', and the beige color is off-putting. Westone uses the same connector as the UE RR (T2), but their Bax cable is super thin, silver in color, doesn't appear to be braided as tightly and thus won't become unbraided, and feels smoother. They said they would be getting a shipment of their cables soon and would let me know when they arrive. How nice of them!
And those are my impressions. I tried to cover most of the booths, but there's so much to do at these events with so little time. For those who couldn't attend the event, or even for those that did, I hope this post provides some insight to the items I covered.
Thank you for your impressions. Your feedback on the lcd-5 for people wearing glasses is very valuable to me.
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