[xirxes]

I'm not very good at writing about how things sound, but I figured I would chime in. The D3 was paired with the Enleum 23R. I spent a good amount of time with this setup over two separate sessions. I was using the LCD-5, which I own so I am familiar with the sound profile. The amp clearly had the LCD-5s under control, but it seemed ever so slightly lacking in the treble detail and separation. I was impressed, but not blown away like I thought I would be with the 23R. We are talking 9.5/10 instead of 9.9/10. I thought it might be the DAC holding it back so I also spent time at the Audeze booth with the Holo May, Soloist and at the LTA booth with the Z10e, Pontus II. Both with the LCD-5. In both cases, I was more impressed with the LTA and Audeze setup from a 'wow' factor. It had the treble extension and/or separation that the 23R setup was slightly missing. None of the setups were harsh. The 23R and LTA setup took the win on bass quality and quantity. Holo setup had something special about it that I couldn't pinpoint.

At the end of the day I will still likely go with the 23R but with the Holo May. I liked the form factor with the D3 and 23R, but it was perhaps a bit too laid back for my taste. I prefer a very detailed presentation, but without harshness, and with plenty of bass control. I wish I could have A/B with DACs while keeping the amp consistent. If you're going for a smooth and perhaps a slightly laid back presentation the D3/23R would be an excellent stack. I'm going to take the risk that the 23R will pair more to my taste with a different DAC basically because I love the 23R size, design, and capability.

One major point is that it was definitely noisier at the headphones.com location than my other two comparisons sessions. This likely played a role.

TT2 with 23R is exceptional, especially if you have neutral cans..

 

[geoffalter11]

I'm not very good at writing about how things sound, but I figured I would chime in. The D3 was paired with the Enleum 23R. I spent a good amount of time with this setup over two separate sessions. I was using the LCD-5, which I own so I am familiar with the sound profile. The amp clearly had the LCD-5s under control, but it seemed ever so slightly lacking in the treble detail and separation. I was impressed, but not blown away like I thought I would be with the 23R. We are talking 9.5/10 instead of 9.9/10. I thought it might be the DAC holding it back so I also spent time at the Audeze booth with the Holo May, Soloist and at the LTA booth with the Z10e, Pontus II. Both with the LCD-5. In both cases, I was more impressed with the LTA and Audeze setup from a 'wow' factor. It had the treble extension and/or separation that the 23R setup was slightly missing. None of the setups were harsh. The 23R and LTA setup took the win on bass quality and quantity. Holo setup had something special about it that I couldn't pinpoint.

At the end of the day I will still likely go with the 23R but with the Holo May. I liked the form factor with the D3 and 23R, but it was perhaps a bit too laid back for my taste. I prefer a very detailed presentation, but without harshness, and with plenty of bass control. I wish I could have A/B with DACs while keeping the amp consistent. If you're going for a smooth and perhaps a slightly laid back presentation the D3/23R would be an excellent stack. I'm going to take the risk that the 23R will pair more to my taste with a different DAC basically because I love the 23R size, design, and capability.

One major point is that it was definitely noisier at the headphones.com location than my other two comparisons sessions. This likely played a role.

Thanks for the impressions. I have been curious about the D3. I tend to always look past SMSL products, but this one caught my eye when ASR panned it, which immediately made me more curious, and thus far I haven't found much more written about the DAC. Headphones.com must like it to pair it with the 23R. However, it sounds like your preferences with the 23R lie elsewhere. Appreciate the thoughts.

 

[earthtodan]

Meze Elites - Most comfortable headphone and 10/10 build. Heard these last year at Canjam and was impressed, but I'm less impressed this year after hearing the rest of the flagships. Ima sucker for warm headphones and while the Elites have a fun tuning, it's definitely a tier below the LCD5/Sus/Utopia. Meze's cables were the best from the flagships however. The Susvara's were laughably bad..!

You should demo a pair of Meze Empyreans next time you get a chance (like the Elite but with a copper back mesh). They have a warmer tune.

 

[wazzupi]

Just left from day two at CanJam SoCal 2022. Best in show for me:

Over ear full size
ZMF Caldera. Wow just like I new it would sound. I do not have a use case for open back right now, when the closed back arrives (Zach said it will come after the Atrium closed back) I will definitely own one of them.
Runner up: Focal Newtopia. To me it sounds richer, fuller and a good amount wider and slightly smoother in the treble.

IEMs
Tie- 64 Audio Nio and U12T. One of these will be my next IEM. I think I prefer the Nio very slightly (dynamic bass), but without hearing them side by side I could not say for sure that the U12T was BA.

Runner up: Symphonium Helios. Wow. These are BA only? Really. So coherent and smooth, yet detailed. The cables that come with these are so nice too. Two Problems. One- way too big. Two- way too power hungry for an IEM.
Honorable mention: Symponium Meteor (I think that was the name, it is brand new (not even on their website as of this morning). This sounds like a dynamic driver. So punchy, so smooth. And way smaller than the Helios.

Biggest surprise of the show? I like the Auteur Classic better than the Atrium. Just sounds more natural and tighter to me. Side note- everone seems to say "you gotta hear these ZMFs on an OTL, so amazing". etc. Meh. I realized today after hearing many over the years, I don't like any OTL amps. They all (regardless of price or pedigree) sound flabby to my ears. Give me my RME ADI-2 PRO FS R or if it is gonna be tubes give me an Ampsandsound Mogwei or Nautilus or maybe Woo Audio WA33.

Second biggest surprise- Focal Celestee. I have heard all of the other Focals (owned a few) and after owning and quickly returning the claustrophobia inducing Radiance, I thought I was done with Focal closed backs (still love the Stellia). But the Celestee sounds downright spacious copared to the congested sounding Radiance and way better than the measurements suggest.

Third biggest surprise- The Hifiman Sundara closed back looks pretty good in person and from early impressions, is the best sounding closed back I have heard under $500 (a little EQ certainly helped).

Edit: Biggest disappointment for my ears- Chord Hugo TT2 & M scaler stack. I heard this on my own LCD-XC, the MM500, TH900 MKII and the OG Utopia. Absolute meh. Why the high price? Two words- Thin and ordinary. Chord please take your 10 million taps and head for the door, I have no use for your nonsense.


PS: I reserve the right to amend this post after my CanJam high wears off.

So I'm not crazy about auteur classic >>> atrium ?!? Caldera was my favorite headphone But with suede pads !!

I honestly couldn't find anything that beat or at least was worth changing from my indigo and Jewel combo but I did find a new dap !!

 

[normie610]

Viking Ragnar - ultimately too hot and sibilant for me, but probably the most technical set I heard and I wanted to love it fully

We have the same hearing then. I too find the Viking too hot and sibilant, although the soundstage and resolution is very good.

 

[ampsandsound]

That would be unfortunate I agree. I was really hoping to hear how well the Red October extracts the magic out of those 300 B tubes but couldn't stand the gremlins unfortunately. It was literally like listening to 10-30% THD at that point and all magic just completely vanished.

One quick trivia though: SoCal is notorious for power grid crisis especially during peak summer season

We had 2 issues that couldn’t be escaped. People around use had battery powered devices that they brought large scale switched mode chargers for and the 50ft or ext cord and hooked up to house power. Either way, we were super pleased to see everyone. Might finally consider and PS audio power plant for show duty.

 

[561915]

Everyone who drove the longest to attend CanJam? I drove 5.5 hours.

 

[theveterans]

We had 2 issues that couldn’t be escaped. People around use had battery powered devices that they brought large scale switched mode chargers for and the 50ft or ext cord and hooked up to house power. Either way, we were super pleased to see everyone. Might finally consider and PS audio power plant for show duty.

I still had a great experience seeing the beasts in person

I had a brief conversation with Jeff Wells about his Looking Glass power conditioner as I was incredibly surprised on how great his system tamed the noise of his tube DAC and tube preamp. Funny thing is that his Looking Glass power conditioner looks exactly like the Core 600 power conditioner that you recommended on your YT channel.

 

[haasaaroni]

Biggest surprise of the show? I like the Auteur Classic better than the Atrium. Just sounds more natural and tighter to me.

Yeah this was intersting for me too. The Atrium was clearly doing things differently, with much more impressive technicalities and some crazy staging abilities my brain can't put into words, but it sounds a bit too soft for my tonal preferences. "Soft" not as in lacking bass impact, just as in the overall presentation of the sound. It's hard to describe. The Auteur Classic sounded slightly more "neutral," with more bite, while retaining a lot of the stage. That (and price) was why I picked one up for myself

 

[jamato8]

Everyone who drove the longest to attend CanJam? I drove 5.5 hours.

What city?

 

[561915]

What city?

I drove in from Phoenix.

 

[catom]

What it will do is pivot me from chasing one totl chain, into instead collecting the many flavors that have become more accessible

It isn't that way already? I'm sitting here thinking I should get the Meze 109 (was anyone selling them on site?? - one nice thing about CanJam is no real sales pressure...one bad thing is no sales pressure). Then the other part of me is interested in the Audeze MM-500 and I'm trying to compare those to my collection to see which one fits better. It's not even about comparing them head to head or the cost. It's about how does it fit in my line up? Do I have all those flavors?

I totally acknowledge I can get a better version of the flavors I have. I don't have summit-fi headphones. I guess I have midfi now since these price brackets just seem to keep going up... But that Meze 109 really drove this entire point home for me today.

 

[Edric Li]

I drove in from Phoenix.

Hats off to you sir.

 

[Alenotta]

Impression update:

I saw someone had asked me to clarify why I thought the Utopia 2022 had fixed some of the stuff I didn't love about the OG - I tried them again today and decided they are still a bit too aggressive for me personally. Really respect the detail and totally understand why they are a lot of people's end game. I'm just sensitive to forward upper presentation. I'd be down for a detail monster that was warmer and more low end.

Caldera still sounding great. I don't have a crazy expensive amp setup at home. I'm listening to it on a cap modded liquid platinum driven by the SMSL m400. Is it as good as the 30k dCS stack...no lol. Someone asked about slam in this chain. Yeah, I feel like it has great impact. It is tuned to be a very musical experience. Not the standard flagship planar that is going for neutral. If you already like ZMF house sound, this absolutely lives comfortably in the lineup. This was my favorite new headphone at the show by a lot. Oh, sounds amazing driven off the mojo 2 as well. I really think anyone who loves an energetic warmish tuning has to try this.

Audeze mm500 was the other new standout to me. I think it is the closest to my personal taste in their lineup.

The new RAAL surprised me with it's open speaker-y sound at a more affordable entry point. I think this one would be best to hear in a quiet environment.

I've owned the Ether 2 and the AFC RT so I'm a big fan of Dan Clark. The Expanse was much closer to what I like than the Stealth. I still would need to EQ or find the perfect amp pairing to beef up the low end. It has a really nice natural sound. Build quality is so nice.

The Wells Milo and the Cayin amps were really nice in the more affordable price ranges. RebelAmp was a fantastic quality/price ratio. Love the warm Amps and Sound stuff. Would like to hear if anyone found some sub $5k amps there that struck a cord. Didn't have time to listen to everything obviously.

 

[LoryWiv]

Yeah this was intersting for me too. The Atrium was clearly doing things differently, with much more impressive technicalities and some crazy staging abilities my brain can't put into words, but it sounds a bit too soft for my tonal preferences. "Soft" not as in lacking bass impact, just as in the overall presentation of the sound. It's hard to describe. The Auteur Classic sounded slightly more "neutral," with more bite, while retaining a lot of the stage. That (and price) was why I picked one up for myself

Congrats on the Auteur Classic @haasaaroni. I had listened to auteur classic and atrium at CanJam Chicago and after so doing upgraded my OG Auteur to classic and have been super happy with the results. The classic does everything OG Auteur does well including its beautiful mids tonality, adds better instrument placement, imaging and stage, a smidge more bass and smoother treble and has made a good thing better. It's also an incredible value at its selling price and hold its own or bests multiple more expensive cans I listen to at the show.