[ImMcLovin]

Maybe my ears are broken but listening to the Stealths and Expanse back to back they just didn’t do it for me. I felt the same with the Stealth back at the Texas Audio Roundup, don’t sound bad but doesn’t get my toes tapping. The Noire on the other hand sounded like magic, for the price that’s a future purchase most likely.

Agreed. I really like the technical ability of the Stealth and Expanse as well as its build quality, but tuning is not for me. Noire though is definitely my favorite DCA headphone.

 

[Halimj7]

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.

Your taste is similar to mine. Chord stuff to my ear is so overrated. I replaced my TT2 with an xduoo poke II ($400 vs $5000) and never looked back. I need to try the Auteur.

 

[dfiled]

ZMF - Caldera out of the Nautilus was a lot of fun. Warm planar goodness. Wish it had a bit more oomph in the low end, but mids and treble were well balanced and was an enjoyable listen for Rock/Reggae.

@LetTheKidsTechno, any chance you’d be willing to elaborate a bit more on the Caldera’s low end, especially compared to the Atrium? When you say it lacked “oomph,” do you think it was a tuning issue (just not enough bass to your ears) or was the issue more a lack of impact/slam?

 

[04gto]

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

Yes they were both were certainly great, but soft(er) is certainly a good word to describe the Atrium presentation.

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

I mean everything that @zach915m (very nice guy BTW) makes, sounds very good and is beautiful. I loved both of these, but maybe I am just not ready for what the Atrium is offering? I know I am very ready for what the Caldera and Verite closed are offering though!

 

[ZzZzZzZ]

Any news of Centrance Dacmini 2 and Ampmini?

 

[LetTheKidsTechno]

@LetTheKidsTechno, any chance you’d be willing to elaborate a bit more on the Caldera’s low end, especially compared to the Atrium? When you say it lacked “oomph,” do you think it was a tuning issue (just not enough bass to your ears) or was the issue more a lack of impact/slam?

No I actually really liked the tuning of the Caldera, especially in comparison to Audeze's lack of upper mids. I'd say it's moreso the amount of impact/slam. Probably somewhere closer to a Hifiman planar (Arya) than Audeze (LCD2/3/4).

 

[dfiled]

No I actually really liked the tuning of the Caldera, especially in comparison to Audeze's lack of upper mids. I'd say it's moreso the amount of impact/slam. Probably somewhere closer to a Hifiman planar (Arya) than Audeze (LCD2/3/4).

Thank you for that feedback! Assuming this sentiment is echoed by others you may have saved me several kilobucks.

 

[LetTheKidsTechno]

Thank you for that feedback! Assuming this sentiment is echoed by others you may have saved me several kilobucks.

Definitely get more feedback! The noisy show floor makes it hard to get great impressions. But ya I think it's somewhere between Hifiman and Audeze in that regard. Definitely no where near the level of lcd4s and Abyss 1266. Waiting for Audeze to channel that magic into their new headphone design

 

[zach915m]

No I actually really liked the tuning of the Caldera, especially in comparison to Audeze's lack of upper mids. I'd say it's moreso the amount of impact/slam. Probably somewhere closer to a Hifiman planar (Arya) than Audeze (LCD2/3/4).

Thank you for that feedback! Assuming this sentiment is echoed by others you may have saved me several kilobucks.

There's a possibility that the source gear being DAPs and not full sized rigs at the ampsandsound table could have played into this. The higher voltage sources do offer a lot more low end weight and punch.

Not to say anything heard was wrong etc, this is audio! But it is something I noticed.

 

[dfiled]

There's a possibility that the source gear being DAPs and not full sized rigs at the ampsandsound table could have played into this. The higher voltage sources do offer a lot more low end weight and punch.

Not to say anything heard was wrong etc, this is audio! But it is something I noticed.

Zach, what’s your view on how the Caldera pairs with an OTL like the Euforia? Does it have enough current?

 

[robo24]

First show for me and opportunity to hear pretty much anything I haven’t owned. Very well run, quick to get in despite the long line if one had already paid and had the info on their phone.

Highlights for me were the Caldera and 1266 and the Feliks Envy. Hearing the Verite Open on that was the best I’ve heard it. Also loved the LCD3 on the Boulder DAC/amp (812?) and get why it’s still sold after so many years. Just something really beautiful sounding about it and enjoyed the staging. Another highlight was getting to see some of the stabilized and resin ZMFs in person. Also blown away by the almost nonexistent weight of the Audio Technica Headphones.

Certainly got fatigued and noise made it difficult for me to asses DACs and even amps to some degree. The TT2 a lot of places reminded me that I don’t miss mine at all. Great with tube amps, but most were just used as amps too.

Probably the best result for me was realizing I’m pretty darn happy with what I have, and am not really tempted by any of the $4k and up models other than the 1266. Was surprised the 1266 was actually comfortable for me, and the LCDs were more comfortable than the one LCD-X I tried 4 years ago.

Only things I‘d hoped to hear but didn’t were some of the Final models, Jade 2, an original Stax 009 (which I have) to compare with the S and their latest, Kennerton, Grados, Stax Lambdas.

Loved finally getting to meet all the ZMF folks and some others who post on those threads.

Loved the dcs stacks everywhere but that’s not something I’d ever afford so those and many of the other very high end amps and DACs largely present the headphones better than I’d experience at home but was fun to indulge for a bit. Wanted to hear some of the lower end Ampsandsound amps which I could afford (love my Pendant SE).

Boy the WiFi was a problem, as was even having cell service in the main room.

Already expect to attend next year even though I really got nearly everything out of the event that I’d hoped to. Really nice to be at a show where some of the actual creators of products are showing off their gear, and interesting seeing some of the more well known reviewers in the flesh.

Kudos to all who put this show on and were vendors. Really great experience!

 

[adrianm]

There's a possibility that the source gear being DAPs and not full sized rigs at the ampsandsound table could have played into this. The higher voltage sources do offer a lot more low end weight and punch.

Not to say anything heard was wrong etc, this is audio! But it is something I noticed.

In case it's not obvious, Zach's just being nice here, that's exactly what it was
Noticed it myself with the Lina stack at 2V vs 6V into both the Lina amp and the Oor. No punch at 2v even with the Elites.

 

[Alexzander]

Any more descriptive impressions of the RS8 please?

 

[DarginMahkum]

T+A stuff is amazing!

Time flies, doesn't it? I remember taking the T+A duo (first the HA200 then the Solitaire P) home with such an excitement. Now I am sitting at the same desk but this time a Topping G5 connected to the same PC.

Anyway, was there ever a CanJam in Germany? Maybe the closest one is in London.

 

[iamoneagain]

I looked up what tube amp the DCA Stealth and Expanse headphones were hooked up to and it was an AmpandSound. Either the $9k Nautilus or the $12k Red October. While the Expanse sounded great out of that amp, the best pairing I heard was the $9k Woo WA23 Luna. The bass was fuller and simply amazing. Think if anyone heard the Expanse out this amp they’d think differently and would be wowed.

Think if I hadn’t already bought the Expanse before the meet, I might not come away with the idea that I liked it better than some of the other headphones. It’s very amp dependent and sounds just lackluster on the DCS Lina stack. Also, many other headphones grab your attention more but without spending time with the Expanse, you don’t realize how much detail and resolution they provide. And how they can have great bass and punch on the right setups.

I didn’t get to hear a lot of headphones but the LCD-5 and Meze Elite were my other favorites. Kind of wish people didn’t cut me off in the ZMF room and was able to give them a listen. If anything, I love the look of them. Also liked that they had a few matching amps with wood panels. So as far as looks, ZMF has everyone beat.