Yes, but you still need the bit rate. At 256k it is not cd quality and thus not lossless. CD quality is 1411KBS. And hires is much higher (9000 or so).
CanJam SoCal 2022 Impressions Thread (September 17-18, 2022)
- Thread starter AxelCloris
- Start date
I find it's more the source material. Not all streaming services have the same copy of the track. Some have multiple versions of a song and it can be an absolute pain to find the best one. You can deliver garbage in a lossless format high bitrate and it's still garbage.
Thanks for whoever recommended Le Shrimp Ramen!
To return the favor: highly recommend Christakis in Tustin. Get the rack of lamb!
To return the favor: highly recommend Christakis in Tustin. Get the rack of lamb!
The better recording will also have the higher bit rate ( up to cd levels anyway ). I am not aware of any great sounding albums that were mastered at 256kbs. Usually cd quality at a minimum. Then it can also sound good at lower bit rates depending on the setup.
Other opinions of mine that no one asked for: MM-500 sounds really nice. Almost can’t say anything about it since it’s so neutral. Comes alive on a tube amp tho. ZMF Planar sounds pretty solid, could do with more bass. CRBN sounds extremely precise and wide, bass is definitely a weak point, audible but no pressure. Some parts of Focal’s lineup is kinda meh to me. Stellia is the first one I noticed as good to my ears. Need to listen to Utopia 2022. Overall surprised by the fact they don’t have remarkable bass given they’re dynamic drivers and coated in beryllium. dCS Lina stack sounds awesome with the VZR Model One. That stack sounds awesome with everything honestly. Finally got to try the HD800S and I will say I thought they would be wider. I’ll try more IEMs tomorrow.
I agree with you. Even if you “can’t” tell the difference between 256kbps and lossless. Why even open the door to possibly having less objective sound quality. Lots of stations there were running lossless Tidal or Qobuz without issue. CD Qual is a minimum imo. Also you guys listen really loudly lol. Not everyone but I went after someone and almost blew my ears out cuz I forgot to turn the volume back down.
Nice....keep us posted
Whoever listen to 800 for first time has same reaction and that's because of most cliche statement in headphone world - "this headphone is not as wide as 800 or Arya". this line is used in all youtube videos.
I was expecting to be totally blown away, it’s a great headphone but I was expecting a life changing experience from the way people talk about it lol. It has a lot of front to back and top to bottom stage but I’ve definitely heard headphones that can place sounds further away than the HD800.
yeah, I think my friend and I are going to check out this place after the show tomorrow. Looks good and I — love — ramen!
I'm not certain if the pair I'm listening to needed to be burned in but I'm not impressed by the Utopia 2022 at this time. It sounds rather flat.
I'd legit rather save a rack and get an Expanse. Just had a whole spiritual experience listening to Mary J. Blige, & Eric Darius, on the Expanse. Bone chillingly good.
That's not the worst part. The 6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter used on that Lina stack sounds terrible. I never thought I could hear the difference between 6.3-to-3.5 adapters, but I could tell that the adapter sounded wrong before even switching it to my own adapter. The U18S is, as usual, a highlight of the show.
Doug2507
Headphoneus Supremus
I know everyone loves an open back but...any new closed backs there that stand out? (Not the mega bucks stuff)
Great. I was concerned about this. If after I try it tomorrow and have no choice but to buy one, my wife might divorce me.
HifiXman's Take
On Canjam Socal 2022:
A, For starters:
Wells Audio Headtrip III
The first setup I heard at the show which is definitely different to both the analysis focused Headtrip I and II that could tend to be a tad hot in the highs. With Well's own tube dac and preamp, the monologue system sounds warm, analogue, dynamic and authorative. As a result LCD5 feels as being driven fully with bass and button ends. Jeff, the CEO and Engineer, told me he could also add speaker posts with the output of 65W for 4 ohm without extra charge.
For engineers as Jeff coming from that times, the best sound must be from the old gay days. Therefore, you could just hear clearly the sound through their works. That sound and tonality could be appealing in loud speaker world, as the majority of audiophiles listening to loud speakers could be that generation from the marketing perspectives. However as the population in headfi could be dramatically different, made up largely with younger generation, therefore that tone could be a tad less modern by headfiers.
B, Tech talk with DCS engineer
(Practice my pretentious British accent
)
I had a tutoring session with one of the greatest and youngest engineer minds in the industry. The DCS folks in general are super caring, passionate and informative.
We chatted about dac technology as if more transformers the merrier ? What are the options for R2R to decide DSD? How could Lina dac use 4 bit narrow band to decode DSD. Besides, I showed him the interior design of DCS's new mega competitor from Japan, soulnote 3 Series, which I genuinely adore.
We covered the master clock technology, as the jitter issue of adding an external master clock, clock bypass vs clock lock, how many clocks do we need and phase sync for multiple clocks, what is the role and function for the built in clock and master clock.
We talked about the headphone amplifier technology and the pros and cons of implementing Class A, Class AB, and Class D.
I may not the biggest fan of DCS in the past as they sound a bit too smooth and too bland to me. Yet my sonic preference may change over time from beautiful and ethereal tuning and tonality (MSG) to realistic true to life sound with great spatial cues. Hearing the new Lina Line myself, I am taken aback largely by the final result. While it still sounds as DCS , but I can feel more muscle and bones within a realistic and astronomical three dimensions with minimal colorization different from many fun sounding R2R dacs. I ab compared Sus, TC, Utopia 2022 and LCD5 in Lina system with and without clock. Even using HD800s via XLR input, the large room doesn't sound empty, exaggerated nor void, but instead fulfilled and organic. Personally, I really like using HD800s with XLR to test gears' ability to not only hold that immense space, but also fill such huge room with information, body and soul.
The biggest surprise to me might be the flagship from Spirit Torino Valkyria Titanium, which perse could be a bit intense, forced and analytical but largely organized by Lina system. I prefer this setup than the one with Spirit's own flagship amp, which is super cool and aesthetically consistent to this can. If I have to choose a show fave, it is pretty much my solid Top 3.
What make Lina special is the amount of work, heart, passion, faith, and knowledge of these engineer brains. Both the dac and amp are built from ground up which are totally distinctive to Bartok. It is the implementation that set the units apart. I will say Lina has the most accurate location and space presentation in a natural and giant space, especially magical for on your face, agressive and beefy cans. DCS is good at calming down and training monsters.
We have been always chasing the sound, but what happened in the process is that we are mostly likely to be taught what is the correct or better sound by great designs. In this sense, I would argue Hifi could be more materialism than idealism in that we are being introduced to the sound by great materials, till then we might assume or simply at lost of what is the ultimate sound to chase. Switching from DCS to any dacs feels simply either spatially lacking/ incorrect or overly processed with added colorization.
While I really respect what DCS does, personally speaking I still long for some human factors that could move me more from DCS. At the end of day, what audiophiles seek in HIFI is emotional connection to the music.
C. Solid State Amps:
OG vs Young Blood
This year in solid state headamp world, we have witnessed many young blood as Enleum, Zahl ( both are way smaller than I expected, both sound more sterile than Riviera which is noticably more organic, more smooth, more macro and microdetails) and the aforementioned Lina as well as many traditional speaker minded companies debuted their first headphone amp, as Boulder and Esoteric.
I would say solid state amps are more similar, and yet they could also be different. I can feel the dynamics and authoration of Enleum ( love the design of driving both speakers and cans, cleaner and smoother than Zahl, Volume need to be maximized for Sus) and Zahl (similar tuning as Enleum but with bigger headroom, more power, and EQ functionality that could be fun to play and working well); the neturality and dark background of the classic Benchmark system (will Benchmark have a DAC 4 with ESS 9038 pro? not likely as I'm told); the warmth, air and musciality of Headamp GSX Mini; the big headroom, dynamics and clarity of Headamp GSX Mark II (pairs well with Weiss and MSB Discrete); the nuances and control of Niimbus (the previous so-called best solid state); the muscle, weight, strong dynamics, imaging and full solid notes of Boulder 812 (probably the most dynamic built-in head amp in all- in-one products, yet I wish for more spatial information), and the transparent, three dimensional and analogue sounding Esoteric N05XD.
Do I think the young blood could replace the OG? It is a hard call as they vary In sound representation with distinctive sonic signature. All I can say is they are definitely solid!
D. Private Room Retreat:
Legend never dies
Thanks to Marshall JT, I feel lucky enough to join a silent private room pilled with gears including the beloved BHSE with Weiss 503 and Boulder dac/pre/ headphone amp driving both ShangriLa SR and Stax X9000. I feel there is no limitation to the great potentials of the electrostatic OG BHSE.
Despite of all the experiments I did on BHSE ( to change the sound sig of BHSE to the opposite direction, adding JPS Black PAC PC or Wavedream DAC or Titan Helen Jitter Purifier can all turn BHSE to a bass and resolution monster), I am still highly impressed with the combo of Weiss dac and ShangriLa SR, which is my easy top 3 system at the show for sure. I feel it is more open, easy to ears, and more relaxed for long time listening than some alternative at this price range. One fellow audiophile friend in this room told me he can't listen to X9000 after hearing ShangriLa SR in this set-up. Back in Canjam London earlier this year, with HifiXman's own ShangriLa amp and Lapizator Tube DAC, folks told me after the show that they found it too sharp, lean and bright, which I can totally predict and also ganrantee it is not the case in this setup.
For tube rolling lovers, I'm mesmerized by Siemens EL34 tubes on BHSE with DCA Voce. I always know they are good tubes but till I heard it could I know how great they are. I might even prefer it to my Mullard XF2, the widely deemed best Mullard EL34. Siemens is definitely on my radar now.
E. HifiXman's TEC Theory:
(the Two Ends of the Continuum)
When you have enough empirical listening experience and observations of gears, it is natural to grow some personal philosophy and subjective generalization.
My theory is in many cases, if not all, the imaging (microdetails) and sound stage (macro-details) are, more often than not, sitting in the two opposite ends of the continuum, especially on entry, mid and mid-high fi level.
I found my theory could apply to two very popular products Woo Wa33 and W23. Jack Woo is also very open and precise regarding the sonic difference these two models that is WA33 has bigger stage and soft sound, while WA23 has more solid imaging and bottom end. Yet I'm sure wa234 Mark II, the pioneer monologue headphone amp design, is likely to be an exception to my generalization with both top notch imaging and sound stage. One fellow audiophile friend has pairs of pre-war 300B antique tube which cost the same as the amp 234. I wish I could demo it soon.
To be noted, the woo amps (3se, Woo23, woo33) at the show have installed the beautiful crystal sounding pasvon tubes which sound totally different than the fuller and hard hitting stock tubes. The presentation is dramatically different to my ears.
F. Reflection on "Good' Synergy
There are ones I thought I know very well feel less familiar this time with their new pairing. A previously warm and bass king electrostactic amp became netural after being replaced with treble focused tubes. I found out the amp that used to add to my Susvara with almost TC's slam has a brand new presentation after paired with new tubes and dac.
It is true that the tonality shifted to neturality and the stage expanded in both height and depth. Personally speaking, the original reasons that they got me crazy also dimished quite a bit. Yet I do acknowledge and recognize the positive changes for some other pairing. It made me rethink the classic question as what constitutes good synergy? Complement or enhancement, it is a question,
as well as the beauty of this hobby which is subject to the individual component, system and listener
G, The Hifi Minimalism:
Is this the direction for submit Fi?
The first time I heard Mytek Empire at Canjam NYC 2021 at its debut, I was like * I have to buy it. Over the last two years, I have tried it with my sus three times at shows at NY, CAl and Chicago and had multiple conversations with the engineer both in person and on the phone. I'm thrilled they added the HAT ( Harmonic Audio Tuning) filters of warm, warm ++, and warm +++ after I expressed my concerns that it could be a tad bright for some cans and systems. I was told it will be subtle and it is indeed very subtle, yet the rolled off highs and accompanied resolution loss are definitely audible my ears. Shout-out to @justin w. to carry the first batch of Empire in a giant suitcase to the show directly from FedEx on day two so folks could appreciate the new flagship from Mytek with upgraded firmware.
Even though the goal of Hifi has nothing necessarily to do with convenience, all in one is so easy to use with the best hands on user experience. After owning Esoteric's all in one, I am more and more attached to this minimalist idea of all-in-one design as it feels so neat to control everything in one box.
While piling boxes in larger and larger audio racks could be visually impressive and psychologically rewarding on what you have spent, it is another story when it comes to maintenance and utilization on the daily basis. Look how fast has the dCS Vivaldi One been sold out
On Canjam Socal 2022:
A, For starters:
Wells Audio Headtrip III
The first setup I heard at the show which is definitely different to both the analysis focused Headtrip I and II that could tend to be a tad hot in the highs. With Well's own tube dac and preamp, the monologue system sounds warm, analogue, dynamic and authorative. As a result LCD5 feels as being driven fully with bass and button ends. Jeff, the CEO and Engineer, told me he could also add speaker posts with the output of 65W for 4 ohm without extra charge.
For engineers as Jeff coming from that times, the best sound must be from the old gay days. Therefore, you could just hear clearly the sound through their works. That sound and tonality could be appealing in loud speaker world, as the majority of audiophiles listening to loud speakers could be that generation from the marketing perspectives. However as the population in headfi could be dramatically different, made up largely with younger generation, therefore that tone could be a tad less modern by headfiers.
B, Tech talk with DCS engineer
(Practice my pretentious British accent
)
I had a tutoring session with one of the greatest and youngest engineer minds in the industry. The DCS folks in general are super caring, passionate and informative.
We chatted about dac technology as if more transformers the merrier ? What are the options for R2R to decide DSD? How could Lina dac use 4 bit narrow band to decode DSD. Besides, I showed him the interior design of DCS's new mega competitor from Japan, soulnote 3 Series, which I genuinely adore.
We covered the master clock technology, as the jitter issue of adding an external master clock, clock bypass vs clock lock, how many clocks do we need and phase sync for multiple clocks, what is the role and function for the built in clock and master clock.
We talked about the headphone amplifier technology and the pros and cons of implementing Class A, Class AB, and Class D.
I may not the biggest fan of DCS in the past as they sound a bit too smooth and too bland to me. Yet my sonic preference may change over time from beautiful and ethereal tuning and tonality (MSG) to realistic true to life sound with great spatial cues. Hearing the new Lina Line myself, I am taken aback largely by the final result. While it still sounds as DCS , but I can feel more muscle and bones within a realistic and astronomical three dimensions with minimal colorization different from many fun sounding R2R dacs. I ab compared Sus, TC, Utopia 2022 and LCD5 in Lina system with and without clock. Even using HD800s via XLR input, the large room doesn't sound empty, exaggerated nor void, but instead fulfilled and organic. Personally, I really like using HD800s with XLR to test gears' ability to not only hold that immense space, but also fill such huge room with information, body and soul.
The biggest surprise to me might be the flagship from Spirit Torino Valkyria Titanium, which perse could be a bit intense, forced and analytical but largely organized by Lina system. I prefer this setup than the one with Spirit's own flagship amp, which is super cool and aesthetically consistent to this can. If I have to choose a show fave, it is pretty much my solid Top 3.
What make Lina special is the amount of work, heart, passion, faith, and knowledge of these engineer brains. Both the dac and amp are built from ground up which are totally distinctive to Bartok. It is the implementation that set the units apart. I will say Lina has the most accurate location and space presentation in a natural and giant space, especially magical for on your face, agressive and beefy cans. DCS is good at calming down and training monsters.
We have been always chasing the sound, but what happened in the process is that we are mostly likely to be taught what is the correct or better sound by great designs. In this sense, I would argue Hifi could be more materialism than idealism in that we are being introduced to the sound by great materials, till then we might assume or simply at lost of what is the ultimate sound to chase. Switching from DCS to any dacs feels simply either spatially lacking/ incorrect or overly processed with added colorization.
While I really respect what DCS does, personally speaking I still long for some human factors that could move me more from DCS. At the end of day, what audiophiles seek in HIFI is emotional connection to the music.
C. Solid State Amps:
OG vs Young Blood
This year in solid state headamp world, we have witnessed many young blood as Enleum, Zahl ( both are way smaller than I expected, both sound more sterile than Riviera which is noticably more organic, more smooth, more macro and microdetails) and the aforementioned Lina as well as many traditional speaker minded companies debuted their first headphone amp, as Boulder and Esoteric.
I would say solid state amps are more similar, and yet they could also be different. I can feel the dynamics and authoration of Enleum ( love the design of driving both speakers and cans, cleaner and smoother than Zahl, Volume need to be maximized for Sus) and Zahl (similar tuning as Enleum but with bigger headroom, more power, and EQ functionality that could be fun to play and working well); the neturality and dark background of the classic Benchmark system (will Benchmark have a DAC 4 with ESS 9038 pro? not likely as I'm told); the warmth, air and musciality of Headamp GSX Mini; the big headroom, dynamics and clarity of Headamp GSX Mark II (pairs well with Weiss and MSB Discrete); the nuances and control of Niimbus (the previous so-called best solid state); the muscle, weight, strong dynamics, imaging and full solid notes of Boulder 812 (probably the most dynamic built-in head amp in all- in-one products, yet I wish for more spatial information), and the transparent, three dimensional and analogue sounding Esoteric N05XD.
Do I think the young blood could replace the OG? It is a hard call as they vary In sound representation with distinctive sonic signature. All I can say is they are definitely solid!
D. Private Room Retreat:
Legend never dies
Thanks to Marshall JT, I feel lucky enough to join a silent private room pilled with gears including the beloved BHSE with Weiss 503 and Boulder dac/pre/ headphone amp driving both ShangriLa SR and Stax X9000. I feel there is no limitation to the great potentials of the electrostatic OG BHSE.
Despite of all the experiments I did on BHSE ( to change the sound sig of BHSE to the opposite direction, adding JPS Black PAC PC or Wavedream DAC or Titan Helen Jitter Purifier can all turn BHSE to a bass and resolution monster), I am still highly impressed with the combo of Weiss dac and ShangriLa SR, which is my easy top 3 system at the show for sure. I feel it is more open, easy to ears, and more relaxed for long time listening than some alternative at this price range. One fellow audiophile friend in this room told me he can't listen to X9000 after hearing ShangriLa SR in this set-up. Back in Canjam London earlier this year, with HifiXman's own ShangriLa amp and Lapizator Tube DAC, folks told me after the show that they found it too sharp, lean and bright, which I can totally predict and also ganrantee it is not the case in this setup.
For tube rolling lovers, I'm mesmerized by Siemens EL34 tubes on BHSE with DCA Voce. I always know they are good tubes but till I heard it could I know how great they are. I might even prefer it to my Mullard XF2, the widely deemed best Mullard EL34. Siemens is definitely on my radar now.
E. HifiXman's TEC Theory:
(the Two Ends of the Continuum)
When you have enough empirical listening experience and observations of gears, it is natural to grow some personal philosophy and subjective generalization.
My theory is in many cases, if not all, the imaging (microdetails) and sound stage (macro-details) are, more often than not, sitting in the two opposite ends of the continuum, especially on entry, mid and mid-high fi level.
I found my theory could apply to two very popular products Woo Wa33 and W23. Jack Woo is also very open and precise regarding the sonic difference these two models that is WA33 has bigger stage and soft sound, while WA23 has more solid imaging and bottom end. Yet I'm sure wa234 Mark II, the pioneer monologue headphone amp design, is likely to be an exception to my generalization with both top notch imaging and sound stage. One fellow audiophile friend has pairs of pre-war 300B antique tube which cost the same as the amp 234. I wish I could demo it soon.
To be noted, the woo amps (3se, Woo23, woo33) at the show have installed the beautiful crystal sounding pasvon tubes which sound totally different than the fuller and hard hitting stock tubes. The presentation is dramatically different to my ears.
F. Reflection on "Good' Synergy
There are ones I thought I know very well feel less familiar this time with their new pairing. A previously warm and bass king electrostactic amp became netural after being replaced with treble focused tubes. I found out the amp that used to add to my Susvara with almost TC's slam has a brand new presentation after paired with new tubes and dac.
It is true that the tonality shifted to neturality and the stage expanded in both height and depth. Personally speaking, the original reasons that they got me crazy also dimished quite a bit. Yet I do acknowledge and recognize the positive changes for some other pairing. It made me rethink the classic question as what constitutes good synergy? Complement or enhancement, it is a question,
as well as the beauty of this hobby which is subject to the individual component, system and listener
G, The Hifi Minimalism:
Is this the direction for submit Fi?
The first time I heard Mytek Empire at Canjam NYC 2021 at its debut, I was like * I have to buy it. Over the last two years, I have tried it with my sus three times at shows at NY, CAl and Chicago and had multiple conversations with the engineer both in person and on the phone. I'm thrilled they added the HAT ( Harmonic Audio Tuning) filters of warm, warm ++, and warm +++ after I expressed my concerns that it could be a tad bright for some cans and systems. I was told it will be subtle and it is indeed very subtle, yet the rolled off highs and accompanied resolution loss are definitely audible my ears. Shout-out to @justin w. to carry the first batch of Empire in a giant suitcase to the show directly from FedEx on day two so folks could appreciate the new flagship from Mytek with upgraded firmware.
Even though the goal of Hifi has nothing necessarily to do with convenience, all in one is so easy to use with the best hands on user experience. After owning Esoteric's all in one, I am more and more attached to this minimalist idea of all-in-one design as it feels so neat to control everything in one box.
While piling boxes in larger and larger audio racks could be visually impressive and psychologically rewarding on what you have spent, it is another story when it comes to maintenance and utilization on the daily basis. Look how fast has the dCS Vivaldi One been sold out
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Ahem, Make sure you have proper amplification and a lawyer on retainer good Sir!Great. I was concerned about this. If after I try it tomorrow and have no choice but to buy one, my wife might divorce me.
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