So many amazing headphones and amps/dacs on day 1. The Utopia 2022 fixed a lot of the things that I found a bit aggressive about the original. The Audeze MM-500 has a very unique balance that is really fun to listen to. Such a nice build quality too. My personal favorite (and what I ended up buying) were the ZMF Caldera. It has the lovely mids of their house sound with some really fun low end. The dCS stack was was super interesting.
CanJam SoCal 2022 Impressions Thread (September 17-18, 2022)
- Thread starter AxelCloris
- Start date
I'm in the market for closed backs, so I can share my 2 cents. I was trying to sample many different things, so I didn't listen for long. That'll be for tomorrow I suppose
DCA Stealth: Solid tonality. When listening to an instrumental track, I had a strange sensation like the sound was coming from 2 flat planes right next to my ears. No width to them. Didn't happen when I tried a different genre of music. They didn't sound closed at all.
DCA Aeon 2 Noire: Good tonality. Felt lacking in detail.
Meze Liric: V Shape with some strange stuff going on in the mids.
Verite Closed: Solid tonality. I preferred the brighter sound of the Be2 pads, but treble is personal. Could also be due to the floor noise.
Hifiman R10P: Solid all around. Out of my budget for a closed back though.
Hifiman R10D: Towards the muddy side
Focal Radiance and LCD XC were no complaints
Gonna note that these are first impressions that I recorded as short notes on my phone, so subject to change obviously.
Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
Wow, what style of creature is to the left?
@MezeTeam the 109 Pro is a lovely looking headphone. It sounds pleasant and inviting. Excellent work. I've heard 4 of your headphones to date and I like what you bring to the table.
sup27606
500+ Head-Fier
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Today I auditioned multiple headphones at Canjam, many of them top class, focal utopia 2022, Audeze CRBN electrostatic, DCA stealth, but none of them blew me away as did a pair of Raal Requisite SR1a hooked up to the $7000 VM-1A tube amp. The bass slam, the dynamism and treble air while retaining smoothness is simply exemplary. The soundstage gives the HD800 a run for its money. I also compared the SR1a to its little brother, CA-1a and it’s clear why the SR1a is 1.5 times the price. While retaining the bass slam and much of the imaging of its big brother, CA-1a suffers from a bit of hot treble peaks, similar to HD800, but to a lesser extent. I also heard more sibilance, while the SR-1a was smooth and flowing. This is from limited listening though. Both are quite exquisite headphones, especially when paired with the expensive tube amp.
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dfiled
500+ Head-Fier
Interesting — you mention the bass slam twice. I have heard lots of people say the SR1a was quite bass light.
sup27606
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Not with the Raal tube amp. That was the real deal, I suppose. Coming from the LCD-3, I am appreciative of good bass.
For anyone here at the Irvine Marriott for Canjam SoCal, I will have the EMPIRE EARS X ASTELL&KERN ODYSSEY in the lobby starting around 11pm tonight, I'll probably be down there for a about an hour or two, just shoot me a pm if you need help finding me.
My quick impressions on a bunch of stuff I heard and my favorites.
UM Mext: That bass is very very special, definitely an interesting IEM to try but not really mind blowing.
FatFreq Maestro Mini v1/v2: Tuning is super well done and the rest of it fills in fairly nicely: despite the bass focus everything else still sounds good. Pretty dang good given what they cost. Heavy reccomendation to Demo for any other bassheads.
Sennheiser IE600/IE900:
Both definitely seem to punch above their price a bit. IE900 is held back a bit by its tuning. IE600 are very good overall, worth the praise they've been getting. Fit on both was absolutely horrific for me.
64 U6t: I still absolutely cannot stand BA bass, instantly gives me a headache. Not heard a single iem with BA bass that I liked.
64 Trio: Still really dang good, overshadowed by some of the other stuff I've listened to, a step down from the highest tier of iems but still has a bit of magic of its own. Treble is a bit hot sometimes.
Fir NE4/XE6: Both good iems and especially in the case of the Xe6 impressive in their own rights. I found them incredibly fatiguing to listen to (I think) primarily due to the boosted midbass.
Effect Audio Axiom/Gaea: Axiom has very solid resolution, definitely a bit too aggressive for my tastes. Cool style but the fit definitely isn't great with how they're shaped. Gaea are definitely tuned better but lose some of the resolution and unique character in the treble and lower mids.
xMems: These demo units may have been 3D Printed and nothing special in build/fit, but man something thrown together like that has absolutely no business sounding that good at all. The resolution and separation they provided was very strong.
ZMF Caldera/Verite Closed:
Super good headphones. I enjoyed listening to them but it's hard to pinpoint or say anything specific given the noise level and how quiet I listen. (73db RMS is pretty loud for me). Attached is a photo of how I had the volume which was loud for me, mind. Still find absolutely no headphones comfortable in the slightest. The build on these is beautiful, you can see the craft and care put in.
Spirit Torino:
Enjoyable, some of the more (still not) comfortable headphones I've worn. I really enjoy the design work on these. Noise floor made it even harder to provide judgements, did sound great.
Favorites:
Elysian Annihilator:
Tuning is most certainly a bit too aggressive for my preferences and I solidly prefer the bass on the other three I have listed in my favorites. In terms of Mids/Treble and sheer resolution and resolving ability these absolutely wipe the floor with everything else I heard. Insanely impressive iems, they fit the picture of what I'd think a $5000 iem to sound like.
JH Audio Jolene: Absolutely nothing stood out as impressive, everything was just pretty good. For some reason they were just extremely captivating, sure there was nothing special in what they were doing but I just wanted to keep listening to music on them for as long as I could.
Fir KR5:
Going in I thought I'd like the NE4/Xe6 more, the tuning on this set was far more preferable. The bass here definitely has some special sauce, the ability to pull texture out and go deep was extremely good. Treble and mids were also very solid if not on the same level as the bass.
Empire Ears Legend Evo:
The bass on these goes insanely deep, closest to subwoofer level. The rest of the tuning leans a bit aggressive to provide some more level presence which definitely means they can be a bit much. Very solid set, high resolution across the board and I just wanted to keep trying out different tracks on these, definitely not the same as the Jolene which was more of a just relax and listen to music iem vs this where I just wanted to see how they'd make everything sound.
UM Mext: That bass is very very special, definitely an interesting IEM to try but not really mind blowing.
FatFreq Maestro Mini v1/v2: Tuning is super well done and the rest of it fills in fairly nicely: despite the bass focus everything else still sounds good. Pretty dang good given what they cost. Heavy reccomendation to Demo for any other bassheads.
Sennheiser IE600/IE900:
Both definitely seem to punch above their price a bit. IE900 is held back a bit by its tuning. IE600 are very good overall, worth the praise they've been getting. Fit on both was absolutely horrific for me.
64 U6t: I still absolutely cannot stand BA bass, instantly gives me a headache. Not heard a single iem with BA bass that I liked.
64 Trio: Still really dang good, overshadowed by some of the other stuff I've listened to, a step down from the highest tier of iems but still has a bit of magic of its own. Treble is a bit hot sometimes.
Fir NE4/XE6: Both good iems and especially in the case of the Xe6 impressive in their own rights. I found them incredibly fatiguing to listen to (I think) primarily due to the boosted midbass.
Effect Audio Axiom/Gaea: Axiom has very solid resolution, definitely a bit too aggressive for my tastes. Cool style but the fit definitely isn't great with how they're shaped. Gaea are definitely tuned better but lose some of the resolution and unique character in the treble and lower mids.
xMems: These demo units may have been 3D Printed and nothing special in build/fit, but man something thrown together like that has absolutely no business sounding that good at all. The resolution and separation they provided was very strong.
ZMF Caldera/Verite Closed:
Super good headphones. I enjoyed listening to them but it's hard to pinpoint or say anything specific given the noise level and how quiet I listen. (73db RMS is pretty loud for me). Attached is a photo of how I had the volume which was loud for me, mind. Still find absolutely no headphones comfortable in the slightest. The build on these is beautiful, you can see the craft and care put in.
Spirit Torino:
Enjoyable, some of the more (still not) comfortable headphones I've worn. I really enjoy the design work on these. Noise floor made it even harder to provide judgements, did sound great.
Favorites:
Elysian Annihilator:
Tuning is most certainly a bit too aggressive for my preferences and I solidly prefer the bass on the other three I have listed in my favorites. In terms of Mids/Treble and sheer resolution and resolving ability these absolutely wipe the floor with everything else I heard. Insanely impressive iems, they fit the picture of what I'd think a $5000 iem to sound like.
JH Audio Jolene: Absolutely nothing stood out as impressive, everything was just pretty good. For some reason they were just extremely captivating, sure there was nothing special in what they were doing but I just wanted to keep listening to music on them for as long as I could.
Fir KR5:
Going in I thought I'd like the NE4/Xe6 more, the tuning on this set was far more preferable. The bass here definitely has some special sauce, the ability to pull texture out and go deep was extremely good. Treble and mids were also very solid if not on the same level as the bass.
Empire Ears Legend Evo:
The bass on these goes insanely deep, closest to subwoofer level. The rest of the tuning leans a bit aggressive to provide some more level presence which definitely means they can be a bit much. Very solid set, high resolution across the board and I just wanted to keep trying out different tracks on these, definitely not the same as the Jolene which was more of a just relax and listen to music iem vs this where I just wanted to see how they'd make everything sound.
AudiophileJargon
100+ Head-Fier
I had a great time. Plenty of seat time with almost everything I wanted to hear today. I kept coming back to these rigs above for more. Es-R10 + gsx mini/liberty dac II was also pretty enjoyable imo.
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might try the closed back sundara???
Some IEM stand-outs and let-downs:
Oriolus Traillii and 64 U18S: Always a pleasure to listen to these two. A midrange that is colder than the 334-type but warmer than the Harman, which is, to me, as reference as it gets.
InEars PP8 and PMX: Can't pick which is my favorite. PMX has a slightly more recessed 1khz for a more exciting sound.
Victory Melody V44: Huge shell. Thunderous bass, warm and thick tone. Deep stage. Very emotional and engaging. There is a mid-treble peak but it doesn't bother me.
UM FuSang: The best UM IMO. Pretty much every other UM model sounds "surprising" in some way. This one is not. You get all the UM goodness with no surprise, how nice is that.
Westone Mach 50 and 60: Westone is back-back. Warm and smooth. No complaint I can think of. Wonder how they scale with better cables.
Softears Twilight: Easy to be over-looked among the Musicteck's generous offerings, but one of the better sound at the booth at one of the lowest price. Also built like it will last longer than everything else on the table.
FatFreq Maestro series: not because that they sound particularly good, but because they achieved a level of bass that I never thought was possible with IEMs. Must try.
Aroma Jewel: A nice warm midrange, held back by some upper treble brightness. I'm almost certain a better cable would fix it, but I didn't have the time to try. In the end, I feel like I can achieve this sound with a lot less than its MSRP.
Vision Ears Phonix and EXT: Being a fan of VE, I was probably overhyped for these. Phonix to me changed what shouldn't have been changed with the Erlkonig: the treble. EXT is just bright. Not piercing, surprisingly, but extremely bright.
UM Mentor Multiverse and Mason FS: I was surprised to hear how much they inherent the respective house sound (of the Mentor and Mason V1/V2/V3), along with the shortcomings of the previous versions. The Mentor inherent the somewhat odd treble and Mason the somewhat boxy midrange. I'd be fine with that if they kept the price the same as the previous versions.
UM MEST 2: Like the EXT, extremely bright.
Noble Viking Ragnar: Cold and emotion-less.
SE846 Gen 2: Can confirm they sound the same as the SE846 we all know. The booth isn't setup for a new-vs-old filter comparison, unfortunately.
JH Sherona: Good, but not Roxanne/Layla-good. I see no reason to go for JH in 2022 if not for a JH house sound.
FIR Audio Xenon 6 and Krypton 5: Sound like Campfire Audio when they started, trying to check the boxes of every possible tuning with their lineup, and in the end missing the most important box, a model with a normal sound.
64 U12T: I thought this would be a N5005 with no treble peaks, but no. There are still treble peaks. Not good enough when N5005 goes for 299.
Oriolus Traillii and 64 U18S: Always a pleasure to listen to these two. A midrange that is colder than the 334-type but warmer than the Harman, which is, to me, as reference as it gets.
InEars PP8 and PMX: Can't pick which is my favorite. PMX has a slightly more recessed 1khz for a more exciting sound.
Victory Melody V44: Huge shell. Thunderous bass, warm and thick tone. Deep stage. Very emotional and engaging. There is a mid-treble peak but it doesn't bother me.
UM FuSang: The best UM IMO. Pretty much every other UM model sounds "surprising" in some way. This one is not. You get all the UM goodness with no surprise, how nice is that.
Westone Mach 50 and 60: Westone is back-back. Warm and smooth. No complaint I can think of. Wonder how they scale with better cables.
Softears Twilight: Easy to be over-looked among the Musicteck's generous offerings, but one of the better sound at the booth at one of the lowest price. Also built like it will last longer than everything else on the table.
FatFreq Maestro series: not because that they sound particularly good, but because they achieved a level of bass that I never thought was possible with IEMs. Must try.
Aroma Jewel: A nice warm midrange, held back by some upper treble brightness. I'm almost certain a better cable would fix it, but I didn't have the time to try. In the end, I feel like I can achieve this sound with a lot less than its MSRP.
Vision Ears Phonix and EXT: Being a fan of VE, I was probably overhyped for these. Phonix to me changed what shouldn't have been changed with the Erlkonig: the treble. EXT is just bright. Not piercing, surprisingly, but extremely bright.
UM Mentor Multiverse and Mason FS: I was surprised to hear how much they inherent the respective house sound (of the Mentor and Mason V1/V2/V3), along with the shortcomings of the previous versions. The Mentor inherent the somewhat odd treble and Mason the somewhat boxy midrange. I'd be fine with that if they kept the price the same as the previous versions.
UM MEST 2: Like the EXT, extremely bright.
Noble Viking Ragnar: Cold and emotion-less.
SE846 Gen 2: Can confirm they sound the same as the SE846 we all know. The booth isn't setup for a new-vs-old filter comparison, unfortunately.
JH Sherona: Good, but not Roxanne/Layla-good. I see no reason to go for JH in 2022 if not for a JH house sound.
FIR Audio Xenon 6 and Krypton 5: Sound like Campfire Audio when they started, trying to check the boxes of every possible tuning with their lineup, and in the end missing the most important box, a model with a normal sound.
64 U12T: I thought this would be a N5005 with no treble peaks, but no. There are still treble peaks. Not good enough when N5005 goes for 299.
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Has anyone figured out how to wash their hands without the hand dryer kicking in on these?
Running water, working soap dispenser or functioning hand dryer. Pick any two.
xxearvinxx
100+ Head-Fier
What are those red headphones on the z10e?
I had a great time. Plenty of seat time with almost everything I wanted to hear today. I kept coming back to these rigs above for more. Es-R10 + gsx mini/liberty dac II was also pretty enjoyable imo.
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