[jurumal]

Thanks for the feedback. Definitely interested in this one and if anyone else gets a listen, please chime in.

Oh and yes, hidden indeed. Headphones.com posted this to their FB page and I can't even see it on the table! lol

Damn it! I missed DMS!

 

[amalgor]

Anyone had a chance to try the Warwick Bravura and the new Expanse?
I'm interested in them both and curious how they compare.

 

[Halimj7]

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.

What is that funky red headphone

What a great day Saturday was! I was pretty excited to be there, and enjoyed meeting fellow head-fiers and head-fi staff . Without further preamble, I'd like to give some winners and losers for me from Saturday, entitled, "Denver's ascent into summit fi!"



Winner: My first stop was into the ZMF private room. This got crowded, FAST! Great opportunity to meet Zach, Bevin, and the rest of the great staff of ZMF. My goal was to try out the three flagships, and I was able to demo 2 of the 3, the atrium and the caldera. Loving both the Auteur and the Auteur Classic, I had already convinced myself that I was going to buy an Atrium at the show. I also got the chance to listen to both of L0rdgwyn's amps, which pair excellently with the Atrium!

So why did I end up with a Caldera? In a head to head, it was a battle of the clarity and cleaner sound of the Caldera vs. the soundstage and engagement of the Atrium. I loved them both, but in the end, on an amp that could power it well, the Caldera had a smoother bass response while maintaining the excellent mids I'm used to from the other ZMF headphones. And I found it slightly easier to wear. Win. Zach's customer service with a minor issue was, in a word, phenomenal.

Winner: Second stop was into the room next door loaded with DCA. I was able to demo the Expanse and simply enough, it is the best headphone to date to come from DCA. I was quite impressed. The DCA reference sound, VERY comfortable (perhaps the most comfortable higher end headphone I've worn) and with musicality + a slight hint of warmth. If you have the means, this headphone has a lot going for it.

Into the showroom! I'm going to move things along a bit faster:

Winner: Soltaire T+A. I had never heard a headphone from this manufacturer before, and it was on my list to try. Extremely resolving, and very fast! The model under this flagship was also very good, but the T+A outshone it. I choked a bit when I heard the price, but this headphone is competitive with anything out there.

Winner: Amps and Sound. I LOVE my Bigger Ben, but the Nautilus and Red October puts it to shame. Dead silent, authoritative and clean bass, and the impact and presence of the amps are so powerful Good times. I also attended Justin's tube seminar, which was a lot of fun and I learned a good amount. I may have hit him up after to pester him about his favorite tube substitutes for the Ben and to talk about a the preamps he was using at the show. Between ZMF and AmpsandSound I feel pretty fortunate to have my love of audio supported by some great people in the business.

Winner: Meze 109. I'll be honest. I haven't had the chance to demo Meze's upper end gear. One of the reasons they haven't been on my list is that I DO NOT like the 99 classics. Really don't like them. The 109 corrected the things I didn't like, such as the mud pit of bass on the 99 and kept the light weight and comfort. These are great sounding headphones I would consider in their price range. Compared to a focal elex or clear I'd probably go with the 109's at this point.

Winner: Susvara. Here's a tip, don't bother to demo the susvara at hifiman's table. Firstly, they only had one susvara out, but after waiting on the rude guy who was A/Bing the Sus and Arya OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER (sorry) they finally had mercy on me and set up another. Conditions were so tight I could hear the music from the person next to me, while listening. Two songs and out. But..right next to them is the headphones.com tables. Open chair with a Sus right there. Perfect. This is an amazing sounding headphone and deserving of the endless praise.

Loser: Heddphone. Awkward to wear and a little hot up top for me. Uncomfortable for both listening and wearing.

Winners: U12t, PP8 and Mest2. All great iems and more comfortable than my previous favorite, the Monarch Mkii. The mest has quite a bit of subbass which is fun. The PP8 was a reference surprise, better than I thought it would be.

Loser: Dunu SA6. It's fine, and less expensive, but the didn't do anything for me I hadn't heard before.

Loser: New Focal Utopia. Hot take here. At first I thought it was wider than the previous Utopia, but after a few songs I was no longer sure. Still has the intense, must pay attention to me, enclosed focal sound. Highest level of technicalities, but after listening to other headphones for the day I found it too hot and too intense. Listening fatigue.

Thanks again to everyone I met. Please remember that these are my impressions only, and on a show room floor!

i just want to know if the 2022 Utopia has more bass slam/dynamics than the original. To my ear there is no TOTL headphone with more bass slam than Utopia (maybe 1266 can compete but FR and fit is so wonky).

 

[Skyediver]

Roon is playing coy and won’t share details, but happy to hint: I think we’re finally getting mobile functionality from them this coming week. Sweet!

 

[DenverW]

What is that funky red headphone

i just want to know if the 2022 Utopia has more bass slam/dynamics than the original. To my ear there is no TOTL headphone with more bass slam than Utopia (maybe 1266 can compete but FR and fit is so wonky).

I couldn't say honestly, it was in the middle of the show floor at the bloom table. I did feel like there was plenty of bass.

 

[MRHiFiReviews]

DCA Expanse Live From CanJam SoCal 2022 with Dan Clark At 1 PM PST!

 

[zen87192]

Brilliant day on Saturday... early in and spent a fabulous day at the show. Saw and heard loads. Gotta leave off today as I spent a fortune yesterday when I shouldn't have really. I had to get those Dark Forces under control by visiting Galaxy's Edge.

 

[msq123]

What is that funky red headphone

Perun voice live sound

http://perun.prfi.ru/view-item.php?id=28

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/perun-electrostatic-headphone-impressions.872273/

 

[jlbrach]

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.

I have both and one thing I would not say about the sr-1a would be bass slam...also in terms of sibilance I hear more from the sr-1a..I love them both but do not hear things as you do but I do not have the vm-1a

 

[SpeleoFool]

Getting a slow rolling start today after listening to Caldera on Nautilus until well after 3am.

Atrium on Nautilus has been my favorite chain for some time now due to natural timbre and excellent dynamics. Caldera ups the ante with planar speed and control.

The combo with Nautilus is potent: vivid, powerful, rich, detailed--just ... everything. It's everything I loved about Atrium mashed up with everything I love about Susvara.

The track of the night was "Tin Pan Alley." The entire listen was simply enrapturing. I forgot where I was or that I was even wearing headphones as I hung on every note and nuance, from the most delicate to thunderous.

https://song.link/us/i/193063844

Listening continued into the wee hours and covered diverse ground from Tanerelle to Infected Mushroom. Bass was particularly good--deeply extended, perfectly controlled, and still punchy. "Fading Sun" has been a recent favorite test for bass extension and tonality / timbre; on this chain it was as good as I've heard it--bass digs deep into "felt more than heard" territory anchoring immaculately pure percussion notes.

https://song.link/us/i/351807362

Huge thanks to @ampsandsound for throwing a new pair of rectifiers my way to get my amp back up and running / enabling this unforgettable listening session!

 

[sup27606]

I have both and one thing I would not say about the sr-1a would be bass slam...also in terms of sibilance I hear more from the sr-1a..I love them both but do not hear things as you do but I do not have the vm-1a

Many other people said the same as you, so I tend to believe that the tube amp has something to do with the sound improvement. Also, the source was a RME-ADI 2 DAC which is capable of good EQ implementation. I am not sure if what I was hearing was EQed or uncolored sound. I mentioned this in a followup post this morning. Nevertheless, with the right audio chain, the SR1a is capable of great impression, that's good to know.

 

[carboncopy]

Many other people said the same as you, so I tend to believe that the tube amp has something to do with the sound improvement. Also, the source was a RME-ADI 2 DAC which is capable of good EQ implementation. I am not sure if what I was hearing was EQed or uncolored sound. I mentioned this in a followup post this morning. Nevertheless, with the right audio chain, the SR1a is capable of great impression, that's good to know.

It was the same setup at Münich (with the RME). No EQ was there to my knowledge. And I have to say the VM1a/SR1b combo is even better with a tubed R2R DAC. No sibilance at all...nothing, just pure music. And yes, it can slam...

 

[xirxes]

Thanks for the feedback. Definitely interested in this one and if anyone else gets a listen, please chime in.

Oh and yes, hidden indeed. Headphones.com posted this to their FB page and I can't even see it on the table! lol

Its either directly behind the Susvara or this pic was taken day one early, before the rep dropped it off.

 

[catom]

anyone down for a meetup this afternoon??? coffee beer at the bar????

Hey, I'm down. Enjoyed your insights here. Would love to grab a drink.

 

[xirxes]

Roon is playing coy and won’t share details, but happy to hint: I think we’re finally getting mobile functionality from them this coming week. Sweet!

What they told me when I grabbed him by the shirt and yelled “Spill the beans!” Was

“Well there is a picture of a car in the notice…we are always looking to expand our service integration into different applications”