[Shape77]

Biggest IEM disappointments, in order of disappointment relative to expectations:

• Elysian Annihilator- Beautiful IEM. But the bass is a little flabby and lacks impact. The stage is average-ish and the tonality is a little plasticky. Also the nozzle is GIANT and the fit was never gonna be 'all day comfortable' for me. Sorry, that is what I wrote down.

I'm curious: which source did you use with Annihilator? They need a powerful source to give their best and your listen experience seems too far from mine

 

[PreeminentPeace]

I'm curious: which source did you use with Annihilator? They need a powerful source to give their best and your listen experience seems too far from mine

I second that. The bass did open up a lot with a good source but I also agree with 04gto. It was the biggest disappointment of the show for me. I almost blind bought one based on all the hype a year ago. Very glad I didn’t. I thought even when properly driven 04gto’s description of average stage with a plastic tonality was fair. The bass does significantly get more impact but it never one’s wowed me. Subsonic Storm stole the show for me. If he wasn’t 4 months backordered and apparently changing the materials and possibly upping the price even more for the next batch it would be an instant buy for me.

 

[nephilim32]

Greetings from the Director's Garage! Great day! I missed CanJam last year because of the Queen's funeral. Super excited to make this year's event. I met a lot of folks-- and some truly inspiring artisans. The day started and ended at DCS, where I got to experience the DCS Lina system with and without the clock in the chain. I have the DCS Lina DAC/Streamer-- and the clock adds clarity and depth, and even lets the bass cut through mixes a bit better (a surprise there). Is it $8000 better? Well...




Next stop was the 64Audio table-- had to check out the new Velur. Bass cannon! Fire!



Just across the way was an open seat for the OG HEDDphone. Nice place to escape while waiting to check out the new HEDDphone 2. Added bonus, got to play with an RME DAC/Amp, good stuff!



Then the seat opened and I got to check out the new HEDDphone 2. Can't really speak to the tuning and stage-- these sound like there are funnels attached to them amplifying the sound of the crowd in the room! Open back? Ya think?!! I'm going to need a quieter room for any meaningful assessment. But cool to check them out.



No CanJam trip is complete without worshipping at the alter of Noble Audio. Goodness these guys do things next level. This photo doesn't begin to capture the beauty of the new Spartacus. Simply stunning, and what a fun tuning. Super enjoyable IEM. Another hit for Noble. They continue to impress with each release. Unfortunately I forgot to shoot their new FoKus Pro Wizard edition. Folks-- the battery case matches the wireless IEM, and no two cases are alike because they are natural materials. It's audio jewelry, and among the best TrueWireless IEMs for sound.



Sticking with IEMs, I hit up Empire Ears and their new Raven. Basically they took what was great about the Odin and added a more robust, but tight bass, and shaved a bit off the upper mids to smooth them over. Perfection.



I was hoping for a session in the Warwick Acoustics booth, but the line. The line. The line. So I moved to the Woo Audio/Abyss room. Finally got a session with the Diana, paired with the new WA-23. It's just art. Beautiful headphone. Beautiful amp.



Jumped tables to check out the new Woo Mini dongle DAC. Definitely a highlight. I was thinking an iPad with this dongle would be an outstanding road rig for nearly any headphone or IEM.



Over in the ZMF room I had a long conversation with Zac and Bevin-- lovely and inspiring-- both of them. Tables were pretty full, but I did get to finally hear the Holo Audio May/Bliss stack with my ZMF Caldera. Very impressive. I nearly bought this rig last year.



I love the Kinera Nanna 2.0. One of my most used IEMs. Well I had to check out their latest flagship the Loki. One of the best sounds of the day, for sure. Terrific IEM.



Headphones.com had a LOT of gear. They know how to do a CanJam! A must listen for me, since I missed last year, was the Zahl HM-1 and they are the only US distributor. I pulled out my Caldera and dove in deep. This is a formidable amp. One of the best I've ever heard. Bonus: It was paired with the Weiss 502. Yep, nearly $20k in a system. Why not?



The fellow next to me got up, so I swiped the new Hifiman Arya organic for a listen. This could be one of the best values on the market today, and one of Hifiman's best looking headphones.



Checking back on that Warwick booth. Nope. Unless I had an hour to kill in the cue! At the end of the room was something special. I'm a reel-to-reel person and attached to it was an $18k Viva tube amp. Delicious. Audio porn.




My oh my. I wanted to hear the new Grand Caymen amp from HeadAmp, but they didn't have it at the show. But I did get to hear the Blue Hawaii (Mine is for sale in Head-Fi classifieds! LOL) paired with the Corina from Dan Clark. Excellent tuning.



I've been a fan of Unique Melody since the original MEST. Welcome the MEST 3.0! It's just as impressive as the original, but it sounds more refined. It's a more elegant design, too.



Also at the MusicTeck table, I got a listen to a prototype that isn't in production. Kind of an honor that the designer sat down and asked me for my thoughts on the sound. Then I heard the new Unique Melody flagship, the Mentor. Wow. Impressive.



And the new DAC/Streamer/Amp doitall from Lotoo called the Mjolnir (really? Another Mjolir? We need more names for this stuff!). This thing has serious potential. This is still a prototype, I was told.



I finished off the day back at DCS where I was asked to stop by and check out the Rossini Apex. Easily the best system of the day. It should be!



CanJam? That's a wrap! Said, "Hey!" to Jude in the hallway. We are in a golden era for headphones and IEMs. We've never had a field this rich with terrific sounding gear. A nod of appreciation for all of these exhibitors who keep managing to top themselves. Cheers, folks! Until next year...

You did absolutely amazing in one day.
You covered some great ground.

 

[HeadAmpTeam]

What a busy day today! Seeing everyone again and meeting quite a few of you for the first time was fantastic. We want to thank everyone who could stop by our table this year. It was a pleasure to have you all as our guests, and we hope you enjoyed the first day as much as we did! For those who had a chance to explore our products for the first time, what did you enjoy the most?

For day 2, we'll have a little more information to share about our CFA3 and Grand Caymen amplifiers, including a rough estimate for delivery and shipping; so please don't hesitate to stop by, have a listen, and ask whatever questions you may have.

Finally, while we didn't get to take as many pictures this year as usual, we're excited to share this great shot with all of you. We can't wait to read your feedback and see all the incredible pictures taken at our table!

 

[Feischmaker]

I also got to hear Christian's upcoming collaboration with Jupiter Audio Research on a modded HD600 called the NITSCH JAR600. You wouldn't believe what that 600 sounds like with these mods. Incredible.

NGL, i jumped from my seat in excitement reading this.
This is one item i need to acquire for sure.

 

[buckster666]

CanJam 9/30/2023 F
Warwick was the only vendor with their own sound booth on the main floor. Smart move to allow visitors to hear their products in a quieter environment.
FIIO undoubtedly had the coolest desktop music play with their vertical format cube that has a nice, tall display for cover art and time. It kept catching my eye and it just goes to show that a music player doesn't have to be flat, black and boring!
Each vendor is more than happy to talk to you about specs, design, pricing, music performance, and more, so do take the time to do more than test and say hi, ask them what's unique about their products. You'll learn a ton in no time!
The crowds weren't bad between 11am and 2pm, so no more than a 5 to 10 minute wait to get to try something on display. Naturally, if the person ahead of you is having a great time listing to their newfound favorties, you might be better off detouring to test some other products before returning to a shorter wait.

Was that the Fiio R9?

 

[Benke]

What a busy day today! Seeing everyone again and meeting quite a few of you for the first time was fantastic. We want to thank everyone who could stop by our table this year. It was a pleasure to have you all as our guests, and we hope you enjoyed the first day as much as we did! For those who had a chance to explore our products for the first time, what did you enjoy the most?

For day 2, we'll have a little more information to share about our CFA3 and Grand Caymen amplifiers, including a rough estimate for delivery and shipping; so please don't hesitate to stop by, have a listen, and ask whatever questions you may have.

Finally, while we didn't get to take as many pictures this year as usual, we're excited to share this great shot with all of you. We can't wait to read your feedback and see all the incredible pictures taken at our table!

Hi. I am following this thread from EU. I am interested of information and feedback for the two CFA 3 versions. I know there are some differences of components. I want to
know about any differences in the sound character between them. Firstly I would use the amp with my Expanse headphones. I also want to know something about the
prices. I really hope you could share more information about this for day 2.

 

[frank2908]

How is the Grell x drop headphones? I have made some prototype with extreme front and angle driver before, and my experience in those design contradicts with the idea. The sound was more closed in and sounds like a Grado instead of speaker like or holographic soundstage. So Kudos to Alex Grell if he can pull it off, as execution is key here and is is not as easy as just tilting the driver.

 

[Skullar]

Also at the MusicTeck table, I got a listen to a prototype that isn't in production. Kind of an honor that the designer sat down and asked me for my thoughts on the sound.

Where does that new prototype sit in relation to MM and Mest 3?

 

[phiemon]

Where does that new prototype sit in relation to MM and Mest 3?

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/uni...nt-and-impression-thread.924844/post-17756196

 

[Alenotta]

How is the Grell x drop headphones? I have made some prototype with extreme front and angle driver before, and my experience in those design contradicts with the idea. The sound was more closed in and sounds like a Grado instead of speaker like or holographic soundstage. So Kudos to Alex Grell if he can pull it off, as execution is key here and is is not as easy as just tilting the driver.

Soundstage is between the 600 and 800 series. It didn’t stand out as a gimmicky sound or anything. They’ve made some design decisions with the interior shape and materials to soften the bounced waves and focus more on those initial sounds hitting the pinna. The tuning seemed brighter than 600 series, but it is hard to tell with an open on the show floor. It sounded a little more V shaped with less forward mids / vocal region as compared to my 6xx (Only by memory - I didn’t have them there to A/B). I personally would enjoy it more on a warmer source chain, but I’m not a dead neutral kind of listener. It is a really cool concept and I think it has a lot of potential. If anyone can do it Grell can.

 

[Smirk 24]

I second that. The bass did open up a lot with a good source but I also agree with 04gto. It was the biggest disappointment of the show for me. I almost blind bought one based on all the hype a year ago. Very glad I didn’t. I thought even when properly driven 04gto’s description of average stage with a plastic tonality was fair. The bass does significantly get more impact but it never one’s wowed me. Subsonic Storm stole the show for me. If he wasn’t 4 months backordered and apparently changing the materials and possibly upping the price even more for the next batch it would be an instant buy for me.

Did the Subtonic team share when the regular edition would launch by any chance?

 

[04gto]

I'm curious: which source did you use with Annihilator? They need a powerful source to give their best and your listen experience seems too far from mine

Tried the Annihilator and Gaea on a Qudelix 5K (balanced) and a Chord Mojo 2. Sound quality was about the same on both. Maybe the bass was slightly better on the Mojo 2. But mostly the Mojo 2 just gave more volume and headroom.

 

[Shape77]

Tried the Annihilator and Gaea on a Qudelix 5K (balanced) and a Chord Mojo 2. Sound quality was about the same on both. Maybe the bass was slightly better on the Mojo 2. But mostly the Mojo 2 just gave more volume and headroom.

Qudelix 5k has very low output power (240mW at 32 ohm per chamnel) , the Mojo 2 is surely better (600mW at 30ohm), but you should try them on a more powerful source to get the best from them.

I used my iFi Gryphon with balanced cable (1000mW per channel @32ohm) and I found them amazing, there's a huge difference if you use the right source.

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

DMS
Another big speaker sound came from the DMS headphone. I thought it was a very exciting tuning (especially on the super expensive amp I demo-ed it on). Lots of low end. The treble energy was there, but it wasn't fatiguing. I want to try it on some different amps tomorrow.

Thanks for your great impressions, I very much appreciated them. May I ask for more details on this DMS headphone, please? Google searches don't help (I get only DMS the youtuber in the results!)

And is this it?