Appreciate the opportunity to listen to the HE 1 (first one on Sunday), as for source, line out on my Shanling M3X using local files.
CanJam SoCal 2023 Impressions Thread
- Thread starter AxelCloris
- Start date
It's a tough thing to balance: if we increase the number of sign ups over the 2 days, there's simply less time for each head-fi'er to listen which is no bueno (imagine cutting a pizza pie into smaller slices to feed more people). If we eliminate signups altogether, you get some ball hogs (though I understand why) and we want more people to experience it. We're working on getting more than 1 pizza pie, which could certainly help at the busier NYC and SoCal shows. If that happens we'll announce it for certain. Brining HE 1 into the main room is just not going to happen.Isn’t the sign-up list due to demand??
Everyone wants to have a listen!!!
Unrelated, but I like the Ears > Eyes maxim in your sig. Looking forward to the Sennheiser presence in NYC CJ next year!
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I approve. At London Canjam I had trouble to test some IEMs and it was impossible to clearly evaluate open back HPs for the murmurs in the main room, while the peace in the HE-1 room was the ideal place to listen to it!
More Impressions from day 2:
- Fatfreq Maestro SE- This was surprising. I was prepared for an overwhelming bassy experience. (see Scarlet) but this thing was very warm, yet very detailed. This is the best new IEM I have tried (can you hear my wallet weeping in anticipation?) Now, about the cables......all I want to say is I tried the stock cable and the upgraded cable. This is the first time I have EVER noticed a significant change /improvement with cables. I have always believed that cables COULD make a difference, but never experienced a notable change enough to call it an improvement. I am a cable denier. I was listening on a high end Sony dap (WM1ZM2), so volume was digitally set and I did not change it between cables and I listened to the same tracks back to back. The upgraded cable was louder by maybe 3db and the midrange drums and vocals were warmer and fuller. That is what I repeatedly heard…anyway.
- Subtonic Storm. Best bass quality of any non DD IEM I have tried and one of the best bass reproductions overall. Best stock tuning maybe on the market for me. It is not good at everything, it is GREAT at everything. Wow.
- Nightjar Singularity- Best DD only IEM I have tried. Great stock tuning (maybe some sharpness around 4-5k?). Even though I loved the IE600, this is what I wanted the IE600 to be. Better in every way. More balanced treble and more bass slam and texture.
- Fatfreq Scarlet- Are you a REAL basshead? Meet your new IEMs. I have never heard ANY IEM close to this in pure, head filling, pounding, fun bass. I loved it with daft Punk, hiphop and similar. But for anything else the bass is too much. This is the first IEM where for most genres I would have to apply a 10db minus bass shelf!
- DUNU Mirai- I owned the SA6 OG and loved the sound but I couldn't get the fit right. These sound like a SA6 with better bass and better timbre. Great all arounder. However because Precogvision collabed on this I was expecting more bass volune and impact. Not to say it was lacking. It was just more balanced than expected. Slightly V shaped. Best sounding DUNU for my taste. Safe bet at about $700 ( I don't know the price).
1. Fatfreq Maestro SE
2. 64 Audio Volur
3. QDC Anole VX
4. Subtonic Storm
5. Nightjar Singularity
6. Empire Ears Raven
7. Symphonium Crimson
8. Elysian Annihilator
9. DUNU Mirai
10. Fatfreq Scarlet
Any other IEMs that I tried didn't really catch my attention enough to warrant mention.
Thanks for the impressions! I think Mirai is a little north of 1k btw. At least that's what I've heard.
Precog actually has a graph for the Mirai and it seems to have a healthy amount of bass. It aligns somewhat with the U12t M20 configuration up until the 2k region.
https://precog.squig.link/?share=Precog_Target,64_Audio_U12t_(M20),DUNU_Mirai_S2
Graph or not, It don't sound that way in my ears. In the same way that the bass on the U12t m15 graph's similarly to the Trio, yet Trio sounds like it has way more bass quantity and impact. Many things can't be measured.
deep2285
Member of the Trade: Audio Geek India
You didn't try the FATfreq Grand Maestro?
Tchoupitoulas
100+ Head-Fier
That would be amazing. That you guys afford us the opportunity to hear the HE-1 is a tremendous privilege, in and of itself, especially given how few of us will go on to buy a pair. So, irrespective of the number of pies, do please keep letting us indulge! I'd suggest that the experience of listening to such lovely headphones helps develop a loyal following. I've owned three Sennheiser headphones and still have a beloved pair.
Now if you could please bring the HE 60 - or an equivalent - back to the market, I suspect I'd be one among many to buy them. And, if this were to happen, I'm sure your 2-pie HE-1 auditions would generate plenty of HE 60 sales!
dsherrick
New Head-Fier
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I've seen very few impression of the new Softears Enigma. (And those that did get expressed seemed faintly negative.) As a huge fan of the Turii Ti, I'd love to hear more from anybody who had a chance to listen to the Enigma, and particularly if anybody can compare it to Turii Ti. Thanks!
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We hope everyone enjoyed this year's CanJam; this was easily our busiest show, with so many of you eager to hear the all-new HeadAmp CFA3! We appreciate everyone who took a moment to listen to our newest flagship Class A Headphone Amplifier!
We had four systems in our shared room with Dan Clark Audio. Each accessible via roon tied together by the outstanding new Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II, which served as a Roon core for the entire room!
At the far left, we had the; EarMen ST-Amp All-in-one & EarMen Angel paired with the Dan Clark Audio Aeon Noire 2.
Moving from left to right, we had the EarMen Tradutto DAC as a source for our HeadAmp Gilmore Lite MK2 and the EarMen CH-Amp paired with the Sennheiser HD 800S, Meze 109 Pro and later the Dan Clark Audio Expanse as well.
Followed by the: EarMen Tradutto DAC as a source for our HeadAmp GS-X Mini & HeadAmp GS-X MK2 paired with the Dan Clark Audio Stealth and Abyss 1266 Phi TC.
Finally, on the far right was our brand new HeadAmp CFA3 Headphone Amp - Deluxe Edition and HeadAmp Blue Hawaii Special Edition sourced by the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II via its line-level analog output. With the Hifiman Susvara for listening on CFA3 and the STAX SR-X9000, STAX SR-009S & later the Dan Clark Audio Corina Electrostatic headphones on the BHSE!
Thanks again to everyone who stopped by; we look forward to seeing you all again at the next CanJam! Till then, we're excited to continue reading your impressions and enjoying all your incredible photography.|
We had four systems in our shared room with Dan Clark Audio. Each accessible via roon tied together by the outstanding new Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II, which served as a Roon core for the entire room!
At the far left, we had the; EarMen ST-Amp All-in-one & EarMen Angel paired with the Dan Clark Audio Aeon Noire 2.
Moving from left to right, we had the EarMen Tradutto DAC as a source for our HeadAmp Gilmore Lite MK2 and the EarMen CH-Amp paired with the Sennheiser HD 800S, Meze 109 Pro and later the Dan Clark Audio Expanse as well.
Followed by the: EarMen Tradutto DAC as a source for our HeadAmp GS-X Mini & HeadAmp GS-X MK2 paired with the Dan Clark Audio Stealth and Abyss 1266 Phi TC.
Finally, on the far right was our brand new HeadAmp CFA3 Headphone Amp - Deluxe Edition and HeadAmp Blue Hawaii Special Edition sourced by the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II via its line-level analog output. With the Hifiman Susvara for listening on CFA3 and the STAX SR-X9000, STAX SR-009S & later the Dan Clark Audio Corina Electrostatic headphones on the BHSE!
Thanks again to everyone who stopped by; we look forward to seeing you all again at the next CanJam! Till then, we're excited to continue reading your impressions and enjoying all your incredible photography.|
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I didn't like it. But I did shove like 40 iems into my ears over 2 days. It wasn't great.
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Finally collected my thoughts about everything I got to hear over the past two days. What an absolute whirwind of an experience. Amazing getting to run around from vendor-to-vendor listening to all these incredible headphones and then chatting about it with the people who made it, or the people sitting next to you demo’ing at the same time. Absolute must experience for any audiophile and I look forward to next year.
While I listened to some headphones on the second day, I am primarily an IEM guy and came to CanJam with the express purpose of checking out the dozens of IEMs I’ve always wanted to hear but lacked access to without blind buying. My secondary purpose was to identify what my next IEM will be, with a special interest in CIEMs as I’ve never owned a set before.
My library is made up of electronic/house/ambient stuff, metal/metalcore, modern hiphop/pop, indie folk and rock etc. No Kpop/Jpop/Classical/Jazz etc. My CanJam playlist that I was cycling through had songs from Christian Loffler, Fejka, Lorde, Bon Iver, TTNG live, Feist, Jesus Piece, Underoath, Earl Sweatshirt etc etc. If you’re now going “Who are those people” or “man this guy has trash taste”, that’s OK, now you know why my impressions or approach to listening does not line up with your own. Feel free to disregard, or to use me as a helpful resource to do the opposite of.
With that in mind, I do want to be up front about a few things:
Vibe Checks, in mostly no particular order:
All listening done out of my Shanling M8, balanced 4.4 (except for Odin and EXT which where 2.5), with whatever gain was appropriate for what I was listening to at the moment. FLAC files from my SD card, streaming was a nightmare the whole time anyways.
Subtonic/Nightjar Acoustics joint table
Right at doors open on Saturday I beelined it for this table. Storm is not in the cards for me moneywise, but it was at the very top of my “must hear” list if I could find it. Since I got there early, I got to spend a bit time with it without people waiting behind me which was awesome.
Storm: As advertised – Neutral but with great dynamics. ”Fun neutral”. Fantastic center image and separation. Ultimately not as much bass quantity as I’d want, but what was there kicked like a mule. I threw some crappy recordings at it too just to see if it was a bit too clinical and would make them harsh, but it handled those perfectly well and I was banging my head along with it. I liked the shells better in person than I expected to, and they had a new vs old comparison to check out. Not for sale at the time - they showed up all the way from Singapore just to flex lol. They used the words “overwhelming demand” when describing trying to catch up the backlog. Good for them, they deserve the success they’ve earned. Really special set.
Singularity: Nice bass heavy set that pulled off lots of bass while retaining vocal clarity and treble sparkle. Smaller than I thought they would be and fit nicely. Wanted plenty of power. Didn’t listen for too long because Duality free’d up and I wanted to grab that while I had the chance.
Duality Prototype: Similar party tricks to singularity in terms of lots of great bass but with present vocals and treble. Kicked up a notch with the treble quality and separation it seemed like. Before I left, they gave me an adapter that took the bass to hilarious levels, and I was sitting there cracking up at it while they were sitting there cracking up at me cracking up at it. Great fun from a basshead set, hopefully they include the adapter with the final product.
Symphonium Audio
Seated right across from the Subtonic/Nightjar table, so I stopped there after. I have owned the Helios in the past and enjoyed it, but sold it along due to the fit. Currently own the Helios SE which I quite enjoy. Crimson was on my “need to hear” list.
Crimson:
On first listen, it sounded like my Helios SE but with the midbass scoop removed, but there was something about the treble that was a bit hot for my liking. They said “hold on” and switched the tips for me to a more open bore set, and I don’t know if I had a bad seal the first time around or if the tips made all the difference but the treble issue was gone in in its place was some great soundstage and imaging. I think if people liked Helios/Helios SE, but wanted just a bit more midbass and some extra technicalities this would be a great set to check out. Before I left they gave me a giga cable that was basically a massive version of the stock cable to check out Crimson with it which was hilarious. Both this table and the previous did a great job making the listening sessions low stress and tons of fun.
64 Audio:
Back in the day when I first joined Head-fi as a fledgling audiophile, and 64 Audio was 64 Ears, the U12 Adel was my first high-end set of IEMs. I think I paid $1400 for them in 2016 with a holiday discount of some sort, which was insane at the time even for a TOTL product (little did we know……). I enjoyed it but was always bugged by bass being not quite what I needed. These were simpler, less degenerate gear flipping times, and so I listened to them exclusively for several years until I really felt I got my money’s worth and as such they are probably my most listened to set of audiophile IEMS ever. I have heard exactly 0 other IEMS from 64 Audio since.
U12t:
I liked these. Nice center image and layering. Took the edge off of everything and made it sound good. Not a set that immediately stands out, but can understand people appreciating these the more they listen to them. I liked the bass response. Could kick when it needed to. A bit too neutral for me. Awesome that these essentially cost what I paid for my U12 adel’s 7+ years ago. Given the acclaim, 64 Audio probably could have pulled off a couple big “inflation, you know?” price raises on these over time. Kudos.
Volur:
They had the M20 module in but I had them switch it to the M15 before listening. Shells are beautiful looking. Retained the “nothing hurts” style presentation of the U12t’s mids and treble, but add a DD and some extra warmth to it. I think it lost something in the process, and this crossed the line into a bit boring to me. Preferred the U12t, even in the bass regions despite the BA’s. YMMV.
Oriolus:
The Mk2’s were my second real set of high-end IEMs, my first hybrids (not that there were many options back then), and the first bit of audio gear that blew me away. I can probably credit these for cementing this hobby for me and they’ll always have a special place in my heart. Bought them used here on Head-fi, and the DD in one of the monitors crapped out about 6 months or so later. What can you do. Tried to send them back to Japan to get fixed, but being a lazy 20-something who said “who cares, they’re already broke”, stupidly sent them without tracking, and they were never received. I still have the nice PW audio cable they came with sitting in a bin somewhere though lol. And a few years ago a broken and re-glued set popped up in classified for a few hundred $, and I bought them just so I can have them and occasionally pop them in for a quick listen. I have not heard anything else from Oriolous up until this point.
Trailii:
I knew going into it that these weren’t going to really “work” for my library, but man I totally get it. Incredibly pleasant and enjoyable to listen to, nice warmth and clarity at the same time. Engaging,a little bit of kick to the midbass but ultimately the subbass is hampered by the drivers. Honestly loved these, not surprised they’ve become a classic.
Monachaa:
No idea how they managed to jam 4dds into such a small shell. Had a decent rumbly low end but didn’t do much else interesting. I was whelmed, especially after Trailli. I don’t think that was an uncommon reaction to them and I quickly zoned out before switching back to the bird for a final quick listen. Maybe for someone else and a different library.
Elysian Acoustics:
I’ve owned the Diva’s in the past, which I liked as a mid-forward set but which ultimately none of the bass settings worked 100% for me. And having a switch on my IEMs makes me neurotically insane, and I just constantly fiddle with it going “this is better, no this is better, actually this is better.” Please just do the switching for me at the factory and give me 1 setting, so I don’t drive myself crazy.
Annihilator:
I think these were the 2023 version. I liked these a lot but didn’t LOVE love them. Great imaging, treble is present but non-peaky so it never bothered me much. Great clarity the whole way through which is very nice. Bass curve was nice but not mind blowing. Worth the $ for sure, and I wish I listened to them a second time.
Unique Melody:
I’ve owned the Mest Mk.something in the past and enjoyed them. Did not listen to any of the new mests because I thought the shells looked goofy and wanted to move on…..Vibe checks people, vibe checks.
Mentor Multiverse/Amber Pearl:
Similar to Trailii I knew going into it that these weren’t going to land on my “buy” list just based on the bass response criteria. But having seen enough written online about Mentor online I wanted to check them out. Really liked these. Caveats about not particularly present BA bass that you’ve all already heard before, these were so natural, pleasant, and spacious sounding. I think I preferred MM’s presentation to Amber Pearl’s, but can’t remember exactly why. Amber Pearl was the punchier set, but I just remember having them in my ears and side-eying whoever grabbed MM after me, wanting to get them back. Ultimately not for me and my library, but I can appreciate these and see why people love MM and will love Amber Pearl.
Aroma Audio:
Came in knowing people really liked the Jewel, but have not heard anything from this brand myself. Man the build quality is just not there for the price.
Fei Wan:
Not for me, there was a peak or something bugging me somewhere in the response and I was finding them grating to listen to with my library. I think they were going for energetic neutral? Didn’t stick with them for long - They weren’t doing anything for me and Jewel was available to try. Shells design is….something.
Jewel:
I’ve read lots about these and was expecting something a bit more from them? They seemed fine, unoffensive neutral with good clarity, but I couldn’t tell what if anything they were doing particularly well. Certainly not $5k well. Nothing about them bothered me like the Fei Wan, but after reading so much about their soundstage in particular……. I didn’t hear much of any of that. Must be for a different set of ears.
Softears:
Plenty of experience with moondrop stuff, which I don’t find particularly exciting, but no hands on time with any Softears sets.
Enigma Prototype:
These were in a prototype shell design that looked exactly like the Studio4 but with a matte finish on the ear-facing side. Musicteck said they rushed them out to get them ready on time for SoCal so was cool to get a chance to hear. But at the same time, the final shell design that they’ve shown is wayyyyy different from a studio4, to the point that I think I asked 3 separate times “So this is the enigma prototype?” just to confirm it wasn’t a mix-up lol. I have to imagine changing the shell design THAT much is going to affect the final sound, so not sure how much of a conclusion can actually be made about what it sounds like vs the proto. They have to be somewhat close, otherwise why would they bother right?
I enjoyed these the first time I heard them. The bass dynamics and rumble had me tapping my feet a bit while listening, and it seemed like an energetic set. Second time around, in the afternoon, I liked them a bit less and found something in the mid-trebleish area a bit annoying? Tired ears? Possible. Unreliable listener. Definitely. Wait for the reviews in the actual shell? For sure.
Campfire Audio:
I’ve owned and enjoyed the Solaris SE, Vega’s, and Andromeda’s back in the day. Moved on to other things and haven’t heard anything from CA since I sold the Solaris SE. It’s a shame I did not realize the Bonneville was Solaris-esque, or I would have checked it out too.
Supermoon:
I wanted to like these badly. The new customish, highly contoured shells are awesome and fit my ear perfectly. The orange color was great. The sound was…..eh. A little bit of that planar thing going on in terms of texture, but not a ton of it. CA soundstage presentation. There was a terrible glare in the midrange that made them a bit too hot for me and I couldn’t keep listening. Too bad so sad.
Trifecta:
If I speak, I am in big trouble.
FatFreq:
Was, probably unsurprisingly if you read my “about me” at the top, very interested in checking these out finally. Have not heard anything from them before this, but on paper its right up my alley.
Maestro SE/Scarlet Mini:
Honestly? Eh. For all the giant bass curves, they aren’t very punchy with my library and a bit too "in my head" sounding. Lots of rumble unsurprisingly but this kinda hits to what I was talking about in the intro regarding how fine and arbitrary the line is between “great” and “too much”. They are fun, and lots of people love the Maestro SE’s, but not this people. For me, this confirms that highly contoured bass is preferable to just shear elevation in the low end. Punch & rumble, not bloat. Scarlet Mini is going to sell a million units though and was still pretty fun just to check out.
Grand Maestro:
Other side of that fine line. Not sure what module or whatever was in it, but these were as advertised. Totally kickass. Tons of rumble and punch with my library. Great fun with a nice open presentation, and the vocal switch is a great party trick that shows you how confident they are in the tuning. Seems to drop out the bass elevation to normal levels, and then suddenly? It still sounds good. Neutral exciting with big soundstage. Great set. Surprised I had such a different experience with these vs the previous two. The shell is more contoured so maybe a better fit and seal? Listening with my eyes? Could be. Its my post I’m allowed to if I want to.
Vision Ears:
I’ve owned the Elysium in the past and enjoyed them. Bass was ultimately not extended enough for me, and something in the upper treble/air region caused my ears to ring after listening for a bit so I moved on from them. The bass response in those always had more “kick” to it than people credited them for, even if they couldn’t really rumble. Kind of started me onto thinking more about the bass response contour, and less about the overall elevation. Havent heard or owned anything else from them.
VE x AK Aura:
The remarkable: The amazing looking gold and grey shells, the price tag.
The unremarkable: Everything else? I feel…..not much. They aren’t bad, its just, these sort of remind me of the “take no risks” moondrop style response. Plenty technical though. Pleasant enough, very pleasant even, at $200. Add a 0 to the price tag, then double it for fun, and it loses its charm. Was funny seeing these gorgeous, machined shells sitting at 4k right next to the more expensive cheap plastic Aroma Audio stuff. The pricetags make no sense sometimes in this hobby.
VEX:
I liked these. Also a great looking set. Does the warm thing well. Not very congested for sounding so warm. Solid bass response. Not 100% what I’m looking for but I wouldn’t be upset with these. I cant imagine anybody being upset with these.
EXT:
Really loved how these fit, they locked into my ears. I guess other people didn’t because they immediately dropped this shell style lol. The presentation of these definitely caught my attention. Something about them draws you in, but the bass response is just fine (a so close and yet so far type deal), and treble was frequently a little too sharp for me. I think the commonly repeated strengths and weaknesses for this set ring true here. Still there is something here and hopefully VE iterates on these again. As the Elysium -> EXT, VE8 -> VE10, Phoenix -> Phoenix LE pipeline shows, they generally don’t just throw the baby out with the bathwater and like to iterate and improve on their old models when they can. So…….EXT Extended when?
Sennheiser:
Its Sennheiser, do I really need to write an intro for them? Ubiquitous. I’m not going to say anything you haven’t heard 1000x already from better people with better ears.
IE900:
Tiny but didn’t love the fit. Was hoping for more from the bass after reading much about it, it was fine….safe… Not contrasty enough for me. Mid dip didn’t bother me, but I listened to these at the very end of Saturday after everything else so fatigue had fully set in and my ears were broken at this point. Treble a bit spicy but not enough to totally put me off. Cable is the most garbage of all garbage, and I’m not someone who normally cares about that.
IE600:
Take all of the interesting parts out of the IE900. Boom. IE600.
Noble Audio:
I have not heard anything from Noble previously, and I did not come into CanJam with any real intention of seeking out any Noble sets, knowing that they tended to a more reserved bass presentation that was probably not going to be for me. Viking Ragnar fell under the “find it if you can cause the shells are cool looking but you’re not gonna like it so don’t go crazy looking for it” criteria. I just made that criteria up for this intro.
Viking Ragnar:
The shells are cool looking but I’m not going to go crazy here I didn’t like it…..
Way too bright for my music selection maybe a bit peaky too? Reserved bass. Not for me.
Ronin:
Heard this at the end of Saturday too and it was….supremely pleasant? Wasn’t expecting that at all. After a long day of listening to other stuff, with tired ears, absolutely nothing about this annoyed me. Mids/timbre were very very natural sounding for me. Bass unsurprisingly took them out of contention for me but I don’t think anybody could dislike these.
Spartacus:
Where did this come from?
I was waiting to listen to a different set at the musicteck table (I think Trailii for the second time) and these were basically all that was left to listen to that I hadn’t previously demo’d. I knew nothing about them and couldn’t be bothered to look it up at the time. Just sort of put them in my ears to pass the time so I wouldn’t look like I was hogging a chair doing nothing (there was nobody waiting behind me for the chair, but it never hurts to be prepared). A minute later zoning out and I noticed I was sort of tapping my feet? Spacious as anything else I heard that day, a bunch of awesome bass on tap. Nothing that bugged me. Genuinely liked these a lot. Cool driver config. Probably my biggest regret from the show was that I did not have time to go back and hear them a second time on Sunday. I really wanted to take these over and do an AB with some of the UM stuff I had heard earlier. Something about the presentation of Spartacus really made me want to do that…..I’ll have to get my hands on a set for another listen at some point.
Empire Ears:
I have the incredibly dubious honor of having owned and sold Legend Evo on 3 separate occasions. I will forever love the bass response on those, but the midrange launch ramp does not work well with certain trashy parts of my library. And I never could listen to them for longer than 45 min or so at a time without my ears starting to hurt. But still, that bass….
Raven:
I first listened to these early on Saturday at the musicteck table, and I’m guessing that whatever tips I grabbed from the bin did not let them seal well enough. I quickly ripped them out and went “eh that’s too bad” and moved on. Later in the day, I saw the EE booth had a chair open and went to go check out Odin. While I was there, I asked for Raven a second time because why not, its free real-estate. They handed them to me with the tried-and-true Final E-tips, and I got a seal this time because ohhhh boy.
Everything I ever wanted (and tried to convince myself 3x) Evo to be. The Evo always had this great bass timbre too it, almost like a powerful “whirring” that I could never quit. Raven has maintained this. But where Evo got shouty in the mids and decided that treble was non-sense you didn’t need, Raven is….normal? Good? Great? Despite the elevated show-off bass response, the mids were slightly warm but still plenty clear for me. I didn’t notice any particular elevations that bugged me when rapidly switching genres of music. Treble was plenty detailed and extended, and again without any annoying peaks to bug me. Big soundstage, which should be expected since you’re basically strapping two small raven-themed rooms to your ears. These are some big birds, but surprisingly comfortable? Fit much better than Evo. I asked/begged Dean for a custom version anyways and he laughed, said “let me see your ears” and then laughed again lol. Not looking good for me on that front haha. I think if I had to critique these, they may suffer a bit from that same “overly grand and serious all the time” type of presentation that Evo has. Not quite to the same degree, but I think its there.
Did not like the gold shells, and would wait for black version. Shame about the whole explody-cabley-connecty thing. Seems like EE cannot catch a break on their recent releases, and some people seem to revel in that for odd reasons…. These are small companies and you have to be sympathetic when stuff like this happens. Genuinely hope they can figure something out, or that its much ado about nothing, because I really enjoyed this set. Went back to the musicteck table again later that afternoon and demo’d using my own tips to confirm what I heard at the EE table. And then AGAIN the next day to be safe. Loved loved loved these and they did not put a foot wrong for me.
Odin:
Kind of a high-clarity high excitement response, but too light on the bass for me + the occasional uncomfortable glare. Would not work with my library.
Odyssey:
I was super interested in these, after hearing Raven, because they measure essentially the same on the graphs I’ve seen. Bloom had a set in their room, so on Sunday after hearing the Raven for the fourth (lol) time, I ran over there and auditioned Odyssey. Despite the measurements and my best hopes, they do not in fact sound the same…..at all. Over-warm, over-boring, none of the great muscular bass timbre thing somehow. I kept fiddling with them, jamming them into my ears and holding them in place with my hands going “surely they can’t sound this different” and thinking it was a fit issue. No dice. Not for me. Interesting revelation about just relying on frequency graphs for me.
Fir Audio:
These were on my short list to hear due to the weirdo bass-tech and availability of customs. I couldn’t find them Day 1, and then saw they were available in the Bloom room once I got home. Mostly spent day 2 listening to headphones, but found these at the end of the day to check em out. Unfortunately my wife wanted to leave to get burgers & beer, and who am I to say “no”, so I didn’t get as much time as I really wanted.
Electron prototype:
Lots of powerful bass and great treble sparkle on top. A bit V-shaped for me, so I was doing the “turn-up the volume” thing when trying to listen to stuff with vocals. But these are a ton of fun and I think people are going to really love them once they come out.
RN6:
Oh man, I listened to these as the last thing I heard at CanJam and created some problems for myself. At the end of day 1, I was unsurprisingly 100% all in on getting Raven. After hearing them again on Sunday I was 110% all in. And then I walked over to the Bloom room, confirmed Odyssey would not be an easy substitute, listened to Electron, and then screwed all that up for myself.
These are great. Its basically everything I loved about Raven. Slightly warm but clear vocals, bass that makes you go “OMG WHAT”. Big open presentation. At one point I felt the treble got slightly hot somewhere, but couldn’t find it again when I went searching for it. Cool venting module system that would probably drive me insane fiddling with. Customs available……… 10 minutes with these was not enough - really wish I had found them day 1 now. Never before have I regretted burgers & beer, and I hate that these have made me do that.
Overall takeaways:
What a great opportunity. Getting to hear lots of things and really figure out what is worth it for your listening style and library, and what isn’t, is a ton of fun. Really jealous of the people that live in areas with such accessible + expansive audio stores. You all get to do this all the time? In a less hurried and noisy environment?? And some of the places give you food & beverage??? Spoiled rotten.
Ultimately it shouldn’t be surprising, but I am stuck between Raven and RN6. Stick with my original plan of getting my first set of CIEMs, or pivot to the set that I spent half the time chasing around for another listen? Either way, the one thing I am absolutely sure of is that whichever one I get, the other will live rent free in my head.
Till next year. Hope this ramble helps…..we both know it didn’t.
Favorites:
Raven, RN6, Storm, UM MM, Grand Maestro
Surprise of the show:
Noble Spartacus
Edit:
And with this post, I have finally lost my "New New Head-Fier" tag after 7+ years here. Such a shame, I was hoping to make it to a decade.
While I listened to some headphones on the second day, I am primarily an IEM guy and came to CanJam with the express purpose of checking out the dozens of IEMs I’ve always wanted to hear but lacked access to without blind buying. My secondary purpose was to identify what my next IEM will be, with a special interest in CIEMs as I’ve never owned a set before.
My library is made up of electronic/house/ambient stuff, metal/metalcore, modern hiphop/pop, indie folk and rock etc. No Kpop/Jpop/Classical/Jazz etc. My CanJam playlist that I was cycling through had songs from Christian Loffler, Fejka, Lorde, Bon Iver, TTNG live, Feist, Jesus Piece, Underoath, Earl Sweatshirt etc etc. If you’re now going “Who are those people” or “man this guy has trash taste”, that’s OK, now you know why my impressions or approach to listening does not line up with your own. Feel free to disregard, or to use me as a helpful resource to do the opposite of.
With that in mind, I do want to be up front about a few things:
- CanJam listening means you mostly have to rush through stuff. Its noisy, and frequently other people are waiting for you to finish up – or something else that you wanted to listen to free’s up and you have to drop what you are listening to currently to grab it before someone else does (depending on how busy it is). With that in mind, these aren’t reviews and they barely even qualify as thorough impressions for the most part. Lets just call them “Vibe Checks” and go from there.
- Generally when demo’ing for my own purposes, I have some test track segments that I am looking for very specific things on and it functions as a bit of a check/fail situation. It only takes a minute for me to figure out if something isn’t going to work for me – and again I have to stress that I was approaching all of this exclusively from the perspective of “what am I going to buy, for myself, to listen to my music library”. Because of this, I frequently “checked-out” of listening to something once it was clear it wasn’t going on to my shortlist and would have put it down quickly after so not to hog it for other people. I’ll probably wax poetic about the things I liked and be flippant about the things I didn’t care for. Apologies in advance if I heard something you are interested in but can’t give you much clarification on what I thought of it beyond what is written.
- I tend to be more of an “overall presentation” listener, than one who is going to talk about the microdynamics, or midrange resolution or whatever. I probably have a decent tolerance for tonal jank that some others don’t - so long as I like what the set is doing overall and nothing is immediately bugging me with the music I throw at it.
- Bass contrast, quantity, impact and texture – As much as you can give me all of the time. I want lots of impact on things like kick drums, and lots of deep rumble afterwards. I cannot stand midbass bloat that reduces impact for the sake of volume, or excessive warmth that makes the music feel sluggish. The dividing line between my perfect bass response and one I dislike can be pretty fine and probably somewhat arbitrary which is why getting the opportunity to demo this stuff in person was such a privilege. From here on out I’m going to say “bass” about 700 more times. You’ve been warned.
- Vocal clarity – I don’t mind a little warmth in the vocals, but too V-shaped and I start to crank the volume trying to hear. Too warm and its boring. Compared to some people, I probably have a high tolerance for upper-midrange glare/shout.
- Soundstage/Imaging – IEM’s that have a totally “in your head” presentation always fall a bit flat for me. Not at these prices…..
- Smoothness/lack of (big) peaks – Because of the variety in my library, if something has a big peak somewhere in the mid/treble I’ll generally find it once I switch to my trashy metalcore music and it sounds like the IEMS are trying to kill me.
Vibe Checks, in mostly no particular order:
All listening done out of my Shanling M8, balanced 4.4 (except for Odin and EXT which where 2.5), with whatever gain was appropriate for what I was listening to at the moment. FLAC files from my SD card, streaming was a nightmare the whole time anyways.
Subtonic/Nightjar Acoustics joint table
Right at doors open on Saturday I beelined it for this table. Storm is not in the cards for me moneywise, but it was at the very top of my “must hear” list if I could find it. Since I got there early, I got to spend a bit time with it without people waiting behind me which was awesome.
Storm: As advertised – Neutral but with great dynamics. ”Fun neutral”. Fantastic center image and separation. Ultimately not as much bass quantity as I’d want, but what was there kicked like a mule. I threw some crappy recordings at it too just to see if it was a bit too clinical and would make them harsh, but it handled those perfectly well and I was banging my head along with it. I liked the shells better in person than I expected to, and they had a new vs old comparison to check out. Not for sale at the time - they showed up all the way from Singapore just to flex lol. They used the words “overwhelming demand” when describing trying to catch up the backlog. Good for them, they deserve the success they’ve earned. Really special set.
Singularity: Nice bass heavy set that pulled off lots of bass while retaining vocal clarity and treble sparkle. Smaller than I thought they would be and fit nicely. Wanted plenty of power. Didn’t listen for too long because Duality free’d up and I wanted to grab that while I had the chance.
Duality Prototype: Similar party tricks to singularity in terms of lots of great bass but with present vocals and treble. Kicked up a notch with the treble quality and separation it seemed like. Before I left, they gave me an adapter that took the bass to hilarious levels, and I was sitting there cracking up at it while they were sitting there cracking up at me cracking up at it. Great fun from a basshead set, hopefully they include the adapter with the final product.
Symphonium Audio
Seated right across from the Subtonic/Nightjar table, so I stopped there after. I have owned the Helios in the past and enjoyed it, but sold it along due to the fit. Currently own the Helios SE which I quite enjoy. Crimson was on my “need to hear” list.
Crimson:
On first listen, it sounded like my Helios SE but with the midbass scoop removed, but there was something about the treble that was a bit hot for my liking. They said “hold on” and switched the tips for me to a more open bore set, and I don’t know if I had a bad seal the first time around or if the tips made all the difference but the treble issue was gone in in its place was some great soundstage and imaging. I think if people liked Helios/Helios SE, but wanted just a bit more midbass and some extra technicalities this would be a great set to check out. Before I left they gave me a giga cable that was basically a massive version of the stock cable to check out Crimson with it which was hilarious. Both this table and the previous did a great job making the listening sessions low stress and tons of fun.
64 Audio:
Back in the day when I first joined Head-fi as a fledgling audiophile, and 64 Audio was 64 Ears, the U12 Adel was my first high-end set of IEMs. I think I paid $1400 for them in 2016 with a holiday discount of some sort, which was insane at the time even for a TOTL product (little did we know……). I enjoyed it but was always bugged by bass being not quite what I needed. These were simpler, less degenerate gear flipping times, and so I listened to them exclusively for several years until I really felt I got my money’s worth and as such they are probably my most listened to set of audiophile IEMS ever. I have heard exactly 0 other IEMS from 64 Audio since.
U12t:
I liked these. Nice center image and layering. Took the edge off of everything and made it sound good. Not a set that immediately stands out, but can understand people appreciating these the more they listen to them. I liked the bass response. Could kick when it needed to. A bit too neutral for me. Awesome that these essentially cost what I paid for my U12 adel’s 7+ years ago. Given the acclaim, 64 Audio probably could have pulled off a couple big “inflation, you know?” price raises on these over time. Kudos.
Volur:
They had the M20 module in but I had them switch it to the M15 before listening. Shells are beautiful looking. Retained the “nothing hurts” style presentation of the U12t’s mids and treble, but add a DD and some extra warmth to it. I think it lost something in the process, and this crossed the line into a bit boring to me. Preferred the U12t, even in the bass regions despite the BA’s. YMMV.
Oriolus:
The Mk2’s were my second real set of high-end IEMs, my first hybrids (not that there were many options back then), and the first bit of audio gear that blew me away. I can probably credit these for cementing this hobby for me and they’ll always have a special place in my heart. Bought them used here on Head-fi, and the DD in one of the monitors crapped out about 6 months or so later. What can you do. Tried to send them back to Japan to get fixed, but being a lazy 20-something who said “who cares, they’re already broke”, stupidly sent them without tracking, and they were never received. I still have the nice PW audio cable they came with sitting in a bin somewhere though lol. And a few years ago a broken and re-glued set popped up in classified for a few hundred $, and I bought them just so I can have them and occasionally pop them in for a quick listen. I have not heard anything else from Oriolous up until this point.
Trailii:
I knew going into it that these weren’t going to really “work” for my library, but man I totally get it. Incredibly pleasant and enjoyable to listen to, nice warmth and clarity at the same time. Engaging,a little bit of kick to the midbass but ultimately the subbass is hampered by the drivers. Honestly loved these, not surprised they’ve become a classic.
Monachaa:
No idea how they managed to jam 4dds into such a small shell. Had a decent rumbly low end but didn’t do much else interesting. I was whelmed, especially after Trailli. I don’t think that was an uncommon reaction to them and I quickly zoned out before switching back to the bird for a final quick listen. Maybe for someone else and a different library.
Elysian Acoustics:
I’ve owned the Diva’s in the past, which I liked as a mid-forward set but which ultimately none of the bass settings worked 100% for me. And having a switch on my IEMs makes me neurotically insane, and I just constantly fiddle with it going “this is better, no this is better, actually this is better.” Please just do the switching for me at the factory and give me 1 setting, so I don’t drive myself crazy.
Annihilator:
I think these were the 2023 version. I liked these a lot but didn’t LOVE love them. Great imaging, treble is present but non-peaky so it never bothered me much. Great clarity the whole way through which is very nice. Bass curve was nice but not mind blowing. Worth the $ for sure, and I wish I listened to them a second time.
Unique Melody:
I’ve owned the Mest Mk.something in the past and enjoyed them. Did not listen to any of the new mests because I thought the shells looked goofy and wanted to move on…..Vibe checks people, vibe checks.
Mentor Multiverse/Amber Pearl:
Similar to Trailii I knew going into it that these weren’t going to land on my “buy” list just based on the bass response criteria. But having seen enough written online about Mentor online I wanted to check them out. Really liked these. Caveats about not particularly present BA bass that you’ve all already heard before, these were so natural, pleasant, and spacious sounding. I think I preferred MM’s presentation to Amber Pearl’s, but can’t remember exactly why. Amber Pearl was the punchier set, but I just remember having them in my ears and side-eying whoever grabbed MM after me, wanting to get them back. Ultimately not for me and my library, but I can appreciate these and see why people love MM and will love Amber Pearl.
Aroma Audio:
Came in knowing people really liked the Jewel, but have not heard anything from this brand myself. Man the build quality is just not there for the price.
Fei Wan:
Not for me, there was a peak or something bugging me somewhere in the response and I was finding them grating to listen to with my library. I think they were going for energetic neutral? Didn’t stick with them for long - They weren’t doing anything for me and Jewel was available to try. Shells design is….something.
Jewel:
I’ve read lots about these and was expecting something a bit more from them? They seemed fine, unoffensive neutral with good clarity, but I couldn’t tell what if anything they were doing particularly well. Certainly not $5k well. Nothing about them bothered me like the Fei Wan, but after reading so much about their soundstage in particular……. I didn’t hear much of any of that. Must be for a different set of ears.
Softears:
Plenty of experience with moondrop stuff, which I don’t find particularly exciting, but no hands on time with any Softears sets.
Enigma Prototype:
These were in a prototype shell design that looked exactly like the Studio4 but with a matte finish on the ear-facing side. Musicteck said they rushed them out to get them ready on time for SoCal so was cool to get a chance to hear. But at the same time, the final shell design that they’ve shown is wayyyyy different from a studio4, to the point that I think I asked 3 separate times “So this is the enigma prototype?” just to confirm it wasn’t a mix-up lol. I have to imagine changing the shell design THAT much is going to affect the final sound, so not sure how much of a conclusion can actually be made about what it sounds like vs the proto. They have to be somewhat close, otherwise why would they bother right?
I enjoyed these the first time I heard them. The bass dynamics and rumble had me tapping my feet a bit while listening, and it seemed like an energetic set. Second time around, in the afternoon, I liked them a bit less and found something in the mid-trebleish area a bit annoying? Tired ears? Possible. Unreliable listener. Definitely. Wait for the reviews in the actual shell? For sure.
Campfire Audio:
I’ve owned and enjoyed the Solaris SE, Vega’s, and Andromeda’s back in the day. Moved on to other things and haven’t heard anything from CA since I sold the Solaris SE. It’s a shame I did not realize the Bonneville was Solaris-esque, or I would have checked it out too.
Supermoon:
I wanted to like these badly. The new customish, highly contoured shells are awesome and fit my ear perfectly. The orange color was great. The sound was…..eh. A little bit of that planar thing going on in terms of texture, but not a ton of it. CA soundstage presentation. There was a terrible glare in the midrange that made them a bit too hot for me and I couldn’t keep listening. Too bad so sad.
Trifecta:
If I speak, I am in big trouble.
FatFreq:
Was, probably unsurprisingly if you read my “about me” at the top, very interested in checking these out finally. Have not heard anything from them before this, but on paper its right up my alley.
Maestro SE/Scarlet Mini:
Honestly? Eh. For all the giant bass curves, they aren’t very punchy with my library and a bit too "in my head" sounding. Lots of rumble unsurprisingly but this kinda hits to what I was talking about in the intro regarding how fine and arbitrary the line is between “great” and “too much”. They are fun, and lots of people love the Maestro SE’s, but not this people. For me, this confirms that highly contoured bass is preferable to just shear elevation in the low end. Punch & rumble, not bloat. Scarlet Mini is going to sell a million units though and was still pretty fun just to check out.
Grand Maestro:
Other side of that fine line. Not sure what module or whatever was in it, but these were as advertised. Totally kickass. Tons of rumble and punch with my library. Great fun with a nice open presentation, and the vocal switch is a great party trick that shows you how confident they are in the tuning. Seems to drop out the bass elevation to normal levels, and then suddenly? It still sounds good. Neutral exciting with big soundstage. Great set. Surprised I had such a different experience with these vs the previous two. The shell is more contoured so maybe a better fit and seal? Listening with my eyes? Could be. Its my post I’m allowed to if I want to.
Vision Ears:
I’ve owned the Elysium in the past and enjoyed them. Bass was ultimately not extended enough for me, and something in the upper treble/air region caused my ears to ring after listening for a bit so I moved on from them. The bass response in those always had more “kick” to it than people credited them for, even if they couldn’t really rumble. Kind of started me onto thinking more about the bass response contour, and less about the overall elevation. Havent heard or owned anything else from them.
VE x AK Aura:
The remarkable: The amazing looking gold and grey shells, the price tag.
The unremarkable: Everything else? I feel…..not much. They aren’t bad, its just, these sort of remind me of the “take no risks” moondrop style response. Plenty technical though. Pleasant enough, very pleasant even, at $200. Add a 0 to the price tag, then double it for fun, and it loses its charm. Was funny seeing these gorgeous, machined shells sitting at 4k right next to the more expensive cheap plastic Aroma Audio stuff. The pricetags make no sense sometimes in this hobby.
VEX:
I liked these. Also a great looking set. Does the warm thing well. Not very congested for sounding so warm. Solid bass response. Not 100% what I’m looking for but I wouldn’t be upset with these. I cant imagine anybody being upset with these.
EXT:
Really loved how these fit, they locked into my ears. I guess other people didn’t because they immediately dropped this shell style lol. The presentation of these definitely caught my attention. Something about them draws you in, but the bass response is just fine (a so close and yet so far type deal), and treble was frequently a little too sharp for me. I think the commonly repeated strengths and weaknesses for this set ring true here. Still there is something here and hopefully VE iterates on these again. As the Elysium -> EXT, VE8 -> VE10, Phoenix -> Phoenix LE pipeline shows, they generally don’t just throw the baby out with the bathwater and like to iterate and improve on their old models when they can. So…….EXT Extended when?
Sennheiser:
Its Sennheiser, do I really need to write an intro for them? Ubiquitous. I’m not going to say anything you haven’t heard 1000x already from better people with better ears.
IE900:
Tiny but didn’t love the fit. Was hoping for more from the bass after reading much about it, it was fine….safe… Not contrasty enough for me. Mid dip didn’t bother me, but I listened to these at the very end of Saturday after everything else so fatigue had fully set in and my ears were broken at this point. Treble a bit spicy but not enough to totally put me off. Cable is the most garbage of all garbage, and I’m not someone who normally cares about that.
IE600:
Take all of the interesting parts out of the IE900. Boom. IE600.
Noble Audio:
I have not heard anything from Noble previously, and I did not come into CanJam with any real intention of seeking out any Noble sets, knowing that they tended to a more reserved bass presentation that was probably not going to be for me. Viking Ragnar fell under the “find it if you can cause the shells are cool looking but you’re not gonna like it so don’t go crazy looking for it” criteria. I just made that criteria up for this intro.
Viking Ragnar:
The shells are cool looking but I’m not going to go crazy here I didn’t like it…..
Way too bright for my music selection maybe a bit peaky too? Reserved bass. Not for me.
Ronin:
Heard this at the end of Saturday too and it was….supremely pleasant? Wasn’t expecting that at all. After a long day of listening to other stuff, with tired ears, absolutely nothing about this annoyed me. Mids/timbre were very very natural sounding for me. Bass unsurprisingly took them out of contention for me but I don’t think anybody could dislike these.
Spartacus:
Where did this come from?
I was waiting to listen to a different set at the musicteck table (I think Trailii for the second time) and these were basically all that was left to listen to that I hadn’t previously demo’d. I knew nothing about them and couldn’t be bothered to look it up at the time. Just sort of put them in my ears to pass the time so I wouldn’t look like I was hogging a chair doing nothing (there was nobody waiting behind me for the chair, but it never hurts to be prepared). A minute later zoning out and I noticed I was sort of tapping my feet? Spacious as anything else I heard that day, a bunch of awesome bass on tap. Nothing that bugged me. Genuinely liked these a lot. Cool driver config. Probably my biggest regret from the show was that I did not have time to go back and hear them a second time on Sunday. I really wanted to take these over and do an AB with some of the UM stuff I had heard earlier. Something about the presentation of Spartacus really made me want to do that…..I’ll have to get my hands on a set for another listen at some point.
Empire Ears:
I have the incredibly dubious honor of having owned and sold Legend Evo on 3 separate occasions. I will forever love the bass response on those, but the midrange launch ramp does not work well with certain trashy parts of my library. And I never could listen to them for longer than 45 min or so at a time without my ears starting to hurt. But still, that bass….
Raven:
I first listened to these early on Saturday at the musicteck table, and I’m guessing that whatever tips I grabbed from the bin did not let them seal well enough. I quickly ripped them out and went “eh that’s too bad” and moved on. Later in the day, I saw the EE booth had a chair open and went to go check out Odin. While I was there, I asked for Raven a second time because why not, its free real-estate. They handed them to me with the tried-and-true Final E-tips, and I got a seal this time because ohhhh boy.
Everything I ever wanted (and tried to convince myself 3x) Evo to be. The Evo always had this great bass timbre too it, almost like a powerful “whirring” that I could never quit. Raven has maintained this. But where Evo got shouty in the mids and decided that treble was non-sense you didn’t need, Raven is….normal? Good? Great? Despite the elevated show-off bass response, the mids were slightly warm but still plenty clear for me. I didn’t notice any particular elevations that bugged me when rapidly switching genres of music. Treble was plenty detailed and extended, and again without any annoying peaks to bug me. Big soundstage, which should be expected since you’re basically strapping two small raven-themed rooms to your ears. These are some big birds, but surprisingly comfortable? Fit much better than Evo. I asked/begged Dean for a custom version anyways and he laughed, said “let me see your ears” and then laughed again lol. Not looking good for me on that front haha. I think if I had to critique these, they may suffer a bit from that same “overly grand and serious all the time” type of presentation that Evo has. Not quite to the same degree, but I think its there.
Did not like the gold shells, and would wait for black version. Shame about the whole explody-cabley-connecty thing. Seems like EE cannot catch a break on their recent releases, and some people seem to revel in that for odd reasons…. These are small companies and you have to be sympathetic when stuff like this happens. Genuinely hope they can figure something out, or that its much ado about nothing, because I really enjoyed this set. Went back to the musicteck table again later that afternoon and demo’d using my own tips to confirm what I heard at the EE table. And then AGAIN the next day to be safe. Loved loved loved these and they did not put a foot wrong for me.
Odin:
Kind of a high-clarity high excitement response, but too light on the bass for me + the occasional uncomfortable glare. Would not work with my library.
Odyssey:
I was super interested in these, after hearing Raven, because they measure essentially the same on the graphs I’ve seen. Bloom had a set in their room, so on Sunday after hearing the Raven for the fourth (lol) time, I ran over there and auditioned Odyssey. Despite the measurements and my best hopes, they do not in fact sound the same…..at all. Over-warm, over-boring, none of the great muscular bass timbre thing somehow. I kept fiddling with them, jamming them into my ears and holding them in place with my hands going “surely they can’t sound this different” and thinking it was a fit issue. No dice. Not for me. Interesting revelation about just relying on frequency graphs for me.
Fir Audio:
These were on my short list to hear due to the weirdo bass-tech and availability of customs. I couldn’t find them Day 1, and then saw they were available in the Bloom room once I got home. Mostly spent day 2 listening to headphones, but found these at the end of the day to check em out. Unfortunately my wife wanted to leave to get burgers & beer, and who am I to say “no”, so I didn’t get as much time as I really wanted.
Electron prototype:
Lots of powerful bass and great treble sparkle on top. A bit V-shaped for me, so I was doing the “turn-up the volume” thing when trying to listen to stuff with vocals. But these are a ton of fun and I think people are going to really love them once they come out.
RN6:
Oh man, I listened to these as the last thing I heard at CanJam and created some problems for myself. At the end of day 1, I was unsurprisingly 100% all in on getting Raven. After hearing them again on Sunday I was 110% all in. And then I walked over to the Bloom room, confirmed Odyssey would not be an easy substitute, listened to Electron, and then screwed all that up for myself.
These are great. Its basically everything I loved about Raven. Slightly warm but clear vocals, bass that makes you go “OMG WHAT”. Big open presentation. At one point I felt the treble got slightly hot somewhere, but couldn’t find it again when I went searching for it. Cool venting module system that would probably drive me insane fiddling with. Customs available……… 10 minutes with these was not enough - really wish I had found them day 1 now. Never before have I regretted burgers & beer, and I hate that these have made me do that.
Overall takeaways:
What a great opportunity. Getting to hear lots of things and really figure out what is worth it for your listening style and library, and what isn’t, is a ton of fun. Really jealous of the people that live in areas with such accessible + expansive audio stores. You all get to do this all the time? In a less hurried and noisy environment?? And some of the places give you food & beverage??? Spoiled rotten.
Ultimately it shouldn’t be surprising, but I am stuck between Raven and RN6. Stick with my original plan of getting my first set of CIEMs, or pivot to the set that I spent half the time chasing around for another listen? Either way, the one thing I am absolutely sure of is that whichever one I get, the other will live rent free in my head.
Till next year. Hope this ramble helps…..we both know it didn’t.
Favorites:
Raven, RN6, Storm, UM MM, Grand Maestro
Surprise of the show:
Noble Spartacus
Edit:
And with this post, I have finally lost my "New New Head-Fier" tag after 7+ years here. Such a shame, I was hoping to make it to a decade.
Last edited:
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