[gr8soundz]

   

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

First of all huge thanks to warrenpchi, moedawg, Jude, and the rest of the crew and volunteers, and all the exhibitors and speakers, for putting on such a fantastic event!
 
It was such a good event that I completely lost track of time, both days, and arrived very very late for Dan's Mr Speakers talk, and fairly late for Rob Watt's fascinating Chord Hugo talk.  Both were really, really interesting and I wish I'd set alarms to get to them on time.  Happily, for those who missed it, the slides for the Chord talk are available online:  go to http://chordelectronics.co.uk/products-info.asp?id=92 and scroll down to the "Technical Master Class" download.
 
Shout-outs to some of my favorite exhibits:
 
ACS Evoke and Evolve IEMs.  Fantastic!  I am a die-hard Ety-head and even after many years a properly sourced and amped ER-4S is my reference sound.  I am not 100% certain of this yet (because I have weird ears that are hard to fit for shallow-insertion IEMs) but I think I may like the ACS Evoke even better.  In fact I may even like it better straight out of a phone than I like the ER-4S out of a nice source and decent DAC.  The Evoke is that good, and the Evolve is even better.  To add to the craziness, both include the wonderful Linum cable as standard, and both are absurdly modestly priced.  Insane.  (Oh, it's also compact and could easily be worn invisibly under hair or fit under helmets.)  I sent another Etymotic-lover over to the ACS exhibit (hello if you're reading this!) and she wound up with the Evolve as her next upgrade.  (For myself I'm still deciding: Evoke/Evolve, universal/custom.)
 
Noble Savant.  Presents the music really beautifully, with that "nothing added, nothing taken away" quality.  As an Ety-head I expected to prefer the Noble 4, but I found the Savant much more euphonic.  Magic.
 
Chord Hugo.  The great things you've been hearing about it are true.  Wow.  So good.
 
Astell & Kern Junior.  I just love this!  Small, light, reasonably priced, and drives ER-4S every bit as well as way bigger gear.  Just wow.
 
Pendulumic Stance.  Sounds very, very good, and isn't heavy.  (I really like my AKG K845BT, whose sound signature is very much in my sweet spot, but it does feel a bit weighty after a while.)
 
SoundMagic P55.  A really good closed headphone at a very fair price.  (It doesn't fill an unmet need in my case, but I really respect it.)
 
V-Moda Zn IEM.  Amazing bass impact, but with a sound signature that somehow pleases me instead of making me cringe (again, I'm an Ety-lover).  Just tremendous fun.
 
KEF M400.  The perfect good-sounding closed headphone for someone for whom bulk or dorky looks make something a non-starter. And it really does sound good.
 
Questyle DAP.  Really good sounding.
 
Mr.Speakers Ether C with Schiit multibit DACs and either tube or SS Mjolnir.  I could have spent the whole weekend just listening at this table. 
 
 
Things I bought:
 
Snugs custom eartips for my Sony SBH-80.  They have my SBH-80 for scanning, and once that's done anybody will be able to get SBH-80 customs from them.
 
Noble Audio BTS, their small & lightweight bluetooth receiver dongle for IEMs.  Truth to tell it drives my JH13s a little oddly, but it's a nice piece of kit and I'm glad to have it.
 
And there were many, many more great experiences I want to write about (but right now dinner is calling).  Thanks to everyone who made this happen!

 

 
Thanks for the impressions.
 
Which did you prefer between the Questyle and the AK Jr?

 

[episiarch]

 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

 
Thanks for the impressions.
 
Which would you choose/prefer between the Questyle and the AK Jr?
 

Unfortunately I'm afraid I didn't go back and forth to compare the sound quality, though I enjoyed both very much.  For my personal use case the AK Jr is a really perfect fit: it's smaller and lighter (easy to fit in a suit jacket inner pocket), and drives ER-4S beautifully.  If my requirements were different - tougher-to-drive headphones for example - I would have probed more deeply.

 

[mrspeakers]

I'm so glad I made the trip to join you all, what a fun (and busy) event.  
 
For those who had to endure me at my most incoherent, sorry about the Saturday presentation.  It was my master class "Sleep deprivation while presenting 101."

 

[Duncan]

Unfortunately I'm afraid I didn't go back and forth to compare the sound quality, though I enjoyed both very much.  For my personal use case the AK Jr is a really perfect fit: it's smaller and lighter (easy to fit in a suit jacket inner pocket), and drives ER-4S beautifully.  If my requirements were different - tougher-to-drive headphones for example - I would have probed more deeply.

The QP1R is empirically clean sounding, so may have sounded a little lean with the ER4S??

Works beautifully with the Layla, it is scary how some of these manufacturers are truly blurring the lines between portable and full sized rigs!!

 

[krismusic]

I'm so glad I made the trip to join you all, what a fun (and busy) event.  

For those who had to endure me at my most incoherent, sorry about the Saturday presentation.  It was my master class "Sleep deprivation while presenting 101."

I just figured you are probably better at designing headphones than public speaking! Always a privilege to hear from the people who actually make these strange and wondrous collisions of art and physics.

 

[episiarch]

The QP1R is empirically clean sounding, so may have sounded a little lean with the ER4S??

Works beautifully with the Layla, it is scary how some of these manufacturers are truly blurring the lines between portable and full sized rigs!!

I didn't experience the QP1R as particularly lean with ER-4S, but that may just show the reason I'm an Ety person is that that's the kind of sound I like. 
 
In any case I'm afraid I'm a poor source of details on QP1R vs. AK Jr. differences, because I'm so influenced by the AK Jr.'s form factor (no bulge in suit pocket, YAY), and so relatively uninterested in driving anything more difficult than ER-4S with it.  Sorry I'm not of any real use :-/

 

[AndrewH13]

The QP1R is empirically clean sounding, so may have sounded a little lean with the ER4S??

Works beautifully with the Layla, it is scary how some of these manufacturers are truly blurring the lines between portable and full sized rigs!!

 
Also worked great with my Shure 846s . Wonder if pairing with equally exciting 1plus2s is going too far

 

[sonickarma]

   
Also worked great with my Shure 846s . Wonder if pairing with equally exciting 1plus2s is going too far

Paired nice with FTG334 also

 

[Cakensaur]

I was most impressed with the GS1000e and Chord hugo to be honest.
 
As in i expected to love the BHSE and SR009, i expected to love the HE1000 and GS-X mk2, so when i loved those insane cost-no-object set ups it wasn't really a shock at all,
 
But i was really taken off my feet by the the above combo, especially as i really didn't like the original GS1000 at all. Granted the Hugo is far from cheap it has got me thinking about what where to go next in this journey.

 

[TooCool4]

 
 - Beyer T1 v2
As with the DT1770, first learned about it yesterday.
Quite a few positive cosmetic changes especially with the removable cable and some to the driver also (addition of a rubber ring I think). The cable is much more manageable and being replaceable increases versatility obviously. To me these sounded distractingly hard on the treble and a bit too splashy, though it could have been just this single headphone knowing beyerdynamic.
 
 
Above is a selection really, having come across much more worth talking about.
 
But all in all, a fantastic event and looking forward to the next one (even if it’s not in London!)

The detachable cables are a nice addition to the T1. The sound difference is not subtle either. Overall I like the T1 v2 over the T1 v1. 

 

[BucketInABucket]

Wonderful experience on Saturday. Some highlights were:
 

1. The Schiit/Mr Speakers (Electromod) joint stand:
   1. I had to wait for ages for the Schiit Audio Yggy and Ragnarok but when I finally got to listen to it with my vintage orthos it was a wonderful experience hearing them out of a truly high-end setup
   2. I loved the sound and design of the Mr Speakers Ether and Ether C; the frequency response chart were just yummy and I could hear it. I would have bought the C right on the spot if I had enough money
   3. I had an enlightening chat with Dan Clark. He's a friendly and interesting man and it was great both talking directly to him about various topics (including learning a thing about humility!) and participating in a group debate along with my friend about the finer points of film design

 

1. The Oppo stand:
   1. I got a wonderful surprise with the PM-2; the thing mopped the floor with both my vintage orthos out of the HA-1 and it's comfortable enough for me to wear for several hours
   2. The PM-3 was an interesting mid-centric headphone and I like how Oppo have the only portable ortho on the market right now

 

1. The RHA stand:
   1. Really liked the T20 and I would've bought it were it not for my preference for the R2Pro sound
   2. Got to A-B another android DAC with my Cozoy Aegis; don't remember its name but I liked it more than the Aegis tbh
   3. Got a free shirt and a nice chat with the wonderful people running the stand!

 

1. Snugs earphones stand:
   1. I got myself a set of half-impressions for my R2Pros
   2. Luckily, someone else had already handed in theirs so I got to keep mine
   3. The 3D-scanning tech really impressed me with how it worked; it confuses me as to why it's such a rare tech with CIEM companies though

 

1. Misc:
   1. I was really impressed with the overall design of the Nighthawk as I finally got to see its insides; I loved how Audioquest developed everything in-house which is rarely seen as most companies are lazy and just rebrand an existing headphone and leave it at that
   2. I loved how I could see inside the Questyle amps and I agree with many of their design decisions; too bad their dual monoblock setup wasn't working properly!
   3. I really loved how the Headamp GS-X MKii managed to drive my orthos - lots of clean power on tap
   4. The Noble Audio K10 was something that I really want to have but can't as I loved how it sounded out of the Aegis

 

[pedalhead]

I'm so glad I made the trip to join you all, what a fun (and busy) event.  

For those who had to endure me at my most incoherent, sorry about the Saturday presentation.  It was my master class "Sleep deprivation while presenting 101."

Hey Dan you did just fine on Saturday. Apologies for grilling you a bit with questions . Congrats again on the Ether... a stunning headphone (open or closed).

 

[LFC_SL]

Any news concerning availability of the read and blue Oppo PM3? Oppo showed them on a banner and I'd be willing to wait a little longer if they were released any time soon.

They were still working on the colour when i spoke to them. They have definitely toned down the vibrancy of the blue from earlier this year.

Did anybody else listen to the Kef M400 and M500 i think they were not bad sounding at all...so much so that i have a M500 on order

Sold the M500 for P7 last year. Oppo PM3 getting all the Internet love now

The 3D-scanning tech really impressed me with how it worked; it confuses me as to why it's such a rare tech with CIEM companies though

The technology is only a few years old

 

[sgtbilko]

My first CanJam (in fact, any headphone event). Really enjoyed it, and thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make it happen.
 
My highlights - based on my limited exposure to all things audiophile:
 
Was specifically looking at Planar HP's and tested the HifiMan 400S, 400i, 560, Audeze EL-8 (both pairs), LCD-2, Oppo PM3, and PM2 - Wow! tough crowd. Found I liked the 560's, PM2's and EL-8 Opens all equally - so a bit more soul-searching before I decide which to go for. I'm currently favouring the HE-560's. As an aside, whilst listening to the EL-8 Open, the fella next to me was listening to the LCD-X's, playing AC/DC - he must have been deaf, I could hear his track all most as loud as the song I was currently listening to!
 
Got myself fitted for some snugs - to go with my Ety 4's - can't wait for those to show up. Sorry Comply, your days are numbered.
 
A huge thanks to Axel on the Sennheiser stand. I brought along an old pair of HD 650's that I thought were beyond help (no bass). within 5 minutes he'd pulled them apart found the flaw and fixed them. Simple as that! Many thanks Axel, I've been ignoring those for best part of 5 years - no more...
 
Auditioned the noble 6's, Savant and K10's. Didn't care much for the 6's, and was naturally impressed by the K10's, but the Savant's gave me a 'hang on, these are pretty awesome' moment. Very nice indeed.
 
Dropped by the friendly RHA table - loved the T20's for what they offered. Pretty impressed by the new 500's also, but sadly, I already have Ety's and Flares when I want brain insertion.
 
The same goes for the ACS stand. The evoke and Evolve were just gob-smacking for universals. And that Linum cable... I want one of those!
 
Final thanks goes to Mark (I think) from Electromod - very helpful and knowledgeable. I should thank him for making me try out the Hifiman 560's, I had originally stopped at the 400i's. Much appreciated advice.
 
Did get around to most tables  through the day and enjoyed the kit on show and banter greatly. If there's another one next year, count me in
 
cheers all

 

[BucketInABucket]

The technology is only a few years old

And it should have a lot more coverage than it does currently.