There were so many great things at CanJam! Awesome people too!
I'll start with what I consider to be a contender for Best of Show, the Apex Pennicle with balanced HD800. I liked Beyerdynamic T1 better than HD800 on every setup at CanJam except this one. The combo of this amp with balanced HD800 was unsurpassed. Typically the HD800 did not have enough bass impact and was very thin on the lower end. Not on this amp. I would have liked to try a balanced T1 on it but none was available so this compairison used the T1 single ended. It also drove HD650s very well. As for the price, if you have to ask - you can't afford it.
I still like the T1 better than the HD800.
The ECP gear blew me away with its sound quality. I hope to hear more at Carolina CanFest II in August.
The LCD2 was AWESOME!!!
Tyll's headphone testing setup is a huge asset to the community and he may in fact be one of the coolest people on the planet.
( I stole this pic and am simply reposting it.)
The folks here showed me my ear drum. Its on the monitor there.
In the Woo Audio room the WES and WA22 were a big hit. You had to wait in line to listen to them. I'm surprised (really surprised - shocked) that they only had one WA22 there and didn't have any balanced cans to try on it. The whole point of the WA22 is that its balanced. Ted, the Cable Pro guy, was kind enough to loan me a Balanced cable to try my HD650s on it. The Woo amps didn't dissapoint. I wasn't wild about Woo's first electrostatic amp, the GES. It was good but the sound just felt a bit thin. The WES is a big step up (in price too) and really took it to the next level. I am admittedly not an experienced Stax guy. I use a WA6 at home and I think the WA22 would be an improvement for me. I can't put my finger on what I liked better about it. It must just be that balanced sound. Plus I can keep my Sophia Princess Mesh Plate 274B rectifier for use on the WA22.
The first one is the WA22.
I tried several of Ted's Cable Pro cables on my HD650. I currently use the Moon Audio Silver Dragon on them and I like it a lot. All of the Cable Pro cables at every pricepoint had a great sound and were more flexible than the Silver Dragon. I was impressed by how balanced the sound seemed to be out of even the least expensive of his cables. If you're on a budget or even if you're not I would recommend having these cables in the running for your stock cable replacement. Besides Cable Pro and Moon Audio, Equinox also has a good cable if you're in the market.
Headroom guys were awesome. The Headroom gear was all very good. Goes to show that looks aren't everything. Even the most ugly of their gear had a really impressive sound. I liked the way they setup their room better than all the other rooms.
I was very impressed with the Sennheiser PX100 II. I believe the PX100 II rivals the HD600 in sound quality. The Shure SRH440 was also a real winner sounding better than all of Shure's other closed cans despite costing half as much as their SRH840 model.
SRH440
When I got home I promptly ordered the PX100 II and Shure SRH440 from Headroom. They will be here early next week.
Chicago Deep Dish Pizza!
Side view... Wow
Yours truly
Here is some Cary gear.
The NC crew really represented at CanJam! I'll see you all at NC CanFest II in August.