[Frankie D]

Epic post my friend. It was great to re-live some of these memories again. It was a spectacular weekend not soon forgotten.

Thanks Jeff. I already miss you all.

 

[snk8699]

Miscellaneous Meandering, Rantings and Ravings at CanJam NYC 2023



I apologize for this late posting. Unfortunately, I came down with Covid after CanJam. Although I had started to write down my thoughts, it took me awhile before I could review and post them.

My planning for CanJam 2023 began after CanJAm 2022 in NYC. Living 2 hours door to door from the NYC event, I felt I could not attend a late dinner on Saturday night last year, and then make it back to attend early on Sunday morning. So, I decided to book a room at the Marriott Marquis for the 2023 CanJam. On a positive note, I then realized I could trade in my DVC (Disney Vacation Club) Member points to cover the room. When CanJam 2023 was announced, I booked my suite!

Arriving on Friday, I was able to meet with Todd (RTODD) and Jeff (Rockwell75) for dinner. We then went back to my suite to exchange some information and had a great listening session. A few notes:





Custom Art F5: A Good IEM for me. I liked it. Not a best of the best, but enjoyable and well made.

Trifecta: I spent a good deal of time with this one. I liked it allot. This is a colored sound, but it draws you in. A bassy but balanced concoction that will seduce you. It is also beautifully made with its gold-colored drivers in a clear shell.

XE6: I do not get this IEM. Compared to the Trifecta it does not hit that hard in the bass for me, and it cannot touch my Traillii in quality of bass, mids and treble. A non-starter for me. I might prefer my Fourte to it as well, and definitely the ERLK (among many others).

ERLK: Jeff and Todd said they liked it better than the Phoenix.

OG Fourte: This was kind of funny. Todd asked, “how did this one get by me?” You just cannot hear everything all the time under good conditions.

Luna: Jeff felt it is showing its age, but he can now say he has heard it.

We heard a bunch of others, but for the life of me I cannot remember at the moment!

Saturday morning arrived pretty fast and I made it down to the event a few minutes late, but still good at about 10:10AM by the time I walked inside. Excitedly I made my way to the DCS room to start the day. It was quiet and I was able to hear all their HPs and they even retrieved a Susvara for me as well. My two favorites remain the Abyss 1266 Phi TC and the Susvara.

Meze Elite: I do not really get this HP. It is certainly good, but I would rather own the Susvara.

Abyss 1266 Phi TC: Sounded excellent on the DCS Lina stack. No issue driving it and top-notch sound. As good as being driven by the Woo Audio WA33? Probably not, but still great sound.

Susvara: Also sounded terrific through the DCS Lina Stack. The best I have heard? No, wait for that a bit later. But certainly, excellent and the Lina Amp had no issue with it. I did not go past halfway on the volume and it had good bass and drive.

DCS Lina Stack: I thought it was excellent. I really liked it, and it drove every HP I threw at it with aplomb. Another enthusiast brought his Mola Mola Tambaqui to compare with the Lina Dac. I liked them both about equal, though he liked the Mola Mola better with the Abyss and maybe the Lina better with the Susvara (we were using the 1266 and the Susvara only at this point in these comparisons). The issue is the price. The Holo May/Bliss stack is probably better at a third of the price. But there is no issue with the Lina amp driving the Susvara as many have previously mentioned.

Mola Mola Tambaqui: Per the above, sounded like an excellent DAC. Unfortunately, it is also expensive.

I also think several attendees have hearing loss (and I don’t mean by a little). On some of the comparisons, one of the attendees was turning the volume up way past 12 to the 3:00 position. It was way too loud for me, and I could hear everything while he had the HPs on his head. Drew from Moon Audio was there helping us out, and even he commented to me about it. This occurred more than once at the show.

I then made my way to the Bloom Audio Room which was nice and quiet, and ran into Alex (Twister6). It is always a pleasure to see Alex at the shows. Let’s hear some IEMs.

Andromeda 2023: For me this is a big miss. I own and prefer the OG Andromeda. It certainly did not wow me in the treble.

Solaris 2023: I thought it was good, but I am not a big fan. I prefer the Trifecta (though it is a totally different sound). I also preferred the FatFreq/CustomArt. Jeff came in and he liked the Solaris.

Blanc: Not getting what all the fuss is about. This version of the Fourte is probably better than the Noir, but I still feel the OG Fourte is the best. Jeff and Todd also agreed.

64 Audio IEMs: I am not going to go through all of them as I have done my own comparisons over the years and will just say that for me, the Fourte and the 12T remain my two favorites from their line.

Now Jim (HifiHawaii88) and the rest of our gang found me, and we went to have our group shot taken. It was fabulous meeting everyone in person. Jim then treated Jeff and I to pizza from Joe’s Pizza! Another great meal in NYC. We discussed all things Audio and just had a great lunch. Following lunch Jim and I stopped by Headphones.com as I wanted to hear the Zahl HM1 Amp.



Zahl HM1: The amp was connected to the Weiss Dac. Jim also connected his DAP to the amp. This was probably the best amp at the show IMHO (I really liked the Bliss as well). Jim went to his room and retrieved all the HP’s he brought. All were driven exquisitely, and the Susvara was terrific. The Susvara out of the HM1 was one of my best sounds at the show! On lesser amps the Sus can be bass shy. Not on the HM1. A strong and highly detailed bass fitting in perfectly with open mids and treble. Guess what? You cannot have one. They are sold out for 2023 and they are not taking orders for 2024. I cannot catch a break. This a much better amp than the DCS Lina HP Amp.






I continued to spend allot of time with HP’s and at the Audeze table. Besides the HoloMay/Bliss stack catching my eye, the Boulder 812 DAC/Preamplifier caught my eye.



Boulder 812 DAC Preamplifier: This solution from Boulder wowed me. It has great sound. While I do wish it was more powerful for HP’s, it is fantastic with IEMs. In fact, it made my Traillii sound so good it outperformed Audeze’s own LCD 3. I connected a few other IEMs as well. This is the best IEM amp/dac combo I have ever heard. I also believe it costs $8,850.00 unfortunately. At the show I was also able to audition the Lotoo Mjolnir which also costs about $8000.00. The Boulder is far better IMHO. Not even close.

HoloAudio May KTE Dac/Bliss HP Amp: I really liked this stack. I heard it with the LCD 5 (this was at the Audeze table after all), the 3 and then shortly on the Solitaire P with Jim. I was very impressed with this stack. This might be the way to go since the Zahl is not available and they look great together.

I then moved on to some more IEMs:

Elysian Diva: A good IEM, but I am not really a fan of it.

Elysian Annihilator: I am sure this posting will upset a few folks. I listened to this on Saturday night in my room and also again on Sunday. I find it to be bass light and though the mids and treble are good, I prefer my VE Elysium to it (and no contest vs my Traillii). Now my Elysium is a custom and perhaps that makes a difference. But for me, the Ely has more bass and of higher quality while giving up nothing in the mids and treble. In fact, the highs can be fatiguing. For me this is so bass shy, that whatever you are listening to just does not sound as good due to the lack of foundation. I really feel like this has simply been Hype in 2022.

Multiverse Mentor: I felt this was an excellent IEM and worthy of fighting for any top spot. The mids and treble were excellent, and the bass was tight and balanced. I listened to this on Friday night and again Saturday and Sunday. UM also had Dignis make the case much larger. I do wish it were just a touch smaller. A TOTL IEM to my ears. In direct comparison I still felt my Traillii superior, especially in overall timbre, but this is an excellent IEM to my ears.

UM Mest 3: A good IEM, but after listening to the Mentor, I had no interest in it. I am sure it also costs allot less as well.


On Sunday I stopped by Vision Ears. I own the VE-8, Ely and ERLK. VE was auditioning 2 prototypes. They were asking for feedback. I do not know their composition:

VE Blue Prototype: This sounded like VE was going for a balanced tuning which did nothing for me. I hope they do not make this one.

VE Red Prototype: More of a bass heavy sound, but also seemed to be of a higher quality. I also preferred the balance of this one of the mids and treble.

I had a discussion with VE and offered my thoughts. If they make the Blue prototype, the Multiverse Mentor is already far superior. Why not make the Red and maybe further improve it and go in a different direction. I do hope they improve it further as my ERLK is already superior to both for me. Jeff, Jim and few others also preferred the Red. There was one person with us that preferred the blue though.

At the Empire table on Sunday they were also taking votes on their 2 prototypes. One White and one Red.

EE White: I did not care for the bass, I felt it was missing something. The mids and treble also did not wow me. I felt they could be a bit clearer.

EE Red: Much better bass than the White for me. The mids and treble seemed to fit better as well across the frequency spectrum.

The interesting thing is that EE told me they made and tuned both the same. However, the white shell is thicker and therefore does not let the bone conduction work as well as on the thinner shelled red. It made a huge difference.

Lotoo Mjolnir: A good product, but as I mentioned above, I would much rather own and listen to the Boulder 812 Dac/Amp. The Mjolnir does not seem to be aimed at HPs by the way. I thought it was more IEM focused.



On Saturday night a bunch of the Coolers went out for a great steak dinner at Frankie and Johnnie’s. Jim and Todd took great care of us and we all had a great time. We then went back to my room for some more listening before finishing up CanJam on Sunday.








Noble Viking: It was a treat to see and hear this IEM. It just seems so perfectly made from layered Damascus. Listen to whatever you want and just hold this in your hands. It somehow just brings a smile to your face as it feels so perfect in weight and build quality. It sounds pretty good too! The Viking and the Ragnar pretty much sound the same with maybe a slight advantage to the Viking. I did feel the female vocals and treble are a bit emphasized past what I prefer but still excellent. I mentioned to Jim at Noble how we all felt about the build quality. He told me it was expensive to get the Damascus which is why it is so expensive. I told him about several Damascus knives I own which contain much more Damascus for allot less money. Maybe Noble can find a less expensive supplier?




Noble Ragnar: This also had nice weight to it and felt well made. As I stated above, it pretty much sounds like the Viking for less money, but you will miss the Damascus of the Viking.

Noble Ronin: I liked this second best of the Noble IEMs in sound quality. It had good bass, mids, and treble. The vocals and treble were not as pronounced as on the Ragnar, and I felt it made for a better overall balance. And no, I did not feel the bass was the same quality as on my Traillii, but still very good.

Noble Kublai Khan: Now we are talking. I felt this had the highest quality bass, mids and treble of the Noble IEMs. This was my favorite sounding Noble IEM. The issue is the Multiverse Mentor is probably better. Still, I can see someone preferring this model. This is a TOTL contender for me.

FatFreq Maestro SE: Another very good IEM. I liked this model and very good at its price point.

Odyssey: I heard this on the SP3000 and my N8BB. I am not sure I would prefer this over the Odin or the Evo. Good bass, mids and top end, but maybe a touch sibilant with some recordings. They certainly do not compete with Traillii or Multiverse Mentor for me.

Cayin N7: There has been allot of talk about this DAP and I do not get it. Yes, it sounds good, but it is not a TOTAL DAP. Compared to my N8BB it does not have enough bloom in upper vocals and treble. I feel it is a good mid-tier DAP. I also much preferred the A&K SP3000, but this is a TOTAL DAP. My advice to anyone getting a DAP would be to save up for a TOTL DAP. As you will use it with all of your IEMs, this is not the area to save.

FIR XE6 and Radon 6: I am lumping both together. I already mentioned the XE6. These just did not work well for me. I heard all the talk about the bass and the quality of the mids and treble. I do not hear a powerful and engaging bass, so maybe it is the fit which can certainly make or break any IEM. I would personally prefer the Trifecta for a more colored and bassier sound than either of these. I also prefer Odin, EVO, Multiverse Mentor, Kublai Kahn and especially the Traillii.

I was finally able to hear the Viva amps at the show. Unfortunately, it was a letdown for me. They did not have the Stax 9000 or Sus or 1266 to audition with them. The Meze Elite sounded good, but it is not a HP I prefer. I am also not sure the DAC being used was very good. I use Viva electronics in my 2-channel system, but I was unable to hear them at their best at this show.

Storm: At the very end of CanJam I was able to spend some time with the Storm. I did not like its look, but I did feel it sounded very good. I would say a competing TOTL IEM. In my auditioning there was a crescendo on Paul Simon’s “I Know What I Know” it did not resolve as well as on my Traillii, but otherwise I felt it excellent in my short audition with good drive and good bass. Joni Mitchel’s voice was beautiful on “Both Sides Now.” I am not sure it will be as good as the hype surrounding it, but it is at least better than Odyssey to my ears. Another potential TOTL. My auditioning of it was only with Jazz, Rock, Vocals and some classical as with most of everything else as well (No EDM).



Singularity: This is a single DD IEM some attendees had liked along with Storm. I did not like it at all. I felt it could be a bit shouty, and the quality and drive of the bass could not match the Storm.

At the show I was also able to spend some time in the HeadAmp room. I visited this room multiple times on Saturday, but each time I went there, they had connectivity issues due to knocking out some cables. On Sunday I was finally able to listen to their amps. The Blue Hawaii Special Edition is a terrific electrostatic amp, but the star was the new Grand Cayman. I cannot wait to see what this will look like once it is painted or plated on the outside.

HeadAmp Grand Cayman: I heard this with the Stax9000, the Shangri-La as well as a few others. Some folks preferred the Shangri-La with it to the Sennheiser HE1. I preferred the Stax 9000 on it as they fit me better. Both sounded excellent. It delivers palpable bass on electrostatic HPs with great body in the mids and detailed treble as well. This is something to keep an eye on.

Eksonic was also at the show with its electrostatic amplifiers:

Eksonic T2: Eksonic had its own table on the show floor near one of the entrances. I did not hear it with the 9000, but it sounded terrific with the Stax 007. It had strong bass and was detailed and quick. Another excellent electrostatic amp to complete with the Grand Cayman and HE1. The T2 looks stunning in Black Chrome though it was in silver at the show:



Eksonic Aeras: I did not like this amplifier. Compared to the T2 the bass is much lighter and not as tight. It also lacks bloom in the upper mids and treble. I would call it veiled in comparison. Yes, it will cost less, but not worth it in my opinion. Save for the T2.

Finally, CanJam came to an end, and I had to drive back home. I intended to stop at one of my favorite pizza shops, Pelham Pizza, for an Eggplant Roll during my 2 hour drive. When I got there it looked closed. I drove by 2 or 3 times, and it was dark and no one was around. One of my favorite pizza shops closed. Nothing in this world makes sense any longer! I was pissed off to say the least.

On Monday, while explaining the closure to my sister, I find out it was and is still open. Now I cannot even tell when my favorite place for an eggplant roll is open? I am in a fog! You know what, forget everything I said about everything!

This is simply incredible! Thank you so much for sharing. I felt like I was there.

 

[Andykong]

the streaming element doesnt require faster cpu's...and the interface isn't taxing on the cpu either. my old aurender streamer doesnt have any lag.
it's more of a question if they're designing the best product originally or is it subpar, or did they plan to build something new every year so that they can get a new revenue stream? I do admit that it's likely difficult to get an uncompromised product given the size and power requirements of a dap

It is hardly related to the actual hardware performance. Yes, the streaming elements don't require a faster CPU, but consumer anxiety will drive us crazy. Before we announced N7 officially, I had pages of complaints along this line, just to quote messages from several users for your reference:

• A new dap released in 2023 must have a recent Android. That’s the point. I will boycott old Android version (< 11) on DAPs now.
• They can’t or they don’t want because it’s cheaper ?
• I really hate it when DAP manufacturers choose old Android for whatever reason. It limits app compatibility for streaming users like myself.
• if you could explain why Cayin still uses an older Android while most of the competition is already offering Android 11 or 12 even?

To a certain extent, the customer asked for this, so let's give them what they want, let's roll out new DAPs with new system as soon as possible, Customers are pleased, sales are happy, support staff don't need to deal with unhappy customers, everybody win.

 

[warrenpchi]

So over in the CanJam Singapore thread, @drftr responded to @audionewbi not being able to make it, with this:

It's a pity we don't get to meet though. Seems like we share a lot under the hood. But you know what? You still have a whopping 7 days to change your mind!

That got me thinking... how do y'all feel about having an international Watercooler Meet at CanJam SoCal 2023 later in the year? Like, I mean EVERYBODY, regardless of where you are in the world. Arrange time off way early. Beg, borrow or steal to get it done if you must. And let's get then entire thread there. We can even show up a few days early for ad hoc meets and just hanging out.

Based on the scale of last year's CanJam SoCal, as well as the strength of the CanJam NYC we just had, I think it's safe to say that CanJam SoCal 2023 is already epic and just waiting to happen.

Just a thought?

 

[stacey]

It is hardly related to the actual hardware performance. Yes, the streaming elements don't require a faster CPU, but consumer anxiety will drive us crazy. Before we announced N7 officially, I had pages of complaints along this line, just to quote a few for your reference:


To a certain extent, the customer asked for this, so let's give them what they want, let's roll out new DAPs with new system as soon as possible, Customers are pleased, sales are happy, support staff don't need to deal with unhappy customers, everybody win.

Out of curiosity, how long does it take to bring a DAP into production/release? It would be pretty hard to plan around an Android version that isn’t out…

 

[drftr]

I can bring some of his stuff for you to try if you like

I have only been to the hifi shows in London, Paris, and Frankfurt, but those were very noisy and if CanJam is anything like it demoing earbuds may make no sense at all. But in case we get to meet on Friday night I could devote the night to the Art of Jim and then sleep through the show.

Any fav diving spots?

+100 for Raja Ampat plus several sites in Papua New Guinea.

I am in a fog! You know what, forget everything I said about everything!

Wait, isn't that the one thing we all share here?

Fantastic write-up!

drftr

 

[Tex Irie]

100% agree, I’m a big Bandcamp supporter… over 1600 releases in my collection! While I’ve started to enjoy Tidal recently, I still love my Friday night Bandcamp shopping ritual - as noted before, the closest experience to actually being in a music store flicking through CDs and vinyl.

Bandcamp is dope.. I found a lot of cool albums and mashups there.

 

[Ojisan]

What is that for? I just left it in the box, that's a bit too "snake oil-y" for me, heh.

I think it's a plastic/rubber conditioner. This user's experience starts about 1/3 way down, after "A must-have for users of..."

https://zigsow.jp/item/364697/review/375846

 

[drftr]

So over in the CanJam Singapore thread, @drftr responded to @audionewbi not being able to make it, with this:



That got me thinking... how do y'all feel about having an international Watercooler Meet at CanJam SoCal 2023 later in the year? Like, I mean EVERYBODY, regardless of where you are in the world. Arrange time off way early. Beg, borrow or steal to get it done if you must. And let's get then entire thread there. We can even show up a few days early for ad hoc meets and just hanging out.

Based on the scale of last year's CanJam SoCal, as well as the strength of the CanJam NYC we just had, I think it's safe to say that CanJam SoCal 2023 is already epic and just waiting to happen.

Just a thought?

If you come over to Singapore we're almost complete already!

I would LOVE to attend a Watercooler show but for practical reasons hope it won't be in the US. But since that would probably work the best for all I'd happily put myself on the chopping block. Having said that, since its origins lie on Watercooler Island Vancouver Island...

drftr

EDIT: Sorry, totally missed you were referring to an existing event. Fuggeddaboudit...

 

[jwilliamhurst]

So over in the CanJam Singapore thread, @drftr responded to @audionewbi not being able to make it, with this:



That got me thinking... how do y'all feel about having an international Watercooler Meet at CanJam SoCal 2023 later in the year? Like, I mean EVERYBODY, regardless of where you are in the world. Arrange time off way early. Beg, borrow or steal to get it done if you must. And let's get then entire thread there. We can even show up a few days early for ad hoc meets and just hanging out.

Based on the scale of last year's CanJam SoCal, as well as the strength of the CanJam NYC we just had, I think it's safe to say that CanJam SoCal 2023 is already epic and just waiting to happen.

Just a thought?

I’m definitely going to be there! Tickets purchased for the weekend and staying with a friend! Would be so cool to have so many Coolers in one place!

 

[Ojisan]

This may be a dumb question, but do you plug both the 3.5 and 4.4 into the source at the same time?

edit: what does this do?

Provide common ground by borrowing ground from 3.5.

I saw this photo, but wondered if it was only for the Sony DAP, does this make a sonic difference on any DAP?

I thought most DAPs don't have the common ground wired for 4.4 (I vaguely recall @twister6 mentioning ones with and without). In this case, borrowing the ground from 3.5 could help... only if the connected amp can make use of that common ground.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

Provide common ground by borrowing ground from 3.5.



I thought most DAPs don't have the common ground wired for 4.4 (I vaguely recall @twister6 mentioning ones with and without). In this case, borrowing the ground from 3.5 could help... only if the connected amp can make use of that common ground.

Thank you for your response

@wazzupi explained this to me via pm as well.

I appreciate your reply very much!

 

[Andykong]

Out of curiosity, how long does it take to bring a DAP into production/release? It would be pretty hard to plan around an Android version that isn’t out…

In our recent development record, 12-18 months. N7 is a fast-track product because we can rely on the development experience and supply chain of R01 Audio Motherboards N8ii is extremely slow because (1) we changed from AK4499 to ROHM after AKM fire, (2) it is our flagship product so we take our times to fine-tune the design.

Those who are familiar with the semiconductor business, they should aware that the bottleneck is the "solution provider". Most HiFi manufacturers don't have the capability to deal with semiconductor suppliers or new Android releases directly, we need a solution provider in between. Without that, we couldn't even place an order for these new technologies. The question is, when will a solution provider be interested to develop a "solution" for DAP market? Given the quantity, we are producing every year and the pace of our new product?

 

[warrenpchi]

EDIT: Sorry, totally missed you were referring to an existing event. Fuggeddaboudit...

Wait, wut? No, I meant for the CanJam SoCal that will happen six months from now.

 

[warrenpchi]

I’m definitely going to be there! Tickets purchased for the weekend and staying with a friend! Would be so cool to have so many Coolers in one place!

Right? I think we'd have to start booking entire backrooms of restaurants whenever we eat.

One side benefit is that I can bring some unreleased stuff from preview videos that you can hear in peace and quiet, in advance of the show. Like at SoCal last year, Jim had sexy time with both the Viking Ragnar and Ode To Laura the night before the show opened.