May as well cross post this here. I'll likely attempt a proper report in a couple days when I'm not on the go but here are some hot takes while the memories are fresh in my mind.
Summary: An epic show, probably my favorite CJ yet (they just seem to get better and better) made so mostly by all the wonderful people I got to catch up with and meet for the first time-- you are innumerable and you know who you are. Much gratitude to the organizers who work tirelessly behind the scene to make these shows happen for us.
Show highlights, all listening done on WM1Z...which does lend its characteristic sauce to whatever I'm listenign to, in particular it tends to smooth out treble and add a touch of meat to bass.
IEMs demoed for the first time: Elysian Pilgrim, Timsok 316, Project M, Traillii TI, AK/EE Novus, UM Soleil, Noble Onyx, Eletech Proto, NG Audio Erebus, Flipears Aurora, Campfire Fathom, a couple Acoustune IEMs.
1) Elysian Pilgrim.
I just loved this IEM and it was the one I kept coming back to over and over. Beautiful mids with spectacular vocals, characteristic Elysian magic up top, lush and detailed treble with no fatigue whatsoever. Bass quantity was low but imho the quality is on point. Reminds me of Gaea (which l loved, but which needed EQ) but with more meat in the mid-bass lower mids, less insanity in the upper mids and better bass. Something of a specialist for someone with my particular tastes but when it hits this thing holds court with anything else I heard at the show, at any price point. At
@RTodd's recommendation I listed to Diana Krall Temptation with these and I damn near melted...so seductive and beautiful.
2) Eletech Prototype "Romeo"
I listened to this one early today at the recommendation of
@bigbeans and others who heard it the previous day. The tuning on these is spectactular and they swept me up right off the bat. Most impressive to me was the quality and quantity of the bass while maintaining wonderful epic air and highly articulate staging. These do something similar to Fei Wan where no matter where in the soundscape you are focusing every element of the sound seems to blend seemlessly with the whole while maintaining its own individual air and "atmosphere" if that makes sense. Very compelling IEM. Still a proto and I really hope they don't mess with it too much if at all as they really have something special here.
3) AK/EE Novus
Heard this early on and it kind of unobtrusively blew me away. Reminds me somewhat of the Raven when I heard it at its best in SoCal. For some reason the Raven I heard this weekend had a touch too much upper mids for me-- not Odin or EVO levels but I found myself reaching for skip ore often than I'd hoped. The Novus though is just perfect for me. Captures that beautiful EE magic in the bass and marries it to a nicely balanced sig with great present mids and detailed non-fatiguing highs. I can't wait to hear this one again. The price is steep but I'll stay out of that debate...as far as sound goes this is possibly my favorite EE related product I've heard yet.
Special shoutout: Nightjar Duality
I heard this IEM...or variants of it at two prior shows (SoCal and NYC last year) but I never really clicked with it until today. Bass is great and everything else is well balanced. Something of a juiced up Singularity. Takes a lot of clicks but sounds epic on my 1Z. Looking forward to spending more time with this one
Special shoutout #2 - Oriolus Traillii JP, the one and only OG.
I was fortunate to hear
@Frankie D's Traillii alongside the Ti...and I much prefer the OG. The bird just sweeps me off my feet every time I hear it, even after all this time. BA bass aside it does everything right. The TI subdues the mids a bit and boosts the bass..which for me killed some of the transparency and forward mids I love so much about the Bird. I didn't find the boosted bass helped as more BA bass is still BA bass. OG Bird all the way for me.
Pleasant surprise...somewhat...LP E7
I was happy to find this at the show. Sound is smooth, clear and intoxicating. My Trifecta sounded divine. OS while better is still kind of crap imho and the unit crashed while we were using it and I still found it rather unintuitive to use. Sound is on point though.
Always a pleasure...
Never hit NYC without enjoying a slice or two of Joe's and some Mexican Coke.
Addenda:
Myself and a couple others hit the road after the show to have our mind's blown by
@RTodd's Wilsons.
Hours later I still can't wipe the smile off my face. More on this adventure to come tomorrow, with updates likely in the Cooler thread.
Love and thanks to everyone...
