Hi! I decided to post here as I haven't found a dedicated Audio Video Show 2023 thread, so here goes what I've heard!
DAP used was mostly the Cayin N7 in mid gain, Amazon Music. Keep in mind I was there to experience and like stuff, not to be as objective as possible
The Craft Ears Omnium - show prerelease. 1 DD, 1 planar for mids and BAs for highs and beyond. If I understood correctly, the supertweeters are Knowles' RAU ones. 2449 Euro MSRP. Compared to Aurum, former flagship: noticeable bump in bass texture, more natural mids that spread really far left and right; less sharp highs with better detail. And since it's BA, it does not need a pocket fusion reactor to power. Three types of metal too choose from for the faceplate: gold, silver and rose gold.
Noble Ronin
Mids were the standout here, with lots grit in the vocals and guitars. Detailed highs however due to limited stage depth they often got lost among other sounds. Not a fan of the bass though, a bit on the warm side. I'm team KK for this duel.
Noble Spartacus
Great mids with tons of bite, bass does not get in the way. A bit splashy highs. Overall a good all rounder. Fantastic shape, possibly great for sleeping on the side. The faceplate can be see through depending on the pattern, pretty cool. The stock cable is also a great upgrade compared to the KK, ergonomics-wise. Love the straight changeable plugs (Dunu's angled plugs disconnect too damn often while in pocket to bother) and while the weight increased, it's as comfy as stock KK cable. Bought one for my Kublai's
Campfire Audio Bonneville
While the Andromeda didn't have bass, these are too warm and not as black as the Andro so it's a pass for me
They are comfy though.
Softears Enigma Prototype - warm V shape, not my cup of tea. Shells are subject to change (perhaps the tuning will undergo some refinement as well?) as it's not as ballsy as the Musicteck placeholder.
Aroma Audio Fei Wan (+ EA Centurion because the exhibitor figured why not) - Great clarity, superb female vocals, bass with great rumble but slightly lacking in texture. Comfy shells. Surprisingly easy to drive, 50 volume mid gain N7. Jewel has dryer bass, worse texture on male vocals. It's not as black backgrounded as the FW. FWs treble is also better detailed, but is on the edge of being sharp. Wifeproof faceplate design. These IEMs might be my favorite TOTL alongside the
Please excuse the flash blast but I really wanted to awaken the faceplate, it's really stunning
The
Fusion1, even if out of focus, seemed quite ok in terms of ergonomics. Soundwise it was too off for my Xe6. Bass got neutered and dialed wayy down, while the mids went into overdrive of some kind. I tried the FT next, which sounded like a better quality stock Scorpion, so I passed on the idea altogether. I was pleasantly surprised by the ergonomics, though. Judging by the pictures, I thought the nylon cover would make the cables unwieldly. Eletech didn't ship on time to be shown at the show so I timeouted myself for approx 5 min since I felt morose I couldn't complain Eric forgot to put chin sliders on the Virtues series. And I really wanted to test drive the Raphael with my Xe6.
Oh s
HE-1 - mad props for the lady responsible for registering all the folks for an audition. So many people came to register but she really did her best to allow as many people as reasonably possible. The headphones themselves? Mids for days, this was the most natural "in your head" playing of my life. Insane dynamics, even though Tidal was not maxed out (due to the Internet being slow I'd guess?). Money for Nothing never had so many little quirks and tiny sounds everywhere as they did on the HE-1. A true statement piece, even if it's not the messiah I imagined it to be. Gotta book another session next year!
iBasso quad korg balanced headphone amp - guys this is legit! It added just the right amount of warmth to make the sound pleasantly analogue, and did wonders to soundstage width and especially depth. First I tested this with the Symponium Crimson (a rad IEM in it's own right), but then I was shocked when my U12t's also responded well to it. Great amp, wish I knew what the MSRP is going to be. Another note : even though it is roughly the same dimension as the N7, it weights almost nothing!
Additional eyecandy:
Thanks for reading! I hope I'll make it to next years AVS.