bukumurah
100+ Head-Fier
Sent you a PM for further contactMate, I live in Jakarta. Let’s make it happen.
The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
- Thread starter Rockwell75
- Start date
Evil twin is a perfect description
Awesome write-up and pictures! Looking good!Cross-posting from the CanJam thread...so awesome to see so many Watercoolers in one place!!!
Sorry for the length of this post, and for the amount of pics, but having just arrived home from CanJam NYC, and having spent zero time on my computer or the forum during the event, just plowing from experience to experience, both in the showroom and around it, am just now getting to write this out. Feel free to skip, this will be some incoherent mumbling I'm sure.
This was a truly epic CanJam for me - okay only my second, but I feel confident my senior fellows would agree that a lot, maybe most, of that epicness comes from events that are not in the showroom of CanJam, but would otherwise never occur but for CanJam! So thanks to all of the amazing people who put this thing together (far too many to name!), this was a CanJam for the ages and I feel very excited to return to NYC next year for more fun
First, it was great to see the Big Apple again as it always is! Despite its craziness, this city is alive, even during massive rain downpours, the streets are still packed, especially in Times Square, the scene of the crime!
I arrived too late to join in on the early Watercooler Friday festivities, which are now affectionately known as EyalJams, but I will be sure to change that up next year.
Arrived on Friday afternoon to the Marriott Marquis ready to meet up with some Watercoolers for dinner, and having eaten nothing all day flying across the country, some of us were very ready for a gorge fest!
As I checked in and started getting settled, I saw that the crunch time had arrived for show setup, everyone working far harder than me!
So, on to a dinner to remember! A group of us walked three blocks down 46th to Becco, a Bastianich restaurant, part of their empire! And their Italian did not disappoint... But better than the food was finally, after so much waiting, coming together with this group of friends who really enjoy the company of serious audiophiles. It was a gorge fest, with plenty of lively conversation, laughing, and huge portions of delicious Italian food!
After an amazing dinner, we said goodnight, time to crash and then get up for the show!
Saturday, Day 1- Today, I tried more iems than any other day of my life! At the outset, I will say that the floor was noisy, I didn't try to do any critical listening, just looking for big or little problems. Most here were tested using my L&P P6Pro and Shanling M9 plus, except for the Novus which I tested on AK's new SP3000T and the UM Mason ST which I tried on the new L&P E7. Here were my highlights with initial impressions which are admittedly of little help, but it'll be good for my note history:
1. Oriolus Trailli Ti: Trailli doesn't have a DD does it? Beautiful timbre, bass hits are surgical and have beautiful texture, with light sub bass elevation. Note weight is excellent, mids are a bit forward creating perfect vocals. Among the best things I've ever had in my ears, though my credit card would give a polite "no". Wish I would have taken a pic of it, but it was very popular.
2. Noble Onyx: preorder, BCD set, great execution of the BCD. Good deep bass, wide staging, holographic sound, a great release, would love to demo. Good price for a very TOTL sound.
3. EE/AK Novus: Must try to demo this longer, staging seems as impossibly huge as the price, vocals are beautifully isolated, this is an awesome tuning, great on new SP3000T. It's beautiful with an Audemars Piguet like bezel and crystal!
4. Eletech Romeo and Juliet: Romeo the clear winner, Juliet feels unfinished. Romeo is awesome, with deep and impactful bass, with clear mids and sparkling treble. Very fast, sounds like DDs with BAs. One of the best bass qualities and quantities I've heard accompanied by the top down tuning. Some songs can sound like a big 2 way system with fat woofers, then all of a sudden you get a song that surrounds you holographically. Great, engaging stage, great low rumble.
5. CFA Trifecta: As good as I recall, likely CFA's greatest creation, the deepest pounding DD bass ever, but excellent detail and resolution across FR. I know lots say it's a specialist, but I could easily see it as the primary iem for my library which seems to love it. I must get this(my wallet cries)!
6. NG Erebus: Awesome deep bass with thick note weight but great treble, staging is holographic, this is great.
7. Noble Onyx: New BCD set, great execution of the BCD. Good deep bass, wide staging, holographic sound, a great release, would love to demo. Very TOTL sound.
8. UM Mason ST: Just wow, beautiful, this is amazing, still the bass disappoints, but just barely, as it's over done by everything else going on here. I prefer AP definitely listening to them back-to-back; AP has wonderful bass and Mason does not. Both sounded lovely on the new L&P E7.
9. PMG Apx: Not as bright as I thought it would be. Still, a lot of energy up there. Beautiful detail, good low thump, but lacks midbass a bit, though very airy with great separation, an exciting tuning. But yes, too bright for me, but just barely. On 2nd listen, using Baroque tips, great all arounder for a treble head, incredible detail, layers on layers, you're sure to hear some new things in your music. Beautiful soundstage and incredible tuning, wide and tall, too light in sub bass.
10. Dita Project M: Much better than I expected. More balanced with great deep bass, but yes, energy up top may be pushing it. Treble focused songs sound a little thin, but not bad. This is a super deal with a fun tuning.
11. Canpur 622B: lush, thick mid, and still plenty of air. Detail retrieval and resolution are great, holographic stage, does it sound like MM? With better bass, I think. Pretty great, would like longer demo.
12. Canpur 54E: really nice, powerful bass, thick mids, sparkling treble, maybe too sparkling. Sub bass a little boomy, but that could be the point, it does sound good.
Phew...my ears were tired, but I was getting very hungry! We stopped for a big group picture after the showroom doors were closed. Congrats to @Chang and @bogdan belonozhko for winning the year's Watercooler awards!!!
Saturday Dinner was a big one, long in the planning with such a big crew! At one of NYC's oldest steakhouses. What we didn't plan for was 1"/hour rain during the 12 block walk! Some were truly soaked by this storm that decided to hit Manhattan just in time for dinner (flood warnings for Manhattan)! Anyway, we finally made it to Keen's, famous for the mutton chop and prime rib, which the well-soaked @Zachik and I happily shared, while @Rockwell75 nabbed a bit of lump crab cocktail. Those who attended ate and laughed heartily throughout the fun night - highly recommend if you've never been, a real slice of old New York! Also, I must say that, after meeting @Frankie D, I'm thinking he and I have a future career in vaudeville or something!
Day 2: Usually, Day 2 gives you a little respite from the crowds of Saturday, but not so much on this Sunday. The hall was crowded, busy and lively with iem, headphone and luminaries everywhere! Truly an audiophiles dream meet up, but as others have said, the loud floor could sometimes interfere with testing. The Bloom room is always the best place for a quieter session and it is a respite from the mania of the floor which I greatly appreciate.
My first real listening experience of the day was a headphone, not an iem, but it was THE headphone: the Sennheiser HE1 (thanks to gentleman and scholar @goldwerger who gave me his time slot!)! This was the most emotional listening experience I've had in recent memory. Blown away with consistent goosebumps and eyes-welling, this all-in-one elegance is otherworldly. All I can really say is that every headphone/iem audiophile should really try to have this experience at least once, though after you do, you'll want it again as I already do (tip for 2d time: have your playlist very set for a 15 minute period and have a couple extra tracks in case you get more time). Thanks @ericpalonen for the awesome pics of the ever aging me having that Audio Gods moment!!!
Now it was back to the tables!!! Not craps tables, no they are much cheaper than these tables!!! Of course, MusicTeck is my favorite one-stop because of the shear magnitude of their offerings. But I also was today able to get finally to FatFreq, NightJar, CFA, and of course, Bloom. Again all useless impressions primarily from my P6Pro and M9+:
1. FF Grand Maestro: Wonderful TOTL sound with meaty, thick notes, and I want one.
2. Noble Ragnar: Male vocals are insane, beautiful and clear with excellent timbre, top end energy is too much for me, strange.
3. Noble Spartacus: This one seems to have even more treble energy. Noble must be great for treble and details. Detail retrieval and treble is powerful, good deep rumble, great BCD, reminds of Annihilator with better bass. Aspiring to Fei Wan but not that, still, I like this one most so far, stage is pretty tall and holographic, still it's hot at the top.
4. Nightjar Duality: I heard this at CanJam Socal and was apprehensive on the sheer quantity of bass. But, after a solid second listen today, I believe they have refined it further from that time, and I was absolutely blown away by a completely different sounding iem from anything else on the market. Thick and heavy but with screaming highs, this is going on the 2024 list for sure. Remember, @Chang, I want one!
5. CFA Supermoon: Planar magnetic iem, super-detailed, too light in sub bass for me, high energy at top, but I'm wondering if this is the timestream cable which never seems perfect.
6. CFA Fathom: New all BA sounds great, good BA bass, nicely detailed, speedy transients, beautiful timbre, great BA set.
7. Elysian Pilgrim: The new inexpensive Elysian Pilgrim here! Wow, straight Elysian sound and tuning with a nice bass, treble that stays in check, this is great, sounds certainly better than Diva and Gaea to me. It's not Anni, but it reminds you of it. Why does it need so much power, even more than Anni?, thinness/shallow note weight in mids and a little shouty. Anni got this right and I hope they fix before release. In any event, this would be a great buy as-is.
As this CanJam came to an end, I went to the Bloom Audio room for their raffle, and lo-and-behold, I lucked out and won an ET Raphael!! Thanks, guys!!!!! What an awesome way to end an otherwise awesome show!
At the end of the day, a lot of sad adieus until the next show!!! Thanks again to everyone, this was a terrific show!! And nothing ends a time in NYC like a coal-fired pizza, so grabbed that and made my way back to LA! Until next time!
What takes the place of the XE6 now?A follow up to my 622B ciem post. After a week, I got new ear impressions today as I found the fit to be slightly shallow with too deep of a nozzle.
Ear Impression vs 622B:
I hope to be able to get it back soon!
Awesome write-up and pictures! Looking good!
What takes the place of the XE6 now?
Concurrently, a ciem XE6 in place of the universal XE6. I was planning on waiting on how my STL file did with 622B. Since the fit didn't work out, I am in a bit of limbo waiting for new STLs from the impression I got today.
I've just posted a Penon Quattro review with comparisons to Trifecta, XE6, Volur & others. You're invited to read it here.
SPOILER: If you love smooth warm sound with superb timbre, the Quattros are the best option I've heard under $1000. They're quite special.
Hope there's a speedy resolution to that. Was there any discomfort with the fit? Custom XE6s!
First thing I'm listening to after coming home from Canjam. After hearing all that TOTL goodness, it's nice to hear Quattro stand tall with the best.
I've just posted a Penon Quattro review with comparisons to Trifecta, XE6, Volur & others. You're invited to read it here.
SPOILER: If you love smooth warm sound with superb timbre, the Quattros are the best option I've heard under $1000. They're quite special.
And the way I feel tonight, oh I could die and I wouldn’t mind. And there’s something going on inside. 
Makes you want to feel, makes you want to try, makes you want to blow the stars from the sky. 
I can’t stand up, I can’t cool down, I can’t get my head off the ground! 
I especially like that they're so smooth I can listen to for hours without fatigue, when I'm concentrating on work at the same time that's invaluable.First thing I'm listening to after coming home from Canjam. After hearing all that TOTL goodness, it's nice to hear Quattro stand tall with the best.
The stock cable is excellent and I've had trouble finding an alternative that's a clear upgrade. I notice you have Code 24 on yours, that's a pairing I'm very keen to try.
Really brings Quattro to the level of many TOTL sets I heard at CanJam, and better than many others. I'm not sure if we stuck some other name on it and charged 3x as much if it wouldn't get more attention. I'm still enjoying Monachaa which is similar in configuration, but not tuning, and loving all the DD goodness.
I did. but it was a local iem, and that specific types of eartips are not available anywhere else in the world (to my limited knowledge). Bought 2 pairs of different iems, both having the same eartips. Returned one, kept the other. Then badgered the brand to buy spares of that eartips. After a few emails, they agreed to supply at a very minuscule cost, which I very gladly paid. Now I have around 5 pairs of them, and I am set.I can worst that,
I bought these iem's just for the tips (yes I know I could probably get them on AliExpress but that's too easy) and thought I'd try them with one of my balanced cables, and Wow really impressed especially for the cost.
Has anyone else bought an iem for the tips, or am I a trend setter?
I am wondering if people would be interested to learn more about the Limited edition Unique Melody Max? If so, I'll write a review in the next couple weeks (and my first!). There's literally nothing on these $2000 IEMs on Head-fi and with their configuration they hold the promise of becoming my favorite UM set.
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drftr
Headphoneus Supremus
Please do! We're our own main source of information so any opinion on a new set is highly welcomed.I am wondering if people would be interested to learn more about the Limited edition Unique Melody Max? If so, I'll write a review in the next couple weeks (and my first!). There's literally nothing on these $2000 IEMs on Head-fi and from their configuration they hold the promise of becoming my favorite UM set.
drftr
kajetanjazz
100+ Head-Fier
To be honest I felt the opposite way. Gave away the rest of my time because I didn’t find anything magical or impressive about HE1, being no stranger to stuff like 1266 and Susvara. Felt a downgrade from everyday listens. Shang senior was a lot more impressive and drawing in the music. While I’m usually not a fan of Susvara, it was something else on EF1000 and that also surpassed the HE1 by a long shot that day. Though it was paired with some Macintosh dac, not sure to what effect
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