New York 2018 CanJam Impressions

Discussion in 'The Meeting Place' started by Cellist88, Feb 18, 2018.

  1. Cellist88

    Cellist88 Friend

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    Thought it would be nice to have an impression thread for the 2018 NYC Canjam.

    I was only there for a very short because I had a date. Was really good to see @thegunner100 , @KenBall , @Maxx134 . The floor was chaotic and I was trying to help a friend audition some dacs.

    So impressions from my short time there:

    Cascades- I was strongly considering purchasing them when I went to canjam NYC, but didn't end up with a pair. They are surprising small and compact, which make them appropriate for travel. I definitely don't have dumbo ears, but I think that the pads could have been slightly bigger. Other than that, they were very light and comfortable. I heard it with multiple WM1Z's(Known to be a Dark Bassy sound) at the table. I did try the ZX300 pairing as well, and though it was more neutral sounding, the difference between the wm1z to zx300 was quite big Imo. I mostly liked what I heard, until there was any sort of bass in a track. This is definitely a basshead can, as the bass quantity seemed to swamp all other aspects of the sound. It was almost as if there was about 2x quantity of bass compared to the rest of the spectrum. The quality was good, but it definitely was the breaker for me. Most of the people I talked with around the booth agreed. I asked if there were any inserts to attenuate the bass, but they had none on hand....which I found strange. Anyhow, I guess its time to hope for a less bass oriented can from ALO in the future. Really like the build quality.

    Schiit Audio-

    I had to hear what the craze was about with the Analog 2 boards. I've heard the schiit stacks last year and I found them technically excellent, but to be too lean, strident and aggressive, esp the Yggdrasil. I was pleasantly surprised this year with the Yggdrasil with the ragnorak. Definitely sounded more natural and detailed. The highlight was listening a Mozart String Quartet played by the Cleveland Quartet. Oodles of detail, bow bounces, ambience sounds, etc. I was very impressed! Then I turned on some jazz tracks and I was hit with the same detail. It was at this moment that I found myself a bit split. Though it produces detail well with ambient cues, etc, I couldn't help to feel everything was a bit exaggerated. Its almost as if its just trying to grate my head with detail, but not providing a musical experience.
    My pianist friend who was intent on buying the Gungnir Multibit left away unconvinced.

    The Yggdrasil had been turned on for about 12 hours so, I'm not sure it that's the culprit. That said, I definitely do not have the patience to wait for 3 weeks for a dac to sound optimal, and I feel this aspect is grossly exagerrated here on SBAF. I seriously don't think I or anyone else can blind test the differences between a 1.5week Yggdrasil, 2 week Yggdrasil, to a 2.5week Yggdrasil, and a 3 week Yggdrasil reliably.

    I definitely felt the Yggdrasil was a clear step up from the Gungnir Multibit, though I probably couldn't give an accurate comparision because the Yggdrasil was paired with the rag, and the Gungnir Multibit was paired with the mjol 2. I didn't care for the mjol 2.

    [redacted]

    Auris Ha-2 and Auris Totl Amp

    After having read @gbeast 's review, I had to try these amps. They sounded good, but then again, I really couldn't tell because of meet conditions. That said, the TOTL amp was much better and surprisingly made the stock hd800 sound good, though l wouldn't shell 7k for an amp.

    Empire Ears-

    I only heard the Phantom at the booth. Sounded great out of the WM1Z. Definitely a darker iem and not as airy as the andromedas but I preferred them to the andros because of their hefty, but balanced sound. I found them cohesive, and though they lack the sparkle up top from the andromeda, the timbre was more realistic and fleshed out. Good Clarity, Excellent imaging and resolution. I found them very balanced end to end. I know Jimmy still preferred the andros and compared these to possibly noble iems. I'm not a fan of noble iems as I feel they are too warm, bassy, and not as balanced. Anyhow, I ended up buying a universal pair and should have one in 2 weeks.

    1964 Audio

    I listened to the A12t, Tia Trio, and Tia Fourte. I didn't care for the A12t. Andros all the way. I liked the Tia Trio over the Tia Fourte. It was a big softer sounding, and darker, but it oddly felt more balanced to me, with a touch more bass. After having come from the Empire Ears booth, I can definitely see what @Kunlun and @Vansen are talking about. Though still sounding great, I definitely felt some cohesion problems in both the Tia Trio and Fourte, where I could hear the cross overpoints. Esp bass in the Tia Trio has less control and get loose at times. Def overpriced at 2.2k and 3.5k.

    That's all I got to in 1.5 hours at canjam. Anyhow would love to hear more impressions from other people who were there!
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2018
  2. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Shouldn't be an issue with the new Class A output stage. Class A is very inefficient and generates a lot of heat. Usually a downside, but a plus in this case since it shortens the warm up time quite a bit.
     
  3. SquiGGlez

    SquiGGlez Acquaintance

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    Hd820 when?!?
     
  4. Colgin

    Colgin Friend

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    Who cares when? It was total poo.
     
  5. Colgin

    Colgin Friend

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    @Cellist88 , sorry I missed you yesterday although your only being there for 90 minutes might be why I didn’t see you. Nice impressions. I will post mine later.
     
  6. AdvanTech

    AdvanTech Friend

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    This is the first time I’ve heard anything definitive about this. Thanks for sharing
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 21, 2018
  7. Galm

    Galm Still looking for Little Red Riding Hood

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    I was also there, I'll edit my post with updated info later but a few things I can quickly write down while it's fresh before traveling:

    HD820: Honestly I was pretty impressed by how much this sounded like an HD800S. Has a very very wide soundstage (like basically normal HD800 size almost) in a closed back form. More bass, though again I think it's muddier than a plain HD800. It was almost boring because most of us were just like yeah sounds like HD800s but not quite as good. The bass is more present but still has no like... Slam like planars or a TH 900. I dunno, not that interested in it especially for the price.

    Meze Empyrean: The models were all over the place with different pads and tunings. The first one I tried had a left driver failing so I tried another. However, when I sat down to hear one on some... Cayin tube amp I think? I really liked how it sounded. To the point that I would have picked one up to at least try for a while if they were on sale yet. I only heard a few test songs so I can't fully comment on the freq response, but it sounded detailed with decent space and very nice bass quality. I'm interested to see what people thought who spent more time with it.

    Cascade: Basically did seem pretty true to Vega tuning. Thumpy bass and V Shaped but pretty fun and with decent detail. I think some people will really like this. Too much bass for me I'm an Andro over Vega kinda guy.

    Tia stuff: It's funny I tried Trio and Fourte on the Sony ZX2 and it was... Not great. The Trio seemed way too bassy and the Fourte had something weird in the mids vs using the provided Mojo. Maybe they needed more juice. They probably would have sounded fantastic out of a Hugo 2 (which I prefer to Mojo SQ wise all day long if we're using Chord). I was at RMAF too when show pricing was 25% off... Only 10% this time. I was tempted to pick up a Fourte for 2700 but was never gonna at 3200.

    Highlights: Abyss Phi hooked up to 30,000 dollar Wells Audio monoblocks delivered absolutely absurd performance. The bass on She's a Lady by Patricia Barber was easily the best I've heard on headphones good lord.

    Orpheus: Wow... That was almost hard to come back from. I was amazed at how good the bass was from other electro stats and everything played sounded criminally good. The main thing is seperation... Was a whole other league.

    The entrance line: buying a ticket in advance so I could wait in like a 20 minute line while people who hadn't bought in advance waited like 5 minutes was great. Good logistics there.

    Food: I like NY food.

    Edit: Wow... So one of the Orpheus songs was Supremacy by Muse... Honestly doesn't sound anything like I remember on Utopia + DAVE... Orpheus was some set up. Clearly having active headphones with like 8 sabre dacs and tube preamps can make some audio magic.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2018
  8. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

    Staff Member Pyrate Flathead IEMW
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    @Cellist88 can you give an iem that has similar bass quantity and another iem with similar treble quantity to Phantom to better understand relative levels?
     
  9. Soups

    Soups Sadomasochistic cat

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    [redacted]:bow:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 21, 2018
  10. Cellist88

    Cellist88 Friend

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    @shotgunshane I'm not an IEM guru, so I have to think about comparisons to say the u18, tia fourte, tia trio. I'll get back to you when I have a clearer picture. Its less sparkly than the andros, and more bassy as well. Andros definitely have a wider soundstage but felt less 3d. Andro definitely has lower sound density. Not sure I would characterize the Phantom as neutral but I can say it sounded natural and balanced. Nothing was bloated, and the highs, though not sparkly were very detailed and airy. Definitely no tizziness, shrillness, thinness, or aggressiveness in the treble that I remember from the u18s or Empire Zeus XR adel. Some people can think this is extra resolution or clarity, but I don't care for it. Again I as only at canjam for 1.5 hours for all the stations, so limited impressions. I just know it was my favorite iem at the show, and I liked it enough to purchase it over getting another andromeda. I'll be happy to loan it to you for a week so you can get some impressions.

    @Soups

    [redacted]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 21, 2018
  11. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    Thanks @Cellist88. Early impressions compare Phantom to the Spiral Ears SE5U. That’s a hard iem to come by (I’ve Never heard it) and has a bit of a cult following. So those comparisons certainly peak my interest. Thanks for the offer; I’ll take you up on that when you are ready.
     
  12. Maxx134

    Maxx134 Dunning–Kruger effect poster boy

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    Some thoughts on the Senn 820...

    Agreed...

    "Because", to me, it is both slightly muted(in transients) and smoothed over sound (added distortions or decay), while actually sounding "closed" next to the 800S.

    Overall, a visually nice piece having a similar 800S signature, in a closed cup.

    Sorry but its not what I expected.
     
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2018
  13. Marc Shivers

    Marc Shivers Acquaintance

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    I was in the market for a pair of closed headphones for the office, and auditioned a few at CanJam:

    HD820: As others have said, it sounds like you would expect a closed HD800S to sound like, except cavernous and echo-y. I was thoroughly unimpressed, especially at the price.

    MrSpeakers: I first listened to both the Ether Closed and Aeon Closed on a Cayin iDAC-6 dac and iHA-6 amp they had set up. I went in expecting I'd buy an Aeon, but they sounded grainy and unnatural on this setup. The Ether, but contrast, sounded great. I remember wondering why the Ethers don't get more love online after hearing them this first time. The Ether Closed isn't isolating at all though, as I could hear everything the guy standing next to me was saying while auditioning them. The Aeons, by contrast, are very isolating. Later, when I stopped by the Schiit booth to listen to Modi Multibit/Vali, they had it paired with Aeon Closed. The Aeons sounded MUCH better on this set up. I mean like day and night. So much so, I ended up buying them and have used them every day at the office since then. I'm quite happy with them.

    ZMF: First time listening to the Atticus and Eikon. I don't have much to add to the general positive consensus, which I agree with. I liked both a lot, and was close to buying a pair of Atticus. They had a pair of suede pads on them when I auditioned them, which were not very isolating (maybe leather pads would be better?) so as enjoyable and euphonic as they were, the Aeons edged them out for office use. I might still pick up a pair as my home closed headphones...

    Anyway, this was my first CanJam. It was nice bumping into @Colgin at the MrSpeakers room. I had a great time, and plan on spending a lot more time there next year.
     

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