[justin w.]

Could this be why it hasn't been released yet? Still figuring out how to dissipate all that heat? Because it looks like a finished amp by the pictures... I am speculating and mean no disrespect to headamp. Just a question from a curious onlooker of this amp...

Not sure what you were referring to, but it has a big heatsink and the temperature is typical for this type of amp with linear power supplies

You can also use it vertically

 

[msing539]

How did it sound Dave?

I wasn't one of the lucky few that got to demo the ath amp, unfortunately.

 

[geoffalter11]

I wasn't one of the lucky few that got to demo the ath amp, unfortunately.

Ugh bummer

Not sure what you were referring to, but it has a big heatsink and the temperature is typical for this type of amp with linear power supplies

You can also use it vertically

I wasn’t criticizing you Justin, which I stated in my post. Curious why it was supposed to come out in the fall and no one still knows the price or what TBD means for date or cost. So I made a speculation, which I’ve got the right to ask.

The amp is gorgeous. You’ve done an amazing job. I am curious when it is actually coming out… I was hoping it would lead to conversation. I am sorry if you took it offensively.

That wasn’t my intention.

 

[MichRT]

Wonderful people, wonderful food, wonderful fun! I spent time working a booth this year so not as much time to move around but that was totally ok

I had a great time with good friends and FINALLY meeting up a few friends I’ve been been meaning to for ages it was the best canjam I could’ve ever asked for, thank you to everyone that helped make it a reality.

Standouts for me were once again the people and food. For audio everything at the Symphonium/Nightjar/Subtonic booth, Mass Kobo, Dunu Mirai, Tungsten Double, and HE-1 were fun. I’ve been wanting to try HE-1 since it launched all these years ago. So grateful for @Sennheiser for the lovely folks they are and for doing so much for the show. 2000ohm HD414 (I believe) was a treat to see.

Thank you again to everyone that helped make this possible!! See y'all in SoCal!!

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

If I took a photo of you, it probably ended up here. If not, enjoy a look at my time between my brands at the show anyways!

https://adobe.ly/3wW9jdj

Thanks everyone for the care during my food poisoning debacle that was why I was AWOL for Saturday afternoon.

What a wonderful showing! We appreciated you stopping by Effect Audio/Elysian and FATFreq/PLUSSOUND.

More of an extensive recap of my time soon.

 

[tunes]

Did anyone listen to the Feliks Envy 25th anniversary amp on special for $17,500? Is it really twice as good as the Envy Performance with upgraded ELROG 300B-Mo?

 

[Smirk 24]

CanJam NYC IEM Impressions (Part I):



Had a great experience attending my first CanJam over the weekend trying out new gear and meeting a bunch of cool people!

Here are some IEM impressions from the weekend. I demoed all iems using iBasso 320MAX Ti and Azla Sedna Short tips.

The showfloor is quite loud so its difficult to ascertain the finer nuances of an iem. I tried my best to understand the general presentation and problem areas of each set.


Noble Onyx ($3200 USD)



Onyx was an enjoyable, easy listen.

Nice sub-bass/mid-bass quantity. Mid-bass is a bit soft sounding, lacking impact and maybe a little pillowy. I thought the dynamics could have been better and the staging was unremarkable. Decent resolution.

Nice voicing, no shout. No upper-mids to lower-treble sharpness. Overall very well-tuned.

I didn't know the price going in and I thought it was a 1k to 2k USD set max. Very enjoyable listen though and I like the shell design.


A&K x EE Novus ($5000 USD)



I was keen to demo Novus because I thought Odin and Raven did a lot of things well.

Immediately, I thought Novus could use more sub-bass quantity. Mid-bass had a good initial edge and then quickly loses body.

Vocal timbre sounded a little off, possibly tinny. Transient attack was well-defined but sounded slightly artificial and/or forced. There was also a touch of upper-mid to lower-treble sharpness.

Overall, I don't think Novus did anything particularly well. Perhaps it's an issue of synergy with the 320MAX Ti.

I'd be happy to give it a re-demo at some point but I left largely unconvinced.


Rhapsodio Supreme V3 ($6400 USD)



Eye-watering price aside, I thought the Sup V3 was a decent set.

I would have liked a little more sub-bass and mid-bass quantity, but the bass quality was fine.

Great resolution, imaging, and transient attack. I thought the timbre leaned a little cold but not overly so.

There was a hint of sharpness in the upper-mids to lower treble but the treble was otherwise enjoyable.

Overall a good set. Could have used a little more bass quantity to add to its engagement factor.


Campfire Audio Trifecta ($3300 USD)




Stopped by the Effect Audio booth to meet @Delitia where he let me try his Trifecta I think on a EA Cleopatra(?) cable. I also demoed Trifecta a second time with a group of friends, using Nightjar's Sovereign Symphony 8W cable for kicks.

On the EA cable:

I found Trifecta to have good sub-bass quantity and quality, but the bass wasn't super clean on faster tracks.

The vocal timbre was pleasant and the dynamics were pretty good. There was a touch of sharpness in the upper-mids to lower-treble but not overly so.

The major issue with Trifecta was a center image wonkiness/skew that threw off the entire presentation. It's very strange, or unique sounding, depending on which side of the Trifecta camp you're in.

On the Sovereign Symphony 8W (a roughly $15k cable that can double as a weapon):

Trifecta cleaned up considerably on the SS 8W cable.

Gone was the center image skew, and the bass sounded tighter as well. A more "normal" presentation if you will.

If this was how the Trifecta sounded stock, I think it would be a lot less polarizing. Then again, maybe Trifecta fans would find it less charming.


Nostalgia Audio Tesseract ($3700 USD)



Delitia was also gracious enough to let me try his Tesseract which wasn't at the show otherwise.

I found it to be a very balanced, enjoyable set overall.

The bass had a sub-bass focus, and overall bass levels weren't super elevated, but rather well-balanced with the rest of the frequency spectrum.

Vocals had a nice tone, and the treble sounded very linear without any problem spots. Resolution, dynamics, and transient attack were all decent.

A very pleasant set overall. Big thanks to Delitia for his generosity and company!


NYC CJ IEM impressions parts 2 and 3 to come later this week including the following sets:

- Subtonic Storm + SS 8W + MK 465
- Nightjar Duality
- Elysian Pilgrim
- Trailli Ti
- RN6
- 622B
- VE X
- PMG Audio Apx
- Dunu x Precogvision Mirai
- Ice Labs Prismatica + Prismatica Gold
- Fatfreq Grand Maestro

And some prototypes:

- Symphonium Titan Prototype
- Letshuoer Prototype
- Eletech Prototype
- MusicTeck's Prototype IEM
- Soranik xMEMS Protoype

 

[Frankie D]

If I got a penny every time I heard that remark here on head-fi....

Unfortunate it is that good. I heard the HE-1 a bit earlier and heard the Raal Imanis both before and after. I also brought another buddy with me who loves the Susvara. We went through a series of tracks ( I used the same on each HP ) and also spun some disks ( they had an excellent SME turntable connected as well ). Neither of us ever heard the Susvara sound as good. Tremendously detailed, musical, fast and great bass ( tight and strong when called for ). The best sound at the show in my opinion. A must listen.

The AudioTechnics HP did not wow me. I heard it both prior and at the show. We were told they are working on a better headphone.

 

[JasonNYC]

Immediately, I thought Novus could use more sub-bass quantity. Mid-bass had a good initial edge and then quickly loses body.

Vocal timbre sounded a little off, possibly tinny. Transient attack sounded slightly artificial and/or forced. There was also a touch of upper-mid to lower-treble sharpness.

Definitely appreciate the feedback. All of the feedback at the booth and in a number of posts on Head-Fi were the opposite of this. Would encourage another listen at some point if you get the chance.

 

[Smirk 24]

Definitely appreciate the feedback. All of the feedback at the booth and in a number of posts on Head-Fi were the opposite of this. Would encourage another listen at some point if you get the chance.

Thanks Jason, I'd be happy to re-demo at some point. From my end, I'll be sure to try a different source next time. 320MAX can lean bright and analytical. As I stated, it's possible the synergy wasn't the best. Thanks for bringing NOVUS to the show so we could all have a listen!

 

[jamato8]

Thanks Jason, I'd be happy to re-demo at some point. From my end, I'll be sure to try a different source next time. 320MAX can lean bright and analytical. As I stated, it's possible the synergy wasn't the best. Thanks for bringing NOVUS to the show so we could all have a listen!

I never noticed the DX320MAX as bright. I have found it to be very natural sounding. Interesting.

 

[xlcans]

Thanks to everyone who visited the Drop + grell booth at CanJam NYC 2024!
And special thanks to the CanJam team for organizing this!
It was a great show with lots of positive energy!

Especially for the Drop + grell team presenting the "grell OAE1" it was very encouraging to hear sentences like: "I have never heard music so naturally presented", "This is the best headphone for the money at the show", or even: "it sounds better than the XXXXX for 4999$" Thanks for that! Sorry if you had to wait a bit (especially on Saturday), some listeners were listening for more than half an hour
The most frequently asked questions after the test listening were: "When will it be available?" and "How much will it cost?". Unfortunately, I can't answer these questions exactly. But it will be very soon and the price will be in the 500$ range. If you don't want to miss the launch, I recommend subscribing to the OAE1 notification list at Drop.com

Enjoy the music!

Axel

 

[Smirk 24]

I never noticed the DX320MAX as bright. I have found it to be very natural sounding. Interesting.

Hi there, first I want to thank you sincerely for repairing my 320MAX. You're a wizard.

I personally don't find 320MAX bright, I think it sounds more neutral but I have heard some people describe it as bright-tilted. I also wanted to give NOVUS the benefit of the doubt.

320MAX to me is quite a transparent source so I find it to reveal the transducer pretty well.

 

[darmanastartes]

This was my first CanJam, as I mentioned in the lead-up thread. I had always wanted to attend, but something always prevented me from doing so. Even this time, I could only manage to go on Saturday. Luckily, I managed to listen to almost everything on my list that I had prepared the night before the show, except for one major item.

I have been involved in the hobby for a long time, and the DC area usually hosts one to three Head-Fi meets every year. Thanks to local members and Linear Tube Audio, who are based in Takoma Park, Maryland, I have had the chance to try out a variety of high-end headphones. However, my main interest is in in-ear monitors, and those have been much harder to audition. This CanJam was the first time I could try out just about any flagship IEM I wanted, and I did not waste the opportunity:

Moondrop Dark Saber

The Dark Saber is supposed to be the successor to the Moondrop S8, my favorite IEM to date. I have been curious about the Dark Saber ever since I became aware of its existence. However, it was not as impressive as I hoped. The vocals on the Dark Saber are more forward than on the S8, and the upper treble extension seems worse. The lower treble sounds a bit more refined, but it lacks the sparkle that makes the S8’s treble so special. The bass did not seem much better than the S8 either, despite having dynamic drivers. The bass is slightly more present and less soft-sounding, but it is not a huge improvement. The earpieces are slightly bigger than the S8’s, but they are still fairly comfortable. Overall, I think this is at best a sidegrade, and the S8 is still probably the best IEM Moondrop has ever made.

Thieaudio Monarch Mk III

This was probably the best value-for-money IEM of the show and the only one that I felt surpassed the Moondrop S8 in performance while keeping a similar tonality. The Monarch Mk III has an excellent tuning, especially in the treble region, which is more refined and balanced than the S8 without compromising on detail. Even in the noisy show environment, I could hear microdetail and microdynamics, which might have been partly due to the great isolation of the Monarch Mk III. The fit was also comfortable despite the large size of the shells. The most impressive aspect for me was the bass performance, which delivered amazing impact and clarity on the drums of “Valhall Awaits Me” by Amon Amarth.

Nightjar Singularity

This was a pleasant surprise. The Singularity has great bass extension and presence, even though the bass and midrange are not as detailed as some of the other flagship IEMs I tried at the show. The Singularity has very good instrument separation for a single dynamic driver design, but it does not isolate very well. I would have listened longer, but we had to hurry to attend a seminar at that point.

Subtonic Storm

The Storm is the most open-sounding IEM I have ever heard, to the point it almost sounded like I was listening to open-back headphones. Male vocals were a little too forward for my tastes, but male vocal intelligibility was superb. As one might expect, the treble is insanely detailed with terrific instrument separation, the midrange was the clearest I’ve ever heard, and the bass was hyper-impactful with astonishing microdynamics. However, the large housings did not fit me very well, which was disappointing.

Dunu Glacier

Another IEM I’d been eyeing as an upgrade from the Moondrop S8, the Dunu Glacier had the best bass I’d heard so far at the show, with crazy dynamics and impact. However, I would prefer slightly less bass, and the overall tuning is more V-shaped than I expected from measurements I’d seen. There is a lot of lower treble, and I can see how it would be too much for many people. It did have very good imaging and instrument separation, but ultimately, I want an IEM with more of a reference tuning for critical listening.

Dunu Mirai

The Dunu Mirai’s midrange sounds subtly different than most other IEMs I’ve listened to and in particular presents the separation between percussion in vocals in a unique way. Drums sound particuarly crisp and well-defined, and there is excellent macrodynamic contrast. However, the broad lower treble elevation really just doesn’t work for me.

Symphonium Audio Crimson and Meteor

As a huge fan of the Symphonium Helios, I was disappointed by the Crimson. Beyond seeming almost overdampened, it was not particularly memorable. The Meteor was much better to my ears, with more contast and detail and much better bass. However, I still did not find it to be competitive with the various kilobuck IEMs I’ve heard. In terms of tuning, I found it to be a little too bassy with a smidge too much lower treble for hard rock and heavy metal.

Elysian Audio Annihilator

The most striking feature of the Annihilator is its super extended electrostatic upper treble. It sounds like the Hiby Zeta with the upper treble cranked up to 11. I enjoy a lot of treble, but this was too much for me even after getting used to it. The Annihilator has a more normal bass response than the Zeta, but it still delivers excellent bass extension and body. Vocal intelligiblity was right up there with the Storm, which was very apparent with harsh vocals.

Elysian Audio Diva

I didn’t listen to this one very long. While the bass is slightly better than that of the Moondrop S8, vocals are much too forward. Furthermore, I didn’t perceive it to be better than the S8 in terms of overall clarity or detail retrieval.

Unique Melody MEST Mk II

I originally set out to audition the MEST Mk III, but the show unit was pretty crusted over with earwax by the time I got to it. I showed this to one of the UM staff, who accidentally dislodged the nozzle filter on the Mk III as he tried to clean the earwax. I was glad I didn’t attempt to do it myself. The Mk II was the first IEM of the show that exhibted driver flex, which is never pleasant. As far as sound, the Mk II was a brighter sounding IEM than I expected, with an extended treble response that does not come across as overemphasized. It has good instrument separation and lower midrange body, but drums felt like they were lacking a little in impact.

FatFreq Maestro Mini

I expected this to sound bassier than it actually ended up being. While detail retrieval is mostly adequate for its price point, there is too much lower treble and limited upper treble extension. Vocals also sounded a little thin. Notably, the housings are quite small.

FatFreq Scarlet Mini

This still somehow sounded less bassy than I would have expected. I suppose this shows the merits of a subbass-only bass elevation in a way. However, the midrange clarity was not great, and neither was detail retrieval given the price. It has a more balanced treble response than the Maestro Mini, but upper treble extension was still lacking. Like the Maestro Mini, the housings are very compact.

FatFreq Maestro SE

This has much better treble extension and detail retrieval than the previous two IEMs, but still seems a tad overpriced. With that said, this was by far my favorite of the FatFreq lineup, with super crisp percussion and the most conventional sounding midrange.

FatFreq Maestro

This was a pretty huge step down from the Maestro SE, with much worse treble extension, detail retrieval, and clarity. There also seeems to be a lot less bass impact. Extremely overpriced.

Letshuoer Cadenza 12

This is a solid, inoffensive all-rounder with a pleasant, safe treble response and great isolation. It doesn’t sound quite as resolving as some of the other IEMs in this price bracket, particularly in the bass response, but it has great bass impact and a very open soundstage.

In addition to auditioning IEMs, CanJam was a great chance for me to meet some of the fellow reviewers and industry people who I had only interacted with online before. I had a nice conversation with @Precogvision while we waited for our turn to try Subtonic Storm and the Elysian Audio Annihilator. I also bumped into @MRSallee and some of the members of the Headphones.com team. Maybe next year I will be brave enough to talk to @crinacle.

The trip back to DC was not so smooth, as we had to drive through a heavy rainstorm for most of the way on the New Jersey Turnpike. Luckily, we arrived home safely. Overall, CanJam NYC 2024 was an amazing experience and I’m looking forward to next year.

 

[CFA Chris]

Thanks so much to HeadFi and everyone in attendance for making CanJam NY such a great experience! It was really great to meet everyone and share our lineup!

Looking forward to hearing what you all thought about our range of products and especially Fathom!