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.
. ETA -sometime this Summer
.
) Either way I loved it and I can't wait to spend more time with it.
