[warrenpchi]

Dang nabbit, I forgot that I needed two boxes of medium Baroques, and only got one.

Great meeting everyone including above and @jude @warrenpchi @joe @Sebastien Chiu @PcChip @driftingbunnies @JacobLTA @dCS James Humble and Kai don't know your handles.

Thanks to @jude @warrenpchi and the entire crew for bringing such a nice show to Texas. It was great to meet Watercooler regulars @aaf evo @wazzupi @HiFiHawaii808 @goldwerger among others. I wanted to hang out more but I was literally a kid in a toy/candy store, and didn't see anything else

Bloom Audio - Continuing with Bloom booth. This was a treasure chest! So many IEMs! I literally lost track of time and ended up skipping lunch! A few notable here.

• 64 Audio Volur - Another bass monster! I thought Nio was a nice V-shaped IEM but Volur bumps the mid-bass and treble up a few notches.

Aww, thanks for coming out guys! It was great to meet y'all IRL.

@Ojisan, I was advised to audition the Volur, and had a chance to so quietly. I liked it, but later on Sunday I heard the Noble Spartacus, and actually preferred that due to its more visceral and impactful mid-bass. If you get a chance, I'd suggest trying out the Spartacus before committing to either.

---

Was GREAT! Hope they do it again.

Yes!!
And, pls not same week as capital audio fest so we can get more vendors in. I think it can be bigger!
Every vendor I talked to told me it was a great show.. and we all loved it

I really hope that we can all do this again in Dallas next year

It was great to be at the first (of hopefully many) CanJam(s) in the Lone Star State.

What a great weekend! I loved Dallas CanJam and would totally do it again.

Overall: I’d go back again, and I hope we get the chance to. Dallas was a great location for CanJam, and I would love to make it a regular occurrence for our family to attend.

Hoping for a Dallas Canjam 2024!

+1 from me to bring Canjam to Texas again with more vendors, please!

Had a great time and looking forward to more in the future!

Well worth the 18 hours of driving time to/from Dallas. I hope Dallas continues to get CanJam iterations going forward.

 

[Rurouni]

Yes they did. It sounded great for the price. Fit was easy. Really great team there.

That’s good to hear! Did you think their implementation can match the mainstream offerings like Apple AirPods Pro or Sonys WF1000mk5, or is there potential to sound better than those products?

 

[JerseyD]

I also spent a lot of time in the ZMF room, but my wallet was not as lucky. My bank account is a bit lighter now. I am pretty sure I saw the mango Calderas you're talking about. They were gorgeous!

This is the pair. Still questioning my decision! I like the sporty yellow strap, but if it had been “Tennessee orange” (closer to tangerine), I’m sure I would own it right now! . Although in noisy show conditions, I was not convinced that I liked the Cadera more than my Verite and/or Atrium.

BTW, Ginger, Auteur Classic was my first ZMF and I still love them, too.

 

[goldwerger]

So now I’m the proud owner of ZMF’s Auteur Classics and I am mesmerized by them. I took them around to LTA and Schiit and can’t believe how much I love them already. I can’t wait until they burn in more to see how they develop. I’m not looking forward to the credit card bill, but that’ll be next month’s problem.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention all the friendly people.

Enjoyed reading your impressions, and love the set you bought - exactly my kind of taste, with a special but beautiful natural wood look. Wonderful. Congrats! And welcome to our community!! I saw your daughters playing and loved it

My first Canjam!

I had a lot of fun just going through the gears I always wanted to listen to! Thanks to @jude @warrenpchi and the entire crew for bringing such a nice show to Texas. It was great to meet Watercooler regulars @aaf evo @wazzupi @HiFiHawaii808 @goldwerger among others. I wanted to hang out more but I was literally a kid in a toy/candy store, and didn't see anything else

Great meeting you in person, Tak! Hope you can’ make it to NYC.. either way, hope to reconnect in a future CanJam

 

[acohen001]

Enjoyed reading your impressions, and love the set you bought - exactly my kind of taste, with a special but beautiful natural wood look. Wonderful. Congrats! And welcome to our community!! I saw your daughters playing and loved it



Great meeting you in person, Tak! Hope you can’ make it to NYC.. either way, hope to reconnect in a future CanJam

Gorgeous headphones. Enjoy!

 

[slumberman]

Hope to be in the US and attend next year’s CanJam in Dallas…I need to attend them ALL

 

[Ojisan]

@Ojisan, I was advised to audition the Volur, and had a chance to so quietly. I liked it, but later on Sunday I heard the Noble Spartacus, and actually preferred that due to its more visceral and impactful mid-bass. If you get a chance, I'd suggest trying out the Spartacus before committing to either.

Yeah, I love what Noble is doing. They offer excellent tuning and have awesome craftsmanship to go with it!

One quick feedback. Watercooler folks have a tremendous amount of knowledge and gear. I learned a lot just talking to you guys! I missed part of "Ask the Community" but I thought it was a great session that could benefit many. I believe having a session like that in the show ballroom over lunch (lunch box for fee would be great) could 1) get more audience involvement, 2) keep attendees on site near vendors, and 3) save time for us attendees. You could also have vendor rapid fire pitch to go over what they have. Some may not like the noise but an hour of session like that shouldn't hurt. Just my $0.02

 

[OnlySoMany]

Where's all the pictures??

 

[saxpiano]

I got to the Quorum at about 9 and got all checked in (they let me put stuff in my room even though I wasn't staying until that night, very nice of the Marriott). It was a ton of fun, met some awesome people, drank ENTIRELY too much Saturday night at the bar, and left with two pairs of headphones. It was completely awesome overall. Here are my impressions of what I heard:

Headphones
ModHouse Tungsten: I immediately went over to Mimic to check these out with all the hype around them. I played them on the Naim they had set up and left very...unimpressed. I couldn't get a lot of volume to them, and the noise level when I was playing them was quite high, so maybe it was that. I had similar thoughts on the Double, I really just didn't leave thinking that the bass was very impressive. Could've been a product of the area. The build quality felt very 3D printer and not in a good way. Final Score: 5/10

Abyss Diana MR: This was the most disappointing of all. I was so excited to try an Abyss headphone finally. I went over to Woo, and boy...these were wildly underwhelming. Shrill, missing bass, and did not seal whatsoever on my end with the bass ported or normal pads. Possibly Woo was not feeding them correctly, as they had it on the Woo Tube Mini, which had a strange ringing noise in the background that would not go away. Final Score: 3/10

Abyss 1266: I listened to one song on these and could not stand the way they fit on my head. So I don't have a lot of impressions. Final Score: 0/10

Abyss Diana TC: I much preferred these to the MR. Still not much bass, but seemed much less shrill than the MRs, which just could not handle metal treble whatsoever. I played Peter Gabriel's Red Rain on DSD off my A&K on these with the big Woo stack and left very impressed. I still do not like the way these fit. Unfortunately, I went to CJ hoping to buy a pair of Dianas and left without them because as much as I liked the TC, the fit was bad. Final Score: 7/10
Stax L700: Went into these with zero expectations and these blew me away. Not a ton of bass, but everything sounded smooth and effortless. I loved the fit, surprisingly. These sounded smooth, and wonderful. Very much like my electrostatic speakers at home. Final Score: 9/10

Stax SR-009: These were a little odd, I thought they sounded great, but the highs were very sibilant and sharp, I thought the 700s were far superior. I thought they felt a little cheap for the price, as well. I liked everything they had to offer except for the treble spike. Final Score: 7/10

Hifiman Susvara: I have never heard these, so really wanted to try them, and thought they sounded great! Build quality lacking a bit, yes, but they sounded very natural with gobs of bass. Final Score: 8/10

Audeze CBRN: These were the best EStats I heard all show. Effortless and punchy when needed, they really had a ridiculously large soundstage. I would've loved to hear these in a quiet room. I don't have much to say because these hit everything I wanted from them. Final Score: 9/10

Audeze LCD-5: I am an Audeze fangirl, so these were a big one I wanted to test, and they did not disappoint. Personally, I like the old school design of the LCD-2, so I am a little bummed to see them leaving that design in the past. But these were lovely headphones. The bass was punchy and thick, I also heard a soundstage which the 2s do not have much have. I really pushed these to their limit with some Black Metal, and these had no issues, and asked for more. I already have a pair of Utopias, but these are on my radar as something I might buy and sell my Utopias for. Final Score: 9/10

Audeze MM-500: Personally, I'm not a fan of overly neutral and natural headphones, I much preferred the LCD-5s, but these were still nice nonetheless. Final Score: 7/10

Meze Empyrean II: Easily the worst setup at the show, but they had them in the Woo room and the dCS room, so I did get to hear them in their proper glory. Personally, I don't like the sound signature of Meze, but these had a bit more punch than usual. Comfort and build quality is obviously off the charts, I still don't like their aesthetics much but these were probably the Mezes I heard all show. However, can I complain about their booth? They had a couple stations, but you had to share listening with someone else? And it was just so loud over there, I just kind of left dissatisfied. dCS room and Woo did the Empyreans well. Final Score: 7/10

ZMF Atrium Closed: I went into the ZMF room completely blind, having never listened to anything from them or knowing anything about them...holy crap! The ZMF Atrium have a ridiculous amount of bass punch, but are so well balanced and warm, I just want to snuggle up with them. You could feel the texture of the music, I have never experienced anything like these before. The build quality was exquisite, hand made and absolutely gorgeous. Did I buy the purple stained Atrium Closed? I absolutely freaking did and have ZERO regrets. Pic attached below. I have never heard closed backs like these. Again, wow. Everyone was lovely, lifetime warranty...I mean, this is a premium product from top to bottom, zero hype. Final Score: 10/10

Sennheiser HE-1: I mean...pure bliss. Never heard anything so effortless and eloquent. I couldn't pick out any strengths or weaknesses, because they just sounded perfect. That's really all I could say. GORGEOUS equipment, and Eric was wonderful. Don't have much else to say, but wow. Final Score: 10/10


IEMs
Empire Ears Raven: I own the Odins, so I made a beeline for the Ravens. I was skeptical of these, but I have never heard such bass in a headphone before. Ever. Everything else was balanced and forward, but the bass was so immense that's all I remember from them. Also, very very large, not sure I liked the sheer size of them. Final Score: 8/10

64Audio U12T: A bit...boring. I mean, precise as hell, and there is no pressure in the ears at all. Smooth, detailed, natural...not necessarily my thing, but I was impressed at the sheer reference level of them. Also, they are so light, it's pleasant. Final Score: 7/10

64Audio Volur: Most disappointing IEM I tried, by a significant margin. Everything seemed distant, tucked back away, way too dark. Going from the 12T and my Odins to these was...not the best look. Final Score: 3/10

Thieaudio Monarch MKIII: I have been incredibly skeptical of ever spending such money on ChiFi before, but these absolutely stunned me. I go back and forth between them and my Odins, and it's damn close. These have better bass than the Odins, close to the Ravens, and everything seems so immediate and visceral. Top tier PRAT, they just seem on top of everything, with no distortion. I think the Odin have a smoother top end, these have that ChiFi shouty nature, but man, just *chef's kiss*. These and a Perseus came home with me. Final Score: 10/10

Fir Audio E12: Bass cannons! And not much else. Felt very cheap. Not a big fan of the shrill high ends, Peter Gabriel's So album is known for some sibilance, and these were borderline piercing. I think these were missing some sub bass as well. Final Score: 4/10

Campfire (?): Tested a bunch of Campfire stuff, and left unimpressed with them. Can't remember which was which, tbqh. No thanks.

Noble K-XM1: Very immersive with pummeling bass, a bit light in the sub bass but overall a well balanced IEM that was fun. Final Score: 8/10

Booths/Rooms:
Woo/Abyss/STAX: Pleasant room with great people. Great setups, had very little WiFi interruptions. I had some issues with the Woo Tube Mini, which had a strange ringing that John said went away with time as they warmed up, but it never did. Woo products are truly works of art. I don't really subscribe to amps sounding different, but the Luna was something to experience, and the WA2 is just beautiful overall. The Fireflies amp...beautiful. Loved all the gear they had to audition and how easy it was to swap around.

ZMF: What can I say? Amazing people, amazing headphones, fun environment, a RIDICULOUS amount of amps and headphones...just a spectacular experience. The WiFi was miserable off and on, so I don't know how to fix that, but I struggled quite a bit with Roon on their WiFi. But the amount of special edition and headphones they had was a little overwhelming.

dCS: Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The room, employees, gear all felt like stepping into an exotic car showroom. Everyone was so friendly, no issues with anyone being snooty, just a top tier experience. As for the gear, well...it was awesome to hear such fun stuff, I went around the room, but it all was indiscernible to me. I don't see the value of these, but gorgeous stuff. The DAC having such a low resolution screen is...an odd choice.

Mimic: Holy crap. They had every headphone you could ever want to demo, with every amp I swear ever...the Naim wasn't really working which was disappointing as I own it and wanted to test the Tungstens on it, but otherwise, incredible. I wish they weren't in the main room, it really devalued some headphones.

Schiit: The employees looked miserable and the Yggy had some channel imbalance with my Utopias. So I didn't do much listening.

LTA: None of their amps sounded right on my Utopias, everything felt very far and distant to the point of wanting to make sure the amp wasn't out of phase. I was looking to be impressed but wasn't. The Prosper Cables guy manning the booth was awesome.

Meze: Terrible setup. If you wanted a proper audition, go to somewhere else.

Bloom: Lovely employees, had tons of gear to buy, didn't care how long you took to audition, had a dCS stack out, I mean...just everything. I spent so much time at their table, and can guarantee they'll be my headphone store of choice moving forward. Got my Monarchs from them.

Warwick: Have never liked their stuff, and spent probably 15 minutes trying to get Roon to connect before I bailed. Disappointing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Really missed seeing Focal, Hifiman and HeadAmp, three that I really wanted to hear.
Got way too boozed at the bar, so Sunday was a fairly short day for me. The hotel was gorgeous, but the elevator system was bunk...What, why build a better mouse trap????
Shirts being cash only made me sad........
If you came behind me and saw lots of black metal and industrial on the Roon iPads...I apologize LOL.
Was GREAT! Hope they do it again.

I’m very interested in your opinion of the Monarch MKIII versus the U12T, as I was at the show largely to assess 64 audio and to compare these two models. I thought the Monarch was very good, but I didn’t feel it was worth purchasing as a Moondrop S8 owner. And compared to the U12T, I thought there was a significant noticable difference in resolution between the two. There was an etched in stone quality to the detail on the 64 that I did not hear on the Monarch and my assumption is this is the TIA driver tech. The Monarch felt like a well tuned chi-fi and the U12T felt like a different class of device entirely. I’m still learning to develop and identify preferences on these things as I come from the pro audio world as a musician and producer, so any additional comments you might have would be very interesting to read. Thanks for sharing with the group!

 

[texx2818]

I’m very interested in your opinion of the Monarch MKIII versus the U12T, as I was at the show largely to assess 64 audio and to compare these two models. I thought the Monarch was very good, but I didn’t feel it was worth purchasing as a Moondrop S8 owner. And compared to the U12T, I thought there was a significant noticable difference in resolution between the two. There was an etched in stone quality to the detail on the 64 that I did not hear on the Monarch and my assumption is this is the TIA driver tech. The Monarch felt like a well tuned chi-fi and the U12T felt like a different class of device entirely. I’m still learning to develop and identify preferences on these things as I come from the pro audio world as a musician and producer, so any additional comments you might have would be very interesting to read. Thanks for sharing with the group!

I am not really looking for the neutral/natural sound in IEMs, usually, because I’m listening to them while I’m walking around campus, working out, etc. I want something that sounds fun and brain rattling. It’s just preference. I have my Utopias for accuracy. The U12T were awesome, I just thought the MK3 as more fun.

 

[saxpiano]

I am not really looking for the neutral/natural sound in IEMs, usually, because I’m listening to them while I’m walking around campus, working out, etc. I want something that sounds fun and brain rattling. It’s just preference. I have my Utopias for accuracy. The U12T were awesome, I just thought the MK3 as more fun.

The Monarchs were definitely a pleasure to listen to – really lucky to have had the chance to hear them. congrats on the purchase! I could tell there was a difference between the mkii and mkiii but I couldn’t quite pin down exactly what it was.

 

[Abodh]

I had a fantastic time with y’all ! The relaxed atmosphere and no-pressure approach were so appealing that I even convinced my wife, who absolutely dislikes technology and avoids stores like Best Buy, to come along the next day. She really enjoyed the community vibe.
As for me, I was content with my existing setup, but you made me upgrade and put bunch of things on my next years list that i will have to start saving again.

 

[alxrldn]

First CanJam and first time in Texas, brought my girlfriend along and we had a blast ! Everyone was super nice and helpful especially the DCS and Warwick guys
Tried every flagship but fell in love with Susvara and Elite, Warwick aperio and obviously the HE-1 (amazing experience and amazing Sennheiser rep). As for iems the dunu mirai was perfect in every regard followed by the more expensive u12t.
Can’t wait to go back !

 

[Sennheiser]

First CanJam and first time in Texas, brought my girlfriend along and we had a blast ! Everyone was super nice and helpful especially the DCS and Warwick guys
Tried every flagship but fell in love with Susvara and Elite, Warwick aperio and obviously the HE-1 (amazing experience and amazing Sennheiser rep). As for iems the dunu mirai was perfect in every regard followed by the more expensive u12t.
Can’t wait to go back !

Thank you for coming all that distance and spending some precious time with the HE 1! We loved your demo session. Hope the trip back was easy breezy!

 

[warrenpchi]

Where's all the pictures??

https://www.head-fi.org/threadgalle...mpressions-thread-november-11-12-2023.970471/