[gc335]

Is the Gustard A23 an AIO?

Do you mean DAC/amp? It’s only a DAC. It was feeding a few different amps.

 

[AudioDuck]

BACK IN MY DAY, we had to walk ten miles through the snow to get to a CanJam!

And all the roads were uphill, right?

 

[AnyDave]

And all the roads were uphill, right?

You had roads? Luxury.

 

[G8torbyte]

Anyone else try the Auribus Sierra?

It was a bit of a surprise for me since I'd never heard of them. The design is not my cup of tea but the 3D printing makes it very light-weight and I liked the spacious sound of it.

 

[thedoc31]

This was my second CanJam, and it was an amazing experience. As with CanJam #1, I focused mainly on IEMs. CanJam #1 taught me that I needed to take better notes, so here's my base impressions of the event. I'll create a second post with my IEM impressions later.

Personal learnings from CanJam #2:

1. Bring ALL the adapters and cables. Seriously. All of them, even for connectors I don't have or use. 4.4 balanced, 3.5mm to 1/4", 1/4" to 3.5mm, USB-C to USB-C, USB-A to USB-C, and all the various male/female versions of them.
2. Snack, water, and ear breaks are important. Take more next time.

General feedback for the CanJam team:

1. Y'all are awesome and so friendly. I really appreciate it. Everyone seemed enthused to be there.
2. Fantastic signage directing people to the proper floors and areas for the show.
3. I want the show guide to be available digitally ahead of the show so I can better plan out my day.
   1. If you can't do a full digital adaptation, could you make the show guide PDF available for download once it goes out for printing? (I recognize there may be embargoed/sensitive ads or announcements in there, so they might have to be pulled out ahead of time or something)
4. As a newb who loves audio but isn't shoulders-deep in it -- and until recently hasn't participated much in forums -- it's difficult to tell at a glance what some brands do, represent, or sell. Are they showing their own DACs, cables, headphones? Can every booth maybe display a color code or some kind of guide/iconography next to their booth number to help them be more accessible?
5. Mobile reception on the show floor is really bad, and the Wi-Fi was worse, especially on Saturday. It might be worth bringing in picocells or signal boosters to spread the load so everyone isn't battling for the same Wi-Fi bandwidth. No hotel Wi-Fi is built for that much high-fi streaming.

General feedback for vendors:

1. There was so much fumbling between cables and adapters. I appreciate the modularity of IEMs in this sense, but it's also their downfall. There's gotta be a better way to handle this than manually switching them every time someone needs a different plug.
2. Is it possible to bring more examples of products? There were a lot of people waiting to listen to things, especially popular items like the Subtonic Storm.
3. Please label everything you are showing or selling. Help attendees help you by providing us clear visual guides or printouts illustrating what's on display and what makes it special, like Campfire's fantastic brochure, or even simple descriptive pedestals like FATfreq had. It will help guide and target people and keep booth traffic moving.
   • Constructive examples:
     • Sennheiser - your IEMs are identically shaped and I could not tell whether the trays had different models or just different finish options. The engravings someone eventually showed me were impossible to see until pointed out. Echoing another poster's comment on headphones, it's difficult to tell which way is forward on your headphones. The L/R markings are right where hands go to grab them and there is no coloring or arrow to help me orient.
     • Headphones.com - the IEM display was so impressive with so many good things to try, but I missed some because things were so jumbled by Sunday afternoon. I had no idea what the various 64 Audio and Thieaudio earbuds were (other than different colors and hard-to-read model markings on some). There was a shiny one that said Moondrop on it if I looked at it in exactly the right way. Your booth people were awesome, but so busy that it was untenable to talk to them every time I wanted to switch or even wanted to know where to start/go next.

IEM impressions to come soon!

Also, if anyone happened to find a rogue THX Onyx on Sunday, please send me a DM. I dropped it about 2:30-3pm and retraced my steps three times but could not find it.

 

[fiascogarcia]

And all the roads were uphill, right?

You had roads? Luxury.

In my day, we had to make our own headphones and iems out of string, wire, and old tin cans; thus the name "can"jam.

 

[jamato8]

In my day, we had to make our own headphones and iems out of string, wire, and old tin cans; thus the name "can"jam.

In my day, we just banged rocks on our heads.

 

[geoffalter11]

Do you mean DAC/amp? It’s only a DAC. It was feeding a few different amps.

I thought so, but was just making sure. How was the A23? Never seen one... Where is it meant to be in their line up? What amps did you hear the A23 hooked to?

 

[Loftprojection]

I thought so, but was just making sure. How was the A23? Never seen one... Where is it meant to be in their line up? What amps did you hear the A23 hooked to?

On paper the A23 seems like a very interesting DAC, at last a manufacturer that is incorporating upscale USB IN parts instead of having to buy a separate DDC just to have adequate quality USB connectivity. Too bad it's not an R2R but maybe an R23 is already cooking for the near future!

 

[gc335]

I thought so, but was just making sure. How was the A23? Never seen one... Where is it meant to be in their line up? What amps did you hear the A23 hooked to?

I only tried the A23 feeding the Black Ice/Modhouse audio collaboration with the Modhouse Tungsten DS. It's a prototype right now. It was very engaging with nice staging. Overall warm but I would not say it was missing detail. Very nice "tubey" sound. I didn't have a ton of time with it but the overall impression was very good.

 

[cangle]

Had a great time this weekend so here are some pictures and quick summaries of what I heard. Also some images of my favorite meals from the trip.

Arrived in NYC on Friday and had some excellent food at Mitr Thai for lunch and 212 Steakhouse for dinner:

Started off Saturday with a subway ride to Brooklyn to get breakfast at Fan-Fan Doughnuts:

Canjam show highlights from Saturday included hearing the new Raal Immanis, trying the Stax Omega on the Mataxas nipple amp, trying 465 with susvara and tungsten, and trying atrium open and closed, and verite open on the ZMF Decware OTL.

The Immanis was a lot of fun. Was a nice cross between the planar and electrostatic sound. I think I preferred the Immanis over the tungsten but would take an estat over both. The Immanis had excellent bass extension and texture and had some fun sparkling highs. The price is really high for what it is but it would be fun to try it out at home on the Tyrs. It's also pretty comfortable and much simpler to use then the sr1b.

A friend brought his Stax SR-Omega to the show so I got to hear it on the Metaxas & Sins Ethereal which I've just been calling the nipple amp. I liked the omega a lot. It was more of a close up and exciting sound vs something more laid back like the X9000.

One of my main goals going into this show was to spend more time with the Decware OTL and I'm glad I did. It sounded fantastic with both Atriums and Verite open however I preferred the sound of atrium closed on it over the sound of the open. It was a very natural and full sound that was a little slow but perfect for music with real instruments vs faster paced pop or electronic music. I might pick one up in the future and I could also use it as a preamp into a Firstwatt amp as well.

Towards the end of the day I got to spend some time with the 465 with Susvara, Tungsten, and also the ETA Ada that I brought to the show:

I have the MA3 dac at home so I liked the 465 setup at the Mimic Audio table more. It's a great little amp but the price is hard to swallow. Did a great job with tungsten as it reminded me of the sound with speaker amps at home but had a bit of a warmer more natural presentation.

And plugging in the Ada was fun, it sounds great off of your phone but sounded even better on the 465. I enjoyed letting people try it to see what they thought. Most people seem to find it to have a fun and natural sound but heard some complaints about comfort and lack of detail.

Finished up Saturday with some excellent Malaysian food but I don't have a picture of that.

On Sunday I spent some more time with the Immanis and Decware OTL but also got to experience some new systems and headphones. Highlights from Sunday included the Stax 007 mk2, DCA E3, and the Canpur 622b with Hiby RS8

The 007 mk2 is my favorite estat I heard at the show this weekend. The vocals are incredible and the wrap around stage with tons of detail was a perfect match for my preferences. It sounded great on this little Stax energizer but I also liked it on the Viva STX:

I spent some time with the DCA E3 on a variety of amps and was really impressed with the sound. It was very balanced and didn't have any of the harshness I'd heard from the Stealth and Expanse in the past. It also stages quite wide for a closed back

The Canpur 622b surprised me. I asked one of the Musiktek reps what their favorite iem was and they placed that in front of me. Along with the Hiby RS8 dap feeding my MK475, it was a show highlight for me. Tons of detail and texture with excellent imaging and a very well controlled low end.

I also spent some time with the Eksonic Aeras powering the Audeze CRBN and the Grand Cayman powering the DCA Corina. The Corina really impressed me this year and I might look at getting a pair for home. I wasn't super impressed with the CRBN this time around as it was lacking the sparkling highs that I associate with estats

Another highlight of Sunday was the HE-60 on the nipple amp. Had a much more natural and full sound then the Stax Omega while retaining plenty of detail. Was like a cross between a ZMF and an Estat.

Finished up Sunday with some delicious pizza from Village Square Pizza

Took the train back home on Monday and capture a nice view of the NYC Skyline:

Looking forward to next year's Canjam.

 

[Ohno Schiitizen]

To be fair, for those of us who have spent any time on a boat, port (left) = red, starboard (right) = green.

I always have to remind myself in audio, “Red is Right”!

I do put a small round sticker to the iem if it looks indentical on both channel, and follow the Marine standard, PORT red, STARBOARD green.

 

[geoffalter11]

On paper the A23 seems like a very interesting DAC, at last a manufacturer that is incorporating upscale USB IN parts instead of having to buy a separate DDC just to have adequate quality USB connectivity. Too bad it's not an R2R but maybe an R23 is already cooking for the near future!

Thanks. I own the 10th Anniversary Matrix X2 Pure, where they stripped out the amp and made it just a DAC and Streamer. It is absolutely incredible and has no ESS glare or etch. A little unknown thing about the 9038 and new 9039 chip. It is actually (2) of the 9018 in one. So, if you have a DAC with (1) 9038 or 9039 you are getting twice the channels per side. This is why many struggle to manage this chip, as that many channels needs appropriate attention and a way to dissipate all that heat. My X2 Pure has 2 chips, which means 32 channels per side. And it is the most effortless and clean sounding DAC. I love R2R DACs, but this DAC is an absolute joy to listen to. It is so clean and musical. I hope the A23 is as well.

I also agree that many need to figure out a cleaner approach to USB. I use Fiber Ethernet from my DAC into a Roon NUC, so I have no digital cables running from my DAC. It is picked up by my network.

Appreciate your honest opinion...

You know you are at Canjam NYC when you get as many food pics as audio pics. I'd like this many food pics from Singapore please. That is a show I dream of attending.

 

[justin w.]

This has always puzzled me about the shows. When I read reports I often see comments like “could not properly evaluate under show conditions”.. Then I wonder, what is the purpose of the show lol… But I guess it is about social interaction as well. I really enjoyed my first and only (so far) CANJAM in New York 2020. But it is something for the CJ folks to think about, quiet rooms for open backs, for example. Should be possible to organize.

I'm going to think about how this could work, maybe a 'quiet room' that could be sponsored and reserved in 15-30 minute time slots? Those noise isolation booths cost about $2500 to rent and can fit 1-2 people. If you put a few of these in a side room, it might cost $15k with the room fee. I think the only way that makes economic sense is to have a 2nd setup up in a hotel room and have sign ups or invitations for it

 

[wolfstar76]

I'm going to think about how this could work, maybe a 'quiet room' that could be sponsored and reserved in 15-30 minute time slots? Those noise isolation booths cost about $2500 to rent and can fit 1-2 people. If you put a few of these in a side room, it might cost $15k with the room fee. I think the only way that makes economic sense is to have a 2nd setup up in a hotel room and have sign ups or invitations for it

Time for someone to invent a noise-cancelling helmet for CanJam. Imaging the future CanJam, we have people wearing those helmets from star war movie, we will be officially in the future.