CanJam NYC is back and this weekend (26/27 Feb) so figured I’d create a thread for discussion, photos, impressions, etc. for the event. Exhibitors look solid, though missing some favorites like @ZMFheadphones (one day we’ll get through COVID and all be together again).
Admittedly, it’s crept up on me so I need to get to downloading some playlists for trying out stuff… oh, and packing clothes.
WOOOOOO! I plan on going. Thanks for starting this thread, @bigshel99. I’ll be there for only the morning on Saturday, but probably all day Sunday. If anyone wants to say hi, please PM me, and we’ll exchange numbers 
Can’t wait!
I’ll be there on Saturday. Looking forward to it!
Preview Video courtesy of the Head-Fi folks.
Maybe a place to check out while in NYC
Both @andrew and I will be there on the Sunday, roaming the show floor. Feel free to say hi!
Won’t open for another week … Adjacent to the Norman G stop, in Greenpoint. Get some Polish baked goods while you’re out there!
Great! Looks like a must!
preshow checklist:
How does this typically work? Do most of the exhibitors have a way for you to plug your phone into their DAC so that you can listen to your own music? Or are you generally stuck with whatever music they’ve already pre-selected?
You forgot the most important step.
Bringing your measurement rig onto the show floor to test headphones. The ideal environment to measure headphones 
.
Also don’t forget to bring your own personal generator and Amp rack so you can transport your setup safely and hear it at the show!
It can vary a little but for the most part, if you ask nicely, most will let you use your stuff with things. Headphones are usually easier to deal with than trying to connect to their dac/etc but I’ve done it before. I tend to use my on source/equipment with headphones when I can for a bit if I can; mainly so I can listen to the music I like with them vs. searching through what they have.
The cell and wifi can be … spotty… so I like to be prepared with some stuff so I’m not buffering
Bring Ears: check (remember to clean first 
)
Pack a dolly and back support: check.
I love the one I’ve been to in LA, which this resembles a good bit. All Altec-Lansing and MacIntosh gear. And a billion-zillion LPs.
I haven’t had much time to be on here lately, but I’ll be there both days. I look forward to hopefully meeting some of you irl! 
day 1: I heard Susvara, lcd-5, 1266 TC, & CRBN for the first time:
Susvara, plugged into a speaker amplifier the size of a toaster oven, barely got loud enough for me to hear the legendary detail everyone raves about. Absurdly power hungry, exactly as advertised I guess.
1266 TC was fun with incredible bass & wonky tuning, exactly as advertised.
lcd-5 is impressively tuned, but I expected more from the bass & dynamics. Sounded to me like a more mid-centric Arya.
The real winner of the day for me was Audeze CRBN. 
Like, I may be rethinking my whole endgame plan. 
Also:
I don’t know what kind of voodoo magic Unique Melody is doing, but they are on fire. Also, I liked Indigo better than the Mason Fusang.I’ll be back tomorrow morning for more. 
First time back in the Marriott Marquis since I took (and passed) the bar exam in 2017. Needless to say, this was a much more enjoyable experience, even if it was a bit overwhelming at first.
For iems, my favorites were the monarch mkii and the u12t, both of which I loved. I was also pleasantly surprised by the V16 divinity. After owning the blessing 2, which I enjoyed, I decided that I’d lay off iems for the time being. The monarch mkii and u12t are making me reconsider that decision.
For headphones, I managed to listen to the Susvara, LCD-5, 1266 TC, Rosson RAD-0, and DCA Stealth.
Unlike Chris, I was immediately blown away by the Susvara. My first impression was that it was the most resolving headphone with the best detail retrieval I had ever heard (including the other TOTL cans listed above as well as the Utopia, HD 800 S, and VC). But I don’t think that’s actually correct. I think I perceived it as being more detailed and resolving because the imaging was so precise and the stage so impressively presented. Whereas the wide soundstage of the HD 800 S sounds unnatural to me, the horizontal and vertical reach of the stage of the Susvara was superior to that of any other headphone I had ever heard. I think the Utopia has slightly better detail retrieval, but the Susvara is no slouch in that department, and the Susvara’s imaging and staging make it feel more exciting and lively to me. If money were no object and they came with a lifetime driver warranty, then I’d own a Susvara (and whatever amp I’d need to power it, though preferably not the titanic at the Hifiman booth) and be set. But that fantasy isn’t reality, and these feel flimsy. As I found with the Aryas and the Sundaras (less so for the Anandas), the build quality doesn’t feel premium. I’m glad I got to listen to them, but I couldn’t spend my money on them.
The 1266 TC, which I listened to on the Nautilus, didn’t impress me so much. Honestly, I wish I had gotten to listen to the amp using a different set of headphones like my VC or the LCD-5. I’ve enjoyed every ampsandsound amp I have ever heard, but I don’t think the 1266 TC allowed me to get a real sense of what the Nautilus can do.
I listened to the LCD-5 on the Red October, a pairing that I found to be a match made in heaven. The tuning on the LCD-5 was spot on to my ears. The imaging was excellent. Bass was tight and well extended. The soundstage was sufficiently wide. It’s the best sounding Audeze I’ve ever heard. And they look and feel amazing. If you handed me the Susvara and the LCD-5 without giving me any additional information about either, I’d pick the LCD-5 as the $6k set. It’s a work of art.
The Red October is also a work of art. And it might have been the single most impressive piece of gear I sampled, but it’s also $12,000…
(I actually began the morning by making a beeline for the ampsandsound table where I got to pick Justin and Tyler’s brains. I’ve gotten a lot of solid advice from both of them since diving into this hobby, so getting to meet them in person was nice.)
Rad-0—I really enjoyed this headphone. It did a lot of things well, but wasn’t really the best at anything. And that’s all good in my book. The Utopia has much greater dynamic contrast (i.e., punch/slam) and superior detail retrieval. The stage on Susvara is infinitely more impressive. But the Rad-0 has very good bass, a pleasant tonality, and good imaging. I liked it a lot, but at the price point, I think the VC exceeds it in each of these areas.
I also liked the DCA Stealth. That said, with the exception of the 1266 TC, it was my least favorite of the TOTL headphones I tried. I found the dynamic contrast to be so muted that while it was otherwise technically a very fine headphone, I thought it was a little boring. The genres I listen to most are jazz and hip-hop. I also listen to a lot of female vocalists and non-jazz acoustic music. I think the Stealth works well with jazz, female vocalists, and acoustic music; hip-hop less so.
The only underwhelming part of the experience was the music selection on a lot of the sources at the various booths. I waited in line 20 minutes (maybe even more) to try the Susvara, and once I sat down and scrolled through the music options, I had no idea where to begin, the choices were so mundane. Mindful that a long line had formed behind me, I didn’t want to take up too much time, but I had to ask to connect my ipad to play some of my reference tracks. I’m glad that I did.
I went to the Florida Audio Expo last week, head amp had a nice room. They had I believe 12 or 14 pairs, all of the one’s you mentioned and other TOTL phones
Also consider this is my first audio show and was stereo centric.
Ironically I didn’t like the susvara, I don’t know if any thing is missing, but I mean it was able to power the headphones to deafening loudness. Not sure if there’s more to it than that.
I would really hope so at that price, cause my HE6Se’s blew those out the water.
The carbons were sick, that headphone I really enjoyed.
Clear MGs were not good, I listened the OG’s once and loved it. Pretty sad actually.
Also really like LCD-X and XC, think for some reason I prefer the XC, superb.
But I got a chance to listen to all of them, not sure if it’s the amps or what, but most just didn’t sound pleasant to me.
At least some I did LOL.
They had this Italian company called Spirit and darn those were really nice headphones, all three that they had, I listened to their 11,000 headphones and honestly not sure how they managed to do it but it sound like stereo listening. The guy was using like a $500 dap to drive them, dap was from an unknown company, I can only imagine what quality components can bring to the table.
For first time listeners they played this song and every single person would literally look to their left cause the sound came from direction since its no sound or music playing at all to a tone. You’re not even aware the song started because only a single instrument starts to play
I’m not sure if they are at this event but I would definitely try them if they were
