We tried real hard to get a HE-1 vs Aperio soundproof booth going but alas the marketing powers at Sennheiser wanted a HE-1 in a room like they traditionally do. Can’t blame them but we put in the legwork at this show to hopefully make it happen at other shows!
Just booked flights and ticket. 3 of the 5 headphones I wanna listen to are in your list. Since this is my first canjam, idk about rules/decorums. Would it be okay to listen to all 3 at once, or do you think I should periodically visit your booth to listen to those 3.
Oh feel free to listen to all 3 at once! Something we just remind people about is to just be conscious of others waiting for a chance to listen. If a spot is free and no one is waiting, always feel free to take as much time as you’d like to listen!
And after you listened, feel free to come back and listen some more.
By all accounts, this is going to be the biggest CanJam on record from a vendor / exhibitor perspective so there is going to be a ton of ground to cover of things that you already have your list and things you didn’t even know should be on your list but will make it on there by the end of the show.
Looking forward to seeing you there
And also, just got confirmation that we will have the Kallyste Amethyste at our booth as well. I’ve been working on this once since we listened to it in Munich so excited to give the opportunity to those in North America a chance to listen to it. If you’re unfamiliar with it, @GoldenSound did a review a week or so ago on it.
We’ve just always called it the Collector’s Edition.
We started forgoing some of the official product names outside of the model names provided as with some manufacturers it seems to change every couple months leaving vendors with multiple different names and customer confusion. Not pointing out anyone in particular (Hifiman).
It’s definitely an interesting one to see in person. They only had it playing off CD players in Munich with CDs that were not in my repertoire so I am excited to give it a run with music that I actually listen to.
Looks like Headphones.com will have a LOT of new things debuting at the show. Anyone going please take and share lots of photos/videos/impressions for the rest of us who can’t make it in person
Before watching the review (very nicely done, by the way) I hadn’t realized it was a hybrid topology and assumed that you could switch between solid-state and tube modes (either, input, output or both).
After watching Cameron’s review, and seeing that it is non-switchable pentode-based tube input stage, my enthusiasm waned quite a bit. Which is not to say I don’t think it’ll sound great, just that, like Cameron, I tend to either want full-blown tube coloration or I want a minimally/uncolored presentation and go solid-state and don’t really spend any time in the middle.
And when I want to adjust the level of tube-flavor, I just use different tubes - usually 300B when I want maximum tube tonality, 2A3 when I want something more linear but more holographic. I also pretty much only listen using single-ended triodes anymore. Pentodes are great for speed, precision and linearity, but are, well, “less tubey” as a result.
As much as I’d love to have a more compact solution than I do (Zahl HM-1 for solid-state, Woo WA234MK Monos for tubes) … and sonically it’s probably too far from either to solve that issue.
Jude and the team from Head-fi have swapped out there usual format for a CanJam preview video and in the process, REALLY upped their production value. Would highly recommend checking out the video below!
Spoilers, there’s also some fun Easter Eggs in there
Yeah it’s definitely not the next Zahl HM1 to come out of Munich High-End. It had a enough interesting things going on that I figured it would be neat to introduce to a North American audience and see what their thoughts are around it but it’s a product that will definitely remain in a very niche sector of want for people (which is funny to say because anything in this range is a niche sector. It’s just a niche within a niche of a niche ).
I’m most excited to throw on some Fred Again with a Utopia or Susvara and see how it does with my kind of music.
I think, had it been switchable tube/solid-state, rather than full-time hybrid, it’d would have been viable for me. Or at least interesting enough to try and spend some time with.
At that level, there’s not much room for compromise - and I’ve yet to find a high(er) hybrid that was “tubey” enough, while still being technically competent.
Oddly enough, the iFi Pro iCAN, along with Schiit’s hybrid models, are the closest I’ve gotten to non-purist satisfaction (soft spot for all of those …).
As soon a my N30LE (wish you guys still carried Cayin) finishes charging I’ll have to give Fred a listen.
Work was especially……eh, “character building” this week. But!! I am officially on vacation now and by about this time tomorrow I will be in Jam-of-the-Can land!!
It’s one of those things where I really don’t get what all the fuss is about. It’s certainly more tube-like (or, at least, warmer and richer sounding) than some more accessible hybrid models, and is certainly high-end (price wise, at least), but on sound or technical performance - for me?
