Impressions from NYC Canjam 2023

Submitted by bfjones02 t3_11cufbo in headphones

Just got back from my first Canjam, which was my first time trying a lot of these brands and high-end phones/DACs/Amps.

Thought I’d post some impressions as a long time listener, first time caller to the headphone world.

Headphone sounds of note:

Sennheiser HD800: high-level transparency in mids/highs, weak bass.

Audeze: I found the brand to be dark in tone. Bass is strong. Clarity improves as you go up the line (of electronics, too.

Hifiman: Planar sound like the Audeze but a little less dark.

ZMF: Strong, didn’t notice a huge difference vs Hifiman comparing flagships of both brands.

Focal: Swiss Army knife that tries to do the Sennheiser highs/mids with more bass. I do find that the clarity means you really need coherence and image separation for it not to sound muddy, and I didn’t really get that fully until I got to the Utopia.

Stax: My god. The high/mid magic of Sennheiser - maybe even more so - but with enough bass to at least be passable. The 009s (or were they 9000s?) paired with a Blue Hawaii amp were probably the best things I heard all day. If only electrostatics didn’t need special amps and handling. And if only I had an extra $15k lying around.

Fostex: Surprised by these, at the price range. Little bit boomy in the bass (closed back may not have helped) but punched above its weight otherwise.

Electronics of note:

dCS Lina Stack: Smooth. Very smooth. $30k of smooth. Velvety soft to the touch, and well composed. Highly coherent.

Chord Dave: Stunningly coherent. Stunning. It’s like there’s a little conductor in there manually choreographing each instrument in space. Little light in presentation and lacking the low end is my only critique. Exact opposite tonal presentation of Audeze ‘phones.

Holo May: Darn near the Dave at half the price…

Mola mola tambaqui: this little DAC can punch. Highly coherent, even through a tube amp. Excellent PRaT.

Other event notes:

Pretty crowded. Lot of awkward waiting for listening stations to clear up.

Overwhelmingly male and neckbeard. I fit right in.

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Comments

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huemac5810 t1_ja543je wrote

>Overwhelmingly male and neckbeard. I fit right in.

🤣🤣🤣

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GnT_Man t1_ja582i9 wrote

Cool bro, sounds like you had fun 👍

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random_LA_azn_dude t1_ja59qbe wrote

Interesting. With the SR-009/S running off a Blue Hawaii, they fell flat on their faces I played some drum and bass tracks. On the other hand, the SR-X9000 was far more competent than the 009/S in the bass dept (not to mention far better built) but still fell short of the high-end planars of the world. From your impressions, it seems that you were listening to the X9000's.

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bfjones02 OP t1_ja5kneg wrote

I was - went back and checked. I also found them meaningfully better than the 009.

But nothing like that planar bass. It’s a class all its own. The X9000 did just enough in the department to make it a compromise for those highs/mids, at least for my bass preferences.

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ku1185 t1_ja6cudr wrote

Loved the DCS Lina and the fact that it was everywhere and accessible. It's absurd. The price too.

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bfjones02 OP t1_jaa0wmo wrote

I also found it surprising - there were at least 6-8 full stacks there.

Spent some but minimal time with it. As the owner of a Rossini, I’d feel damn fine getting just the Lina DAC and rolling with that in pretty much any system.

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ku1185 t1_jaa2o7j wrote

Aye, wish I could afford one xP. Can't even afford to covet the dcs stuff. Don't think I can justify spending that kind of money on something that produces audio, unless it has 4 wheels and a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty.

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BoardsofGrips t1_ja6czy9 wrote

Awesome! I was super close to going but I don't have PTO available yet at my new job so I would have to work till 5 on Friday then hop in my car and drive to NYC and crash out, then drive back Sunday and be back to work on Monday. I want my first time in NYC I take Friday and Monday off so I can chill and enjoy myself and not have to feel like I am rushing around. Next year for sure.

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usagishi t1_ja7a5dc wrote

Glad you have fun at Canjam! I volunteered at the NYC one few years back and the organizers were very nice and friendly.

Definitely surprised by the men:women ratio there as it looked the exact opposite of what you would see at the shopping mall haha. The women were all sitting around waiting for their partners.

Not a super invested listener myself, but had a blast listening to Final Audio and Campfire Audio, two of my favorite brands! 🤩

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nicklor t1_ja5erz7 wrote

I was hoping to go but couldn't make it maybe next year.

Edit it sounds like I would fit right in also lol

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Velkest t1_ja6f19g wrote

Was my first as well and overwhelmingly disappointing. Spent upwards of 3 hours there and got to try maybe 3 things I wanted due to every clueless person spending 30 minutes plus sitting at a station and not being told by the booth to move their ass while a 5 person line formed behind them waiting. Eventually gave up and left because I wasn't getting in to the spots I wanted any time soon.

If you're gonna have exhibitions you need to limit the time and tell people to get up, half the people weren't even prospective buyers they were just trying everything for stupid amounts of time. If you want to come back after everyone else gets their 10 or 15 mins cool, but let the line finish and everyone get in. What a disorganized mess, honestly, couldn't even get into the unique melody station at musicteck after 3 hours of being there (one dude literally at the station seats the entire time I was there).

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bfjones02 OP t1_jaa07mn wrote

Well sorry you had a bad time bro, but at least there’s this to cheer you up!

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BeefChowFunNoodle t1_ja6sx4d wrote

Its a game of patience. Also it doesn't hurt to spark a conversation with a vendor, usually if you get chatty they ask people to go try something else. Also 3 hours isn't much time. For me 6 hours go by pretty fast. At the end you just end up listening to the DCS Lina all day since they are usually everywhere.

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spartaman64 t1_ja7z8hz wrote

Maybe you got unlucky but I didn't really have that problem. Even behind 3 people I've only waited like 6 minutes max. Also there's so many seats at the um/music musictek booth im surprised you had trouble with there.

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Ballin095 t1_ja81jp4 wrote

Yeah same here. I was actually able to listen to all the headphones I wanted test out by like 3 PM on Saturday. It's just a matter of patience and checking out a multitude of tables.

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MrRIP t1_ja6fpma wrote

Did you see where the HE-1 was?

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spartaman64 t1_ja80n8b wrote

It was on another floor in a hotel room. You have to sign up and it filled quickly. I got lucky and managed to sub in when some people didn't come. Ok maybe lucky is the wrong word because I waited 3 hours for that lol.

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bfjones02 OP t1_jaa0ift wrote

This was…to audition a headphone. Phew, just had to double check.

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spartaman64 t1_jaa5n5m wrote

Yep this was on the second day and I already auditioned everything else I wanted to anyways.

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Hotrodkungfury t1_ja7tkfm wrote

Did you listen to the audeze maxwell at all? Wondering what your impressions were.

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Vaporsynthtechnowave t1_ja80em8 wrote

might sell every headphone I own to purchase the Oriolus Traillii after spending 15 minutes listening with my jaw on the floor. A vocal lover's dream. The Elysian Diva were chunky and uncomfortable in my ear. no regrets instead choosing the Monarch Mk2 for both fit and sound last year. The Yamaha YH-5000SE was surprisingly light and very comfortable on my large head. fantastic imaging and an immersive soundstage, maybe worthy of the high price tag if one doesn't mind a brighter sound signature. obviously not a great listening environment and my brain was fried by the end of the day but a nice time overall with my fellow obsessive sound freaks

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bfjones02 OP t1_jaa0opo wrote

These are all IEMs I assume? Not for me so I spent no time there, but interesting to hear about nonetheless.

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Vaporsynthtechnowave t1_jaack8u wrote

yes except for the Yamaha's. too loud and limited time for any serious evaluations so I figured I might as well just sample some wild stuff. also hard to take away anything trying unfamiliar headphones on tube amps I couldn't bring myself to spend so much on. pleasantly surprised to find most of the zmf cans pretty comfortable on the head. their room was an art exhibit

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