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Hi-Fi+ Interviews Jude Mansilla of Head-Fi and Ethan Opolion of CanJam Global – Part 1

Hi-Fi+ Interviews Jude Mansilla of Head-Fi and Ethan Opolion of CanJam Global – Part 1

Head-Fi is without a doubt the largest online community of headphone and personal audio enthusiasts in the world, while CanJam Global is an organisation that, under the auspices of Head-Fi, produces an international series of headphone and personal audio expositions. Together, Head-Fi and CanJam Global represent the ‘tip of the spear’ in the rapidly expanding movement toward wider enjoyment of all things headphone-related.

Here, Hi-Fi+ magazine (itself a leading proponent of high performance personal audio) takes a moment to interview Head-Fi founder Jude Mansilla and CanJam Global head Ethan Opolion.

This is Part 1 of a two-part interview.

Hi-Fi+: How and when was Head-Fi founded? In the beginning, did you foresee it achieving the level of popularity it enjoys today?

Jude Mansilla: Head-Fi was founded in 2001, when the first headphone forum (HeadWize)–of which I was a frequently posting member–was having stability issues. It had been down for weeks in total that year so a few alternative forums were started by HeadWize members, Head-Fi being the one that grew into the community’s new home.

Back then (on HeadWize and in the first days of Head-Fi) the community was small, but growing. At any given time there might be 25 to 50 people online. Today, there are thousands on Head-Fi at a time.

It was pretty clear to me the community was going to grow, but no, I didn’t foresee it reaching the level of growth it has.

, Hi-Fi+ Interviews Jude Mansilla of Head-Fi and Ethan Opolion of CanJam Global – Part 1

 

Hi-Fi+: To what do you attribute the success of Head-Fi? For outsiders looking in, what would you say is the attraction of participating in Head-Fi?

JM:  The success of Head-Fi is the passionate community behind it—the many thousands of people who want to get as close to their music as possible, and who want to talk about it, learn about it, and befriend like-minded people to do that. Local Head-Fi Meets and CanJam are together the living embodiments of what we as a community share on Head-Fi.

I think the initial attraction for outsiders looking in is to find a place more about what’s out there, in terms of alternatives to the gear they’ve been using (often the came-with-it earbuds), to find out how good it can get. They often quickly discover that the pursuit of getting closer to the music is addictive, and that it’s fun to share that passion with thousands of others who are like-minded that way.

Ethan Opolion: For me the biggest success and attraction of Head-Fi is the community. It’s a place where people from around the world come to share their passion for music and audio gear. I discovered Head-Fi in the very early days in 2001 as I started researching headphones to buy and for me this was also the discovery of the whole new way of not only communicating with like-minded people but also in terms of how to make informed purchase decisions for products that were not readily available to try out at a local store.

Hi-Fi+: What new developments can we expect to see from Head-Fi in the coming year?

JM:  Head-Fi has just undergone a major website transition that represents a more independent Head-Fi. The move will allow us to more independently develop the website and forum to be more custom-built around the community’s needs.

For the last couple of years, we have also been quietly working with Audio Precision and G.R.A.S. to build a state of the art audio measurement lab at Head-Fi HQ. What we can do with our measurement lab is amazing, and we’ll be working to share that lab and its measurements with the community in the coming year.

Also, because several of us at Head-Fi HQ are gamers–and because so many in our Head-Fi community are also diehard gamers–we’ll be increasing our emphasis on gaming audio sound quality. Of course fidelity of music playback will always be the primary focus of Head-Fi, but there will be more discussion of the fidelity of audio in other media, like gaming, movies and shows (which so many increasingly watch on-the-go now), virtual reality, and augmented reality.

We will also be making major updates and changes to the Head-Fi Buying Guide in the coming year, as we’ve always had a lot of fun working on that, and it’s read by a good number of people who visit Head-Fi.

, Hi-Fi+ Interviews Jude Mansilla of Head-Fi and Ethan Opolion of CanJam Global – Part 1

 

Hi-Fi+: Many high-end audio enthusiasts are accustomed to loudspeaker-based audio systems and some are skeptical as to the benefits of headphones and personal audio. If you were to speak to them as one of the world’s leading  ‘headphone evangelists’, what would you say to encourage them to give headphones and/or earphones a careful and open-minded listen?

JM:  Many veteran audiophiles who haven’t looked in the direction of headphones in a decade or more don’t realize how far headphone audio has come. I think it very safe to say there are more innovations, more excitement, and more new product development in headphone audio than traditional hi-fi. I am a long-time audiophile and I still love listening to loudspeakers when I can—but sitting in a stationary sweet spot between two loudspeakers is not the only place I wish to enjoy music with high fidelity. We Head-Fi’ers want to be able to do this no matter where we are.

Simply put, I would encourage veteran audiophiles who are skeptical to discover that new product innovations have enabled hi-fi to accompany anyone anywhere, and to visit Head-Fi.org, and come to Head-Fi Meets and CanJams, to meet thousands of the world’s leading headphone evangelists.

, Hi-Fi+ Interviews Jude Mansilla of Head-Fi and Ethan Opolion of CanJam Global – Part 1

EO: Yeah, in an ideal world we would be all living in environments with dedicated listening spaces and room treatments. However, for the vast majority of people living space and the modern lifestyle is less conducive to listening to music through speakers. What we see happening in recent years is a gradual shift from people looking at headphones primarily as an accessory, to where modern audiophiles are building their flagships stereo systems around headphones.

The main benefits of high-end headphone-based systems are the high level of immersion, and the sense of immediacy that would be hard to replicate in all but the most expensive speaker based systems. When you add in the convenience of being able to listen without disturbing others as well as the ability to change headphones in order to tailor the sound to specific types of music, this becomes even more attractive.

This concludes Part 1 or our interview. Click here to read Part 2. 

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