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Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

This is Part 2 of a report on the recent Southern California CanJam event held on March 28-29, 2015 in the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel in Costa Mesa, California.

Covalent Audio – Synergistic Research

Covalent Audio teamed with the famous cable and accessory maker Synergistic Research for a fascinating demonstration, or more accurately two demonstrations. At the heart of each demonstration was Covalent Audio’s excellent yet quite affordable Nucleus headphone amplifier ($399).  In one system music was played through a ‘naked’ Nucleus with no supporting accessories, while in the adjacent system the Nucleus was augmented by a host of Synergistic accessories including the firm’s Tranquillity Basik equipment platform ($995), an HOT headphone optimised transducer $299), an ECT electronic circuit transducer ($75), MIG tuning feet ($150), and a Powercell 6 ($1,999).

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

First, the results of the comparison suggested to us that the Synergistic elements really do make an audible and beneficial difference (although they might arguably be overkill for such a system), though their effects were subtle enough in some instance that as crowd noise in the room increased the effects became harder to discern clearly. Second, though, the result suggested that Covalent’s little Nucleus amp is a pretty fine device in its own right, even without help from the Synergistic accessories.

ENIGMAcoustics

ENIGMAcoustics showed its new Dharma headphone ($1,200), which features a dynamic main driver and a supplementary self-biasing electrostatic (or electret) high frequency driver, with Dharma driven my ENIGMAcoustic’s lovely triode-powered Athena A1 headphone amplifier.

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The general consensus among attendees was that the Dharma is a very special headphone indeed, one that offers an almost ethereal high end that conveys layer upon layer of subtle spatial information, making for unusually broad, expansive soundstages. One sure sign of the Dharma’s innate goodness is one amplifier maker after another expressed interest in borrowing the demo pair of Dharmas to try with their own amps. It’s a good ‘un indeed.

ENIGMAcoustics – Questyle – AnnaLyric

As a sign of the growing eclecticism of the high-end headphone community, one portion of the display area was set aside for speaker-based systems, and one of the most fascinating of those was a system comprising a pair of ENIGMAcoustics Mythology M1 stand-mount monitors with self-biasing electrostatic super-tweeters as driven by—get this—a wireless amplification system from Questyle, with speaker cables (pretty much the only cables in the system apart from power cords) from the Chicago-based firm AnnaLyric.

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

The truly impressive part was not just how good ENIGMAcoustics’ Mythology M1s sounded (I’ve heard them several times before and they never fail to impress), but how finely resolved and focused the Questyle wireless amplification systems turned out to be. If you’ve thought that the terms ‘wireless’ and ‘high-performance’ are mutually exclusive, the Questyle system might well make you think again.

 

Exogal

Maybe it’s something in the water, but for some reason high performance audio companies just seem to thrive in Minnesota, either in the city of Minneapolis or in towns nearby. So it is that the new firm Exogal, whose products claim to deliver “out of this galaxy sound,” is based in Eagan, Minnesota. Exogal got its start when a group of ex-Wadia Digital engineers decided to go their own way in the wake of Fine Sound’s purchase of Wadia.

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The first result of this new collaboration is Exogal’s Comet, which is a high-resolution PCM (32/384) and DSD (64/128) DAC with a special 32-bit volume control. One of the coolest things about the Exogal, from a user interface standpoint, is the really elegant Apple iPhone app through which the unit can be controlled (see our photo showing the app screen). An Android version is available, too.

Final Audio Design

The Japanese firm Final Audio design was on hand with almost all of its current headphone and earphone models (all in all, a quite extensive range), including the firm’s Pandora Hope-series full-size headphones (which are in the process of being renamed the Sonorous range); the sealed ear tip Heaven, Adagio, and Fi-BA-SS-series earphones; and the very distinctive non-sealed-ear tip Piano Forte-series earphones.

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

Since I had heard and reviewed Pandora Hope, Adagio, and the FI-BA-SS models before, I took the opportunity at CanJam to explore the admittedly unorthodox and iconoclastic Piano Forte models and came away impressed.

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

Perhaps the easiest way for me to describe their sound would be to like then to really first-rate single, full-range driver loudspeakers. The sound won’t be for everyone, but it undeniably delivers qualities of immediacy, purity, and dynamic expressiveness that are difficult to match.

Focal

The French firm Focal now offers three headphone models, all of which were on demonstration at CanJam. These include the Spirit One S ($249), the Spirit Classic ($399), and the dead neutral, pro-sound-orientated Spirit Pro ($349). 

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

A Focal spokesman who keeps finger on the pulse of the pro-sound market said the Spirit Pro had found favour among all kinds of pro-sound clients (including both amateur and professional recording engineers), so that the Pro is rapidly becoming one of the most popular of all the Focal models.

 

FritzSpeakers – WyWires – Cayin

Yet another of the loudspeaker-based systems highlighted at CanJam was one based on FritzSpeaker Carbon 7 SE loudspeakers ($2,500/pair), a Cayin valve-type A-50T integrated amplifier ($1,495) and CD-50T CD player ($900), with the system connections courtesy of WyWires Blue-Series speaker, interconnect, and digital cables and power cords.

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

Sadly, I didn’t get to listen to the system at length owing to the fact that show attendees kept up with a steady stream of questions on the various FritzSpeaker models, which cut into possible listening time (but in a good way, I reckon).

Grace Design

Yet another manufacturer making the crossover from the pro-sound world to the high-end headphone world was Grace design, which showed its gorgeous new m920 high-resolution monitoring system (which is Grace-speak for “headphone amplifier/DAC”). Priced at  $1,995, the m920 provides a high-res PCM (32/384) and DSD (64/128) capable USB DAC married to a high-quality preamplifier/headphone amp. As a preamp, the m920 provides both balanced inputs and outputs, while as a headphone amp the m920 provides dual single-ended outputs. For lower noise, the m920’s USB input is both power and ground-isolated from ancillary equipment.

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Words can’t really do justice to the fit and finish the Grace has on offer. Suffice it to say that if the famous jeweller Tiffany made equipment of this sort, it might wind up looking much like the m920.

HeadAmp

HeadAmp president Justin Wilson has built a golden reputation both for sound and build quality in his upper tier amplification products, many of which are based on circuit designs and concepts from the very talented Kevin Gilmore. So it is with HeadAmp’s GS-X Mk2 headphone amp/preamp (no relation to a similarly-named family of Suzuki sportbikes), which is a beautiful (and beautifully made) two-chassis balanced output solid-state headphone amplifier ($2,800 with standard volume control or $3,000 with uprated control).

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

To add a touch of whimsy to the GS-Z Mk2, HeadAmp sent a version with a bright crimson red faceplate and control knobs for the show. Cool.

 

HiFiMAN

The Chinese firm HiFiMAN was flat out wowing many attendees with its new flagship HE-1000 planar magnetic headphone, which is now getting very close to production release (projected pricing is approximately $3,000). Amazingly, the present HE-1000 has been tweaked a bit since the version shown at CES in January and now sounds even better thanks to no less revealing but smoother highs. There have also been some further improvements in sensitivity. My impression is that the HE-1000 offers very even and neutral tonal balance, stupendous detail and resolution, transient speeds rivalled only by the Stax electrostatic, and both explosive and highly expressive dynamics. In short, it’s a dead-serious contender for state of the art honours. In snippets of conversation overheard at the show, I gather many attendees shared my favourable assessment of the HE-1000.

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

Also quite impressive was HiFiMAN’s EF-1000 hybrid valve-type integrated amplifier/headphone amplifier. In conversation with HiFiMAN found Dr. Fang Bian, I learned that this amp initially came about because Dr. Bian had trouble finding an amp that could properly drive his TAD-CR1 reference loudspeakers. Eventually, he let the HiFiMAN engineering team develop an amp for the CR1’s, which is the EF-1000 (‘turns out it’s a pretty great headphone amp, too).

iFi Audio

iFi Audio is on the cusp of releasing its long-awaited, do-all Retro system, which is about as credible an attempt at building a ‘high-end-audio-in-a-box system’ as we have ever seen.

This system is comprised of iFi’s all-in-in-on, valve-powered Stereo 50 25Wpc integrated amplifier/headphone amplifier/DAC/MM-MC phonostage, plus a pair of the firm’s LS3.5 mini-monitors. Impressively, the DAC section handles PCM files at up to 32/768, double DXD files, and DSD files up to DSD512! No DAC we know of is more future-proof than this one, so that Retro system owners are affectively getting all the technology of the firm’s Micro iDSD headphone amp/DAC, but with a far more powerful headphone amplifier. What is more, they will also the benefits of the firm’s also excellent Micro iPhono phonostage, but with a slick 25Wpc valve-type integrated amp thrown in. How cool is that? The whole shebang sells for a more than reasonable $1,999.

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

In talks with a company representative, I learned that thus far the strongest customer interest has been shown in the Stereo 50 head unit itself, although depending on how good the LS3.5 speaker are, there’s a good change the whole Retro system will prove to be a bit of a bargain. Best of all, the Retro demo system as shown at CanJam will very shortly become the Hi-Fi+ review sample. Stay tuned for more.

JDS Labs

JDS Labs isn’t the biggest name in personal audio, but the firm very quietly goes about its business, which is building very high quality portable amp/DACs that self for extremely reasonable prices. A perfect case in point would be the pocket-sized C5D portable headphone amp/DAC ($250), which supports PCM files at resolution up to a modest 24/96, but whose sound quality is rock solid.

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

My sense is that JDS amp/DACs appeal to buyers who want the best bang for their bucks; they’re not unduly fancy or caught up in ‘specs for the sake of spec’, but they flat out work.

 

Kingsound

The electrostatic speaker specialist Kingsound has been with us for a number of years, but in addition to loudspeaker they also build fine—and very well priced—electrostatic headphones. To keep things simple, and to tap the power of creative bundling, Kingsound offers two source-ready electrostatic headphone/headphone amplifier packages.

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

Both packages include Kingsound’s fairly recently redesigned H3 electrostatic headphones (which look vastly better than earlier generation Kingsound electrostatic headphones did), but one includes the solid-state M10 electrostatic amp ($1,250 for the amp plus headphone), while the other includes the valve-type M20 electrostatic amp ($2,150 for the amp plus headphone).

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Given that both packages sell for a fraction of the price of typical Stax-based electrostatic headphone systems, it’s hard to see how one could go wrong.
 

LH Labs

LH Labs, the personal audio division of the famous high-end audio company Light Harmonic, favours crowdfunded and crowdsourced product development efforts and so can give the (correct, as it turns out) impression of being in a more or less continuous state of product development and re-developments. Nevertheless, in the midst of this whirlwind of activity, certain fairly clearly defined LH Labs models do come to completion and fruition, and one of the most popular to date would be the firm’s well-loved Geek Out series of dongle-type USB amp/DACs.

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

For CanJam, though, one of the most popular pieces on display was a nearly production-ready working prototype of the firm’s new Geek Out 2 dongle-type amp/DAC, which not only provides a high-res PCM/DSD compatible DAC, but also a tiny, fully balanced headphone amplifier.  To address issues of possible heat build-up, which sometime generated complaints regarding the all-aluminium enclosed Geek Out, the Geek Out 2 features a 3D-printed enclosure with tiny, artfully curved vents to help keep internal temperatures in check. Two side-mounted switches are used to control master gain settings (IEM or Hi gain are the options) and to select appropriate digital filter settings.

MrSpeakers

MrSpeakers has long been know for its range of extensively and artfully modified range of Fostex headphone (which are hard recognisable once MrSpeakers gets done with them), but for CanJam the ETHER—the first headphone MrSpeakers has manufactured from the ground up as a clean-sheet-of-paper design. The ETHER ($1,499) is a light, attractive, single-ended planar magnetic design that seems like a winner straight out of the box. The ETHER gives listeners a well-detailed, evenly balanced, and highly responsive sound, and is exceptionally comfortable to wear.

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

I would say the ETHER, along with HiFiMAN’s mind-blowing HE-1000, attracted the most attention of any new headphone design at the show. MrSpeakers brought an ample stock of ETHERs to the show and as near as could tell their on-stand credit card reader continued to ring up a steady stream of sales throughout the show. A number of CanJam attendees (and fellow equipment manufacturers) were happily toting new sets of ETHER headphones home with them. Behold the power of superior sound and build quality.

Noble Audio

In a twist on the normal order of things, Noble Audio used CanJam to unveil its new high-performance, three-way, stand-mount monitoring loudspeaker called the Noble One ($16,995/pair). Yep, you read that right. We have heard of loudspeaker makers dabbling in headphone design before, but in an inversion of that theme we now have a popular CIEM and earphone maker experimenting with high-end loudspeakers.

, Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 – Part 2

The Noble One is based is a fairly large, ported three-way monitor that is based entirely on ScanSpeak drivers, using a beryllium ScanSpeak Illuminator-series tweeter, an Illuminator-series midrange driver, and an 8-inch Revelator-series woofer. Crossover components are of exceptionally high quality and are said to cost more than the price of all three premium-priced ScanSpeak drivers combined. In an interesting twist, the ScanSpeak tweeter and midrange drivers are attached to thick metal mounting plate that can be rotated 90 degrees, thus allowing the speakers to be positioned either vertically or horizontally, as applications may require.

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In keeping with Noble’s traditional emphasis on visual customisation options (as for its CIEMs), the Noble One speakers can be ordered with their standard dark metallic blue finish, or in any number of exotic décor schemes.

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Watch for the third and final part of our CanJam report to appear on www.hifiplus.com in the next few days.

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