2009 International Head-Fi CanJam Photos and Impressions.

Jon L · « **on:** 1 Jun 2009, 03:33 am »

Comments To Follow. *Impressions being added*

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f45/canjam-2009-impressions-426794/index18.html

New PS Audio PerfectWave transport and DAC, connected via proprietary I2S connection. Too bad the optional network bridge is not available yet (what I think sets this combo apart), but the system sounded rich, detailed, smooth, with a hint of liquidity thrown in, thanks at least partly to Senn HD800, Grado PS1000, and Cary 300 SEI 300B goodness with EAT 300B tubes.

Grado HF-2's. Beautiful cans and thankfully much lighter than PS1000

Unmistakable Grado goodness and character and very enjoyable and musical. In direct comparison to HD800, it does not have the ultimate extension of very top or deep bottom or ultimate low-level resolution, but it sounds more fun with more mid-bass quantity and punch as well as more involving (coloreful?) character. To each his own.

Blue Hawaii SE driven by Sony 5400ES. Yup, the amp is as good as people say. I would say this is the first time I've heard O2 Mk I and Mk II not sound "dark." I was rather surprised in the mid-bass quantity difference between Mk I and Mk II, as Mk II subjectively had at least 4-5 dB more mid-bass to me, sometimes preferable but not always.

Three Heed Canamps with Ultrasones. I thought Ultrasone 900 was especially very nice, with smooth yet detailed presentation out of these small amps yet with commanding bass density and richness.

Lector 7T CDP sounding very analogue.

Edwood relaxing after a hard weekend.

Senn HD800. I listened to it out of various setups, and the word that comes to mind is chameleon. I've heard it sound ripe and colorful, dry and fast, powerful and driving, polite and linear, you name it. It does seem to reveal what's upstream, and if I wasn't a 'stat guy, I would probably get one.

Directly compared to Grado PS1000, the usual Grado vs. Senn dichotomy still emerges. PS1000 has more bass impact and drive, more forward/involving midrange, yet HD800 has more overall refinement and control as well as top-end extension. I did appreciate how HD800 handles pop recordings and sibilants with more grace than Grado.

HD800 battles PS1000.

Eddie Current Zana Deux and Balancing Act. Superb tube amplification at its finest IMO. I have never, ever heard Senn HD600 sound this good, driven by Balancing Act. Harmonic overtones beautifully layering the rich fundamentals without slowing down speed or impact; no Senn veil here, folks. And I loved HD800 out of Zana Deux, probably more than HD600 out of ZD. If HD800 shows you what's upstream, the upstream was strong, resolved, clean, and just beautiful.

Manley Stingray with integrated iPod dock.

Ultimate Ears Table.

Woo Audio WES Electrostat amp prototype. Headphone community is now enjoying an embarrassment of riches in 'stat amps! Just a couple years ago, the Orpheus amp or Singlepower ES1 would pretty much be it, but now we also have the Woo WES and GES, Blue Hawaii SE, Ray Samuels A-10, Frank Cooter's 'stat amp, not to mention the Singlepower ES-1 and ES-2's.

Having spent most of the day listening to as many 'stats as possible on each and every 'stat amp, I'm happy to report that every single combo is at least good and some combo's just out of this world!

The Woo WES here is reportedly using the AmpOhm oil capacitors inside (which is a good thing IMO) and sounded closer to the ES-1 signature than Blue Hawaii SE. I wish it had a better source feeding it than the big Denon CDP, but even then, it had a very detailed and clear sound if not as smooth and powerful as BHSE. There is a lot of potential here with upgraded parts Jack Woo plans to offer, including VCaps, and of course, tube rolling.

Jon L · « **Reply #1 on:** 1 Jun 2009, 03:46 am »

More.

Top view of Woo WES.

Back view of Woo WES.

Luxman CDP and Amp. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to try this

TTVJ 307a Amp.

Head Direct's Orthodynamics.

Donald North Audio (DNA)

Jon L · « **Reply #2 on:** 1 Jun 2009, 03:47 am »

Some more.

Ray Samuels B52 dynamic amp.

Ray Samuels A10 Electrostat amp. I have heard that this amp is geared towards Senn 'stats and HE audio 'stats more than Stax OII; however, I personally found myself enjoying the OII Mk II pretty well on it. I'm not a big Meridian GO8 CDP fan, so I could hear the CDP's sound signature through all the 'stats, which may or may not be a good thing depending on if you like the Meridian sound.

Of note, Senn HE60 sounded *really* good out of A10 for some reason, and I could see how some people might even prefer HE60 over even HE90 in this setup. In fact, the various Senn HE90's at this meet didn't quite have that extraordinary "magic" I have heard previously with this 'stat, and I'm not quite sure why...

Singlepower ES-1 sounded as good as ever driving OII Mk I, HE60, and HE Audio. If BHSE is clear spring water pumping strong from a geyser, Singlepower seems to be slightly rose-tinged, delicate yet tasty delicacy from Mountains of France somewhere. It seems to me the Marantz SA7s1 CDP and a bunch of Virtual Dynamics cabling were definitely lending a strong hand to the bold, smooth, and detailed presentation here.

909's beloved Reimyo CDP and Eddie Current HD2 amp sounding as good as ever. HD800, L3000, and HF2 sounded so different from each other it was amazing.

Frank Cooter's electrostat amp. The three-piece masterpiece utilizing Mercury-Vapor rectifiers and some ungodly goodies inside and out. Hopefully it won't go into production for general sale because quite a few people will be broke then...

The venerable Singlepower ES-2 with every electrostat ever produced hanging around for fun. The whole system driven by APL-modded Esoteric player sounded significantly different from other 'stat setups, sounding impossibly grain-free and almost water-color effortless on top.

Omega I 'stat was especially beguiling in this setup, definitely *not* sounding dark or over-bloomy like some accuse OII of being.

Jon L · « **Reply #3 on:** 1 Jun 2009, 03:47 am »

Moar.

B24 speaker-amp version. Incredible build quality inside and out.

Blue Hawaii dressed in pretty wood on the right.

Singlepower SDS-XLR tower of power with balanced Sony R-10 headphones. Unlike the amp's appearance of mass, girth, and intimidation, the sound was twinkly, light, and fast as all out.

funkmonkey · « **Reply #4 on:** 1 Jun 2009, 04:25 am »

Great pics. I went on Saturday and had a very good time. I finally got a chance to hear Ray Samuels amps and was very impressed. I missed way more than I saw, half the time I was too busy drooling.

Russtafarian · « **Reply #5 on:** 1 Jun 2009, 05:22 am »

Were you there Saturday Jon? I was hoping to see you and chat about X-Statiks... since I have a pair on the way from AV123. Couldn't get back CanJam today unfortunately.

Russ

satfrat · « **Reply #6 on:** 1 Jun 2009, 05:51 am »

Nice pictures but it would have been nice to know what the makes & models of all that gorgeous gear was.

Cheers,
Robin

Jon L · « **Reply #7 on:** 1 Jun 2009, 06:23 am »

Quote from: Russtafarian on 1 Jun 2009, 05:22 am

Were you there Saturday Jon? I was hoping to see you and chat about X-Statiks... since I have a pair on the way from AV123. Couldn't get back CanJam today unfortunately.

Russ

I couldn't make Saturday but spent all day Sunday, playing my reference demo disk on every system, over and over and over and over and over...

BTW, have fun with X-Statiks. Feed them clean, clear, strong power and enjoy.

Jon L · « **Reply #8 on:** 1 Jun 2009, 06:23 am »

Quote from: satfrat on 1 Jun 2009, 05:51 am

Nice pictures but it would have been nice to know what the makes & models of all that gorgeous gear was.

Cheers,
Robin

I added my comments later. There's a whole lot of discussion going on at the link above if interested.

satfrat · « **Reply #9 on:** 1 Jun 2009, 06:44 am »

Quote from: Jon L on 1 Jun 2009, 06:23 am

Quote from: satfrat on 1 Jun 2009, 05:51 am
Nice pictures but it would have been nice to know what the makes & models of all that gorgeous gear was.

Cheers,
Robin

I added my comments later. There's a whole lot of discussion going on at the link above if interested.

Thanks Jon, any info you could add to go with the pictures would be greatly appreciated. Then when product impressions are posted, folks will know what gear is being talked about.

Cheers,
Robin

ecramer · « **Reply #10 on:** 1 Jun 2009, 10:18 am »

Wow what a bunch of nice gear going to have to take a second look at all those pictures don't have time this morning wow

ED

rydenfan · « **Reply #11 on:** 1 Jun 2009, 01:40 pm »

Thanks for all the pics and reports

cAsE sEnSiTiVe · « **Reply #12 on:** 2 Jun 2009, 05:26 pm »

Great pics Jon, well done! I'm really sorry I missed it this year.

mcullinan · « **Reply #13 on:** 2 Jun 2009, 05:37 pm »

Great stuff. Ive read that the new Sennheisers are game changing cans. Did you think that to be true upon your hearing them.
Thanks.
Mike

Jon L · « **Reply #14 on:** 2 Jun 2009, 07:05 pm »

Quote from: mcullinan on 2 Jun 2009, 05:37 pm

Great stuff. Ive read that the new Sennheisers are game changing cans. Did you think that to be true upon your hearing them.
Thanks.
Mike

Let me put it this way. If I were to buy a current-production dynamic can, Senn HD800 would certainly be it; it's definitely at least a couple of notches better than Senn HD600/650, AKG 701/702, etc.

On the other hand, I personally don't plan on leaving the electrostat land anytime soon, especially with all these new fabulous 'stat amps now available.

mbakes · « **Reply #15 on:** 2 Jun 2009, 08:10 pm »

Great pics!

It's all about planars now.

I love my HD800 out of the Luxman P-1. The Woo Audio WA5 with the HD800 might be my favorite. Not sure whether I prefer it to the P-1.

cryoparts · « **Reply #16 on:** 3 Jun 2009, 03:52 am »

Here are some more:

http://cryo-parts.com/can_jam_09.html

I'll go through the rest and possibly post more after I get my wife out of the hospital, the Internet connection from here is really slow.

Peace,

Lee

cryoparts · « **Reply #17 on:** 3 Jun 2009, 03:57 am »

Quote from: Jon L on 1 Jun 2009, 03:47 am

Singlepower SDS-XLR tower of power with balanced Sony R-10 headphones. Unlike the amp's appearance of mass, girth, and intimidation, the sound was twinkly, light, and fast as all out.

This was some seriously good sound. Crazy good. I am now on a quest to find a bass heavy set of Sony R10's due to this system.

Peace,

Lee

santacore · « **Reply #18 on:** 3 Jun 2009, 04:10 am »

Quote

Let me put it this way. If I were to buy a current-production dynamic can, Senn HD800 would certainly be it; it's definitely at least a couple of notches better than Senn HD600/650, AKG 701/702, etc.

I have to agree with this. This is one headphone that actually lived up to the hype. With the right amp, these really sing. Speaking of the right amp-the Woo Audio WA5 was just stellar with the 800's and the prototype Woo DAC. That was one rig that left a serious impression. Too much money for a headphone rig, but my, oh my, was it beautiful sounding.

cryoparts · « **Reply #19 on:** 3 Jun 2009, 04:20 am »

Quote from: santacore on 3 Jun 2009, 04:10 am

Sorry about drinking all your Scotch, John! Teach you to leave an almost full bottle of 15yo with me while you go visiting other rooms!

Seriously, thank you, that made the day go twice as quickly!

Peace,

Lee