CanJam 2009 Impressions, Pics, Parties, etc...

[spritzer]

Did Frank ever fire up the smaller KT88 amp? That's a rather more "sane" approach to a SET electrostatic amp.

Ohhh and Andy, you need a new arc on those SR-Omegas or use some plastic/vinyl cleaner on it. Autoglym Vinyl and rubber care has worked wonders on Stax arc's for me in the past.

[The Monkey]

I would have loved to see Jacob winning his prize. Did he spike it in celebration in front of everyone?

[diebenkorn]

64,000 (dollars in refunds question) Did the Singlepower to take peoples money and give them nothing in return, show up?

[screaming oranges]

64,000 (dollars in refunds question) Did the Singlepower to take peoples money and give them nothing in return, show up?

I thought they were banned from the meet, last I read.

[swt61]

Sounds like a fantastic time!

One of these times I really am going to make a national meet.

Very interested in hearing where the next one will be.

[GPH]

Another big question:

Did Jacob and Jude sign an armistice?

[CD44hi]

Thanks for the pics, comments and impressions. This was a great event. the LA crew did a great job, congrats! and get some deserved rest, if you can.

There were quite a few items that are very promising and interesting, cannot wait to give them a listen.

[Dreadhead]

Head Casers actually cleaned up at the raffles. Jacob got his ALO dock, Colin won five prizes including the GD Compass and some Rudistor amp, Grawk won some amp/iem combination, NoNoNoNoNoNo won the reference dac and I won the Head Room Ultra Micro Dac, Shure SE 530s and Yuin OK3s. I am sure some other winners were there but there was so many prizes it was difficult to keep track.

The organizers did an excellent job and the side attractions like the Glenrothes tasting made it even better.

I won stuff too

[Dreadhead]

Can you elaborate on Audeze? Did you like them? Did you take any pics of the driver?

I loved them. Absolutely clean. The waterfall plots they were showing were downright amazing.

No pictures of the driver since they haven't filed the patent yet etc and they need to get some ducks in a row. Very cool. If I could only buy one thing from the show they would be it (yes I'd skip the 800)

[Eric5676]

64,000 (dollars in refunds question) Did the Singlepower to take peoples money and give them nothing in return, show up?

I'm not close or in the know on a lot of this stuff like you guys are but I float around enough over the last few years to simply be stunned speechless at that entire situation. What in the blue hell happened?

I remember a couple of years ago even that there were complaints about lack of communication and huge gulfs of time before people saw their products, but to come to this? Wow.

This has been a fun thread to browse. French fry pizza...yeah, I could do that.

[DigiPete]

Another big question:

Did Jacob and Jude sign an armistice?

Jacob said Jude was not involved in the peace talks...

[Hopstretch]

What have I got? Some crappy iPhone pix and some first-class memories.

Krell, Headroom, balanced HD800s and Dreadhead's sipping pounding rum. Good combo.

Audez'e ortho waterfall plot.

Dan's version of the Shakti -- the Plini. I thought it added a noticeable hoppiness to the musical presentation.

Mike finds his bliss and gets his ears molded.

Great meeting everyone. Thanks for being so welcoming. It was a blast and the organization was superb. Well done Cali!

[Guest sachu]

There are so many things I could post next, I think I'll do the rest of my pics. I have no more pics after these as I ran out of time on Sunday. These are all from Saturday night's pool-side party. Not pictured: the hot woman in the string bikini emerging from the hot tub, drying herself, and slowly walking back into the hotel...followed by blubliss! You had to be there!

hah..I spotted her waay before you guys did in her bikini..I was ogling her ass as she sashayed it around the pool looking for the entrance.

But yeah , the way blubiss ran after her was a sight to behold for sure.

Left to right: Grahame, bhd812, justin w., unknown #4 guy

Ummm..unknown guy #4 = NoNoNoNoNoNo (me!!)

Tyll about to scarf down a slice!

Tyll grabbing the stripper's arse is an even better pic..umm iron_dreamer..you want to put that pic up

[Guest sachu]

My quick canjam impression: Copied over from the other forum..will post more later..if anyone cares..ummm..who am I kidding...no one cares on HC

Mindblowing experience : JH Audio's JH-13s

Moar mind blowing experience: Frank Cooter's monstrous tube amplifier () + Vicki's Stax O2)

Even moar mind blowing experience: headamp Blue Hawaii + Koss ESp-950s ( grawk i blame you now for setting me down this path ..

There were a lot of other gear, the two orthos being of most interest to me.

The Grado HF-2s are a great buy. Forget the PS-1000s get the HF-2s.. PS-1000s were to me very similar to the GS-1000s and I hate the GS-1000s. Of course this is my personal opinion :wink:

The HD-800 single ended out of the TTVJ 307A was good...but not 1400$ good IMHO. Though I heard that folks who listened to it in balanced config in Headroom's place thought it truly came into its own.

Most satisfying moment: There were several..since each involved meeting the face behind the screen names that I have come to know for a while now, just like you guys. I tell you these guys are the nicest bunch of folks I have met. I can see why some of them are best friends since many many years.

Fun : where do I start....suffice it to say the whole friggin event was a non-stop party...

Who the hell was responsible for all this :

JP#s is a man with mischief written all over his face (love your cigar lighter :wink:) , but wow what a show he managed to put together in conjunction with the other organizers (Edwood, Iron Dreamer, etc). Salutations to all involved in making this a huge success, in making me feel like not wanting to leave

The biggest 'draw' :tongue: of the event: See pic :wink:

Side note: Cetoole (Colin was about to get lynched the first day of the raffle..Even Ray Samuels trying to vigorously rub some of Colin's good luck on to himself didn't stop Colin from winning the Rudistor amp the second day

Personal high moment : winning the Audio-GD Reference 1 DAC on my only extra 5$ raffle ticket

p.s: I am just glad I managed to haul ass down there at the very last minute . A very very satisfying trip.

Personal regrettable moment :I really wanted one of those allegedly "Fuck You" shirts

[Asr]

I think I'll follow up next with....the sweet raffle prizes I scored:

- Eastwind Imports jazz sampler 3-CD set

- Monster Turbine IEMs

- and the JH Audio JH13Pro custom IEMs! I was actually kinda thinking about getting new IEMs prior to CJ09 but held off since there were conflicting impressions of the various universals and I'm glad I did. These will be my first customs, really looking forward to it.

All told, pretty sweet stash for the minimal amount of cash I threw in, I think.

And I got these for free too:

- custom-molded earplugs (the JH Audio audiologist screwed up on the first mold and gave them to me as a set of earplugs)

- a pair of Klipsch X10-compatible triple-flanges from the Comply table

Equipment Impressions

Sennheiser HD800: I did actually get a chance to listen again, a few more times in fact, and I came away pretty excited about it. I definitely think this might replace my Qualia - not that I think the HD800 is better necessarily, but it's more of what I'd like to own from a relatively bright-sounding headphone. It has nice treble, mid-range, and most notably bass, which is pretty much the only thing I don't like about the Qualia. I like treble but I also need moar bass! (And mid-range.) I was also surprised at how quick-sounding the HD800 was despite its 300 Ohm impedance rating. I also read some posts over at HF about the HD800 and some people seem to be saying the HD800 is overpriced. Well, IMO those people have no idea what they're talking about and none of them seem to have a wide frame of reference. The Qualia is the only other dynamic can that sounds a little bit like it (I have heard all the major dynamic cans) and it's discontinued, and when it was in production it was $2.6K. I'd consider $1.4K a pretty good deal considering that. You can get either the HD800 or pony up for a Qualia for this kind of sound, and even then, there's going to be some SQ compromises either way since subjective perception will vary between people.

I was also able to compare the HD800 balanced vs single-ended briefly (using the HR Ultra Desktop vs the BUDA) and found a noticeable improvement in the areas I expected - bass, speed, soundstage, clarity.

Grado PS1000: I also got to listen to these again and I'll add that anyone who likes the PS-1 should probably check this one out, as there's something definitely similar about them. I love the PS-1 (but not enough that I'd own one) and the PS1000 is just as awesomely fun-sounding. I had to play In Absentia on it again and was blown away, what an awesome combo! I wouldn't say the PS1000 has as much bass as the PS-1 though. Unlike most of the other Grados, the PS1000 also has a soundstage, as opposed to putting you right up with the band. System used was the Luxman DU-80 with TTVJ Millett 307A.

Grado HF2: I tried this one a few times in different setups and with both flats and bowls, and I have to say that I instantly despised it with the flats. As in, a "get it away from me!" kind of despise. It was really thick-sounding with the flats and the bass bloated....I mean I like bass when the music calls for it, but man these overblew it with the flats, yeow. I vastly preferred the bowls for this reason, but I can still see how some people might prefer the flats. As far as SQ, well I was kind of disappointed coming after the PS1000, it wasn't quite as fun and snarly, I think due to less forward upper mids/treble. It's still very good though and any fans of Grado will probably like this one too, clearly has the house sound. The other Grados it sounds similar to, based on memory, might be the SR325i and RS-1 with bowls. I was personally hoping for an HP1000-like sound but was sorely disappointed on that point, oh well. (The HP1000 is my other top favorite Grado next to the PS-1, I'm actually thinking about getting one again.) Systems I trialed the HF2 in: TTVJ's room with the FET-A (I forgot the source), and mine with Bryston BDA-1 & HR Balanced Max, operating in single-ended of course.

Sony Qualia 010, balanced: I decided I had to find out if the Qualia benefits from balanced operation on my own system, which was the Bryston BDA-1 DAC with HeadRoom Balanced Max (which is for all intents & purposes identical to the BUDA). And the Qualia definitely did benefit, the soundstage became even wider and there was an increased sense of clarity, speed, and bass. I could also not discern any big SQ detractions with the BDA-1 compared to recent memory of my Plinius CD-101 when I switched the Qualia back to single-ended. So the BDA-1 has piqued my curiosity and I look forward to spending more time with it.

Westone 3: I thought these sounded ok, nothing really wrong with them, but they didn't really impress me either. Source was my iAudio X5 and I found them not as efficient as I was hoping, I had to dial the volume up to 14-15 for moderate volume, whereas I usually do 16/17 with my Klipsch X10. For reference, I used 12/13 with my former UE triple.fi 10 Pro.

Westone UM3X: These were pretty good I thought. Good bass and mid-range, though the treble was spotty - it seemed like it was trying but I didn't feel enough spark from it. I'd say they're about as "average" as the Klipsch X10 - no serious detractions, just decent-sounding IEMs that most people would probably like.

Woo Audio 22: I brought over my own balanced Qualia to check out this amp and found no noticeable detractions with any of my music. It seemed to drive them just fine and did not slow down the speed, as I've heard other amps do. This specific unit had upgraded tubes. The Woo Audio literature stated a list price of $2.1K with the upgraded tubes (some of them shown in my earlier pic).

Woo Audio WES: I did not get a chance to listen to this amp, but I will say that it looked even better in person. Absolutely stunning. If I didn't already own a BHSE now, I would probably buy one. The Woo Audio literature stated a list price of $4.5K.

Luxman DU-80: Obviously no SQ impressions for a digital source, but I'll say that this is a great-looking CDP. Very sleek and modern, oozed quality. The transport mechanism was also very solid and quiet. I'd like to own one.

Spectral SDR-2000: The SDR-3000 transport blipped out later on but I was disappointed by this DAC for only one minor reason: it has 0.75V output! I had to crank up the volume to get any serious volume with either my OII MKI or SR-X MKIII, even with the XLR input. It was impossible to get any serious impressions in this room because it was continually mobbed and usually loud. Did people miss the "Table Manners" leaflets?

JH Audio JH13Pro IEMs: I did not get a chance to audition these so I have no idea what to expect when my customs arrive in a few weeks. Hopefully I'll be blown away. Plenty of other people whose ears I trust told me these were amazing so I'm anxiously looking forward to them.

HeadAmp Blue Hawaii SE: I did not get to listen to my own amp (aside from a brief 5-minute testing session), not that it matters since it'll be coming home later. But in terms of the build and aesthetics, Justin has outdone himself - this is by far the best thing he's done since the Aristaeus! It oozes high-quality craftmanship everywhere and the polished front blue/gray panel is just stunning. I love the HeadAmp aesthetic and the BHSE is the finest example of it with its clean, simple, sleek, and very classy exterior. And you know it packs even better goods on the inside, where it counts.

I did not get a chance to listen to any other equipment, at least that I thought was good or better. Things I missed that I would've liked to hear: mikeymad's Woo Audio 5, Augsburger's Trafomatic Head One, amb's y1++, naamanf's DIY amps, and blubliss' SR-Omega.

More to come later.

[Eric5676]

Equipment Impressions

Sennheiser HD800:...It has nice treble, mid-range, and most notably bass, which is pretty much the only thing I don't like about the Qualia. I like treble but I also need more bass! (And mid-range.) I was also surprised at how quick-sounding the HD800 was despite its 300 Ohm impedance rating. I also read some posts over at HF about the HD800 and some people seem to be saying the HD800 is overpriced. Well, IMO those people have no idea what they're talking about and none of them seem to have a wide frame of reference.

Which is why I quickly gave up on the thread over there except for me throwing Monkey a quick bone just now.

The Qualia is the only other dynamic can that sounds a little bit like it (I have heard all the major dynamic cans) and it's discontinued, and when it was in production it was $2.6K. I'd consider $1.4K a pretty good deal considering that. You can get either the HD800 or pony up for a Qualia for this kind of sound, and even then, there's going to be some SQ compromises either way since subjective perception will vary between people.

I was also able to compare the HD800 balanced vs single-ended briefly (using the HR Ultra Desktop vs the BUDA) and found a noticeable improvement in the areas I expected - bass, speed, soundstage, clarity.

As a Sennheiser 800 owner, I can't agree with you more on all of your points here at least in regards to how they sound and what you get for the money.

[guzziguy]

Sounds like a fantastic time!

One of these times I really am going to make a national meet.

Very interested in hearing where the next one will be.

Steve, you're missing really great times. When the date for next year's meet comes out, immediately mark it out on your calendar and let nothing interfere with it. We all want to meet you. Well, except maybe for the ones that already have.

Another big question:

Did Jacob and Jude sign an armistice?

Jacob said Jude was not involved in the peace talks...

Jude studiously ignored Jacob. Jacob is a lot less perverse that I am. Once I figure out that I make someone uncomfortable, I do my best to hang around them as much as possible. I guess that's why I like cats.

I won stuff too

Me too.

[Icarium]

Hrm I forgot my Grover S RCAs in the high end room if anyone nabbed them. Some more details here:

Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio - View Single Post - CJ Lost and Found

[909]

i believe i picked those up off the floor. pm me with your shipping details.

[Icarium]

Ah awesome they are the ones I bought from you PM incoming.

[postjack]

What a freaking awesome weekend, I can't believe I almost didn't go. My comfort level was much higher this year, and I really really enjoyed hanging with old friends and getting to know new ones. My one regret is that I didn't have enough time to have real conversations with everyone. Two nights and a day just isn't enough time for a group of guys + two girls who are just such out of this world awesome people. It was nice to hug most everyone and tell them I loved them though, even if time was limited.

Got in Friday around 9pm, caught the shuttle from LAX to the Hilton. It was really nice staying at an airport hotel for this reason, much less stress involved with riding to and fro the airport. Ran into NWT and met blessingx up on the 11th floor, then proceeded downstairs where I wandered into the HR room. Greeted Tyll who introduced me to the HD800. First listened single ended on an Ultra stack. These are easily the most comfortable cans I've ever strapped to my cranium, and that in and of itself goes a long way for me. Since the previous comfort winner was the HD650, I had a feeling Senn wouldn't let me down. The sound was awesome and glorious. I was exhausted and full of caffeine and emotionally vulnerable, which made for a fantastic first headphone listening experience. Not bass shy, anyone who says that is incorrect. Incredibly fast can, but still somehow distinctly Sennheiser in a way I can't really put my finger on. One of those cans you just have to hear to decide if it is for you. It is definitely for me.

It was getting late and Tyll came in and told me it was time to shut it down. But not before he put me in front of the balanced HR ultra stack with and HD800. You the man, Tyll. Undoubtedly the HD800 improved with balancing, most noticeably in the bass.

Met Matt Fury shortly thereafter, HFer who is a cool dude. Didn't see him much Saturday, I think maybe he bailed? Soon was intercepted by Vicki and Jacob, yay! who dragged me to the high end room / scotch bar and made me listen to R10s, which are still the best headphone I have ever heard. In an odd way this listen reminded me, at least tonally, of my Quad speaker setup, but with greater resolution. Might explain a thing or two about my sonic preferences. Ran into Al who gave me a sweet Quad lanyard, thanks man! Gave my first listen to an SR-Omega, which was the fracking heat. I preferred it to the 02, though it certainly seemed fragile it was far more comfortable on my head. Pretty much everybody was here sans Nate and Dan. Met blubliss and some others, at least point things are a little fuzzy, but eventually I ended up in the TTVJ room where I saw Dan, yay! and he gave me a TTVJ t-shirt, which I assume he had the authority to give out.

The rest of the night was spent over cigars poolside, where we woke up Shelley whose room was nearby, but instead of bitching she hung out with us for the rest of the night and let us use her bathroom. Finally met thrice which was awesome. Folks were starting to peel off around 1am and I ended up bailing at 2am.

Only slept about 5 hours that night, definitely had a christmas morning type feeling when my eyes popped up, couldn't get back to sleep. Went downstairs and enjoyed the breakfast buffet, which was dank.

At some point I listened to 909's L3000's ever so briefly, wasn't immediately gripped by them. Like a more resolving W11JPN but with better bass, which is cool but I don't think thousands of dollars cool. I might change my mind if I spent more time with them.

The HF-2 unveiling! Todd gave a speech about the history of the HF-1 and HF-2 before showing us the cans, which you've all seen pictures of by this point. I still wasn't sure if I was going to attempt to get one of the first twenty pairs, or wait to hear them and either cancel my order or wait until June for shipping. He held out the pair to whoever wanted to listen, and I think most of us turned towards Vicki expectantly, who gladly obliged. After less then a minute of listening, Vicki exclaimed, "They're good!" which was enough praise for me to step up and plead my case to Todd, who was just handing out pairs on the freaking honor system, "Hey you ordered right? Cool." whilst Dan scribbled down serial numbers and names. My first listen to the HF-2 was the first emotional listening experience I had at the meet. It was Naaman's pair (pronounced Nah-man, not Nay-man like I kept saying, but who by the way is every bit the kick ass dude in person that he is online), powered by a Bijou. Lo and behold, what was playing but the MFSL of Ryan Adam's "Heartbreaker", my favorite track, "Oh My Sweet Carolina". What the hell are the chances? Arguably my favorite album, and my favorite song off that album? Hearing that midrange come through so clearly and beautifully got me a little lumpy in the postjack throat. I was very, very glad at that point to own these cans.

Well that takes you through Saturday morning, I'm due back at work so will complete the story later.

Edited June 1, 2009 by postjack

[909]

Ah awesome they are the ones I bought from you PM incoming.

i thought they looked awfully familiar -- the irony.

[atothex]

Didn’t really feel great either Sat or Sun, but I met some peeps and pretty much got to hear what I wanted. I’m not gonna bother with impressions of sources or amps, because the setups were so varied.

Winners:

HD800 – duh

RS1 – vintage or not, they were gravy

AD2000 – these things scale like motherfuckers, and they are arguably the best bargain under $1000

Random orthos – ranged from decent to very good

Electrostats other than O2 – I already like most Stax and I tried the Jade and liked it

balanced stuff in general – made a big difference to me

Losers:

O2 – not for me, even with BHSE or Cooter amp or Singlepower or whatever

HD650/DT880/K701 – simply not on the same level as the more expensive RS1 or AD2000 imo

DT48 – gave these a listen out of curiosity… pretty awful, even though Uncle Erik had a nice little setup otherwise

Grado bowls – just sound weird/hollow/soulless/whatever

Jury still out:

Audeze – mixed results and couldn’t get much time with them

Head-Direct ortho – only heard them with EF1… nice but not spectacular

HF2 – didn't listen much... weird with bowls and muddy with flats, but I assume they’ll clean up nicely with source/amp… I bought flats on the spot for myself, though

PS1000 – good, but I can’t say for sure that it’s any better than the cheaper HD800

HP1000 – see above, but even pricier

PS1 – see above, but even pricier

W10VTG – I brought some to test different source/amp combos, but ended up listening to other headphones the whole time… the little I listened to was nice, though

[Kabeer]

tups were so varied.

Winners:

Random orthos

[atothex]

Do you remember which orthos they were?

So you preferred the vintage orthos over the new ones?

Sorry, I'm clueless. I listened to NoNoNoNoNoNo's and Cetoole's, though. I wouldn't mind knowing how much they cost.