2009 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest & CanJam@RMAF

[HeadphoneAddict]

I have a few photos from CanJam @ RMAF posted online: MobileMe Gallery

I left my camera in the car today and didn't get any more. Sorry.

[Deadneddz]

I like that pic of the guy wearing the LCD-2. I must say the headband looks pretty funky and theres definately a grado thing going on there with the sliders. I'm really interested in how these sound. Thanks for the impressions Sherwood, anyone else?

[Asr]

I'm tired after a long weekend bash with friends old and new so I won't post much this time either. Also have to go to work tomorrow which sucks bad! 'Twas a grand smashing time with so many people, but I can say with certainty that the festivities would have been even moar better (if that's possible) if the big lawyer types had been there. For shame.

I'll recap what went down Saturday 10/3. I saw and listened to headphones and some speakers. There was a power blackout on the entire block in the early afternoon and shortly afterwards a fire truck arrived to investigate a claimed fire. Ray (Samuels) later told us that some dastardly evil thieves (well, no one knows how many thieves there were but I'm going to assume there was more than one) stole four of his portable amps that were on his table while it was dark. Some other thieves (maybe the same perpetrators?) had also stolen a Head-Fier's iPhone. Since there was nothing else to do when the power went out, I went out to lunch. When I came back, I heard there'd been another power blackout after the first one (apparently power was briefly restored?). Apparently this killed some traffic to the CanJam room. Not to worry, people still came to the CanJam room, if a bit slowly. I listened to some more audio gearz and mingled some more. (Don't worry, I got notes.)

When the time came for dinner, an initial group of 4 was assembled: Tyler (Sherwood), his wife, Greg (Augsburger), and me. We went over to a sushi place where we primarily soaked up some drinks to wait for a larger group to go out to eat with later. I ordered a flight of 4 samples and finished them all. And they were good. Greg also ordered a flight of 4 and finished his set too.

We later picked up JP, Jude, Drew from Moon Audio, and Lavry Audio's Head-Fi advertiser (not as creepy as that might sound, he was a cool guy....yeah and I forgot his name) and went over to Ted's Montana Grill in Landmark Village (really close to the hotel) for some really tasty burgers. Damn they were good, loaded with grease and cheese and who knows what else. There was talking, drinking, & laughing aplenty. Good times. Tyler's wife drove my car in both directions actually (from the hotel to Ted's and back to the hotel) as I wasn't sure of how much I'd be drinking and I was glad she did, because by the end of the night I was out! I then crashed and do not know what happened afterwards.

I'll recap today's (Sunday's) events tomorrow when I have my senses back and will then proceed to provide pics and impressions. Attached are two samples to prove that yes, there were some good times that happened here. (Pics from today 10/4.)

Also, my camera shows a current count of 301 pics total taken over the weekend. It's a good bet that at least half of them will turn out ok and will be posted.

[Dusty Chalk]

The whole purpose of this thread is so that the rest of us can be there vicariously. Any excuses about being too partied out will be responded to with The Raspberry.

[The Monkey]

I love Fang looking at Tyll.

[swt61]

Be on the lookout for this man!

He keeps candy in his pockets at all times, and even went so far as to steal Mr. Rodgers cardigan, in an effort to get closer to your children. If you see this man DO NOT attempt to apprehend him. He's been known to carry a Zu cable to hog tie his victims.

If this man approaches you, immediately strike up a conversation about Bose noise cancelling headphones. This may be the only way to save your life!

[Hopstretch]

And why hasn't his user title been changed already?

Local Headphone Enthusiast

[n_maher]

Ray Samuels Emmeline has their teeny tiny digital volume control unit called The Shadow ($395). The company will soon offer a new battery MM/MC stage priced around $700.

Wut? Ray's doing another phono stage?

[tyrion]

yes really not a single pic

not nearly as lame as the two of you choosing your family over headphones, speakers, toob amps and beer.

I had a great time and did take many pics as there were plenty of better cameras around. There will be plenty of pics as well as write ups as most of the major magazines came by and listened to stuff.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

[MexicanDragon]

Blah blah...

3) JH13. Lots of pixels have been spilled over these, so you all know what's up. Ton (sp?) was there taking impressions, Jaime and Jerry and Brittany and Bree and Brandi and Brady were all charming, and the phones themselves were beyond stunning. I was either directly or indirectly responsible for 6 pairs sold, by my count. One of those was my own pair, and one was a pair of JH5 for my wife, who is excited like a little girl. Brent, I spent time with the JH5 and the JH13 universals side by side for you -- I'll write my impressions in the relevant thread.

Blah.

Awesome. Thx man.

Now, can anyone vouch for Sherwood's ears/tastes?

**BRENT**

[Asr]

So my picture-quality hit/miss ratio was bigger than I expected. Out of the 301 that were shot (though there were also many duplicate shots I took), a mere 92 turned out to be good enough to post. Lots of good pics in there tho, and will post them later.

Sunday 10/4 recap: I attended to my headphone table in the morning, which got a fair amount of traffic. I saw and listened to speakers all day. None were particularly great. Some were better than others of course, but those were few and far between. By the time I headed back to the CanJam room, it was almost packing time, and indeed some people had already started and were making good progress (i.e., HPA). It took a while to get everything boxed back up and stowed in my car. Since my BHSE had a limited amount of time to cool down, and it needed to get cool before I could box it back up, I took it outside and held it up to let the cool mountain air rush through it, and it got cold real fast (good thing both the amp and PSU are vented on both the top & bottom, eh?).

We assembled a massive group of approximately 20 people for dinner and headed over to a pizza place down the highway. The group included: JP, Jude, Tyll, Drew, Tyler, Tyler's wife, Bill (wiatrob), Fang & his wife, Steve (AudioAddict from HF) and a bunch of other people I didn't know, which included JH Audio's all-female entourage (I have no idea where JH himself went). A massive amount of pizza was devoured (7 large pies' worth), along with lots of beer. I think we ordered all the pizza & beer in the place. Needless to say, we took over the place and much merriment was had by all. Shortly afterwards we all said our farewells and departed.

The pizza dinner was the only one of the three that was photographed (by 4 roving photographers at that, including me), so expect to see lots of pics of it later.

It was all quality time spent and like Greg said before, there are even more pics saved in my head (that I can't un-see for that matter). What happens in the Mile High City stays in the Mile High City.

Asr (Steve) took a boatload of pictures--I asked him if he would post his photos and impressions, and he agreed to.

And this is true, my photos & impressions will be in a rare post over at HF when they're all ready to post. But I wanted to contribute something specifically to HC first, as HF will not be getting the detailed recaps that I just did.

There were also a number of Head-Casers that were sorely missed and whom I hope will join us next time, if there is a next time....

What were the "game-changers," if any, at the show?

For me this included, in no particular order: Head-Direct HE5 orthos, Audeze LCD-2 orthos, and Woo WES. The WA5 was also much better than expected. I was really impressed by it. I managed to spend some quality listening time on it.

[manaox2]

Awesome. Thx man.

Now, can anyone vouch for Sherwood's ears/tastes?

**BRENT**

They taste good.

[Sherwood]

Rowr

[Aura]

Tyler - EC2A3 v. ZDT. Verdict?

[Sherwood]

Tyler - EC2A3 v. ZDT. Verdict?

The k1000s were better out of the 2a3, as was the Grado. I preferred the stax transformer out of it as well, but I didn't do that head to head.

The ZDT might have the edge with the new Audeze LCD-2, but I don't own that. It was very close, in any case, and if they were both through the same source I think the ZDT might have taken it. JP#s also made the claim that the EC2a3 was the ultimate JH13 amp, which seems akin to saying that a SCRamjet is the ultimate mode of commute, but since I foolishly own both now, I shall test it out.

[Guest sachu]

Tyler...more about the EHHA please..

How does it compare to the Pass F1 and the moth?

Did u have a chance to compare it against a B22?

[Augsburger]

First of all I would like to thank Sherwood and Anne Marie (Sher's spousette) for being such wonderful dining hosts. Steubens and Ted's were a great way to experience comfort food and Buffalo burgers done Denver style.

Dinny, as for game changers that would be hard to say. Everyone already knows about the JH13s. All I can add is yes they are good and yes we need someone to build a dedicated amp for them. I would vote for the Audeze LD-2s as a game changer from the standpoint of lowering the price/performance threshold. The finish has been greatly improved with those new glove soft pads and wood cups, but the headband needs some more tweaking which is already being addressed. Everything I liked about the LD-1s and that has been posted here and "there", has been improved and refined in the LD-2.

GR9 and Matt MacBeth have what I would call a potential game changer for the portable iPod crowd. JPnumbs spent some time with them and really liked them. I heard them briefly at CanJam but got aced out at RMAF. They supposedly were refined even more between CanJam and RMAF. Basically a dac that takes the iPod line out and feeds it to your portable amp. Couple this with the JH13s and my iPod rig would step up quite a bit.

There were a number of game changing speaker based audio on the cheap candidates there which is nice to see. Not every system needs to be $50K plus to sound good. In fact there were a few expensive speakers like the YG Acoustics and the Focals which were yawners for me.

I took a minute which turned into a half hour to stop by Odyssey and visit with Klaus. He is a really cool guy and very hospitable. He basically told me to sit my butt down and he was going to spin some some fun vinyl, not the audiophile shit. So as soon as I can I will be looking for some Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Stevie Ray Vaughn and some other cool stuff. His monoblocks were gorgeous and seemed to handle all details of the music with ease. No idea what they cost because I need to limit my obsessions for a while.

It was a really great time and the only thing missing was some good scotch and most of you.

[Sherwood]

Tyler...more about the EHHA please..

How does it compare to the Pass F1 and the moth?

Did u have a chance to compare it against a B22?

Alas, the F1 and the B22 were not there, but the moth was. The EHHA is better than the Moth at effectively everything with the k1000, and plenty with the Grado. The speed, dynamics, power and tone were dead spot on. If they cost the same amount of money and I was only using the Grados, I'd get the Moth. As it is, the EHHA is $500 of parts to the $1500 Moth, and doesn't require periodic tube replacements to run. It's a no-brainer.

From aural memory, I feel comfortable stating that the EHHA is a better match for the K1000s than the F1 will ever be. They both exert a surprising amount of control over the drivers, but the F1 is not really designed for high-impedance headphones. I expect the Moth and the F1 to outperform the EHHA on my cicadas, however. In any case, I should very much like to test that theory.

Seriously, though, guys, the EHHA has gobs of power, just stupid amounts. Bill's build is a BJT version, rather than Mosfet, and it's also balanced. I'm sure that accounts for part of the power, but it was really remarkable.

[jp11801]

Biggest game changer for me was when reviewers and speaker audio guys took a listen to many of the top flight rigs that were present and there jaws dropped many thought our rigs sounded better than many of the speaker rooms.

[Hopstretch]

Doesn't really change our game though, does it?

[jp11801]

only in so much as well likely see more investment in headphone related gear from major players as they finally got it that we are the future of audiophile listening.

[recstar24]

Biggest game changer for me was when reviewers and speaker audio guys took a listen to many of the top flight rigs that were present and there jaws dropped many thought our rigs sounded better than many of the speaker rooms.

If that is the case, then consider your mission accomplished...way to go JP, and hopefully we can get some of those guys involved with CanJam 2010.

[Augsburger]

Biggest game changer for me was when reviewers and speaker audio guys took a listen to many of the top flight rigs that were present and there jaws dropped many thought our rigs sounded better than many of the speaker rooms.

And indeed they (our CanJam rigs) did in my opinion.

Many thanks to Steve (ASR) who brought up the Boulder Co contingent and hosted the yummy Steubens comfort fest Friday evening. ASR is quite the host and partier.

I had a brief opportunity to give a solid ten minute audition to the Woo Electrostat and ASR's OII MKI Blue Hawaii. Stat phone differences aside, I thought the Blue Hawaii was pretty special, it seemed to do everything right presented great dynamics to one of the meet cds I brought along. I have heard the Cary CDP Steve was using at the show for his source at a couple of the local Audio Society meets and though the Cary is not bad probably did not show the BH's full potential. Nonetheless the Blue Hawaii sounded pretty sweet just as it was.

[Augsburger]

only in so much as well likely see more investment in headphone related gear from major players as they finally got it that we are the future of audiophile listening.

True, on that note I spoke to a few amp manufacturers there who said they were very interested in are audio segment and were either considering or already had a headphone amp product in the works.

[jp11801]

If that is the case, then consider your mission accomplished...way to go JP, and hopefully we can get some of those guys involved with CanJam 2010.

call me and we can talk about who to potentially contact. They were stoked at reaching a younger audience and get that they need to reach out. It was a team effort and team Colorado came through in spades showing the best of the gear and more importantly the best of the community aspects.