I keep thinking it’s 2700 new for some reason. Even for 2500 I think it’s not a bad option, but I don’t realy get the hype rbh
were they seriously powering their new flagship with an rme adi-2? that sounds like such a bad choice, especially for a planar.
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Superb writeup Orrman. Thank you!
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I am surprised with this as the mids were a prominent feature in the opened pair. And you said you tried it with the Decware OTL? They must real mild in the mids then unless the otl is not the usual Dec sound.
I have high hopes for that dec otl still but they are taking their time with them. I asked ZMF about them in december and only 10 were made up until that point.
Ill grab the d8kLE to free up some of the cash, but i am pretty sure there isnt a crowbar big enough in this world to get those out of your hands. I am also happy the zahl is hitting right. I didnt realise how small it was either. I thought that would be at least 1 egoista in size.
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I dont feel it sounds much like the open Atrium tbh but it’s good on its own right. Zach is aiming for a “big diffused stage” with the AC. I think the prominent lows are just a bit overtaking the mids to make it feel a little less balanced. They are the star of show compared to the mids with the regular Atrium. At least to my ears.
I dont think it’s the Decware doing anything to it. It honestly was a little underpowered for the AC. I went further on the volume knob than I expected.
I think the Woo Fireflies was a very nice match though. Envy was spectacular.
Lol currently my favorite headphones. If I go the estats route and want to save some money it’ll be the Susvara leaving (can’t believe I wrote that lol). There are a few still available as far as I know.
Zahl is super small compared to what I’m used. It’s probably MZ3 size just different dimensions ratio.
The Viva are comically big. Reminds me of Lamborghinis. Big, Italian, super expensive flashy and awesome performance.
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Yep, i think just the price for new is too much for me without a tryout on my specific gear, if i can find it at or under $4k maybe, but that still may be a "what can i sell situation. Speaking of, was Final at the show and did they demo an LE?
It keeps drawing me in as it should be great on the Studio B, and the combo of it taking great aspects of the non-p and p while also doing its own thing keeps me interested.
I heard the Shang Sr on the Grand Cayman mid day Saturday and Sunday morning. I also found the bass to be lacking which was odd but I really liked how lifelike it felt with vocals and more acoustic recordings. I had the chance to hear the Shang Sr on the T2 Sunday afternoon and that felt like a step above the Grand Cayman especially in the bass although it was a different pair of Shang Sr’s so maybe that had something to do with it. I also really enjoyed the x9k though and the price is much better.
I wish we had arranged a quick meet so I could say hi but I didn’t really check in on this forum over the weekend as I was mainly on the telegram and discord.
I’ll try and get some of my impressions up too.
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not surprising, the susvara is a great headphone but it would (theoretically) be the first one I get rid of if I go the estats route
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This was my first CanJam and it was great to hear a bunch of headphones and other gear that I had only read about. I was there for the whole weekend and brought with me my Verite Closed to use as a familiar headphone to evaluate different source chains. Even though it’s closed it was still difficult to really hear all the differences in certain setups but at least it attenuated some of the noise from the main floor and other rooms.
Trying the VC on different amps was one of the most enjoyable things for me this weekend. I used it on the Nautilus, Glenn OTL, Decware OTL, Lina stack, a solid state amp in the ZMF room that I think was made by ECP, GSX Mk2, and Bliss. My favorites out of these were probably the Nautilus, Glenn OTL, and the Lina stack. The lina stack had some harshness to it but I like all the detail and space I got with that setup. The other two amps were more full and smooth sounding but very pleasant and reminiscent of my home setup. One surprise I had with some of the amps was how much bass I was getting out of my VC. At home the bass I get is more of a rumble, subwoofer sound, where it feels like the driver is “gripped” very well but lacks a bit of quantity sometimes. On some of these setups like the GSX Mk2 and Bliss, the bass was very loud and had less rumble. It was more of a tone vs hearing all the texture of the bass. A mix of the two is probably what I prefer but was just funny hearing that part of the sound change as much as it did. I’m obsessed with bass in music so that’s always something that stands out to me.
Some of the memorable things I tried were the Raal SR1A (might have been the SR1B) and CA1A. These were fun just because they were so different. The setup was fairly simple with an ADI-2 into the Jotunheim R. I liked how adjustable the staging of the SR1A was but it was so hard to hear that headphone on the show floor. The CA1A sounded like a normal headphone but was cool too in terms of the construction and different pads. The 1266 with the WA23 and Lina dac, this was just nice to hear the 1266 again. It sounded very close to some of the electrostatics in presentation with large stage and airy top end. The lina stack was a great experience. The DCS room was very welcoming and quiet and the staff was super helpful. I found the Utopia and Stellia too bright on the lina stack but I liked the pairing with the Susvara and my VC.
My highlight of the show was the Eksonic T2 with the Audeze Crbn and Stax 009S. I preferred the 009 but this amp made all the electro stats that I had heard on other amplifiers sound better. I preferred this to the Grand Cayman, BHSE, and Z10e. I probably spent the most time at this table enjoying a wide range of tracks. I heard the Shang Sr on this amp too just briefly and it seemed to tame the forward treble of the 009 a bit and add air to the upper frequencies. My favorite electrostat I heard however was the X9000. It had the best combination of natural vocals, airy treble, and well extended bass for me.
I have a lot of photos from the show and will add a few here of my highlights. It was also great to get to know a bunch of people I had only spoken to online.
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Awesome write up. Thanks for sharing your experience!
I’d love to go to one of these but I think I’d get myself in trouble. So many amazing things to try.
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Thanks for sharing @Christof seems like you and I are quite a good audio match!
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I think I know what you mean on the bliss with the bass. When I had the wa33 I wanted a touch more bass around 100hz, especially when using the Susvara. I don’t typically use EQ but I tried it via Roon. I added a 2.5db bump at 100hz. I felt it was where I wanted it to be.
When I received the bliss I felt I didn’t need an EQ at all. Just seems to work with my ears.
Sometimes I do miss the VCs bass. It was fun!
I’ve never tried an estat. Always had this idea they’re thin and brittle sounding. I’m sure that’s not always the case.
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Yeah I think with the Susvara, the bliss would be a great match. But the bass emphasis surprised me.
This was my first time trying electrostats too and they were far from thin and brittle. They all seemed to have a very airy top end which could maybe make them sound bright. But they had very full mid ranges and were great with vocals. Sometimes the attack like the plucking of a guitar string came across as a bit too intense but I enjoyed it. The low end surprised me on the estats I tried this weekend. They extended deep and had plenty of quantity and rumble for me.
The one estat that I didn’t like much was the corina. It’s very easy to listen to as it lacks the airy treble and is fairly soft in it’s attack. I didn’t get to hear it on the T2 though and I imagine that could be a good match as it really elevated the performance of the crbn to my ears.
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Did anyone try the Woo Audio ES8 at canjam?
I tried it at canjam socal. Felt like a solid option. It was stand out by not having standout flaws given the state of the current enegizer market around 2k 
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it seems to be in a strange place when the mjolnir carbon and bhse are around a thousand more on the used market. I’m still considering getting one to pair with my 009 but idk
Bhse and crbn are both closer to 5k from what I have seen, no?
i remember getting a carbon for a friend for 3k, they usually sell for 3.5k but I haven’t checked prices in like a year. BHSE is closer to 5k, I think I got mine for around that price last year.
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I didnt realize carbons were that low. I haven’t heard both side by side but from memory I would put it in the same ball park overall as the es8 (same with bhse) fwiw
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Congrats on Head-Fi front page @orrman
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