One event that I have now come to look forward to tremendously on an annual basis is CanJam NYC; while other audio/hifi shows have their merits, there is certainly something special about this one...so much so that I'm quite tempted to make the trip to Chicago and SoCal this year to keep the magic going!
Brevity is not my strong suit, but I will try and keep my impressions concise and limited (try, and fail I did lol). I hit probably around 25 or so booths, but here are the more notable experiences:
Audio46 Booth (Yamaha YH-5000SE, A&K CA1000T):
Yamaha YH-5000SE (on RME ADI-2) - Upon arriving Saturday morning around 10am, I snapped a photo or two and then immediately beelined to Audio46, where I knew that the most exciting audition of my weekend awaited, the Yamaha YH-5000SE. As a drummer who has a deep respect for Yamaha's Recording Custom and Absolute Maple lines, as one of my first higher-fidelity experiences was with Yamaha, and as I have a proclivity towards Japanese headphones, the stars were aligning that the YH-5000SE could become a highlight for me. However, expectations were tempered a bit upon my actual listening experience occurring. First, the hightlights; comfort and build quality are everything they are hyped to be, as you're unlikely to find a more lightweight Planar/Ortho nor one that is as finely-crafted and sleek. Secondly, the satisfactory; Yamaha seemingly tuned this to be more of an easy-listening and musical experience than a reference headphone, and the mids have almost a tube-like quality. Lastly, the disappointments; it did not reach my expectations based on the biases I had, expecting a clean, resolution and detail monster and instead getting a more laid-back and easy-listening headphone. I picked up on some distortion in the lower-mids on occasion, bass was fairly understated and the clarity/detail was behind comparable headphones. Day 1 I listened on the suede pads, and Day 2 on the leather; suede pads were more laid-back and smooth, while the leather had a bit more bass and attack. One thing to note; this headphone is very open and isolates no outside noise (many open-backs, i.e. ZMFs, have at least a little isolation), so this headphone really deserves a second listen in a more conducive setting.
A&K CA1000T (w/ Meze Elite) - As I am in the market for an all-in-one solution in a small form factor for a tertiary listening set-up in my home, this was another item on my list I needed to hear. The functionality is definitely there; wifi (and Roon ready!), Bluetooth, USB thumb drive, internal storage, every portable-friendly headphone output, enough power to satisfy nearly every headphone on the market, and the introduction of a tube implementation with the Korg Nutubes. Overall, I was satisfied with what I heard; the Elite was easily driven well, and switching to the Nutube had the expected result (almost as if a gentle EQ profile called "tubes" was enabled lol). A likely purchase for me.
Spirit Torino Booth (Valkryia, Pulsar, Centauri):
Centauri - I started this weekend's journey with Spirit by demoing their new (and first) Planar, the Centauri. Very interesting build and design, somewhat industrial, but comfort was acceptable. Sonically, I wasn't feeling the magic with this one, it didn't quite jibe with me; couldn't put my finger on it, but it had a bit of an odd and unnatural quality to me.
Valkyria - This is an impressive beast, right out of the gate; an absolute unit in the hands, just a very robust design. When listening, it is equally impressive; one word to sum up its presenation is DYNAMIC. This headphone is at the top of the summit for dynamics and range, it really thumps. One of the better headphones at the show.
Pulsar - The little brother of the Valkyria holds its own; the tuning and presentation are quite similar to the Valkryia, although it doesn't quite hit the exceptional dynamic range nor the bass impact of the elder statesman, Valkyria. I likely would have been happier with this headphone if I didn't directly compare it to the superior Valkyria.
All Spirit headphones were listened through this gargantuan Spirit-designed headphone amp, which I don't even believe is for sale yet nor has any revealed details.
Head-Amp and DCA Room (Grand Cayman Energizer, Blue Hawaii SE Energizer, Stax X9000, DCA Corina):
Stax X9000 - This headphone was the highlight of CanJam NYC 2022 for me, and my excitement to pair it with the new and very-hyped Grand Cayman was sky-high. I listened to X9000 across quite a few systems during this round of CanJamming; the Grand Cayman may have been the best of the bunch, although the differences between it and the BHSE were less material than I anticipated. The GC and BHSE presented similarly; both are more aggressive and commanding backends for the X9000 compared to other energizers, but the GC seemed to have a bit more command over the X9000, bringing out even tighter bottom-end than the BHSE. I can happily live with the BHSE, though.
Dan Clark Audio Corina (on Woo ES8?) - I came into CanJam entirely unaware that DCA was releasing a new flagship Estat, so I certainly had to jump on a chance to hear it, and compare it back-to-back with the Stax X9000. I did not find that it compared favorably to the X9000; while the Corina maintained that "ethereal" quality we've come to expect from Estats, it leaned too warm for my tastes and presented just too flat for me, somewhat "one note" and lackadaisical. Build quality and comfort level were impressive, though, like most DCA sets.
Audio-Technica Booth (ATH-W2022, ATH-AWKT)
ATH-W2022 (on an A-T amp that I failed to get the name of) - When I heard that fellow head-fier and A-T rep @dleblanc343 was bringing his personal ATH-W2022 to the show, I was determined to hear it. He certainly delivered! Beautiful headphone, the maki-e lacquered cups speak to me as a fan of Japanese craftsmanship. The sound harkened back a bit to some older A-T woodies, showcasing more warmth than the recent A-T stable, bringing quite a bit of bass quantity while maintaining a dynamic sound across the spectrum. Liked what I heard, and it seemed like a pair that could be good for daily enioyment....if one has the bravery to use a pair of $9,000 headphones on a regular basis!
ATH-AWKT - The ADX5000, paired with a good tube amp, is one of my all-time favorites (top 3-5); it just ticks many boxes for me. The search for a closed-back with similar styling and technicalities lead me to wondering whether the AWKT can fulfill that role. I think it does a fairly decent job of getting close; A-T likely tuned the AWKT with the ADX5000 in mind, as the range and response seems quite similar. Where the AWKT doesn't quite live up to the ADX5000 is bass quality, overall dynamic impact, soundstage and the finest of detail retrieval, but I will confess that I tend to typically favor open-backs over close-backs.
ZMF Room (Atrium Open, Atrium Closed, Caldera):
Atrium Open vs. Atrium Closed (on both a L0rdGwyn Airmid tube amp and Decware OTL tube amp) - First to note....the Airmid is an impressive monster! I haven't heard many tube amps with the same level of driver-command as the Airmid, so kudos to our fellow head-fier @L0rdGwyn for this. So, about my statement on the A-T AWKT about my bias towards open headphones instead of closed-backs....the Atrium series appears to be the exception. The AO reminded me of a natural progression of the Auteur (a headphone I am fond of), similar more-neutral tuning and fairly-intimate presentation, but with improved bass quality and quantity and smoother treble. While I enjoyed the AO, it didn't have anything particularly "wow'ing" about it...and that's where the AC comes in. This bass will have you thinking "Wow!" The King of Bass, to me, is the Abyss 1266 TC; the AC certainly joins the conversation, although a very different style of bass. The AC has tons of quantity, just completely booming, with good extension. It's not especially tight or fast, but it's a ton of fun and the rest of the headphone is well-balanced enough where the total package is highly enjoyable. The AC was the one headphone I was very close to pulling the trigger on and leaving CanJam with, but exhaustion set in Sunday afternoon and I decided that just heading home was easier LOL.
Caldera (on a Wells Milo solid state amp) - Beautiful, like all of ZMF's offerings. The coffee gold varnish and rods really resonated with me, towards the top of gorgeous designs from a brand that is known for many of them. The auditory quality of the Caldera matched its assthetics, to my ears; very happy with what I heard here. Call me crazy, but this seems like a real competitor to the Susvara, in many ways; the one thing I always respected about the Susvara is it's tonality, and thats where the Caldera shines and is actually quite similar to. Caldera just has a natural tonality to it that other Planars (excepting the Susvara) just tend to not have; you can get lost in the music here. While Caldera isn't the last word on detail, bass impact or soundstage, the spectacular tonal qualities make up for that...and it's certainly no slouch in those categories either. A very well-balanced offering.
Bonus Statements:
I also demoed the Stax X9000 on the Viva Egoista STX at High End by Oz booth (and had a great conversation with the owner, Oz, who revealed some very exciting plans for his booth at CanJam SoCal); Egoista was an impressive piece of kit, as you could imagine, oozing of Italian sleekness and robust design. Sonically, it added the most warmth to the X9000 out of any energizers I tested it with, truly a quintessential "tube-like" presentation. Eksonic was a 2022 highlight for me, and their booth this year continued to deliver; the Aeras created some magic with the 007mk1, and I noticed elements, particularly in the bass guitar, on tracks I was highly familiar with for the first time ever, which was truly stunning. Lastly, the friendliness and knowledge with many of the vendors was outstanding; particular highlights on the conversation-front were Audio46, ZMF, High End by Oz and Audio-Technica, and especially the gentlemen at dCS, who demonstrated such thorough and impressive technical knowledge of their products and their segment of the industry. Truly impressive stuff.
