Skip to content
Canjam London 2022 - Tag2
Second day at CanJam London 2022.
A little tired and hungover, we head to the 3rd basement level of the Park Plaza Westminster Hotel, away from the sun and into the "hi-fi cellar." 😅 I have quite a list of things I want to watch and, of course, listen to, and time is short.
At the booth of an English dealer, I meet Justin from Viking Weave Cables, who manufacture the amazing cable for the Lime Ears Anima. We chat a bit about our show highlights so far, and then I test the Thieaudio Voyager 16 IEMs.
Image source: www.thieaudio.com
Undoubtedly a good in-ear, but Justin, I, and another participant all agree: There are better options available for around 1500 USD or CHF. That's not to say the Voyager 16 are bad or not worth the money—they just don't really stand out from the crowd. Resolution, tuner, bass, all at a high level. Quality, but nothing to remember.
The other participant suggests that I FIR Audio XE6 to test FIR's top model. Great, I was planning on doing that anyway! 😁
After a short time it becomes clear: They are not for me. 😥 Visually and acoustically, the XE6s speak their own language, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Unfortunately, that's not my language, meaning I can't warm to these things. For the asking price of $3,900, there are quite a few things that bother me.
One thing to note right away: Yes, the XE6s have plenty of bass, especially sub-bass, but unfortunately, in this implementation, it drowns out the other frequencies and also seems quite slow. On the other hand, I completely lack the mid-bass, which is necessary to make vocals sound present and sonorous. As a result, the mids are somewhat "drowsy" or fade into the background.
The resolution and detail reproduction are okay, but not outstanding considering the price. The soundstage and instrument separation are average. On top of that, at least for my ears, the metal housing doesn't feel particularly comfortable, and the fit isn't ideal. All in all, I'm disappointed, because I actually expected more—much more. Of course, "listening" is always very individual, and there will certainly be people who think the XE6 is great. This is just my personal impression...
After a short discussion with the people around me, I get a "hot tip": Go to Jomo Audio and listen to her new GT600 on! I do that promptly. After a short, pleasant conversation with Joseph, the founder and developer of Jomo, I get started and plug the GT600 into my Cayin N8ii.
Light in the darkness
Image source: www.jomoaudio.com
I feel my eyes widen, the corners of my mouth turn up, and grin at Joseph with a raised thumb: This is the real deal!
This is a flagship of an extremely high standard that doesn't have to hide behind the big players in the industry.
The GT600 is a tri-brid with 2 DDs, 6 BAs, and 4 ESTs, featuring a completely carbon-fiber shell (forged carbon shell). It also comes with a very decent cable, and the quality is immediately apparent.The result: My CanJam London highlight!
Why do you ask? Quite simply: The GT600 is wonderfully detailed, with just the right amount of sparkle in the highs, absolutely no trace of sharpness or sibilance, and on top of that, it delivers a wonderfully controlled, fast bass of the highest order: very few can do that so well! Oh yes, the channel separation and soundstage are simply outstanding and should fully satisfy many music lovers' desire for more spatiality.
I'll try to get a demo from Joseph and plan a short tour of Switzerland with it to gather feedback on these fantastic in-ear headphones. If the feedback is very positive, the GT600 will end up at Audio Essence sooner or later.
By the way, Jomo Audio also had an exciting prototype on the way, which showed that Joseph probably still has a few tricks up his sleeve. I, for one, am very excited!
Large caliber
My last official act before lunch break was to visit dCS who will be presenting their latest all-in-one marvel here at CanJam "Lina" They even rented a large separate room specifically for this purpose and equipped it with several smaller "cubicles" so that interested potential customers could test their sophisticated ensemble of DAC, amp, and power supply in peace and quiet.
Since I have already tested the predecessor "Bartok" with the Spirit Torino After listening to Valkyria extensively, I was naturally curious to see whether the somewhat "artificial" or unnatural tonality I had criticized had been remedied by the successor.
So I grabbed the Pulsar from Spirit Torino, my absolute favorite headphones, which I know only too well (and which are technically identical to the Valkyria is) and sprinted up the stairs to the screening room.
First, I let another participant, who was obviously at the pulsar interested in testing it. I wanted to hear what he had to say about the combination with the "Lina." His impressions were mixed, even quite critical. What he described to me didn't match my impressions of what the Pulsar is capable of.
Next, I tried it out myself - of course with some of my own test songs, to make sure I get the right impression.
And this time, too, the corners of my mouth curled almost instantly - but downwards. ☹️ I had expected anything but what my ears heard from the combination of a 6,000-franc pair of headphones with a 33,000-franc complete system.
The Pusar sounded flat, bloodless, almost without bass. And just like the Bartok, while there was plenty of detail, there was also an unpleasantly artificial tonality that sounded as if the signal had been oversampled too often...which is probably the case here, too.
No, that can't be, that's not the usual sound of my beloved Pulsar! As quickly as I had come, I ducked downstairs, and my face probably spoke volumes as I took the Pulsar back to Spirit Torino. Shaking my head, I sat down at your amp prototype without further words.Sigfrid", which was powered solely by Audio-GD's entry-level R2R DAC, and repeated the listening session.
Sigh of relief
My hearing hadn't deceived me, and everything was fine with the Pulsar as well. What I heard here was pure magic, and I nodded to Andrea with a smile. That's how it's supposed to sound!
I would just like to emphasize once again that every person has different ears and has preferences.For me personally, the "Lina" system from dCS was the biggest CanJam disappointment. Unfortunately, I can't say it any other way.
Yes, I was expecting miracles, pure magic. And I guess for 33,000 USD, or Swiss francs, you can expect that.
What's more, and for me as an experienced user experience designer, it's an absolute no-go: the controls. It feels like the system has touchscreens, but beneath the large, supposedly touch-sensitive control panels are "touch buttons" that are merely identified by a glowing dot (see image). Despite knowing better, I actually tried several times to tap the screen to make changes and navigate through the menu. 😱
The controls here are simply a disgrace! For 33k, dCS can't even manage to include a touchscreen with intuitive controls?🤬
Whatever. Enough for now. My head started to buzz, I needed a break! Time for lunch...
Bye bye CanJam
Unfortunately, that was the end of it for me at CanJam, as my supposedly short lunch break turned into a permanent stay in my hotel room. Within an hour, I was bedridden with a high fever and unfortunately couldn't return to the exhibition. A summer flu had me firmly in its grip and also jeopardized my return flight to Switzerland. 🤒
But luckily there are medications, and with a high dose of ibuprofen, I managed to get home the next day! 😅
CanJam London 2022 is over, and it was great—especially meeting everyone and enjoying the show with them. Even though about 30-40% of the exhibitors were missing this year!
I'd like to thank everyone involved for the great conversations and the good, albeit short, time together. See you next time! 🙌🤩
More blogs on the topic
HighEnd Munich - Trade Fair Report Part 1
HighEnd Munich - Trade Fair Report Part 2