Thanks for the visual guide. I couldn’t make total sense of it in my head
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Loctite Blue Tack is amazing.
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I am mostly an IEM guy, so I never need huge power, but my current desktop setup is pretty satisfying, and was very affordable. I am guessing my biggest power eating gear is the HE400se.
I am running my PC into a Topping DX1 DAC into an xDuoo MT-602 class A tube amp. The DX1 gives me an AK4493S DAC, and decent solid state amplification ( listed as 280mW x2 ), while the MT-602 gives me 1300mW (@32Ω) of tube goodness. Each of those are typically around $100. The only knock is that the DAC only supports USB input, but it is powered over the USB too. I started with the DX1, and added the MT-602 7 months later.
I rarely turn the MT-602 past 10 O’Clock, and tend to have things turned down on my PC too.
For portable use I am still using a BTR5, which I still rank as the best audio purchase I have ever made. Purchased in July 2021 ( ES9219Cx2 ).
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I have the Alpha Omega RA coming so will see if the promise holds true.
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Same excited for mine as well.
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Goober Hits CanJam or CanJam Hits Goober…I’m not sure which
Goddamn, I’m kinda spent cause CanJam is a whole ass experience, man. Floor is packed with gear, and there is so much to see and do, that part can be a lot. Then you’re dwarfed by people locked into the limited seating and you’re waiting to try out the next precious!
I’m tired so I’m just copy/pasting my notes in the order I tried things:
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Dunu Glacier - Boomy sub-bass emphasis. Sounds like energetic V-shape with upper-mid emphasis. A little shouty but not harsh. Fit sucks balls. I would drop the ear gain
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Dunu Mirai - similar bass emphasis to Glacier but a little cleaner. Vocals were more forward but felt smoother than Glacier. A touch less resolution. Way better fit
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FATFreq Hayabusa - Love the mids, clean, clear and not harsh. Bass is okay with switch off, not stand out. More immersive and punchy with bass switches up. Very nice treble. Not a fan of the fit; it actually falls out of my left ear. Nice set. Nowhere near a good value.
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FatFreq Grand Maestro - Smoother than Hayabusa with deeper digging bass. Pulls higher treble details and makes them a focus. Metals pretty damn well. Vocals are cool. Nicely musical set
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FatFreq Tsuru - Had to try their flat-as-a-board tuning and I like this best. Not the most bass but great balance. Mids are Gucci and good details. Vocals bop. Not clinical at all.
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FatFreq Reference Pro SE - balanced and okay. No biggie
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FatFreq Scarlett Mini - Super balanced and smooth then sub-bass KAPOW! If you want a warm blanket sound, this is the tits! I’d lean Tsuru though, that caught me off-guard
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Hifiman HE1000SE on above amp/dac combo - Dang! Big soundstage. Aretha Franklin was gorgeous!
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Hifiman Arya Organic - Less soundstage depth than HE. Michael Jackson Bad/Smooth Criminal sounds great in vocals. Not quite into the instrumentation
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Vision Ears VE10 - Easy chill. Balanced all-rounder. No holes to really poke in it. Nitpick is bass is not super emphasized, but warmth and tonality are on point. Vocals are very good, upper end is chef’s kiss. Smooth, detailed treble. So far this and Tsuru are tops
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Canpur 622B - VE10 has better impact in bass but I can see why 622Bs bass is well regarded in quality. A little more neutral tonality than VE10, airier treble. This set bops! Now we have a top 3
So far: 622B, Tsuru, VE10 are top-3
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Canpur CP54E - more bass impact than 622B. Less reference-y clean, more bodied. A touch less refined vocals/uppers. Detailed but not as airy. Also a winner
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QDC Folk - 1DD + 1BA + 1 planar. It’s a poor man’s 622B to my ear. Less texture in the bass, less resolution and treble pop. But it’s the same kind of bones. Like it a lot. Not enough bass presence though
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QDC Anole VX - Much more forward vocals. See why it’s well thought of on treble/details. Bass is lacking like Folk. Kinda sick on metal. Not congested at all. All switches down
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QDC Tiger - Warmer then other QDCs. Still sounds like the others otherwise
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QDC V14 - best bass of the QDCs. Everything else is in line with the others. Vocal and upper focused sound.
(Lunch break)
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Noble Spartacus via ifi go bar - warm, nearly thick sound. Very smooth top end with good resolution. Vocals pop in a forward way. Big booty bass response but well textured
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Noble Ragnar via go bar- way less party in my ears right away. Like the layering/separation. Technical but not soulless on Dusty Blue. A little lacking in bass to do EDM but otherwise an all-rounder candidate. Technical monster on metal like Victims of Contingency
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64 Audio Volur m15 module through go bar - muddy on Victims of Contingency after the Ragnar. Bass is hollow sounding. Surprised this doesn’t land better
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Noble Kublai Khan through go bar - Sneaky potent bass. Doesn’t seem like a lot then it pops you with subs. A lot of details in the tracks, but warmer than Ragnar. More diffuse sounding. Fit could be tiring after a while.
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Campfire Fathom through go bar - probably more forward than Noble line. Warm but good technicalities with Victims of Contingency. Nice resolution and plays smooth. Vocally forward and prominent
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Campfire Cascara - also forward vocally. A little more neutral than Fathom. Insane nozzle shape 1000% not a blind buy! Warm-balance sound. Fun, musical set
Ragnar and Cascara are nicest sounding so far.
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Letshuoer Cadenza 12 - neutral but warm tonality. Clean and effortless at mid volume but doesn’t like getting turned up. Short of Ragnar resolution. Nice vocals. This isn’t up to snuff for the $2000+ market.
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Letshuoer Cadenza 4 - warmer than 12, more musical, less neutral leaning. In the fine but not blowing me away category. Doesn’t have the resolution chops. Vocals are good-forward
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Letshuoer EJ07 - oh this smokes the Cadenzas. Smooth, easy, clean. Not as resolving as Nobles but unless I’m trying to dissect things, this has enough of everything.
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Spirit Torino Twin Pulse IEM - rather technical 1DD. Balanced, warm leaning IEM. Enjoy the vocals a lot. Nice set. Better than EJ07 for me. Well rounded set
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Elysian Annihilator - V shape but really good. A lot of resolution and elevated, thicker bass. This set is made to play pop. Not great on classical to me
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Elysian Pilgrim (prototype) - Neutral-warm leaning. Bright vocals. Good technicals. Nice bass slam. It’s fine and I may like it on more things then Anni.
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Hifiman HE1000SE with Hifiman EF499 - Eats up a lot of power. Vocals pop but not as much as earlier on more expensive dac/amp stack.
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Hifiman Arya Organic with Hifiman EF500 - I can’t afford the Aryas but they’re really selling me on the EF500. Smooth Criminal sounds smooth as butter! Fucking A!
Arya with EF500 crushes HE1000SE with EF499
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Hifiman HE1000SE with EF500 - Suspicion confirmed: EF500 is way better than EF499
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Empire Ears Raven LE with Chord Hugo2 - fucking effortlessly smooth. Everything is pinpoint accurate to my ear. Simple as that.
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Empire Ears Odin with Chord Hugo2 - more energetic over the top end, makes vocals sit back a little recessed. A touch shouty and over bright. Great resolution
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Focal Celestee out of Benchmark HPA4/Dac3 combo - smooth easy playing. Nice details but not overcooked in uppers
EF500, Ragnar, Cascara, and Raven LE are the afternoon winners
Favorites of the day:
- Canpur 622B - I think this is sidegrade worthy with Subtonic Storm
- FatFreq Tsuru - I’m starting to have a thing for flat tunings, and this is another case in point
- Vision Ears VE10 - Hell of an all-rounder. It can do it all
- Noble Audio Ragnar - Resolution king, outside of Storm. Scalpel-like incisiveness on the music
- Campfire Cascara - It’s not quite on the level of the others entirely but it’s a very cool vocal set and it’s the only set under $1000 in this group
- Empire Ears Raven LE - It’s a dogfight between Raven and VE10 for the most effortlessly chill set. Could listen to Raven ALL DAY LONG
- Hifiman EF500 - The only source I heard that was really worth noting how good it is, and is anywhere near fitting a reasonable (for me) budget. Unless Schiit can knock my socks off tomorrow, I might have to put in for the EF500, for real
One honorable mention to the QDC Folk: very interesting driver configuration and a really nice sound for under $500. Will try it again tomorrow to see if maybe it deserves more love.
Goodnight from CanJam NYC 2024 Saturday!
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Lovely little quick impressions…Thankyou sir🤙
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The pilgrim has piqued my interest. Thanks for sharing
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It didn’t pique mine, but happy for you 
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Great impressions! Thanks for putting them up after what was no doubt a busy day!
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Another one for the books of people loving it, I’m definitely making this a goal
That comment is crazy interesting to me, I recently ran into this set and was interested in buying it, the set I’m most likely to buy even before Scarlet
I’m highly likely to consider this one too but I gotta sell my Edition XS for this one honestly
great write-up, appreciate the impressions 
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Please try the Aroma Fei Wan if you will have the time.
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why are you selling XS?
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Didn’t say I loved it. Just that I get who would love it
I’ve always liked all-rounder IEMs. This one looks solid. I don’t know how much it’s worth but it looks good. 
I’m glad he bought the DTE900, as my daily IEM, and I missed this “great company”
I would live without DUNU IEM any day 
If SR have a stand, try their higher class PRADO or DTE900, I think you won’t regret it, but I guess they won’t be at this show. They can blow most multithousand IEMs. 
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Lol yeah my bad sentence structuring, meant it as another positive affirmation for Scarlett Mini
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I was in denial for a bit that my head didn’t hurt at all and that it was manageable, I’d rather have the money for IEMs though
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haha yeah that’s why I gave up on over-ears. Apprently the new sennheisers are comfy but something tells me I would still prefer iems that cost a fraction of the price.
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Have you tried earbuds by any chance?
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Not yet, going to it at some point though
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