Roasty Goes to CanJam Singapore 2024
I almost didn't make it this year! had a busy Saturday doing family things. but a last minute change of plans meant I had a couple of hours free on Sunday to attend. got there just after 2pm! this time round, I barely spent any time on the 1st floor of the show; 99.9 percent of my time was spent upstairs in the Ocean rooms. I did one brief walk around the 1st floor and ventured upstairs.
I was extremely focused this time round and I knew exactly what it was that I wanted to hear first. so to the Ocean 11 room and Raal it was...
extremely happy to have finally met
@Aleksandar R. he is without a doubt one of the nicest guys in the business! friendly and easy to talk to and absolutely zero airs about him. he is just as nice in real life as he is on the forums. this dude is the real deal!
Raal 1995 Immanis
cool steampunk-esque appearance. extremely comfortable. not heavy on the head. nice soft supple pads. slightly annoyed that the hinge mechanism allows the cups to rotate a bit too much, such that the earpads can get stuck on the yokes.
i tried a few sets of the Immanis and the first one was hooked up to the Raal HSA1b amp. the source was Tidal off an Eversolo; looking for songs was a bit fiddly and cumbersome, having to tap on a tiny keyboard on the screen, but nonetheless managed to play a few of my favourite songs.
My first thoughts were wow... the immanis sounded so, so good! bass was strong, punchy, detailed, textured. mids were full, and top end was smooth but not overly so and definitely not blunted. mids we're detailed and crisp as well, and I didn't feel any bleed from the mid bass. low end seemed even better than ca1a, and top end was more agreeable than the sr1b. it's not abyss 1266 bass but I'd say it comes pretty close. I'd put the low end even above Solitaire-P.
after a few songs on the hsa1b/immanis combo, I moved one seat to the Raal vm1a/immanis setup. I was very interested to hear what the vm1a would bring to the table, especially as I already have the vm1a.
The vm1a and immanis are such an amazing pairing. it takes everything I heard from the first pairing and just bests it completely. my jaw dropped and I can't remember how many times I mouthed out "wow!". I had some friends telling me to expect something special, but I had no idea it would be this good. I literally had goosebumps when the bass dropped or when the chorus kicked in. and add that to the massive staging... u gotta hear this for yourselves.
this pairing.. the immanis is very full and rich sounding. not something I'd expect from ribbons. staging and out of head sensation is one of the best I've heard so far. for an over ear hp, I'd say it equals and quite possibly beats the sr1b (wings at 30deg or so). it is also a very well controlled presentation with zero etch/edginess.
the Immanis has really great macrodynamics for a ribbon hp without sounding too forced or over EQed; it reminds me of the Abyss 1266 without the slightly hollowed/honky mids and vocals. microdetails are a plenty and despite showroom conditions, I was able to enjoy the small subtle nuances on the songs I was accustomed to without having to turn the volume knob up high. it's a very convincing and life like sounding hp; that common phrase "feels like you're there in the room with the singer" takes on a whole new meaning with this hp.
The three ribbons in each cup are tuned so well, it just seems to deliver a complete picture. the overall presentation feels so natural and does not seem disjointed at all.
I'm going to quote
@Sajid Amit from his watercooler post as he describes the immanis much better.
While they are unmistakably Raal in their speed, texture, resolution, and airiness; these babies have a very realistic bass impact, a tonally rich midrange, and a certain spookiness to how images just materialize from an inky black void. Everything just seems to just flow, with vivid lifelike imaging, and certain cohesiveness that for the first time in 2 years made me miss full-size headphones. The Immanis, ladies and gentlemen, are probably the best headphones on the market at present.
I echo his sentiments and I totally agree.. the Immanis is one of the best headphones I have ever had the pleasure of trying. I have not had such a wow moment as this, the most notable one previously being hearing the abyss out of a speaker amp, and that was some time ago. I previously lusted for an X9K setup but I think after hearing the Immanis, e-stats are probably no longer in the running.
I also managed to try the Magna. physically slightly smaller in size than the immanis. sound wise, I have to agree with what some other folks have said about it. it does seem the more dynamic headphone than the immanis; bass is slightly punchier and upper mids and mids are a bit more forward. however, on the Immanis, the low end is more detailed and u can extract out more info. the Magna top end was a bit aggressive at times and I definitely preferred the smoother, lusher presentation of the Immanis. the Magna does have a smaller stage and layering and front/back depth are not as good as on the immanis. occasionally felt a bit too intimate/slightly closed in.
halfway through my session,
@jude popped in and I asked for a wefie to which he kindly obliged! I am glad to have finally met the man himself!
he sat down next to me and we both listened to the Immanis through this very special amp...
The SAEQ Armageddon.
this is a really cool amplifier. it drives normal headphones, and can also drive the immanis thought the ribbon interface; it drove 3x immanis simultaneously without breaking a sweat. I was surprised to find out that it is also a speaker amp and can output up to 20w.
The immanis out of the armageddon is a dream.. very luscious and meaty sound off this amp. tbh I don't know which I prefer more ie the armageddon or the vm1a. I'd probably be happy with either. everything good I heard on the vm1a I heard on the armageddon and vice versa.
If you're not a fan of the aesthetic (I was somewhat turned off by the shiny gold accents), don't fret; the amp is built to order and is fully customisable. the local dealer told me you could order this in any colour you want. hot pink anyone?
The price of the amp is actually quite agreeable. it was less than i was expecting, given the quality of the amp and functionality. I won't disclose the price here, but inquire with your dealer for yourself and be pleasantly surprised. i can tell you this; it is far far less than a MK465, WA33 EE, Feliks AE Envy, Riviera, Viva Egoista etc. and for the sound it outputs, that's just makes it an all the more sensible buy.
by the way, we listened out of Judes DAP hooked up to the Armageddon and I must say, Jude's playlist of favourite songs/test tracks is extremely good! gotta remember to ask him to share it one of these days!
I moved on to the next room and had the pleasure of meeting Matsuda-san and his wife (?). they're such nice people. so accommodating and friendly and patient, despite the challenges in communication; Google translate to the rescue!
last year's canjam I saw this amp and completely gave it a miss. I didn't know what it was and I didn't know what mass kobo was or who the old guy at the table was. what a dumb mistake that turned out to be. well, this year, I know better.
hooked up the susvara to the 465. played my favourite songs. well yes, I'll have to agree, this is the best I've ever heard the susvara! if susvara is your primary headphone, please give the 465 a go. it's an expensive box but it makes the susvara sing. I am relying on past memory of my time previously owning the susvara, but it's the most bass I have ever heard out of it. top end is generally smooth without sounding dulled out. it is also the tonally densest and thickest I've heard the susvara. if I had to make an amp comparison, I'd say it feels like a much better Enleum.
having said that, I do not regret selling my susvara. yes the bass is nice with the 465 but it's not the best bass out there. and the susvara to me remains an upper mids forward sounding hp and I still heard the occasional harshness and etchiness. compared to the Immanis, the susvara sounds leaner and thinner as well.
I did manage to try the Final Audio D8000 with the 465 but I didn't think too much of it. stronger bass for sure than the susvara, but staging is a fair bit smaller and I just find overall the technical abilities of the Susvara best the D8000.
popped over to the next room and tried the X9K + t8000 combo again. at last year's canjam, this was the combo on which I first heard the X9K and one which i was rather impressed with. my opinions haven't changed ie I still think this is a good pairing. the X9K has a nice balanced sound and top end is super airy and spacious. it wasn't as much of a wow moment as it was last year but still good nonetheless. I still haven't managed to try the X9K on a T2...
managed to try the Grimm MU1/Weiss Dac502-4ch/HP4 and D8k Pro LE combo and this was very good indeed. superb detail retrieval (but I don't know which component of the chain is contributing to this; I'm guessing the MU1 or Weiss). the only downsides were I was hoping for a bit wider staging, and it occasionally sounded a bit harsh/bright/sibilant on certain songs.
I'd love to try the MU1/Weiss in my own setup one day. the guy at the booth (project perfection) was very helpful and forthcoming with info on the Grimm and Weiss. both units have superb build quality.
headed over to one of the Zepellin rooms and sat down in front of the Zähl HM1. I tried the new Caldera Closed first, and Jeremy from Zepellin was astute enough to quickly pass me the Caldera Open as a baseline so I could do a quick comparison.
well, long story short I prefer the open to the closed. low end extension and detail/texture are better on the open. it. sounds airier and cleaner and clearer up top too. on the closed Caldera, the mids feel a bit more forward, and the staging is narrower and from upper mids upwards feels more congested. there was also a bit of harshness and roughness to the top registry on the closed.
I tried the Atrium closed as well and imo this is the closed hp to get. I think the Atrium closed is the best closed hp I've tried and I would definitely want to have this in my stable eventually. I've said it before and I'll say it again; this is the most open sounding closed headphone I've heard. its a very dynamic headphone with what I feel is a more W shaped sounding than the Caldera. it is a bit more forward and has very punchy low end, with the ear drum pressure hit being quite intense sometimes. however, I feel the Caldera open has the overall finesse and control, and the better balanced sound.
My ranking for these three cans would be Caldera Open, Atrium Closed, Caldera Closed. tl:dr just get the first two and be done with it.
not long after, we were just hanging around chatting when one of my friends came up with the idea of trying out the Immanis with the MK465. he was really interested in the 465 and wanted to see if it was any good at driving the Immanis.
I went to Matsuda-san with Google Translate asking if we could try our own hp with his amp, to which he graciously agreed. I went back to Ocean 11 to ask Aleksandr for permission to take his Immanis and interface 3 rooms down, to which he also said "oh yes, of course!"
and here we have possibly the world's first pairing of the Mass Kobo 465 and Raal Immanis!
the look on my friend's face says it all! I tried it for myself and it was impressive. the 465 needs high gain to run the Immanis; mid gain won't cut it.
IMHO, the 465/Immanis trumps 465/Susvara easily. but though we didn't manage to compare amps side by side, from short term memory alone, I'd still give the nod to the armageddon/vm1a + immanis pairing. not sure if that comes as a surprise, given the Immanis was tuned/voiced to the Raal/saeq amps. it was a more effortless and spacious/wider presentation with the raal/saeq amps, but at the same time having dynamism and density/richness.
and that was how I ended my CanJam. that's Aleksandr (4th from the right) and Dragan of SAEQ (2nd from the right). they're both great friendly guys. I hope all of u who attended managed to meet these two!
i really wish I had more time to try more stuff. totally missed out on that crazy Audio Technica amp, passed Warwick and Woo, and once again didn't even manage to try the Feliks Envy. oh well, there is always Canjam 2025!
finished the evening with dinner with Sajid, Shaun, Bart, Ganesan, Hong Shin and Jeffery at Golden Spoon for some beer, chili and pepper crabs, and a few other nice dishes! always nice meet up with friends and chat over a common interest.
congratulations to the Headfi team, canjam organisers, and vendors/booth operators for a very well run event!! it was a better floor layout this year than the last, better spaced out and hence feeling less cramped or crowded.
and in case anyone is wondering; yes, I did put in an order for the Immanis
and one of my friends did too. so afaik, two out of the three sets allocated to the local dealer for this round of production have been taken.. one set left guys!
