CanJam 2017 Show Report
CanJam & Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest 2017
CanJam 2017 @ RMAF Show Report By Dave Hanson

New And Interesting Movement Within The Industry

Schiit Introduces the Innovative Gadget
Holy smokes, this is one cool little piece of Schiit! Think what you want about the whole batch of A440Hz vs. A432Hz concert pitch conspiracy theories (MK Ultra! Free Masons! The Illuminati! Oh my!), Schiit has crafted a cool little piece of tech here that can be used to dynamically re-tune the pitch of the song without affecting the tempo. The Gadget (price TBD, $200 estimated) plugs in between your digital source and your DAC and uses a complex DSP algorithm to shift the pitch with just the twist of a knob.

To achieve this, Schiit co-founder Mike Moffat brought on a full-time Ph.D. to develop the proprietary algorithm. I got to spend a few minutes with the Gadget and was pretty floored by what I heard. I'm really not one to indulge in conspiracy theories, but I will say, the music sounded subjectively better to my ears when the pitch was downshifted. Things seemed more relaxed and musical, and as intended, it made me want to sit there and listen longer.

Some people may overlook this as a novelty item, but I really think Schiit is on to something here. I've never seen another product quite like the Gadget, and I'll be interested to see how the community reacts to this entirely new category of gear. It is slated for release sometime in first quarter of next year.

Klipsch Enters The Personal Audio Game
Making their first entry into the world of high-end headphones, venerable speaker manufacturer Klipsch debuted their new Heritage HP3 ($1199). The headphone is quite lovely to look at and will be available in walnut, ebony and oak.

Utilizing an open-back design and a biocellulose dynamic driver sourced from the ubiquitous Foster Audio, Klipsch aimed to develop a headphone here that would mimic the sound of their well-regarded home audio systems. Speaking with them, they shared their frustration about the lack of low-end physicality in the response of many headphones, and they carefully selected a driver they felt could reproduce the impact and rumble you feel from a good set of speakers.

Like many of the Foster biocellulose variants (Fostex TH900, Denon D7000, etc.) the bass hits with extreme power. This could definitely be considered a high-end basshead can. However, unlike most of the other Foster variants the treble is not bright and shrill. I'm inclined to credit the open-back design for this feat. I did feel that the HP3 was a little light on the detail front for the asking price, however some of that may be due to their choice of sources. I would have to hear it on a more resolving system to say for sure. Regardless, this is a strong debut and just the tip of the iceberg for Klipsch. Talking with the people at their booth, these guys really get it, and I fully expect them to be a big name in personal audio in the coming years.

iFi Audio Goes MQA
Speaking of cool digital components, iFi Audio is going to be offering MQA on their new nano iDSD BL, which will be available in November. With regards to firmware updates for existing iFi products, iFi Audio are still investigating this possibility with MQA. Good thing iFi Audio is great about improving many of their digital components via firmware upgrades. This is outstanding news for many folks in the audio community, as iFi's products tend to be top bang-for-buck performers nearly across the board. These newly-MQA-friendly product could join their others: Nano iDSD, Micro iDSD, Micro iDSD Black Label, Micro iDAC2 and Retro Stereo 50.

I got a chance to listen to a few MQA tracks via Tidal on the Micro iDAC2 ($349) and was impressed by what I heard: smoother analog warmth, deeper detail and definitely more richness all-around. I'm definitely looking forward to updating my own Micro iDSD Black Label, as it is one of my favorite pieces for rocking headphones on the go.

In addition to the update, iFi Audio gave a first showing of their all-new Nano iDSD Black Label ($199), which is an even smaller and more affordable version of the aforementioned unit. While it doesn't quite boast the same stunning driving power as the full size, it has more than enough juice for any IEMs or sensitive headphones you throw its way.

HIFIMAN Updates Their Entry Level Headphones
HIFIMAN brought a slew of products at just about every possible price point. It is interesting to me to see how HIFIMAN has grown from a company that was essentially only known for having a few well-priced planar magnetic headphones to one with such a wide and dynamic product array. They have taken a lot of heat in the past year for the price tags on their high-end products like the $6K Susvara (more on that later), so it's sometimes easy to forget that they make a great deal of mid and low-priced gear as well.

On that note, HIFIMAN brought an upgraded and updated version of their popular HE400i called the Sundara (price TBD, $500 estimated). Presumably taking over the entry-level slot in the HIFIMAN planar lineup, Sundara was fairly balanced sonically. It featured a nice airy, open sound but left a little to be desired in terms of separation and clarity in the lower part of the frequency range and was a little light on impact for a HIFIMAN. That being said, my first impressions of the flagship Susvara's demo unit weren't all that positive either, so I'm going to wait until the final version before rendering judgment one way or another. This one's still in development.

Beyerdynamic Leverages Some Cool DSP
Venerable German headphone innovators Beyerdynamic were on hand with their full lineup of products, including an interesting new piece called the Aventho Wireless ($449). This portable headphone sort of sits in the middle between an on-ear and over-ear fit, being maybe just a touch smaller than the popular Oppo PM-3.

In wireless mode, Aventho features some pretty cool DSP (Digital Signal Processing) options to tune the headphone to your sonic preferences. There is a hearing test (about 5 to 10 minutes) that will automatically tune the frequency response to your hearing. The associated app also includes a neat little feature that tracks your listening time and volume level, helping Aventho users protect their hearing, long-term. The headphone can also be used in wired mode, but the listener will lose all the DSP adjustments, since those happen in the digital realm.

Sonically, I felt the Aventho was a little warm and tubby through the midbass, with more of a "consumer" sound than an "audiophile" sound. No word as to how the DSP might affect this, since accurate setup requires a quiet room and the RMAF 2017 show floor is quite noisy.

ModWright Debuts New Flagship
With its gorgeous hot-rod looks, I can honestly say the new ModWright HA300 ($8000) was one of the most visually striking pieces at the entire show. This ultra-deluxe piece was driven by my favorite tubes (300B), has a dedicated external power supply, and is capable of driving both headphones and speakers.

By all measures, I should love this amp, but my impressions were only so-so. I grabbed a friend whose ears I trust, just to sanity-check myself. His reaction to it was essentially the same. On the plus side, the stage depth was terrific and the background was extremely quiet for a 300B, but the trademark 300B midrange sweetness was really not there. At least not where it should be for the price tag. So I left a little disappointed.

That being said, there were way too many variables for me point to the amplifier as the source of this, including a completely unfamiliar DAC, so take all that with a grain of salt. I really want to hear this one again with a couple different headphones and a more familiar source to get a better feel for it, because on paper, it looks quite good.

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