CanJam @ Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 
Bumpin' new tunes and hearin' new things.
Report By Michael Mercer

  When I heard Dan Clark's (a.k.a. Mr. Speakers) Alpha Dogs at Headmasters at the California Audio Show I was like "you bastard". We both laughed fortunately. I had just purchased his other closed ortho-dynamic cans called Mad Dogs at the LA Meet months before! I love my Mad Dogs, and still do. But the Alpha's take things to a whole new level. Utilizing laser printing technology to give the new ear cups better rigidity. I'm not sure what other tricks Mr. Clark has up his sleeve, but his headphones have no reason to sound so good for the money. I only say that as many of us live in this illogical, odd little niche where so many things are overpriced. And to be honest, I hate even saying that as I know Dan's true goal was simply to make a great-sounding closed ortho headphone, and he's succeeded. Yeah they are amazing for $699. But more importantly they're freakin' amazing! They've become my go-to over-ear closed headphone for the messenger bag...

Another interesting piece of kit I was looking forward to auditioning was the slickly modern and rather diminutive ALO Audio Island balanced headphone amp/DAC combo (up to 192kHz/24-bit capable). They announced the Island just a few short weeks before RMAF. I love the look, with rectangular chassis and over-sized volume knob right in the middle of the top-plate. The Island is available in four sweet-lookin' finishes: Silver, black, gold and blue. It screamed "DACport killer" the moment I saw it. But was it up to the task? Unfortunately for CEntrance, while listening with my own Audeze LCD3's, the thought occurred to me immediately. The DACport is known for ridiculous power and low-jitter measurement. I can't speak to the jitter-handling componentry in the Island, but I can speak about its stealthy power now that I've lived with it for a few days following the show. The lil' DAC/amp packs a serious punch, dynamically and emotionally. It's detail retrieval is first-rate, and it's not just detailed, it's soulful. I've tossed everything from Machinedrum to Joy Division, Deerhunter to Jason Mraz at this thing without so much as an unnecessary click or simple case of the needed but irking "reboot". It's been working beautifully without complaint, and that's not something I get to say often. I know I'm gonna figure out how to keep the review sample.

ALO also brought their magnificent flagship: The Studio Six single-ended triode desktop amplifier, capable of driving four low-impedance cans at once without losing its balls. You can find my full review of the amplifier at Positive Feedback Online. The coolest thing about having it at CanJam was using it at the Audeze booth with their new headphones! I'm not selling ALO short here. I own my Studio Six review sample now, so it was delightful getting to use one of my top references to gauge the performance of the new cans. At $4,900, the Studio Six is far from cheap, but by wacky high end standards it's not that expensive. And even at an industry accommodation the purchase was not an easy one for me. But once I experienced this amplifier at home I couldn't let it go. It helps that other fantastic amplifier designs from people like Alex Cavalli and Jack Wu are also living in this price range, and even far beyond it! Get a look at those new Woo Audio mono-blocks at CanJam or RMAF? I didn't get a chance to listen unfortunately – but at $15,900 they're showing personal audio can be high end too! And I'm not just referring to price, but that's for another article. The ALO Studio Six is equal parts gloriously clean contemporary design, muscle car power, and ballet dancer. It's got the look, the balls, and finesse a state-of-the-art headphone amplifier requires. I love mine, and I'm still tube-rolling the bad-boy!

 

The biggest surprise at CanJam this year (I would've also said it was the most fun before I got a chance to DJ with my friend Alex Rosson during the Saturday Night Microbrew Social) was the Dub Bot / Live-Ustreaming CanJam coverage we did! My hat goes off to Editor, Creative Director and friend Steven R. Rochlin here at Enjoy the Music.com for making this crazy concept a reality. Very few people seemed uncomfortable or put-off by the Dub Bot, especially when it was making its way around the Fest with Steven's face on the screen and no visible operator. But it is like Steven said: "One of the points of technology is to have fun with it!" I loved it from the moment his screened-in face bumped into me at the RMAF opening cocktail party! All of a sudden, during the middle of a conversation this Star Warsian-looking robot: Essentially an iPad on a stick with wheels knocked into my elbow. I look over and there is Steven on this screen grinning from ear-to-ear, and next thing you know we're locked in a 21^st century interaction. He's physically somewhere else, but this robot is making the party appearance for him. It was funny and captivating. Think of FaceTiming with an iPad on remote controlled Segway equipped with its own human mind! Then I knew what Steven was teasing me about leading up to Rocky Mountain Audio Fest when he asked me to "pick a time on Saturday for CanJam coverage" but wouldn't tell me what we were doing! I love Steven for that kinda shit. He keeps it interesting. (Steven sez: I just keep it real, or is that unreal? Does it really make a difference?)

So next thing you know I'm doing a live audio/video streaming broadcast at CanJam with the Dub Bot and Steven playing the 'man behind the curtain' in the Wizard of Oz! It was sick! You can find a Playlist of the videos archived on YouTube or go to Enjoy the Music.com's RMAF 2013 coverage page and scroll down to CanJam with Michael Mercer and the Dub Bot! (5 video playlist). At first it was difficult to find my groove, interacting with an inanimate object. But then I started to loosen up and pretended the Bot was like a friend holding a camera. Which is what it boils down to when you think about it: Having Steven at his laptop with the controls, handling the live chat and the streaming. It was a magical moment actually. I've been editorializing for years about reaching outside the already-converted and utilizing new avenues to engage the younger demographic, and there I was! Thanks to Steven. It was terrific! We got to show off the cool personal audio toys, talk with designers and manufacturers, give the viewers a live view of the CanJam room from different angles, and have a good time doing it. We even fielded a few questions from the live chatroom that Steven was administrating during the broadcast. That was something new for me, a challenge actually, as I had to drop some of the hobbyist jargon and break things down for the average consumer. I just loved it. If you weren't able to make it this year, or especially if you've never attended CanJam or RMAF, checkin' out this video linked above will give you a little glimpse into the wonderful world that Rocky Mountain Audio Fest and Head-Fi.org have created. I look forward to future broadcasts at events! Steven can count me in anytime. (Steven sez: Michael, if you only knew what my next 'bag of tricks' will contain... with the wheels already being put into motion.)

Another grand audio surprise at this year’s RMAF? I saw my friend Gavin Fish from Light Harmonic and congratulated him and "uncle Bill" Leebens on the wildly successful Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming GEEK USB dongle-style headphone amp/DAC combo. I was so impressed and taken by their campaign at Kickstarter I wrote about it for The Daily Swarm; and while it was great to see Gavin and uncle Bill, it was amazing to get a chance to actually hear the GEEK prototype, especially with my own reference cans (Audeze LCD-3's)! The more new variables you cut down in a demo the better: Makes it easier it to distinguish what's doing what. When Gavin got me set up in the Atrium with his MacBook running Audirvana and the GEEK all exposed (the dope modern casing wasn't on for some reason) I had very high expectations. But considering most of that was based on my experience with the Dragonfly and microStreamer, how could I know how much better it could sound in that form factor? The GEEK stands alone. With the unit’s supplied power handling my LCD-3's magnificently; thus was in GEEK heaven. There was authority, great dynamic contrasts; the midrange was velvety goodness without congestion. The musical presentation was so visceral, and I hate to say this: Considering the size of the component (like one and a half Dragonfly's) it was breath-taking. When I found Nirvana's "Come as You are" in 96kHz/24-bit I didn't hesitate. Shit: The damn thing just sounded terrific! When the music started I was immediately transported to my high school days, and the love we had for Nirvana. I thought about the day Cobain killed himself, and how my group of friends were collectively crushed. All these memories came into my brain while shakin' my head and stompin' my foot. Then I smiled and just enjoyed the sonic joyride. I didn't even consider critiquing it while listening. It was such a grand experience. When I looked at the exposed circuit-board, full of tiny resistors and things, I realized this is where we're going. High fidelity is finally becoming possible by way of one tiny device! Isn't that alone a mind-fuck? The GEEK even comes equipped with two headphone outputs, so you can listen with a friend. Fish said the power was a "clean watt" and I believe him. I think perhaps it may be a bit more actually! Wouldn't that be amazing! Now I'm so anxious to audition the GEEK after I've heard the possibilities I've only used the also-new Audioengine D3 headphone DAC/Amp USB dongle combo lately. Both my microStreamer and Dragonfly have been ex-communicated from the daily messenger bag. Though I do like the line-level (2.25 Volt) output on the HRTmicroStreamer for use with a hi-fi system. So that'll be back in the bag after I'm finished with this article actually! The GEEK was simply amazing.

What about Jerry Harvey's new masterpiece: Roxanne? He's done it again, at least to me! I'm not a big fan of in-ear headphones. I also got spoiled, being lucky enough to write the first review of Harvey's first masterpiece for JH Audio: The JH-13 Pro (now Freqphase) and so I don't own many IEMs. I also knew that if I liked the Roxanne as much as expected I would doom myself into serious domestic trouble. Especially if I jumped without consulting the Commander-in-Chief (a.k.a. my wifey Alexandra)! I also got to hear it with my own reference DAP: My Astell & Kern AK100! So I got to play all my own music through a source that I'm familiar with! How often do you get that at a typical two-channel convention/show? Not very often. Anyway, it made the experience all the more glorious and remorseful at the same time! I loved it. And I was having problems getting a good seal with their tips! Luckily I had my triple flange tips on my Cardas IEMs so we switched. But it wouldn't have mattered anyway! Even if I had to continue to mess with the headphone constantly to get a good seal I would have loved it. It sounded like the grandfather to my JH Audio JH-13 Freqphase! Everything was bigger, with more air and extension. They really came alive when I played Daft Punk's "Give Life Back to Music". There was incredible bottom-end, swift and clear mids, and the highs were wide-open. I could imagine listening to those for extended periods of time too, like I do my JH-13's on an airplane or road trip. It sounded like a little JH Audio dance club in my head! I was hooked. Check these out for an ultimate in-ear headphone experience. Tip of the cap to Jerry Harvey!

And I saved the best for last. At least for me. I hate using the word "best" in audio. After all, we're experiencing components that translate electrons into music so we can all hear our own music collections! All of those collections are different just like the person attached to them. In the end we're listening to music through Hi-fi for Christ's sake. We all gotta stop taking ourselves so seriously sometimes folks. It comes down to the music for me and for many people I know in this community. I admittedly don't care what equipment does on a bench somewhere. I want to know if it has soul. Do I find myself thinking about the gear while listening to music through it or am I focused on the music? These are some of the questions I ask myself after auditioning a new piece of gear. Especially an amplifier. I had a blast listening to Alex Cavalli's Liquid Gold with the Abyss headphones and my LCD-3's; and his liquid glass also with my LCD-3's. The Liquid Gold/Abyss headphone combo had some of the deepest bass energy I've ever experienced with a headphone. No doubt. It was so amazing I admittedly kept playing the same track over and over since I knew I didn't have all the time in the world. I wanted to experience this bassline over and over again! I wish I heard more of the same in the midrange! The highs from the Abyss through the Liquid Glass were sharp and focused too, and airy. It was really impressive.

I also loved the combo of the Liquid Gold and my Audeze LCD-3's. The kick drum on Grizzly Bear's "Speak in Rounds" (off their Shields LP) was powerful and hypnotic. The guitar work, especially during the breakdown, was superbly reproduced. I closed my eyes and it was easy to let go while listening to Alex's amplifiers. What I mean is that the amps translated the music is such a glorious way that it was easy to relax when the music kicked in. I didn't have to think about anything technical, aside of the volume knobs placement! I wanted to crank it all day. Same thing on the Liquid Glass. The midrange was exceptionally smooth and the bottom thumped with authority. The highs were crystalline. Wait a damn minute: Doesn't that sound too cookie cutter? Perhaps recalling an observation by Alex Cavalli himself can express my feelings about the sound better than I can: He told me while I was listening to the Liquid Gold and LCD-3's that I "seemed really lost in it". He was right! I'm looking forward to giving either of these a formal review soon! The experience reminded me why I deal with all this crazy shit. I love music. Alex's amplifiers captivated me because they acted as great conduits to the music. There was warmth and cold when needed, power when called upon, and plenty of detail. These and few other amps aside of my ALO Studio Six comes close to my E.A.R HP4, at least to my ears, when mated with killer headphones. Cavalli Audio does the very thing we seek in all this electronic madness: Strip the BS away and get down to the fucking music.

There were so many things to experience at CanJam this year. I'm sorry I couldn't get to it all! That was an amazing thing to witness again: The growth of the show, and the new lay-out of the ballroom. I specifically liked the lounge area smack in the middle of the room. Jude (Mansilla, Founder of Head-Fi.org and a good friend) has many reasons to be proud, and the growth of CanJam should be one of them. It's been a sincere pleasure watching the difference unfold from 2009 to now. The high end segment could learn a thing or two from the headphone community. Jude could look upon these last 7 years with tremendous pride, but it's like the man says often: It is about the community. It took me some time to truly understand that. Yet now that I spend most of my audible existence in the personal audio world, I realize it is the collective (and it's a large one) that makes it all work and propels things forward. There are differences of opinion on every message board, but Head-Fi.org is like a giant family. There are messes everywhere in life, but I've met some of my closest friends through the damn message board! We're 300,000+ strong (active members) with 2 to 3 million unique visitors a month. That's a global collective. And when we get together, whether it is for big events, local meets, or even listening sessions with other members you feel like you're a part of something. It's nice to be part of a tribe, that's in our nature. It's that feeling of togetherness that makes CanJam at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest feel like a nonstop get-together that just happens to be scheduled during a big headphone show! I've had a blast every year, and this one was no exception! I'm already looking forward to CanJam 2014, and so is my cousin!

 

Click here for main RMAF 2013 show report page.