Canjam Europe has been held in Essen Germany every year since 2013. I am happy to report that this year I finally had the time to attend this already renowned show.

The exact location was at Messe Essen, Congress Center West . The building was designed for things like this and I was pretty impressed by its size, design, location, etc. I can’t imagine a better place for Canjam.

This is the first time I attend an audioshow of this size. I felt like a kid in a candy store. This year, Canjam managed to bring over 100 brands and ~1400 visitors. I was quite overwhelmed with curiosity and the joy of having the opportunity to listen to so many new things .

While there were lots of visitors, I never felt that the place was crowded. The show was very organised, everyone was polite, kind and with a smile on their face, spreading the good mood all around. This is the first time I was surrounded by so many people with the same hobby and it felt great.

I must send a big thank you to the Canjam organizers for inviting me and for all the hard work they invested into this wonderful show!

While listening to so many new things was lots fun, it wasn’t easy at all, ending up in 2 days of hard work. While I’ve been ping ponging around from the beginning to the end of every day, when the show ended I realized I didn’t have the time to listen to everything!

Was it worth it? Hell yeah!

I am going to add pictures and comment on the gear I did have the chance to listen to.

Unique Melody

I listened to all their models and I liked them quite a lot, but their 12 driver model(their newest flagship called Maestro) impressed me the most. It had a very balanced sound signature offering a technical but still euphonic musical experience.

At the time I didn’t notice anything to be missing from the sound. I would really want to spend more time with them and write a full review! It might have been the best in ear I’ve heard at Canjam Europe this year.

SPL

Phonitor 2 Headphone Amplifier

At last, I managed to listen to this amplifier. I was also in luck, because they had an Audeze LCD-X to pair with this amplifier, a headphone which I like very much and also know  by heart.

I was really impressed by the sound and the energy which LCD-X presented with this amplifier. Would really want to have more time with this amplifier, but I think I can safely say that it offers very good performance.

The one in the picture is the studio version. You have lots of features on this amplifier, features than could prove helpful to sound engineers.

Chord Electronics

I was happy to see Chord Hugo there. I’ve certainly missed this one. You have my full review here.

This was a very pleasant surprise. I’ve always been very curious about Hugo TT and I finally had the chance to listen  to it. I like its smaller brother very well, but I think that Hugo TT is quite better.

It sounded natural, detailed, clean, with very good  speed, transients and spacious soundstage. If some people think that Chord Hugo sounds a little flat, they should certainly go for the bigger brother!

Sennheiser Orpheus

I’ve been dreaming for years and years to listen to the famous Orpheus, so this was a dream come true! I had huge expectations from this headphones and they certainly did not disappoint me!

They really managed to strike tears in my eyes in the first 15 seconds of listening. I was overwhelmed by the voices these headphones were capable of reproducing. It was like I was there, with the singers. I know I’ve said this many times before, but Orpheus was the king for me in this department. Every sound was very enjoyable and the sound was in the end incredibly euphonic. The emotion that these headphones are capable to pass to the listener is just incredible!

Canjam had 2 pairs of Orpheus in this show! Oppulence! I that I’ve enjoyed the system from Sennheiser the most. The second one presented a looser bass and sound compared to the rig from Sennheiser, but it was on different songs and I think different DACs so I cannot make any trustworthy statement here.

I really curious how these headphones would sound on my MSB Analog Dac but I have a feeling I won’t get out of the house for a few weeks !

Resistance is futile:

Westone

This is another good in ear headphones brand that was present at Canjam Europe. Didn’t listen to all their products but I really enjoyed their top one, the W60.

Rhines Custom Monitors

The  stand  from Rhines really got my attention with some eye candy custom in ear monitors. I just loved their build quality, design and looks. I think these are the most beautiful in ear headphones I’ve ever seen.

Besides their good looks, I’ve enjoyed their sound quite a lot. If I remember correctly their flagship was very detailed and quite neutral, making them perfect for studio  /  professional use.

They also have some models that are more euphonic and easier to listen to for longer periods of time.

Also, I enjoyed talking to the guys from Rhines! Really nice fellows!

InEar

This is another stand that had some beautiful but very nice sounding in ear monitors. Their flagship had the biggest and the most holographic soundstage I’ve ever heard in in ear monitors until now.

RHA Audio

It was a pleasure talking with the staff from the RHA stand but also listening to their headphones, especially to their flagship model, the T20i. I loved everything about them from looks, build quality to sound quality and versatility.

I do think that they offer great value for their price! I would love to write a full review for these headphones. They deserve it!

Lotoo

This was another very interesting company I’ve encountered at Canjam. While I’ve liked both DAP models, the Paw Gold and the cheaper and smaller Paw 5000, the latter really got my attention as it offered very nice sound and price/performance ratio.

Aune

I really liked the products from Aune as they were both enjoyable and come at decent prices. One of the products that got my attention was their portable class a amplifier, the Aune B1.

I really think that it looks awesome and has top notch build quality and finish. I’ve also enjoyed its sound, but I have to test more headphones with it to get a better understanding of what it is truly capable of.

Would certainly love to spend more time with it!

SoundMagic 

This is another brand that offers interesting products with good sound at very decent prices. While I enjoyed almost all of their products, my ears were caught by their famous E10S and of course by their newer E80S which I really enjoyed!

Violectric

I’ve read quite a lot about Violetric these years and finally I got the chance to listen to a few of their products. The conclusion is that they sound nice, but not quite on my alley. I enjoy a faster, more energetic and neutral sound.

However, I can see why some people like their sound signature.

Read Part 2 here.

Read Part 3 here.