CanJam NYC 2024

Effect Audio and Elysian Acoustic Labs

I was not surprised to see Effect Audio and Elysian Acoustic tables side by side, especially due to their collaboration work that went beyond the GAEA release, with EA now lending a helping hand to ramp up the manufacturing of Elysian IEMs. Both tables had a lot to offer to their visitors. Unfortunately, neither SY nor Jordon were able to make it to the show this time, but they had a helping hand from Sebastien who was there to answer the questions about Effect Audio cables which are celebrating their 15^th Anniversary this year!

While most of EA’s latest cables were on display, including their popular Signature Series (reviewed here) with some of the latest 8-wire variations (reviewed here) and other releases (reviewed here), the spotlight of the display was on their latest eye-candy releases of 16.5AWG Code 24 (flagship Silver-Plated Copper) and 18.6AWG Code 24C Limited (lighter version of their popular Code 23 Copper flagship). Also, all their cables are offered with ConX interchangeable connectors to cover everything from 2pin to mmcx and P-ears (used with Elysian IEMs), as well as modular TermX design for any plug, including even USB-C and lightning terminations.

We are so used to the stereotypical sound signature of SPC and Copper cables, that some assume they all will sound the same. But they are not. Code 24 is not like your regular SPC cable which could make the sound brighter and harsher. This cable has a very open, airy sound that enhances the tuning of your IEMs rather than changing its tonality or making the sound harsher. For example, with Jewel the soundstage opening is huge, the bass is not too elevated but has a nice analog texture, the mids are clear, detailed, and more forward, and the treble has a delicate precise sparkle. When you switch to Code 24C Copper cable, Jewel goes through a different level of refinement with more weight in the bass, smoother and still quite detailed mids, and a bit airier treble sparkle. Going to Code 23 (C23) adds more texture to the bass and makes the soundstage wider, but it is a thicker and stiffer cable, and for IEMs, I prefer C24C which has improved ergonomics. But please, keep in mind that cable refines the sound rather than changes it like a drastic EQ adjustment.

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Moving on to Elysian Acoustic Labs, Lee wasn’t there either, but it didn’t stop visitors from crowding around the table to hear their popular releases, such as 2023 versions of Annihilator and DIVA IEMs. I’m quite familiar with both and already covered them in detail last year in my CanJam NYC report. I noticed that in addition to their original Gold-Plated Copper mirror faceplate version, they now also offer Stainless Steel and Spin Brush Titanium faceplates, the same tuning in a newly updated design with updated internal wiring and new metal sound bores.

Annihilator 2023 has U-shaped tuning, still held in very high regard, especially when it comes to their treble extension and resolution which creates a very open, airy sound with a wide soundstage expansion and nearly holographic imaging. Per my show comments from last year, the bass has more emphasis on a textured sub-bass rumble while the mid-bass is tight and fast, being more neutral in comparison to sub-bass. Lower mids are neutral with just a hint of body which brings attention to clear micro-detailed upper mids. The lower treble is tamed down, bringing more focus to the mid and upper treble, crystal clear, detailed, extended, and also non-fatigue.

Also, for those who are curious and don’t feel like revisiting my ’23 NYC report, the DIVA 2023 version has a customizable tuning with a color-coded rotary switch (3 positions) to adjust the quantity of sub-bass and mid-bass. With either switch position, the mids are very transparent and detailed, very clean with a slightly forward presentation of the pinna gain region. The same with the treble, being clean, extended, and very detailed while remaining almost the same as you rotate the switch. The soundstage is spacious and expanded. With switches, you get a baseline “red” with a fast articulate neutral bass, “white” with a boosted sub-bass rumble, and “blue” with a boosted sub-bass and mid-bass.

On top of everything, Elysian Acoustic Labs decided to surprise everybody with the brand-new Pilgrim IEM prototype they brought to the show. These new stainless-steel shell hybrid (9.2mm DD + 3 Sonion BAs) IEMs were in such high demand to hear at Elysian table that I was only able to audition them at Musicteck tables where they also had a pair available. I found these Elysian Pilgrim IEMs to have a pretty wide soundstage. They offered a deep punchy bass with a rather textured sub-bass rumble, clear detailed mids, and crystal-clear extended treble. The overall tuning was very clean, clear, and detailed, reminding me of scaled-down Annihilator, to the point where I even started to refer to Pilgrim as “Baby Anni”. But the biggest surprise was the price, which supposed to be a fraction of Annihilator.

Empire Ears

Finally, the whole Vang family was in attendance this year, including Jack, Dean, and Catherine! Due to a travel logistics mix-up, Dean couldn’t make it last year, so I was glad everything worked out this time. To me the big excitement this year was EE’s new baby, the one they brought to the show – their collab with A&K. And of course, I’m always super excited when Dean lets me listen to his latest prototypes. CanJam shows are a big part of EE’s “crowd-tuning” process where they collect feedback from audiophiles to implement it in the next round of prototype tuning. Some companies release new IEMs and then collect feedback afterward, EE likes to get their customers involved during the process of creating their new products. Something new is always cooking in EE labs!

At the table itself, the main focus of the display was on Odin (reviewed here) and Raven (mentioned here). It is impressive that 4 years later, and considering the current competition in the IEM market, Odin still generates plenty of attention. Jack also confirmed that Raven’s manufacturing issue which affected only less than 5% of last year’s first production batch was under control, and in addition to their Launch Limited Edition, they also offered a Standard edition all-black faceplate version. After launching last year their first EE x A&K collab Odyssey IEMs, once that limited release was gone, Raven is the next logical step for those who enjoy a powerful, deep, articulate bass with more balanced natural detailed mids and more resolving upper mids and treble since Raven added 2 more EST drivers going from Odyssey.

As a big surprise to everyone, right before the CanJam, we learned about the new EE x A&K collab, Novus IEMs. And just like Odyssey which turned out to be an all-new IEM, Novus is not a recycled or a finetuned version of Raven, this is a brand new 13-driver quadbrid design, featuring 2x W9+ DD drivers, 5xBAs (1xSonion, 4xKnowles), 4xEST (Sonion), and 2xBCD (Sonion). With a solid build using a 6061-T6 aluminum shell finished in DLC along with 24K gold plating faceplate and sapphire glass, it also comes with a premium 4-wire hybrid Copper, Cold, and Silver cable.

I spent some time listening to these IEMs and even got a chance to do a brief comparison with Raven. EE Novus has a huge soundstage with 3D-like holographic imaging, thanks to those dual Sonion Bone Conduction drivers. I found the soundstage to be more holographic than Raven. The bass is big, bold, full-bodied, and scaled up in quantity relative to Raven. Mids are clear, detailed, and balanced, with plenty of body and still enough clarity and resolution. The treble was also airy and extended. The shells are a bit bulbous in shape on the inside, though I had no fit issues with my average size ears. These eye/ear candies are worth checking out if you get a chance.

Astell & Kern

In addition to their EE x A&K collab release of Novus, the highlight of their table was a new SP3000T DAP. While its announcement was also a surprise, I found it to be more expected, following the footsteps of SP2000 -> SP2000T. With “T” indicating the Tubes version, the DAP itself features a triple-amp system where you can select either solid state (OP) output or Tubes (dual Raytheon JAN6418 miniature vacuum tubes), or a hybrid mode that mixes both. I was a bit curious because SP3000T costs less than SP3000 yet features the same set of AKM chips (AK4191EQ/AK4499EX) to separate digital and analog processing. Later I noticed that SP3000 (reviewed here) has 2x4191EQ and 4x4499EX while SP3000T has 2x4191EQ and 2x4499EX.

Being familiar with these miniature JAN6418 tubes, the first thing I did was to tap the body of the DAP as I was listening to the music, to make sure there was no ringing. A&K had a display model with an open printed wiring board so you can see inside, to note the shock-absorption enclosure around tubes. The speed and responsiveness of GUI were very similar to SP3000 since they are based on the same Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU and feature the same latest A&K closed Android interface. I tried OP solid-state first, and by memory confirmed that it has a bit faster, tighter, and more revealing sound tuning, not as neutral or as highly dynamic as the SP3k flagship. Makes sense, why would A&K kill sales of their SP3k flagship with a cheaper model that will be superior in technical performance?

When switching to Tubes, you can hear a warmer analog tonality, with a slower attack and a more laidback sound performance, like the edge was taken off the sound attack while adding a bit more of a decay. One interesting option I noticed under Tubes, is the ability to change between three levels of Tube Current, low/mid/high. The change was quite noticeable where, as I raised the current level, I heard more clarity in sound and a wider soundstage expansion. I preferred a hybrid mode which gave me the speed of OP mode with the tonality of a Tube mode, especially when you crank it up to level 5 (assuming the level of hybrid mixing).