CanJam NYC 2024

Bloom Audio

After making their debut at CanJam NYC two years ago and booking a separate room to showcase their products last year, Bloom Audio decided to continue with the same isolated listening area this year, to give a chance for their visitors to have a private space to audition various gear they brought to the show. But I’m not sure if they were able to achieve full “privacy” this time. Kicking off the show with a giveaway only drew more people to the room with a long outside line where I couldn’t even get in. The place was still very busy when I tried to come back multiple times during the day, only giving me a few seconds to say hello to Andrew, the Bloom Audio owner.

Showcasing a mix of portable and desktop brands from iBasso, Eletech, Fir Audio, 64 Audio, Campfire Audio, Noble Audio, Meze Audio Burson Audio, Meze Audio, iFi Audio, Chord Electronics, Focal, Audeze, HiFiMan, Astell&Kern, Dan Clark Audio, HEDD, Final, RAAL-Requisite, Audio-Technica, SPL, Questyle, AudioQuest, and even SpinFit eartips, don’t think they had enough tables to cover everything. But I was glad they were able to represent some of the manufacturers who couldn’t make it to the show. For example, to my surprise 64 Audio didn’t attend CanJam this time, yet you could audition all of their latest IEMs, including Volur, in their room.

I was also pleased to see iBasso latest D16 DAC/amp with the 1bit discrete DAC design and PB5 dual NuTube fully balanced amp on display, (reviewed here), surrounded by a choice of various popular full-size headphones Bloom carries in their store. This transportable stack was right next to the dCS LINA system stack that cost 10x as much. I was itching to test and to compare it, but never got a chance due to that corner of the room always being busy. I think quite a few other people were trying to convince themselves about choosing between the desktop and the portable audio equipment, and not only sources but full-size headphones vs the latest premium IEMs that came a long way in their tuning.

For sure, even hardcore desktop audio enthusiasts are warming up to portable gear, like IEMs, cables, and even eartips with a big selection of SpinFit (reviewed here) eartips on display at one of their tables. And no matter how many reviews you are going to read, the only way to convince yourself is by trying it with your ears, a perfect opportunity to test everything at the show instead of going for a blind buy. On my way out, I also noticed the new Campfire Audio Fathom IEMs, remembering how last year Ken couldn’t make it to the show due to a West Coast snowstorm. This year, Campfire was present, but still, always great to have another set of tables for auditioning.

Fir Audio

I was happy to see Fir Audio w/Bogdan returning to CanJam NYC this year after their last year’s debut. But unlike last year when Bogdan was joined at the show by his brother Vlad, this year only one Belonozhko brother was standing tall at the table in a separate room shared with Bloom Audio. Bogdan was gleaming with pride while holding the Watercooler Award for Radon RN6 IEMs as one of the top winners of the Watercooler End-of-the-year survey. Fir Audio makes custom IEMs for Taylor Swift, Post Malone, John Mayer, The Rolling Stones, and Usher (featured in halftime Superbowl Show this year), yet Bogdan was as excited about the Head-fi Watercooler award!

Last year was a busy one for Fir Audio, adding Radon RN6 (reviewed here) to their popular Frontier Series (reviewed here) IEMs, and then introducing new Electron Series with a debut of their 12mm single DD IEM, E12 (reviewed here). The table was always busy, and I noticed quite a few people curious to see Electron Series SwapX faceplates where you can easily replace and customize faceplates of E12 and E10. Yes, there was a new IEM at the table, 10mm single DD Electron E10. While it was a universal demo, the unit is available as a custom only, with a new FlexFit shorter canal and a silicone ring at the edge of the tip to improve the fit and comfort.

Electron E10 features similar tech as its E12 big brother, such as a SwapX faceplate, built-in atom module, and Tactile-bass DD driver. But once I started listening, it made more sense to me why it is being offered as custom and even listed on their product page with RCX connectors. With its naturally open soundstage, deep impactful bass, and forward clear mids, I think it will please both, performing musicians and less picky audiophiles who want more focus on deep bass and mids/vocals rather than critical audiophile listening.

As I was walking away, I noticed a hardshell storage box with IEM Doctor on top, and remembered it being offered on their website under Accessories and for “Industry only”. I was always curious about this product because it looked like a USB dongle with a coupler to measure the Frequency Response of IEMs. But why call it “IEM Doctor”? Finally, I had my questions answered. This device is not exactly for accurate measurement, but rather for IEM troubleshooting purposes. It comes with multi-coupler adapters in various sizes, for custom and universal IEMs, it can connect to either your smartphone or laptop, and is compatible with many iPhone, Android, and PC frequency tracing apps. While it is not intended to capture the precisely accurate FR, you can easily capture and compare the FR of your L and R earpieces to determine if there is an imbalance issue (due to a failing driver), if there is an excessive amount of earwax build up blocking the sound tubes, or even if there is an issue with a cable or cable connectors causing the imbalance. It’s a cool portable tool that sound engineers and musicians can use on the go to troubleshoot common issues with their in-ear monitors.

Campfire Audio

While not being able to make it to the last year’s CanJam due to a West Coast snowstorm that halted many flights, this year Ken and Caleb were back, with a beautiful display of their latest releases, including a brand-new IEM – Campfire Audio Fathom. Of course, there were plenty of familiar models on the display as well. One of my favorites, from their Chromatic Series, Supermoon (reviewed here) got a proper universal-nozzle design and a new bold color of their 3D-printed housing. I didn’t get a chance to hear their other Chromatic series release, Bonneville, Ponderosa, and Cascara, but they all featured a similar shape colorful 3D-printed housing and stainless-steel faceplates. Btw, the Chromatic series is offered in both Universal and Custom versions.

Also, Trifecta from the CFA Elemental series got “expanded” across the new Spectral Collection with all new finishes. This 3DD design still generates a lot of discussions on the Head-fi, especially in the Watercooler thread. With its huge soundstage, elevated blooming bass, and sparkly treble, I still hear it V-shaped with some of my test tracks and find it to sound the best with more natural timbre instruments, rather than synthesized instruments. And of course, the rest of the Elemental series IEMs were on the display as well, the latest iteration of smoother sounding Andromeda “Emerald Sea” and more balanced detailed Solaris “Stellar Horizon” (reviewed here).

This brings me to the star of Campfire Audio table, their new Fathom IEMs featuring 6xBA design. I spent some time with Fathom, analyzing the sound and comparing it to Andro ’23 and Solaris ’23 IEMs. Right away I noticed a slicker, more compact, lightweight shell design. With these in my ears, I hear a huge holographic soundstage expansion with nearly 3D imaging. I found the tuning to have a balanced sound sig with a warmer tonality. This all-BA design has the bass with a tighter and faster impact, mids were natural and detailed, with a fuller body, and treble was quite resolving but not peaky or harsh. Going back and forth with Andro, I can hear even a bigger soundstage opening in Fathom, more weight in the bass, and more clarity in upper mids and treble, like a veil was lifted off, making Andro ’23 sound warmer in comparison. On the other hand, Solaris ’23 had a similar level of clarity, though with a deeper and more textured sub-bass, courtesy of its DD bass driver. But the impact of the mid-bass was not too far off. Also, to my ears, the Fathom soundstage opening was huge.

Lunch Break.

Talking about the lunch break became traditional in my reviews, especially after my first CanJam in 2017 when I discovered a buffet on the 8^th floor of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in the Broadway Lounge area, making me feel like I was on a cruise. Now, it is “traditional” for me to reminisce about that time since Marriott dining services decided to cancel it after the pandemic, though they still have a continental-style breakfast buffet, but not during lunch. Not holding my breath, but still keeping my hope alive that buffet lunch returns one of these days.

Of course, one might ask, you are in NYC with such an overwhelming selection of food choices, so why not go outside? With CanJam NYC moving this year to March, it was more tempting to get food outside since you don’t have to go into the freezing Feb cold of the city as before. But when you are visiting the show for just one day, every minute counts, literally. Thus, taking the escalator to the 8^th floor to catch a short lunch break with a delicious smash burger made more sense to me.