CanJam NYC 2025

Bloom Audio

Bloom Audio is becoming a regular at CanJam NYC shows. They maintain their NYC show residence in the Royale room, a private isolated area to the left of the main showcase floor, to allow their visitors to audition a big selection of the gear sold at their store without being bothered by the noise of the main show crowd. Again, I’m not sure if they were able to achieve full “privacy” this time because the room was super busy from the moment CanJam started. Filled with giveaways, free candies, and many wanting to hear Audio-Technica’s Narukami amp, it only drew more people to the room with a long line where I had to muscle my way in. The place continued to stay busy when I tried to come back a few more times during the day, only giving me a few minutes to say hello to Andrew, the Bloom Audio owner, and the rest of his hardworking team. At this rate, they might need to book a bigger room the next year!

So, what is so special about Narukami? I can’t say much about this $108,000 tube headphone amplifier because I couldn’t audition it due to a long waiting line. But this hand-crafted amp masterpiece encased in a precious KUROGAKU wood from Japan with a matching pair of limited-edition AW-KG NARU headphones sure looked like something that belongs in the museum. Ironically, many CanJam NYC shows I attended so far had a lot of hype around the Sennheiser HE-1, a $59k pair of headphones with a matching granite-base tube amp people signed up to audition, like those concept futuristic cars people line up to see at auto shows. This year, I think a spotted HE-1 in the corner behind Sennheiser tables, or at least I thought it was a HE-1 setup, without too much crowd around it. Of course, you have to consider a new toy syndrome, everybody wanted to see and hear, and this year that was KUROGAKU $108k amp in Bloom Audio room.

Another highlight of Bloom Audio room was a table dedicated to iBasso Audio with all of their latest gear from DX180, DX260, and recently released flagship modular DX340 DAPs. Plus, their fine D16 DAC/amp with 1bit discrete DAC design and PB5 dual NuTube fully balanced amp. In addition, many of the latest iBasso usb-dac dongles were available for auditioning and comparison, including a popular DC07 Pro, flagship DC Elite, and a brand-new Nunchaku featuring not only a solid-state DAC/amp but also a pair of miniature dual Raytheon tubes squeezed inside of such a small footprint. I have a Nunchaku review sample with me now, I absolutely love the tuning, and think it was a great idea to be able to switch between solid-state and tube coloring.

Showcasing a mix of portable and desktop brands from iBasso, Eletech, Empire Ears, Fir Audio, 64 Audio, Cayin, Campfire Audio, Noble Audio, Meze Audio, Burson Audio, Meze Audio, iFi Audio, Chord Electronics, Focal, Audeze, HiFiMan, FiiO, Astell&Kern, Dan Clark Audio, HEDD, Final, RAAL-Requisite, Audio-Technica, SPL, Questyle, AudioQuest, Thieaudio, DUNU, Moondrop, Ice Lab, Lime Ears, SpinFit, and many others, don’t think they had enough tables to cover everything. It was a bit crowded at the tables, not only with people but also the products, the reason I mentioned they might need a bigger room the next time. However, it was a great opportunity to have many different products in one place to mix and match sources and earphones/headphones, and to compare everything in one place, especially with such a big selection of desktop equipment they had at the tables.

This is a big added value for a retailer, such as Bloom, at the CanJam show, where, unlike a separate manufacturer table representing only one brand, you have a chance to compare different products. Plus, in previous years, when some manufacturers can’t make it to the show, like Campfire Audio (due to a last-minute storm that canceled the flight), or 64audio (which couldn’t make it last year), or FirAudio (which couldn’t make it this year), Bloom represented these brands at the show. It is also the only place to find and test a complete collection of all the latest iBasso products.

At the end of the day on Saturday, Bloom Audio also sponsored the Watercooler awards event, even running a giveaway of DC Elite and Nunchaku dongles where two lucky people walked away with these cool prizes.

Campfire Audio

I’m always happy to see and speak with Ken and his hardworking team at the show, beaming with pride behind a beautiful display of Campfire Audio’s current releases. I can’t be 100% certain, but I believe everything was on display, including their older and newer popular IEMs, including Chromatic series releases (still need to audition it one day), the latest iteration of smoother sounding Andromeda “Emerald Sea” and more balanced detailed Solaris “Stellar Horizon”, Trifecta with its huge soundstage, elevated, blooming bass, and sparkly treble, and one of my last year’s favorites from CanJam NYC ‘24, Fathom with a slicker, more compact, lightweight shell design, a huge holographic soundstage expansion with nearly 3D imaging, a balanced sound sig with a warmer tonality – all-BA design with a tighter and faster impact bass, natural and detailed fuller body mids, and quite resolving but not peaky treble.

There was also a spotlight on CFA Astrolith, another one of my favorites from last year, which I had the pleasure to test and review. This dual Planar Magnetic drive design featuring a newly updated 14.2mm planar magnetic driver for lows/mids and a new 6mm planar magnetic tweeter, has bass tuning with a mildly V-shaped sound signature and a full-bodied, natural, detailed textured tonality. The bass here feels “physical” like it was coming from a large DD driver but without a need to push the air, with the weight and presence you would expect from the dynamic driver, yet the speed and response of a planar magnetic driver. And it’s not just the bass, but the overall tuning of the deep, powerful lows and detailed organic mids along with a crisp hi-res non-fatigued treble.

But the main attraction for me was the Clara, Campfire Audio x Alessandro Cortini collab that everyone has been talking about for the last few months. CFA Clara even received the Watercooler award during the ceremony at the end of the day. For those who are not familiar, Alessandro Cortini is a renowned musician known for his work with modular synthesizers and is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee as a member of Nine Inch Nails. He is also very frequent in the Watercooler thread on Head-fi. Clara was designed using Dual Magnet DD bass, a dual-diaphragm BA (and Clear Wave tuning chamber) for mids, and two dedicated super-tweeters paired with Campfire’s well-known Tuned Acoustic Expansion Chamber (T.A.E.C.) covering the high frequencies.

In my short time with it, I found Clara to have a big open soundstage with lots of height and depth, and great imaging. The tuning is W-shaped balanced, with a deep punchy bass, fuller body, naturally detailed mids, and natural crisp treble. All the drivers were in perfect balanced harmony, a very coherent tuning that just blends in together. I was throwing different test tracks at it, and everything just worked, no matter what music style I tried, with everything sounding natural, smooth, and still detailed. I also noticed Clara comes with a very comprehensive accessories package, including CFA Time Stream Duet cables in 3.5mm and 4.4mm, a Pilot portable DAC dongle, and even a new hardshell touring case in addition to other goodies. And it was still under $2k (for a non-titanium version which btw has sold out at the current moment).

I have every intention to review CFA Clara once I’m done with show reports and other outstanding reviews. And as I mentioned to Ken, he suggested that me to stop by later and get my “ears scanned”. I was a bit confused at first, Clara is universal-shell IEM?! Until he explained to me, they are working on custom fit slipover IEM ear tips-sleeves to provide a CIEM-like experience for their users. Toward the end of the day, I made my way back to CFA tables and spent about 5 minutes with my ears being scanned by an iPhone taking thousands of continuous images around my left and right ears. It is based on an app that uses a special AI algorithm to analyze the images and create a custom-fitting sleeve for individual earcanal and outer ears, assuming a shallow fit since there is no way to see all the intricacies of earcanal bends. Can’t wait to check it out later when it becomes available!

64audio

I was happy to see 64audio back at CanJam since they missed last year, however, I was able to hear their IEMs at the Bloom room in 2024. This year, they had their dedicated booth with a few of the latest and other “classic” releases. To refresh my memory and considering a handful of the questions I got about these from my readers, I started with Volur monitors, a hybrid 10 driver IEMs featured 2 low DDs (in isobaric driver config), 6 mid BAs, 1 high-mid BA, and 1 tia high BA, with drivers managed under control of the integrated 4-way passive crossover. These IEMs stand out with a matte black-finish aluminum shell and a beautiful purple abalone chip faceplate design and feature all their top tech including tia, Apex (comes with four modules, including MX, M12, M15, and M20), and LID.

I found Volur to have a good soundstage expansion, oval-shaped with plenty of widths and less depth to bring you closer to the performer, and pretty good imaging. The mid-bass was fast and punchy, and the sub-bass had a deep extension. The mids are very neutral, with a bit thinner lower mids and clear, detailed, uncolored upper mids. The treble packed extra energy, being snappy and crisp. I certainly heard more emphasis on bass and treble in the tuning of Volur.

Then, I noticed their latest Solo IEMs, and so glad I gave them a listen. I have heard one too many planar driver IEMs and was expecting a similar performance with a brighter up top tonality. But to my big surprise, Solo had a rather balanced W-shaped tuning with a deep sub-bass rumble, natural, detailed, smooth mids with plenty of forward presentation thanks to a decent pinna gain, and crisp detailed treble with a natural non-fatigued retrieval of details. I didn’t have to switch to foam eartips or do any cable rolling, the sound was clear, detailed, and very natural. In their own words, 64audio describes it as having a full-range sound from a single 14.2mm planar magnetic driver housed in the acoustic chamber which integrates two Helmholtz Resonators to sculpt its frequency response.

ddHiFi

Another big surprise at CanJam NYC ’25 was ddHiFi making their debut at this year’s show. It was great to meet them face to face for the first time since I have been in touch with Lily who handles their Marketing/PR and support, and also to meet Desmond Ding, the creator of ddHiFi products and the name behind the “dd”. Most of the adapters and usb-c cables in my daily rotation are from ddHiFi, and I also use many of their storage cases, including wearing their over-the-shoulder carry bag at CanJam shows. So, while I’m familiar with their accessories, what caught my attention was their latest IEM release, ddHiFi Surface.

ddHiFi Surface is their new hybrid in-ear monitor featuring DD and 4BA drivers under a 3-way crossover, tuned in collaboration with Moondrop. These $279 IEMs feature a metal panel combined with a 3D printed cavity, and 4.4mm shielded cable with a high-purity silver-plated copper wire. I found the soundstage to be more focused and intimate, bringing you closer to the sound. The tuning was balanced, smooth, and detailed with deep blooming bass, smooth, detailed organic mids, and a relaxed natural treble. Overall, these IEMs had a very nice smooth relaxed tuning.

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. The buffet lunch is not coming back, but I still like to whine about it 😀

I know, with such an overwhelming selection of NYC food choices, why not go outside? Aside from a cold February day, wandering around to get a slice of an overpriced yet still delicious pizza slice is time-consuming. 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 with a side of fries and Caesar salad made more sense to me. Plus, I was able to charge my phone to get ready for more pictures and note-taking.