Back from Munich, a great show as always with tons of gear. Managed to find time for a few interesting things among others:
-the HiFiman 1000 cans (if cans still applies, the form is far from standard). There were 2 pairs, both connected to the same amp and sounded very well indeed. Fast and detailed bass, clear and detailed with faithful timbre and good extension in to the higher frequencies. Only one small issue, I think that one of the units was more sibilant than the other (these are still preproduction samples, this should be ironed by the time they reach the market)
-the new VIVA headphone amp (2A3 design, still pricey though at 5-6K..) in glorious Lamborghini orange and with almost the same output transformers. Paired with the LCD-3 it sounded almost better than the notorious Egoista 845.
-the Engimacoustics Dharma headphones with matching amplifier, these are very promising. Speaking with the company personnel I was told that other models will follow in the future. The passage between the 2 drivers is almost unnoticeable in show conditions (they were down the hall, open space with lots of noise)
-Chord DAVE was also presented, but no sound came out (static display). Looks are in typical Chord fashion while sound should be similar (same principles, SMPS)
Finally I managed to catch up with Casey, the first US based Changstar member I ever met with in person. That was on Sunday evening in Munich's airport but still we talked a bit about cans and amps. Hopefully next time we will do things with more time to spare and preferably a couple of beers too.
