CanJam or not
Audiophiles flock to high-end headphone audio show
An army of audiophiles descended upon Pan Pacific Singapore last weekend for the 6th edition of CanJam Singapore. Close to a hundred different headphone brands brought their latest, and greatest to Singapore, with something for everyone looking to maximise their audio pleasure.
Fiio showed off the R7, their new all-in-one digital desktop audio player and headphone amplifier. The Chi-Fi manufacturer is well-known for its budget audiophile products, but has been dipping its toes recently into the high-end space. The R7 (S$1,099) is a promising product with tons of features, and more importantly, sounds good — even with our own balanced earphones. It looks like it will pair well with their upcoming SP3 speakers (above).
We also took a gander at Audeze’s new Maxwell gaming headset (S$489). What sets it apart from other gaming headsets is that the Maxwell uses Audeze’s 90mm planar magnetic drivers. This headset sounded fantastic over CS:GO. Audio was crisp, crunchy, and more importantly, lag-free. I didn’t manage to try the detachable boom mic with AI-powered noise filtration, but otherwise this is a premium gaming headset that’s worth checking out.
There were so many brands at CanJam that any audiophile would leave happier (but poorer) after just a few hours. Sure, some products were eye-wateringly expensive: High-end British audio developer Chord brought its Dave DAC and headphone amplifier, which cost a mighty fine £7,995 when it debuted in 2015. But lots of other expensive, but fantastic-sounding stuff were also on show, including Astel & Kern’s range of players, such as the Astell&Kern A&ultima SP3000 Special Copper Edition (S$5,799). Earphones — wired and TWS — were also present, including the Final ZE8000 (S$459), the upgraded version of the ZE3000, as well as the Jomo Audio Game Raider II (US$499), which have built-in haptic technology. Looking forward to next-year’s CanJam Singapore!
Rounding off the audio theme this week, there were also several new audio launches this week, including the Sonos Era 100 smart speaker, as well as true wireless earbuds from Jabra, and Nothing.
The Sonos Era 100 improves on the previous Sonos One with a deeper bass, and greater stereo separation. But for newbies to the Sonos ecosystem, it’s the addition of Bluetooth that will probably draw the most attention. The speaker also has a USB-C port that can — with the right dongle — support line-in, and Ethernet. An upgrade worthy of the increased price tag (S$449).
Jabra is upping the stakes for its entry-level true wireless earbuds with the Elite 4. This successor to the Elite 3 brings active noise cancellation (ANC), and Bluetooth Multipoint support to the table. But while the sound from these earbuds are very decent, the ANC is middling, at best. Still, the Elite 4 is relatively affordable at S$160.
Nothing’s second try at true wireless earbuds retains the unique design of its predecessor, but adds sound personalisation. This feature will boost the volume for frequencies that your ears have trouble hearing — after doing a built-in hearing test. Noise cancellation is decent, but not as good as more expensive models. Overall, you do get a good deal for the S$199 price.