CanJam-RMAF 2010 Report, Part 1 of 4

Posted by: Chris Martens at 6:06 pm, October 20th, 2010

The LCD-2 has an extremely detailed yet also very warm and “organic” sound—a sound that reminds me in many respects of the sound of Quad’s top-tier electrostatic loudspeakers, but with better low-frequency extension and a much broader dynamic envelope.

The LCD-2 features beautiful wood-framed earcups with lambskin earcup pads that are cleverly tapered, from front to back, to provide a more comfortable fit. Even though the LCD-2 is a very large headphone, it feels amazingly comfortable and is easy to wear for long periods of time. Watch for an upcoming Playback review of the LCD-2.

Beyerdynamic

Under the auspices of the good folks at Moon Audio, the German firm Beyerdynamic (which prefers that its name be shown in all lower case letters—thus, beyerdynamic—though the AVguide/Playback style sheet says otherwise) demonstrated its impressive new T5p headphone ($1295), which leverages technology drawn from the flagship T1 Tesla but in a headphone designed specifically for “on the go” use.

Although this is an oversimplification, you could in a sense think of the T5p as a 32-Ohm version of the T1 that is exceedingly easy-to-drive, which is saying a mouthful (click here to read the Playback review of the Beyerdynamic T1 Tesla, to appreciate what I mean). I plugged the T50p into my iPhone to give it test spin, and found the iPhone was able drive it to quite satisfying volume levels with ease (something that would not, of course, have been possible with the much harder-to-drive T1). 

According to Moon Audio’s Drew Baird, the T50p shown at CanJam was the only sample in the US at this time, and—with the blessing of Beyerdynamic—I’m pleased to tell you it will soon be coming to Playback for review.

Burson Audio

Also exhibiting under the auspices of Moon Audio, the Australian firm Burson Audio showed its very latest product, the HA-160D desktop headphone amplifier/USB DAC ($1100).

Burson products are in one sense an anomaly in today's market, in that they offer the meticulous build quality and attention to circuit design, parts selection and overall build quality that typify uber-expensive high-end boutique electronics, yet are refreshingly sanely prices (especially in light of the quality they offer).

Playback is in the early stage of reviewing Burson’s HA-160 headphone amplifier ($695) and AB-160 tube buffer ($499).