CanJam-RMAF 2010 Report, Part 3 of 4

Posted by: Chris Martens at 5:05 pm, October 20th, 2010

Moon Audio

Moon Audio is an authorized retailer for a very large array of high-quality headphones, headphone amplifiers, and related accessories, but it is also a manufacturer in its own right.

Specifically the firm offers a range of ultra high performance headphone signal cables, along with custom headphone modifications to allow specialized singled-ended and balanced signal cables to be fitted, complete with custom terminations to suit the user’s intended application. In the photo above, for example, the Beyerdynamic T50p's custom signal cable has been fitted with a 3.5 mm mini-jack plug (because the headphone is often used in portable applications), but in this instance it has been equipped with a Moon Audio-supplied 3.5mm to 1/4-inch jack adapter so that the headphone can be plugged into a Burson Audio amp.

Ray Samuels Audio

Ray Samuel’ Audio offered a very impressive display that included most (though not all) of the firm’s astonishingly diverse oeuvre of headphone amplifiers. Those familiar with Mr. Samuels’ designs cannot help but be impressed by the man’s sheer creativity, inventiveness, and commitment to top-tier sound.

Picture this: On one long display table, RSA showed allowed CanJam attendees to sample any or all of the following (yowza!):

·      The Blackbird SR-71A portable headphone amplifier ($395)
·      The Hornet portable headphone amplifier ($370)
·      The Tomahawk portable headphone amplifier ($295)
·      The Shadow portable headphone amplifier ($395)
·      The P-51 Mustang portable headphone amplifier ($370)
·      The Protector balanced portable headphone amplifier ($475)
·      The Predator portable USB DAC/headphone amplifier ($475)
·      The F-117 Nighthawk phono stage ($795)
·      The Raptor tube-powered desktop headphone amplifier ($1175)
·      The Apache desktop pre-amp/headphone amplifier ($2995)
·      The B-52 tube-powered desktop pre-amp/headphone amplifier ($5350), and
·      The A-10 Thunderbolt II fully balanced pre-amp/electrostatic headphone amplifier ($6500).

Astonishingly, not even that long list represents all of Samuels' designs. Why so many models at similar price points? I spoke with Samuels about this and learned that each model was designed with very specific application requirements in mind. Thus, if you describe your exact requirements to Samuels, he can almost always come up with a product recommendation that's a near-perfect fit for your needs.

Just in case you're wondering, and this will be obvious to may readers, Samuels' product names reflect the fact that he is an aviation enthusiast with an affinity for contemporary and vintage "warbirds."