High-performance audio isn’t dying.
It’s just moved to the tops of our heads.
Well, that might be an oversimplification, but those of you who lament that high-end audio is aging out should go to a CanJam, a specialty headphones show like the one I recently attended in New York at the Marriott Marquis hotel in the heart of Times Square. I went on a Sunday and it was extremely well-attended, and gray hairs like me were not in the majority. I was told that it was packed on Saturday, with attendees three-deep in the aisles. It was heartening to see that so many people of all ages and varieties had enough of a commitment in their quest for better-sounding music to fill a floor of a midtown New York hotel.
The array of headphones, headphone amps, DACs, in-ears, tubes, solid-state, dynamic designs, planar-magnetic and electrostatic headphones, accessories, cables and anything and everything headphones was dazzling.
In fact, CanJam NYC has now gotten so big – this year there was an entire section of exhibitors in the hallway that didn’t exist when I last went in 2024 – that it was impossible to cover everything the show had to offer in one day. The show directory listed 120 brands. My apologies to everyone I missed – next year I plan to be there both days. CanJam is international in scope, with events in New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Southern California, London, Shanghai, and Dallas. The international flavor permeated CanJam NYC, with manufacturers from the United States, China, Japan, Germany, Italy, Korea, the United Kingdom, Austria, Poland, and more.
I focused on over-ear headphones because, even though there was about an entire aisle of in-ear manufacturers, I didn’t want to fuss much with different sized eartips, sanitary wipes, and trying to get the proper ear tip size and fit, which is crucial to getting the best sound out of in-ears.
I found that the sound of most of the headphones I heard was excellent, though I have to confess that I have significant hearing loss, but with headphones, it doesn’t seem as severe. (And the loss has been measured to be linear rather than peaky, so I guess that helps.) As I’ve noted previously, I think the industry is converging on better and better sound, as DACs, headphone amps, and the headphones themselves continue to advance. Of course, there are different flavors, and different target curves (for frequency response), but as opposed to my first CanJam some years ago when I would quickly take off headphones that sounded too bright, boomy, or gritty, the overall sound of what I heard was impressive, to the point where I’m not going to go on and on with flowery descriptions of every headphone I heard. Disclaimer – I do some consulting work for Audio-Technica, but I assure you my remarks here are unbiased.
Grado Labs showed their new Signature S550 open-back dynamic headphones ($995), which offered warm, smooth, yet detailed sound. They were a great match with the Geshelli Labs headphone amp they were mated with – even their respective wood finishes complemented each other. Miles Davis’s “So What” was sweet and pure. Grado also featured their Signature HP100 SE ($2,495), created to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary, and it took the resolution and spaciousness of the S550 to a higher level, as one would expect. There’s something reassuringly old-school Brooklyn about the look and feel of these Grado headphones – and the sound.
Grado's S550 headphones.
German headphones maker grell debuted their OAE2 open-ear headphones ($499, available soon), designed, as they state, to deliver “absolutely unadulterated music reproduction, because music should sound the way it was created.” To that end, the OAE2 incorporates a simple, yet clever design technique called Front-Sided Field Modulation (FSFM), where, instead of positioning the drivers directly at the left and right, they’re at an angle in front of the ears, to work with the ears’ geometry. grell also pays particular attention to the headphones’ internal damping materials, and the baffle. It all works – the OAE2 sounded clear and precise without being bright and unnatural, quite the contrary. I should mention that these headphones have perhaps the most superb fit and finish and quality feel of any you’ll encounter.
Dr. Axel Grell and Henriette Grell were displaying the new OAE2 and other headphones. Courtesy of Harris Fogel.
The grell OAE2 open-back headphones.
HIFIMAN made big news by introducing their first wireless models, the HE1000 WiFi ($2,639) and Arya WiFi open-back planar magnetic headphones. These models use a WiFi, not a Bluetooth connection (Bluetooth and USB-C wired connectivity are also available), to stream high-resolution audio with 24-bit resolution via the headphones’ built-in Class AB amplifier. Like their wired counterparts, both models feature HIFIMAN’s Nano and Super Nano driver diaphragms and Stealth low-profile magnets, to deliver the company’s “signature high-fidelity sound and detailed imaging.” You’ll get no argument here. In listening to the HE1000 WiFi, I enjoyed their excellent smoothness, and hearing British female singer Rumer’s “Walk On By” on the HE1000 WiFi, a track I used throughout the show for reference, I wrote, “Gorgeous – I want one!”
High-end high-fidelity wireless: the new HIFIMAN HE1000 WiFi.
I had been extremely impressed with MASS-Kobo’s electronics at a previous show. These hand built, made to order components sound wonderful. Their flagship Model 465 is handcrafted by founder Masanori Masuda, as are all MASS-Kobo products, and he personally selects and tests every component that goes inside it! Having recently spent hours building a Stewart-MacDonald pedal kit, I can only imagine the amount of work and dedication that goes into creating the Model 465.
The results are plain to hear: a female vocal song sounded sensational. I was so captivated I neglected to ask for the name of the track, or write down what headphones I was using, or the prices of the components. (The MASS-Kobo website lists the price of the Model 465 as $370,000 JPY, about $2,320 USD.) No matter – I know greatness when I hear it. I could tell the Model 465 was something special after about two seconds of listening.
Chinese company Sendy Audio displayed a wide range of planar magnetic headphones, all featuring beautiful wood housings, and grilles in a variety of distinctive designs. The new Egret headphones are available at $799. Sendy Audio also had their new KYLIN DAC/headphone amp on hand, featuring a pure Class A output stage, high-quality WIMA, Nichicon and Hitachi internals – all for $1,449 – and a range of in-ear headphones. The booth attracted so much attention that I didn’t get a chance to listen much, but I did get a taste of the planar magnetic clarity I enjoy.
Part of Sendy Audio's distinctive range of over-ear models.
Danacable, which offers their unmistakable braided high-end headphone cables including their new Lazuli ($4,495/2m pair), also showed a very interesting outboard processor which is based on Bob Carver’s Sonic Holography spatial enhancement technology. Not on the market yet – at the show, Danacable’s Vinh Vu was gauging consumer reaction – it manipulates the phase and timing of the audio signal to eliminate interaural crosstalk to create a wider, more expansive soundstage for 2-channel systems. The unit offers selectable degrees of soundstage enhancement, and it sure didn’t sound like a gimmick – Kraftwerk’s “Die Mensch-Maschine” from 3-D Der Katalog has fantastic spatial effects, with synthesizer sounds appearing from everywhere in the listening space, and with the effect engaged, the recording’s wide and deep soundspace became even more vast and awesome. The effect worked really well listening to British singer Rumer too. For purists, the effect can be bypassed.
The Danacable Lazuli Symphony is a no-compromise cable design.
Germany’s T+A Elektroacustik offers a complete range of audio equipment, speakers, accessories, and headphones, all built to standards of fit and finish that must be seen to be truly appreciated. At CanJam NYC 2026, they naturally featured their Solitaire P-SE planar magnetostatic and Solitaire T dynamic headphones ($4,890 and $2,149) with the HA200 headphone amp ($10,995). The Solitaire P-SE, which I used at the Danacable exhibit, employs rod-shaped neodymium magnets of varying length and a special pole geometry, held in place by a mount that ensures placement accuracy to a few hundredths of a millimeter. The diaphragm with its photochemically-deposited conductors is just a few nanometers thick. As you can imagine, this makes for superlative transient response, resolution, and spatiality. The HA200 offers a variety of analog and digital inputs, and outputs with selectable impedance for precise tailoring to any headphone type.
Woo Audio offers a comprehensive range of headphone amps, DAC/sources, and accessories, and also distributes high-end headphones from Stax, RAAL, Austrian Audio, Abyss, Meze Audio, Audeze, Focal, and many others. At CanJam NYC 2026 the company premiered its new WA12 Zircon solid-state headphone amplifier ($8,000), which was created to deliver Woo Audio’s vacuum-tube-like “house sound” from a solid-state Class A fully-balanced zero-feedback design. The WA12 can drive any type of headphone and includes a direct-drive true ribbon output, and it offers switchable AC or battery-powered operation.
I get excited when I come upon a new audio brand, or at least one that’s new to me (sometimes I’m the last one to the party). That was the case in encountering Italy’s Spirit Torino, who offer a wide range of in-ear and over-ear models and have been around since 2018. The company says it combines respect for the artistic tradition of music with technological research into fields as varied as materials science, fluid dynamics, acoustics, electromagnetics, and naturally, the human ear. Their headphones were beautiful, and the Centauri 1706 ($3,500) full-range planar magnetic model I listened to sounded superb, with excellent bass definition and coherence throughout the frequency range. (In fact, if you’re a sucker for flat-panel drivers, in speakers and headphones, like I am, you could have spent hours at CanJam NYC 2026 listening to these types of headphones alone.)
Spirit Torino also had one of the most unique product literature packages I have ever encountered. Each headphone had a chart showing its “sound fingerprint,” a list of 10 sonic attributes including acoustic isolation, versatility of use, timbre fidelity, soundstage, dynamic impact, frequency extension, ease of drivability with headphone amps, resolution, long-listening comfort, and the ability to play at high volume without distortion. Each model is rated on a scale of 1 to 7. This gave an at-a-glance comparison of Spirit’s headphones. Is soundstage most important to you? Choose the headphone that scores highest. Like to listen at high volume? Want portable in-ears you can listen to anywhere? The chart makes it easy to find the headphones that would best suit your listening preferences. But the most interesting attribute of all this, for me, is the fact that the sonic parameters are represented visually, on a round 360-degree scale that makes for some striking images. I walked away impressed.
The Spirit Torino Centauri 1706 planar magnetic headphones next to their packaging showing the graphical representation of their sonic attributes.
Warwick Acoustics had the most unique exhibit at CanJam NYC 2026: an isolation booth right on the show floor that enabled attendees to listen without hearing the ever-present ambient noise. The company demoed their top of the line $40,000 Aperio Goldensound Signature edition and $6,500 Bravura electrostatic models, and boy would I have liked to have heard them, but there was a long line to get into the booth the entire day and I could not get an audition. A colleague from another audio publication noted that they sounded “clear, smooth, and linear…really special stuff.”
Committed to good sound: Warwick Acoustics took the trouble of setting up an isolation booth right on the show floor.
Can headphone cables have personality? Yes – Singapore's Eletech manufactures a wide range of headphone cables and accessories that are absolutely gorgeous.
Sennheiser's exhibit was one of the most popular at the show and featured a wide range of in-ear and over ear models.
You want replacement earpads and eartips? Dekoni Audio has 'em, along with headbands, cases, and a whole lot of other accessories.
Harris Fogel and I will have more from CanJam NYC 2026 in the next issue, including the most interesting new audio product I've seen in decades.
Header image: the S.M.S.L. group of brands was just one exhibitor out many that had a lot of visitors over the two-day CanJam NYC 2026 weekend. All images courtesy of the author except where noted.
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