Welcome back to my coverage of CanJam SoCal 2026.

I would like to extend special thanks to Noble Audio for making this coverage possible, not only do they make incredible IEMs and now Headphones, they have always been a great supporter of the Personal Audio community in general, often sponsoring our coverage of these events.

ampsandsound

No CanJam would be complete without a visit to one of my favorite amplifier designer/manufacturers, Justin Webber, of ampsandsound. For your listening pleasure, he was demonstrating his flagship headphone amplifier, the ampsandsound Red October XL-SE ($18,000), which, despite its name, is available in colors other than red. To the right of that was the ampsandsound Badlands Tube Stereo Preamplifier ($12,000), the ampsandsound DAC 4.4 Tube Base R2R DAC ($14,000), and the ampsandsound Nautilus XL SE Tube Headphone Amplifier ($18,000), a counterpart to the Red October, and employs KT88s as opposed to 300B tubes.

AME

CanJam is always replete with a host of new Asian IEM manufacturers (and some not so new), and the very best-sounding of the bunch was the AME Gnome Primal Series I ($3,800), one of the few I have heard with a balanced linear tonal balance able to stack up against the American offerings.

MIMIC AUDIO/requisite Audio/imersiv multi-path

MIMIC AUDIO was hosting a herd of headphones, amplifiers, and DACs; of note was the new prototype Es Labs ES HE-90 Electrostatic Headphone (est. $1,300-$1,800), though I listened to it in the HeadAmp Booth through the magnificent HeadAmp Blue Hawaii Special Edition Electrostatic Headphone Amplifier ($7,495). What drew me in was Danny of requisite Audio and his amazing Allnic Audio tube amps; I was particularly impressed with the Allnic Audio HPA-300B ($13,200) through which he was driving a fantastic pair of Soltanus Acoustics Euridiche L-SX Electrostatic Headphones ($5,200) via a Soltanus Acoustics Driver Unit MK II Energizer ($2,800), which usually requires the output of a stereo loudspeaker amplifier. Of course, the other draw was the outstanding imersiv multi-path D-1 HDR-A DAC ($12,000).

AUDMA

Making great strides into 3D audio was the AUDMA PHPA1 BRIOSO Portable Headphone Amplifier ($5,000). What sets AUDMA apart from other offerings is their ELISA Circuit Technology, which allows the listener to adjust the “Angle” (phase) and “Stage” (depth of soundstage) to create a more realistic listening experience.

AUNE

The new AUNE AR9000 Headphone ($1,300) was the talk of the show, so I had to go take a listen. One of a handful of new headphones with floating drivers in an attempt to create a more three-dimensional image.

ZMF

The largest display of headphones is always ZMF; regardless of your musical tastes, you are bound to find a ZMF headphone that satisfies. ZMF had a massive selection of their bespoke headphones and amplifiers, including their flagship ZMF Caldera Planar Magnetic Headphone ($3,499.99) and ZMF Aegis Amplifier ($3,499.99), with many limited-edition headphones available in exotic woods.

WOO AUDIO/ABYSS

Tube guru Jack Woo was proudly demonstrating his new Woo Audio WA12 Zircon Solid-state Flagship Headphone Amplifier ($7,999) alongside his wonderful tube amps and the full line of ABYSS headphones.