CanJam SoCal 2015 seemed to go off without a hitch. I say "seemed" because no doubt there were bumps in the road, but the CanJam organizing team did an absolutely fantastic job presenting headphone enthusiasts with a terrifically satisfying event. My heartfelt thanks to Jude, Warren, Ethan, Andre, Amos, and all the Head-Fiers that volunteered to help out for the event.
Fang Bian's audio journey is truly a rags-to-riches account. From a young kid bit by the audio bug picking through garbage for his gear, to a successful business man and engineer producing a world class, leading edge product. It's quite a story.
I see this relationship between members and vendors as absolutely crucial. This is a very real community, and any healthy community has citizens and commerce. If we want to keep feeling like a real community, if we want to keep getting product we desire, two-way interaction and communication between members and vendors must continue.
And then, when the meet is over, and Frank has received his feedback, he disassembles the amp, re-stocks the parts, and starts all over again. It reminds me of the Buddhist monks that make the sand mandalas and then destroy them when the ritual is over.
Sean (CrocCap) is relatively new to the world of headphones having joined Head-Fi just over a year ago, but the gear he brought is anything but new. It's not that he's a vintage gear collecter per se, this just happened to be the gear that his family had in their home.
Milos' (N3rdling) table was yet another display of unobtainium on a member table. A HeadAmp Aristaeus, Stax DAC-X2t, and Sony MDR-R10 were among his delights.
Marv has also been a huge influence on the evolving vibe of the headphone enthusiast world. He founded Changstar.com, which has become an important place for fairly advanced headphone enthusiasts to have dialog that strives to find a middle way between objectivism and subjectivism.
Ben (Zashoomin on Head-Fi) is a fun, enthusiastic, and outgoing guy. He's been in the hobby for less than two years and has found himself swept up in the DIY electronics part of the activity. With one exception the list of amps in his profile at Head-Fi reads like a who's who of the DIY headphone amp world.
Not doing my normal show vendor reports this time, I think it best to focus on the community and talk about that. It's the most important thing about CanJam SoCal 2015, in my opinion.