I’ve been reviewing headphones for a long time, and I’ve listened to everything from the barely serviceable to multi-thousand-dollar open-back headphones. But recently I’ve been uninspired by the state of mainstream options. Most are perfectly good — great, even — but they lack a distinct character.
Something to remind me why I fell in love with headphones to begin with, landing me in this crazy career. I needed some revitalization. I needed to see something cool.
I needed to be around other people with an emotional connection to headphones.
org, the largest audio-focused online forum, with multiple events a year at different places around the world, including London, Shanghai, New York City, Dubai, and Southern California.
It’s where mainly boutique manufacturers exhibit their latest headphones and related gear to enthusiasts constantly searching for the most accurate and engaging audio experience they can find.
In all my years covering A/V gear, I’ve never actually made it to a CanJam. Either it wasn’t an interest for the outlets I was writing for, or personal obligations kept me from going. But this year, my first at The Verge, felt like the right time.
CanJam SoCal 2026 was in a convention space at the Irvine Marriott.
Most exhibitors — including larger audio names like Sennheiser, Focal, and HiFiMan as well as niche brands like Astell&Kern and Noble Audio — had booths in the biggest room.
Many set up listening stations with tablets running Qobuz (the streaming service of choice for audiophiles because of its hi-res lossless audio) to demonstrate their headphones, DACs, amps, media players, and even cables.
Others were in quieter rooms off the main hallway, more conducive to listening. My first stop was the Campfire Audio booth. Campfire Audio builds earbuds in Portl and, Oregon; I’ve listened to its $1,500 Solaris and $300 IO in-ear monitors in the past.
Today, though, was for an in-ear monitor that debuted at CanJam Singapore in May: the Campfire Audio Chimera. Most mainstream earbuds and headphones have a single driver per ear that has to reproduce every frequency from the lowest bass to the highest treble. Two if you’re lucky.
The Chimeras have nine. Because of the number of drivers, the Chimera are chonky: about the size of a piece of Bubblicious bubble gum. It took some finagling to get them comfortably in place.
