Your favorite sound at the show (so far)

[mike1127]

It's the night of day one, and I thought I would start a thread about our favorite sound at the show, as far as we can determine after day one.

Before the show, I was familiar with the AKG K601, and Beyerdynamic DT880 (250 ohm). I drive them with an Antique Sound Lab MG-HEAD.

I listen mainly to classical. My priorities are:

• Natural sound: violins sound like violins, trumpets sound like trumpets, etc.
• Expressive shapes: the ebb and flow and beat of the music is dancy (the beat should be clear but not overemphasized).
• High resolution. I enjoy inner detail on sustained sounds like massed strings, brass choirs, etc. Freedom from resonance and stored energy effects.

My friend Don North brought a pair of AKG K701 to the show along with his Sonett amp, and I was eager to hear the combination. I was also eager to listen to the Sennheiser HD650 and HD800, the Grado GS1000, and the Sony what's-it-called (the $4000 one), because I haven't heard these before.

Well, honestly I have to say my favorite sound at the show (from what I've heard so far) was the Sonett driving the K701.

There is one major problem in evaluating gear at the show. The rooms are noisy, sometimes even full of people talking at near-shout level. It is really impossible to hear anything closely. In addition, I'm always listening to someone else's digital source and amp so I can't control that element.

And I'm pretty picky about digital sources. For example, I really don't like the Meridian sound. It's polished and suave but not musically involving. So I pretty much am guaranteed not to like any rig using the Meridian.

A lot of rigs were driven by small portable solid-state amps. I'm a tube guy.

To run down my reaction to the other 'phones:

• Sennheiser HD650 and 800. The Sennheiser sound is, like the Meridian, polished and suave but not musically involving... the upper mids seem way laid back, and the tone colors of upper midrange notes seem grayed-out, seriously compromising the musical expression. (I was driving the HD650 by the Sonett and using my own Naim CD5X as the source; I think some kind of Luxman solid-state amp was driving the HD800 in Todd's room.)
• GS1000. Grayed-out tone colors. Was driving with the Sonett... it is possible that there is an impedance incompatibility problem.
• Sony $4000 headphone... I can't remember now what it sounded like because I must have heard 100 things today, but it didn't seem any more special than the K701 (while costing many times more).
• Orpheus. Amazing highs, very delicate and fast. However, the whole presentation was not musically natural to me. Unfortunately the source was the Meridian CD player, so who knows what the problem was.

And what I liked about the Sonett/K701 combination:

The K701 handles piano leading edge better than the K601, and has a wonderful timbral clarity in winds. The inner detail on sustained string and brass notes, and the ability to differentiate between the sustained note and the hall ambience, is incredible.

My favorite thing about the Sonett/K701 combination is the way it invites me into the experience rather than dragging me into it. And once I accept the invitation and find my way in, the rewards are enormous.

[moonboy403]

The Sonnet has excellent bandwidth and clarity. Soundstage is wider than it is deep. The environment at the time was very noisy.

The only headphone the really blown me away today was the Sony R10 as I didn't get a chance to try out my own music with the big boys yet so I can't put down the Orpheus or the AKG K1000 for now.

[Uncle Erik]

Originally Posted by mike1127

I listen mainly to classical. My priorities are:

• Natural sound: violins sound like violins, trumpets sound like trumpets, etc.
• Expressive shapes: the ebb and flow and beat of the music is dancy (the beat should be clear but not overemphasized).
• High resolution. I enjoy inner detail on sustained sounds like massed strings, brass choirs, etc. Freedom from resonance and stored energy effects.

A lot of rigs were driven by small portable solid-state amps. I'm a tube guy.

And what I liked about the Sonett/K701 combination:

The K701 handles piano leading edge better than the K601, and has a wonderful timbral clarity in winds. The inner detail on sustained string and brass notes, and the ability to differentiate between the sustained note and the hall ambience, is incredible.

My favorite thing about the Sonett/K701 combination is the way it invites me into the experience rather than dragging me into it. And once I accept the invitation and find my way in, the rewards are enormous.

I'd like you to come by Catalina B and give a listen to my Beyerdynamic DT48. It's on the table on the left side of the room, back by the Zana Deux and Moth Si2A3.

I think the DT48 does very well with classical (smaller pieces, not orchestral), violin and piano. I'd like to know what you think of it.

[Xan7hos]

Originally Posted by mike1127

There is one major problem in evaluating gear at the show. The rooms are noisy, sometimes even full of people talking at near-shout level. It is really impossible to hear anything closely. In addition, I'm always listening to someone else's digital source and amp so I can't control that element.

That's something else that sort of bugged me. Props to headroom for posting the "Please Keep Quiet" signs, I think they and Woo/TTVJ rooms were the best for listening/eval, other rooms just didn't do ANY headphones, heck even in-ears, justice.

I was really amazed at how three-dimensional the PS1000 soundstage was (again, coming from one of TTVJ tube amps), It was far left, right, forward, and backwards. Simply amazing.

To be honest, I didn't like any of the Sennheisers at the show. Woo Audio's UPOCC recabled HD650s and HD600 didn't wow me, nor did the HD800, though the HD800 is better than the former(s). Same with Ultrasone (Edition 8).

Shure's new headphones seemed a tad too bright, but I think they didn't have sources which did them justice - Their source was an Ipod Classic, straight out of the headphone jack, no amp, and I'm pretty sure they were lossy files.

I think I'm too much of a Grado Guy.

Sadly, I can't seem to remember the HF-2 sound, but if anything I'd say they are "different" from the RS-1i

EDIT: Woo Audio's new DAC/Music Server was a GREAT source. I think this is THE thing to look forward too.

[1UP]

Thanks to all the organizers and vendors for their contribution to a great show - I learned SO MUCH.

My notes from the show below:

Grado Overload

HF2s - heard them everywhere with all kinds of equipment - dunno if it was burn-in but I doubt it - don't like them, finding them bright, coarse and lacking in bass, detail and PRaT, sorry

HP1000s - wow, I preferred these to the HD800s - amazing; loved their realism and transparency

PS1000s - left no impression of me after the HP1000s

GS1Ks, comfy, but boring

RS1s, variable depending on the amp, a bit muddy and coloured

HF1s and SR225S - liked these immensely!

Not Grado Notes

Craig from Eddie Current was a real gent and his Zana Deux is fabulous.

SOURCE FIRST - there are so many poor digital sources out there - it underscored for me it makes no sense to spend on headphones and amps if your source isn't up to snuff. OTOH, think I've found my new source in the Neko D100 - it's got a wonderful, natural tone and is very musical. Also a pleasure speaking to Wes.

The DA11 and Benchmarks are more or less comparable through their respective headamps - you'll get a professional, detailed sound, but I wish we could have heard them plugged into dedicated headamps.

Woo Audio had the best vendor display by far. I really enjoyed the WA6 and 6SE. And his prototype DAC is also super. Doesn't look cheap, though

I was also delighted by the new Shure SHR840 and even more delighted to win them in the raffle! Thanks, lads! Jude's impressions are spot on. Nobody looking for high-quality closed-backs for the office or more could fail to be impressed by them - they're outstanding.

My next fondest highlights were actually the member systems - some amazing DIY efforts of which I think the Bijou struck me most, and of course the B22s - the best solid state amp at the show.

For all the expensive, obsoleted electrostatic systems, the best sound for me was (can't remember his username) the Zana Deux hooked up to ATH-AD2000 open backs.

I've realised it's kind of easy to get a good even excellent hi-fi sound by throwing money at a system. But it's not at all the same thing as having an organic, emotional experience when listening to music, and that depends on each piece of equipment having that aim at heart. It's definitely not a science.

Now, off to say sorry for my wallet.

[S Smith]

The two vendors that stood out for me were Woo Audio and Ray Samuels Audio.

All of the Woo gear was terrific and as stated above the DAC looks to be quite intriguing. It was good to meet Jack, and I am now happier to wait for the delivery of my 6SE.

The Ray Samuels Apache with the HD800 was very memorable. This combo has me seriously considering a balanced set up. We'll see if I can talk myself out of it.

[mike1127]

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik

I'd like you to come by Catalina B and give a listen to my Beyerdynamic DT48. It's on the table on the left side of the room, back by the Zana Deux and Moth Si2A3.

I think the DT48 does very well with classical (smaller pieces, not orchestral), violin and piano. I'd like to know what you think of it.

Hi Uncle Erik,

I did stop by and listen to the DT48. Very nice midrange. Did a great job in Mozart's wind quintet---a piece which has a chord played by piano and winds simultaneously at the beginning, which is interesting because you have a piano attack (a percussive sound) at the same time as the winds playing their leading edge and swelling... so two very different kinds of attack. The DT48 separated them out nicely.


-Mike

[melomaniac]

a Shadow drove an RS1 owned by RS very well... (source: iPod), and the Manley iStingray made a DT880 sing; the Balancing Act was awesome with a HD800, but I was blown away by Woo Audio tubing into HD650 (source: CD).

[donunus]

Any more impressions of the shure cans?

[IPodPJ]

Hi Mike,

It's PJ. You, Donald, my girlfriend and I spent about an hour talking today. I will be doing a review for you guys, but just to give everyone a head's up: the Sonett was one of, if not my favorite amps from the show. The HD800 sounds like crap with the wrong amp, but sinful through the right amp. The Sonett did for the HD800 what very few amps could do, and in such a natural and effortless way. The soundstage and spaciousness of the music was vast and the timbre was spot on. I didn't much care for any tube amp other than the Sonett or the B52 with the HD800. The Sonett is $1,300 I believe (in single-ended or balanced output) and the RSA B52 is $5,500. Big difference in price, but small difference in sound quality. With the HD800, I actually preferred the Sonett. It's an elegantly simple design with the purest signal path possible.

You guys have a killer amp and I know you will have lots of success here at Head-Fi. You deserve every bit of it. You are great guys to talk to and Donald's amp is superb. As far as tube amps go, it is now at the top of my list because it sounds so close to solid state in detail but with all the organic richness that can only be found with tubes. I have never been a tube guy but the Sonett has changed the way I feel about them. And not only did it sound the best with the HD800 but with every other headphone I tried them with: K701, K601, DT880/250, DT880/600, and DT990.

Best wishes to you guys, and I promise to do a full review on it when you drop it by.

Regards,
Phil

[moonboy403]

I, too, was very impressed with the Sonett. The only downside is that soundstage depth isn't the most impressive on the Sonett. It's to be priced at $1200.

[Frihed89]

A sonnet is a type of poem. What is a Sonnett? Why this code? Or is it because most of these head amps are made by small boutiques?

[mike1127]

Originally Posted by Frihed89

A sonnet is a type of poem. What is a Sonnett? Why this code? Or is it because most of these head amps are made by small boutiques?

Don tells me that Sonett is a Swedish word for "so neat." It's not directly related to either the poem or the musical term "sonata", although those meanings seem to fit in some way as well.

EDIT: Additional info: it's phonetically the same pronunciation for the Swedish phrase "så nätt" meaning "so neat". Saab used this name for a coupe they did in the 60s and early 70s.

[IPodPJ]

Originally Posted by moonboy403

I, too, was very impressed with the Sonett. The only downside is that soundstage depth isn't the most impressive on the Sonett. It's to be priced at $1200.

You know what I've found to fix that? Stick a high-end power cord on it.

[FallenAngel]

Liked the PS1000, but not "that" much. HF2 was a little bass-heavy for my usual tastes. This is mostly because I REALLY love the HP2.

HD800 was nice, gotta spend more time with them, definitely brighter than my HD600/HD650 but that's likely the fact that the drivers are so far away from the ears.