And another round of equipment impressions:
Ultrasone Edition 9 and Denon AH-2000/AH-D5000, all with Moon Audio re-cables
Edition 9 w/ Black Dragon. Denons with Silver Dragon.
I didn't really listen long to these but I listened long enough to determine that none of these are for me and are probably overrated on Head-Fi. I'm sure the Moon Audio cables help them out a bit, but a mere cable isn't going to exactly turn a headphone into something it's not, I can personally attest to that from my experiences with the APureSound V2/V3 and Stefan AudioArt Equinox.
The Edition 9 felt way too hollow in the mid-range and the bass was ridiculously & unnecessarily boomy. The edge on the treble overall did not help its cause.
The Denon D2000 didn't sound much different from when I owned one. Oh the bass was certainly nice, but that kind of boom and force is usually expected for a closed headphone. The most positive spin I can put on these is that they would probably make fine gaming headphones, my music just didn't sound that good.
The D5000 did not sound like a significant improvement over the D2000, I'll just leave it at that.
Manley Neo-Classic 300B in TTVJ
This amp was awesome. It pushed the Grado PS1 as well as it did a K701. I'm not totally sure on synergy though since I heard primarily heard unknown vinyl selections on it (and some CD samplers of unknown music) but it was certainly impressive-sounding with very good bass impact and clear, focused mid-range.
Meridian 808.2
While it's near impossible to give actual helpful sonic impressions of this CDP, I can say with absolute certainty that it sounded awesome through the TTVJ Millett 307A. The Equinox-balanced K701 (not mine) was hair-raisingly detailed on this setup unlike anything I've heard before. There was an XRCD sampler of "Audiophile Voices" nearby that I put in with lots of familiar tracks (Alison Krauss, Eva Cassidy, etc) and those tracks on this system were the best I've heard from them so far. I need to grab a copy of that CD too, it said it was backwards-compatible with Redbook-only players.
Sennheiser HE90 on HeadAmp Blue Hawaii SE and Sony SCD-1
Well, this was certainly very detailed-sounding, but personally it didn't grab me. Flatter-sounding headphones aren't really my thing, I think. The soundstage was very good - open and wide. Very clear and articulate too.
Sony SCD-1
Since I was on both unfamiliar headphones and amp, I can't offer specific sound-quality impressions of this machine, but I can say that this was the next most impressive digital source I saw at CanJam! (The first would be the Meridian 808.2.) The sleek, modern styling made me want to keep touching it, and the top-loading transport was a thing of pure precision and beauty. I definitely oohed & aahed at this machine, it was just sweet-looking!
I did spin some of my personal reference CD tracks and did hear more than what I'm used to but I can't attribute those additional qualities to the source alone since I was also listening to the Omega II MKII and HeadAmp KGBH SE.
Moon Audio interconnects (various Silver and Black Dragon pieces)
Naturally I didn't listen to these and even if I did, I still wouldn't be able to offer sound-quality impressions (would need an extremely low-noise background). But I do want to say that the Silver and Black Dragon interconnects looked like quality cables to me. Very flexible (the Silver Dragon moreso) and always hand-made. Like [AK]Zip, it appears that Drew also believes in hand-made cables over machine-made cables. (I can confirm other vendors that make machine-made cables, like VH Audio for example.) Good construction and throughout our conversation it was clear that Drew knows exactly what he's doing with these. Very positive impression of both him and his cables.
Singlepower Odyssey and Sonic
Both of these amps looked really, really cool. I personally preferred the styling of the Sonic (the simple box-like design speaks to me more than something with domes on top).
What are they, you ask?
First, the Sonic and Odyssey are both digital pre-amps & headphone amps with a tube-based output stage. The Odyssey is a Class A, fully differential (completely dual mono), balanced tube amp. The two amp circuits (including the tubes under the domes) are both on modules that can be replaced for true modular upgrading. No need for tube-rolling, everything is on a modular PCB, somewhat akin to the similar module-based design in the HeadAmp GS-1 and GS-X, except the Odyssey uses tubes, of course. Mikhail said he will produce more modules. A metal billett keeps the base of the dome intact with the chassis. Odyssey price expected at $7-8K.
The Sonic is also Class A but single-ended only. If Mikhail gave me a price, I forgot it, sorry.
Volume on both amps is controlled by a discrete remote control unit for true digital control down to 1 dB accuracy.
The Sonic and Odyssey are also both completely new amp designs and don't carry anything over from previous Singlepower amps.
Mikhail also said these new amps will be among his first amps that will not be available for custom work, as he said he's trying to get away from custom work because it takes him too much time. He's going more for non-customizeable products that he can push out quickly.
And they both sounded fantastic on the HD650 with Mikhail's custom cabling (which I found too thick for comfort btw). Clear and not slow, with good controlled bass and surprising linearity. The sound wasn't all that tubey which I guess is a good thing. There was definitely more clarity and resolution to the sound than attention to mid-range.
Mikhail mentioned he's going to primarily sell these to dealers, at least for international sales. Within the USA he'll continue to sell direct. I did ask him if Moon Audio is a dealer but he said the relationship with them isn't really that of a typical dealer model.
Originally Posted by penger
Asr,
That's a gorgeous B22 amp... So how'd you get naamanf to build you one?
I remember seeing a thread he started for an open call on Beta 22 builds in the Amps forum and can't find it anymore. In any case, I decided to jump in.
Originally Posted by Tyll Hertsens
Special mention to ASR for all the work shooting media at the event. Thanks, mang. I know Ed is gonna be close behind him, too, with his dandy steady-Eddy-cam rig.
Thanks Tyll, I always make sure that every Head-Fi meet I attend is fully photo-documented!
Originally Posted by mikeymad
Thanks for the impressions Asr... I can't be sure from any of the pictures - do we know what the tube complement on this was?
(sophia 300B's ??, some older 6SN7's??)
just courious considering the good sound.
From Cary's product page:
1 ea - 6SN7 Input
2 ea - 6SN7 Driver
2 ea - 300B Output
