CanJam 08: Team Florida Invites All Their Friends...

[boomana]

Originally Posted by HighLife

Thank lan, just watched it....great job on the videos btw =) You caught my excitement from the Smyth surround setup hehe.

The bag is called the AmpSack, looks like its made only for a ipod since the center is cut round to match the scroll wheel.

Curse you Ipod people ehhe

There were a few different ones. I'm not sure that they were all for ipods. I kinda remember a brown leather on that appeared more universal, but I could be wrong. I guess we'll find out.

[ingwe]

Originally Posted by boomana

I had an interesting experience with grawk's rig. I first learned I wasn't really a HF1 person, then I was so busy checking out and getting into his music I didn't think about his gear at all, then later starting laughing, realizing that was the whole point. Really nice.

Emphasis mine.

Boom...that paragraph had me grinning ear-to-ear. I then raised both fists in the ear and exclaimed to the sky, "YES!"

[crappyjones123]

just thought id put down a few thoughts on the gear i heard at canjam. I have used quite a few strong opinions (calling the rs 1s and the beta 22 disappointments) so kindly keep in mind that these are my ears' opinions. They may and probably do vary from yours.

Gear i was really excited to hear but was completely disappointed

grado rs 1 - the following phrases are often used when talking about the rs 1s on head fi - "magical mid range" "amazing for vocals” “puts you right in the front of the concert” blah blah blah. The rs 1s were the second headphones i tried at canjam (i tried both balanced and single ended) and they turned out to be the biggest disappointment for me. Perhaps they were so hyped up and maybe they really do have that magical mid range but to me they sounded worse than the stock headphones that came with my sansa mp3 player. They sounded really flat, even in the balanced configuration and i tried them in 4 different setups and not even one could make them sound good to ME. Besides being annoying uncomfortable (i could never even imagine myself wearing them for more than 10 minutes at a time before my ears start to hurt) they didnt have the famed sparkle that a lot of fellow headfiers talk about. For the 600+ dollar price tag the least they could do is be comfortable.

Beta 22 – having owned a little dot mk v (solid state) amp for quite a while, i found it to be the best amp for my 650s. So i incorrectly assumed that i would be a fan of the solid state sound. Circuitously the beta 22 seemed to be one of the best offerings for a solid state amp and boy was it a kick in the face to listen to it for the first time. The b22 was the clean room of amps. Everything was very precise and at entire meet i didnt hear a more accurate reproduction of the original recording, in my opinion. BUT HOLY CRAP WAS IT CLINICAL. Completely devoid of any emotion in the music or feeling. Absolutely none. There was no coloration of the sound usually attributed to tubes. It was just pure sound. I used the word “sound” instead of the word “music” because of the sterility of the songs and my inability to enjoy the music. Unlike the rs 1s i actually tried really hard to like the beta 22 amp but i couldnt get myself to do it. Putting the amp in this category may be a little wrong simply because technically it turned out to be better than what other people had made it out to be (it did everything with a robotic precision) but in terms of listening to music it was quite possibly the worst. However i am indebted to the amp for converting me to a tube amp lover. The very fact that people switched out one tube for another to give the headphone a better bass response in front of my own eyes (i was initially annoyed by this – i believed it could be done but it was something i had to see for myself, or well, hear) just amazed me. I probably would not have liked the tube offerings so strongly had i not heard one of the best solid state amps so thanks to the b22 for at least that.

Other grados in general – the gs1000 seemed flimsy as hell to me. I could never get a good fit around my head and maybe it is supposed to be loose but i couldnt get used to it. They just didnt give me what i thought they were capable of and that is mostly an issue with my ear's tastes not with the headphones themselves. So grados are mostly out of my future. Keeping gene's advice in mind, i will return to them at other meets and try to spend some more time with them and see if there is anything i like about them but knowing my stubborn self i doubt it. The 325i's were a shiny mess. Perhaps it was the amp, i am not sure but at that point i had just given up on the grados so i didnt even think to try them out elsewhere.

Every other *affordable* (<700, thats the most i see myself being able to afford on headphones in the near future) dynamic headphone besides the hd 650 – i went in to canjam with the 650 being my favorite headphone partially because i hadnt heard too many others and i cam out of canjam with the 650s still being my favorites. This was NOT because they were the best headphones there because barring a few sticking points there were other headphones that were “better” (in some aspects) than the 650 but nothing that was the clear winner over it. So the 650s still retain their crown only because i couldnt find something that was better than it in all aspects that the 650 excels in and not because it is the overall best headphone. For some reason this realisation made me rather sad. Earlier i said *affordable* because the r10s were better than any other phone i have ever heard. But that is something expected from a 6500 dollar pair of headphones. Unlike the rs 1's their price seems well justified but it is far beyond what a poor student can afford with the extremely stringent monthly stipend. But more on that later.

In terms of dynamic headphones a balanced 650 still stays at the number 1 spot for better or for worse, i cannot say.

Beyerdynamic dt880 – EXCRUCIATINGLY BRIGHT!!! i had them on for a total of 3 seconds (even that is probably giving it quite a bit of headroom). Highlife handed them to me after i remarked that a pair of defoamed 650s seemed rather bright for my taste and he said i should try out the dt880s. We were listening to a jazz cd and the moment i put the 880s on there was a really high note and i honestly felt i might have damaged my ear drums. Thats how bright they were. Grados didnt even hold a light up to these phones in terms of brightness. I do feel sorry for not giving them another chance with some other music but can you really blame me? Those cans tried to take out my ears! Certainly a let down.

RSA apache – suffered from the same issues as the beta 22. though not as annoyingly clinical as the b22, it still managed to take out all emotion from david gray's voice and that for me was a deal breaker. Ray samuels said that the new apache's were being sent out with a mod that made the amp sound a lot better and according to him he tries to ship out the b52 and the apache sounding exactly the same. Also the apache was being fed with a wallwart power cable that didnt do it justice. Sound wise it did an excellent job of reproducing the recording but there was no musicality to it.

Singlepower square wave – i am not sure if thats the name of the amp but its the single ended solid state offering from singlepower audio. Mikhail has done such an amazing job with his tube amps that this solid state amp just pales in comparison. I would even go as far as saying that it may not be his best effort. Even the cheapest tube amp (only 300 bucks more than the solid state amp) made the 600s sound amazing whereas the solid state struggled with the really high frequencies (there was noticable cracking). I could hear a phenomenon i have discovered that i like to call the “double clap.” it probably already exists and i dont know what it is formally called but whatever. The “double clap” is a phenomenon present in songs where there is repetitive clapping as part of the beat. Only in a few setups that i heard at canjam did each individual clap sound distinct and crisp (balanced 650 + balancing act from eddie current, k1000 + red wine audio's new amp, i forget the name =/ and on gene's accuphase monstrosity and lastly edition 9 + rpx 33 from rudistor). On most setups including the square wave, the clap sounded as if instead of one smooth sound it was broken into two halves where the first half would play through the headphones and then there would be a momentary break and then the other half would play. Yes, i know its odd but it serves as a nice test for comparing different setups. I didnt want to put this in with the other setups in the parenthesis because this amp deserves a special mention. The ecss solid state amp from eddie current did NOT exhibit the “double clap” phenomenon with a single ended saa equinox recabled 650. the cost of the amp, a measly 450 greenbacks, put me in a state of utter shock. Besides being the only solid state amp that i liked at canjam, it also proved the fact that there is gear out there that doesnt cost a kidney but still sound freaking amazing.

Before i move on, i would like to reiterate, that barring the square wave, singlepower audio amps are hands down amazing. When i read my first review on head fi i made the mistake of harping only on the negatives of the gear being reviewed and then made my first purchase with that in mind. Turned out to be a big mistake. So just because i dont like ONE amp, does NOT imply that i dont like other amps from the same company. Just wanted to say that so others dont make the same mistake i did.

last minute addition - akg k701 - UTTER CRAP. COMPLETE AND UTTER CRAP. these headphones sounded worse than the rs 1s. in addition to being extremely grainy (the graininess went away in the balanced k701s) they were bland and sounded muffled. more so than stock hd 650s. i defy anyone who says that they sound more detailed and crisp in the mid range than the 600s/650s. just didnt do it for me. the balanced config. helped the sound a bit but it was still very poor. another headphone down =/

in the next installment of "the ramblings of crappy jones" expect to hear more nonsense about gear that i was excited about that did NOT disappoint me (sometime tuesday). and then in part 3, gear that blew my mind (by about thursday, tue and thurs are the only days i have the semblance of free time).

ps. if the capitalization in this post is annoying, open office is to be blamed. it randomly capitalizes letters whenever it wants to.

[HighLife]

great write up CJ, the balanced 650s with the HR Max Balanced remains my dream setup =)

[stevieo]

crappyjones,

very nice impressions. i am looking forward to your next impressions. the rs-1 is an excellent pair of cans, imo, after at least 500 hours of burn-in & the right amp & source as is the case with the ps-1. i can not get into the production gs-1000 at all. however, the prototype that bozebuttons has is awesome. i think the akg 701 is also a great pair of cans after about 1,000 hours of hard burn-in & sound great across the frequency range with a powerful amp but they bore me to death. i do agree that the hd-650 (with a silver cable) & powerful amp is killer. i have been listening to my pair with my transporter & peter millett's old wheatfield ha-2 almost exclusively for the last few months.

keep your great impressions coming.

p.s. sorry about my sunday morning rantings which almost got me tossed off the balcony by voltron. it was great to meet you even if i had to sleep on the floor at my age & wake up feeling like i needed a hip replacement.

[jp11801]

Originally Posted by stevieo

crappyjones,

very nice impressions. i am looking forward to your next impressions. the rs-1 is an excellent pair of cans, imo, after at least 500 hours of burn-in & the right amp & source as is the case with the ps-1. i can not get into the production gs-1000 at all. however, the prototype that bozebuttons has is awesome. i think the akg 701 is also a great pair of cans after about 1,000 hours of hard burn-in & sound great across the frequency range with a powerful amp but they bore me to death. i do agree that the hd-650 (with a silver cable) & powerful amp is killer. i have been listening to my pair with my transporter & peter millett's old wheatfield ha-2 almost exclusively for the last few months.

keep your great impressions coming.

p.s. sorry about my sunday morning rantings which almost got me tossed off the balcony by voltron. it was great to meet you even if i had to sleep on the floor at my age & wake up feeling like i needed a hip replacement.

I wish there was a transcript from that night as it would make great sketch comedy. All I know is I got a text from DOTU stating your time on Earth was about expire time stamped 5am or so.

[crappyjones123]

Originally Posted by jp11801

I wish there was a transcript from that night as it would make great sketch comedy. All I know is I got a text from DOTU stating your time on Earth was about expire time stamped 5am or so.

who said there wasnt

one would be sadly mistaken to think that the antics ended at 5am. from my rather hazy memory i can extract a few sentences.

"hey voltron! you up???? OY VOLTRON!!! ARE YOU SLEEPING VOLTRON? HEY VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLTRONNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!! ARE YOU ASLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP ALREADY?" - steveio

"steveio shut up" x 517 times (yes, i counted) - voltron

"dont make me come out there because when/if i do, you will be out of this room" - voltron

*steveio proceeds to drag a chair from the table, rather loudly i might add while chuckling to himself, and then proceeds to put it flush against the door latch. voltron "hears" this fiendishly clever plan and slowly pushes open the door pushing the chair propped up against it and calmly descends upon steveio with a certain calm only seen with hannibal lector*

voltron mentioned something about a kick in the face and then gene and myself started laughing uncontrollably as steveio tried to fall asleep.

as far as the real transcript goes, it shall be going to the grave with me for i fear voltron's robotic leg and the massive force a kick in the head must exert.

all in all, i think the time period between 4am and 6am was the most fun ive head in my life while reading a book.

[boomana]

Hi Crappyjones,

Very nice impressions, and again, it was great meeting you. Anyone who could put up with the antics you were subjected to all weekend long and still manage to listen to gear is one of us. Good luck at MIT!

[NightWoundsTime]

Inspired by Smyth's bass shaking platforms I pulled my Aura bass shaker off my old retired computer chair and stuck it on my new one. I hadn't played with this thing in ages, but it's so much fun. ESW-9's are the perfect headphone for this application as well, due to the deep bass impact. The amazing thing is that it adds a level of realism to almost any music, especially if you want a live venue feel. Even acoustic jazz benefits from the nice deep bass rumble if attenuated properly.

[tyrion]

Here is a pic of my Headroom Speaker Stands that Tyll donated for the giveaway, won by Rudi, given to me and the final resting place for the CanJam poster:

[Sovkiller]

Originally Posted by tyrion

Here is a pic of my Headroom Speaker Stands that Tyll donated for the giveaway, won by Rudi, given to me and the final resting place for the CanJam poster:

Why not placing the heapdhone rests pointing in? This way you can use them as well....

[tyrion]

I don't use headphones at the office.

[penger]

crappyjones123,

I'm curious which of the B22 setups you listened to (source and headphones tried?).

Thanks,
Eric

[crappyjones123]

mike likes to let everyone at the office know when he is in

[crappyjones123]

Originally Posted by penger

crappyjones123,

I'm curious which of the B22 setups you listened to (source and headphones tried?).

Thanks,
Eric

i tried asr's (4 channel i think) and voltron's (6 channel) b22. source was a bel canto cd player (dont remember which model - i dont know much about sources so i dont even know if there is more than one but i do remember everyone remarking in this thread how sexy it was, both visually and sonically). headphones tried were headroom's balanced defoamed 650s and akg k701 (not for long) on voltrons amp. they were both fed by the same cdp. on the single ended b22 i tried a single ended 650 with saa equinox and ath w5000 and the ath ad2000. they looked recabled but i dont have much experience with audio technica so they may very well have been stock.

i was talking to gene about the b22 setups and something interesting came up that he described as microdynamics (even more proof that you learn more from example at meets than by just reading a manual at home, therefore, GO TO MEETS ). in david gray's "sail away" (cd - white ladder) theres actually a third guitar waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay in the back or something that sounds a LOT like a guitar being played far away and i only heard it with the hd 650. there was a loud hissing noise (louder than normal) in the background of the entire cd that i didnt notice with any other headphones but with the 650. i tried the same cd in other rigs and it wasnt as pronounced. take what you want from that but it seemed to me that the 650 performed better than the other cans in conjunction with the beta 22. the only other amp where it was really prominent was the sds xlr. with the b52 it was there but not even half as loud. as i said in my previous post with the review of the gear i heard, the b22 was EXTREMELY clean and transparent. it did nothing to the sound exept for just making it louder and tightening up the bass.

cds heard - white ladder by david gray, pirates of the caribbean 2 soundtrack, reload by metallica and rodrigo and gabriella live in manchester.

do your thoughts differ from mine? i would like to hear if anyone agrees with me or can offer an opposing view so i can give the b22s another try at the next meet.