Chapel Hill, NC Meet impression thread: GO HEELS! BEAT DUKE ;)

[NightWoundsTime]

Originally Posted by thrice

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I'm loving the emergency fire button over the open amp Steve, good call.

Originally Posted by AlwaysWantMore

Nice people. Nice gear. You guys made it worth the 2 1/2 hour drive!

Kent! Haven't talked in ages. You still in 'Bama? That's quite a drive. We need to get those Nashville folks back together sometime, haven't been up to see my sister & nephew in a while.

[gates_2]

I listened to both, albeit through different systems and not in succession. I think it's safe to say that both amps sound pretty good- the choice between the F1 and F2 should probably come down more to whether or not you are looking for a fully balanced rig VS single-ended rig, and not overwhelming sonic differences between the two, imho.

[maestrowei]

Thanks for setting it up thrice. (I was the quiet guy who didn't speak so as to not make a fool of himself.) I'll learn soon, hope to build an amp with gates_2's help.

[agile_one]

Looks like a great meet, everyone. Some impressive K1000 gear, and thrices and Dubrew's offerings always impress.

There was a comment regarding portable amps that for "something just north of $100" the Mini^3 is a great performer and screaming bargain. A big X2 from me on that sentiment.

Thanks for the pics and impressions, and as jp11801 said, thrice is a meet machine, no, make that meet animal.

[immtbiker]

Wow...Stephen's ability to host a meet 1 week after last weekend is commendable. I'm just learning to walk again.

More pics, please .

[Voltron]

Looks like you folks had a fine meet, but it certainly seemed a lot more sober than MOA.

[Iron_Dreamer]

Originally Posted by Voltron

Looks like you folks had a fine meet, but it certainly seemed a lot more sober than MOA.

Just about anything short of Animal House could seem sober compared to MOA

[Voltron]

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer

Just about anything short of Animal House could seem sober compared to MOA

Touché.

[Packgrog]

Some quick(ish) impressions:

- I still prefer the HD650 to the K701. Was nice to try again just to make sure, but the HD650 is just more pleasing to me. If I am ever able to afford open 'phones, I'll be going with the HD650 (or possible HD600, though I still haven't gotten to try them but keep hearing from people who prefer them to the 650).

- Being flanked by two wonderful-sounding K1000 rigs made my inexpensive setup seem downright ghetto. Ah well.

- I regret not being able to try the iMod with a newer album I was familiar with. It sounded wonderful with the portable Vcap dock and the Lisa 3, but the only album on tap I was familiar with was Dark Side of the Moon, and even with the excellent remastering job I could still hear background hiss. The bass control on the Lisa was more a blessing than I expected with the Future Sonics Atrio, since I was able to turn the bass DOWN. Beautiful setup. Too bad we weren't set up to do a shoot out with all of the portable amps. Speaking of which...

- I was able to do some comparisons between my Tomahawk, the Mini3, the Pico, and the iQube. I still love my Tomahawk, and I felt it outdid the Mini3 (which is should, given that the Mini3 is half the cost), but both the Pico and the iQube outshined the Tomahawk in certain areas. The Pico is a bit tighter than the Tomahawk, which might pair better with the more bass-heavy nature of the Atrio. The iQube, though, made my jaw DROP. Paired with my Monica 2, I was absolutely floored by the iQube, especially while playing a lossless copy of the Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack. I may be trying to get ahold of one of these (and a cable upgrade) when finances allow for another upgrade. The Tomahawk was still the smallest (though the Pico comes VERY close), and still has obscene battery life (approx 400 hours), so nothing to be ashamed of here.

- Did I mention that both K1000 rigs sounded amazing?

- All in all, everyone there was very courteous. Thanks to everyone who let me try out their gear, and it was very nice meeting you all!

[Don Quichotte]

Originally Posted by gates_2

I listened to both, albeit through different systems and not in succession. I think it's safe to say that both amps sound pretty good- the choice between the F1 and F2 should probably come down more to whether or not you are looking for a fully balanced rig VS single-ended rig, and not overwhelming sonic differences between the two, imho.

Thanks!

[Alwayswantmore]

Originally Posted by NightWoundsTime

Kent! Haven't talked in ages. You still in 'Bama? That's quite a drive. We need to get those Nashville folks back together sometime, haven't been up to see my sister & nephew in a while.

Hi Matt. We moved just South of Charlotte last May. Closer to a big city, the mountains and the ocean. We love the area.

I really wanted to do Nashville one more time before moving, but the house sale kind of got in the way of doing anything. PM if you're ever headed to Charlotte.

BTW: Every time I use my iPal I still think of you.

[swoon]

i'm so late.

the beta 22 amp stole the show for me. great great sound. the other thing that surprised me was how wonderful the stax (what model were these?) sounded.

i meant to try out woo6 with my stello da100. i'm not head over heals about the hp100. there's always next time.