Omaha, NE (Midwest) Oct. 3rd Custom Electronics Wrap-Up and Impressions - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

matajuro · #1 (**permalink**) 10-03-2009, 11:28 PM

Here is the list of members and what they brought if some one didn't show up I will amend it. Also the photos I took should be online at the end of the night. I will post the link.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matajur...7622509735194/

LingLing1337
Grado SR225i
Beresford TC7520

Tenzip
Sleek SA-6
Koss KSC-75 (Kramer Modded)
Yamaha YH-2(?) Ortho
AKG K601
Silencio React
FiiO E5
CMoy
iBasso D10
Millett Hybrid
Fubar II
Grado SR80i
Grado HF-2

madmax7 NO SHOW
Senn HD800, I wanted to hear that..
Senn HD600 w/ Equinox recable
Woo WA3/Tubes
Grado RS2
RSA Hornet
Rotel RCD-1072

golgi NO SHOW
Little Dot MKIII
Sennhesier HD 580
Sennheiser HD 440II
Cambridge Audio 640P phono
Technics SL1210MK2/Denon DL-160
Rotel RCD950
Rotel RC1070
Rotel RB981

listen2this1 NO SHOW
Denon d7000, I wanted to hear that..
Grado 325i's
Shure e3c's
Millett Max
Millett SS
Depending on date b22
Denon 5900 -->Strait Up
Macbook with Appr. 14,000 songs

nylan8301
DT880
HA-RX700
SR-60
KSC75 Modd'ed
LD MK II
PA2V2
Panasonic PCDP SL-S150
A818 w/LOD

Gross and GF
Grado RS-1
Senn HD-600
Beyer DT-770
AKG 501
AKG 240 Sextetts
Shure e4c
Millett MiniMAX
Millett SS
Pimeta

Aynjell
Sony MDR-V6
Audio-Technica ATH-AD700
CMoy

Aynjell's GF

Firam
Modded DAC-AH
Corda Headfive
Senn HD580
Grado HF-1
Senn HD280, Should have brought mine..
Senn HD650

AVALover5498

slytown
Macbook Pro
Audio-GD Compass
Audio Technica A900

matajuro
Senn CX-300
Senn PX-100
Senn HD238

Firam · #2 (**permalink**) 10-03-2009, 11:42 PM

Why are you calling me a no show? I was there dang it!

Gross · #3 (**permalink**) 10-03-2009, 11:53 PM

It was fun, I hope you all enjoyed my toys.

I look forward to the pictures later on.

nylan8301 · #4 (**permalink**) 10-04-2009, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firam

Why are you calling me a no show? I was there dang it!

LOL...whups. Looks like he missed that one.

Good seeing you guys. I'll offer impressions once I have some time and digest what I heard.

-Nylan

matajuro · #5 (**permalink**) 10-04-2009, 12:41 AM

Photos are up I will be adding notes when I get the chance.

Photos: MidWest Head-Fi Meet Oct. 3rd at Custom Electronics - a set on Flickr

matajuro · #6 (**permalink**) 10-04-2009, 12:43 AM

Sorry I was going by the gear I saw I'm horrible with names. I didn't see the HD-280s so..

mrarroyo · #7 (**permalink**) 10-04-2009, 12:54 AM

Nice meet you all had, great pics w/ great gear. Hope you all had lots of fun. Cheers.

Aynjell · #8 (**permalink**) 10-04-2009, 01:57 AM

I'm posting for my girlfriend, Christina.

First off, she's not a head-fier. she's just been unsing some headphones that I don't really think fit on a headfier's girlfriend, so I wanted her to find some that she liked. All in all, she can basically tell you what she does and doesn't like, going into deeper than that she's not able to do all that well. Perhaps the headphnes I bought her will encourage her a bit... but...

she liked the following headphones:
Grado GR8
Grado RS-1
Grado PS-1000
Sennheiser HD238

Her absolute favourite were the Grado GR8, unfortunately, her boyfriend didn't have 300$ to spend, but he did buy her some SR80i's, as they seemed to be agood fit, with the 3.5mm plug stock and decent sound all around. A bit of a veil if you ask me, but they're a good fit for her.

She actually liked grado's based on comfort, of all things. I'm with a grado girl, who's jealous? Also, I'll be posting my reviews shortly.

Aynjell · #9 (**permalink**) 10-04-2009, 02:22 AM

Of all the things I wanted to hear most, the Little Dot MK II was at the top of my list, the funny thing was, listening to it didn't incur some magically awesome smoothing of the music I was listening to, yes there was some real difference listening to it, but it wasn't night and day to me. I think part of my problem was using already sensitive headphones...

I tried to keep my baseline the same when using amplification or source gear, by using my ATH-AD700's with the equipment I was testing, and I tried to use my ipod and Cmoy with headphones wherever possible, it was hard to get around to everything I wanted to hear...

But the things that I made a point of listening to are as follows:

PS1000, RS1, HD600, HD650, various lower end grado's, the Little Dot MK II, and the Audio GD Compass as soon as I noticed it was there.

One thing I want to say is, dammit I suck at comparing headphones. In trying to nail down a real difference between the HD600 and the HD650, apparently the music i was listening to didn't draw that difference out and I'm very inclined at this point to go with the HD600 based on sound alone. Perhaps there was something about the HD600 I liked better, but man if I could my finger on it, I would. At first I thought I heard that difference and it was there in the back of my mind each time I switched back to the 600, but I couldn't describe it, and for that reason I won't make it a hard and fast claim...

but since I want to lean towards the 600, that just means if I ever invest into sennheiser's reference class headphones, it'll be the HD600.

Moving right along, another thing I was very impressed with was the Audio-GD compass. Listening to it with various headphones just sounded nice. It was smooth, in fact the smoothness I expected from tubes that I didn't get from the LD MK II, I got in a large dose from the compass. It was a very beautiful sounding device and I'd say it warrants it's price tag. The sheer size of it though is a deal breaker for me until I can afford a larger desk. I didn't get a chance to test all the inputs, and slytown said that other gear was affecting the sound which sort of makes me wonder if the Audio GD (using optical input) would still give me taht rich and smooth sound that I more or less fell in love with on the spot.

The RA-1, and the PS1000 I didn't get enough time with to really give a strong opinion other than, the PS1000 is heavy and not practical for me but they were in my opinion, simply the best sound headphones at the entire meet. The RA-1 were a close second, with the HD600 right behind it.

I've come to the conclusion, that I, like my girlfriend, am becoming a Grado fan. Granted, I don't like all thier stuff but thier headphones are simply amazing. I'm very impressed with one thing about the grado line: they all sound good. The SR60i, the SR80i (which my GF now owns), they're the cheapest ones you can buy, and yet they sound amazing. The very bottom of the grado foodchain still sounds good. You can't say this for any other headphone manufacturer that I've heard.

I became a serious fan of Grado's with the big bowls, and will be ordering a pair for whenever I pick up some grado's for myself. I can see myself picking up grado bowls within the next few weeks, and a pair of 325's, although I need to give them another good hard listen. I like the around the ear approach, but I really like the grado sound, and grado + big bowls is my kind of can.

One thing I like abuot grado's is thier simple but very good construction, the fact that you can pivit and extend the headphones in any sort of way, and as my girlfriend put it always get a "tight" fit with them regardless of your headsize... definitely a grado fan.

That's all I got, plus I'm a newb to headphones so you don't wanna read taht much more from me anyway.

I loved the grado's, nuff said.

Oh, one other note: I'm really happy with the headphone stands we scored, as well as the Line out cable I got from Gross, he gave me a killer deal on awhiplash audio lod cable that he won in the raffles.

LingLing1337 · #10 (**permalink**) 10-04-2009, 06:18 PM

IMO, the PS1000 rig that CE brought out (PS Audio PerfectWave DAC+Transport+PowerPlant+Peachtree Decco) was unbelievable- definitely the star of the show.

Tied for second best is Firam's rig of LiTe DAC-AH+Corda HeadFive+Grado HF-1- even though I listened to Tenzip's HF-2, my Sr225i, CE's SR325is, and Gross' RS1 through Firam's setup, I still favored the HF-1. It's an amazing rig.

The other second place rig was my TC7520 + the Whiplash MiniMax and my Sr225i- I didn't try the HF-1 or the 325is on it, but it's an amazing setup. I never thought I'd say it, but if I bought a MiniMax, I could be happy with it until I had ~$10k to spend on the CE setup.

I'll put up proper impressions of these rigs a bit later.

Aynjell · #11 (**permalink**) 10-04-2009, 06:19 PM

Heh, my girlfriend is at work, so right now I'm giving her SR80's a proper breaking in.

I'm actually going to start stopping in to CE about once a week to give the various grado's a good listen, I'm hoping the SR325's suit my taste (I didn't get much chance to listen to them at the meet)... but with them on my way home from work it's a non issue. I know on my next paycheck I'll have them order me some of the GS1000 pads, I simply love them.

BTW, my girlfriend's grado's are already starving. I'm going to have to get her some kind of amp. Maybe my fiio will suffice for the time being.

Edit: Perfect for her, it doesn't get really loud and it does the job. I'm going to show her how to use it tonite.

matajuro · #12 (**permalink**) 10-04-2009, 07:10 PM

Alright so I was told I needed to give a full review of the Ultrasone Zinos that I received from the raffle.

Ummmm.... Hmmm...
Rather decent cable quality, thick and sturdy. That about sums up the good parts about it... Oh good separation.

The Bad. Where to start.

Hally. Reverb and not in the good way. (I like reverb but this implementation needs a redesign)
Tiny.
Crappy bass response. Make that no Bass at all.
Small Sound stage. You would think that would mean it doesn't have separation but I disagree.
Uncomfortable.
I hate closed cans, they hurt my ears. Unless I'm on a plane I don't use them.

So any buddy want them? Asking price new online is $99. I'll take $10 (Shipped them this afternoon sorry guys too late to buy).

I have a Five song listening criteria. My reviews will list the HP I tested, that met my criteria for the song.

Blitzen Trapper, Furr (For finding separation and sound stage, a good HP I can hear the bad guitar string buzz, should also have a warmth to it.)
Ultrasone Zino (Only for the separation), Grado PS-1000, Audio Technica ATH-ESW9, HD600, HD650

Neil Young, Dance Dance Dance (For the highs, Neil young has a high pitched voice but shouldn't sound tiny)
Grado PS-1000, HD600, HD650

Blue October, X Amount of Words (Great for Mids and Bass response, when the bass beat hits it should sound like a snare and bass drum really sound)
Audio Technica ATH-ESW9, HD600, HD650

VNV Nation, Testament (Should have deep strong clear vocals, along with a intense electronic sound)
Audio Technica ATH-ESW9, HD600, HD650

Dire Straits, Sultans of Swing (Great dynamic range)
Audio Technica ATH-ESW9, HD600, HD650

If I wasn't to get a Sennheiser It would be the Audio Technica ATH-ESW9. The only thing it didn't perform well with was Neil Young. While the PS-1000 had a great sound stage as all Flag Ship Cans seem to have and great highs. It isn't one I would purchase if I had money to burn. Grados have good over all quality but they are not for me.

I am really disappointed the HD800 didn't show up as well as the Denon D7000. Heh.... Perhaps next time?

Gross and I auditioned three Op Amps with my dual CMOY for some A-B comparisons. I do not remember their names perhaps he can give a review for those.

slytown · #13 (**permalink**) 10-05-2009, 01:36 AM

You were rocking those ATH-ESW9s awhile Mata. I liked 'em too. I suggested they had an open, hall-y sound and Mata agreed. I think he thought I was talking about the Zinos. Overall the ATHs performed better on the lows and mids.

I really wanted to hear the D7s too. Wahhhh.

The highlights for me were the HF2s and the Minimax. I'm with you nylan.

I really dug the HF1s when I was listening to Thriller and some Miles Davis on vinyl.

Big thanks to TTVJ, Whiplash, CE, LingLing for putting this together, and everyone that came. Nice pictures Mata. Great first meet for me.

Here's where I got the Compass from Aynjel:

http://www.pacificvalve.us/AudiogdCompass.html

matajuro · #14 (**permalink**) 10-05-2009, 02:32 AM

Sly I understood it was the ESW9s but these zino are just ugh nvm...

I've lowered my price the Zinos I'll take the best offer. I may even pay for shipping. Its like listening through a tin can...

Aynjell · #15 (**permalink**) 10-05-2009, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matajuro

Sly I understood it was the ESW9s but these zino are just ugh nvm...

I've lowered my price the Zinos I'll take the best offer. I may even pay for shipping. Its like listening through a tin can...

I'll give you 5$ if you want to drop them off (kidding actually), I'm sure my girlfriend would like them but I really want her to focus on using her SR80i's. Hopefully she'll start hearing the difference in good cans.