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I will do you a deal you can not believe! First I will loan them to you for say a week or two. If you like them we will talk, however if you ever decide to sell them I MUST have rights at first refusal. Pretty decent, right?

I think the K340 after they went back to Larry for a second tweaks sound fantastic. The mids are to die for (thanks Philodox for bringing this cans to my attention with your posts). At first I wanted to sell them and Kugino (I would want 1st right at refusal if selling them) has expressed an interest so at the end of the day he may end up with them, who knows.

Regardless who owns they are IMO the sweetest midrange dynamic cans I have listen too, and by the way mine are terminated in a 1/4".

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I would love to audition them. I will have to find some time to get them from you.

John, thanks for opening up your place for this meet. Vicky, I loved the cookies! Now for the lesser important meet notes

In one of my earlier posts in a different thread I stated that I wanted to listen to the new Heed besides the old demo unit I have to see if the new transformer changed things. Well it does and for the better! We found that the new Heed has more power on tap while retaining its beautiful soundstage. In addition the new Heed (same as the one PinkFloyd had) has a better implementation of the faceplate, therefore the headphone jack is more secure and tighter. If you see the side by side pics above you will also how much "prettier" the newer faceplate is.

As I was about to leave John and Vicky wanted to try an experiment with the K1000 and the Heed. Based on the looks on their faces (specially John's) I could tell they could not believe what they were hearing. Here was a $340 amp driving a set of cans which all reviewers agree need a lot of power and thus special amps. I made the mistake of listening to the K1000 and now I hate both John and Vicky because I will have to get me a K1000.

I agree with John's comments above in that either the Heed or the EC-SS are excellent amps. IMO there are more similarities than differences, I mean here we have two small SS amps that sell at very competitive prices and can bring an smile to its user. I used to be in your face kind of guy with headphones and thus liked the Grado line from day one. As time passed and I added the Mapletree Ear Purist + HD I started to appreciate being a couple of feet from the band. Do not misunderstand me, Sennheisers are not for me but now I prefer a wide soundstage with a presentation of a few feet away from the band. It is in these two issues that the Heed excels, it has a huge soundstage and a depth that very few amps achieve. It is not much of an intimate amp like the EC-SS is, and if that is the presentation you prefer then go for the EC-SS. Finally IMO the Heed has more power on tap and its power supply is within the amp itself so no need for an external power supply, which it delivers in a "lush and 3D presentation".

I also took two other home amps, the Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 (unmodded) and a modded X-Can V3. I think that both John and Vicky liked the V2 and agreed that at $160 delivered it is a major bargain (used market). However I was very disappointed in how the V3 performed, it sounded congested, very little bass and it did not extend much in the highs. Today I took the tubes I had in it (for which I paid a bit of money off Ebay) and replaced them with to tubes that BennyBoy sent me. What a difference! the sound is far superior to the point that it approaches my beloved Mapletree. I will probably take it in the future to a meet so Vicky and John can listen to it.

I did not try any of the expensive amps present, because I do not want to spend that kind of money and thus would only be torturing myself. Yes, I was a wuss. So what! You want to make something out of it?

So in summary it was a great get together, and the winner is John because he got to keep about 5 lbs of cookies.

And I think we already have a flavor for the baked cookies waffeling throughout the venue-

So, that covers the sights and olfactory receptors for me ;-}

Specifically, I'd appreciate, (which I'll lightly feign paitence for) some rather detailed impressions with regard to the Heed CanAmp pairing with the 701s, 990s and 501s in terms of tonal accuracy/decay vs the EC/SS with which to guide my upcoming purchace decision. I'd be upgrading from the HeadFive at that time...

Perhaps this is much to ask from such a short audition for even myself to put into words were I there, then asked....

I suppose, the Heed topography and huge transformer would provide more current demands as witnessed when coupled to the K-1000 as to answer why it sounds so good in that pairing. All suposition on my part, just trying to get a handle on its preformance.

Sincerely wished I was there for the audition myself.

Sounds like you guys know how to have fun ;-}

TIA

P.S.
I would certainly have brought along the speciality coffees, which is my brew of choice these days; And especially with cookies, Mmmm ;-}

Best regards-

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Mike ... the Abbys look right at home - just gorgeous.

Looks like you inspired the budding photogs to post their efforts.

Nice meet, everyone - looks like fun for all, and we are enjoying the reports so far, but where are the cookie pics?.

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It's lucky I finished my morning beer, er, I mean coffee, before reading this or my computer would be ruined! Now that's humor.

Now that I see Miguel's Cookie Monster pic, that's pretty damn funny too!

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What tubes were those - the Voskhod 6N1P-EB's, or 6N1P's? Or, were they from the Orel factory? Or, were they some others?

The Voskhod 6N1P-EB's do really improve the sound of the XCAN v3 quite a bit, over not only the stock tubes, but also the Saratov 6H23N-EB's (which are just a bit dark, and not as open).

What else may have caused the deterioration in it's sound - the source and cables?

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We used the same IC's and source for all amps. The tubes I had on the V3 were a matched set of NOS Telas with gold plated pins for which I paid about $50. The tubes which brought back the sound are Russian 6H1N which BennyBoy sent me. Now I need to get back with him to get another pair for my V2.

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I think those are the same as the 6N1P's (currilic characters).

Re: the setup and cables, I meant... what changed from your home set up - in which I presume the XCAN v3 sounds good???

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are they supposed to do that? that is usually a very bad thing if tubes glow like that

I now see in the pics provided, there were no DT-990s nor K-701s present which folks there may have compared / contrasted between the amps present. So, I'll scratch my request as having been only some great hope...

On a lighter note, it seems Ol' Pinky (Mike) doesn't deserve to belong to the "Team deaf bast@rds" (His words) after all with his call to our attention of the mighty powerful HEED CanAmp ;-}

Thanks Mike, and of course you to mrarroyo for your taking the lead in bringing this amp to my attention! I do like hearing it has the ability to round things off a bit, somewhat like a certain tubey quality to the musics presentation. Minimial "grain' and a slightly softer highs inclusive of its wide soundstage seems to be unique with SS anywheres near this purchace price. And it will double as a space heater too for those of us here in the Northeast... Very practical ;-}

*Somehow i got a hankerin' for some cookies.....Power of suggestion perhaps?*

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thanks for asking the picture was taken at night no lights on a funky exposure setting they are really lowing red although mesh plate look different from other tubes I have seen

could someone post the physical dimensions of the Heed? Length, width and height if possible

I think the CanAmp is about 9" length, 2.5" height and 3" width...but this is guess without a measuring device.

Mike, I take your posting of the Abbys as an invitation to have the next meet at your place