Okie dokie, here are a handful of impressions. I have many more rigs to cover but I'm tired and fading fast.
Some Moth DAC > EC Balancing Act > apuresound recabled HD600 (Eddie Current/Craig) - The first rig I listened to at my first meet, way early in the morning when almost no one was in the room. It really did sound beautiful, doing all the things that tubes do well. The HD600's bass was so full. I actually checked twice to make sure they weren't HD650s.
Exemplar Denon 2900 > Heed Obelisk > K1000 (boomana/Vicki) - My first time with the K1000. Vicki had a gigantic power amp for them (forgot what kind), but there was a hum originating from her preamp (Extreme) that was exacerbated by further connection to the power amp that made it way to loud. So instead we just went straight to the Obelisk which is an integrated. I see why people like the K1000, its very engaging and easy to tailor the sound to your tastes by turning the speakers in and out. Great bass, but it didn't go to the lowest of the lows. And there is that AKG midrange people are always talking about! The highs were a bit on the bright side for me, but by no means unbearable.
Apogee Duet > Toole Audio Balanced Mosfet Amp > HHF-1 (grawk/Dan) - I listened to this one a few times over the weekend, and I really liked it. Definitely an easy to listen to rig, one that really does nothing wrong, but it doesn't do anything that makes you reach out and say "woah", but thats fine really. Later I listened to the Pico pushing an HD650. Completely different setup then Dans so its hard to compare the Duet to the Pico, but if you put a gun to my head I'd say the Pico, mainly because its enclosure is sexier and to support Justin.
Cyrus CDP > Corda Move > ESW9 (nightwoundstime/Matt) - The ESW9 is a great little phone. I was very surprised at the thumping bass. I was expecting it to be more anemic like the w5000, but it is very different. Definitely a rocking can, great for portable or home use if you're willing to lay out the cash. Having said that I don't have much experience with other portable type cans of this nature. They aren't really my thing so take what I say with a grain of salt.
Grado Sonata Reference > Massive Gorgeous Denon DD Turntable > CI Audio Phono > MPX3 (three 6SN7s) > HD650 (nightwoundstime/Matt) - Yeeeeaaahhh, vinyl! Was lucky enough to sit with Matt and listen to the 45RPM of "In Rainbows". I love vinyl, and this rig sounded great. Of course, if it were me I'd throw a DL-103, cinemag sut, and tubed phono stage up in the mix.
I'm much more sensitive to different components in a vinyl rig then in differences between digital rigs, but I guess thats part of the joy of vinyl is the very high level of control the listener has over his or her source.
