Portland Oregon PDX Meet

good times indeed - thanks for getting this arranged again Andrew - always a pleasure to meet up ..dB

What is that thing with all the tubes

Hey all , really good to have met all the new folk and of course to catch up with old faces.

I just love the DIY enthusiasm in PDX , yes I am a little biased but it is fun to 'shoot the breeze' without people glazing over.

talk about gangsta



Finally managed to twist searleb's arm to join us and he brought along his UBER cool Bijou - very clean workmanship and just oozes simplicity and form. oh yeah - sounds like a Bijou , you have to hear one to get it.





Many new experiences and some I have been wanting have as well as revisiting.

Many highlights for me

Ken of ALO fame brought along his arc of goodness - there seemed to be no end of the wonderfull treats

He brought a pair of his new Amphora amps along as well as their bigger partner in crime the Isabella.

Far too many headphones and recabled goodies to mention but of special note was his beautiful burl HF-1's . This was the first time I got to hear these headphones and I like them alot. He also had something very dear to my heart tucked away in one of the boxes - a Silver Sig Earmax. To keep my epilogue short, this was the headphone amp that really got my juices flowing for headphones and amps - way back when they released the original and the 'new' HD580 - luckily I don't age but just a little more wrinkly. Needless to say they were fun to listen to and particularly enjoyed them with me YH100s.



K1000 with the Manley Stingray - just an "out-of-head" experience. Glad to have finally heard what people get excited about. I can see how this sound can grow on you and although not in any way unpleasant, not something that would fit into my lifestyle at this time.



Compact Hybrid - yes I am a Cavalli fan and this is no disappointment - much bigger than its diminutive size would suggest. I didn't have much time with them as in many meet conditions but the overall quick impression was very favourable - strong bass, good transient response, sparkly highs .... what more could a fella want.



The Starving Student was another fun listen - people keep asking me about it and I have no reference - well now I can happily say that yes, it can drive orthos well ;-)

Revisiting the PPX3 with the HD650 was a very good thing too. It was OK with the orthos but has a special synergy with the HD650s.

And just in the nick of time, Dr`Strangelove arrived with a beat monoblock amp and his AT electrets - thanks for lugging that monster up the stairs to share it with us.



Low point - those friggin e12 circuits on the Stackers - both amps started tripping after much use , not sure what to make of this yet but I did get to throw a whole host of headphones at the amps and they are MUCH quieter with all the headphones compared to my test phones = AD2000 / Grado etc - much relief as I had been pulling my hair out trying to kill everylast bit of noise.


Final high - HP50 made a HUGE impression on a good few folk who tried them. bang goes any chance of the ebay surge slowing down anytime soon .





thanks again all for a fun time ..dB


@ Big Poppa - that's the Manley Stingray

dB - You got the only round table? Looks like you almost had as much gear as our Springs mini-meet!

Man, wished I could have made it. Great looking meet. We will have a meet here shortly up here in Seattle. Great job guys!

Aww... wish I had got there earlier D:
Wanted to try those k1000s too haha

Christ that Mits amp is so heavy... up two flights of stairs and was breathing hard hah

I had a good time, nice to meet people and such. Everyone was quite friendly.
Bunch of awesome gear too.

Already waiting for the next one hah

Thanks to Andrew once more for hooking this up. You really did pull this one together. Can't wait to listen to some new offerings from Maximo.

This meet was about meeting new people and catching up with familiar ones. I did get to play aroundwith Don's amazing stash of equipment. I am still at awe with his SFi Smegma pucks.. THe AKG K1000 was cool and so was the Manley Stingray.
Dr.Strangelove arrived late but what an impression he made in half an hour. The AT-706 electrets were doing quite well with that beast of an amp.

Unfortunately I did not get head time with the Bijou . Don's EHHA had me perplexed (and mesmerised.hands down the best amp I have heard), using it to compare his Fostex against mine.

Listeing to the Singlepower was nice too. The amphora and HF-1 combo was involving. One of the more finer grados I have heard. Exquisite workmanship on the wood there too. I really wanted to check out the Red wine audio Issabella..Another time for sure.

I was sorely disappointed with my YH-100s..Looks like I will be hard at modding them the next few weeks. Especially after hearing what Don was able to accomplish with his Yh-100s.

The HP-50A was again very nice..still prefer the accuracy of Don's Yamaha YH-2 and my Yamaha HP-2.
The HP3 sounded very close to the HP50A. Don't remember which but one had a looser bass than the other.

My focus was very much on the orthos.

I got a few people to listen to the new Compact tube hybrid. Needless to say, there was a general positive opinion of it. I was surprised how good it sounded with my Pickering SFIs.

Was too tired at the end of the day to take photos. ..so all ye folks who did take photos..up and at them

The pineapple was great!!

Sweet! Sure looks like a nice meeting.
...and great to hear that more people got to hear the K1000.

I must say..I will probably be on the lookout for one..maybe.. I just felt that it was heavy/bright on the top end of the freq response...maybe had something to do with the setup

Its size surprised me. was expecting it to be bigger for some reason and uncomfortable ..but it wasn't at all.

I don't have time to post anything lengthy but I really had a good time. I enjoyed meeting everyone and thx for everyone that brought some gear. It was very cool to play with all the different amps and cans.

awesome Tevian...upload more if you have them please

My god....
Need better posture D:

Awesome pictures! What model of Canon was that?