Chicago/Milwaukee July 11 2009 Meet Impressions

I had a GREAT time at this meet. Thanks to AndyK (and his wife!) for all his hard work - this was a really well attended, fun meet! It was cool to have it in a hi-fi store. There were a LOT of great rigs, but as usual, I spent as much if not more time talking to people than listening to music. It was great to see Ryan, Steve, Mike, Andy, John, Ray, Charles, Stacy, Paul, and Keith again (hope I'm not forgetting anyone!), as well as meeting some new folks!

Posting pics, and then impressions:















That's my son at my table at the end

Impressions:

* Audio Addict had the Shuguang Treasure CV181's in his RSA Stealth (see pic above). Listening to them confirmed the impression I have of the ST CV181 (I bought one too and have had it for a couple weeks) - this is a VERY good sounding tube, and the best sounding Chinese tube I have ever personally heard.

* Ultrasone Ed 8 - as best I could tell from a meet, they sounded great. I hope to be able to get a pair to review somehow. They are a little small, and people with larger ears will have trouble. But they are nice to look at, and sound even better.

* Koss ESP950 - wow do these sound good. Given the price, and the fact that they are currently in production, this is an under-rated way to get into electrostats. I'm surprised more people don't have them. Again, show conditions and all, but I was impressed by them. Even more impressive though was the 25 year old Koss ES10. They sounded even better than the ES950 - maybe a lot better. Maybe just a little better than 25 year old headphones have a right to.

* RSA A-10 Thunderbolt - I had some issues on my end which have caused me to interrupt my review of the A-10, but listening to it again at the meet with a Meridien CD player confirms that it's a terrific sounding am,p. Looking forward to getting to finish my review (which won't happen until after RMAF).

* GLF's Bottlehead + Revolutiuon Audio CDP + HD650 sounded *really* good. Another example of why Synergy is important - this was his entire rig, and it sounded great.

I always have fun at meets. This one was super-fun. Thanks again AndyK!

I'll have more to say on this later in another thread - I have been using Mullard ECC32's for quite a while, and they do sound a little different. The ECC32 is a just a little smoother and more laid back - the Treasure is a little livelier, but not in a bad way, really. It's a surprisingly good sounding tube.

Usual cautions: the CV181 is not a drop-in replacement for the 6SN7, as it draws 50% more heater current. But in the DV 336SE it works fine, and certainly the RSA Stealth's massive power supply has no problem whatsoever - Ray was commenting at the meet that the supply can deliver 3 amps at 12 volts - the CV181 draws .95 a @6.3V - so there is no problem with the CV181 in the Stealth.

Actually, there is one problem. The pics all show the Stealth without the top plate, because the porcelain base of the Treasure CV181 is wider than normal, and it won't fit through the hole in the Stealth's top plate that is designed for the 6SN7.

Back to the meet:

I also loved Keith's vintage Yamaha receiver. I didn't get to listen to it, but it is a beauty to behold