Chicago/Milwaukee July 11 2009 Meet Impressions - Page 7

I heard the Fubar II is a bit too noisy for IEMs, or was that the Fubar III. Can't remember exactly which.

If it was indeed noisy, I'm sure he would not have recommended it. search button.

Nevermind. Fubar II is perfectly fine. Actually it has pretty good reviews.

It is weird the way Firestone names their products. Fubar II and III are obviously similarly named, yet one is a dac unit, whereas the other is dac + amp. Fubar II is $50 more expensive, also. The naming just doesn't make sense.

DUMTH DUMTH DUMTH...

Headphoneaddict has just said the following:

"They are not the same sound. The HD800 are a little more forward, brighter with less bass, and pickier about the amp you use than the JH13Pro. I think the HD800 have slightly better soundstage being a full size can, but both have great imaging."

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/j.../index119.html

Note the part "**slightly** better soundstage"...And the hd800 is supposed to have killer sound stage, too!!! All the more evidence that IEMs are just beginning to kick the rear end of the big (literally) boys. Sorry, I realized this is an impressions thread of the meet, but I just had to say this, because it does have to do with the well known hd800 and it really does show that in future meets... you should all bring your best IEMs, guys (even if you don't like them as much as your lug-able, hug-able giants)! I have nothing against full-size HPs, but with incredible portability and isolation, it seems the best custom IEMs these days are underrated beneath headphones. Another wonderful thing about them, even the most expensive of them don't require a really expensive amp to bring out their full potential. Thanks for tolerating my off-topic-ish rant.

Tigon ridge, the funny thing is, did you bother to even listen to the HD800's at the meet? I don't think so based on your comments. In fact, there were 2 sets, one balanced one single ended. You were in a position to be one of the few headfiers to actually listen to the darn thing, and did you not take advantage of the opportunity? I don't think so, which is unfortunate. Other people's comments are fine, but nothing can replace your own listening impressions, ever. I personally wouldn't hold too much weight into other people's impressions and make substantive claims like IEM's are as good as full size headphones unless you hear it yourself. The fact that you had HD800's, HF2's, and other high hitters in the full size arena would have given you some ample listening experience to base an opinion off of. Next time I guess, but talk about squandering a good opportunity, as many people here don't have the chance like you did to go to meets and actually listen to stuff.

Tigon, dude, your really bringing down the thread groove here. we get it, you want iems, not full cans. start a new thread and ask tons of questions. then find someone local to go listen.

Jeez,

This meet is expensive.

I just pre-ordered a set of HF-2's and bought a Yulong DAH-1 for my work rig. $650 gone! :shock:

Next step....build Aikido for said work setup.

I noticed that there were 2 of them. Never noticed that one of them was balanced! Neat.

Well, I squandered that opportunity, yes. And yes, it's better to hear it yourself, totally agreed. I meant to say (and I'm very sorry for not phrasing it this way to begin with, making myself sound very stupidly bias) that the general consensus in the portable hi-fi community is that as IEM development is moving quickly, the custom territory is expanding beyond the old stereotype that IEMs can't compete with headphones in the SQ/enjoyment department. Do I personally believe this? Not totally, but neither do I disbelieve it. I'm just reporting on what other people are catching on to. I noticed that no who owns a high-end pair of customs has complained about sound stage, while many of them have compared their customs' sound stage to their headphones'. That's no evidence that I or you would experience what they generally experienced, but I do value head-fiers' opinions, which do have considerable weight on how I will contemplate my audio gear purchasing. Why? For the reason that it's just not possible to sample customs, obviously.

You guys are right that if I had listened to those cans at the meet, I would at least have something to reference my future IEM purchase to. At that time I foolishly thought, "Well, I'm not gonna have full-size headphones anyway, so why bother listening? That's like having a cup of coffee house quality coffee for today, when I'm only gonna be able to drink tea for many years to come. What is the point of experience something that you may never be able to experience again?" So I'm smacking my forehead for having acted on that stupid idea.

Please don't frown upon my past action for too long, guys. Besides, there will always be another meet, another opportunity.

Tigon ridge - I still do not get how all of your posts especially the one above pertain to the actual meet impressions thread. This thread is specifically for impressions of things you listened to or experienced. You did that already in your 1st post and admitted you didn't listen to much as a result of your bicycle. Please do not further derail this thread and start a new thread in the portables forum that is here. For future reference, if you took the time to talk to the actual people at the meet about all the things you keep on posting about, you would have learned much more and had a more enriching meet experience.

Point taken. Got too over-excited about HPA's comments and his upcoming three-way review, that I mistakenly assumed others would feel the same way. Sorry. Moving on...

The hd600 through the Heed sounded kickin'. Seriously kickin', in fact, or should I say 'punchin', because the bass was just that... very punchy. I liked. I felt that the vocal was sliiiightly overpowered, however, by the bass. Can't really complain much, as those drums sounded really good. Would have liked the vocal to have a bit more spotlight. I didn't get to have much time with them, but for the brief time that I was listening I got to experience some visceral drum beats. Electric guitar sounded very good too, I guess. Noticed that it sounded much better than through stock buds. I listened to the collection the macbook owner had, and also had my Evanescence album with me. Wasn't sure if his rig was supposed to have lots of detail, however I walked away with the impression that if the room was dead silent I would have enjoyed more detail, but wasn't sure.

Thanks much! I want to host my own meet now- thinking early-mid october. hmmm...


Spencer D.

That would be great if you hosted a meet. But keep in mind that ChiUnifi is November 7. I'd go to a meet every day if I could, but I don't know how long my marriage would last!

true, sept may be better. not for all I'm sure, but its further from chiunifi