More impressions.
Two amps that impressed me were snejk's Mapletree Ear+ HD and Donald North's DNA Sonett.
I listened to the Sonett only briefly through henmyr's new Grado HF2. I have only auditioned Grados on a couple of occasions so I am not really familiar with their sound signature, however this struck me as a very nice combo indeed (I also heard that the Sonett works well with HD800s although I am having a hard time making friends with mine so I didn't try this). The sound was detailed, dynamic and nicely balanced when driven by the Macintosh CD player. This is definitely a rig I could live with. The Sonett has the advantage of also being really nicely styled and finished to a very high standard as you can see from the pictures. Also, although it might not appeal to everyone I have to say I loved the powder blue paint finish. Nice to see a small volume product looking as good as it sounds. I have no doubt that this amp gives its buyers real pride of ownership!
Another combo that I spent some time with was snejk's Mapletree driving my Lawton LA2000. Having been told by MarkL that the low-Z Denons really don't really jibe with tube amps my expectations weren't particularly high, in fact I can't actually remember why I tried this at all. However it turns out that the Ear+ HD and the Lawtons absolutely loved each other and the resulting sound was my biggest surprise of the meet. This combo was sweet, detailed and deliciously musical with good extension at both ends and really good dynamics. In fact I can't really remember much else about the sound because it had me kicking back and enjoying the music in seconds. This is an amp that lists well below $1000 iirc and snejk snagged his second-hand for less than half that. An outrageous bargain! While I found the quality of the build and finish good I have to say the aesthetics were not to my taste, being a bit 'Heathkit'. However, with sound like that I think I could come to terms with the looks - this was without question my favourite dynamic combo of the meet. I would respectfully suggest that MarkL re-evaluates his prejudices regarding the ability of tube amps to drive his cans!
Although I didn't get around to trying it myself I also heard several people making complimentary remarks about the quality of snejk's Naim Headline. In fact despite the fact that his gear was far from the most expensive, it seemed like everything he had seemed to be sounding really good. The guy is onto something!
Finally, I had a very welcome surprise when Anders recommended I listen to his Stax Pro-reterminated HE60 driven by the Stax 717. I have a pair of HE60s although I have decided not to subject them to surgery and have no adapters as yet so have been unable to try them on any amp other than the HEV70. Wowzee! Reading others' reports is one thing but actually hearing it for oneself is quite another. These are really great cans! Such a shame that Sennheiser sold them with an amp that so conspicuously failed to show their full potential and saddled them with a strange proprietary connector which prohibits easy interoperability with other amps. I am having a HEV90 adapter cable made and look forward to being able to enjoy the HE60/HEV90 combo in a few weeks' time.
There was much I didn't get round to trying, but I spent the rest of the time talking to people and just soaking up the atmosphere. Robert was also delighted with how well everything went and has offered to support any future events we organize. Having become accustomed to the good life this might be a hard offer to refuse!
Two amps that impressed me were snejk's Mapletree Ear+ HD and Donald North's DNA Sonett.
I listened to the Sonett only briefly through henmyr's new Grado HF2. I have only auditioned Grados on a couple of occasions so I am not really familiar with their sound signature, however this struck me as a very nice combo indeed (I also heard that the Sonett works well with HD800s although I am having a hard time making friends with mine so I didn't try this). The sound was detailed, dynamic and nicely balanced when driven by the Macintosh CD player. This is definitely a rig I could live with. The Sonett has the advantage of also being really nicely styled and finished to a very high standard as you can see from the pictures. Also, although it might not appeal to everyone I have to say I loved the powder blue paint finish. Nice to see a small volume product looking as good as it sounds. I have no doubt that this amp gives its buyers real pride of ownership!
Another combo that I spent some time with was snejk's Mapletree driving my Lawton LA2000. Having been told by MarkL that the low-Z Denons really don't really jibe with tube amps my expectations weren't particularly high, in fact I can't actually remember why I tried this at all. However it turns out that the Ear+ HD and the Lawtons absolutely loved each other and the resulting sound was my biggest surprise of the meet. This combo was sweet, detailed and deliciously musical with good extension at both ends and really good dynamics. In fact I can't really remember much else about the sound because it had me kicking back and enjoying the music in seconds. This is an amp that lists well below $1000 iirc and snejk snagged his second-hand for less than half that. An outrageous bargain! While I found the quality of the build and finish good I have to say the aesthetics were not to my taste, being a bit 'Heathkit'. However, with sound like that I think I could come to terms with the looks - this was without question my favourite dynamic combo of the meet. I would respectfully suggest that MarkL re-evaluates his prejudices regarding the ability of tube amps to drive his cans!
Although I didn't get around to trying it myself I also heard several people making complimentary remarks about the quality of snejk's Naim Headline. In fact despite the fact that his gear was far from the most expensive, it seemed like everything he had seemed to be sounding really good. The guy is onto something!
Finally, I had a very welcome surprise when Anders recommended I listen to his Stax Pro-reterminated HE60 driven by the Stax 717. I have a pair of HE60s although I have decided not to subject them to surgery and have no adapters as yet so have been unable to try them on any amp other than the HEV70. Wowzee! Reading others' reports is one thing but actually hearing it for oneself is quite another. These are really great cans! Such a shame that Sennheiser sold them with an amp that so conspicuously failed to show their full potential and saddled them with a strange proprietary connector which prohibits easy interoperability with other amps. I am having a HEV90 adapter cable made and look forward to being able to enjoy the HE60/HEV90 combo in a few weeks' time.
There was much I didn't get round to trying, but I spent the rest of the time talking to people and just soaking up the atmosphere. Robert was also delighted with how well everything went and has offered to support any future events we organize. Having become accustomed to the good life this might be a hard offer to refuse!
