Kure Beach NC, improbability defied - Page 2

In that order, too.

What a noobfest. Did any of y'all determine the best headphones under $100 unamped?

Yes, it's called beer.

I was contemplating flaming some noob earlier today but decided it would be worth more to post in this thread. Some days you just have to sit back and let stupid be stupid, so I did as I rotated headphones in my work rig. it was really quite nice to have more than 1 sound at ones disposal, much like this meet.

What a wonderful gathering of friends this meet was. I wish the world were more like this in general, that would be quite nice indeed.

Anyways. gears! But first a tangent. I have noticed at this meet, and in general sharing the internet with all of these people that none us really care anymore, a state of happyness at the point in the audio journey where it is apparent that you have found the sound you are looking for and are comfortable there. We are all very comfy with our various home rigs, and I guess its easy to be so comfy as I didn't hear a single thing that would have had me run from the room(s). At the same time everyone seemed quick to point out differences in gear and latch on to stuff they liked more than what they have. I was also impressed by how similar to my own tastes in music many of the co-conspirators are. Really a nice gathering.

So on to gear!

In the front room was a bunch of stuff, really the center of the party.

There was a humble-looking M^3 that sounded great with the HF-2 in one corner using a denon CD player as source. Really nice rig. I only listened for a moment before someone took it apart and stuff and never made it back. I have wanted to build an M^3 for a long time.

As something of a surprise there was a small and simple rig composed of an old Denon portable CD player (it was METAL!) hooked up to a Gilmore-lite. I spent a few good tracks with a CD and my Sony CD900ST headphones, and this little combo did not fail to please.

On back table there was guzyguy's bottlehead "quickey" amp which was pretty nice although the gain was quite low. I liked the overall tone when I listened with the JH-5 the first night.

Next to it on the table was some other gear I had heard a bunch before so didnt listen much to. I did spend a bit of time with the JH-13 and Boomana's Iphone and the TTVJ portable amp. Again a splendid combo. I wish everyone would have been a bit quieter as I wasnt getting a great seal, but when I did WHOAH! Its easy to see why everyone has been raving about the JH-13. I spent some more time with them, and they just effortlessly got the music out. They were perhaps on the slightly warm or fun side of the HD800 or O2 systems, but easily a long term headphone.

In the back were the STAX rigs in a bedroom. So, it was noisy with beer and other libations fueling the conversation and I saw the opportunity to nestle my head between some sweet cans. I naturally took the opportunity with the vacant bedroom and the stax so sweet and inviting. I brought in a few nice CD's to set the mood and closed the door. The source was an inexpensive looking universal player into an audio-alchemy jitterthingy into the "tooleaudio adcom" after this it was the Headamp BHSE and the O2, it brings back fond memories of my old Stax rig and makes me question the R10 a little bit. I think the o2/BHSE is just too neutral for me, and I still prefer the R10 (maybe Im just lying to myself). It threw the sound out of my head in a very good way which is the hardest thing for a headphone to do IME. The bass and treble were both as rumbly and sweet as I remember them being but not uncontrolled or cheap and tricky. unkle****ers, I want this system. GRR. So after this I tried to get out of the room only to find that the door had jammed shut.

After that there was Fitz's DIY amp which looked and sounded great out of the K1000 but I didnt listen as long as I would have liked as I could not figure out how to work the source.

Duggeh was kind enough to bring his TakeT headphones and the transformer which he then loaned to me. At the meet we ran them from a speaker amp Fitz brought and the BHSE. The speaker amp with the TakeT transformer was very good, although the bass tends to dominate the presentation a bit too much. The BHSE did not fare so well with the TakeT as the transformer... The bass went REALLY out of control and wild with this pairing. I think its just a rough match as the BHSE sounded so so so good with the O2.

Im home now, and running the TakeT off of an amp of my own creation and the TakeT headphones are sounding quite nice.

All in all it was a great meet, I can tell you that it was easily the best meet I have ever been to.

These words resonate well with me


..dB

I just wanted to post a quick wrap up.

First, thanks for all the people who happened to be in the area and stopped by, such an amazing bit of providence. I had a blast, and you guys made that happen.

Second, thanks to Brittany Harvey for sending up 2 pairs of the JH13 generics so that we could give them a listen, they were quite remarkable. Even with the compromise of the generics, they were good enough that I will be getting a pair. I'm sorry Jerry and Brit couldn't make it up as originally planned, but the generosity was still appreciated.

Special thanks also goes to Britt's Donuts in Carolina Beach. Those donuts made things particularly decadent. Amazing.

Matt, thanks for bringing that keg of coffee beer. Whoever was supposed to get that delivery is gonna be annoyed, but you made my weekend. That's good stuff, I'll have to see if I can duplicate it as a homebrew.

Duggeh, you are an amazing human being. If your pictures ever finish uploading, I'll host a few so people can get a glimpse of what all went on. Congrats on getting into your program, and hopefully they fix you.

To the lawyers, a special thank you. Where would we all be if you hadn't been there to correct the issue sunday morning. Dinny, sorry about the comments the judge made, but well, new york lawyers have a "rep" in the south.

A word of warning: NEVER get yourself in a position where Jeff feels the need to get control of your head.

Pete, it was good to meet your family, that week was awesome!

Way more I could say, but I'll leave it here for now. Thanks everyone!

Bumping this because it makes me happy.

Did someone with internet not lodged in the stone age ever upload the photos I sent over?

How did I miss this? Damn, I'm only a 4 hour drive away. I've really got to check the "Meets" thread more often.

Well, even most of us who attended only noticed it the day of the meet.

I was a bit late, coming and going.

Did anyone ever manage to find another one of those signs from the part number on it?

http://www.perfectpoolsupplies.com/i...49f582b6143dae
http://store.poolcenter.com/shared/S...&Add2Cart=True
http://mypoolsupplyguys.com/products...52d-40318.html

I was damn lucky that there was a last minute flight open.