I stink with impressions but here goes.
First I want to thank Dan for letting us in your home and giving us a place to geek out about audio. And thank you to your family for putting up with us for a full day!
I started the meet with a private listening of the new beatles remasters on the Quad ESL 63 speakers that I have heard so much about. They were hooked up to a 100wpc power amp (which I forgot the name of), Sonic Frontiers dac (which I've also heard a lot of good things about), with a reclocker hooked up to the Cambridge Audio 840c. The speakers blew me away. I've heard a good range of high end speakers but these really take the cake. They make my parents B&W 803D speakers sound small and shouty.
I also got to do an electrostat comparison between the original Omega and the Omega 2 Mark 1 of the modded KGSS. Both fantastic phones with the Omega being more forward and aggressive compared to the Omega 2s. The Omegas surprisingly do small jazz BETTER then the Omega 2s which was a huge surprise. Both have fantastic detailed bass with better impact and more quantity then the HE90. The soundstage is small-ish for both but the imaging is fantastic.
The HE90/HEV90 was also in attendance. Compared to Tom's (bozebuttons) pair, the soundstage was much smaller. This was most probably due to the lack of break in but the main components of the sound were there. Holographic imaging, ethereal bass, clean, clean, clean sound. These are the most effortless sounding headphones I've heard BUT I still think the O2s do better on some tracks.
I also got to spend some time with my favorite dynamic, the HP-2. The HP-2 was paired with a modded Krell headphone amp which just pushed it so hard. From listening to the HD-800s a lot at meets, I still think dynamics should rock, and the HP-2 is one of the best at doing that.
My favorite "budget" rig of the meet was the HE60/HEV60 rig. For its price, compared to the HD800 and the other dynamic headphones and even the other top end electrostatic headphones, the HE60 holds its own very well. Definitely has the speed and clarity of an high end electrostat while not costing a fortune.
My favorite rig of the meet was the Quad speakers. They just sound so clear and effortless. The harder rock stuff (Wilco's new album) was missing the oomph that dynamic speakers bring but I dont think anyone could complain about the overall sound. The effing Backstreet Boys sounding so good off the Quads. The synths sounded very natural, the vocals were smooth and bass was rocking. Drew's Enya track was just amazing. The track had everything and the Quads just handled them excellently. I put on half a track of Aimee Mann (who's music I am extremely familiar with, I can play most of her songs on the guitar!) to make sure that it wasnt the unfamiliar music and the Quads just wowed me.
Lastly, I want to say thanks to Dan again for everything and especially giving me that Zagat book. It is really interesting! And thanks to Doug for bringing the Omegas (you brought a headphone that Tom didnt hear!), Dave for bringing the B52 rig (which sounded excellent), Jimmy for some interesting conversation on the couch as well as your awesome PS1 rig, Drew for the great pictures and your dad for reminding us that music is the most important thing in this hobby, Tom for bringing the great HP-2 rig and interesting talks. If I forgot someone, it wasn't on purpose!
