Seattle Micro Meet (Oct 18, 2009)

Very nice to give him the turntable and the time to listen to your gear. The love is so close to my house I can almost feel it. Are you guys coming to the meet on the 24th?

Really nice. I look forward to reading the impressions.

Really nice of you!
That you gave him a real listening session on the GS-1, RS1 and HF2. But not least the kind gesture of giving one of your turntables to him.

Awaiting impressions.

Hi everyone! First off, I would like to thank Youngjin for this eye opening experience. As a starving college student who can only lurk and dream of such audio bliss, I was more than excited to find a veteran head-fi'er! I only have one other head-fi head friend but he seems to be in the same boat as I am = P someday my part time job (which I was late to yesterday) will pay for my JH-13's after many hungry nights of course. so here are my first impressions of my first dive into high-end audio.

As stated earlier, my gear consists of a macbook pro and a pair of grado-sr 60's which I just plug straight into the headphone jack. I used to have a pair of UE super-fi 5 pros but they broke and I seem to have lost the will to send them in. My source is a great one but very "underutilized" as Socrate63 stated during out meet. Optical? USB DAC? Straight headphone amp? The choices seem endless only limited by my lack of funds. Of course all my songs are ripped from CD's in M4a. apple lossless format.

Songs Tested

Electric Twist - A Fine Frenzy

The Light Before we Land - The Delgados

Inside + Out (Apostle of Hustle UnMix) [Live] - Feist

Half Life - Imogen Heap

Across the Sea - Weezer

Phenomena - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Impressions

The source and all that beautiful stuff was posted above in Socrates63's previous post. I'm just posting my impressions in any order. So now, on to the show...



Detail - I must say that I was surprised at how loud you need to turn up the amp yet the sound felt more full as opposed to just loud. The Rs-1's were a treat and just sounded good with anything I threw at it but I must say that the headphones that caught my ear were the HF-2's (with the awesome engraving typo). There was much micro-detail that I was able to hear with my current set up but it seemed to be part of the background and I had to "dig" deep to listen. Problem solved with the HF-2's. Every step of Imogen's Dampener pedal or Feist's palm mutes on her warm hollow-body became integrated with the music. It was great to just be able to relax and hear all those little details, especially on live recordings. Sometimes I feel that listening could be a chore which it should never be. AFF's Electric Twist will never sound the same again. Alison and her band layered so many instruments and electric sounds that may feel crowded but with a great set up, they separate and come together in a whole new beautiful way. All the electric noises had an organic quality to it. During the first few seconds of Weezer's Across the Sea, you can hear a door close, River accidently take his hand off his guitar strings, the valves open and close on the oboe, and If I'm not mistaken, a very quiet "1, 2, 3". I freaked out the first time I heard this a while ago but with the Grado set up, they were all clearly audible. These things are a joy to listen to.


Percussion - Yes they deserve their own section because they were simply amazing. Everything from the crisp hi-hats that transport you into the drum cage to the booming bass drum that fees implanted into your ear, they were just their own beast. The odd syncopated drum beat during the solo of Across the Sea made me rethink the song. Phenomena's opening of Brian Chase's bass/snare and Nick Zinner's bad ass guitar got me even more pumped up than usual. It was so powerful with the HF-2's! I can't get enough percussion.

Sound - If you've been reading, then you'd know that I love the HF-2's so of course I love the sound signature. I'm not sure if it's the set up or if this is how high-end music is suppose to be, but it sounded a little "cold" not quite as bright but still pleasing. I know that each set up is different but my inexperience faults me from judging that aspect. AFF's electric twist features this very chime-like guitar effect that sounded a little harsh but still enjoyable. With the high-end set up, they seemed to have rounded out and mellow out. The treble was presented nicely although I can't give perfect analysis with my inexperience but again, it was very enjoyable. Guitar crunch was just so... crunchy! I was hearing Weezer's Marshall amps in a whole new light. The bass extension was very detailed and was brought out into the music to fill out the sound spectrum. Every shrouded bass-line was clearly audible and it was a blast to hear everyone's hard work that was put into a song. I will never hear these songs the same again!

Closing statements/impressions - As great as this set up was, It made appreciate my current set up even more. My Grado-sr 60's seems to just sound better now. Maybe its because I'm not an audiophile virgin anymore but I truly love and appreciate audio even more. I continue to starve and wait for CD's and eventually vinyl along with audio equipment and couldn't be happier. (well until I get my next purchase of course) I wish I had more time to listen but until I do, I will be a good student and dream. Thanks for the turntable! time to find/buy an amp... eventually.

-James

Hey Young, you used to come to these? Nice to here from you. You are one of my inspirations in Head-Fi. Making a few trips to the car just like you used too!

Bring your sons to the meet!

I see the definition of "starving" college student has changed a bit since I graduated lol.

Welcome to Headfi!

Well Young, that's just like you, giving away gear to people who "get" music. You are a very kind person.

Nice to see at least one of us coming out of the darkness for some meet time, no matter how small. Some day we'll all get together again. That would be cool. I suppose the trick is in the planning...and planning for a backup plan so neither of us could miss!