I thought I would provide better gear impressions. The earlier impressions can be disregarded if one wishes to do so, as they weren't intended to be entirely serious anyway.
The below impressions, on the other hand,
are serious, 100%.
HE5 orthos (amp: WA22, source: Ayre QB9): So apparently I listened to Wmcmanus' HE5s instead of cetoole's (cetoole's were reportedly burned-in). I wanted to check these out to find out if I could possibly toss my Qualia in favor of them, and I came away unsure. The HE5 sounded pretty dang good though and was also really comfortable too (reminded me of the Beyer DT880 in that aspect), but compared to the Qualia it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. That said, the pros that jumped out at me: fast, clear-sounding, a very "separated" sound that wasn't overly separated (closer to the HD800 than the Qualia IMO) and overall a very very good sound that's really not bad for its projected $600. I might end up buying one anyway at some point just to try it. I liked it more than the HD800. It certainly had more bass quantity than the HD800, and more treble quantity too. However, the bass wasn't entirely to my liking though I can't really put into words why. All I can say is that it's not my preferential AT AD2K-type bass. Not that the HE5 lacked in bass extension though, it was actually really good in that aspect and didn't disappoint me on reference tracks by The Crystal Method and Massive Attack. But the HE5's treble was a bit grainy on a few tracks - as in, sometimes cymbal strikes (and other sorts of sounds, including vocals) literally sounded like they were being "granularized" like sand. The HE5 is still a promising headphone, and I'd like to check it out further in my own system.
JH13: As I said before, the JH13 is really useful in a meet environment - since it isolates really well it can easily be used to monitor amps and even sources, and it scales well enough that it's actually useful for that too. On the Luxman P-1 it sounded very good with a wider soundstage than I've heard before and good strong bass output. The Luxman's gain was a bit high for them though. It also sounded good on the WA22 but less so - not quite as clear-sounding but there was more mid-range and mid-bass that made it sound more engaging. The machine hum that the JH13 picked up on the WA22 was pretty quiet but definitely noticeable - but not a distraction once music was playing.
Luxman P-1 (source: Exemplar/Denon 2900): I also tried out this amp with the Grado HP1000/HP2 and Senn HD800, both of which it seemed to do a fine job driving. I don't know if it's an ideal amp for either headphone though, I'd need more amp experience with both headphones. And the HD800 sounded better than previous HD800s I've heard with improved dynamics, clarity, and bass/treble strength, so I suspect the P-1 does something right.
Pico Slim: I did not listen to the Slim but I looked at it up-close and Justin has yet another outstanding product on his hands. SQ aside this thing is amazing - it's really thin and incredibly compact, more compact than a standard cell phone. I'm not sure I have an actual use for one myself since I have a Pico amp/DAC for my laptop and I prefer to listen from my MP3 player directly in ultraportable situations, but given the amp's digital attenuator I figured it couldn't hurt to try it when it comes out since my favorite headphones right now are all low-impedance.
Senn HD800 re-cabled w/ Crystal Cable (sources: Exemplar/Denon 2900 and Ayre QB-9): I tried this single-ended on 1117's setup (Exemplar + Luxman) and balanced on mine (Ayre + Woo WA22), with Crystal Cable on both (there was an extra Crystal balanced cable lying around). It sounded good on the Exemplar & Luxman setup and improved on the Ayre & Woo - the bass sounded more powerful and there was more body to the sound. There was a slight loss to the treble balance though. Between the two systems I preferred the Exemplar & Luxman. The more I listened to the HD800 it more it reminded me of my OII/BHSE in a few ways (I thought there were a few parallels between the two headphones) but at the same time it also pointed out to me how it wasn't the OII. In my experience at home, the OII more accurately depicts the size of a recording's soundstage, while the HD800 added an artificial soundstage to everything I played. The OII is also very smooth-sounding but at the same time exposes a surreal level of detail that's completely unforced - the HD800 wasn't quite as smooth-sounding and in a lot of ways it seemed to be forcing the detail that it's able to uncover instead of letting it naturally happen.
Also even in balanced mode the HD800 still lacked a degree of bass extension to my ears. I kept waiting for it to hit some ultra-low bass points on a few reference tracks by The Crystal Method but it never did. I swapped out with my balanced AT AD2000 just to make sure the lack of low bass wasn't from either the amp or source and was relieved that it was just from the HD800. And like the AD2K, the HE5 also had proper bass extension. The HD800 just plain didn't, I can't put it any other way. I
completely didn't hear certain low bass notes on the HD800 that I was able to hear on both the AD2K and HE5.
Woo WA22: This amp is proving to be quite a capable performer - it did justice to the HP1000 and K701 at ChiUniFi 3, and at this meet it did justice to the AD2000 (I have plenty of amp experience with my AD2K by now) and it also seemed to do an effective job with the HD800. With the AD2000 there was no obvious lack of speed and the amp delivered plenty of knock-out mid-range, mid-bass, and lower bass. It more than met my expectations as far as electronica/trip-hop, prog rock, and metal. This was all with the 7236 power tubes though, I have no idea yet how the stock 6AS7 tubes might perform. I suspect this amp may also pair very well with the HD800 for those who like the HD800, though it might take some tube-rolling to achieve one's ideal sound.
Zu Essence: Many speakers I heard at this year's RMAF were not great. I know that placement and room acoustics plays a big part in how speakers sound though, so not all speakers can be instantly written off at an audio show especially when those two issues are the biggest detriments in any hotel environment, the SoFla meet included. So just because I thought the Zu Essence were actually really good doesn't mean they'll necessarily be as good in all setups - well actually, they should be even better when properly set up inside a home, given the setup issues at the meet. That said, even in the less-than-ideal setting, the Essence still belted out plenty of sound. The listening chairs were about 7' from the speakers and the speakers were also maybe 7' from each other. They threw a convincing soundstage though to me they didn't "disappear" quite as well as a pair of Monitor Audio RS8 that I heard last year, though they still disappeared well enough. They sustained volume properly with no audible distortion, and they carried enough mid-range power for a confident & assertive portrayal of a variety of rock music from the 70s (Steely Dan) and the 90s (Pearl Jam). I did have a few minor nitpicks but instead of sharing them I'll just say that the Essence is a fine pair of speakers and my nitpicks could very well be rectified by a change in either placement/layout, room acoustics, amplification, or source components, or all 4. (Plus I'm not sure they're valid nitpicks anyway given that I didn't get to hear more music on the Essence, and they have a ribbon tweeter too.)
Those guys are passionate about the music, and even oft times have live acousit music as part of their setup. They aren't just about the gear, they're about the music, which is greatly respected on this side of the keyboard.
