Also thanks to Eddie for organising things.
I felt like a Dinosaur as the only person having brought a CD player.....and a geriatric one at that as I forgot the power lead! That really damaged the night for me as it put pay to all my plans for balanced comparisons while simultaneously making me acknowledge my organisational abilities...mental note, one less whisky before bed. More sources would have been good but there was a fine array of headphones on display.
Unsurprisingly the Stax stuff was the show stopper although I didn't spend too much time listening as I'd driven myself into a frenzy of unrequited lust at Whittlesbury earlier in the year where Electromod had an even more extensive display. These out-of- body dreamweavers coupled with their energisers really do make everything else pale into insignificance, from their lowest end to their highest, sonically and financially, they really are awesome (and I try not to use that word too often...)
On a more mundane level I was very impressed with the low outlay AKJ702's which I hadn't heard previously, lovely sound and soft on the head. I thought they were a considerable improvement on my 650's (which have to go soon...) I couldn't hear much difference between Eddies modded pair and the others, although the room was very noisy with animated conversation. Trying them with different cables seemed to alter volume but I couldn't make that better or worse?
One thing that stopped me in my tracks were Eddies modded Grado's which I really liked and felt had lots of the qualities of the Stax. I'll definitely be looking for the MS1 modification thread.
Other highs of the evening were Zen Punks Westone3's which I'd like to hear more of in the search for the definative IEM . Also liked his woody things....Panasonic? haven't seen them before?
Anadins Thin Film in-ears were frighteningly good for what he suggested was not much money. So easy to insert which is crucial. A quick easy seal can be worth more than a triple driver if you've only got 3 tube stops to travel? Also thanks to Anadin for helping me carry my table/CD support (for the silent CD player) until we eventually found a taxi back to South London.
All in all a very educational evening.
