It's still very early, and my listening time has been somewhat hectic (transitioning to a new position at work, and having to do the work of two positions, etc), so naturally my impressions at this point will be of a very limited usefulness. That said, here are some of my thoughts thus far:
While I enjoyed the Meier Daccord, I thought it was a bit
too smooth-- that it artificially sanded down some rough edges that should have retained their more aggressive sound, particularly with a lot of the music I listen to (mostly metal). When I first switched to the Hilo, I was initially surprised at how smooth it sounded as well-- and there was a slight tinge of disappointment, as one of my goals in moving to the Hilo was to regain the sharper transients and more aggressive pacing that some music requires. The more I've listened, though, the more I've decided I like it. It isn't overly smooth like I found the Daccord to be, but it allows the music to maintain a continuity and flow that works very well, while improving slightly on the level of resolution available. Ironically, I haven't listened to much metal on it yet (I typically come home and put on more relaxing music-- a lot of Jessy Lanza recently, actually), so I can't speak to how it works there specifically, but I have high hopes
.
I will say that thus far, I am very impressed with the HP out. It has a very clean, resolving, involving sound that I really like. I'm hoping to do some deeper comparisons next week, but offhand, I'd say it's noticeably brighter (in a good sense) and cleaner-sounding than my M^3, which is exactly what I was hoping for. (I find the M^3 to be a bit too dark for my tastes). The SE out really sounds great with the LCD-2r1, and I've actually found myself listening to my Audezes more as a result. The volume control is fine enough that it doesn't drive me nuts (I tend to listen, apparently, at very low levels, and have had some issues with channel imbalance and other problems as a result with other gear).
Aesthetically, I really like it too. I realize it's not going to have Pathos quaking in their boots anytime soon, but I like the professional-but-still-attractive thing it has going. I've had it set to the VU meters for the majority of the time, and as silly as that might be, I enjoy it. I wish they'd used a metal volume knob instead of plastic, but that's a piddling concern. Even the power button has a satisfying feel to it, and the blue ring around it is sharp. Not quite as clean-looking a front panel as a GS-X mk2 or anything, but nice nonetheless. Less Angelina Jolie crazy smokin' reduce-you-to-imbecility hot, and more really cute barista, if that resonates with anybody else
.
I'll have an Audio-gd Master 8 on it's way starting tomorrow (who needs savings anyway?), and I hope to do some more detailed comparisons of the Daccord vs the Hilo, and maybe of the M-8 versus the M^3 and Lyr. I'm looking forward to trying out my ASG-2s from the HP out too, as it seems like that would be a pretty killer pairing.
In summary: at this (admittedly very early) juncture, how am I feeling about it? I'm really impressed, and I like it quite a bit thus far. I'm hoping this is as endgame as it gets for me for a long while, and so far I feel encouraged towards that end.
Now, if they can just get the damn remote app out for Android, I'll have all my basic feature checkboxes filled
