Seattle 8/20/11 meet impressions  

I was impressed by Audio technica AT 706, AKG K1000 and MB Quart QP 400 ( in the middle of Bottlehead table)  which I promptly ordered $99, $220 of at Sonicelectronix.com. Sound signature somewhere between HD650, LCD2 and Edition8. Big plus is comfort.

Just got home. Another great meet. I enjoyed this one since all the equipment was in one room which allowed me to get a chance to listen to a variety of setups.. I will post some impressions later. Thanks to Big Poppa for organizing, to Doc B for bringing all his gear and his wonderful tape rig and knowledge, to everyone who shared there gear, and to our out of towners Sachu and Asr for coming.

As a first-timer... I stood, rather shy, in front of the Bottlehead table with my AKG K601 headphones. Doc noticed me and said, "Come on down! Have a seat." in the most welcoming way -- like a 60's talk show host or something. The other listeners at my sides were very friendly. Doc took his time answering all our questions and was very knowledgable.

With my K601s, the S.E.X. sounded great and I was happy enough right there, my K601s never sounded better. But then I listened to the new Smack -- Doc set it to the 128 ohm setting to match my cans -- and the difference between it and the S.E.X. was: I could turn up the volume more with the Smack and, rather than getting louder and more piercing, the soundscape got bigger, more lush and enthralling. Once my budget allows, I'll be placing my order for the Smack. Thanks Doc for making the meet a great experience for me :)

P.S. The tape rig was awesome; Doc looked like a film projectionist when changing the reels! And the K1000s through the Paramounts was the best sounding set-up I've ever had the pleasure of hearing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by larcenasb 

As a first-timer... I stood, rather shy, in front of the Bottlehead table with my AKG K601 headphones. Doc noticed me and said, "Come on down! Have a seat." in the most welcoming way -- like a 60's talk show host or something. The other listeners at my sides were very friendly. Doc took his time answering all our questions and was very knowledgable.

 

With my K601s, the S.E.X. sounded great and I was happy enough right there, my K601s never sounded better. But then I listened to the new Smack -- Doc set it to the 128 ohm setting to match my cans -- and the difference between it and the S.E.X. was: I could turn up the volume more with the Smack and, rather than getting louder and more piercing, the soundscape got bigger, more lush and enthralling. Once my budget allows, I'll be placing my order for the Smack. Thanks Doc for making the meet a great experience for me :)

 

P.S. The tape rig was awesome; Doc looked like a film projectionist when changing the reels! And the K1000s through the Paramounts was the best sounding set-up I've ever had the pleasure of hearing.

It was my first time as well. I kind of stood around awkwardly at first too. I'm still new to the hi-fi audio world, but I brought along my iPod Touch and Sennheiser HD 238's. I got to use a Cowon J3/HeadStage Arrow portable rig and was really pleased with the sound quality/EQ options compared to my iPod. The J3 will most likely be my next portable source purchase.

I also got to try out the well-received Sennheiser HD-800's. Those really 'wowed' me. The soundstage seemed extremely large compared to other headphones I've tried, which honestly isn't a large list. The AKG K1000's and the LCD-2's also really impressed me. Of course the LCD-2's are also one of the more popular 'phones in this community, so I had high expectations for it. I have to say, the K1000's are one of the weirdest headphones I've seen. Tilting the speakers towards your ears produces better bass response, but tilting them away from your ears produces a larger soundstage effect. It's the first time I've seen a headphone like that. Is this what Ultrasone's S-Logic technology tries to emulate?

Thanks to Ronrad for giving me the opportunity to give the Tesla T1 and ESW10's a try. I was considering either the DT1350's or the ESW9's as my next headphone purchase.

Thanks to Locust for allowing me to try the HFI-780's. I think I can check those off of my list. Maybe the HFI-680's would be a better bet for the types of music I listen to since I found the 780's to be a bit too bright for me.

Seeing the many different set-ups around the room was another eye-opener to me. I've seen pictures of vacuum tube amps, but seeing them in person was another story. Doc B.'s tape player was really cool to see. I've never seen such a machine before.

Overall this meeting was quite the experience for me and I really look forward to future meets.

Thanks for hosting Big Poppa and to everyone who lugged their gear to the meet for all to share. Thanks to Asr for being the meet photographer and for coming to visit from so far away. I had a great time seeing the regulars again plus all the new people. Thanks for having me and my kid, cant wait for the next one.

This meet was great and it was one of the first ones where it didn't get too hot in the building.  Scouting around beforehand on google maps made it seem like there wasn't gonna be any available parking but there was more than enough to go around.  I haven't really brushed up on my parallel parking skills but I was able to manage due to the help of my sister.  It was cool seeing all the familiar faces again and actually there was a few new ones.  One guy in particular with the HD595's, I think you're definitely going to be spending some money upgrading.  The 595's are a nice entry level phone but once you move up to something else you wont ever go back to them.  You want a huge jump but sometimes you don't really appreciate the jump unless you take it in incremental steps.  It does sound like you have a big budget so I'm sure you'll find a setup you're happy with. 

A few mentions:

Josh, we have a really similar taste in how we like our music presented.  That was the first time I heard the HE-500's and since they were balanced I didn't get a chance to hear them on different setups.  I'm pretty sure it was your tubes that was making the HE-500's shine since they were really punchy.  Now it's obvious I'll never own a setup even remotely close to yours but I was wondering if the HE-500's are punchy without your setup? They ran just about perfectly on yours with a really clear treble, quick punchy bass, and the great mids that all of those planar headphones have.  Now that I think about it, the HE-500's seem like a natural upgrade path for the HD600's. 

Toivo, thanks for the offer on buying your 1964-Q's for $800.  I have never ever seen a better deal on those in my life hahaha.  I'm actually considering getting them (definitely not for $800 though haha) since I honestly don't need the most accurate of sound quality when going portable.  The sound signature is nice enough to enjoy music on the go. 

Ethan, the LCD-2 rev.2 really impressed me.  They definitely took the time to address EVERYTHING that I thought was wrong with the rev.1's.  The headband looks a ton nicer and is more comfortable, the J$ pads are stuffed much better and angled so the sound stage is wider, and they added a touch of high end to the sound signature so it that completes the whole package.  Overall it's a lot more comfortable and looks much better.  It's still a dark headphone but overall I can really see why a lot of people like it. 

A big thanks to Gil who always sets these up but never brings any hors d'oeuvres.  You constantly talk about all the great food you make but that is all talk until we actually eat some of it ^_^*

Special thanks to ron for letting me demo his um miracle customs.  You have definitely given me some food for thought on upgrading.  I don't necessarily "need" a custom but even from that brief demo I could tell that they were something special.  I got a better seal on toivo's 1964-Q's but I could tell the instrument separation was better on the um miracles.  It's very interesting that you go to the Miracles sometimes over your t1's and you aren't the first one to tell me that you'd sometimes rather reach for your customs than go to your full sized headphone.  I barely ever listen to my rig at home anymore so an iem makes more sense.  Then again, I barely ever listen to my iem's either so right now it's just a luxury that can wait until my bills get payed off. 

Overall the meet was really good.  I came a little late so I didn't have time to hear everyone's setups though.  I think the best part about these is seeing the new faces and then seeing what they bring over in the next meet.  I started with a pair of HD600's in my first meet and on my 2nd or 3rd meet, I had brought a recabled t1, recabled, hd800, and a balanced la7000.  It's just funny how after hearing everyone's rigs you think to yourself that you'd never spend that much and the next thing your wallet is empty. 

Thanks again everyone and see you guys at the next one!!

Thanks to all who attended for a great time. It was a really neat venue (loved the church pews) and great to sit and chat with so many folks including a nice number of new faces. Every time I go to one of these meets and compare it to my experiences at high end audio shows I have to say that I am reminded that head fi guys are so, well, nice and normal!

Thanks also for the kind words about the new amp. It was fun watching someone move down the line of amps plugging in various cans and hearing their impressions, which luckily seemed to pretty much match mine.

Thanks as always to Gil for putting the meet together, and thanks also for bringing the balanced cable HD650s that allowed us to compare the balanced output of the Smack to the single ended one with the same type of headphones. I'm now convinced, balanced cabling really opens up the soundstage. I think tech Shawn will be building some balanced headphone cables for our listening station soon.

Good meet. I second the motion to have chef Gil cater the next after-meet. Some tapas, hors d'oeuvres and antipasti should be sufficient, along with some appropriate libations. We could have it at mine if the meet is in West Seattle. Why not use some of the funds we are holding to pay for the ingredients?

The drive back home from Queen Anne Hill was murderous. Southbound Aurora was closed and as a result the alternate exit via downtown became a black hole. I5 was no better. Then tried going north to Roosevelt , but there was no access to Capitol Hill. Went to 25th NE and found a Gordian Knot as well. Finally went to Gaudí up the hill on 35th and had a Caipirinha and some tapas to wait out the jam.

I found the HE 500 to be a huge disappointment. They are near in price to the LCD-2 but offer performance nowhere close to them, a thin shadow instead. Doc B’s Smack sounded very good with the LCD-2. Kingstyle’s Eddie current did magical things with the balanced LCD-2.

Oh man, we left at 3:50 thinking we could easily get get to the 4:35 ferry. Downtown was a disaster zone, 1st ave was a parking lot, Western no better, Alaskan Way was jammed with stoners. Bailed on getting to the boat before we even got to Pike Market and then tried to get down 2nd, then 3rd to the James street entrance to I-5. Finally got onto I-5 at 5 o'clock. Sure coulda used some A/C in that old Toyota truck!

Yea, traffic was a huge bitch that day.  I'm sure a lot of it had to do with the seahawks playing a preseason game. 

Thanks Gil for another great meet.  Really liked Queen Anne's library.  Had plenty of space, parking, easy access, and fresh air.

Don't really have much to say this time.  Didn't do any critical listening and spent a lot of the meet outside enjoying the weather.   It was nice meeting up with everyone and sounds like Gil's already got some great plans for the next meet.  Most likely I won't be able to make it but hopefully I'll see everyone again next Spring.

Great meet. THanks again to Gil for organizing. Good to see and hang with the usual crew. Every rig i listened to at the meet was nice sounding in its own right. 

Many thanks to Ethan for his hospitality.

Here's my take on this weekend :)

Too bad, I missed the meet as I was in Seattle on the weekend and had a few hours to kill Sat afternoon. Agree traffic was horrendous everywhere west of I-5 and any of the bridges.