DC/NOVA/MD Meet Impression Thread  

Thanks Billy, it was a fun meet.  Thanks to everyone who came out and shared their gear and knowledge.

I showed up a bit late and had a technical glitch with my setup (which was more of a brainfart--my Lavry's input switch was on the wrong setting), but I'm glad people got to hear the LCD-3s.  With all the reports of production variations in the LCD-3 thread, I wanted to see if my LCD-3s suffered from any of the "saran-wrapped midrange" that some people have noticed, or maybe the excessively shelved-down treble that some people are complaining about.  We didn't have any other 3s or 2s to compare with, but it didn't seem like people noticed these issues with my unit.  But what did you guys think?

I got to spend a decent amount of time with the SR-007 setup (I think it was Otakusound's?).  The clarity was pretty amazing, with good treble extension that didn't seem too bright or fatiguing.  It made me think of a full-size version of my Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors, which are very detailed and transparent, but maybe lack a bit of bass thump and weight.  The 007 is also supremely comfortable and lightweight.

The HE-6 and HE-500 were both impressive to me, although I only had a brief listen to them.  The HE-6 seemed a little underpowered on my V200; on the highest gain setting, the volume was fine, but it felt a little muffled and lacking authority.  The HE-500 sounded really good on the V200, as did the HD650.  The 500 might have had a larger soundstage and crisper details than the 650, but the 650 had a nice mellow quality that was great for jazz.

Wish I had more time to hear stuff, but the hours passed really quickly.  I'd love to hear everyone else's impressions on the gear!

This was my first meet, and if they are all as cool as this, I am definitely going to come to more of them!  

Something about seeing people listening to my stuff (I had the DAC1 USB and the Denon AH-D5000) is really, really exhilarating and I am glad that people enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed hearing everyone's stuff, too.  

For me, the LCD3 and the Hifiman products took center stage. The only thing keeping me from ordering an HE-500 right this second is that I'd like to see what my tax returns are first -- perhaps an HE-6 and a new amplifier, or even an LCD3 could be possible!  

Biggest surprise was definitely Steves vintage receiver. Ugly old thing (ugly in a good way, I mean), heavy and hot old thing -- but damn if it didn't sound awesome!  

I didn't see it get a lot of attention, but the AKG K501 was tremendously clear and very impressive, and nearly weightless! Not my thing (I like my bass), but it was very cool for what it could do.  

Lastly, I think I should have tried to spend more time with the Stax, or I'd have liked to hear them from fancier amplifiers. The 007 was outrageously comfortable and clear, but I think at least at this meet, some of the other equipment overshadowed it for me.  

Hopefully next meet I can bring a more impressive selection of stuff, and hear more stuff, still!  

Everyone I spoke to was very rad and I feel like I learned a lot and well, I don't know how to articulate whatever else there might be to say, it was jsut a great experience and I am very happy I went. (And so is my roommate).  

edit: I almost forgot a few things!  

Firstly, the HD650 I heard through my DAC1 was very, uhh, smooth and laidback? Extremely enjoyable to listen to. And the tube speaker amp rigged with resistors for headphones was very spiffy, too.  

And I'm sorry to say I forget your name, but awesome guy who let me plug the Asgard into my dac, let it be known that you are an awesome guy and also that the Asgard is *hot*.  

Finally, just a side note - I think it's cool that nearly every single source in the room had Massive Attack - Mezzanine ready to play, or at least it seemed quite common. Great album.  

My only 2 regrets: not enough time to converse with everyone, and I only managed to bring about a dozen albums when I've got so much more here at my apartment. Next time will be better!

Sounds like a good meet guys. Really sorry I couldn't make it but I've been sick the past couple of days and just didn't feel up to it. I'll definitely do my best to make it to the next one!

The meet was very nice and for a newbie like me getting to heard so many different headphones (very good headphones at that) was amazing. All the Hifiman were amazing, especially when listening to the entire line up from least expensive to the flagship model. The only down side is that now if I want to buy a Hifiman I would have to shoot for the flagship without any question lol. But I want to start low first and work my way up so I'll try to get a Audio Technica AD700 first. I have a good time listening to the AD700 and the price seems right atm on amazon as well. AKG K702, HD650, HD600, Denon D5000 were all good as people have said. The PortaPro is actually the most surprising experience for me. It feels extremely comfortable on my head/ears and the sound was very nice.

Anyway, I had a good time. Thanks everyone for coming and sharing their equipments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brobilly 

I think the LCD3s might have too much bass which may make you feel the treble and mid are laid back. But these are still great headphones, if I were you, my next step is to get a better amp. The LCD3s are easier to drive than the HE6s, but if you wanna get a 100% LCD3, I think you will have to spend more money on the source and amp.

 

Yeah, I honestly haven't noticed any of the issues with the LCD-3s that some people in the LCD-3 thread are noticing.  Whether that's because my unit doesn't have those problems, or my ears aren't sensitive enough to hear the flaws, who knows.  I've thought about upgrading my source and/or amp, but I'm guessing it would take at least triple what I paid for the V200 and Lavry to hear any significant improvements.  The V200 already outputs 2.7W into 50 ohms and seems to be well-regarded by people who have heard it.  I'm pretty happy with the LCD-3, if I had any problems with it I would say comfort (during long listening sessions), soundstage and maybe a lack of ultra-fine clarity/detail which I hear with my UERM customs and the Stax I've heard.

I've thought about selling all my stuff for a Stax rig, although I like being able to use the LCD-3 in a portable rig that sounds pretty good (CLAS+SR71b).  Can anyone who has heard both the SR-007 and 009 comment on how they compare?

It was really cool to come to a meet relatively early on in my higher-end headphone journey.  I hope we can do something similar in the not too distant future.  It's also nice to go back through the thread on interest in the meetup and put forum names with faces with audio rigs.  Hopefully more of you guys will post more frequently.  I had to leave a little early and didn't get to spend as much time listening and talking as I'd like to have, but I did get to audition probably 20 or so different headphones for at least a few minutes apiece.  In particular I'd like to have spent more time with the LCD-3, as I'm sure it has more potential, but I wasn't as blown away as a lot of people seem to be.  Good for my wallet, I guess, haha. 

My favorites of the meet were the Ultrasone Edition 8, which ticked all of my boxes for fantastic portable headphones and have the potential to be the be-all-end-all phone for that purpose - and the Stax Lambdas (I tried two different models, and both were amazing, and close enough to the SR-007s that were also there that I think I'd be perfectly sated with entryish-level electrostats).  I was also very impressed with the DT-880 and AD900, but they're a little too similar to cans I already own.  The K-702 and K-501 were nice, but a little underwhelming compared to how often they're hyped. 

The HE-400, HE-500, and HE-6 were all sweet as well, but too close to my HD-600.  I think my taste in sound signature is a little brighter than a lot of people's, and the HD-650 and LCD-3 were just a little too dark for me.  My HD-600 is about as close as I want to go in that direction.  I was worried I'd come away from the meet badly craving a bunch of new headphones for impulse buys, but I'm now ready to more carefully plan out an eventual upgrade path, with some better sources, DACs, amps, and possibly the Edition 8 and Stax Lambda. 

I also enjoyed seeing so many people have Mezzanine, easily of my favorite albums.  A lot of good music on the various media libraries everyone had set up.

Well. After a long night of internal conflict and double checking my income/expenses/savings, I opened up my DAC1, removed the 2 internal minus 20Db headphone output jumpers, tripling my output volume--  and I ordered an HE-6, which, at the very least, my setup should now power to an appropriate volume (although it probably will still clip or distort on things like cymbal crashes, I do not know that for sure yet). Now once that arrives I can start to look for a truly good amplifier for it, my eyes first on the Lyr. Exciting things to come!

What can I say, it just sounded too good at the meet to pass it up for the home. Who needs a new TV for the living room anyway, right? Headphones are way more important, haha. 

Thanks so much to Brobilly for letting us try those Hifiman products, and being so knowledgeable about them, and thanks again for everyone else who had different amplifiers to try them on and different headphones to compare them to. Not that I'm saying everything else existed only for the sake of juxtaposition to Hifiman, no -- but like, ahhh I'm just tripping on my words now. It was a great meet and it opened up my eyes.  

Before the meet I was reasonably (or unreasonably, more likely) convinced that my DAC1 was flawless even in its amplification, and my Denons were flawless in absolutely everything. Now I'm eagerly trying new things again, excited for more powerful devices, and re-learning the boundaries of high end audio.   

There only seem to be a few impressions of an HE-6 powered directly by a DAC1 set to 0Db; so when I get it I will be sure to analyze it and talk about it here, at least until I can get a Lyr or something else as well! Can't wait!

Haha, these meets may ruin us all. The more reading I do the more I think a mid-level Stax setup is in my future.

How many people were able to make it this time?

Hey Litho, glad you were able to hear the Ed. 8s.  They seem to be a little underrated on Head-fi, maybe because their price scares a lot of people off (you can find them discounted on rmcaudiodirect).  But I'm not aware of another closed, portable headphone that sounds better.  

They do a lot of things right, with a good tonal balance and great detail.  IMO, they do have a slightly recessed midrange and its bass and treble can come off as peaky with the wrong setup.  They also don't isolate as well as my Beyer DT1350s (or most IEMs), but these are mostly minor complaints.  I just wish I had brought my RSA-stereo plug adapter, so you guys could hear it on a desktop amp and source.  The CLAS+SR71b does sound pretty damn good for the price and size, though.

The Beyer DT1350s are also an excellent choice, they're more portable and isolate better than the Ed. 8s.  And they're not that far behind the 8s in terms of sound quality; they have a richer midrange, but maybe lack some texture in the treble and impact in the bass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tme110 

How many people were able to make it this time?

We had a lot of people!  

I did take one picture with my phone's camera (it's not in focus very well - I have perpetually shaky hands so I am a terrible photographer): this picture sort of shows the size of the room and shows a portion of the people present:

The room was full, so everywhere you looked was cool stuff and fun people.