Austin 2012 meet impressions - Page 3  

Always good to see you Alex. Thanks for letting me borrow the CTH. This thing packs a wallop when paired with the 598s. Even just from the HO on my iMac it's a great little amp.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by runeight 

I'd like to thank MorbidToaster and Maxvla too. Maxvla also made a pretty long commute from OK, in the rain, uphill both ways. I was happy to hear that you at least got a decent meal on the way home. .

 

As most of you know I was still recovering from the crud, but it was really nice to see some of you again and to meet others of you for the first time. Wish I could have lasted a little longer.

 

Next year seems like a long way off, but maybe not so far as we think.

It's pretty much the logical upgrade from the 650. It's by far my favorite for Electronic music that I've owned or heard. There are some that are a bit more fun (ie. Bass Boosted TP), but it's still my favorite overall for EDM. Glad you liked it for the most part.

Oh, and sorry that BB didn't have any albums. I figured it was some select BBs but a few in the Austin area have vinyl (I've bought from a few of them). I with they had a list of the stores that did, but unfortunately I couldn't find one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla 

Marantz SA8004 > Liquid Fire > LCD2.2:
Similar to HE60 setup in that everything is smooth and relaxed but a little darker (than HE60 setup). Bass is as expected, excellent. Cable entry hitting my shoulder is a little annoying. Slightly thick sound, not as precise as the stats. Separation is good not great. Could use just a little more treble for electronic music. Not as clear as I'd prefer. Really nice setup though. No fatigue and it's comfortable. Could listen for hours. Aggressive rock/metal sounds fantastic. Gives the setup a kick in the pants it needs. Focus is pretty good, a bit fuzzy. Sound stage is small-medium. Bass texture is so good.
Hearing this early in the meet while most people weren't there yet afforded me my first real quality time with the LCD2.2 (I heard several LCD2s at RMAF, but never knew which version they were). These are really nice, but just too dark for my preference. As I've said before along with the HD650, both well performing cans, just not enough treble. Because of the speed advantage I find the LCD2 better than the HD650. The HD650 just sounds muddy at times, but the LCD2 pulls through without too much problem.

Pictures!   The entire set is here...  http://www.flickr.com/photos/dan1son/sets/72157629566689561/

Here's a couple of snippits... There's plenty more in the link above.  Threw these up late last night, finally around to posting them.  

I love the one of me holding the album upside down while apparently reading and studying it.  Name of the album: "Brain Salad Surgery"!

Max, you didn't take the opportunity to listen to your 007's from the BH? o.O

THanks for those pics.. great shots of Al's Liquid Lightning + O2 (sweet sounding pair there) and the last pic with the buffalo source.

I'm just settling in back in Dallas after a very long birthday weekend which I enjoyed immensely.   Fantastic meet Travis (MorbidT.); my proverbial hat is off to you sir, and I hope we can all do it again next year; and thanks also to Chris (Maxvla) who greatly aided in organizing the meet and was of particularly enormous help to me personally in the swapping of pads on my Thunderpants.  Chris, I'm happy to report the STAX O2 pads are both feeling and sounding great as I type this.  A huge thanks to you both.  I should also add, it was quite nice to hang around at the close and have a few laughs.  

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to listen to a few specific phones I had wanted to, like the K1000s and the HE-6s, but I'm sure they'll be around again sometime down the road.  What I can say though, and without any hesitation whatsoever, was that my first listen to STAX O2s, which at the time were paired with the good Dr. Cavalli's Liquid Lightning amp, (and listening to my very favorite band of any genre [Dead Can Dance]) was an incredibly profound, life-altering experience.  I truly was not prepared for the effect those stats would have on me, and I now find myself somewhat ruined by the pleasure of it.  

My only prior electrostat experience had been with (if I recall correctly) STAX 407s, and the experience was, well, rather "meh", for lack of a better term.  Now though, after the O2s, I'm irrevocably altered; compelled to dream, plot and strategize on acquiring an O2 rig for Bach, Thelonius Monk, Rachmaninoff, Dead Can Dance, Toumani Diabate, etc, etc. Dammit!  :)  I suppose the light at the end of the tunnel as far as that goes is that the STAX amp Chris had (which was meant for a lesser tier STAX phone, he said) still sounded quite lovely to me, so perhaps the end result need not be quite as bank-breaking.

Other impressions, in brief;  I greatly enjoyed female vocals on the Grado HF-2 rig I listened to briefly; a very even, reference-like sound was how they appeared to me.  I was also really impressed with the Phillips Fidelio L1s.  Again, excellent sound across the spectrum for a truly great price, and I loved the pads which were the same comfy material of my short-lived Phiatons.  I might seriously look to replace my current "portables", the ATH-ESW9s, with the Phillips, because the build quality is starting to really irk me.  But I'll have to determine first how hard they are to drive to the quality level I heard.

Listening to Travis's LCD-2.2>Liquid Fire rig, in contrast to mine, displayed the unmistakable consistency of quality across the entire frequency spectrum (particularly lush mids), with all forms of electronic music I heard.  I was however, quite surprised to find I still preferred the bass extension, slam and tightness overall of my TPs, but in general I'd prefer a more balanced sound signature for most forms of electronic music which his rig provides.  Mine is no doubt fun, but as Maxvla astutely pointed out, it suffers from slightly recessed mids and highs that are a touch rolled off.  Hence, I'm currently tweaking EQ settings on both my FiiO E17 DAC and within foobar to see if I can improve upon this, but it's a work in progress.  

If I had money to burn, I'd surely find and acquire the best amp to compliment the nicest aspects of my TPs, for their downright godly bass extension and slam, and also get an LCD-2 rig for all the more melodic, mids-centric electronic music I listen to, where the mids play a much more substantial factor (like BT for example, which happens to be Morbid's fav) and also (more importantly) of course I'd get a STAX O2 rig for nearly everything else I listen to.  

It was great fun meeting everyone and I hope to see you all again either on here or at the next meet.  Cheers all!  

Thanks to both Travis (MT) and Chris (Max) for getting the meet setup. I had a blast and it was great meeting all of you. I did enjoy getting there early and having a bit of personal time with several of the rigs. I can't seem to find my notes that I took at the moment... but hopefully they'll turn up and I'll edit this post. Really enjoyed the LCD-2's I was able to try, they were definitely the favorite I was able to try. If only I had a source of income I'd be putting that on the "Must Acquire" list.

The two 'normies' I brought along tried out Morbid's rig. My sister's eye widened a bit and she told me, "OMG it's like a personal party in my head." Our friend declared he wanted one for gaming, at least until he asked the price tag for the rig. 

Hopeful we can make this a yearly thing, and I'll definitely bring all of my gear next time.

I think we may have interested him somewhat now, we had an hour long conversation about the headphone enthusiast culture on our drive back. Don't know if I can get him to purchase a T1 (I would love to test one out), but maybe something cheaper.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MorbidToaster 


Ahaha. 6 grand isn't an easy number to swallow. He should look at the T1 for gaming if he's interested.

Quote:

Originally Posted by n3rdling 

Max, you didn't take the opportunity to listen to your 007's from the BH? o.O

There was no BH at the meet, as luvdunhill would gladly explain. The amp in question are the old board sets, with some heavily modded sections. Sounded somewhat like my old BH (from back in the day) built from the same boards, and with xf2 tubes, but not the same... and, yes I did listen to the OII with it, and the Gammas, but not the he60.

Did not change my mind one bit about not continuing with that topology... nor the OII. Oh, and the heat issue is still... an issue.  :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla 


Cambridge iPod dock > Buffalo DAC > Beta 22 > K1000:
Presentation is nice, focus is great. Treble just isn't clear. Harsh really. Bass is not bad, volume is ok. Sibilant, just overall smeared. Separation is very good. Stage is very large with good depth. Mids seem recessed.
Switch to Pass F5 with K1000:
Better overall, but highs still smeared. Mids are more present.
Dunno, Steve, just don't like the treble on these. Have never been overly impressed with them. This was the first time I heard them and was satisfied with the bass, which was probably more to do with the room than anything. At their original selling price these are fair, but at well over $1000 I can't recommend.
 

While I readily admit that the K1000 is not a headphone for the masses, and I have no issue with educated critisism of my system (every system has some trade offs, and mine is no exception), I must say that this is the very first time I've heard anyone call the K1000 mids recessed. They are all too often praised for their midrange presentation, and usually faulted for their lack of deep bass and lack of any isolation whatsoever. Nor have I ever heard any smearing in the top end. I'll have to agree to disagree on those points.

As for me I truley enjoyed listening to Travis' LCD-2. While I thought I'd really enjoy it on the β22 (and I did), I enjoyed it even more on my F5. Really a fun, musical headphone. Maybe not the last word in detail, but let's face it, the stats really hold the championship where that's concerned. That said however, there are many a day I'd gladly give up a little detail for a musical presentation.