VA / MD / DC meet on Saturday, December 15, 2012 - Page 12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cante Ista 
 

I see you have a SPL Phonitor.  Can you compare the GS-X to that?

Thanks to everyone involved for the great gear and conversations.  In particular, thanks to Barry (for that wonderful combination of Schiit and LCD-2), Wayne (for bringing the HE-400s), Justin (for the HE-500 demo, and some interesting industry discussion), and Mike (for the time spent A-B'ing on your amp and source).  I'm really glad I got to listen to the HE-400s, they were fun, but that bit of sibilance became very clear when comparing them to the HE-500s with female vocals.  I do wish I'd bothered to listen to the Q701s (nobody's fault but my own, there).  I purposefully stayed away from most of the really high-end stuff, didn't see much point in making myself unhappy with everything I own by listening to rigs that might cost as much as a halfway decent used car. 

That's a tough one without having it side by side. I was gonna bring the Phonior to the meet, but I had to hit the office in the morning and catch up some stuff, and by the time I was done working really did not want to waste time running home to grab the gear. Next time, I promise I will bring it.

I do like the Cross feed from SPL but I think the GSX was aerier and more detailed, but did not give up anything in the bass region at all, with the HD800, at least. The GSX is def better with HE-6 -- just tighter, more controlled, etc. I think Justin said that it puts out 5 watts. Justin, please correct me if I am wrong. Still the SPL is not horrible with HE-6, as the specs would suggest

I think it says something that I am thinking of buying the GSX even though I already own the SPL phonitor. For me that's the bottom line. If I am able to buy the GSX soon, I will def do side by side.

For now this half @$$ assessment will have to do. Sorry.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cante Ista 

I second that 100%. Except that I think I may have liked the LCD-2 Shiit parining better than LCD-3 SHiit pairing. I am really not sure why, and I really have not spent time doing serious A/B comparisons. This BTW is really throwing me off, b/c I thought that LCD-3 sound closer to HE-6 and my beloved HD800 than LCD-2. Still for some reason I preferred the 2s.

 

The GS-X sounded more neutral compared to the more forward mid/treble presentation of the Mjolnir.  The Mjolnir's slight aggressiveness does a fantastic job bringing both the LCD-2 and LCD-3 forward.  The LCD-3 isn't quite as warm and dark, so it ends up more forward--I'm surprised an HD800 lover would prefer the LCD-2.   I think we can agree that the GS-X was extremely impressive--everything I heard out of it sounded great.  I liked the LCD-3 quite a bit more than the HE-6 out of the GS-X, but both had an astounding amount of detail, resolution and dynamics. As good as the GS-X was, I still felt like the HE-6 could improve with more power--perhaps a small reactor would do the trick.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barry S 

 

The GS-X sounded more neutral compared to the more forward mid/treble presentation of the Mjolnir.  The Mjolnir's slight aggressiveness does a fantastic job bringing both the LCD-2 and LCD-3 forward.  The LCD-3 isn't quite as warm and dark, so it ends up more forward--I'm surprised an HD800 lover would prefer the LCD-2.   I think we can agree that the GS-X was extremely impressive--everything I heard out of it sounded great.  I liked the LCD-3 quite a bit more than the HE-6 out of the GS-X, but both had an astounding amount of detail, resolution and dynamics. As good as the GS-X was, I still felt like the HE-6 could improve with more power--perhaps a small reactor would do the trick.  

Maybe its because I have not slep much last two days. My daughter decided she wanted to hang out with parents from 1 to 4 AM! I am not responsible for anything I post until I catch up on my sleep.

BTW, I like how you described the systems Barry, even if our tastes are not the same.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barry S 

 

The GS-X sounded more neutral compared to the more forward mid/treble presentation of the Mjolnir.  The Mjolnir's slight aggressiveness does a fantastic job bringing both the LCD-2 and LCD-3 forward.  The LCD-3 isn't quite as warm and dark, so it ends up more forward--I'm surprised an HD800 lover would prefer the LCD-2.   I think we can agree that the GS-X was extremely impressive--everything I heard out of it sounded great.  I liked the LCD-3 quite a bit more than the HE-6 out of the GS-X, but both had an astounding amount of detail, resolution and dynamics. As good as the GS-X was, I still felt like the HE-6 could improve with more power--perhaps a small reactor would do the trick.  

Aw man - this is my kinda stuff.  Wish I was there..  

I had a little DAC meet this weekend.  PWD2, Buffalo III and the Anedio D2.  Amps used was the 4 Channel - Fully Balanced βeta22 and the Mjolinr.

IMO - Yes the Mj is not as flexible as the βeta22 and not as musical.  The Mj is like a Mike Tyson (a beast) - wants to just knock you out.  The βeta22 want to float like a butterfly but it can still sting like a bee.  If you know what I mean..  The MJ did very well with the LCDs both the 2 and the 3.  but with other headphones not so good HD800, T1, W3000avn, HE-500 and headphone that does not have a dark sig - IMO.  It has to much of a aggressive presentation for me, I like a more musical presentation.  I also like versatility that's why I like the GS-X, with it's 3 position gain switch.  Will work well with any headphone.

This is IMO..

Quote:

Originally Posted by preproman 

 

 

...IMO - Yes the Mj is not as flexible as the βeta22 and not as musical.  The Mj is like a Mike Tyson (a beast) - wants to just knock you out.  The βeta22 want to float like a butterfly but it can still sting like a bee.  If you know what I mean..  The MJ did very well with the LCDs both the 2 and the 3.  but with other headphones not so good HD800, T1, W3000avn, HE-500 and headphone that does not have a dark sig - IMO.  It has to much of a aggressive presentation for me, I like a more musical presentation.  I also like versatility that's why I like the GS-X, with it's 3 position gain switch.  Will work well with any headphone.

 

This is IMO..

Sorry you couldn't make it, we should schedule another meet soon.  I'd love to hear the balanced βeta22.  I agree completely about the Mjolnir--it's a very good match for dark and warm phones, but you have to be careful pairing it with anything that already has a bright signature.  There are people that love the Mjolnir with the HD800 and HE-500--all I can say is we probably hear the world very differently.  I got the Mjolnir to specifically match the LCD-2s and it does that in spades, increasing resolution and dynamics while balancing away the overly dark and warm character. 

The transparency and power of the GS-X is seems well-positioned to get the most out of a wide range of headphones.  I have to admit, I'd love to have one, even if wouldn't be a significant improvement for my LCD-2s.  I thought Justin's work was amazing--both on a technical level and the superb build quality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mralexosborn 

It's nice to see people my age at meets like this. It makes me feel less crazy. But in this way it also leaves me prone to spending impulsively...

 

Side note: I'm selling my Marantz or my Sansui to have some cash for headphones again. They are up on Craigslist if anyone is interested. I don't want to post here because I know making a profit is against Head-Fi rules. 

Yeah, I saw that listing today when I was searching on Craigslist.  I'm in the same zip code.

Quote:

Originally Posted by soyverde 

Thanks to everyone involved for the great gear and conversations.  In particular, thanks to Barry (for that wonderful combination of Schiit and LCD-2), Wayne (for bringing the HE-400s), Justin (for the HE-500 demo, and some interesting industry discussion), and Mike (for the time spent A-B'ing on your amp and source).  I'm really glad I got to listen to the HE-400s, they were fun, but that bit of sibilance became very clear when comparing them to the HE-500s with female vocals.  I do wish I'd bothered to listen to the Q701s (nobody's fault but my own, there).  I purposefully stayed away from most of the really high-end stuff, didn't see much point in making myself unhappy with everything I own by listening to rigs that might cost as much as a halfway decent used car. 

Yes, I, too, wished that I had heard the Q701s.  I wanted the perspective of another AKG headphone.  Not necessarily to buy, but for it to provide me with a reference of the sound, because it is quite a popular headphone - and, I wanted to see and hear what the buzz was about.

In regards to my HE-400s, the female voices never really bothered me much because I've been too involved with the Fostex 'phones for the past several months.  Then, when I'd put on the HE-400s, the female "esss" would become more pronounced.  I'm going to work with a plug-in for my Squeezebox in a bit, just to see if I can EQ them down a bit.  I really don't want to feel such a desire to jump from the HE-400s so quickly.

Finally, I submitted my RMA on the AKG K167s today. On Sunday, the foam pads had basically lost their "bounce" in just a short week.  My ears were basically on the baffle and it was such a disappointment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wje 

 

Yes, I, too, wished that I had heard the Q701s.  I wanted the perspective of another AKG headphone.  Not necessarily to buy, but for it to provide me with a reference of the sound, because it is quite a popular headphone - and, I wanted to see and hear what the buzz was about.

 

In regards to my HE-400s, the female voices never really bothered me much because I've been too involved with the Fostex 'phones for the past several months.  Then, when I'd put on the HE-400s, the female "esss" would become more pronounced.  I'm going to work with a plug-in for my Squeezebox in a bit, just to see if I can EQ them down a bit.  I really don't want to feel such a desire to jump from the HE-400s so quickly.

 

Finally, I submitted my RMA on the AKG K167s today. On Sunday, the foam pads had basically lost their "bounce" in just a short week.  My ears were basically on the baffle and it was such a disappointment.

I'd love to know if you're able to EQ that away to a certain degree.  I think had I not A/B'ed them with the 500s I probably would have been happy with them.  They definitely have more of a V-shaped signature than the 500s, but having briefly compared them to a pair of SR-80s I certainly wouldn't call them bright.  A lot of it just comes down to personal preference, and I really don't know if that preference is worth an extra $300 out of my pocket (I was dead set on grabbing a pair before the meet).  I did hear it out of two completely different sources though, so I'm relatively certain it's not just my mind playing tricks on me.

Shame about the AKG K167s.  Not sure I mentioned it, but I liked what I heard from them.  Seemed a bit light in the mids, but not in an unpleasant (to my ears) way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tjj226 Angel 

You know guys, I am probably going to need to make a trip to microcenter fairly soon. If you want a second chance to hear the Q701s, I would happy to meet somewhere.

Only if you bring your source (kidding, that was an impressive rig).  I'm happy to wait until the next meet, as with wje it's more about curiosity.  Those phones have an interesting reputation (people seem to love them or hate them), and I'd like to form an opinion of my own.

On a completely unrelated note, I don't think I gave the HD 650s a fair shake, as I was essentially A/B'ing them with the LCD-2s (not consciously doing so, that's just how they were set up at Barry's spot).  Suffice it to say I came away unimpressed.

Oh god dammit.  I just saw this thread 20 min ago.  Im new here, and really dont know what I read here half the time, but really enjoy quality tunes etc.  I would have loved to be able to come down and just talk to some people about the varius components etc and what I can do to improve the few things I have.  How often do these get togethers happen?  I unfortunately dont have any gear besides some athm50's and an ipod but would really appreciate being able to see(hear) the difference in other cans and everything.  Any idea on the next get together?

Quote:

Originally Posted by soyverde 

 

I'd love to know if you're able to EQ that away to a certain degree.  I think had I not A/B'ed them with the 500s I probably would have been happy with them.  They definitely have more of a V-shaped signature than the 500s, but having briefly compared them to a pair of SR-80s I certainly wouldn't call them bright.  A lot of it just comes down to personal preference, and I really don't know if that preference is worth an extra $300 out of my pocket (I was dead set on grabbing a pair before the meet).  I did hear it out of two completely different sources though, so I'm relatively certain it's not just my mind playing tricks on me.

 

Shame about the AKG K167s.  Not sure I mentioned it, but I liked what I heard from them.  Seemed a bit light in the mids, but not in an unpleasant (to my ears) way.

 

As a follow-up, my actions to EQ the frequencies a bit in the 2kHZ to 6kHZ range were successful.  One evening, I had located an older ADC EQ off of Craislist, in the event I couldn't get the software EQ running in the Logitech Media Server for my Squeezebox.  However, I did get the software EQ version running and adjusted as a plug-in for the Squeezebox.  I tested the older, analog EQ, too.  Both did a wonderful job at correcting some of the sound limitations, or weaknesses in the HE-400s when it comes to female voices.  To me, the HE-400s are a different sounding headphone now in this regard.  I had not listened to many female vocals on the 400s for the past few months, so I had been a bit out of touch with the perception of the sound.  But, I'm glad this was visited, based on some feedback in the forum I had been reading, and some comments on their sound signature from the meet.

I believe, all too often, a headphone can be discounted because someone will find that the sound doesn't appeal to them.  But, if the option for doing some slight adjustments in their audio chain via EQ, then I would encourage this activity to be done first before selling off something that doesn't do an area of sound well.  All too often, I've ended up selling off an item because of a sound signature that I wanted to change.  Usually, this meant jumping from one issue, only to discover that the next item had something holding it back, too.  So, instead of jumping products, it might be best to work to see if the small nag that's bothering one can be resolved.

Here's a graph of my EQ settings.  I may go back and bump some of the frequencies back towards the "flat" level that I had dropped down as I was working on the female "S" sounds.  I bit more fine-tuning is easily possible.

Ironically enough, I had purchased the K167 from Amazon.  I had used next day / Saturday delivery upon purchase so I could have them the weekend before the meet.  Amazon provided a complete refund, to exclude only about $6.20 to get the headphones returned to the vendor.  This is a really great policy of Amazon's that I wasn't aware of.  Yet, I hope it doesn't get abused as I'd like the policy to still be in effect if I were to encounter any future issues with purchases that they've fulfilled.  

^ ^ Did you start the process of EQing the 400s because I'd asked whether you could EQ out the sibilance? Did you manage to pretty much erase it or just dampen it? I ended up pulling the trigger on the 500s over the 400s partly because of that. This meet totally ruined my taste for the Mad Dogs. I'd spent a lot of time playing with EQ trying to get the Mad Dogs to sound like I would hope they should sound to no avail and decided I should pull the trigger on a set of cans that sounded like I thought they should from the get go and stop playing (or at least, start playing on a different field). And I know based on listening to them on various equipment they'll grow very nicely as I move up from the Schiit Magni I've got driving them for now (which works surprisingly well, actually, although the phones aren't broken in yet). 

Thanks again for a great meet and thanks for upgrading my ears (even while downgrading my wallet).