I'll probably be available for a few hours after the meet for a listening session like that too!

Gonna be looking for a hotel that night...any suggestions?

I always get pumped when I log on to Head-Fi and see there are new posts to this thread.
I think this group is one of the most grounded and enjoyable in all of the site.  Just sayin' thanks for being you.  Group virtual high five.
 
Enjoy your music!!
Dick

rcbintn said:

  I always get pumped when I log on to Head-Fi and see there are new posts to this thread.
I think this group is one of the most grounded and enjoyable in all of the site.  Just sayin' thanks for being you.  Group virtual high five.
 
Enjoy your music!!
Dick

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*pats himself on the back and nods in agreement*

rcbintn said:

  I always get pumped when I log on to Head-Fi and see there are new posts to this thread.
I think this group is one of the most grounded and enjoyable in all of the site.  Just sayin' thanks for being you.  Group virtual high five.
 
Enjoy your music!!
Dick

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WA22 with new optional smooth volume control and WA6-SE will join the party.
 

Okay, I'll bite. What is "smooth volume control?" 

matttcg said:

  Okay, I'll bite. What is "smooth volume control?" 

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Butta!

skyline315 said:

 
I have an Audinst HUD-mx1 which can handle two headphones.  Also have my DT1350s that can handle this duty if you want.

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Hey, that might work! I'm going to probably have some of my portable closed-back headphones over there too, so that would be perfect. Thanks Eric!!
 
 

pippen99 said:

  I can bring my Ultrasone HFI 700 & 2400s.  Not to worried about them.  Not to say there won't be people interested in iem's, the only time I use them is to mow my lawn.

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Ha! Sure, bring 'em on!! (And in my best castigating grandma voice: you're gonna be deaf if you keep listening to that caterwauling on the mower!)
 
 

matttcg said:

  Chew on this one a bit guys. At the end of the day, as much as I'm a complete and utter gear junkie, it's all about the music for me. I'd like to add a slant towards favorite recordings. And I'm open to suggestions. One idea that I had was to have a top 10 recordings all time based on genre...jazz, rock, folk, pop, EDM...and to share with the group in a fashion similar to how Dan did at the last meeting. Where a small group got together after dinner and listened to great music. 
 
I LOVE to discover new music. Finding new fantastic recordings excites me as much as new gear...well, for the most part. Just a thought. 

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I've actually thought about having something in my profile like this-- maybe a "5 best bands you probably haven't heard" for heavy and non-heavy music. I like the top 10 per genre idea too! For my part, as much as it drives me nuts to hear a great album poorly recorded (lookin' at you, Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan, and damn near every other good metal band of the past 15-20 years), I'm actually much more interested in great albums than great recordings per se. But your idea of having a 'best recordings' per genre list might uncover some real gems... I'm game!
 
I tend to listen to a lot of rock and metal, and I can name off 20 albums for you with awful recording quality pretty easily, but I can't really name many with particularly good quality (other than Meshuggah) offhand, so I'll just kick things off with a list I have thought about somewhat: 
 
Five Bands/Artists I Enjoy You Might Not've Heard (Non-Heavy): 

1. Juana Molina - "Dar (Que Dificil)" from Un Dia. I don't even know how to describe Juana Molina... post electronic folk? Trance acoustic? Something much less wonky-sounding? Each song is kind of it's own thing, but she often incorporates acoustic, somewhat folksy guitars, repetitive beat structures, and deliciously discordant sounds to make a world all her own. I love Un Dia, and Son, and basically just about everything I've ever heard by her. I tend to listen to her when I have a lot of time to myself and want to get lost in my own head, as her music makes a great soundtrack for that sort of thing. Love her.  
2. 3 - "Serpents In Disguse" from The End Is Begun. If there was any justice in the world, 3 would be one of the biggest bands on the planet. They are technically incredible, ludicrously great songwriters, and can integrate a perfectly catchy hook with some of the most unique and addictive vocal lines I've ever heard. This is from my favorite album from them, and honestly, if you don't like these guys, I just don't understand how you like music. Listen to the entire album-- it rewards multiple listens and just gets more and more addictive each time. 
3. Badbadnotgood - "Hedron" from III. I really, really like BBNG, and this is my favorite track by them. Something about it just seems transcendent to me. Their original organizing principle was to play rap and hip-hop music with jazz instruments, and they've taken that and made it into a sound that is all their own. Their second and third albums are just incredible. Again. all instrumental, so nothing to distract from soaking up everything they're doing and the amazing moods and grooves they build. Amazing group. 
4. Father Figure - "Yearning for Slime" from Congratulations On Your Loss: all instrumental, just absolutely killer progressive rock. If you like any progressive music, most definitely check these guys out. This is from their first album, which is by far my favorite of theirs. Ignore the song title, it will give you precisely zero indication of what the track sounds like. 
5. Masada String Trio - "Tufiel" from Azazel: Book of Angels, Volume II. I don't often listen to music that could be classified as classical, but when I do, I tend to really enjoy small string ensembles-- and for about 12 years, my favorite has been Masada String Trio. This is one of John Zorn's many projects, and like most, he goes from incredibly engaging, beautiful, and wholly unique-sounding pieces to strikingly aggressive, schizophrenic, and difficult pieces. This is one of the former type, thankfully (I don't care as much for his crazier stuff, either here or in his many other projects). I don't know much about musical theory (so if this is incorrect, please let me know), but I believe he took an Ornette Coleman scale and adapted it to create music inspired by the Jewish tradition. When I have friends that don't think they like "classical" music, this is what I point them towards in order to demonstrate that they actually do-- they just haven't heard enough to know what they like yet. 

 
 
 
Five Bands/Artists I Enjoy You Might Not've Heard (Heavy): 

1. The Mire - "Embers" from Glass Cathedrals. I personally just don't care much for most drone music, even stuff I acknowledge to be pretty good [like SUNN O))) ], and this is definitely not drone music-- but it's got some drone inspiration that works really well, somehow. Like most of the artists I've mentioned here, they are band better appreciated as an entire album rather than just one song, but this song at least gives you some idea what to expect. Glass Cathedrals is just a greatly underrated album IMO. 
2. Obsidian Kingdom - "Cinnamon Balls" from Mantiis. This is probably the best example of an album that needs to be listened to as an album of anything here, as all the tracks are pretty different, and none really represent their entire sound particularly well. Obsidian Kingdom somehow manage to sound like a masterful metal band that's been there, done that, and is now at the stage in their career where they are unencumbered by any musical strictures beyond just making whatever music interests them the most-- and they are still a new band. They have a (pretty awesome) video out for another song, but as a considerably lighter song, that one was even less like the rest of the album than this one. Ultimately, these guys are incredible, doing their own thing and following their creative impulse wherever it goes, and they sound refreshingly unique in a metal scene awash in technical metalcore breakdowns (which I can like, but which are getting to be really overdone IMO). 
3. Sigh - "Inked In Blood" from Hangman's Hymn. Okay, so Sigh isn't the most underground or unknown band out there-- but they are poorly known enough to warrant inclusion here, I'd say. While Hangman's Hymn doesn't really sound that much like any of their other albums, the whole Wagnerian thing they have going here is just mind-rippingly awesome, and gets my blood pumping like just about nothing else. Like many highly energetic albums, the record suffers a bit from its unrelenting approach in places, but there are a couple of just asskicker tracks here, and "Inked In Blood" is most certainly one of 'em. This is just plain good, fun metal music. 
4. Daughters - "The Hit" from Daughters. I think I'm the only person that thinks this album is an absolute masterpiece-- it was unlike any of their previous albums, and ended up causing the breakup of the band. They somehow take intensely dissonant guitars and some of the insane things they did on their first two albums and made something approaching commercial songs with it-- although only metalheads would consider this in any way commercially viable. Yet another album that needs to be heard in its entirety, this one at least does give you some idea what the rest of the album is like. I've had many wild nights listening to this album, as it just did not leave my CD player for a long time after it was released. I consider this one of the most overlooked gems in metal over the past couple of decades. This one of those albums that I wouldn't blame anyone else for not liking, though, as there is something wildly idiosyncratic about it, and I think a listen to it benefits greatly from the context of their previous albums. Anyway, give it a listen!
5. Kvelertak - "Blodtorst" from Kvelertak. This is one of the two happiest-sounding and most fun metal albums I've ever heard. It just captures the spirit of rock 'n roll with the energy of punk, eschews the need for self-congratulatory technical wankery that can get to be so common in the genre, and instead just goes for great rock 'n metal songs. The link is for the video (which is pretty cool), but you should honestly listen to the song without the video first, as the video will inevitably distract you from the song itself. I preferred their first, S/T album to their subsequent work, but this is just killer summertime metal for me. If I'm driving down the road in a great mood on a summer day and I feel like wailing on some air guitar and really getting embarrassingly into the music I'm listening to, Kvelertak is right up there with Mastodon (although they're a totally different type of band) for me. 

 
Really interested to hear music you guys come up with too!!
 
 

rtaylor76 said:

I am 75% I will be there. I can bring Mr. Speakers Alpha Dogs, Ultrasone HFI-650, Vsonic GR07 Classic.

What are the hours of the show?

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Very cool, man!! The show will be from 10am through 6pm, and some of us will probably be there 45-60 minutes earlier to start setting up tables and whatnot. We actually have the room all day, so if we decided to party on down past 8pm we probably could-- but generally around 6pm, you start seeing the thousand-yard stare from a lot of the guys there, so I thought it would be a good time to wrap it up. 
 

kilkil said:

  Sounds great.  I loved the after show gathering and all the new music I found at the last show.
 
My place can be used, it is about 3 miles away from the hotel, though my listening room is probably limited to about 4-5 people.  You will get to hear the Quad 2905's.

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Lemme tell you guys, his Quads driven from the Pass Labs amp is just spectacular to listen to-- I had the pleasure of checking it out after the last meet, and man, his whole setup just works for me. I'm down for hitting up  your place for listening anytime!! 
 
 

phillyd said:

I'll probably be available for a few hours after the meet for a listening session like that too!

Gonna be looking for a hotel that night...any suggestions?

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Wish I could be more helpful here, but I never stay in hotels in Nashville, as I've been close enough that the company made me drive instead of getting a room when I'd come up here for work, and I'd stay with my sister or friends when I came up for fun. The good news is that there will be a TON of options within 10 minutes of this place, so you shouldn't want for choices. The only note I'd make is to repeat that some of the guys who stayed at the Best Western itself were substantially underwhelmed by the experience in the past, so take that for what it's worth. 
 
 

rcbintn said:

  I always get pumped when I log on to Head-Fi and see there are new posts to this thread.
I think this group is one of the most grounded and enjoyable in all of the site.  Just sayin' thanks for being you.  Group virtual high five.
 
Enjoy your music!!
Dick

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Damn straight!! Right back atcha, Dick!!
 
 

hifiguy528 said:

  WA22 with new optional smooth volume control and WA6-SE will join the party.
 

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Man, I don't care if you don't even like tubes-- you can't deny that Woo Audio stuff is just freakin' gorgeous. And I was very, very pleasantly surprised by how well the WA22 acquitted itself in my listening tests last time. If you have balanced headphones, make time to listen to this amp-- you'll probably be as impressed as I was last time!! (Especially at how the WA22 seems to undermine so many of the popular stereotypes of "tube sound"... it sounded more solid-state-- in a good way-- than my Audio-gd Master 8 did in places). 
 
Okay guys, off to meet up with some friends to eat... Hope you guys are having a killer Sunday!!!

Well looks like a no go on the Liquid Carbon. I don't think it was every going to be done by the end of August even before the pot problem. Cavalli said the new part won't ship till at the earliest 9/3. So that's a real bummer. 

Not headphones, but I picked up some Martin Logan 35XT bookshelf speakers. They were about 70% off. I'm very excited to upgrade my Pioneer towers.

I'll be looking at some amps for my HD800.  The WA22 looks very interesting!!

both WA6-SE and WA22 for the meet will be 100% stock, no upgrade parts, no upgrade tubes.  Be sure to bring your headphones to audition the amps.

Well after a good day in the markets, I pulled the trigger on:
 - Gungnir MB upgrade from Schiit
 - Bryston bha-1 amplifier from Moon Audio
 
I think the GMB will pair well with the bha-1 for my Audez'e cans.  Looking forward to a great experience!!
 
I decided to post here, on a more neutral thread, because the Schiit threads seem to be a bit "uber Schiit" at the moment.
 
All the Best,
Dick

rcbintn said:

  Well after a good day in the markets, I pulled the trigger on:
 - Gungnir MB upgrade from Schiit
 - Bryston bha-1 amplifier from Moon Audio
 
I think the GMB will pair well with the bha-1 for my Audez'e cans.  Looking forward to a great experience!!
 
I decided to post here, on a more neutral thread, because the Schiit threads seem to be a bit "uber Schiit" at the moment.
 
All the Best,
Dick

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I'm hearing from sources that are typically very critical of gear, that the Gumby is the real deal.
 
Congrats!

phillyd said:

Not headphones, but I picked up some Martin Logan 35XT bookshelf speakers. They were about 70% off. I'm very excited to upgrade my Pioneer towers.

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I'm curious how the martin logan's sound.  I have the quad's but i've never listened to any martin logan's.