It was really cool meeting all of you, I had a blast and am looking forward to making the drive up to Chicago again! So much thanks to the organizers for putting this on. Below are some non-exhaustive thoughts of new things I heard, Utopia into Zana Deux blew my mind:
Amps
Wells Audio Milo- Holy cow, this amp has balls. Modded HE-6 was extremely hard hitting and aggressive sounding, more so than "normal", best I've ever heard my 6 (but I have not heard the elite speaker amps). Wow. Not great with the HD800, super awesome low end and slam (better than mjo2 even?) but not great sense of space, air or staging. Also no play on volume knob with 800, even HE-6 only needed 9:30 max, but I'm told there are options to get this amp more attenuated. Cute little upright form factor would be great for desk. Would seriously consider if I do an ancillary setup with the 6 or other planars, Slants, Abyss, and ZMF Omni/Ori were also awesome and dynamic out of it.
EC Zana Deux with Gumby: I was lucky enough to purchase this amp used from
@ogodei , and picked it up as the meet started, so my impressions are quick just like anyone else's there.
w/HD800: Very wide and convincing staging, both width and depth. Very smooth and coherent from through the treble, which is saying a lot. Low end has good presence, but lacks commanding slam which I miss a bit from Mjo2, but is less warm sounding overall (still warm tho).
Utopia: Best combo in show I tried, as I found Utopia just "good" from some other amps. I wish I never plugged these in to my own rig, would buy one immediately if they were priced more competitively. So happy this is home with me now.
Cavalli Liquid Gold: Made HE-6 sound incredibly soft and smooth. It was WEIRD, but in a very good way. Played very well with HD800 treble, very resolving and quick, but a little soft down low. Eikon and Atticus were both solid on it. Probably the best overall SS amp I've ever heard, but my experience in high end SS isn't expansive.
Schiit Jot DAC and amp: Surprisingly good with my HE-6, very quick and clear, however with the BIG caveat that it was quite thin in the bass. HD650 hype with Jot is real, liked how forward the laid back 650 sounded on it.
Headphones
STAX-009: The only electrostat I've ever heard. Much more impact, deep extension, and overall warmness than what I was expecting. Very enjoyable overall, a 'faster' sound with very little note linger (good or bad, depending) with no glaring flaws. Wish I spent more time with it. If it was a headphone I could plug into a standard amp I'd consider one.
Focal Utopia: Quick impressions were that it meets or even exceeds the modded HD800 in all aspects I can think of except stage size, comfort/weight, and maybe that last inch of resolution. I had a hard time coming up with flaws in my short time... damn I really liked this, especially out of the Zana. My impressions of it did vary a bit depending on source, especially in dynamism and staging, more than most other headphones.
HEK v2: Great textured bass, fairly detailed, with laid back treble that still has some sparkle to it. These may be the slightly laid back HD800 alternative I've been looking for, but probably not going to swing it at its current price. Maybe HEX is worth a shot.
ZMF Atticus: This sounds like how a hot dog in a pigs-in-a-blanket feels: It's ensconced in a warm and gooey pastry blanket, with no means to escape. Just way too much midbass/lower midrange emphasis for me. Only amp I could handle it on was the Cavalli Liquid Gold, but still too much. Upper midrange was very even and pleasing, with a nice rolloff throughout the treble.
ZMF Eikon: I was thinking this all throughout the meet, but needed this morning to confirm.
Best all around full-sized closed cans I've ever heard. Pretty sure that's not owner's bias (Zach delivered my pre-order pair at the meet, which was awesome). Bass is deep extending, kicks hard, doesn't bleed into mids, and is a tasteful bit raised above "neutral". Midrange is nice and present, without being overly forward, good detail and nice character with a gentle decay. Staging is very wide and deep for a closed, and even kinda good for an open back. I thought I was wearing an Treble provides good detail and air, and sounds slightly elevatated. I think there's just a touch of peakiness, but not enough to even be certain yet.
ZMF Omni/Ori: Best treble I've heard out of a t50RP driver, very smooth and almost none of that tizzy sound. Overly warm, but not as much as the Atticus. It was nice, but I think I prefer the Blackwood model even not considering price difference, as it's relatively more netural and less warm, even tho it does have some treble tizz.
Meze 99- Way too bassy, and generally forward sounding for my tastes. I lasted 2 songs, the second was off Daft's RAM and it was just way too much
Ether C (original): Really etchy treble thing going on, I remember that a little bit on Open Ether (which I really like) but this was much more apparent.
DAP
Cayin i5: I was in the DAP market a year ago, and I really wish it existed then. Still may grab it. It checks all my boxes, nice form factor that's easily pocketable, runs android and can stream Tidal/Spotify, has 1 SD card slot, physical volume knob (digital control tho), bright screen, and only has 3.5mm out (I consider this a feature because all the balanced cables for my DP-x1 leads to insanity). Only $499, and uses AK4490 with less than 1 ohm OI. Made my Jupiter sound a bit more forward in the upper mids, which I really like. That forwardness could be unideal with other IEMs tho (I didn't see the IEM table in the corner until late or would've tried others).
