[Barry S]

Awesome to see everyone at the DC area meet today--thanks to everyone that stopped by.  Extra thanks to Sheldaze for getting us the Liquid Carbon.
 
The Gumby>Liquid Carbon>HE1000 was an amazing combination. The HE1000 sounded better than any other HiFiMAN headphone I've heard. Great balance across the spectrum, tremendous base and treble extension, large soundstage, crisp detail, and a very airy sound. More treble energy than my LCD-X, but nicely tamed by the Liquid Carbon's slightly warm signature. I'm not giving up my LCD-X just yet--I still like the warmth of the Audeze signature, but would definitely like some more face time with the HE1000.
 
Very impressed with the Liquid Carbon, considering the size and price. It has more coloration and is less transparent than the Ragnarok, but I don't think I've heard anything else in the ball park for $600. I'm reluctantly convinced that there's no way around big-ass transformers if you want an extremely transparent amp. I still may end up getting a Liquid Carbon for my work system or for something transportable in my house.
 
Forgot to listen to the Pono, but the Shanling was interesting--I should buy a DAP of some sort. It's somewhat reassuring the Yggy/Rag sounds noticeably better than a $350 DAP.

.
 
You guys are going to have to get me a chiropractor session if I keep lugging around the Yggy/Rag to the meets or I may start bringing the Magni/Modi. Next meet in February or March to brighten up the late winter.

 

[gandhisfist]

I too would like to thank sheldaze for helping me set my wallet on fire in the future with the HE1000. Absolutely fantastic treble with the perfect mix of extension and smoothness.

 

[Psalmanazar]

The speedball crack wasn't my thing but the AKG K7XX was one of the best cheap headphones I've heard.


For my O2+ODAC, I discovered that it was probably my laptop overdriving (or fully driving) the USB port with ASIO and WASAPI causing the clipping on my home power. I'm assuming that my surge protector plugged into Sheldaze's battery backup surge protector (that had another battery power supply plugged into it) was cleaned up a bit somehow or my laptop was not driving the USB port fully. To solve this problem with the ODAC -> O2, should I buy a Wyrd or switch to a Schiit stack and maybe buy a Wyrd? Perhaps a battery power supply? This thing is just ticking me off. The USB power, the driver support, the horrible O2 potentiometer between the stages that causes clipping even on lower gain settings. Just buy the Schiit uber stack and get rid of it?

 

[yage]

I too would like to thank @sheldaze for helping me set my wallet on fire in the future with the HE1000. Absolutely fantastic treble with the perfect mix of extension and smoothness.

 
The HE-1000 was definitely the star of the show. The pairing with the Liquid Carbon was simply outstanding. @sheldaze is one lucky fella. Keep babying it around with that pillow. The headphone certainly deserves it.
 
I also really enjoyed @ScottFW's HD 650 / Bottlehead Crack / Philips LHH-500 combo. Great harmonic texture that was very addicting (pun intended) to listen to. I think I might've preferred the HD 600 to the HD 650, but in either case it was really hard for me to cut off a song in mid-play to try out the setup with my usual bevy of test tracks.
@gandhisfist - it's too bad the meet didn't happen sooner, I might've ended up with the AKG K555 instead of the HP50's. Could still happen... 

 
 
EDIT: oops, I meant the K553... not K555

 

[gandhisfist]

   
The HE-1000 was definitely the star of the show. The pairing with the Liquid Carbon was simply outstanding. @sheldaze is one lucky fella. Keep babying it around with that pillow. The headphone certainly deserves it.
 
@gandhisfist - it's too bad the meet didn't happen sooner, I might've ended up with the AKG K555 instead of the HP50's. Could still happen... 

 
 
I still can't get over that HE-1000, absolutely the star of the meet for me and has killed my desire for any other open back headphone at this time.  The K553 is absolutely a bargain for a closed headphone in my mind, I'm consistently impressed with how good it sounds for its price and considering its a closed back headphone.  I believe its still on massdrop right now, and I think its a great pick up.  But even if you can't get it soon, you can usually find it around online for $125 or even less on the FS/FT forum.

 

[yage]

   
 
I still can't get over that HE-1000, absolutely the star of the meet for me and has killed my desire for any other open back headphone at this time.  The K553 is absolutely a bargain for a closed headphone in my mind, I'm consistently impressed with how good it sounds for its price and considering its a closed back headphone.  I believe its still on massdrop right now, and I think its a great pick up.  But even if you can't get it soon, you can usually find it around online for $125 or even less on the FS/FT forum.

 
Just checked and the drop ended already. Ah... it's just as well. The good thing is that a co-worker of mine is in the market for a closed headphone. Time to plant a seed...

 

[gandhisfist]

yage haha, may be time to sell those HP50s and move on.

As far as other impressions, I still really like Barry's LCD-X and the HE-1000 on my own NFB-10.33 and on the Liquid Carbon. I think the Liquid Carbon sounded very detailed and smooth, and I really liked it in combination with the LCD-X. A friend of mine has mentioned that she really enjoys the LCD-X and Carbon together and I can see why now. The Ygg remains the best DAC I have heard, its ability to project a soundstage, separate and image instruments is something I have not heard anywhere else.

Revisiting the HD600 was also really nice. The character it gives guitars and vocals is really fantastic and the midbass really makes drums punchy and fun.

As a side note, I was really pleased with my DAP, it served exactly the purpose I wanted it to serve for this and future meets, allowing me to take my music to use with other stations. I hope we can make this a trend.

 

[sheldaze]

I heard the HiFiMan HE1000 and the Cavalli Liquid Carbon pairing at the Nashville meet. Truly  thankful to @pippen99 and Dr. Cavalli for making that happen for the group there. While the HE1000 is available, kudos again to Dr. Cavalli for letting me borrow a prototype Liquid Carbon for the DC meet! I cannot say enough good things about the man and his products. Again thanks!
 
The group was small for this meet, but I had truly great opportunity for one on one conversations with most the people there. Listening not just to the headphones but also to the people in the headphone community - this is to me what makes these meets such a rewarding experience. Many familiar faces, and a few new, meeting for the first time after meeting online. Good to see the gang: @Barry S, @Billheiser, @gandhisfist, @Psalmanazar, @ScottFW. Really great to meet @yage and @schneller in person. And @schneller, I hope you find some time to write-up some impressions of what you heard. It was interesting to hear your thoughts with regards to a few of the setups you listened to.
 
Probably the last time I'll bring a variety of stuff. Though I had no single pieces as heavy as the Yggy or Rag, there was still enough I packed to make two trips, in the rain! I'm quite glad I had a few things to share, because that's where I learn a lot from you guys too. Some of the feedback I found most interesting was with regards to the Chord Mojo. There's definitely something more than just D/A going on, I think, in all that extra computing power in their FPGAs. But until I spoke with @yage, I had forgotten how odd it sounded to my ears on first listen. I have since adjusted to it, and really like it. But still find it to sound as if it is trying to please my ears, rather than doing what it should based purely on the bits. The Gungnir Multibit would not try to please.
 
Speaking with @Psalmanazar, I will definitely need to pay closer attention to my DACs in future, and have a better understanding of what use they make of the USB power. I had no idea the ODAC, and thus the JDS Labs The Element, were so reliant upon USB power. I'm in the middle of a writeup of each of the 7 USB DAC/AMP that I brought. I did know the Meridian Explorer2 benefits from having clean USB power, over what comes out of my Mac laptop. But I had no clue it might also be true for something using wall-power. Thanks!
 
Got to listen to Philips Fidelio X2 on @Billheiser's setup with the Bifrost Multibit and Valhalla2. It definitely has a strong bass sound, but I found it cleaner, faster, tighter, whatever the right words are to describe, in comparison with the Denon AH-D2000 bass, which can actually make me nauseous on certain songs and cheaper amplifiers. I hope you bring your Aune setup to the next meet. I wish I'd had more time at this meet to listen. But I would also like to compare it directly to the multiple sound processing options on the Grace Design m9XX, which will not be available until late November.
 
I need to learn a little more from you @ScottFW, with regards to disc players. That was a magnificent experience, listening directly to your Philips player, on your Bottlehead Crack and HD650 headphones. Unfortunately all my dedicated disc spinners are getting old. I'll have to try to keep the one I brought to the meet a little more used and in better shape, perhaps cleaning the lens and doing some of the maintenance work you did on your player. Truly great to hear something of the 90s vintage, where I felt the player just got it right without a flair for too much treble energy so common of DACs and players today - I'm talking to you Oppo BDP-105.
 
Listening to the Yggy/Rag was very interesting. It was certainly the same wonderful sound I had heard at the last meet with the Audeze LCD-X. But I am starting to understand more each time I listen, how a great pairing can make a $300 system sound better than a $3000 system. That's not the case here, but I'll definitely have to take you up on your offer @Barry S, to do some more comparison and pairings. I wish I had the time to try my HD650. But I also know I personally find it hard to concentrate when there is so much information provided, without filter, and especially at a headphone meet. However I'm also still a little concerned, as I should be, to try using the Rag as a replacement for my current speaker pre-amp/amp setup. I am definitely looking forward to the trial.
 
Really glad to hear that you guys, @gandhisfist and @Barry S, are taking over the (edit) CanMania for DC. We could certainly use some proper representation in the DC area. And I feel there are enough enthusiasts around the DC area that it could truly be a benefit for the dealers and the headphone community in general. Looking forward to this!

 

[Barry S]

  ...For my O2+ODAC, I discovered that it was probably my laptop overdriving (or fully driving) the USB port with ASIO and WASAPI causing the clipping on my home power. I'm assuming that my surge protector plugged into Sheldaze's battery backup surge protector (that had another battery power supply plugged into it) was cleaned up a bit somehow or my laptop was not driving the USB port fully. To solve this problem with the ODAC -> O2, should I buy a Wyrd or switch to a Schiit stack and maybe buy a Wyrd? Perhaps a battery power supply? This thing is just ticking me off. The USB power, the driver support, the horrible O2 potentiometer between the stages that causes clipping even on lower gain settings. Just buy the Schiit uber stack and get rid of it?

 
I'd go for the Magni 2 + Modi 2 Uber--I think the stack would be a step up from the ODAC/O2. The Modi 2 Uber is not bus-powered, but by their 16 VAC transformer which from my experience is a good piece of engineering.

 

[gandhisfist]

We are going to do our best to make sure there is a CanMania at next year's CAF. My only goal is to get all the gear I want to listen to in one room again.

 

[Barry S]

We are going to do our best to make sure there is a CanMania at next year's CAF. My only goal is to get all the gear I want to listen to in one room again.

Right, our show is CanMania, and isn't affiliated with Head-Fi/CanJam. We want to produce an amazing headphone event for all of you, with tons of gear to audition. You can read the forums for a year and not get the information from auditioning a piece of equipment for 5 minutes. Once things are official and we have a date, we'll make an announcement and we're completely open to suggestions about what you want to see in a show.

 

[Psalmanazar]

@sheldaze I'm not 100% sure if the The Element's ODAC Rev b guts are USB bus powered. It's essentially an ODAC so it might be but it's not officially an ODAC so they don't have to and it would be stupid to do so but JDS Labs might've done so anyway due to laziness. You could just email them and ask. Or see if the Wyrd cleans it up a ton on WASAPI output on some BestBuy laptop with a crappy mobo and USB bus and stickers all over over it.

@Barry S If I can't get this thing to stop clipping by Monday, I will definitely get an Uber stack for my sanity. There's no recessed mids on the Modi like a few online commentators have mentioned?

 

[Barry S]

 
@Barry S If I can't get this thing to stop clipping by Monday, I will definitely get an Uber stack for my sanity. There's no recessed mids on the Modi like a few online commentators have mentioned?

My Modi 1 doesn't have recessed mids. Compared to the more expensive DACs, the resolution is lower, the soundstage isn't as wide, and the dynamics seem a little more compressed. That being said, it does a nice job with zero problems or issues. The tiny Schiit stack was rocking the Dharma while I had it for a few days.

 

[schneller]

I too want to thank @sheldaze for coordinating this and for his hospitality and eagerness to expose us all to great HeadFi.
 
I just brought my lowly ATH-CKM55 IEMs to the meet. Like bringing a knife to a gun fight. They were enough to ascertain significant differences in the DACs I wanted to audition. 
 
It was my first time seeing any Schiit products! It was indeed a Schiit Show: Bimby, Gumby, Yiggy, and even Fulla! 
 
The Yiggy is indeed astounding even at first listen. It only takes a few seconds really: detail, warmth, musical, intoxicating! Oh yeah! The Gumby took this and tones it all down a little and Bimby lower still. The common thread is there. I felt the Bimby to be slightly more abrasive, less smooth around the edges, a little more bloat to the bass, less refinement. The Gumby rounds the edges again but offers less depth and slightly less coherency and fluidity compared to the Yiggy. 
 
The Fulla was shockingly good! Audio from my phone never sounding so amazing! A stunning little hero! 
 
By comparison, things came to a screeching halt (for me) when changing only the Chord Mojo into the chain. I simply found it abrasive and overly sibilant. The difference compared to even the Fulla was astounding to me. The case is well made but the multi-colored buttons and such I found to be over the top. So I was disappointed by this Chord offering. Not to say I would not enjoy the 2Qute or Hugo. 
 
My focus during the meet-up was DACs. I did not pay much attention to the headphones. I did note the number of Sennheiser and Hifiman fans! 
 

 
 

 

[gandhisfist]

@sheldaze
I'm not 100% sure if the The Element's ODAC Rev b guts are USB bus powered. It's essentially an ODAC so it might be but it's not officially an ODAC so they don't have to and it would be stupid to do so but JDS Labs might've done so anyway due to laziness.

I think the element has to be a different configuration for the odac because its able to take more than just usb input, which means it likely isn't bus powered.