First, thanks to Chillburger for kindly hosting this event. Although it was a mini meetup, I have had a surprisingly good experience----this is the first time from head-fi systems I have heard sound effects that are in many respects resembling the hi-fi sounds from truly high end speaker systems I heard previously (obviously, lacking those immersive 3-D surrounding effects). My current head-fi systems cannot produce such sound due to weaknesses in various components.
I have been mostly impressed by Jason's Auralic system driving either HD-800 (with cable upgrade from Shane) or my slightly modded HE-6. Overall, I would rate HD-800 as a more or less better audiophile pair of phones than HE-6. It is no surprise that the soundstage and details were great from the former as I have read many times about these attributes. To my delight, the mids (vocals) are not recessed at all, good news for users like me who listen to songs or watching TV/movies frequently. Tonality and texture of the sound are rich and enjoyable. Bass is adequate to my taste. The only thing that concerned me was the trebles. With the Auralic system, the trebles had that hi-fi sound signature but often times were too sharp or reaching clipping points.
In comparison, my HE-6 behaved very well with the Auralics in the trebles. Being a muscular sound type of headphone, the HE-6 exceeded in strength and control, but lacked some rich details and subtleties (aided by that large soundstage) readily conveyed by the HD-800. I have to say, the Taurus drove the HE-6 exceedingly well. I had never heard my HE-6 sounding so good from my modest systems. If the HD-800 can be modded for better trebles or match better with some DAC/amp systems, I would love to get one (not to deny I am not tempted right now).
To my ears, the TH900 was not in the same league as HD-800 and HE-6. Besides the V-shape sound masking the mids, there is a clear sense of unnaturalness with respect to the soundstage. Perhaps limited by the closed back design, I felt the peripheral soundstage was abruptly intercepted and distorted as there was a dome-like spherical wall blocking the expansion of the soundstage. Or like those distortions seen in pictures from a lens without proper corrections with edges/corners. I do not remember the Alpha Prime had such gross distortions with soundstage, but I had never used the AP with highly capable systems such as the Auralics. This is just my first listen to the TH900. So my impressions could well be severely unreliable. But I clearly did not perceive such effects with either HD-800 or HE-6.
I also listened to Howlin's Grado RS1i briefly. Unlike any other headphones I have listened to, the RS1i still did Guitar and rock songs with some distinct magic flavor. Too bad I had to sell mine mostly due to the issues with trebles.
Thanks to Shane for letting me try the HD-800 with several systems and have a good time. This is my first proper audition of these mighty HPs. Thanks to Jason for offering me the opportunity to have a taste of the great system he has.
