[jules650]

Just got back from the meet. Thanks to MrJoshua for organising this event. It wouldn't have gone forward without his effort. On top of all the amazing gear, it was nice to meet everyone and put a face to all the thousands of posts some of us have on head-fi.

I wanted to get the first post in...

More impressions later! JohnerH did spend a lot of effort behind his camera so I'm sure pictures will follow soon.

 

[krmathis]

Here we go!
I am anxiously waiting to hear/see if you had a great time.

 

[vcoheda]

lots of action this weekend for head-fiers.

 

[jules650]

I compared my stock k701s (SN 1982) to Mark's ALO recabled version (I think it was a silver cryo cable). The setup I used was my own Squeezebox(FLAC)>DA100>GS-1. After switching back and forth and listening for half an hour to various tracks I was familiar with, I found it to be too bright for my liking. The recable gave the headphone a bit more detail but I still prefer my stock version to the recabled one.

Mark has had the headphone for a few months now and it's been well burnt in so I don't think that was a big factor. I'd be interested to hear a non-silver recabled version of the k701 now to see if there is any significant improvement over the stock.

I gave the HD650 a good listen through various setups (using the stock and Equinox cable) and I don't think it's for me. It's just too coloured for my taste.

The Graham Slee Solo was the star of the meet. There were quite a few people who preferred it to the GS-1 and I think Paul's fallen in love with it.
The G08 was widely used to AB amps and I think Duggeh and Tom spent some time ABing it against a (gasp!) Audigy soundcard.

I did like the Yamamoto hybrid amplifier and the Singlepower amp. It was my first experience with tube amps and I wish I had spent more time comparing them to my GS-1.

 

[Duggeh]

Was a great meet, lots of stuff to post, just logging in on the hotel computer to reserve this space as it were. No time for chitter chatter just now, theres an exceptionally large gin in the bar with my name on it.

On the K1000

*Jeremy Clarkson Voice*

It's SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOD!!!!!!!

 

[milkpowder]

Just got back home. 7 hours of commuting, 2+ hours of listening. It was well worth it

I'm exhausted though... Impressions will follow. Thanks Joshua for organising it!

Lightning impressions:
cheap eBay amp-K1000 - omg

My favourite of the meet. Cheap world class sound. Preferred them with no toe-out.
G08-SP Extreme-R10 - so, so... definitely one of the best, but at its current asking price? 2nd favourite of the meet, tied with my own HE60. Organic w/ a surprisingly electrostatic-like sound. Could use a bit more of bass oomf, but otherwise superb. Didn't sound "closed at all.
G08-SP Extreme-L3000 - underwhelmed, but a huge step up from the W5000. Weird midrange? I wouldn't get a pair at its current asking price.
G08-SP Extreme-W5000 - didn't like it. Preferred K701, HD650, etc... Lack of detail and refinement compared to truly high-end headphones.
SR-202 - great stuff. Easily rivalled the HE60 in certain respects. Bass was much more prominent, but not quite as controlled.
Hornet vs Tomahawk - bigger difference than I thought. I prefer Hornet. More refined. Better instrument separation.
5.5G iMod-Tomahawk-acs t2 vs 5.5G iPod-Tomahawk-acs t2 - iMod really tightens up the bass and gave the t2 qualities that one would normally associate with very good headphones. Tonal balance is much better. Impressed.
HD650-SAA Equinox-Graham Slee-DAC1 - Heavenly sound. Superbly fluid bass-line, which the HE60 misses.
DA100-GS-1-K701/stock vs K701/ALO - can hear differences, but didn't really spend enough time to pass any proper judgement. Not a significant step up. I would be hesitant to spend that much on a recable considering the subtlety of the improvements, if any. More comparison time required.

I really regret not having tried the Woo Audio 4

 

[Duggeh]

The difference between an Audigy 2 ZS and a Meridian G08 is pitiful.

Cans > Amp >>>>>> Source.



Discuss that amounst yourselves head-fiers, I look forward to the conversation that my claim generates.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif The difference between an Audigy 2 ZS and a Meridian G08 is pitiful. Cans > Amp >>>>>> Source. Discuss that amounst yourselves head-fiers, I look forward to the conversation that my claim generates.

HAHA!! I'm a having a revelation of my own back at home:

Was just comparing a AIWA all-in-one DVD/CDP to my 740c. No difference. Then I fed the digital out from the AIWA to the 740c, again, no difference! LMAO! I must be going deaf! I have heard differences between sources before. For example, the Esoteric X-03SE is clearly better than the CA 740c. Better detail retrieval, instrument separation, refinement, etc etc. I'm confused.

One exception though. The 5.5 iMod is noticeably superior to the normal iPod, but not massively so.

 

[piotr z]

that's because this 740c is quite poor source

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by piotr z /img/forum/go_quote.gif that's because this 740c is quite poor source

I concede

 

[evilking]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif On the K1000 *Jeremy Clarkson Voice* It's SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOD!!!!!!!

I'm so jealous...

The K1000 is my final frontier. I'm so pissed that I couldn't go... and I'm only about 30 mins away by train.

Those who heard the K1000 for the first time, could you describe them?

...please...

EK

 

[Rav]

The people demand pictures

Glad y'all had a good time, still not jelous at all

 

[Bizzel]

I'm home at last! The train ahead of mine broke down on the way back and we all had to sit around like lemons for an hour while it was towed away. Also, as a few people know, my camera batteries died after 2 photos so I'm looking forward to seeing what other people snapped. There's plenty of good news too though!

First of all, a massive thanks to everyone who let me prod, poke, and occasionally listen to, their gear, I felt like a kid in a candy store!

Thanks also to Josh for bringing the whole thing together, it was great to put some faces to the names. Right...without further ado - impressions!

K1000s - Definitely my favourite set of cans. The magic is in the presentation - bright and airy, yet still providing plenty of bass, it's a great effect. The soundstage is out of this world, as you might expect from the design, and it feels completely natural - "ear speakers" is definitely the right word.

Graham Slee Solo - Oh yes, I do *love* this amp. Leaning toward the warm side of things, you might think it'd be a poor match for the 650s but it retains so much transparency that it works brilliantly. I'd say it's a great example of synergy at work because, while it was fantastic with the Senns, it sounded almost hollow and bass-deficient with the K701s. The bass is very punchy and refined. I demoed it with the MFSL remaster of Steely Dan's "Aja" and the drum solo towards the end of the title track was delivered with absolute precision. Duggeh likes a bit of Steely Dan and I reckon I wasn't the only one impressed by the mastering and the amp. It's probably worth noting that this was the latest "Green" edition of the Solo with the standard power supply. It seems to drive high-impedance cans easily, I never had the volume past the 12 o'clock position with the 650s.

Benchmark DAC1 - Probably the most impressive component at the meet to my ears. While it lacks the beautiful smoothness of the Meridian player it's by no means harsh to my ear. Paired with the 650s it can retrieve an awful lot of detail with ease. While I did like the Cambridge Audio 740c, I found the DAC1 to be less dry-sounding and more involving - it seemed to convey more emotion in the music. I noticed occasional sibilance, particularly with loud cymbals, but less-so with the 650s than the 701s and HD600s.

Milkpowder mentioned the 650/Slee Solo/DAC1 combo and no doubt a few of you noticed I spent most of my time with that! For me it was just so smooth and involving. That deep, strong bass of the 650s is tamed and refined by the Solo while the DAC1 adds detail and treble. I also loved the Beyer 990s with that source and amp, they were a sort of "650 + treble" for me.

I'll probably remember more when I've got some sleep. I can't listen to any more music tonight, my ears have overdosed today!

 

[milkpowder]

I'm going to give some more detailed impressions, but please oh please bear in mind that I didn't get a chance to spend an extended period with each of these headphones so what I am about to report are my gut feelings for the headphones. However, I am a firm believer of first impressions.



Oh, the HE60 and K1000 sound so similar! I put on the K1000 and about 15 seconds through a piece of solo violin music, I knew I would like it. I just knew that it was the right headphone for the detail freak that I am. What really surprised me was my preference for the completely-closed position as opposed to the complete open, elephant-ears configuration. To me, they sounded much more lively in the closed position. Sound stage actually suffered a bit when I put them in the completely open position. What really impressed me was how well it sounded with modest front-end gear.

I forgot to check the S/N, but I'm guessing this is probably one of the more recent pairs because it does lack bass.

In their respective rigs, I thought the HE60 was overall superior to the K1000. It (HE60) didn't quite have the speaker-like imaging of the K1000, but was more detailed. However, I'm guessing the K1000 with a proper synergistic amp like an ATM-300 can sound far better than the HE60. Anyway, the K1000 was exactly as I expected and if anything, far surpassed my expectations of what dynamics were capable of. After I get a better electrostatic amp, I think I'll start a K1000 rig. That's my 2008 resolution

They're really quite incredible.



The L3000 was a real let-down

I expected a headphone of this calibre to perform much better. It's sound signature is so... odd. I really didn't spend enough time with it, but I don't expect I would ever prefer it to the likes of the R10, HE60, O2 or K1000. Technically, it's pretty good, but sadly not a headphone I would have the aural appetite for.

The W5000 was even more of a disappointment. I've read about how it's supposed to sound crisp, detailed and refined, but boy oh boy was that the exact opposite of what I heard. I'm sorry, but I just don't like the way these sound.

R10 was very good for classical. Super detailed, super clear. I thought I was listening to a pair of electrostats! Very realistic sounding and airy. Some meet attendees thought it was lacking a bit of life, but I guess that might because of its relative bass deficiency. I tend to agree with them about the lack of oomf in the bass, but I found them nevertheless enjoyable to listen to.

I distinctly remember listening to Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit on them out of what I make out as a Paradisea (sp?) and a certain Meier Corda amp. The first thing that came to my mind as the drum intro started was how open, transparent and spacious the sound is. You don't get the typical claustrophobic, closed-in feeling that accompanies a lot of headphones. Instead the R10 presents music in such a relaxed, easy-come-easy-go, non-fatiguing way that really gets my adrenaline running. It may not convey quite enough impact, but to me, its ease of music-making more than compensates.

I did spend most of my classical music-R10 time listening from a G08 and SP Extreme. Great timbral accuracy and detail retrieval.



Hornet vs Tomahawk. A brief AB test showed that the Hornet is a noticeably superior amplifier. IMO. The Hornet has better clarity, a more prominent bass and better instrument separation. I used Dire Straits Money for Nothing and the flashes of guitar at the beginning sounded more lively and articulate through the Hornet. Oh, it was a bling bling gold-coloured Hornet too!

Next up I connected up an iMod and played the same Dire Straits track. The bass was where I heard the most difference. It's much better controlled with considerably less hazy decay. The attack is sharper and more defined. The overall highs-mids-lows tonal balance also improved. The iMod-Hornet rig really made my ACS T2 custom monitors shine. However, I really question whether the perceived improvements are really worth the big chunk of extra expenditure and compromised portability.



I'm too tired to write more impressions. I'll hand the baton to another Head-Fi'er

ONE MORE THING!!! Seriously Bizzel, that DAC1-Graham Slee-HD650 rig was incredible to listen to. I really only got a few minutes with it because someone was constantly using the rig

, and I don't blame them (LOL!). Great synergy. Nice to finally meet you.

 

[evilking]

But what about the Phonodrome?

EDIT: The K1000 sounds incredible.