[Zanth]

I would like to thank everyone who attended our humble Ottawa Head-fi meet. It was great fun as always with some new faces making their way into my new place. Also a bit cramped but we do seem to make the best of it.

I know I had a blast having heard some very new gear as well as meeting the new folks. Thanks especially to Clumsy who made it all the way from Toronto. I didn't realize Clumsy was Clumsy until he was leaving...I felt bad about that. I should have offered you dinner...before you left for the station...

Thank you to drguayo for the wine. I will be sipping it shortly. It's breathing as I type.

Thank you to Beagle, GWN and Brandon_Ottawa for bringing some much needed sources. Brandon brought a WHOLE WHACK of cool stuff including a never before heard HD650 (I think we are the first Canadians to sample it) and a Headroom Max!!!

He also had the very cool and wonderful sounding Sony SCD-1 modded out the wazoo and accompanying this with some anaconda-like Elco power cords. Incredible stuff!

I'm off to eat some dinner shortly but will post my comments in a few hours.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Sounds like fun.

Biggie.

 

[Brandon_Ottawa]

Thank-you Zanth for hosting the meet. It was great to finally meet you and the local Head-fi members!

Here's some pics taken courtesy of DesBen...Nice job!

 

[lextek]

Which Arcam was that? Did you try the 650s with the MG?

 

[markl]

Ooooh, ahhhhh... Lots of cool sources there. Which Arcam is that? What's that big amp next to the Shanling? I love the look of those Elco power cords, too! Looks like it was a lot of fun!

 

[GWN]

Thanks Zanth for hosting us. It was fun. The Arcam is the FMJ CD23T. Sitting on top of the Arcam are a couple of RA-1 clones. One facing backwards to show the neat Bulgin battery holder trays (same as in the XP7). To the right of the Arcam was alternatively a Rega Ear then an ASL MG head and finally a PPA with an outboard regulated PS to the far right.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Quote:

Originally posted by markl What's that big amp next to the Shanling?

Zanth's Special Melos amp, dubbed the SHA-X. One of only two in existence IIRC. And of course, hooked to them appears to be a pair of HP-1000s, aka Zanth's private collection also.

 

[Zanth]

Mmmm, someone has a good eye!

Nice SIE

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Quote:

Originally posted by Zanth Mmmm, someone has a good eye! Nice SIE

I remember contemplating the purchase of the one Grinch sold a while back. It looked weird enough to stick in my little pea brain.

Was that an Arcam CD23 or CD23T sitting in that photo LexTek referred to? Man, I loved my CD23 while I had it, and hoping to hear a CD33 next year for old time's sake. Nice sounding unit for the price.

 

[klavier_28]

First, nice meet!! So many headphone fans in such a small city, amazing... Thanks Zanth, all the meets I have been are great great. I will post my commence later.

Here are the links you probably need.

For holding single disc sleeve

http://www.jewelsleeve.com/

This one is great, solid design, unique in the market. And you get free lable. Only disadvantage is that can not hold 2 discs in one sleeve (Theoretically can, but hard to aviod scratch). I use it for my single disc. And when you use it, make sure you insert the disc with data layer facing obverse. It won't scratch your CD.

For holding double CDs, I am using this one.

http://www.mmdesign.com/dj-sleeve.htm

Sleeve is also solid, it can hold 2 discs easily. Disadvantage is the price is higher and no free lable. You can download their template, print your own.

For both, you can ask for free samples.

 

[HappymaN]

Any impressions on the SCD-1?

It sure looks the business!

 

[vwap]

Man.. looks like a lot of fun. I love the Shanling's looks!...

 

[Uncledan]

I always like how Shanling's look, I hope I am able to save enough money for T200.

 

[GWN]

Here are my impressions of the meet. First, thanks again Zanth for hosting us, we had a good turnout and the five hours went by too fast.

There were only a couple of pieces of equipment that I had not heard before. The Headroom Max, AKG501's, HD650's, a pair of Sony headphones (don't know the number) and the Zu cable.

The Headroom Max: A fine piece of gear. Great sound, great build, works wonders with the Senn's. Only two minor points. I didn't care for the processor mode and could live without it and the treble filter. Is it better than the PPA, absolutely, is it three to four times better considering the price, not sure but I would still like to own one and will someday.

ZU cable: A very open, detailed cable. I really like the sound. But I won't buy one until two minor flaws are corrected. The cable covering makes it somewhat microphonic, and it appears that to insert the cable into the Senn's you have to enlarge the opening on the headphones. I know, I know, nitpicking stuff.

HD650: My audition of the new HD650 was too brief to make a valued assesment. Yes they sound different than the 600's with better resolution in the bass and a slightly different presentation in the midrange. They sounded fabulous with the Zu cable. Best combo. Based on that quick listening, I'm not rushing out to sell my 600's and buy a pair. I will want a longer audition to better define the difference. I've fallen in that trap too often before.

PPA: I did get a chance to listen to my PPA (Elna, Wima caps, AD810's, no bass boost)with a variety of Headphones (HD600, HD650, RS200, RS1, AKG 501, and the Sony's. The PPA seems to be a faily good match with all of them. There was only one heaphone that I didn't care for with the PPA, the Beyer DT770. Bass heads would love them. The effect was the same as switching on a poorly set-up subwoofer in a speaker based system. I did listen to the Beyer with the ASL MG Head and found them quite pleasing with that amp. I wish I could remember the number of those Sony headphones, they were very nice and one of the most comfortable phone I ever tried. In the end the PPA is a very fine design, my hat's off to the design team. I have no reservations about recommending it. A touch of hi-end at down to earth prices.

Sony SCD1: Another fine piece of gear, I had heard it many times in a speaker based system with the output linked to a DCS DAC for the CD portion. This was my first listen with a headphone amp and it sounded superb on SACD and excellent on CD's. Even though the design has been out for a few years, it still holds its own against new comers I've heard, Shanling 200, Esoteric 50 and Classe Omega. I'll have to add it to my wish list and find myself a clean used one.

To my ears the two best sound systems were a toss up between Zanth's and Brandon_Ottawa's. One tube and one solid state. Both very refined, beautiful to look at. One massively built with great resolution and clear well defined bass and a superb treble extension. The other one with slightly less defined bass but with a midrange to die for. Since my favorite music is jazz and vocals, in the end my favorite is still Zanth's, that tweaked Melos combined with the HP-1's is one of the most musical and involving combos I have heard.

Edit: corrected some typo's, English is my second language

 

[klavier_28]

No need to say more, ZuCable and HD650 is the best over all. But I did find that my Equinox + HD600 is >97% same as ZuCable + HD600. Since Headroom Max has 2 output, it is very easy to do A/B switch listening. I listened bounch of muisc, these two performed very quite similar.

Here are the music I used:

Patricia Barber: Cafe blue (For vocal, bass and stage)
Shaham & Sollscher: Paganini for two (For violin and guitar, sound stage)
Dire Straits: Lover over gold (Private investigation, test electric guitar, bass and sound stage)
Walter/Columbia SO: Beethoven symphonies 4&6 (For orchestra)

Two cans are both great. From anylazing ability, control, non-colorful to well balanced energy distribution in frequency. HD650/ZuCable are very tiny better than HD600/Euqinox. The bass are tighter, HD600/Equinox is a bit brighter than another.

But I have to say, if you have already owned HD600 + Equinox, you don't need upgrade to HD650 + ZuCable. If you have either of these cans and don't have cable upgraded, do it now. If you have enough money, HD650/Zu is the best choice. If you are not very very picky, HD600/Equinox has the best performance/price ratio.