[Torontoraccoon]

Quote:

I meant to ask earlier but someone was mentioning getting cables at 0.39 cents/foot ... I was wondering if they could shooy me a PM where they get it as im going to be making a bunch of cables to replace the cheap store bought stuff i have got now.
 
Thanks in advance!
 
(Woot 100th post)

Gratz on the 100th! Im pretty sure it was Pavel telling me about how ovepriced ALO Audio is, and he just mentioned that you can get "generic" materials if you buy in decent enough quantity.
 

 

[charliex]

Quote:

Hey guys, I found an LCD2 or perhaps HE something headphone cable in my place that I really don't recall making (4-pin XLR to 4-pin mini-XLR)
 
Anybody want to claim it?

   Hey Pav - I beleive that's my LCD-2 cable.
  
   Bryan
 
   PS - how's the eXStata comin' along.
 
PSS - thanks goes out to Neddamttocs, Monoglycer and Chris J for providing some decent reviews of equipment they heard at the meet - these impressions
         are appreciated and provide some good comparisons and thoughts that are helpful in future purchases.

 

[jono454]

Sorry to derail the thread a bit but since everyone here is within the same area...what are you guys using as headphone stands? I've seen some people use banana stands or some gardening equipment but i can't seem to find any around here. I'm currently using a flimsy lamp to hold up my k702 and DT990s and i think having a decently structured stand would be useful. Any thoughts?

 

[obzilla]

Quote:

Sorry to derail the thread a bit but since everyone here is within the same area...what are you guys using as headphone stands? I've seen some people use banana stands or some gardening equipment but i can't seem to find any around here. I'm currently using a flimsy lamp to hold up my k702 and DT990s and i think having a decently structured stand would be useful. Any thoughts?

I've got one of the Woos. Can't get better built than solid aluminum. A touch spendy on their own, but free if you buy a pair of cans from them.

 

[Torontoraccoon]

Quote:

Sorry to derail the thread a bit but since everyone here is within the same area...what are you guys using as headphone stands? I've seen some people use banana stands or some gardening equipment but i can't seem to find any around here. I'm currently using a flimsy lamp to hold up my k702 and DT990s and i think having a decently structured stand would be useful. Any thoughts?

I am mostly using a bunch of Sennheiser headphone stands called HH10
 

Not so sure if anyone really carries these in stock in Toronto, but you can ask the guy @ Headfoneshop, thats how I got em, asked him to add them to his order of headphones from Sennheiser, I know Sennheiser themselves may sell them but from my experience those guys like to take their sweet time. I think they cost like 10-15 bucks, and are soft and comfy for the headphone bands vs the bannana holders. For banana holders a good location is Walmart or Zellers, they usually have dirt cheap (like a dollarish) bannana hooks.

 

[Torontoraccoon]

Quote:

I've got one of the Woos. Can't get better built than solid aluminum. A touch spendy on their own, but free if you buy a pair of cans from them.

Oh thats where you got those LCD's, I was thinking about asking.. Or I guess I can just wait and see till someone decides to sell some online, they sure kick ass with some tracks.
 
On a side note, have you by any chance considered tube rolling of your pretty Cavalli?  
 

 

[obzilla]

Quote:

Oh thats where you got those LCD's, I was thinking about asking.. Or I guess I can just wait and see till someone decides to sell some online, they sure kick ass with some tracks.
 
On a side note, have you by any chance considered tube rolling of your pretty Cavalli?  
 

Actually I got the LCD2s from Headroom, and the stand on it's own. Next time I want a new pair of cans I'll just buy from Woo for the free stand though.
 
And nope, no rolling on the LF yet. Though a magic quad was offered to me recently for a mere $1000. Eeek!
 

 

[Torontoraccoon]

Quote:

Actually I got the LCD2s from Headroom, and the stand on it's own. Next time I want a new pair of cans I'll just buy from Woo for the free stand though.
 
And nope, no rolling on the LF yet. Though a magic quad was offered to me recently for a mere $1000. Eeek!
 

Talk about offers.. theres a balancing act on classified...  so tempted...  

 

[Torontoraccoon]

Actually Woo Audio has stands starting from 29 bukcs, so its not that bad. The fancy ones are 59/75.

 

[obzilla]

Quote:

Talk about offers.. theres a balancing act on classified...  so tempted...  

I know, it's very tempting... I've purchased from Seacard before too, he is a great guy to do business with too. Now if I could just find that spare $3100...

 

[colgatetotal]

Thank you to everyone who was at the meet. I had a wonderful time again.
 
My main comparison piece was Dave Brubeck's "Take Five", chosen because 1) it has a large dynamic range ideal for high-end equipment (~12dB) and 2) it's a pleasing, unoffensive piece to anyone who might be listening in with me. The saxophone solo is peaky on a lot of headphones, but the best ones at the meet made it super-smooth. I also played a bunch of other pieces, some well-mastered, some not (to see how they would fare), the latter which made charliex state that I had terrible taste in music LOL 
 
Short impressions:
 
HD600 > HD650, SR-007 Mk.1 > Mk.2
 
Spent about an hour with charliex's Headroom Max amp and a large number of dynamic headphones. HD800s were special but they didn't blow me away like the K1000s did. They sounded a lot better at Bay/Bloor Radio with the Peachtree Nova. The Headroom Max probably wasn't a good match for it. T1 > HD800 on the Headroom Max, at the very least.
 
The Senn HE60 (baby Orpheus) was spectacular. I didn't get to compare them against the K1000s, but wow. Best Take Five rendition I heard at the meet.
 
As for IEMs, modded Senn CX980 (foam removed) > Monster Turbine Pro Copper > Senn IE7. Pretty surprising since I got the CX980 for a fraction of the cost of the IE7.
 
The beta22 amp at the meet was not special at all. Apologies to whoever owned it, but I'll call a spade a spade. Not only was it grossly underpowered (nobody could get >60dB off an HE-6 even with the dial turned all the way), but it overheated during the meet as well, crackling whenever the dial was turned. Maybe it was poorly constructed, or the source was acting up. I don't know.
 
I gave the LCD-2 another chance. It's not as bad as when I first heard it, but it's still too dark of a signature and too uncomfortable for me to praise. I guess I'm more of a treblehead.
 
The RS-2 with g-cushions actually did well with hip-hop. What a surprise.
 
Do not EVER put the Grado g-cushions on a Prestige Series Grado. = SR225i + g-cushions = treble DEATH. That pretty much became the "worst" headphones of the meet lolol~
 
Both Acer AspireOne netbooks at the meet acted up and weren't sending clean signals to the DAC. A bit of a warning who use those as a source.

 

[charliex]

Quote:

God, im so wasted on Zubrowka, anyone wanna catch a movie tomorrow? Free drinks and stuff guranteed.

    Any chance that we keep this Head-Fi (headphone) thread on topic - meet impressions and gear reviews.
    And leave the alcohol and sushi commentary to Facebook!

 

[Pianist]

Here are some of my impressions from the meet. I mostly listened to the headphones using my unamped Hifiman HM-601 as a source in in attempt to find a good pairing for this player:
 
- unimpressed by HE-6: I found them too bright for my liking even out of a powerful speaker amp I tried them with. May have been the recording. I prefer my HE-500
 
- HD800 is great I am sure, but it didn't pair well with my HM-601. The combo was too bright sounding for me and I found the soundstage artificially overblown and sounds were too distant and thin. Timbre wasn't very natural. I guess HD800 needs a better source.
 
- DT880 600 Ohm and Q701 didn't work well with my HM-601 either. I had similar issues with them as with HD800: too tipped up in the treble for me and thin in the lows and mids with an unnatural timbre.
 
- LCD2 (Rev 2 I believe) sounded great with my HM-601 in the lows and mids, but the treble was too polite with this combo although of very good quality and timbre was very natural. I liked this headphone a lot - would be a great complimentary 'phone for my HE-500 I am sure.
 
- I loved HD650 with my HM-601. This combo was terrifically natural sounding and musical. Great clarity, timbre and dynamics. Somewhat similar to LCD2, but HD650 had more depth in the sound with this player while LCD2 sounded a little flat (as does my HE-500 out of HM-601 although I still love the sound)
 
- T1 was jaw dropping out of my HM-601. Definitely my favorite full sized headphone of the meet. The soundstage was huge with great depth and layering and timbre was spot on with vocals and instruments like saxophone and piano really coming to life. I suppose the emphasized treble of T1 is just enough to compensate for the HM-601s slight roll off without overdoing it. Clarity of sound was superb.
 
- I loved the Sony EX600 and especially the EX1000 IEMs out of my 601. The sound was very lively and natural with an excellent sense of space. EX1000 sounded significantly smoother and more refined than EX600, but the two were very similar otherwise with a near identical tonality.
 
- Phonak Audeo PFE 022 with grey filters blew me away out of HM-601. I had the Phonaks before and didn't care for them, but this time around I got a completely different impression of them altogether. This combo was buttery smooth, extremely dynamic for a single driver balanced armature, with great stereo separation and with a very realistic timbre. I easily preferred this combo to HD800, DT880 and Q701 + HM601 combos. Too bad I didn't get a chance to AB this with EX1000 + HM-601 - that would be very interesting. I think I might prefer the Sonys, but Phonaks are a no brainer for the price.
 
- I was very impressed with Hifiman HE-300. In fact, in some ways I even preferred it to HE-500 and HE-6. It worked great out of my Sony Walkman although I didn't try it with my HM-601. I found the soundstage, timbre and overall balance surprisingly great. For $250 these go for now, they are a wonderful deal IMO. I might get myself a pair of these in the future as a complimentary/backup pair for my HE-500.
 
- JVC FXT90 sounded very nice to me and I found them quite similar to JVC FX700 I had before. Very musical IEMs with great punchy bass.
 
- I really liked Futuresonics Atrio MG7 and found them quite refined and detailed with a very deep, big bass response that didn't drown out the rest of the spectrum. Great balance.
 
- Triple.fi sounded good, but I could tell that there were three drivers playing: it didn't sound as coherent as single drivers.
 
Overall, my favorites of the headphones I tried at the meet were the T1, HD650, EX1000, PFE and LCD2. I didn't try any Stax though, nor any Grados and a few others. I just couldn't listen properly to everything that was there in so little time. My least favorite were the HE6 (too bright) and DT880, Q701 and HD800 (didn't pair well with my HM-601, too bright, thin and unnatural).

 

[charliex]

Thanks Pianist and Colgatetotal for your detailed reviews - it's nice to get this thread back on topic!

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

Sorry to derail the thread a bit but since everyone here is within the same area...what are you guys using as headphone stands? I've seen some people use banana stands or some gardening equipment but i can't seem to find any around here. I'm currently using a flimsy lamp to hold up my k702 and DT990s and i think having a decently structured stand would be useful. Any thoughts?

I use a wicker box my wife got for me so I wouldn't leave all my Schiit laying around the house!   LOL!
I got another box for all the frickin' cables you need.
 
BTW, I like your taste in 'phones!