Dexdexter
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2006
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This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of spending a most delightful afternoon with Hans Oosterwaal at audioXperience, his brand spanking-new high-end audio and head-fi specialty shop. Of course, many of you might already be familiar with Hans from Qables, his online emporium specializing in custom-made line-out docks and other related cable & connectivity solutions, as well as his patronage of this forum. And for those of us involved in the Belgium/Netherlands Head-Fi posse, Hans is more affectionately known simply as “Our Sponsor”, who’s participation has helped to assure the success of our last two meets, in Terneuzen and Maastricht, respectively.
Ever since I heard that Hans was opening a store well within driving distance of me here in Brussels, I have been absolutely itching to check it out. So when he PM’d me his interest in hearing the pair of Ultrasone Edition 9s that I currently have on loan, I had just the excuse I needed to scratch!
I had met Hans in person once before, at the Terneuzen Meet back in February. He brought such a silly amount of goodies with him that it was just overwhelming, all laid out with the most meticulous of care and attention to detail. The entire Audio Technica line of headphones. At least two RSA Tomahawks and two RSA Hornets. Three LaRocco PRII (mkII) in different, eye-popping colors. K-701s, Grados, Corda amps, loads of IEMs (which I have, to this day, never tried), and a veritable sea of LODs, mini-to-minis, mini-to-RCAs in all different lengths, materials, and colors.
Unfortunately for me, as it was my very first meet and I was already kind of nervous, I failed to take advantage of the vast resources lying just one table away from my own. Seemingly every time I glanced over in his direction, Hans had a very serious expression on his face and looked entirely absorbed in thought. What’s more, he rather resembled my freshman-year math professor who I still swear had it in for me from the very first day of class.
Nonetheless, I did need a line-out dock for my iPod, so toward the end of the afternoon I finally made my way over to Hans. When he greeted me with a warm smile and invited me to try anything I’d like, my math professor disappeared and in his place stood a terribly kind gentleman, brimming with enthusiasm for his own impressive range of products and an encyclopedic knowledge of pretty much everything audio. But all too soon, it was time to begin packing-up. Talk about misguided visual impressions and opportunities wasted!
I ended up choosing a sweet looking line-out dock-to-mini in Ultrasone blue, which has served me just wonderfully ever since. But I also left the meet looking forward to visiting Hans one day under more relaxed circumstances.
Qables/audioXperience is located in Nuenen, just east of Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, about an 80-minute drive from where I live. From the pictures on Hans’ site, I was expecting the shop to be located in the central Neunen shopping district, perhaps quaintly nestled in the shadow of the town church-tower. But MapQuest® had other plans in store for me entirely, directing me past a bustling plant nursery, some farmland and then finally into a sprawling modern industrial park, populated by import/exporters, storage facilities, and small high-tech concerns. Curiouser and curiouser!
Hans greeted me as if I were an old acquaintance and led me into his spotless domain. His building is divided down the middle, with two largish offices on the left, and a very spacious listening room on the immediate right. The foyer in between contained a glass display case loaded with IEMs, portable headphones, cables and accessories. Just down the hall a little, I spied one of those fancy cable-cookers, silently going about its business.
As I unpacked my gear, Hans offered me refreshments and asked if I had any trouble finding the place. When I said no, but I was certainly surprised by his location, Hans just smiled knowingly.
Removing the Edition 9s from my bag and gently placing their impressive travel case on the table before him, I could detect a gleam of delight in Hans' eyes when I invited him to do the honors of opening them up. “Oh my”, he said, lifting the lid, “these really are quite something!” I was unpacking my Heed Audio CanAmp when he lifted the Editions out of their aluminum sarcophagus, now smiling broadly, “Very substantial”, he remarked, becoming acquainted with their feel. “Please, try anything at all”.
Overall, I’d describe the interior of the space as having more of a gallery feel to it than retail, all impeccably clean white walls and very minimally, yet tastefully appointed with furnishings, spare artwork and custom-made wall-hangings. Which only serves to allow the product to stand out relatively unfettered, as well it should. So my own gaze was already distracted by the extraordinary array of equipment on view, plenty of stealthy black boxes from Naim (including the ultra high-end CD555), Wilson Benesch floorstanding loudspeakers and the gorgeous WB Circle turntable, and finally a phalanx of stacked headphone amps including the Naim Headline, Musical Fidelity X-Can v3, Sugden HeadMaster, and Lehman Audio Black Cube Linear. But the object of my most immediate desire was the LaRocco PRII (mkII) in combat-ready silver-gray. I grasped it firmly, already enjoying its smooth contours, and readied my PROline 2500s for their latest adventure.
“Shall we begin?” Hans asked, plugging the Edition 9s into the CanAmp. And so began our own little private mini-meet. So stay tuned, disco citizens, for more fun to follow.
Ever since I heard that Hans was opening a store well within driving distance of me here in Brussels, I have been absolutely itching to check it out. So when he PM’d me his interest in hearing the pair of Ultrasone Edition 9s that I currently have on loan, I had just the excuse I needed to scratch!
I had met Hans in person once before, at the Terneuzen Meet back in February. He brought such a silly amount of goodies with him that it was just overwhelming, all laid out with the most meticulous of care and attention to detail. The entire Audio Technica line of headphones. At least two RSA Tomahawks and two RSA Hornets. Three LaRocco PRII (mkII) in different, eye-popping colors. K-701s, Grados, Corda amps, loads of IEMs (which I have, to this day, never tried), and a veritable sea of LODs, mini-to-minis, mini-to-RCAs in all different lengths, materials, and colors.
Unfortunately for me, as it was my very first meet and I was already kind of nervous, I failed to take advantage of the vast resources lying just one table away from my own. Seemingly every time I glanced over in his direction, Hans had a very serious expression on his face and looked entirely absorbed in thought. What’s more, he rather resembled my freshman-year math professor who I still swear had it in for me from the very first day of class.
Nonetheless, I did need a line-out dock for my iPod, so toward the end of the afternoon I finally made my way over to Hans. When he greeted me with a warm smile and invited me to try anything I’d like, my math professor disappeared and in his place stood a terribly kind gentleman, brimming with enthusiasm for his own impressive range of products and an encyclopedic knowledge of pretty much everything audio. But all too soon, it was time to begin packing-up. Talk about misguided visual impressions and opportunities wasted!
I ended up choosing a sweet looking line-out dock-to-mini in Ultrasone blue, which has served me just wonderfully ever since. But I also left the meet looking forward to visiting Hans one day under more relaxed circumstances.
Qables/audioXperience is located in Nuenen, just east of Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, about an 80-minute drive from where I live. From the pictures on Hans’ site, I was expecting the shop to be located in the central Neunen shopping district, perhaps quaintly nestled in the shadow of the town church-tower. But MapQuest® had other plans in store for me entirely, directing me past a bustling plant nursery, some farmland and then finally into a sprawling modern industrial park, populated by import/exporters, storage facilities, and small high-tech concerns. Curiouser and curiouser!
Hans greeted me as if I were an old acquaintance and led me into his spotless domain. His building is divided down the middle, with two largish offices on the left, and a very spacious listening room on the immediate right. The foyer in between contained a glass display case loaded with IEMs, portable headphones, cables and accessories. Just down the hall a little, I spied one of those fancy cable-cookers, silently going about its business.
As I unpacked my gear, Hans offered me refreshments and asked if I had any trouble finding the place. When I said no, but I was certainly surprised by his location, Hans just smiled knowingly.
Removing the Edition 9s from my bag and gently placing their impressive travel case on the table before him, I could detect a gleam of delight in Hans' eyes when I invited him to do the honors of opening them up. “Oh my”, he said, lifting the lid, “these really are quite something!” I was unpacking my Heed Audio CanAmp when he lifted the Editions out of their aluminum sarcophagus, now smiling broadly, “Very substantial”, he remarked, becoming acquainted with their feel. “Please, try anything at all”.
Overall, I’d describe the interior of the space as having more of a gallery feel to it than retail, all impeccably clean white walls and very minimally, yet tastefully appointed with furnishings, spare artwork and custom-made wall-hangings. Which only serves to allow the product to stand out relatively unfettered, as well it should. So my own gaze was already distracted by the extraordinary array of equipment on view, plenty of stealthy black boxes from Naim (including the ultra high-end CD555), Wilson Benesch floorstanding loudspeakers and the gorgeous WB Circle turntable, and finally a phalanx of stacked headphone amps including the Naim Headline, Musical Fidelity X-Can v3, Sugden HeadMaster, and Lehman Audio Black Cube Linear. But the object of my most immediate desire was the LaRocco PRII (mkII) in combat-ready silver-gray. I grasped it firmly, already enjoying its smooth contours, and readied my PROline 2500s for their latest adventure.
“Shall we begin?” Hans asked, plugging the Edition 9s into the CanAmp. And so began our own little private mini-meet. So stay tuned, disco citizens, for more fun to follow.
