lord_tris
1000+ Head-Fier
Here is a thread for people to talk about things headphone and music. and a pic dump for the meet.
The tubes are Mullard EL34 XF2 with OO Getter.Always happy to see some CD-T and BHSE love! What tubes were running in that?
Yes the AB-1266 Abyss I think are definitely special. I agree the Sundara’s and the HE-6 are also definitely worth a listen. I thought the HD-800S were going to be there or I would have brought my my HE-800’s sorry.I didn’t realize how much I missed going to these. It was fantastic to get to see old friends and make some cool new ones too. Also nice to re-evaluate some old favs and listen to some new cans and amps that had come out since the last time I made it to a meet. I have a few thoughts, so apologies in advance for anyone reading on mobile.
Hope to see you all again next time!
- The Stax 009 is still an incredible headphone that is an absolute endgame experience. That said, after listening to some of the other monsters at the house that day, it didn’t floor me like it did all those years ago the first time I heard it. Still one of the best I’ve ever heard, but I don’t think I’ll ever go down that road.
- What. The heck. Is the Abyss? This one is legit the biggest surprise. I’m not the most golden-eared individual, but these legitimately blurred the line between the sound of a high-quality recording and live music for me. The one thing I keep coming back to is that I listened to a salsa song I know well and the bongos have never sounded more real. Like…not even the 009s could make the bongos sound as good as the Abyss did. It was the weirdest thing to wear on my head, but the way it made me feel listening to it is probably one of the biggest shocks I’ve ever had at a meet, on par with the first time I ever listened to the HD800. Absolutely out of this world, would consider owning if I could figure out how to make them comfortable.
- The second biggest surprise was that I’ve completely changed my opinion on Hifiman. I was always kind of meh on them. The HE-400 and 560 were fine and the RE-400 was fine, but never really wowed me. The Sundara, though…wow, what a gem. I’m floored at how good it sounds for the price. I’d go so far as to say it’s a genuine contender to the HD600 series as a strong rec for headphone newcomers and punches well above its price point. Wish I could have had more time to try it with different amps or do a head to head between it and an HD650.
- Hifiman continued: the other surprise, and me willingly eating crow, is that I misjudged the HE-6 all those years ago. It was one of the first high-end headphones I ever listened to, and even out of a speaker amp back then, it didn’t do a thing for me. I was genuinely disappointed. This time, even out of the Master 9, which only lets it do maybe half of what it can do, the HE-6 really and truly spoke to me. It impressed me enough that I’m putting one on my short list and making ‘listen to a 100% HE-6’ an item on my audiophile bucket list. I finally understand why so many people gush about this thing and why so many chase the holy grail of the perfect amplification for this hungry headphone.
- Quick thoughts to wrap up: I still love how my LCD-2 and Liquid Carbon sound even after auditioning all this other amazing gear, Fostex remains an underappreciated brand that I really enjoy, the Schiit Magnius is an excellent little amp but I’d pass on the Modius for a different DAC, the Chord Mojo is a tiny beast and now I guess I need to get one (and better closed back cans for travel because it does not pair well with the Beyer dt1350 I have), and I’m making it a personal goal to have an HD800 before the next meetup because this is the first one I go to where one wasn’t present and that just feels wrong.
Oh, how fun! Let me know if there's another one of these around the Columbus Ohio area!
It has been only a month since this event and I have already bought a new pair of heaphones and new dac and neither of them is one I listened to at the meet, but I’m remembering the enjoyment of exploring different sounds and enjoying the journey. I’ll be curious to talk to you all again next time and see what’s changed in everyone’s rig in the interim. Thanks for being such a rad bunch and hope to see you all again in 2022!
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Damn you have to let us know the way you went.]