[shaizada]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redcarmoose /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...One funny Kodak moment was seeing these guys not getting something as simple as a power cord to plug in right. It was only a power cord, but this is the enthusiasm that makes this group of people tick. This is the effort and enthusiasm that makes Head-Fi tick. And you thought it was the advertisers and sponsors? Wrong!...

Dude! Are you kidding me? That Virtual Dynamics power SNAKE can take all the abuse in the world and is actually MEANT to be twisted/shaped into position before being plugged in. But one of the conductors broke right near the ferrite are one one end. It really sucked because IPODPJ had just taken it out of his rig in the other room to bring it over to my setup to try with the Audio GD. I can't imagine what must be going through his mind when I told him "it doesn't work man, the cable has gone bad."

That part really sucked...he's just a great guy and that was just not fair. But yeah, there were a whole bunch of us there waiting to get that sorted out and listen to the results. Spirits were very high as usual!

Did I mention your rig sounded absolutely SUBLIME with the Denon D7000?

I'm coming over and BORROWING that headphone very soon once you're over the excitement. You are barely a city away from me. Better yet, I'll have you come over.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaizada /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dude! Are you kidding me? That Virtual Dynamics power SNAKE can take all the abuse in the world and is actually MEANT to be twisted/shaped into position before being plugged in. But one of the conductors broke right near the ferrite are one one end. It really sucked because IPODPJ had just taken it out of his rig in the other room to bring it over to my setup to try with the Audio GD. I can't imagine what must be going through his mind when I told him "it doesn't work man, the cable has gone bad." That part really sucked...he's just a great guy and that was just not fair. But yeah, there were a whole bunch of us there waiting to get that sorted out and listen to the results. Spirits were very high as usual! Did I mention your rig sounded absolutely SUBLIME with the Denon D7000? I'm coming over and BORROWING that headphone very soon once you're over the excitement. You are barely a city away from me. Better yet, I'll have you come over.

Ha......Yes I am so new I had no clue it was a power cord under CPR. He did take it well. HaHa I am so new I do not know what is going on. Ignorance is bliss.
After the 7000 honeymoon is over you are welcome to see how you like em. I do like them. Not reality but a fun faction of one!

 

[santacore]

Quote:

Did I mention your rig sounded absolutely SUBLIME with the Denon D7000? I'm coming over and BORROWING that headphone very soon once you're over the excitement. You are barely a city away from me. Better yet, I'll have you come over.

Ah, the morning after regret is setting in. At least I know they went to a good home and will be enjoyed. Plus, they did sound rocking in your system. Enjoy!!

 

[leichnitz]

First, let me say it was a pleasure hosting this group. Everyone was very respectful of the place, brought table protection, helped with setup, breakdown, etc. I am highly confident I will have no trouble getting my full deposit back. You were all very kind too in sharing your experience and thoughts on audio equipment. I learned a lot. Moreover, I did not mention the fee jar once, but at the end of the evening, I counted up $125 in contributions, which exactly covered the facility fee.

Second, let me commend those of you who have the fortitude and dedication to haul heavy, expensive equipment from your cozy living rooms into cars and then into a strange hall, only so that others can share in your wonderful sounds. The two turntable guys (Redcarmoose and Shaizada) get special props, but several others on the digital side risked highly sensitive materials (and likely lost some of it to moving damage, LCD and power cord, etc) for the listening pleasure of others. I was impressed by this level of effort and generosity.

After spending the day with all this fine equipment, I have two reactions.

First, I am happy to report that almost everything I heard sounded great. But this meant that I did not have extreme reactions to any single piece of equipment vis-a-vis the others (other than the turntable set ups, but I am not going there!). I heard a lot of differences, obviously, but each system was good in its own way. This was actually a relief, in retrospect. I am as acquisitive as the next guy, and expected to leave my first meet with a whole new list of "must haves." Eg, I had been thinking before the meet that I really "need" some AKGs or Beyer 880s or maybe Dennons. But having heard them all yesterday, I found myself strangely content with my Shure840s. Yes, there were differences between them, and yes I probably will pick up some others over the years (or custom IEMs, as was recommended by Shaizada). But I did not feel like any of them would radically change my audio life (as say my first set of Grados did, before I starting finding them too shrill and needing something different; or when I first plugged in my DacMagic). Perhaps mid-fi audio quality is good enough nowadays that the point of diminishing returns is pretty low. Or perhaps, to paraphrase Redcarmoose, audio ignorance is bliss.

Partly this may be due to difficulty in comparing systems. At any particular table, I wondered -- is it the power supply or source or dac or amp that most contribute to the wonderful sound? Hard to tell. At the Stax table, the same stax cans were hooked up to different amps, daisy-chained from the same source. So there, I could tell which amp I liked, and then which stax headphones (the Omegas). But could I say whether I liked the audio-gd c2c over the Phoenix, for example? By the time I got across the room, heard a different song on a different source, dac, etc, it was difficult to tell.

My other observation is that the portable crowd was under-represented. There were only two mobile amp/dacs to try out. The RSA Predator sounded great, but there was nothing from the Pico or Basso line to compare against.
Paradoxically, the people who have invested the most money, in the heaviest equipment, seem more inclined to move and share that equipment than the guys who have easy to move portable stuff. That was unexpected.

Anyway, I did really enjoy hearing such great equipment and meeting you all.

 

[dallan]

I have brought portable stuff to meets that barely even got a listen. Sorry i was to sick to come or I would have at least brought my transportable. Sounds like it was fun and i missed out but so it goes. Congrats on the first hosting leichnitz.

 

[vcoheda]

some nice gear.

 

[AtomikPi]

Thanks to Leichnitz for hosting this, everyone for bringing gear, and PJ for giving my Beta a good chain to plug in to.

I’ll preface this with some info about my preferences so you can get a better sense of what background I’m writing from. The qualities I value most in a system are transparency, speed, soundstage, and neutrality, in that order. I don’t mind slightly exaggerated bass or treble as long as it doesn’t interfere with the rest of the FR. My musical preferences are electronic and rock primarily, with some jazz and classical thrown in.

I started off the day listening to my Beta through PJ’s source and tweaks. The HD800’s really continue to impress me and I even thought for a while that they may actually be better than the JH13’s due to soundstage, although the JH13’s bass extension, flexibility, and isolation convinced me to buy them over the 800’s. I then went over to Donald’s setup to listen to Deadneddz’ Qualias. I’m not really sure what I think of them; the highs are really pronounced and give a somewhat artificial sense of detail, the bass is adequate, and the mids are a bit weird, probably either recessed or strangely colored. Not $4000 good in my opinion. I went over to Santacore’s system to compare the D7000’s, which I considered buying a few months back, with the JH13’s. The D7000 really have a ton of bass, but the quality of the JH13 bass is immensely superior in extension and speed. They’re really not in the same league.

I spent some time with Redcarmoose’s vinyl rig. The vintage Sony’s were surprisingly decent, especially with his old 45 rpm psytrance, and the HD800’s also synergized pretty well. Shiazada broke his back to bring his turntable, so I stopped by and listened to his HD600’s, which didn’t impress me. In my opinion, they’re lacking in transparency compared to some other phones (JH13, 800, Omega II mk1, K1K, for example). PJ wound up bringing over his 800’s, and the rig improved immensely, although I think I can say confidently I’m a solid-state person. I thought the B52 was a bit muddy compared to ss yet it didn’t have the same tubey lushness of the WA5 (“Jack of all trades, master of none”). I don’t want to get flamed, and I’m not saying it was a bad amp, but I can’t say I’m a huge fan. I compared the modded and unmodded 800’s, with the same cables, and for me there was one obvious difference. The modded 800’s had a more precisely imaged soundstage with cymbals emanating from specific points. The unmodded version had a more diffuse soundstage, not to say that the unmodded version was “worse” per se.

The last rigs I tried were the stats and K1K. I hadn’t liked the O2 mk 1’s before, and Shiazada had mentioned that they really need a top-tier amp to shine, but I decided to give them another listen anyway. I didn’t get to try the Exstata because the cdp wasn’t reading burned cd’s, so I plugged the O2’s into the T1. I was actually impressed with the extremely fast, transparent, effortless way they reproduced the strings and flutes in Shpongle’s Tales of the Inexpressible. I’m looking forward to trying the O2 mk1’s with a wider range of music and with higher-end amplification. I hadn’t had an extended listening session with the K1K, so I listened to them out of Donald’s ghetto-looking beast. The soundstage was really great – I couldn’t really notice the headphones – all I heard was sound. There was a good amount of bass rolloff, though, and I didn’t like the K1K as much as I had liked the 800’s or O2’s.

It was a fun day, and I’m sure there will be more meets.

 

[strangelove]

Man I'm sorry I missed this. I would have loved to hear the WA5LE and compared it to my WA4 (wondering if it's worth the cost to upgrade). Oh well, maybe next time.

 

[manaox2]

Seems like an excellent meet. Anyone try the O2 on anything but the SRM-717? maybe more exStata impressions?

 

[Donald North]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomikPi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Donald’s ghetto-looking beast. The soundstage was really great – I couldn’t really notice the headphones – all I heard was sound.

Yeah, the Kit One wasn't created to please the eye

What you describe is what I love about the K1000: You don't feel at all like you are wearing or listening through headphones. You put them on and experience clear, engaging music.

 

[shaizada]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomikPi /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...PJ wound up bringing over his 800’s, and the rig improved immensely, although I think I can say confidently I’m a solid-state person. I thought the B52 was a bit muddy compared to ss yet it didn’t have the same tubey lushness of the WA5 (“Jack of all trades, master of none”). I don’t want to get flamed, and I’m not saying it was a bad amp, but I can’t say I’m a huge fan. I compared the modded and unmodded 800’s, with the same cables, and for me there was one obvious difference. The modded 800’s had a more precisely imaged soundstage with cymbals emanating from specific points. The unmodded version had a more diffuse soundstage, not to say that the unmodded version was “worse” per se. ....

The HD600 are excellent when run fully balanced, which the vinyl rig wasn't set up as. My phono stage is single ended. I'm sure you would have had a different opinion if the fully digital balanced rig I have was setup. Maybe next time

The B52 is ANYTHING but muddy.

Next, the tube compliment in the B52 was actually setup with the right tubes as a preamp section for my speaker rig. I didn't change them for the meet as I was in a hurry to get there. Rolling in some Amperex 7062 with RCA 5687 bronze plates would have lit up a smile through the HD-600 and the HD650

You want fast and detailed for a solid state like sound, throw in some Siemens Chrome plates 12AU7 with some Tungsol 5697 Black ribbed plates and take in all the detail you want. Anyhow, for headphone listening, you have to have the right tube compliment and use the B52 with the Sennheisers as it was meant to be run...balanced. Next meet, I'll bring the digital rig instead.

I really enjoy the sound signature of the B52 which can be changed to your hearts content with rolling tubes.

 

[IPodPJ]

What digital gear do you have, Shaizada?

 

[shaizada]

Hey Phil

Mostly it's listed in my profile but here you go:

3TB lossless AIFF files on a DROBO -> Macbook Pro iTunes -> Red Wine Battery Powered USB to SPDIF Converter -> Furutech Audio Reference III Digital BNC to BNC -> Reimyo DAP 777 Dac (Upgraded by the Upgrade Company) -> Harmonix Golden Performance HS101 XLR Balanced Output -> RSA B52 -> Stefan Arts Equinox Balanced Cable to -> Sennheiser HD 650/600. Exactpower EP15a feeding an Exactpower SP15x4 Balanced Power unit used for the DAC and RSA B52.

Plus a whole bunch of tweaks and ancillary products that were carefully chosen after long listening tests to extract the most out of the components.

Anyhow, what did you decide about the VD Power cable? I'm sure you'll figure out a good solution.

 

[melomaniac]

cannot believe this. I mean, erik mentioned sth happening in the OC, but I completely spaced here. a meet, practically in my backyard, I could have walked over with a Pico, a couple of Beyers, maybe a Woo 3+ or something, a Laptop and a DAC. but no, it takes me weeks to realize what I missed. I suck! - next time, someone PM me or something. wake me up, please!

 

[Redcarmoose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by melomaniac /img/forum/go_quote.gif cannot believe this. I mean, erik mentioned sth happening in the OC, but I completely spaced here. a meet, practically in my backyard, I could have walked over with a Pico, a couple of Beyers, maybe a Woo 3+ or something, a Laptop and a DAC. but no, it takes me weeks to realize what I missed. I suck! - next time, someone PM me or something. wake me up, please!

News Flash........
Oc is the place for another at month end!