[mikemercer]

Quote:

Looks like Arthur likes the Vandersteen speakers

yeah we guessed that up aways in the thread!
 
though it could be worse...
 
LOL

 

[Bill-P]

Would love to post the rest of my photos...
 
But God, I am HOOKED to the ALO Continental v2!
 
It's very unlike a portable Studio Six. But in a good way. It's way beyond any portable and battery-powered device I have ever tried.
 
Just wow...
 
Now I regret not discovering this amp prior to the meet. I think John would have liked it very much. Ah well, February meet it is then.

 

[mikemercer]

Quote:

Would love to post the rest of my photos...
 
But God, I am HOOKED to the ALO Continental v2!
 
It's very unlike a portable Studio Six. But in a good way. It's way beyond any portable and battery-powered device I have ever tried.
 
Just wow...
 
Now I regret not discovering this amp prior to the meet. I think John would have liked it very much. Ah well, February meet it is then.

Feb is the next Bay Area Meet??
and yeah the Continental is a GREAT piece of kit.
 
We'll have to schedule a get-together in the meantime.  I'm up in Sonoma County, but once we're settled I've got close to 3 acres
and plenty of space to have a BBQ and an outdoor get-together (not to mention hosting a few inside).
 
BTW GUYS - 
 
I took the gloves OFF in my latest essay for The High Fidelity Report entitled:
Occupy Hi-fi
 
where Head-Fi and Head-Fiers (including pictures from the Headmasters and LA Meets)
are FRONT AND CENTER!!
 
The reaction from my peers in the high end have been remarkably supportive (I'm VERY
thankful) and I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts!
 
I also started a thread about it.  
 
Sorry to derail the thread for a minute...

 

[aamefford]

Quote:

Feb is the next Bay Area Meet??
and yeah the Continental is a GREAT piece of kit.
 
We'll have to schedule a get-together in the meantime.  I'm up in Sonoma County, but once we're settled I've got close to 3 acres
and plenty of space to have a BBQ and an outdoor get-together (not to mention hosting a few inside).
 
BTW GUYS - 
 
I took the gloves OFF in my latest essay for The High Fidelity Report entitled:
Occupy Hi-fi
 
where Head-Fi and Head-Fiers (including pictures from the Headmasters and LA Meets)
are FRONT AND CENTER!!
 
The reaction from my peers in the high end have been remarkably supportive (I'm VERY
thankful) and I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts!
 
I also started a thread about it.  
 
Sorry to derail the thread for a minute...

SONOMA!  That's like right next door to me.  I'm in the bedroom community wasteland of Vacaville, right between Sac and SF.  Actually a really, really nice community, save for the dearth of non-chain and fine dining restaurants.  3 acres in Sonoma county - I picture a half dozen little tables with headphone rigs out in the back garden area, a nice umbrella over each, some nice Chardonnay or Sparkling at each table, and servers circulating with chocolate covered strawberries and the like....
 
Oh!  or better yet - a big barn door off the hinges and laid over big saw horses as a table, that big freakin' ALO tube party amp of yours, cigars, and pot still brandy dipped out of the barrel into pewter mugs, the lot of us dressed in clothes similar to the "What's in your wallet" Norsemen from the CITI commercials, the whole thing degenerating into a glorious drunken brawl.  I'M IN!

 

[mikemercer]

Quote:

SONOMA!  That's like right next door to me.  I'm in the bedroom community wasteland of Vacaville, right between Sac and SF.  Actually a really, really nice community, save for the dearth of non-chain and fine dining restaurants.  3 acres in Sonoma county - I picture a half dozen little tables with headphone rigs out in the back garden area, a nice umbrella over each, some nice Chardonnay or Sparkling at each table, and servers circulating with chocolate covered strawberries and the like....
 
Oh!  or better yet - a big barn door off the hinges and laid over big saw horses as a table, that big freakin' ALO tube party amp of yours, cigars, and pot still brandy dipped out of the barrel into pewter mugs, the lot of us dressed in clothes similar to the "What's in your wallet" Norsemen from the CITI commercials, the whole thing degenerating into a glorious drunken brawl.  I'M IN!

Well,
 
The way you described it: I'm IN TOO!!

 
And we don't have a barn, but we do have old antique doors (w/ glass) that we've been holding onto to build into tables!
CRAZY you mentioned that.
 
Unfortunately this is a dry house because my wife is a recovering alcoholic, and so I don't drink to support her in her 
good fight.  But we could plan it when she's out of town!!  Wink Wink
So you guys can have some drinks!
 
But yeah! That's what I'm picturing, an outdoor Head-Fi Meet, or at least a Head-Fi get-together
 
NICE vision bro

 

[aamefford]

Quote:

Well,
 
The way you described it: I'm IN TOO!!

 
And we don't have a barn, but we do have old antique doors (w/ glass) that we've been holding onto to build into tables!
CRAZY you mentioned that.
 
Unfortunately this is a dry house because my wife is a recovering alcoholic, and so I don't drink to support her in her 
good fight.  But we could plan it when she's out of town!!  Wink Wink
So you guys can have some drinks!
 
But yeah! That's what I'm picturing, an outdoor Head-Fi Meet, or at least a Head-Fi get-together
 
NICE vision bro

Ahhh, skip the brandy and go straight for the brawl.  I don't drink much any more either (did enough early on, I can take it or leave it now).  It just all sort of fit into the roll I was on.  Would love to see your place some time - I love the area.  I spent 10 years in the Napa valley in my 20's as a mad restaurateur.

 

[mikemercer]

Quote:

Ahhh, skip the brandy and go straight for the brawl.  I don't drink much any more either (did enough early on, I can take it or leave it now).  It just all sort of fit into the roll I was on.  Would love to see your place some time - I love the area.  I spent 10 years in the Napa valley in my 20's as a mad restaurateur.

yeah comin' from NY originally, this is paradise and I've felt that way since I first visited Santa Rosa 16 years ago (my wife's hometown)!!
 
skip the brandy and go for the brawl.
 
I LOVE IT

 

[Bill-P]

Quote:

Feb is the next Bay Area Meet??
and yeah the Continental is a GREAT piece of kit.
 
We'll have to schedule a get-together in the meantime.  I'm up in Sonoma County, but once we're settled I've got close to 3 acres
and plenty of space to have a BBQ and an outdoor get-together (not to mention hosting a few inside).

 
Yep. Feb is the next Bay Area meet. I know I'll come light this time. ES10 + Continental covers pretty much all of my genre bandwidth. There really isn't much else I'd ask to hear... except for maybe the refinement level of that closed-back Audeze!
 
Anyway, I'm down for an outdoor BBQ! Though from my location to there, it'd take roughly 3.5 hours of driving time.
 
Ah well, I made the drive for CAS, so there's no reason I can't set aside a date for BBQ!
 
Side note: uploading photos and writing impressions now. Still can't take Continental off my ears. This thing is intoxicating!

 

[Bill-P]

Headmaster photos:
 
AK120 + HD800 portable rig!?

 
They look damn gorgeous next to each other, by the way. Love the stand!

 
And here's the player:

 
One more shot since I like this combo quite a bit. Portability remains to be seen, though, since HD800 isn't exactly for portable use.

 
Warren checking out the Alpha Dogs. He looked very serious!

 
So I went back and checked the AK120 again. Hm... didn't know Momentum comes in black/red. My favorite color scheme.

 
Cases... I like that one on the far left a lot!

 
Just for perspective:

 
Oh, and here's AK's IEM. They were quite good. Especially for the money.

 
Hmm... I'd love to have that stand if I decide to go IEM again. I wonder if they sell it separately...

 
Here's the packaging. Pretty unassuming.

 
And here's the included carrying bag. Very nice. Oh, and love the color scheme again! (red and black)

 
Moon Audio cables:

 
In case you need a close-up of those headphones:

 
Sadly, I couldn't get to hear these. I "heard" from other people that they were quite good.

 
Alpha Dogs again.

 
Audeze's Steam Punk LCD. Very handsome headphone! Not sure if it also does music. I was assured that it does.

 
Again!

 
Different angle!

 
Woo Audio stand. I liked this combo as well!

 
And this! One of these days, I must get me one of those Woo amps...

 
Beauty!

 
Top down since that last shot couldn't quite capture this:

 
This was interesting.

 
HeadAmp's table. One of the rare moments when... there was no one there.

 
Likewise here.

 
Here's the whole setup! I tried to take a photo of this straight on but it didn't quite work, so this is the best I got for you.

 
Amarra. Their EQ was a joy to work with! Too bad I screwed up on white balance.

 
Back to Cavalli's booth. I noticed... THIS!

 
Yessir. JPS Labs Abyss.

 
Very very interesting design.

 
Cavalli's Liquid Gold. I'm saving up for one of these bad boys!

 
Someone told me that the amp (Liquid Gold) was made for this headphone (Abyss). So they're actually a rig, not a separate amp and headphone.

 
Back to Moon Audio table, here's an assortment of DAPs. iPhone included.

 
These IEMs were... interesting. The fit was a bit weird due to those... foam tips.

 
I didn't notice this when I was taking photos the first round. But then I did, and... bam!

 
Yeah... funny I kept seeing these and never put them on. I should have!

 
See? Even the amp being used to drive them looks interesting!

 
And the source is this MacBook right here.

 
Other headphones on display at Moon Audio's table. Representatives of their classes and price ranges. Except for the HD700.

 
Oops. In case you didn't notice. Finger included just so you know: that's the HDVD 800. HD800 sounds very nice out of that.

 
Finally, back to Audeze's table. Infamous Eddie Current rig. How's the sound? Mikemercer already went over that.

 
Yep. It's that filter... rig again. I must admit... it looks cool.

 
And if you don't want to take Mike's words for it, see John's reaction when he heard the Eddie Current rig. Classic!

 
Pono player!

 

 

 

 

 
Here's that Steam Punk LCD again. Love it!

 
And I didn't forget Schiit's stand. They brought their entire lineup. Unfortunately, I couldn't capture the whole table. And I think they've already got awesome photos on their website, so... I didn't want to try and match them. I personally liked the Valhalla a lot!

 
And that's it! Meet photos are next.

 

[wolfetan44]

You started off with me

 

[AnakChan]

Quote:

Headmaster photos:
 
Cases... I like that one on the far left a lot!

 
 
I didn't notice this when I was taking photos the first round. But then I did, and... bam!

 
 

 
I didn't know there were multiple colours offered for the AK120 cases. How do I get hold of iRiver to get one of these coloured cases!?
 
As for the M-100 on the Moon Audio table, I assume that's a balanced cable. If so, do you know if Drew modified the internals of the M-100? By default the dual input headphone jack is more for the user's preference of plugging in left or right, or can be used for mixing. But in the above pix, I'm guessing it's more for balancing and some circuit changes may be needed to done inside the M-100?

 

[Frank I]

Bill super job with the pictures an impressions. John had a blast there and I really enjoyed meeting everyone there. I know I missed some guys when I had to cover some rooms for Dagogo but I really glad we had the meet and will do this again next year and try to commit more space if I can. I am hoping to hang with some of the Bay area and La crowd in Denver this October and I am committed to attending that CanJam and I will be covering iot for the magazine but I will let Constantine cover the rooms so I can hand with you guys and just cove the can- jam stuff.

 

[mikemercer]

Quote:

Headmaster photos:
 
AK120 + HD800 portable rig!?
 
2013-08-25 1808 EDT: Photos clipped by moderator. Please do not quote long posts in their entireties, especially those containing approximately a bazillion photos.
 
KILLER PICTURES!!

and I'm SO glad you dug the Audeze/Eddie Current/Vintage dCs rig!
 
I lent my boy Alex (Rosson) my dCs Delius DAC to show that a classic DAC, when updated regularly, can still hang with current stuff!
I also put the Sonicweld Diverter on the DAC to aid it along sonically.  But it ended up being, as far as I'm concerned, the best sound at the show!!
 
I'm PUMPED you liked it!  I was GLUED TO IT when I set it up early Friday morning!  I drove that stuff down from the North Bay!
and I still have to bring in my whole rig w/ the ALO Studio Six for the meet!!
 
What a GREAT time

 

[Asr]

Forgot to include 1 other gear impression....
 
Monster Beats Studio: At one point during the day I found myself in a room with these legendary headphones.

So I took out my own MP3 player and checked 'em out on it with some music that I know really well. I'll be the first to admit that I'd love to bash the Beats if I could, but these didn't sound terrible. They were better than what I was expecting! Ok they weren't exactly "good" per se, and I can think of cheaper headphones that sound better (like the Koss KSC75), but they weren't a total piece of sonic crap either. I'd put them on the same level as the Sennheiser HD419 that I own, which retails for $60, so I guess the Beats Studio are comparable to $60 headphones?
 
Quote:

Thank you! Hopefully I can see more of this. BTW any thoughts on TH-900 vs closed Audeze?

 
The two are completely different and I don't mean by how they sound. The TH900 is fairly lightweight and has minimal clamp, whereas all of the Audeze headphones so far have been heavy, bulky, and have the clamping force of head-gloves. So the TH900 beats any Audeze on comfort alone. They also have very different electrical characteristics - the closed Audeze seemed to have the same inefficiency level as the LCD-2/LCD-3 (90-91 dB/mW), while the TH900 has much higher efficiency (100 dB/mW). Which also means that not all amps will drive the TH900 and the closed Audeze equally well, as they have different impedances too.
 
I've also said of the TH900 before that I think it's way better than the LCD-3. None of the Audeze headphones have been stellar to me - I've found them all to have suffocatingly small soundstages, marginal clarity, and severely lacking in musical dynamics. The closed Audeze didn't seem any better to me than the LCD-2/LCD-3. The TH900 has an unusually open soundstage for a closed headphone (more akin to the also-open-sounding Audio-Technica W5000), very good clarity, and proper musical dynamics. I'd say that the TH900 is a proper "high-end" closed headphone but wouldn't say the same about the closed Audeze. It just sounded like a closed LCD-2 to me, along with everything that implies (more bass quantity due to enclosed drivers, small-ish soundstage, etc).
 
In fact, I'd be more inclined to recommend the MrSpeakers Alpha Dog over the closed Audeze as it represents a better value and has better sound IMO that doesn't have any of the recurring Audeze flaws. No offense to Audeze but I was just so non-plussed by the closed headphones - there was really nothing sonically remarkable about it to me.
 
Quote:

Did you pick up the free Chesky disc they were giving out?  It was the binaural+ Jazz In The New Harmonic album.

 
Apparently I missed that. If I'd seen it I know I would've picked it up, as I can never resist free music.

 

[Stoney]

Quote:

Please do not quote long posts in their entireties, especially those containing approximately a bazillion photos.

 
After seeing the long post of great photos, I was pretty sure someone was going to quote in its entirety. I almost posted a dare for someone to do it. Oh well.