[sceleratus]

I took a huge effort and commitment to pull that off. It was a joy to attend. I was overwhelmed.
Many thanks.

 

[sceleratus]

I must make a public appology to Tyll for continually screwing up the pronunciation of his name. It was some sort of stupid mental block that it always came out wrong. Tyll thank you for taking the time to audition my amp. I know you were pulled in 10 directions.

 

[mackat]

Looks like it was an amazing meet! Sorry I couldn't come, something came up last minute. I'll be at the next one though for sure!

 

[mbritt]

I really enjoyed this meet.  The rooms were a bit smaller than the LAX meet which makes it harder to listen to open cans but great for socializing and keeping the energy up.  A lot of nice people with similar interests showed up to share their headphone rigs and talk about the hobby.  Thanks to the organizers and the vendors and to everyone who brought their gear.  I didn't get a commemorative shot glass but I left with a brand new pair of Mad Dogs as a souvenir.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[morserotonin]

I am back in Bakersfield as of now... I will post more impressions later, but thanks every one for a great meet.  Especially Ethan and Warren  for all the hard work... and Michael Mercer for being awesome as always. I had some great conversations and heard some really amazing gear!

 

[Gilly87]

Who was giving out shots? Whoever it was, thanks for helping me make my final decision on the HD600! And to the guy on the other side of mbritt, too, thanks for letting me A/B with your 80 ohms and try your 650s
 
Does anyone have a map of the layout?

 

[Gilly87]

Oh and mbritt I had a great time being your neighbor, if you want those HD598s I'm selling them ^_^ Shoot me a PM and we can discuss pricing...

 

[Dean Seislove]

Like many posters here, this was my first Head-Fi meet, and I had a great time. Cheers to all of the friendly, informative folks who were only too generous to share their time and knowledge. Eddie Current/Stax combo was awesome, as were the vintage Stax models mentioned earlier in this thread. Really looking forward to the news and events forthcoming, as announced at the meet!

 

[Watermutt]

Very thankful to everyone who assisted in putting on the Head-fi meet!  It was a very positive 1st  time experience.
I only had 2 1/2 hrs to experience a few  headphones and amps while trying to listen and learn.  Would have loved to be able to stay the day.  I was with a good friend and she enjoyed herself as well.
I spoke with the following patient folks who made the adventure worth-the while!:
 
Dan Clark at the Mad-dog table.  1st pair I listened to.   I meant to go back and try them again.  I enjoyed them, especially in regards to their price.
 
The gentleman at the Ultimate Ears table was very informative. Thought I would try the headphones first then go back to him to try the UE stuff, just couldn't..
 
The Audeze table was great.  I could hear the difference between the LCD2 and LCD3...both were amazing yet the LCD3 seemed to have tighter bass.  Alex (Alexander Rosson? not sure if this was his name) explained that the lighter membrane of the LCD3 allowed it to react to the signal more accurately.
 
Michael Mercer demo'd a Mytek Stereo 192  DAC> ALO Studio 6 amp and had a Senn HD-800 andLCD3 headphones.  I think I spent 1/2+ hr talking and A/B the two cans using identical cables with his setup.  He was very helpful and great to talk with.    He's very passionate about the audio profession. It was great listening to him.  I heard the wide soundstage of the HD800 yet seemed to enjoy LCD3 more.  It seemed to be abit more intense and engaging.  My first deliberate comparison for both headphones.
 
Ethan demo'd a Grace Design m903>DNA Stratus 2A3 along with HD800 and the HiFiman  HE-500.  I learned that with a higher resolution song, the HD800 started to sound more  engaging.  I think I liked the HE-500 best prior to listening to the higher rez music.  Ethan made it easy to A/B the cans.  I also got to compare the solid state Grace with the tube sound of the DNA Stratus.  The Grace was nice but flat compared to the DNA: it had a very different presentation.   I was at this table for quite awhile.
 
I met Donald North for 30 seconds...not long enough to say much.  I meant to spend some time at the Eddie Current table but time wouldn't allow it.  
 
For a red hot minute I listened to the DIY 300b amp on a LCD2.  Sounded good but I was too rushed.  I believe I spoke with Randy (Sceleratus.)  He was like everyone else I met at the meet, very friendly and full of info.  
 
I wanted to spend time at the tables with the Denon, the Grado's,  the Stax, the Cavalli, the Blue Hawaii, the WooWoo audio, the Koss, the Kingsound Electric,  and so forth.  
Again, I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn through experiencing some equipment.  Reading reviews can be helpful but only up to a point (obviously!)
 
I guess the next big opportunity to experience this much equipment is going to be at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in October?   It's a 14-15 hr drive..dunno if that's going to happen!  I'm not ready to purchase a set of cans or amp yet but I'm sure getting hungry!!  

 

[warrenpchi]

So much to post!  But before I get to all that, I just have to say to Ethan (third_eye):
 

 

[mikemercer]

Quote:

Sorry to miss you Jeff!  Hope you got to listen to a bunch of Stax you wanted to hear.
 
Btw, does anybody know what username Dean from Positive Feedback uses here?  He left his card at my table because he was interested in buying something from me but the email addy isn't working.

hey brotha!
 
Dean's my PFO teammate and good friend.
PLS PM me for his contact info, I'll lace you up no problem!!
 
His Neoteric Listener column is awesome, and he's been supporting
personal audio for a long time (and has had my back in more ways than one).
He's one of US!

 

[dsound]

Quote:

Who was giving out shots? Whoever it was, thanks for helping me make my final decision on the HD600! And to the guy on the other side of mbritt, too, thanks for letting me A/B with your 80 ohms and try your 650s
 
Does anyone have a map of the layout?

That was me (although I hope that no-one was doing shots with the Lismore! 

).  I'm glad you liked the HD600/Bottlehead setup! 
 

 

[mikemercer]

You
You are still dangerous.
But you can be my wingman anytime
 
Bullschiit
You could be mine
 
Quote:

So much to post!  But before I get to all that, I just have to say to Ethan (third_eye):
 

 

[uzi]

Quote:

And to the guy on the other side of mbritt, too, thanks for letting me A/B with your 80 ohms and try your 650s

That would be me.  You're welcome.
 
It was definitely an awesome meet for me, and I'm back home in the SF Bay Area now.  It was nice to see the reception the Bottlehead Crack + Speedball and the Burson Soloist I brought got.  Had great conversations with many folks, came away with the headphone glass, a pair of Mad Dogs and some UE earplugs on order.  I briefly got to listen to the HD800, LCD-3, T1 and HE-500 again... I definitely want to have longer listening sessions with them again sometime.  Got to try a Schiit Bifrost Uber on my setup and liked what I heard.  Those are the highlights at least... didn't really get a chance to sit and listen to a lot of stuff otherwise... hopefully next time.

 

[mrbig]

Quote:

So much to post!  But before I get to all that, I just have to say to Ethan (third_eye):
 

I bet these two went furniture shopping together and walked their dogs after that man-hug.
 
By far the best sound for me was the Eddie Current/Stax007 combo.  I'm gonna have to re-think my WA22/LCD3 setup.