[JustinBieber]

OK, guess I'll be the first to start us off with an impressions thread! Here is an album of photos and some small thoughts of mine, apologies for the phone quality pictures: http://imgur.com/a/nqY53 and here is some further discussion on /r/headphones https://pay.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/2h36ol/photos_and_impressions_2014_bay_area_little_big/
 
I had lots of fun. Unfortunately my parents made me leave early (at 4 o' clock) 

. Stuff was getting good at that time too. 
 
Hope to see some more pics/and thoughts here soon. 

 

[aamefford]

Nice photos and impressions, thank you.

 

[Bill-P]

Arrggg... car incident! I saw it coming, but I wished for a miracle, and the poor thing decided to give up half way. Plus my phone was out of battery at just the right time.

My sincerest apologies to those who were expecting to see me. I'll make it up for you next time!

 

[ed45]

Great meet.  I only brought my Geek Out 720 but I got to try an eclectic mix of Hifiman, Sennheiser, Audeze, Sony, Stax, Audiotechnica, Beyer, and learned a lot. Thanks to everybody for taking the time to talk to this relative newbie, letting him try their gear, and imparting their wisdom on headphones, amps, and music.

 

[stjj89]

It was a great time and a great first meet for me. Thanks to everyone for making this happen!

 

[jjcha]

Firstly, thank you Reed for providing a superlative location for this meet.  This started as a “mini” meet, but turned into a nicely sized medium sized one as the result of having such a great space.  Big thanks to Moto and anyone else who attended the doors.
 
Few thoughts on gear, in no real order:
 
iPhone 6 versus 6 Plus.
 
I think my 6 Plus is just too big for me.  Reed’s standard 6 felt wonderful in the hand and allows for the one handed operation I’m awkwardly learning I relied on all the time.  Plus, quite frankly, I’m not seeing a whole lot of benefit for me from the admittedly beautiful but larger screen.  If you’re thinking about it, definitely do not assume bigger is better.  Either way, both are sleek and wonderful to hold.  More than ever, it seems a shame to have a case on them. 
 
The high end is doing well.
 
I’ve been out of it for years, but used to live on Summit-Fi.  This meet was an awesome chance to check out what’s been going on.  No doubt Reed’s Audeze LCD-3 and Schiit Gungnir/Mjolnir occupies a place up there.  Also very impressed with Nick’s HiFiMAN HE-560 powered out of Emotiva Mini X and gevorg’s HD800 out of the Audio-gd NFB-28, among many others. 
 
I will say while a lot sounded extremely damn good, I didn’t hear at this mid-sized meet any of the magical systems (tjkurita’s Noise Duality amp + HD600 still haunts me, to this day).  But that may be due to a number of factors.  Looking forward to more opportunities to hear the best out there today.
 
Schiit
 
Beautiful gear, awesome prices.  I know people liked the meaty aesthetics of RSA and SinglePower back in the day, and Justin certainly did a great job on the Aristaeus, but the minimal, metal look is much more my style.  The dimensions of the Gungnir and Mjolnir are just sleek and elegant.
 
I was surprised my iPhone + USB Camera kit didn’t like the Gungnir (got the “Device uses too much power” message).
 
Evolution is ongoing and slow
 
K 702 and PS-500e sounded good, though not surprised there hasn’t been a whole lot of product evolution since their immediate predecessors.  No real temptation on the wallet, TBH.  I guess that’s what the consumer wants, though a part of me faintly wishes/hopes for a new K 1000 or HP1000.
 
USB Audio is doing great
 
Portable USB audio is doing great.  Listened to the Audioquest Dragonfly, baronkatz had one I forget the name of and my Meridian Explorer.  Saw plenty of others on the floor.  No doubt there are (subtle) differences between all of these, but just nice to see all these options out there.  This has come a LONG way since the days of the original HeadAmp Bithead and other implementations back in the day.
 
USB audio in general is doing great, with all these full sized DACs and all their newfangled DSD/USB2, yadda yadda, but you guys already know this.  My Grace m902’s USB option was “just ok” back in the day, but man, I need to upgrade that as a source.
 
Misc.
 
As always, there is gear that surprises you as sounding darned good.  Shure SRH1540.  Baronkatz's random Denon cheapies.
 
Anyway, that's it for now.  May post more thoughts later.  Was awesome seeing everyone!

 

[SanJoseCanJunkie]

What a neat space, and a nice amount of cool gear.

 

[Bill-P]

I sure missed out on a lot, didn't I?
 
Oh boy... I think I'll have to get a new car soon before I attempt to go anywhere so far again.

 

[sandab]

It was a blast!  Thanks again for hosting and arranging!
 
So much cool gear.  Loved the Woo WA22 and the Firefly (with the matching PS unit).  Definitely on my amp-hunt short list now.
 
The ZMF x Vibro headphones were very impressive for closed cans.  Comfy, too!
 
Loved the random vintage stuff some of you brought.  How often does one get a chance to try a pair of Sony Qualias or 1975 Staxes?!
 
Tried a set of Russian Rockets in my Valhalla 2 only to once again confirm the difference is less than obvious.  Really requires a very quiet setting.  Subtle is the word.
 
And everything and everyone else, and let's do this again...

 

[baronkatz]

What a great little meet. some amazing gear here! I got to listen to some of the Telefunken tubes on my Lyr 2. Didn't hear much of an improvement or change at all.
.
My Lyr 2 with Bifrost

 

Lots of listening stations. Wonderful snacks, and even Kombucha. Thank you to Reed for hosting this. 

Woo Audio was there with their tube amps. The WA7 Fireflies was quite impressive and attractive.

Schiit Valhalla with the Telefunken Tubes on risers.

 

LCD-3 with Fazer. Sounded much better to me than the 2 which was too dark and the X which was too bright and thin.

 

Schiit Magni and Modi stack.

An interesting game they had there.

Jjcha - thanks for bringing the Qualia's and those Stax which were the biggest surprise and for the ride.

Me listening to the Audio Technica Vintage. Much better and less bright than the W1000, 3000s or 5000s, IMO. This really started the woodie movement.

 
Would be great to have another meet like this soon! Really how most meets should be, super informal and fun!

 

[ipdtt]

I want to say THANK YOU to one and all for a GREAT first time (for me) meet i loved it and will do my best to attend the next one. 

 
A lot of great headphones and equipment but for me the star of the meet; the Stax SR-X 

 

 

  Jjcha thank you and baronkatz for the Best laptop SOUND of the day.
 

 

[moss sound]

Thanks Reed for the space, was great time for my first meet ever.
My even buy myself one of those rigs you brought .