[zabzaf]

Please post your impressions...mine will be coming tomorrow.
 
Thanks everyone!

 

[MrTie84]

First off, thank you so much for putting this together, I had a blast. I mostly lurk here and vacillate between areas of interest in audio including headphones, so it was wonderful to get to experience such a large swath of great gear at many many price points. I'm just going to a give my quick and dirty thoughts on things that stood out for me.
 
HD800+Mojo2+Gumby & LCD-3: In the past I have never clicked with the Senn house sound, but I was flabbergasted by these things, the detail and imaging outright destroyed anything else I tried on this system, and I could easily see a pair of HD800s in my future. Maybe bright and bass shy for some, but this set up was right up my alley in terms of tonality and detialfreakness. LCD-3 had wonderful full bass, a nice laid back sound, an impressive can, but perhaps a tiny bit too laid back for my taste.
 
HD650+Lyr+Wyrd+Bifrost: I have heard the HD650 in the past and I walked away bored, it made me question if Senn's classic sound was just something that didn't work me. That was not at all my experience today, John's attainable set up was just so wonderfully balanced, imaged well, picked up details well, lovely black background, sounded wonderful with female vocals. While overall I prefer Zabzaf's HD800 setup, considering the price differences this got shockingly close.
 
HE-400S: Holy crap the new hifiman headphones are comfy, and this $300 can has no business sounding this good. I may pick up a pair of these in the near future to scratch the planar itch I've had since getting rid of my HE-500s.
 
HE-400i: I didn't get enough time with these, they reminded me more of the HE-500 than the old HE-400.
 
HE-1K: Comfy, beautiful tonality, quite balanced to my ears, great bass slam, a tad gaudy(For my personal aesthetics only), 'spensive. Overall a pretty wonderful ortho, did I mention 'spensive?
 
Burson+HE560+T1(Gen1)+PS500: HE560 is a beautiful headphone, I enjoyed the balanced sound, though I believe Dbear44 nailed it when he said he thought they are a tad too polite. The T1 was a bit bright/shrill off the Burson for my taste, similar to my DT990s, maybe they would be perfect on a darker amp. The PS500 was all the things I like about Grado, upfront, aggressive, wonderful on strings, I enjoyed them.
 
A variety of modded Fostex: I'll be damned if I can recall all the fostex mods present, but my main take away is it impressive what industrious individuals can do with pedestrian affordable drivers, kudos to all you crazy wonderful modders.
 
Chord Hugo TT+DT-1770/HD800: I got to set up my laptop as a source for the Chord, so I was able to hear most of my demo tracks and while I don't have a true baseline for comparing the DAC, I enjoyed the sound of the package, definitely in a price realm way out of my wheel house, but the volume wheel is super cool. I enjoyed the HD800 off the Hugo TT but I think I preferred the Mojo2/Gumby in front. The DT-1770 is my jam, I'm normally not big on closed cans, but I really liked the sound of familiar material off this can, it seems like the 2nd gen Tesla cans are a bit more balanced/smoother sounding.
 
STAX 007/009+ Blue Hawaii: This setup came as a surprise for me, I can understand the appeal and I was excited to hear some truly stratospheric gear, but in the end it presented music in way that didn't suite my tastes. Perhaps in a more intimate environment or with a bit more time the magic would have revealed itself more. Utterly beautiful craftsmanship on the amp though.
 
Yggy+Mojo: Something was up with this set up, lots of crackle and pop to the point where I asked whether the album I was listening to was a needle drop. Might have been a cable/driver/USB port issue, but it's shame because I really wanted to hear what the Yggy could do.
 
T1 Gen2+Mojo2+Gumby: Smoother than the Gen1, still a froward Beyer, very comfy, brief listen had me enjoying it more than the Gen1.
 
Beyond the gear the meet was full of very nice people. I'm new to the metro Detroit area and it was great to meet so many warm passionate people and talk about audio and music. I had a great time and will definitely make it out to future events, I really enjoyed the conversations I had with you all. Now if you need me, I'll be selling some organs to fund a multibit DAC and a pair of HD800s.

 

[zabzaf]

How about some pictures?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zabzaf]

MrTie84 Nice impressions. Well done!

We were happy you were able to join us.

 

[AKGunkie]

Had a great meet and listened to tons of great gear.
 
Listened to tons of stuff so here it goes:
 
He-1000: Fantastic sound all-around, i feel it bests the Abyss for dynamic, impactful low end while maintaining such a controlled low end. I feel it might a bit off of neutral but it is terribly good.
 
Stax & Blue Hawaii: I thought the He-1000 bested this is every-way, but it still sounds great when cranked up loud.
 
Lyr: I have been thinking up upgrading amps for a while now and hearing the Lyr confirmed this. Great dynamic and powerful amp, the Lyr 2 seems to suit my needs perfectly.
 
psb in ears from jude?: Hear these quickly and they sound very natural and effortless. Great sound for a mid fi iem.
 
AKG N90Qs: I have a pair of these on order so hearing them was very cool. jam packed with features and settings i think many of us expected a gimmicky result, but these have got to be the best closed back i have ever heard. If the DAC function (which we could try since we didn't have the cord) is good, these could be a perfect companion with a phone for exceptional sound anywhere.
 
Astell & Kern portable player: astounding design and build quality, smooth controls and intuitive interface. Paired with the AKG k3003 is probably the greatest portable sound you can get without custom IEMs
 
Beyer T1: too forward of a sound for me, but comfy and sturdy design.
 
JDS Labs Element: really cool AMP/DAC combo with a huge volume pot. Great sound, i could definitely recommend this at its price point.
 
Had some great conversation and left feeling happy with my set-up, but also with some insight on the direction I want to head. Thanks to everyone for coming and hope to see you all next time. I'm sure we will have lots of new stuff to share then too.

 

[cvbcbcmv]

I had an absolutely fantastic time today guys! I'm so glad I could make it and meet everyone. Plus, I got to walk away with an amp that I'm loving!
 
Looking back, I wasn't thinking in a very analytical way, so I apologize for my lack of specific gear impressions, but a few things stood out to me. 
 
First, the AK380 with that amp attachment is just unreal. The first thing that surprised me was actually how well it felt in the hand, and the size overall. I was expecting it to be so big and clunky that it would be approaching the point of not being all that portable, but it really wasn't that big in person. The sound was just incredible. I mainly focused on my IEM's (I used my 846's to audition it) and it was incredible. The step up to that from my AK100ii is no comparison. I have always loved AK's clarity, but that took it to a whole new level.  It paired with the 846's really well, and it added a depth to the soundstage that's similar to what I hear from HD800's. Of course, has a price tag to match, but that's one heck of a portable player. 
 
I was also pretty impressed with the AKG N90Q. To me, $1500 is a bit much for those, but for what they're trying to do, I think it's done pretty well. I'm not a big fan of closed headphones, but I thought they did a good job with it. The sound reminded me of a lot of IEM's I've heard, not so much of other high-end closed headphones. The ANR is great and implemented very well, which is not something I've been able to say on any ANR headphone I've heard. At the end of the day, however, they strike me more as a headphone for the wealthy frequent flyer who wants the best ANR and sound quality for a flight, rather than the audiophile who has a $1500 budget and is looking for the best sound. That's just how the whole presentation came across to me. 
 
I was quite impressed with the HE-1000's and how well they held up against the SR-009, which were also incredible. They definitely have that electrostatic kind of feel, and you can really crank them and feel involved in the music. One of the most fun to listen to, involved headphones I've heard. 2 sentences does not do them justice, but others have described them very well, and I'd essentially just be repeating them. 
 
I also just want to add that now that I've gotten home to listen to my new Mjolnir in a quiet environment, it's just... really good (trying not to use the words incredible or fantastic again). It adds a certain amount of depth to my music that I couldn't come close to with the O2. I think I'm gonna be up all night listening to it, that amp paired with the LCD-3's is a very good combo. 
 
Again, it was so great to meet all of you! I had a great time, learned a lot, and I hope to make it out to the next one! Thanks for all your hospitality, everyone. 

 

[HAWKEYE7]

I'm new to the world of higher end Headphone and IEMs and this was my first meet. It was great. Everyone I talked to was very friendly and very helpful. I really wasn't sure what to expect and was very happy to find so many great headphones to try out and compare. I tried out at least 12 different sets. The quality of the sound was all tremendous but the variances in the sound profiles was also very interesting. It reminded me, a lot, of a beer tasting. They were all very good, but there were definitely some that appealed more to me then others. Being new to the world of headphones/IEMs I have lots of questions and I am very grateful to everyone I met and who I spoke to today.
 
I learned a great deal today and had a great time.
 
Thank you very much Brian for all your efforts putting the Meet together. It was a great time and I look forward to the next one.
 
HE7

 

[zabzaf]

Hi everyone.

I wanted to make sure that I got this out there. PETEREK created a Michigan Head-Fi group after our meet last year in Troy. I frankly forgot about it because at first no one was joining. I just checked and saw that we have 20 members!

Jude mentioned that this is an effective way to promote meets and help to keep out MI community connected. So, if you haven't joined, you can do so here...

http://www.head-fi.org/groups/members/31/

I promise I'll do a better job of using for MI-related news.

Thanks!

 

[Greg121986]

Hi everyone.

I wanted to make sure that I got this out there. @PETEREK created a Michigan Head-Fi group after our meet last year in Troy. I frankly forgot about it because at first no one was joining. I just checked and saw that we have 20 members!

Jude mentioned that this is an effective way to promote meets and help to keep out MI community connected. So, if you haven't joined, you can do so here...

http://www.head-fi.org/groups/members/31/

I promise I'll do a better job of using for MI-related news.

Thanks!

Thank you! I knew there had to be something like this, I just didn't know how or where to get in on it. I will be at the next one! I never find out about these things until after they've occurred. 

 

[zabzaf]

I'm still working on my impressions. I got working on them yesterday and found that it's going to be a massive post.

One theme that I keep coming back to while reflecting on the meet was the shift going on to more and more balanced products. Very interesting.

Did I miss the ALO Continental Dual Mono?

 

[JEspina456]

I'm still working on my impressions. I got working on them yesterday and found that it's going to be a massive post.

One theme that I keep coming back to while reflecting on the meet was the shift going on to more and more balanced products. Very interesting.

Did I miss the ALO Continental Dual Mono?

I didn't see any ALO Continental products there?

 

[warrenpchi]

Hi everyone.

I wanted to make sure that I got this out there. @PETEREK created a Michigan Head-Fi group after our meet last year in Troy. I frankly forgot about it because at first no one was joining. I just checked and saw that we have 20 members!

Jude mentioned that this is an effective way to promote meets and help to keep out MI community connected. So, if you haven't joined, you can do so here...

http://www.head-fi.org/groups/members/31/

I promise I'll do a better job of using for MI-related news.

Thanks!

I concur.  I've created groups for several places.  Places like San Francisco, Southern California, London, etc. - pretty much anywhere we intend to do a meet or a CanJam - so that I can more easily keep everyone in the loop.  

 

[callizer]

 
I concur.  I've created groups for several places.  Places like San Francisco, Southern California, London, etc. - pretty much anywhere we intend to do a meet or a CanJam - so that I can more easily keep everyone in the loop.  

this is a bit off topic, but do you guys have any plans to organize a Canjam in Asia Pacific?

 

[DetroitVinylRob]

What a great event, really nice gear, and a great bunch of guys.
 
I hope you all enjoyed your stay in our home town (and may consider coming back to the Pleasant Ridge) and I trust the event went well as the day progressed. This was a real eye and ear opener for me personally as I am not at all new to audio but, am a mere neophyte to the world of Head-Fi and found all of the folks we met this meet most gracious with their equipment and knowledge. Thank you, sincerely.
 
There were five of us there from SMAC (Southeast Michigan Audio Club) and although we were with you for just a couple of brief hours before we had to high-tail it off to our own (tenth anniversary, 120th consecutive meet), I think we made some new friends and gained a little valuable insight into a whole 'nother world of musical enjoyment. Sure, I've listed with headphones before, but not like this! Most of all, we just had some real serious fun. I think I can speak for the rest of my pals and say, this will not be our first and last visit to your fine group! If it were not for previous commitments, we could have easily spent the whole day exploring and chatting with all who eventually showed up.
 
I would just like to thank you all again, and extend an invite, in kind, to contact us at SMAC and perhaps join us for an event. We tend to be rather informal, light hearted music lovers, and our kits and musical tastes is all over the map from serious high-end, to modest DIY vacuum tube and turntable affairs.  You might just like what you hear...

 

[canthearyou]

It was a great time. Just wish it lasted a bit longer, I never got a chance to listen to some IEMs.
 
Here's what I thought about some products I tested:
Hifiman HE1K are awesome! The best I heard! It was being powered by HeadAmp GS-X. Such a smooth sound with gobs of power!
 
 I really must like the Hifiman sound because I love my 400i and the 560 I tested outta my Element.
 
The HeadAmp Blue Hawaii looks as expensive as it is. I personally did not like the sound of the Stax 009 out of the Blue Hawaii. Nothing bad about it, just not my cup of tea.
 
The Audio Technica ATH-M50 surprised me. They look so homely but sounded pretty darn good! lol
 
That tiny little GeekOut*? inline dac/amp!! Wow! 
 
I also was able to listen to Mr. Speakers Ether out of the Element. It sounded very neutral, not really musical. Probably what they are supposed to sound like. I really wanted to like them, but not out of the Element.
 
I listened to a bunch of gear that day. The few above stuck out in my head. 
 
I was able to test a bunch of different HPs out of my element and I am surprised of the different sounds each has. I am completely satisfied with my JDS Labs Element and 400i. That is until the day I can afford that HeadAmp GS-X and HE1k setup. Hopefully Hifiman does a revamp of the looks of the HE1k, not really fond of the looks. lol