[bixby]

Thanks again to ASR for organizing the event.  I was able to stop by and listen for a very short time.  Great to see all the old and new faces.
 
To Arteom, ASR and Einstein? :  The 400S you heard were not stock, they did have the Focus A pads, which I feel make them a lot more extended in the low end.
 
I am sorry I could not stay, but had a family event to attend.
 
I was able to hear the Vali 2 and the new Bifrost 4490.  I was particularly impressed with the Bifrost 4490 - Valhalla setup, but both systems were cool.
 
Hope to be able to bring some stuff next time.
 
Enjoy the rest of the event!

 

[Halazzi]

I enjoyed the chance to try several headphones/amps that were new to me. Looking forward to another later this year. Thank you again for running this.

 

[mikesale]

Despite my cat-attacked eye and relatively shirt stay I had a great time. Once again encouraged to move to the bifrost from the modi 2 uber.

My hd700 were much more laid back on the cavalli hybrid diy amp compared to the asgard SS... So I am on the hunt for the right pairing for my 700s... Should have tried the valhalla too.

The Franken-Ember is my need-to-get for my hd-650s over the asgard 2.

Most fun was trying out the Vali 2 with bith my HiFiMan 400i and the HD-800 on low gain (cranked up amplification though). What a fantastic little amp!

It was also great to meet people old and new and chat about all things of interest. Bixby's suggestions and sharing of his 400s were greatly appreciated too.

Most of all, Yet again a huge "thank you" to the humble and gracious Asr for making it happen and sharing his experience and insights.

 

[arteom]

Was great seeing some old faces and some new. New finds for me were the HiFiMAN headphones, the 400i and the 400s. Oddly enough I had not heard them before. 
 
I liked the little Vali that was at the meet, always dig single tube gear. You can have great fun with those swapping tubes for cheap! Thought it was a nice piece of gear for that price. Shame I did not have my CTH ready for the meet, would recommend it for anyone looking for DIY single tube headphone amp project. 
 
Was surprised by the AKG K712. I had owned the original all white K701 years ago, had stopped following the various revisions that AKG had made to that. Got to say like what I heard with the K712, they have definitely made some progress. 
 
I spent an extensive amount of time comparing the HD-650 with the HD-600. Timbre of instruments was better revealed by the HD-600, as much as I hate to say it. Though they lacked the bottom end and were less engaging than the HD-650. I'm considering picking up a set to do some extended listening with. I think the soundstage of the HD-6x0 series is ideal.. might look at mods for the 650, though hate to go down that route. I don't even know how much its worth it, honestly found the same revealing qualities on the AKG K712 I auditioned, and my MS-Pro... Not to mention that the HD-800 beats them all in that respect. Bah, anyway...
 
Was lots of fun as always, thanks to Asr for organizing it. Looking forward to the next gathering!

 

[Asr]

Thanks to everyone who came, was great to meet some new faces and see familiar ones again! There was a very nice stash of gear in the room, here are my brief impressions of most of what I listened to:
 
- AudioQuest Nighthawk: I was prepared to be underwhelmed by these after all the reports here on HF of too much bass, but out of my own setup (Bifrost 4490 to HeadAmp Gilmore Lite), I didn't think there was too much bass. I really liked them and thought they were quite similar-sounding to the Senn HD600, which I've been spending a lot of time with lately at home. Like the HD600, the Nighthawk seemed to do a really great job with classical music and had very natural-sounding tonality. I also really liked how efficient they were. I just might have to buy my own set sometime....
 
- Sennheiser HD430: These vintage headphones really impressed me with their overall clarity and expansive spatials. However, they were kinda lacking in low bass, and I was really surprised at how inefficient they were (I had to really crank it up on my Valhalla 2 at high gain to get decently-loud volumes).
 
- Sennheiser HD800: Although I've had the HD800 before (bought it 3 times, actually), I had to take advantage of the opportunity to try them out on my setup, on the Schiit Valhalla 2 and Garage1217 Project Solstice (at high R with a 12SN7 tube). It didn't sound bad, but neither amp won me over and I still remain a non-fan of the HD800. It's just something I'll never like no matter what it's amped by, I guess.
 
- Brainwavz HM5 pads on Audio-Technica MSR7: I agreed with arteom that these earpads were not good on the MSR7. Although they did "expand" the soundstage, they took away too much bass and unbalanced the treble. Do not recommend them at all.
 
- HiFiMan HE-400i: I previously owned these headphones—they were pretty good overall, but not really something I wanted to keep at the time. Mostly listened to these to find out how they sounded out of the Project Solstice (at low R w/ 12SN7). I couldn't audibly tell if the Solstice was under-driving them, since the last time I had the HE-400i, I used the Project Polaris with them, which is a considerably more powerful amp than the Solstice. The HE-400i still sounded very good out of the Solstice though, but wasn't really something that I felt I wanted to buy (again).
 

---

 
And here are a few photos I took with my cell phone:
 
Demo3's exposed "FrankenEmber" (tube-modified Garage1217 Project Ember)

 
Demo3's "FrankenJr" tubes to go with his Project Ember

 
mikesale's setup w/ HD700 and HE-400i

 
NewEinstein's Senn HD430

 

[arteom]

Asr, did you ever hear the HD-800 Anax modded? Just did the mod on my set, as much as I did not want to. Glad I went through with it. 

 

[Asr]

No I haven't heard an Anax-modded HD800, though I'm kinda curious about it, after reading that Big Sound 2015 report that InnerFidelity did last year. But like I told you at the meet, I'm not really that interested in an HD800 again now that I have the MSR7, since it kinda does for me what the HD800 did.

 

[arteom]

I hear ya, I'm just saying you should hear them Anax modded before you make up your mind on them completely. The Anax mod goes a fair distance in making their sound signature a bit more coherent, imaging is noticeably better, that diffused quality is reduced quite a bit. I think it tunes the headphones towards the bottom just a bit. Though they still do have that reference sound to them, for better or for worse. 
 
There's a short EP that has become one of my favorite listens - Erik Truffaz / Murcof ‎– Mexico. I've been using the first track as a test track for a bit now. The HD-800 excels in many ways. But the track also shows the ability of the HD-650 quite well. There's a wonderful low end bloom in the track that is showcased so well by the HD-650, the same presentation missing on both the HD-800 and the HE-500, the latter being no slouch in the low end. I say this to make the point that even though the Anax mod makes great progress for the HD-800, the sound signature remains the same. 
 
Here's the track btw for anyone who wants to give it a listen. Would recommend the entire EP for anyone that can get their hands on it, one way or another.. -- https://youtu.be/0955TM-SNGU

 

[bixby]

  I hear ya, I'm just saying you should hear them Anax modded before you make up your mind on them completely. The Anax mod goes a fair distance in making their sound signature a bit more coherent, imaging is noticeably better, that diffused quality is reduced quite a bit. I think it tunes the headphones towards the bottom just a bit. Though they still do have that reference sound to them, for better or for worse. 
 
There's a short EP that has become one of my favorite listens - Erik Truffaz / Murcof ‎– Mexico. I've been using the first track as a test track for a bit now. The HD-800 excels in many ways. But the track also shows the ability of the HD-650 quite well. There's a wonderful low end bloom in the track that is showcased so well by the HD-650, the same presentation missing on both the HD-800 and the HE-500, the latter being no slouch in the low end. I say this to make the point that even though the Anax mod makes great progress for the HD-800, the sound signature remains the same. 
 
Here's the track btw for anyone who wants to give it a listen. Would recommend the entire EP for anyone that can get their hands on it, one way or another.. -- https://youtu.be/0955TM-SNGU

Based on that track, you may want to check out Jon Hassell if you are not already familiar.  Another good "noir trumpeter".
 

 

[arteom]

Based on that track, you may want to check out Jon Hassell if you are not already familiar.  Another good "noir trumpeter".

Cool track, saw Brian Eno was in on the album that's from. The man is legendary.

 

[bixby]

Cool track, saw Brian Eno was in on the album that's from. The man is legendary.

yes, that is my favorite Jon Hassell album.  Eno- Apollo Cd, on my wish list.

 

[AudioCats]

hmm, I missed the party

....
 
Steve, any chance of a summer meet this year?

 

[mikesale]

hmm, I missed the party ....

Steve, any chance of a summer meet this year?

I'm up for one this summer, added a Lyr & Ember trying to get the right match and fun with tube rolling.

Hoping for someone to show up with the Ether-Cs.

 

[arteom]

I'd be in for a summer meet. can bring newly acquired HE-500's which I've replaced the stock headband with HE-400i headband. 

 

[bixby]

Would anyone be in for a small meet featuring just portable sources like cell phones and portable daps.  You bring your iems and test out lot of cell phone HP outs along with the assorted otg dac/amps perhaps.  This one area where I think exposure to lots of sources can be a good experience.  I know since I left the ipod world, cell phones have been good but variable.
 
 I just changed phones and the tonal shift was pretty big