[darinf]

Thanks to everyone for coming and helping.
 
Small turn out this time, but I think the people who came really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and spending quality time with some of the latest gear. I did!
 
I will post photos and more impressions later.
 
-Darin

 

[darinf]

Here's the obligatory time-lapse of the whole meet today.
 

 

[wahsmoh]

Just unloaded all that gear before dinner and now I am relaxing.

Sorry Audio Zenith and Audiofrk I couldn't make it up there to RB to check out some sweet gear. I already finished what I had to do for homework so now I feel bummed that I didn't go with you guys after the meet. Next time!
 
Some of the best things I heard at the meet:
HD800 Anax Modded from the EAD as the transport and Theta as the DAC was pretty sweet.
 
I had a brief listening session at Audio Zenith's setup and my ears told me his DSP-corrected HD650s were on the money.
 
I really enjoyed Darin's Out of your Head demo and spent some time listening through it with my Alpha Dogs.. now I think I will actually buy the software for Christmas

he finally got me after these three years...
 
Another important item of the meet was the Ether C. I briefly compared it to the Alpha Dogs and found that it had the wider soundstage and better clarity and air around the high frequencies. Also the bass was a little bit snappier and deeper, with about the same quantity. A clear improvement over the Mr. Speaker's T50RP modded cans. Alpha Dogs still had very good depth and imaging, just not as much circular soundstage and "air". <--( I love that word) AD also had fantastic mids and voicing in comparison to the Ether C, but the Ether C edged out the Alpha Dogs in low level resolution and accuracy. I didn't compare it to an LCD-XC because there wasn't one at the meet, but based off my vague audio memories and discomfort of the LCD-XC, the Ether C absolutely crushes it.
 
Last but definitely not least, was the Enigma Acoustic Dharma. Really really enjoyed hearing them. They have a fit that reminds me of the HD800 and to one member the AKG K812. They have nicely angled drivers with very deep cups. What really caught my attention from these headphones were the incredibly resolute upper frequency and "cavernous" soundstage like the HD800s. I brought them over to my listening station to see if I could distinguish a different DAC/amp. I actually preferred my Theta + Asgard 2 setup over the Questyle DAC/amp combo they had because theirs was a little bit brighter (also more detailed) but not as fun sounding or rich. The price of the Enigma Dharma also caught my attention at around $1100. This headphone could be a real game changer, it just needs more impressions.

 

[darinf]

Photos or it didn't happen:
 
Awesome room at the library for our meet:

 
The Out Of Your Head/Darin Fong Audio table:

 
Our ever changing rotation of headphones to demo:
TR50P mk3, HD600, HE-400S, K7XX, Enigmas, Slants, ESP-950, HD800

 
Listening station one: Gumby, Ragnarok, Audio Zenith PMx2, OJNEG's modified Stax SRD7 with Koss ESP-950's

 
Stax SR-009 driven by Vostok ES-31 DAC/amp:

 
Vostok ES-31 DAC/amp:

 
Alex's Audio Zenith table:

 
Audio Zenith had:
Yggy, Rag, PMx2, Carver amp, custom DSP processor with HD800 DSP settings, Prototype IEM's (these were amazing!)

 
The rest of the room:

 
@burnspbesq setup:

 
Geek Out V2+ Infinity:

 
AK Jr.

 
@kevnin setup:Schiit Gungnir MultiBit, Mjolnir 2, HD800, Fostex TH900

 
@XERO1 setup:

 
@XERO1's Prima Headphone Stands (My favorite headphone stand ever.)

 
The @Questyle table:

 
Questyle QP1 and QP1R

 
Enigmacoustics and Alma Audio showing the Dharma headphone:

 
Dharma

 
The Dharma box

 
Who's this guy? I see him at every meet!

 
Ether-C on their new handy dandy case and headphone stand:

 
Ether:

 
@wahsmoh and his table:

 
Bottlehead Crack x2:

 
EAD CD1000:

 
@XERO1at his table:

 

[OJNeg]

Darin's Schiit Rig

 
Schiit Rig + SRD7 step-up transformer (i.e. the best way to listen to estats)
 


EAD CD-1000, a really damn good CD transport. Going to keep my eyes out for one
 
 

Crack-off: Stock Crack vs Fully-pimped Crack (Speedball, 5998, Mundorf caps, stepped attenuator)

Mini DAC-off: EAD vs Hilo vs Theta DS Pro Progeny vs Schiit Bimby

Master and Dynamic MH40