[john57]

great pics ASR!

 

[Asr]

^ Thanks, I actually remembered to bring a proper camera this time, instead of using my smartphone like last time.

 

 

[Nekrosov]

 
Great meet a good cool quiet meeting room for the most part. I achieved what I was planning to do.  I compare the HE1000 to the Ether and the HE1000 has much cleaner midrange and treble.  Therefore the Ether is not in cards for me at this time. The HE1000 is just too expensive and not sure how long the super thin diagram will last. I have worn out two of my Stax headphones and just have one Stax headphone remaining. 
 
The HE-6 is just magical and I brought my modified(different earpads) HE-400 to the meet and found it close to the HE-6 and that made me happy.  I was able to get a refund from Amazon for a price difference when they lowered the price to $249.
I have listen to the Dharma D1000 and it was okay and not the only two driver headphones I have tried and the Dharma seems to be more successful than others.
 
When I came home the new ear pads for my new MSR7 only one week old came in I got the Brainwavz Replacement Memory Foam Earpads vinyl type. The news pads are slightly larger and it is much more conformable for my ears. The MSR7 has electrostatic like clarity more similar to my Stax Gold SR-5 headphone with more bass.  In the past I never like Audio-Technica headphones since the “wings” never worked for me and the headphone just dig into my neck. I like what I read about the MSR7 and decided after all these years to give Audio-Technica a chance and all work out very well. In fact my next headphone may be the ATH-M70x which promised to have better isolation, less clamming pressure and it comes with a hard case even a bag for the cables that also fits in the case, a bit unheard of.  
 
I want to thank ASR for setting up the meet.

What earpads do you use on HE-400 that make them so good? Does it fix HE-400 mids and highs? And how did your HE-400 compare to MSR-7?
 
Thanks in advance

 

[john57]

  What earpads do you use on HE-400 that make them so good? Does it fix HE-400 mids and highs? And how did your HE-400 compare to MSR-7?
 
Thanks in advance

I am using the angled VelPad (original 400S pads)  The velour Earpads I tried was too hard and did not seal or modify the sound as much as the Velpad at $15 did. I mounted the VelPad with the thin part toward the front. Also the Velpad were more conformable than the original 400 pads. The Velpad tame the treble peak of the 400 quite a bit.   The 400 now sounds more mellow than the MSR-7 but not quite as fast or crisp as compared to the MSR-7. In my book the MSR7 midrange clarity and treble are kings. The  singing voices being playback on the MSR7 are some of the best I ever heard. The 400 has a bit more clean deep bass. I find planners in general to be a bit slower except for the HE1000. The 400 of course are being discontinued and just a few left on Amazon. I would describe the 400 with the Velpads to be somewhat like the 400S but with much more deep bass and much heavier but not a issue with me.  

 

[Greystaff]

As has been said about a million times, thank you to Asr for setting the meet up. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed hearing all the equipment that was brought. The Dharma was probably my favorite headphone. They sounded very detailed, somewhat like my HD800s, yet sounded to me a bit more involving. They were also very comfortable. Compared to what I heard during the SoCal prototype, I think these had a bit better of a balance in the bass. At the SoCal canjam, the bass sounded to me to overpower everything else to some degree. The HE1000 were, to be honest, a bit of a letdown. I heard them at the SoCal Canjam and thought they were great headphones. I did not get though a good chance to listen to them, though, due to all the people and the limited music selection. After listening to them at the meet, I would still say they were great headphones, but I do not believe they are worth the difference between the HD800s and them. I ialso feel the build quality of the HD800s is better. I would trust the HD800s to last me a lot longer than the HE1000. I also much prefer the sound of the HE6 that I have. Overall the biggest advantage of the HE1000 over the HE6, to me, is that they are a bit more airy and extended in their presentation as well as being MUCH more comfortable. I prefer the bass of the HE6 over the HE1000. The Ethers were the enigma for me. They were exceptionally comfortable, rivaling my HD700s. I could wear them for a long time. As far as sound, the way I would put it is that they do not do anything wrong. That sounds bad, but I do not think it is. Someone mentioned that they let you hear what they are connected to (your source, dac and amp). I think that is pretty accurate. They had a laidback, relaxed sound to them. I do like them, but I preferred the other phones more.
 
As far as amps and dacs, I still really love the Bottlehead Crack. I would not mind putting one together, if I had the knowledge. The new Mjolnir / Gungnir 2 combo was great. I thought they definitely made a great endgame setup. Had they been out when I had been in the market, I would have purchased them. Having said that, I am very happy with my Yggy. It sounds just as great as it did before the Gungnir came out. While some may be complaining about it on the forums and probably elsewhere, I am quite happy with having purchased the Yggy. The Project amps were great. Garage1217 does know how to not only make good amps, but amps that look good. Some of the best looking amps I have seen. Now if they could build one that does balanced... I still have one output available.
 
All that said, the best part was talking with everyone and meeting new people. It is looking more likely I will be up during RMAF, so maybe we will see each other around there.

 

[john57]

Some last thoughts
 
I agree with Greystaff that the HD800 is built to last. I am sure that my MSR-7 will last longer than the Shure 940 headphone that I used to have.  Someone mention the  AKG 240 sextet which was the first headphone I owned way back in college.  
 
Someone mention the Bottlehead Crack amp and it is a relatively easy amp to work on since everything is mounted on the top panel. Just flip the top over to work on it.  Much easier to work on than my Little Dot VI+ amp. I built a lot of electronic  equipment when I was a kid, speakers, amps and receivers. I would also look at the Bottlehead  Single Ended eXperimenter’s Kit 2.1 called S.E.X. for short if you need a bit more power. I have not listen to any of the Bottlehead products long enough to have an opinion. Next time I should be able to hang around longer and talk more to some of the wonderful people at the meet.

 

[Asr]

HD650: After reading hans030390's review of these recently on InnerFidelity, I felt like giving the HD650 another try after owning them a total of 3 times in the past (the last time was back in like 2008 or something). I tried to listen to as many amps as possible with the HD650, including mandrake50's Gustard H10, Demo3's FrankenEmber, Greystaff's Schiit Lyr, and my own Project Polaris. I ended up concluding that I may just have to buy the HD650 yet again! It sounded great out of every setup I tried it on, with the variety of music that I was able to throw at it in a short amount of time (mostly using Tidal, but also my own FLAC collection). Just overall a fantastically rich sound, and it still holds up very well even with all the new flagships in the market.
 
Alpha Prime: Another headphone I really wanted to check out, and I thought it sounded great too! I was surprised how open it sounded for a closed headphone. I tried it out of as many amps as I could too, on AudioCats' HCC86 Lancer, Greystaff's Lyr, and Demo3's FrankenEmber, and it sounded great out of all of them. I'm really hoping MrSpeakers eventually has a new closed headphone with a similar sound at the same price point, since it's out of production now. Really liked them, they handled a variety of music very well too.
 
Retro DT990-600: I was surprised at how these sounded, as I felt immediately enveloped by a intimate & dense soundstage and quite a bit of mid-range. Not anything bad, it was just different. Somehow have managed to never buy a DT990 in all the time I've been on Head-Fi, and these made me curious about how the current model(s) sound. Might just buy one someday.
 
LCD-2F: I tried these out of Crescendo's setup with the Ayre Codex and was promptly disappointed. Something about them just turned me off immediately, as they didn't really sound natural and something else was off with the soundstage. I wasn't sure if it was the Fazor or not, because I previously owned some older versions of the LCD-2 (both the r1 and the r2), both of which I liked, so I'm not sure what else could have explained the difference. All I knew is that the LCD-2F at the meet was actually one of the most disappointing-sounding headphones there.
 
HE-560: I would've liked to have tried these out of more amps at the meet but only got to try them with the Gustard H10 / LH Labs Pulse X Infinity combo. Sounded very good, and not far overall from the HE1K which I'd been listening to up until before the meet (I got the HE1K from HeadAmp more than a week before the meet). It was very clear-sounding and had quite a bit of treble, which I like. I might just buy a pair of these down the road as well, at least if they're still in production by the time I decide to.
 
RS-1e: It's been way too long since I last heard a John Grado headphone (the last time I had a John Grado was back in 2007), so I wanted to check out the new E model of the RS-1 that Crescendo brought. Sounded good and played the classic rock on the portable Sony electronics well enough. It didn't really persuade me back towards a Grado though, because for various reasons I've just become disillusioned by the brand. But I think Grado fans will probably find a lot to like in the RS-1e.
 
Misc:
 
- Tidal: I recently scored a free 3-month trial of Tidal thanks to the Deals Discussion thread in the Member's Lounge and have to say it really came in handy at the meet! What an awesome site, it definitely has me exploring music more. I probably won't pay up when my trial ends though, as the idea of $10/mo is just too much for me, particularly when I prefer listening to CDs over using my computer (as I primarily use Windows, which isn't 100% reliable as everyone knows).
 
- Blue Lines 2012: Massive Attack is by far my favorite band, and Blue Lines is one of my favorite albums of all time. I was inspired to queue it up via Tidal at the meet, but Tidal didn't have the original 1991 mastering that I've grown accustomed to over the years and instead had only the 2012 Mix/Master. I thought the new mix/master sounded amazing and may have to replace my 1991 CD now. There were definitely details in the music that I've never heard before that I knew weren't any headphone's doing.
 
- Anyone expecting any impressions from me of the Dharma D1000, Ether, and/or HE1K will be disappointed, as I didn't listen to them at the meet and can't offer any meet impressions of them.

Actually I did listen to the Ether on Hardwired's Mjolnir 2 and Gungnir Multibit, but not really for long enough to get anything useful out of it, other than the fact that I could tell the Mjolnir 2 drove it more effectively than my amps at home.

 

[Nekrosov]

  I am using the angled VelPad (original 400S pads)  The velour Earpads I tried was too hard and did not seal or modify the sound as much as the Velpad at $15 did. I mounted the VelPad with the thin part toward the front. Also the Velpad were more conformable than the original 400 pads. The Velpad tame the treble peak of the 400 quite a bit.   The 400 now sounds more mellow than the MSR-7 but not quite as fast or crisp as compared to the MSR-7. In my book the MSR7 midrange clarity and treble are kings. The  singing voices being playback on the MSR7 are some of the best I ever heard. The 400 has a bit more clean deep bass. I find planners in general to be a bit slower except for the HE1000. The 400 of course are being discontinued and just a few left on Amazon. I would describe the 400 with the Velpads to be somewhat like the 400S but with much more deep bass and much heavier but not a issue with me.  

Thanks john57.
Your words about MSR-7 is really tempting. I hope I'll be able to try it in the next days before buying Yamaha MT-220.

 

[john57]

Thanks john57.
Your words about MSR-7 is really tempting. I hope I'll be able to try it in the next days before buying Yamaha MT-220.

Both are good headphones. The MT-220 is a bit more mellow bass presence and no detachable cord. One thing I have noticed with my MSR-7 is that is much easier to hear the sonic differences between amps at home.
 
Another last thought. Someone mention the NAD VISO HP50 and that is a headphone that strongly creates its own soundstage on top of the soundstage that is in the recording. The RoomFeel technology does strongly make that headphone sound like speakers in a room. Having said that,  I have Out Of Your Head software on my PC that does the same thing with a choice by Darin Fong Audio. It is not everyone cup of tea and takes a bit to get used to it.
https://fongaudio.com/out-of-your-head-software/

 

[bixby]

  Both are good headphones. The MT-220 is a bit more mellow bass presence and no detachable cord. One thing I have noticed with my MSR-7 is that is much easier to hear the sonic differences between amps at home.
 
Another last thought. Someone mention the NAD VISO HP50 and that is a headphone that strongly creates its own soundstage on top of the soundstage that is in the recording. The RoomFeel technology does strongly make that headphone sound like speakers in a room. Having said that,  I have Out Of Your Head software on my PC that does the same thing with a choice by Darin Fong Audio. It is not everyone cup of tea and takes a bit to get used to it.
https://fongaudio.com/out-of-your-head-software/

I owned the HP50s but never experienced any special soundstage or an "extra" one.  I did think the HP50s have a bass presentation that is a bit more close and intimate.  Other than that, I think the whole RoomFeel stuff is just a marketing term they came up with to differentiate their cans.  Still a nice sounding can for the price.

 

[john57]

  I owned the HP50s but never experienced any special soundstage or an "extra" one.  I did think the HP50s have a bass presentation that is a bit more close and intimate.  Other than that, I think the whole RoomFeel stuff is just a marketing term they came up with to differentiate their cans.  Still a nice sounding can for the price.

For me the HP50 does have a special soundstage that is untypical from what I normally hear from other headphones. PSB Speakers headphones also use almost the same term Room Feel EQ technology and it is done electronically. I noticed that InnerFidelity did mention that the HP50 has "two acoustic chambers behind the driver"  My FA-003 woodies have a 7-steps like shelf's inside the cups like a  "amphitheater" design. Even the type of wood used can change the sound signature a bit.
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/i-love-these-headphonesthe-nad-viso-hp50page-2#FkIfA2FZCc5tFxKg.99
 
 

 

[mandrake50]

I really like the HP50. I think I like the PM 3 more for "sort of" portable use. I typically don't use the HP 50 in the summer, because they are very hot on the ears. I didn't have the problem with the demo PM 3.
As to sound of the HP 50, their signature is definitely more speaker like to me than any other headphones that I have listened to. The term may be marketing, but I think they did try to get that sort of effect, and they did... to my ears anyway. If I could find some pads that breathed a bit, they would get more use.

 

[bixby]

 
I really like the HP50. I think I like the PM 3 more for "sort of" portable use. I typically don't use the HP 50 in the summer, because they are very hot on the ears. I didn't have the problem with the demo PM 3.
As to sound of the HP 50, their signature is definitely more speaker like to me than any other headphones that I have listened to. The term may be marketing, but I think they did try to get that sort of effect, and they did... to my ears anyway. If I could find some pads that breathed a bit, they would get more use.

I'm glad you like the effect of the hp50.  There is no headphone I have ever listened to, though, that can rival the illusion of a live performance that can be delivered by a good speaker system.  Yes, even speakers cannot do it as well as the live performance but it is leaps above what any headphone can do.

 

[mandrake50]

  I'm glad you like the effect of the hp50.  There is no headphone I have ever listened to, though, that can rival the illusion of a live performance that can be delivered by a good speaker system.  Yes, even speakers cannot do it as well as the live performance but it is leaps above what any headphone can do.

I will not argue that for a second. Actually I have said very similar things... So don't take what I said wrong. I do not compare the HP50 to my speaker system. There is not "sound stage" in a headphone that comes close to a well setup set of speakers. I was only comparing the HP50 sound signature to that of other headphones...

 

[Asr]

If anyone is interested in my Ether and Dharma impressions (not from the meet, but from while I had them before & after over the weekend), they can each be found here:

Dharma: http://www.head-fi.org/t/750437/enigmacoustics-dharma/480#post_11867470
Ether: http://www.head-fi.org/t/760249/mrspeakers-ether-impressions-thread/1755#post_11869970
 
Didn't bother with formal impressions for the HE1K, as most potential buyers of a $3K headphone likely wouldn't be using the very budget gear that I currently own, but I did write a short post on it here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/748334/hifiman-he1000-planar-dynamic-flagship/5640#post_11854564
 

Thanks john57. Your words about MSR-7 is really tempting. I hope I'll be able to try it in the next days before buying Yamaha MT-220.

 
If I could interject, the MSR7 and MT220 are both really good headphones, just depends on what you'd prefer. The MSR7 is thinner in the mid-range and has less bass quantity than the MT220, but has substantially more clarity and treble quantity. On the other hand, if you want more body to your mid-range and more powerful & filling bass, then go with the MT220.