We met for a few years, then COVID hit and also I’m pretty much at my end game gear, so my desire to organize a meet has diminished. I’d go if someone set one up, which isn’t all that much work, but it does take some organizational skills. If you are interested, let me know and I can walk you thought it.
I will be at the November Phoenix meet since I have a big road trip planned at that time, and it just worked out. Phoenix isn’t that far from Albuquerque, you might consider a road trip, and if you have friends or family in Phoenix, you can turn it into a weekend.
Thanks for the reply! COVID hit right when I was starting to get serious about headphones after about a year of constant learning online, so my timing was off by just a little bit. I think my first purchase was just a couple months before all hell broke loose.
I guess if I had to be the one to organize a meet I'd be OK with that, as long as someone else is interested in showing up. I'm really looking for opportunities to hear other things besides what I have, for 2 main reasons... OK, maybe 3...
1) There is no way to listen to gear in this town, and I'm sure you can relate and agree. I have to blindly order stuff with the 100% risk of not liking it, and I'm not really comfortable with that. Luckily, I've been happy with the few things I've bought that way, but I'm not interested in a long drawn-out upgrade path with time & money wasted on buying & selling things that I don't end up liking. I'm in it for the music, not a lifetime hobby of gear swapping, but I do love the gear and constantly learning about it while discussing and experiencing it with other people. My speaker system is based around gear I bought (smartly) 30+ years ago, that's just the way I like to do things - keep the end-game in sight and accessible, then make it happen. I think My Caldera's are my end-game, I don't feel the need for a "quiver" of headphones, I did my research and jumped on the product that I thought would meet my needs, and they do. I have a couple other low-priced headphones that I enjoy, and I'll keep them forever too, but they are probably now relegated to gaming and casual household/travel use.
2) I'm happy with my current headphone & SS amp with no desire to become a "gear collector"... but could it sound better? The more I read about what people experience via tubes, I'm REALLY curious to hear it for myself, and I can't believe I've gone so long without ever experiencing it. I can see more than one path forward with tubes since I also listen to a decent 2-channel speaker setup, so the options are a little overwhelming and potentially expensive.
3) It would be cool to actually meet and know some real people (rather than just screennames) that can share knowledge and experience. I see in your sig that you have the Mainline, an amp I'm very interested in, and DIY, which I'm also very interested in... so yeah, having some real people nearby to bounce ideas off and get guidance from would be great. I don't have any experience with electronics, but I think I have the aptitude and skills to be proficient enough to learn and get good at it, and it's a goal that I set for myself a few years ago but never made good on it. I'm also very interested in making my own cables, peeking at your site has me even more motivated to dive into that too.
*EDIT* just saw your reply
@phthora - thanks for the reply!
