[Dachink]

any pics of the pizza?

 

[Fitz]

Sorry, the pizza was too extreme for pictures.

 

[Gamemako]

Man. I am so tempted to start Grado bashing here. Of all the headphones I heard, I couldn't help but hate the HF-1 and SR-325. I could bash them all day long. And then some. Man, I really hated them. Really. Really. HATED. That sound. But that's all I'll say to avoid making an ass of myself.

Wasn't too much a fan of the K-501s, either, but they weren't anything like those Grados.

I really enjoyed listening to the Sennheisers. I'll probably cave soon enough and pick up a pair cheap somewhere.

The K1000s were quite impressive. But I hope I never end up buying them.

The DT770s were crushingly bass-heavy. I didn't care for them. The 801s were also very, very heavy. Not a fan of that sort of thing myself.

The real winner of the day was Dave's PPX3 though. That thing rocked.

 

[a1rocketpilot]

All right, most of my impressions will be amp related. Those will come later as well. But first the headphone reviews (I will only list ones that I haven't given impressions about before, for those, go to this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=177221 and go to post 12):

Grado SR-325i: These are much brighter than my HF-1's. The sound wasn't quite as weighty as I have gotten accustomed to. I also thought that these had slightly less soundstage than the HF-1's.

AT W5000: These really didn't stand out for me. They seemed sort of neutral throughout the frequency range, with maybe a slight midrange recession. Overall, I was not as impressed with this as I thought I would have been.

AT A900: Basically the same as above in terms of overall sound signature, but maybe a touch more tonally neutral. Just had a brief listen to this so don't take my word for that.

Stax Lambda Sig: Very nice headphone. Very comfortable and light on the head. From what I recall, more bass than the O2, but the sound was not quite as seductive as the O2/KGSS combo. Similar amounts of detail though. As the KGSS wasn't here, I am not sure if this was due to the amp or the phones themselves.

I think thats about it for new phones that I tried. Unfortunately, I didn't get a go with Minh's Sony electrostats, but oh well, theres always next meet!

Aditya

 

[a1rocketpilot]

Ok, time for some amp impressions. For me at least, the amps were the most interesting part of the meet, as that is my next investment. So here goes:

Singlepower PPX3 Slam: I really liked this amp. I really really liked this amp. It had it all and sounded great with every phone I tried it with. It drove my K340's with authority and power. The texture control was interesting. I found my favorite was with the control set around the 2:00 mark. This was certainly my favorite amp there.

Teerawit's PINT and PPAS: The PINT was a fun little amp. Running at 24V, it was a punchy little amp. It had a fair bit of power behind it (though I would have had the gain a bit higher than 4). It wasn't quite as refined as the PPAS, but I felt that it was livelier. Unfortunately, the PINT began to oscillate for some unknown reason and my listening session was cut short. Overall the PPAS was the more balanced amp, but I think I preferred the PINT, but as stated, I didn't get a chance to do a thorough comparison.

RSA Tomahawk: I brought my Tomahawk to the meet to see what everyone thought. It proved to be a little marvel. Sure, it clipped on my K340's with the volume around the 12:00 position at high gain, but that was an exercise in futility. With more forgiving phones, such as Grado's or my DT-770's, it sounded much better. I didn't listen to it as much as the other amps, because it's mine and I will get a more thorough review later.

Benchmark DAC-1 integrated amp: This amp wasn't impressive. The sound quality out of that amp wasn't that great. I'd say it didn't outperform any other amps there. It is better than nothing, but every other amp I listened to outperformed it. It will work in a pinch, but if you have another choice that's better than a CMoy, use it.

Aditya

 

[Azure]

Oh my. How was it?

 

[markmaxx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry, the pizza was too extreme for pictures.

Was the pizza ballanced or single ended?

So if it was an Extreme pizza was Mikhail their! LOL. (send him the bill he can right it off as a business expence)

 

[SK138]

What's up with pizza?

I want to hear more impressions of F5000 vs W5000

 

[Jahn]

Glad to hear the Lambdas held up to some of the more modern gear there - it's definitely an oldie but goodie! And I agree with the PPX Slam accolades, I couldn't believe how great it sounded with Grados - we even used my Melos as a preamp for it and really beefed it up, sounded awesome!

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SK138 /img/forum/go_quote.gif What's up with pizza?

I modded it. 'Nuff said.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Glad to hear the Lambdas held up to some of the more modern gear there - it's definitely an oldie but goodie! And I agree with the PPX Slam accolades, I couldn't believe how great it sounded with Grados - we even used my Melos as a preamp for it and really beefed it up, sounded awesome!

The Lambdas were pretty much the only phone I auditioned at the meet that I didn't have any major problems with and simply liked.

 

[matt8268]

Wow PiccoloNamek, I agree with your tastes. If you look at my gear list in my signature, you'll see the headphones and amps I own totally gel with your impressions from the meet: Stax, HF-1, Singlepower PPX3.

 

[aznsensazian]

I've been on head-fi for awhile now and i have come to figure out my own taste in sound and preferences. All headphones have their own unique characteristics and sound and i feel i am not the one to judge which one sounds better or which headphone beats another. Like i said, they are unique in their own way and one person may prefer one over the other. (including bose

) Anyways, today i am going to strictly give my impressions of the w5000 and modded w5000. These headphones were both amplified using fitz modded darkvoice.

Stock w5000:

1. Clear excellent instrument separation. I could tell where each instrument was in space.
2. Sounded slightly bright but this could be due to the amplifier and system synergy imo. The overall sound was natural to my ears.
3. Very comfortable to wear, its like strapping pillows on your ears.
4. A little emphasis in the mid-high frequencies which overtime can make for a fatiguing listen. (But not as bad as some other headphones, i would compare it somewhat closely to the k701).
5. Bass is a little light, in ways it reminded me of my k501, but nevertheless the bass is tight and concise.

Modded w5000 aka F5000

1. I agree with what others said about the bass, it is indeed thunderous. And at first listen it was overwhelming and sounded distorted to me, i eventually settled into the sound and it became fun to listen.
2. The bass makes up for deeper lower frequencies, but on some songs can be a little much. I'm not sure if i would call this a balanced sound, but it was sure hella fun to listen to.
3. Instrument separation was there although not as distinct as before. The *ting* around some passages were not as present and clear.
4. I could listen to these headphones into the wee hours of the night without any hint of fatigue. And that is one main reason i prefer to listen to the F5000. The thunderous bass is a nice addition and doesnt distract too much from the other sound frequencies. There was a slight decrease in overall clearness and imaging, but it really open up the headphone and made them fun to listen to.

Overall, i enjoyed both headphones for their unique sound characteristics and you can't go wrong with any of them. Though if i had to choose one for sheer enjoyment and long lasting listening time, i would choose the F5000. But mind you, i like warm, organic, tubby and detail sound.