Hey guys,
I didn't end up listening to much gear since I was having too much fun talking to everyone
You were all a bunch of great people, with extremely good hygiene to boot (my L3000's asked me to personally thank you for that
).
Since I'd heard most of this gear beforehand, the big surprise of the meet for me was hozo's homemade electrostats. Now, this wasnt your typical DIY headphone job of slapping some prefabricated drivers in a custom enclosure. These featured electrostatic drivers with membranes made from household materials, and I believe hozo also built the electrostsic voltage bias transformer himself. Really, like hozo I was once a Computer Science major at Georgia Tech (graduated 4 years ago), and seeing his accomplishments is giving me a bit of an inferiority complex
I posted my impressions of the sound in hozo's DIY thread; I've copied them below for this thread:
Quote:
The midrange was fantastic, bass was not extremely powerful but was surprisingly present, and well controlled to boot. Highs were rolled off and there seemed to be something like a "Sennheiser veil" except a bit more severe - this likely was not helped by the cheap soundcard used in his system, which rolls off after 10KHz. Would have been interesting to hear these from a decent source.
That said, despite the questionable quality of the source, the midrange on these things was really fantastic. I didn't get to listen too much but I think the mids are much, much smoother and probably faster than the hd580. Acoustic instruments/solos sounded amazing. If my first impressions held up over extended listening, then I would probably prefer them to the hd580 just for the quality of the midrange (and no, a new cable on the 580 isn't going to do it - I've had nearly every Senn cable).
I have lost interest in trying/owning other dynamic cans since falling in love with the L3000/W2002, but these homegrown jobbies have really piqued my curiosity for electrostats. If I get another headphone (and if my history is anything to go by I will) it will be an electrostat. I wouldn't mind owning something that sounds exactly like hozo's pair, either! It really was that good - you wouldn't think it could be good with driver membranes made from household materials, but damn they really did sound good. A little scary what with 3000 Volts somewhere in the chain, but well worth the risk!
My ears did get quite warm after a few minutes of use, but that may have been partially due to me getting so excited about what I was hearing from these cans
If Stax 404's are much better than this, they must be crazy, crazy, CRAZY good, and it would have to be some kind of conspiracy that keeps them from being on the heads of every single head-fier. However, it's going to be a tall order for them to significantly best hozo's pair. |
I also spent some time comparing Sennheiser cables. I've owned most of the replacement cables, however it's always been difficult to compare them with only one set of 650's. The differences between cables are certainly significant but not
huge IMO, and the time it takes to swap cables on a single pair can allow doubt to seep in and cloud the perceived differences one hears. Some days my ears are more acute and I'm sure of the differences I hear; other days this cable-swap time can be enough to confuse my perceptions. At this meet, we had both my pair and Purk's, so the A/B comparisons were very enlightening. I spent time listening to the Cardas, Zu, and RnB cables. I directly compared the Zu and Cardas cables (one of the CD's used was classical; I believe Sassysound's CD? It was wonderful music
). My previous impressions of these cables were immediately confirmed, and then some. The Cardas cable can sound a bit flat next to the Zu - the Zu beats the heck out of the Cardas in dynamics, and this can cause the Cardas to sound a bit "boring" on certain types of music,
especially rock/pop. The Zu's bass is tighter, taughter, more powerful, and more punchy. Treble is clearly more present and extended on the Zu.
However, the Cardas, to my ears, sounds a bit smoother in the midrange and overall has a lush quality to its sound. On this day, the Cardas was totally enthralling me on its reproduction of violins, which were especially vital on this classical CD. I'd have to hand the Zu the crown for overall technical merit, but the Cardas can still win me over on some material. Both are excellent upgrades to the Senns, IMO. I briefly compared the RnB cable to the Zu, I heard the same things as Dan and Purk - it sounded dark and too thick in the midrange. However, this cable was not burned in and I believe it has potential after burn-in. The sound I heard with this cable reminded me a lot of what my 650's were like when brand new. The 650's really opened up with time and I hope to hear the same from RnB's cable. It was obviously expertly crafted and assembled by an extremely talented young man, so I'd like to hear this cable again once it's got more hours under its belt.
If it's not already clear to most, my favorite system so far is the Meridian G08 -> Singlepower SDS (old chassis) -> L3000. The SDS at the meet was Purk's, but hopefully I'll have my very own SDS in a week or so. The important part of this system is the synergy between the SDS and the L3000. The Meridian takes it a step further towards perfection, in terms of top-notch detail and smoothness, however the SDS/L3000 pairing still retains its magic on less expensive sources like Purk's modded 555es (still an incredible source). The L3000 seems to work best with a lush sounding amp that has powerful, deep bass - the SDS with the Sylvania/KenRad tubes fits the bill. The 650/Zu also sounds best on the SDS, which is no surprise as the 650 is like the L3000 in that it's a very balanced non-genre specific headphone; it's just operating at a lower level than the L3000. Nonetheless, the 650 is very VERY impressive on the SDS. Briefly heard the woodied CD3000 on the SDS, and that sounded like another good pairing. Really, the only headphone I've heard that doesn't sound optimal on the SDS is the W2002, which for whatever reason sounds spectacular on its otherwise (as in with any other headphone) dry, clinical sounding HA2002 amp (still, this pairing seem somewhat genre-specific to my ears).
I've also heard the K1000 with Purk's RKV, and while the K1000 is not for me, this is by far the best I've heard it. The K1000's won't sound balanced out of anything other than an RKV. The grainy midrange/harsh treble/lack of bass complains I have with the K1000 were largely mitigated with this amp - no wonder it's a legendary pairing!
Sorry guys, that's all I've got for now, but I'll add more if I think of anything! Thanks everyone for a great meet!
Especially, thanks to Purk for introducing me to the life-changing SDS
Mike
)
