M3NTAL
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2006
- Posts
- 2,309
- Likes
- 1,023
Thank you very much to @koover for hosting, @Astral Abyss, @SpeleoFool and wife, and @funch for the long trip and extra thanks to @drew911d for making some great ribs and beans, @CrocCap for putting up listening to me, and @BzzzzzT for his generosity in all manners. I think that was everyone - did I miss anyone?
Great group of friends - we spend 20% unpacking/packing, 5% listening, 15% Eating, and 60% Bull-Schiitt.
Amazing, headphone systems that are proper purpose built and very much D.I.Y. - no manufacturers support for us.
I'll start with our host with the mosts' mini-tour + setup.
@koover and his 'small' collection of high quality films, headphones, and an expression of himself. From a painting he is working on to his instrument collection that he actually plays. He loves some higher tempo technical metal.
My personal favorites in his collection are the Focal Clear - not fair since I own one too
- His modified Denon AHD-X000 has beautiful cups with nice grain. I can't remember which aftermarket cups they are.
@BzzzzzT setup with a lightly modified HD6XX and his personal favorite Phillips X2 Fidelio. His Ultrasonic Studios Citadel sounds great with a wide range of phones - Seriously top of the line stuff.
@CrocCap brought some legendary equipment - done in stunning D.I.Y. variants - that look as good or better than the consumer versions. His not pictured HE-6 has a smooth tonal balance without sounding dampened in a way that trades off openness or bass/treble issues.
@Astral Abyss brings a "small" selections of his gear. And I truly mean small, he has completely separate full rigs at every meet. I know most of is legit still in use. He brought a few headphones that I only heard two of. I'll get back to those. His source is the well spoken about Schiit Yggdrasil (OG A2 Unison) in to either the Flux FA-10 LE or the Schiit Folkvangr. Headphones that I heard were the Expanse on the Yggy and Flux FA-10 LE. The other was the Beyer T1.2 on the same two amps. I think the Beyerdynamic paired well will with the Schiit and the FA-10 LE, while I thought the Mr. Speakers Expanse really needed what the Flux was giving.
The T1.2 is a pretty good headphone. The pricing world is wild and it's hard to say they are an outright replacements for the HD650, but I do think they deserve to be in the talks from the HD-6X0 world -> Audeze LCD-X. They mostly sound like how I remember my DT880 sounding, but cranked up.
The Mr. Speakers headphones were had to get a grasp on in a short time, but I have a general sense that I would want something else also. That's hard to justify at that price. My analogy that I used was something like - "This sounds like other headphones and not something that really shifts the bar - such as the RAAL's" They are still good, but they are like a HD650 kind, but without a huge increase in overall talent.
Astral has been coming to the meets for quite a long time, always from the furthest place from the hosts. Something like 140 miles ones way. He heads back home after a long day of horse play and keeps doing it. Mad respect for a genuinely great dude. A few of us are of similar age and it is great to have open ears and minds.
@Astral Abyss in the Audeze shirt, @drew911d in the Grogu shirt and @koover in the foreground digging out tubes that he was sharing with all. Super generous.
@drew911d is now infamous for his BBQ. This time be brought a couple racks of ribs and beans. A few of us also brought sides and snacks, but @drew911d does the HEAVY lifting. Thank you so much man. We need to get you a relief pitcher.
@SpeleoFool - a new entry to our shenanigans. He brought his awesome wife and held up his promise on patches and had my had ready for something so perfect that I didn't even think of. Thank you! Not sure if they were being polite or genuinely didn't mind us, but I'd love to see them again.
Speleo brought quite a bit of gear - some of it didn't even make it out of the box, but he did bring two space heaters. The Zahl HM-1 and ampsandsound Nautilus. Both highly touted amplifiers. I only got a little bit of time on that actual setup, but I did hear some headphones on other setups. I didn't get any pictures of my time with his Meze Lyric on a Schiit Mjolnir 2. Loved that combo - not bad. The RAAL CA-1a would be great to hear again on mine own setup. I've been thinking of it as my next MAJOR jump. Not any time soon though. The resolve and delicacy is quite good. I understand they are not going to be as good as the SR-1a, but for the things the CA lacks in, it more than makes up for it with the addition of bass in the cup and not added to the room. Ergos were a bit weird for me though. The gimbals don't seem to rotate much - I felt like I might not have them sealed to my skin properly. They sounded wonderful though.
@M3NTAL - my super simple setup next to @funch
@funch, I apologize, I didn't get a photo of your setup. You were hard at work setting it up - it was an amazing setup to behold.
I'll copy/paste snippets of his profile
Schiit Audio Gungir MB w/RPi 4 and Pi2AES Pro Audio Shield
DIY balanced-to-SE converter w/TKD balance control
Sennheiser HD800 with I believe were Dekoni Leather Perforated.
* Science Tchr, HS Band Director/Music Tchr, retired * - A gentle and well spoken man who does amazing things in his free time. I wouldn't be surprise if he secretly worked with NASA or their contractors.
He also gave me a ride in his M Sport 5 series to and from the event - 70 miles each way for him after a long day.
Big thanks to everyone for just talking and goofin' - Hope to do this again spring, really lifted the spirits.
Great group of friends - we spend 20% unpacking/packing, 5% listening, 15% Eating, and 60% Bull-Schiitt.
Amazing, headphone systems that are proper purpose built and very much D.I.Y. - no manufacturers support for us.
I'll start with our host with the mosts' mini-tour + setup.
@koover and his 'small' collection of high quality films, headphones, and an expression of himself. From a painting he is working on to his instrument collection that he actually plays. He loves some higher tempo technical metal.
My personal favorites in his collection are the Focal Clear - not fair since I own one too
- His modified Denon AHD-X000 has beautiful cups with nice grain. I can't remember which aftermarket cups they are.
@BzzzzzT setup with a lightly modified HD6XX and his personal favorite Phillips X2 Fidelio. His Ultrasonic Studios Citadel sounds great with a wide range of phones - Seriously top of the line stuff.
@CrocCap brought some legendary equipment - done in stunning D.I.Y. variants - that look as good or better than the consumer versions. His not pictured HE-6 has a smooth tonal balance without sounding dampened in a way that trades off openness or bass/treble issues.
@Astral Abyss brings a "small" selections of his gear. And I truly mean small, he has completely separate full rigs at every meet. I know most of is legit still in use. He brought a few headphones that I only heard two of. I'll get back to those. His source is the well spoken about Schiit Yggdrasil (OG A2 Unison) in to either the Flux FA-10 LE or the Schiit Folkvangr. Headphones that I heard were the Expanse on the Yggy and Flux FA-10 LE. The other was the Beyer T1.2 on the same two amps. I think the Beyerdynamic paired well will with the Schiit and the FA-10 LE, while I thought the Mr. Speakers Expanse really needed what the Flux was giving.
The T1.2 is a pretty good headphone. The pricing world is wild and it's hard to say they are an outright replacements for the HD650, but I do think they deserve to be in the talks from the HD-6X0 world -> Audeze LCD-X. They mostly sound like how I remember my DT880 sounding, but cranked up.
The Mr. Speakers headphones were had to get a grasp on in a short time, but I have a general sense that I would want something else also. That's hard to justify at that price. My analogy that I used was something like - "This sounds like other headphones and not something that really shifts the bar - such as the RAAL's" They are still good, but they are like a HD650 kind, but without a huge increase in overall talent.
Astral has been coming to the meets for quite a long time, always from the furthest place from the hosts. Something like 140 miles ones way. He heads back home after a long day of horse play and keeps doing it. Mad respect for a genuinely great dude. A few of us are of similar age and it is great to have open ears and minds.
@Astral Abyss in the Audeze shirt, @drew911d in the Grogu shirt and @koover in the foreground digging out tubes that he was sharing with all. Super generous.
@drew911d is now infamous for his BBQ. This time be brought a couple racks of ribs and beans. A few of us also brought sides and snacks, but @drew911d does the HEAVY lifting. Thank you so much man. We need to get you a relief pitcher.
@SpeleoFool - a new entry to our shenanigans. He brought his awesome wife and held up his promise on patches and had my had ready for something so perfect that I didn't even think of. Thank you! Not sure if they were being polite or genuinely didn't mind us, but I'd love to see them again.
Speleo brought quite a bit of gear - some of it didn't even make it out of the box, but he did bring two space heaters. The Zahl HM-1 and ampsandsound Nautilus. Both highly touted amplifiers. I only got a little bit of time on that actual setup, but I did hear some headphones on other setups. I didn't get any pictures of my time with his Meze Lyric on a Schiit Mjolnir 2. Loved that combo - not bad. The RAAL CA-1a would be great to hear again on mine own setup. I've been thinking of it as my next MAJOR jump. Not any time soon though. The resolve and delicacy is quite good. I understand they are not going to be as good as the SR-1a, but for the things the CA lacks in, it more than makes up for it with the addition of bass in the cup and not added to the room. Ergos were a bit weird for me though. The gimbals don't seem to rotate much - I felt like I might not have them sealed to my skin properly. They sounded wonderful though.
@M3NTAL - my super simple setup next to @funch
@funch, I apologize, I didn't get a photo of your setup. You were hard at work setting it up - it was an amazing setup to behold.
I'll copy/paste snippets of his profile
Schiit Audio Gungir MB w/RPi 4 and Pi2AES Pro Audio Shield
DIY balanced-to-SE converter w/TKD balance control
Sennheiser HD800 with I believe were Dekoni Leather Perforated.
* Science Tchr, HS Band Director/Music Tchr, retired * - A gentle and well spoken man who does amazing things in his free time. I wouldn't be surprise if he secretly worked with NASA or their contractors.
He also gave me a ride in his M Sport 5 series to and from the event - 70 miles each way for him after a long day.
Big thanks to everyone for just talking and goofin' - Hope to do this again spring, really lifted the spirits.
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