[M3NTAL]

I had no problem navigating, just not a great system getting in that far into Manhattan and moving gear at the concierge. The people are the people that are there, feels like the Wild West in a twisted consumer costume.

 

[koover]

Anyway, different time and seems like a different city. Again, be careful and aware.

 

[M3NTAL]

@funch - can you tell us about the two little altoid amps you brought with you? How are they similar/dissimilar? I didn't get a fair assessment of either, but I still want to know more. Did anyone else hear these?? Beardyman - your Crimson's might have been in for a treat. I should bring the Pico/Pico Power, they are always forgotten about.

Next meet, I'll bring the Eric McC "Whisper" amp and see if we can crown an IEM king. People don't realize HOW good the little Class A amp is. Maybe throw my

 

[funch]

The Pocket Class A has 2 transistors and a mellower sound; the newer design Diamond Buffer has 9 transistors and a more dynamic sound. The difference between the two is very slight though. They're both very good. If I could only keep one, it would be the Diamond Buffer. I'm glad I have both though.

Although I had a very short listen, I was impressed by SpeleoFool's Woo tube dongle with the Meze Pro's. Next meet I plan to try the Woo as a DAC with my Altoids amps. Should be fun.

 

[SpeleoFool]

The Pocket Class A has 2 transistors and a mellower sound; the newer design Diamond Buffer has 9 transistors and a more dynamic sound. The difference between the two is very slight though. They're both very good. If I could only keep one, it would be the Diamond Buffer. I'm glad I have both though.

Although I had a very short listen, I was impressed by SpeleoFool's Woo tube dongle with the Meze Pro's. Next meet I plan to try the Woo as a DAC with my Altoids amps. Should be fun.

Speaking of the Tube Mini, Woo has formally announced the base for sale. I'm hoping to pick one up in NYC. Otherwise will order one.

It's a bit pricy, but includes a battery, which explains the very clean, silent performance compared to direct phone connection.

https://wooaudio.com/accessories/tube-mini-power-base

 

[BeardSplinter]

@funch - can you tell us about the two little altoid amps you brought with you? How are they similar/dissimilar? I didn't get a fair assessment of either, but I still want to know more. Did anyone else hear these?? Beardyman - your Crimson's might have been in for a treat. I should bring the Pico/Pico Power, they are always forgotten about.

Next meet, I'll bring the Eric McC "Whisper" amp and see if we can crown an IEM king. People don't realize HOW good the little Class A amp is. Maybe throw my

The Crimson loves some voltage, but it also gobbles current for an iem. At under 7 ohms with cable and the Flat x-over tech it's a hungry iem.

Woo tube straight up went into protect mode with it.

Would be curious to check out portable Amps though. Love strong Vpp for those dynamics!

 

[SpeleoFool]

Update: I did pick up the Tube Mini base at the show.

Also, Susvara on 465 remains mind-bendingly good. I'm hearing mine is on track for end-of-March completion. Will bring it to next meet.

 

[koover]

Well, I’ve now read “next meet” a few times so let’s plan it now so everyone in on the same page.

How about Saturday 5/4/24. All info from the last gathering on the 17th will be the same.

Are the newbies in the thread so they can join the fun? There is a max capacity of 13 set-ups + mine. Others with no gear are welcome within reason. Maybe 5 more at max before you can’t move or sit anywhere.

Let’s make sure ahead of time we bring tables, chairs, power cords, expansion chords and any other little thing you can think of that will make your set up a complete success. DONT FORGET ANYTHING!!

Oh. I bought an electric acoustic guitar so if Mike shows, we’ll duet. lol.
I’ve never even played before so….no!

Great time in NY Chip? Did Autumn go with you?

Lastly, we should take this conversation to our other thread or start a new one. I just need everyone’s site name so I can get it going. Mostly you chip.

 

[4udio7ool]

I'm in!

 

[CinnamonToastCrunch]

5/4 will be my daughters birthday party so I’ll have to miss this one. But May the 4th be with you!

 

[kaoris2k]

Hey guys! Just came across this thread, I was not aware of the community in AZ, is good to know iti exists haha. I was wondering, does anyone know someone who might have a ZMF Atrium LTD or a Diana MR for sale locally in AZ?

 

[SpeleoFool]

There has got to be at least one Arizona resident out there with a Holo Audio May/Bliss KTE stack, or Ferrum Wandla, Oor, Hypsos stack willing to come and let us listen!

Haha. All of those things.

I'm very reluctant to extract May from its place in my home theater since it's at the bottom of a rack, pretty well wired-in, and challenging to transport. But I can bring my Ferrum stack to the next meet. That's my daily driver setup.

 

[SpeleoFool]

Great time in NY Chip? Did Autumn go with you?

Yes! Apparently I'm still recovering from travels, lol. I was gone for the first 2/3 of March, and have been catching up on work since I got back. Still super busy, but took a moment to check in to see what was happening with the new meet, and saw I missed a few things.

I've been to so many shows now I've gotten a little jaded with listening, but NYC was jam packed with new things to try. I got to hear a bunch of good stuff--too much to list here--but some quick highlights:

The new RAALs were top of my list to try; I think they're the most competent offering to date--a build quality that seems complete and polished, that supreme ribbon resolution, and a couple tuning options that both feel pretty complete and coherent. I liked the 3 driver model better, but the audience was split, I think. That price, tho.

The Narukami was star of the show, probably, and "Take Five" (Brubeck) on vinyl was the single best listen I've enjoyed through headphones. However, went we tried streaming Infected Mushroom -> HiFi Rose -> Narumaki -> Susvara, the presentation was lethargic. So as impressive as that amp is, it seemed narrowly focused towards maybe traditional audiophile fare. But if you love jazz and hate money, maybe that's your jam.

Meanwhile, Mimic had MASS-Kobo 465 (courtesy of our friend Ali, who's a NY native and lent his unit for the show) paired with Meitner MA3, and I got a chance to hear that at the end of Day 1 after the show died down--holy smokes! Although I recalled being instantly blown away by 465 at SoCal, I couldn't help but feel like I've probably been amping the hype based on that first impression. But this time proved to me it was no fluke. Susvara on 465 is my favorite headphone setup, full stop. Narukami was the only thing to surpass it, and then only with very specific material that played to the strengths of their 300bs. 465 with Sus plus anything is simply What levels of impressive.

Anyway, those are top impressions worth sharing now. There was plenty more worth discussing, but will save it for the meet. Teasers: ZMF Aegis is very good; Caldera Closed impressive; Shang Sr vs x9k on VIVA energizer is a story of its own; Diana MR synergy with Hiby RS8 is next level; Tube Mini base is killer (I got one); and more....