[Destroysall]

UPDATE: LINK TO NEXT MEET THREAD --> http://www.head-fi.org/t/672706/az-winter-2013-meet-a-round-2-in-the-same-year
 
So welcome to the Summer 2013 impressions thread, fellow Arizonians!  Please share your impressions and maybe even photos here.
 

 

[M3NTAL]

First of all - a BIG thanks to Destroysall and Coolzo for generously hosting us today!
 
I thought the Central Phoenix location was excellent with the room being pretty decent. Next to a high traffic area was a little weird, but it didn't really cause any issues; only interested onlookers!
 
My first stop was at Destroysall's table to listen to his HiFiMAN EF2A out to the Beyer DT990.  This was my first time with both pieces of gear, but I had sort of an idea of what the DT990 might be like since I have previously owned the DT770 and DT880. The DT990 frequency balance wasn't as dramatic as some make it seem to be. (ie: treble hot)  It definitely is a sibling to the other two - mostly reminding me of a little bit hotter top end than the 880.  I recommend the T1 if you like the DT990 and want to move up the technical chain!
 
Next up was joining Mr. Sneis on his wide spread gear section. I finally got to hear the revised Audio Technica ATH-AD2000X. I really want to love them, but something just doesn't click for me with them and I don't know what it is. They are one of the best under $1,000 open backed dynamic phones available in my opinion, but unfortunately they have the weirdest fit mechanics. The wings weren't strong enough to stay high enough up on my ears and the lack of cup rotation made for a poor seal on my ears. If they had a touch more sonic warmth and a little bit better fit mechanics, I think they would have an absolute champion on their hands.
 
I was also finally able to hear my custom in ear monitors (JH Audio JH13 and Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors) on the Headamp GS-X with the new "+" modules installed.  With the stepped attenuation and low gain I was able to get excellent channel balance and zero noise even with the Amp and Power Supply stacked on top of each other. The Lynx Hilo provided a nice digital front end for the amp and made for a very nice setup to listen to pretty much any headphone you could want.
 
I hopped over to roscoofyore's setup to get my first taste of an iDevice decoding DAC/Amp combo (The Fostex HP-P1).  It sounded very well with the DT1350 and the V-Moda M-80, but unfortunately doesn't allow an easy interface with the older iPod Video devices. It was also dead silent with my custom in ears and had a nice volume control.
 
Moving on to Funch's table was a great reminder that the silver spinning disc can sound great! His modified Sony fed the Decware amplifier duo beautifully. His interpretation on the Fostex T50 modifications was executed amazingly from a sonic and comfort standpoint. A little too over the top aesthetically. (little bit on the large side)    Of course the Anax 2.0 modded HD800's sound great off the OTL amplifier and the LCD-2 sings with the Transformer coupled speaker amp.
 
A real shocker for me came from Funch's iPod / Algo Rhythm Solo / Continental v3 setup into my JH13.  He had mentioned that the Continental was a touch too bright for him and I was a little worried that it was going to be the same situation for me since I am not a huge fan of hot treble. Luckily it wasn't at all an issue with the JH13 and it actually propelled them to a level that I could be content with 24/7.   I'm currently searching for something like that in a single device (fingers crossed)
 
I quickly got a chance to listen to Andolink's HiFiMAN HE500. It sure has the ortho sound, with a touch of brightness that might be a little too much for me personally. I'm a LCD-2 fan so that should explain that!
 
I unfortunately did not get to hear any of Demon Fox's gear - I was hoping to sneak in a listen to the SR71a, but got carried away in what Head-Fi is about - the people!
 
All-in-all - it went pretty well and it was nice to see old and new faces and connect in the real world!  Thanks to all who came out!

 

[Destroysall]

Quote:

First of all - a BIG thanks to Destroysall and Coolzo for generously hosting us today!
 
I recommend the T1 if you like the DT990 and want to move up the technical chain!

No, thank you!!
 
Also thanks for that recommendation. I wish I had a way to demo it in person before making a purchase, but it does seem promising.

---

I started my venture with Mr. Sneis' setup.  I can't say I disliked the Audio Technica ATH-AD2000X because it was a very interesting headphone in the sense that I felt it was extremely 'airy' in sound.  Perhaps the most 'airy' headphone I've ever heard. I enjoy the sound Audio-Technica has for most of their products (an avid the ESW-9, I am).  I took a journey with Massive Attack with their tune, "Antistar".  The 'airy' presence of the AD2000X made me reach the heavens with the tune, all I could do was just sit back and relax as this group took me on a 10-minute adventure. Absolute bliss.  So I can say for the moment I had with the ATH-AD2000X, it was pure bliss.
 
roscoofyore's setup got me listening to the Fostex HS-P1 trans-portable headphone amplifer. Listening to the V-Moda M-80s, I was very surprised. V-Moda really has come a long way from being cool looking to cool sounding.  While it was just a tad to 'boomy' for me, it made me just groove to Paul Chambers' bass plucks on the Miles Davis tune, "Blue In Green". Changing to the Beyerdynamic DT1350, the bass almost immediately disappeared and the treble and mids sparkled just a tad bit, but remained for the most part neutral.
 
Next door to roscoofyore's setup was Funch's setup, which featured the HD 600, HD 800, and LCD 2.  Funch brought over his Sony mod'ed SACD player as a source, which I applaud is still one of the greatest sources in terms of a CD player I have ever heard.  It fed info to both a Decware CSP2 and Taboo.  This was the headliner of the event, perhaps the one that gained the most attention.  My first full demo with the headphone was with the mod'ed HD 800.  Now give it now I find out that these headphones were mod'ed, I was still surprised on how wonderful this amplifier brought out the beauty in these headphones. Listening to "All Blues" was extremely marvelous because you can hear every spec of detail in the tune, even his going into his sax's reed.  I used to play the sax in high school and love it's sound, even today.  Just hearing the sound of it being reproduced in a way like non other was just amazing! If I end up choosing the HD 800 over the T1 in the future, I'll be sure to perform the Anax mod as it improved the sound immensely.
 
The next headphone I fell in love with at this meet was the Denon AH-D5000.  This was a very FUN headphone.  It wasn't too focused on being airy, or providing thunderous bass; instead it provided a very warm, exciting headphone that was reminiscent of the HD 650 IMO.  I would probably tip my hat the Denon in that war as I felt I loved it much more than HD 650.
 
I did get to hear Andolink's HiFiMAN HE-500 for a brief moment, but it wasn't long enough to offer an opinion on them.
 
Overall a fantastic meet with a great turnout.  I hope we can get some more pictures on here!  See you guys in the Winter!

 

[Mr.Sneis]

Reposting this:
 
 
Had a killer time!  HUGE thanks Chris + Joseph for putting this together for us.
 
OTOH notes:
 
- Decware CSP2 & Taboo: Amazing sounding amps, stole the show so to speak!  HD800 (anax mod) great pairing with the CSP2.
- Mad Dogs - Ruler flat sounding to my ears, didn't expect what I heard
- Magnum v4 - Awesome Grado; I must snag a pair now.  Didn't sound harsh, didn't skimp the deets, bass no flabby.  Quite heavy though.
- Custom t50rp's (plastic pants/ace HW special) - Awesome accurate bass and details, super comfy
- Audio Technica AD2000X - amping them is pretty much unnecessary, I'm not the only one finding them a weird fit.
- Koss ESP950 - I really shouldn't have let mine go, they fell apart literally a few times for a good laugh though.
- Iphones are not half bad as sources
- Binaural music is great


 
And proof that it FINALLY happened!
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DJ DippinSkinny]

I came with one of the organizers "coolzo" and "destroysall" 
 
My name is Kyle, I'm a local EDM DJ and Rave/Event promoter here in Phoenix! 
 
I co-own Twisted Bass Entertainment

Check out my pages if you have some free time
 
www.facebook.com/djdippinskinny
www.facebook.com/TwistedBassEntertainment
 
I met most of you, and really enjoyed listening to different hi end headphones
 
My favorite pair was the "Denon D5000", they had great sound, especially with all the bass in them
 
I want to thank everyone that was there, you all persuaded me to no longer use Sony or Pioneer DJ Headphones!

 

[earlinarizona]

WOW did I have a great time and appreciated the generosity of all of you that brought your personal rigs for others to listen to. The tube amp with my custom in ears sounded just perfect. My
home hi fi friends thought I was crazy to spend $1100 for a HEIR 8.a custom in ears, but they now look crazy for spending so much on speakers. I have two good sources of files you should
download, because it will make everyone's rig sound even better.
 
1) This is a free one and recorded in binaural. The bit rate is low because you can hear it running out of range, but the placement of everything is made for headphones.
 
2) All of you should become more familiar with Mapleshade recordings as they are off the scale in quality. All of them are done on 1/2 reel to reel with home made microphones. This is my personal favorite label but
most everyone at the meeting had never hear of them. The best way to make all headphones sound even better is with better source material. All of his stuff is better then a lot of
the hi res stuff I have heard.  Every recording has samples you can listen to and they are top quality downloadable. Here is the main page and you will notice tons of jazz.  You should
take time and click each CD and take a listen.   Start here     http://mapleshaderecords.com/main/catalog.php
 
Al La Carte Percussion  http://mapleshaderecords.com/cds/mp3s/alacartesalsa3.mp3
Clifford Jordon Sample http://mapleshaderecords.com/cds/mp3s/cliffordjordanlive1.mp3
Kendra Shank Female Voice   http://mapleshaderecords.com/cds/mp3s/kendrashank4.mp3
Dave Bargeron Horn  http://mapleshaderecords.com/cds/mp3s/davebargeron3.mp3
J Street Jumpers Vocal old time   http://mapleshaderecords.com/cds/mp3s/jstreetjumpers8.mp3
 
I'm sure these cuts will improve your listening so go through the entire collection
Earl Zausmer
earlinarizona@cox.net

 

[earlinarizona]

Forgot the URL for the Suzy Bogguss binaural recordings.    http://suzybogguss.com/binaural/recordings.html

 

[M3NTAL]

Earl, Thank you for the binaural links. I will give them a listen.

 

[Destroysall]

Yes, thank you Earl. Will check them out for sure!

 

[earlinarizona]

Here is another artist with a just perfect recording. The online site lets lets you listen to the entire song. This is a very high end audiophile label as they do 24/192 all the way to DSD and Double DSD resolution levels.
Everything is recorded on 2 inch open reel tape. My favorite sounding songs are
 
Not to worry.   Just click the arrow next to the name and it will start playing in a few seconds.
Should have been
Throw it away
When I call home
 
These songs alone will convince you just how good your current rig is, but make it sound even better then you thought. Just put your best headphone on and listen.
 
http://bluecoastrecords.com/store/jenna-mammina/special-event-30-november-2011
 
Earl
earlinarizona@cox.net

 

[earlinarizona]

There main site has many other artist recorded in a live situation and each has unbelievable clarity and naturalness. Try each artist
because they are all so different. There are hours of real audiophile listening here. I have bought many of the songs myself and they sound killer on my iphone5 too.
 
http://bluecoastrecords.com/artists
 
Earl earlinarizona@cox.net

 

[DemonFox]

Hey guys I think I left my 1/4 female to 3.5mm male connection that came with my HD650's on someones Headphones. If you got home and noticed something that may not have belonged to you please let me know. Its all black and like I mentioned it came from my Senn HD650's. It is very precious to me because without it I can't listen to my HD650's or LCD's. I think I may have left it on the a pair of Grados 325i's but I could be mistaken. Please if you see this let me know.

And I had the time of my life on Saturday. Hopefully we can make this a semi-annual or annual event. If I'm in town I will always be there.

I'll post some quick impressions later.


Thanks guys and hopefully I'll see you all next time!!


Thanks,


:evil:

 

[DemonFox]

I just found the missing piece lol My friend must have stashed it in my headphone bag. I figured it was my fault it got left in the first place but this outcome is much better


Thanks,


:evil:

 

[Destroysall]

LOL at least you got it. Enjoy!

 

[DemonFox]

There main site has many other artist recorded in a live situation and each has unbelievable clarity and naturalness. Try each artist
because they are all so different. There are hours of real audiophile listening here. I have bought many of the songs myself and they sound killer on my iphone5 too.

http://bluecoastrecords.com/artists

Earl earlinarizona@cox.net


Thanks for all the links, really have enjoyed them. The binaural recording are amazing! Didn't really care they type of music, it all sounded fantastic


Thanks,


:evil: