[raghavsomani]

 
We are very excited to invite you to Headphone Connect, a first-of-its-kind meetup happening in Bangalore, India next Sunday! 

Headphone Connect - A community gathering and meetup of Audiophiles and Head-Fiers in India hosted by Headphone Zone, uniting India's Community of Audiophiles, Head-Fiers & Headphone Enthusiasts

Headphone Connect is an initiative to unite headphone buffs under a single roof to experience, share, connect and discover all things headphones. We aim at bringing together Audiophiles, Audio and Technology Reviewers, and Budding Headphone Aficionados for an evening of exploring, exchanging and listening to the finest Headphones and Audio Gear available today in India. 

A BYOG - Bring Your Own Gear Event; novices and seasoned audiophiles are welcome to share how they listen. 
 
Our location partner in Bangalore is the Arbor Brewing Company, serving the finest Handcrafted Beers in India and is amongst the most happening places in the heart of downtown Bangalore. 

Some of the supporting brands joining Headphone Connect in Mumbai are Audeze, V-MODA, RHA and ComplyFoam. And this is the perfect opportunity for the community to experience the newest launches and give your feedback to them.
 
We request you to please RSVP for Headphone Connect at the below link! 
http://goo.gl/forms/jbZhLzC0k6
 
Thank you, and we hope to see you there.

Warm regards,
Raghav Somani

 

[getclikinagas]

@raghavsomani : Ah. Didn't know this thread was up. I'll paste my meet impressions (originally posted here)

---

Headphone Connect Bangalore Meet impressions:​

 
I’ve heard of ABC (Arbor Brewing company), from the moment I stepped into Bangalore, but never had the chance to check it out until this Sunday. The Headphone-zone (see what I did there) was in a temp-walled off area within this beautiful looking, surprisingly open, and bustling pub. Before I share my impressions, I must apologize, because only after I was back home did I realize that I barely took any pictures. I was too engrossed, I guess.
 
There were products from every brand on the invite list, reps from Klipsh and Beyerdynamic, a myriad of smiling faces and all the gear they brought along. The counter was lined with headphones, the table was littered with IEMs and DAPs and there was a small table off to the side hiding some mystery gear under a black cloth.
 
There was food on the table, coupons for drinks and a lot of gear to dig into. Pretty awesome evening this was turning out to be.
 
Straight to my impressions then
 

1. FiiO X5; DAPs and amps: Chinese DAPs aren’t “Chinese DAPs ” anymore. They all do tend to sound great, but leave you wanting in the style, UI, build etc departments. Not the FiiO X series. I got to play around with the X5 2nd gen. The build is excellent; they sound great, was a lot smaller than what I had imagined and joy of joys: the UI was a breeze to get a hold of. The cute little X1 is a great budget DAP too. Didn’t get to play around with it much, but the form factor, size and good UI win quite a few portable points. I can’t comment on the E12K because I didn’t get to A/B it, but it did drive most of the portable HPs on display with authority.

 

1. Klipsch Reference On ear: Pleasantly surprised. These are pretty good. Very good overall sound that deserves a second and third listen (not what I would call reference though), extremely comfortable, light weight. I see the price in India is 18000, which is pricier than their international price. The Klipsch rep(name escapes me)was actively gathering feedback from everyone who did audition them. I did commend them on the Reference one but not so much the X11i, which wasn’t to my personal liking. The X11i with the oval tips is one of the most comfortable IEMs I’ve experienced though.

 

1. Beyerdynamic: Mr. Sheik from BD was there with the beyerdynamic line-up. No, not the T1s. I did manage to audition(after he had packed up) the DT990 250 ohm and Custom One Pro. Wow, the DT990 was one of the highlights of the meet. Fabulous detailed sound. Airy and open with some hard hitting bass. Their office is close to mine, so I’ll definitely pop down for another audition, this time in a quieter setting. The Custom One Pros were good but…..yeah…good. It’s probably the contrast with the DT990 that makes it a bit underwhelming, but my audition time is way way too short to make any conclusions.

 

1. Audeze: With a flourish, Raghav whipped off the black cloth revealing the Audeze headphone line up. And the new Deckard too! The craftsmanship is beautiful, from the sleek metal finish of the Deckard to the wooden finish of the LCDs. I managed to listen to them near the end of the meet when almost everyone had left. It did become significantly noisier as they removed the temporary partitions. But boy, was I in for a treat. This is my first experience with high-end Headphones and I came in not knowing what to expect. The bass hit hard and full, the mids dissolved into my brain and the highs set my hair on end. I tried A/Bing them and was unable to come to a conclusion as to which I liked the most. The LCD-X is probably third(something off in the upper mids) but I didn’t get much head time with it. The LCD2 fazor and LCD X had very similar bass.More rumbly than the LCD-3. The mids on the LCD 3 felt somewhat similar to the LCD-2(just a tad more refined). I kept see-sawing between the LCD-2F and LCD-3 with each track I played. I really need a more relaxed audition. It’s probably not worth mentioning, but the Deckard was much much better than my modest Geek Out at driving them. I feel like I only had a small taste of something so tantalisingly good. I need more time with them!

 

1. HD800 and the Chord Hugo: Shree (hope I'm spelling that right) was there with his AK100II>Chord Hugo>Moon Audio silver dragon>HD800, sitting like a proud father letting his children listen to his prized possession. I finally had a chance to talk to him (extremely polite and pleasant man) and give the HD800s a go. It doesn’t exactly wow you on first listen but then you start to notice the micro-detailing and suddenly you’re aware of it. The detail just keeps pouring through and it’s simply amazing. It’s definitely on the analytical side of things and probably won’t work with all the genres. I felt the Chord Hugo (not really a looker) definitely brought out some magic in them and would be surprised if there’s more headroom with other setups. I hope I get to audition them again in a quieter setting.

 

1. B&H Beoplay H6: In the course of our conversation, while I waited patiently for my chance with the HD800, Shree pulled out this simple yet classy looking HP. Attached to it was a thick mess of cables, his iPhone, a power bank and the CEntrance DACport. With no preamble, he fired up some jazz and handed them to me. Wow, what a powerhouse. Engaging yet smooth, clear and I didn’t feel like changing anything (except maybe wanting a bit more airiness). Extremely comfortable, the pads were like cool pillows of air. B&H definitely know what they're doing and then some.

 

1. Koss Porta-pros: I saw my friend wide-eyed and staring off into space with a lip bite that said he was listening to something awesome. Ten minutes later, I had the same expression. These are seriously good. Extremely comfortable, weighs next to nothing and deliver excellent sound that’s engaging and exciting. A little bassy but hey, these are for those moments. They’ve been available for under 40$(list price 50$) since forever (quite literally) on amazon. This roughly translates to 2600INR. If it wasn’t for Headphonezone’s price (Rs. 4400 = 69$), I would’ve bought three! Must ask Raghav about this.

 

1. V-moda: I tried the XS(couldn’t get a good fit) and the Crossfade (LP2 or M100? I’m not sure). I hurriedly put them back as I just heard muddiness and some midrange recession that really wasn’t to my liking. Look down and I notice the Bass boost on the E11k is switched on (derp). With the bass boost turned off, it sounded much better. I prefer the Porta pros on sound but the V-MODAs are all way easy on the eyes, that’s for sure. 

 

1. NuForce Primo 8: Shree again! I asked him if he did listen to IEMs and he pulled out this beautiful metallic blue IEM that was instantly recognizable. Holy wow. I’ve never heard bass decay this quickly. Hit! And one microsecond later there’s nothing. It’s almost unrealistic and takes some getting used to. The midrange and treble was sublime and engaging. These are on my radar.

 

1. Sony MDR Z-1000: Deep inhale……Um….no..these really didn’t so it for me. Very short audition. No comments.

 

1. Raghav and Bhavika: The Headphonezone pair handled the event beautifully. Bhavika was on her feet non-stop making sure everything ran smoothly. Raghav was on interact-mode and only stopped talking when he had headphones on. It’s refreshing to see this sort of enthusiasm from an Indian company, for what many of us consider a niche hobby which really hasn’t taken off in India(I mean HPs, IEMs and other portable gear).

 

1. Everyone at the meet: I really don’t have many audio enthusiast friends so, it was exciting to meet equally passionate(probably more) people who really do care about music and more-so about how it is experienced. I hope to meet them all again at the next meet.

 

1. Things I missed that I wish I didn’t:
   1. RHA T10i: I was too late. They were packed by the time I asked for them. Hopefully I’ll get to listen to the new T20i too.
   2. Shure SE215: I’ve heard a lot about it and was looking forward to giving it a go. Maybe next time.
   3. Skullcandy HPs: As a reference point and you know…..for kicks
   4. FiiO portable amps with my phone(LG G2): I’ve been on the lookout for a portable amp to carry along with my phone.
   5. The beer: Don’t ask.

 
I loved the experience. The plethora of gear, great people, great music. I hope to see more meets in the future. We need this kind of exposure and awareness in India if the hobby really has to pick up. Good job HeadphoneZone, that was a Sunday worth remembering.
 
Some of the very few pictures I took(sorry again):
 

FiiO X5 2nd Gen alongside my HiFiMAN RE400	IEMs, AMPS, HPs galore. That's the Klipsch Ref One in white
Raghav unveiling the Audeze line-up. Deckard hiding in the middle	LCD-X alongside the LCD-3. That's rajeevrn listening to the LCD 3
The Bliss combo. AK100II>Chord Hugo>HD800	Some of us hung back to soak up some more Audeze magic

 

[wrathzombie]

 
On Sunday, This was the first ever headphone meet that I have attenced.  Special thanks to @raghavsomani for coming up with the idea, choosing an awesome location, free beer, food and other head-fiers and participants for getting their gear and letting me try it.
Met fellow head-fiers @getclikinagas and others whom I realized were much more passionate about the hobby than me. I was till 2 years ago, and after going the meet, I realized that I am not into it as I once was.
 
Stand Of all headphones: Koss, Shure, Klipsch, V-moda

 
Porta Poss were good. Reminded me of PX-100 II that I have. V-Moda M 80 were nice too. Shure 440 were okay. V-MOda XS didnt like the fit that much and LP2 were kind of okay.
 
 
Beyer Stand

 
Mr Shekar had shown up at the meet with a bunch of Beyerdynamic headphones. DT770 was good for electronic music. Pro990 were good. Custom One pro kind of okay.
 
Mother of All Setup

This was the special attraction. Mr Sree was sitting with his AK100, Cord Hugo and HD800 and graciously allow everyone to take an audition of his setup. I felt as if he had finally cracked the secret and was eager to share it with everyone. Listened to Sultans of Swing and the holographic presentation and open sound were really something. 
 
Concentrating below:

 
Audeze Stand

 
Frankly, I was unable to tell any difference between LCD2 and LCD3 . Also, LCD X sounded okay. However listening to Avial/Opeth through Deckard did show the potential of the LCD 2 and LCD3
 
Unfortunately, I am not really sure if I am part of the whole Headphone cult anymore. In 2011 when I shifted from sony earbuds to HD 25-1 II and RE-262 there was a massive level of euphoria in my mind. However, when I heard all this amazing gear on Sunday, I did not feel the same. This is the explanation I have come with: If I give a rating of 1 to 100 to the headphones that I have owned. The sony earbuds were probably 20-25 and the RE-262 and HD 25 1-11 were 70-75. When I jumped to 70-75, I was ecstatic, however moving on to lets say a 90 or 95 with the HD 800 or Audeze didn't exactly give me that amount of happiness. Maybe, I should consider retiring.
 
Also, I tried most of the headphones with this song from my Fiio X1. And frankly speaking, all headphones sounded almost the same. Yeah, you can blame it on the DR rating of this album but, the point I am trying to make is, none of the headphone available sounded like a big upgrade over the HD 25-1 II for extreme metal.
 

 
One good thing though, thanks to @getclikinagas I was able to listen to RE-400 which I found to be a good IEM for metal. Maybe, that would be my next purchase

 

[sree]

This was a wonderful meet and I am glad I got my gear along and looks like everyone enjoyed it. I wish I could have got my Mac, ALO Audio Key and NuForce HAP 100 along as well. May be next time.
 
I spent the whole meet demoing my AK 100 II > Optical Out > Chord Hugo > Moon-Audio Silver Dragon Cable > Sennheiser HD800 and enjoying it immensely. In the earlier meets (in US) I thought that I never got enough high quality gear to give a demo but for the first time, it felt like I could give back to the community that I got so much from. I was happy.
 
I know I have to get back into the game (aurender flow looking at you) but I am so happy with what I got right now that I am satisfied. Between HD-800, Primo-8 & H6, I got the trinity of home, office and mobile listening down. So hardly spent the meet listening to the gears available.

 

[raghavsomani]

Sree!..You should post this in the India Roll Call thread as well... A lot more people seem to be reading it there.