[roastpuff]

This is the impressions thread for the BC Meet 2007. Post here.

My impressions:

Those of you who said you'd come AND DIDN'T SUCK. REALLY SUCK.

You guys missed out on a lot of good gear - the Dynahi made an appearance, and the Headroom amps were definitely stealing a lot of the limelight.


W2002 - still one of my fave headphones for classical/jazz/vocal stuff - was as great as ever, thanks Dylan! A bit coloured, but detail and musicality is unbeatable when amped properly.

Balanced HD650 - wow, I don't hate these anymore. I hate the single-ended Sennheisers with a passion, but the balanced Zu Mobius makes SUCH a huge difference it's not even funny. No veil, great bass and PRaT, mids and high are crystal. I love them - wish we had a properly-terminated balanced cable so that we could try them with the Balanced Desktop driving them instead of just the DAC1.

K701 - why are there so many of them at the meet? It's ridiculous how many showed up in comparison to other headphones. I don't particularly like or dislike the K701, but they sounded much better balanced. Brighter, with better separation and impact. More life, basically. But that's just me - I respect the head-toilets, but I don't love them.

Dynahi - one of my favorite SS amps, but it has been superceded by the Headroom Desktop Max/Max. Really close call, but the Desktop has the edge in clarity and soundstage and bass impact, plus a nicer feature set. Plus, the Desktop doesn't get that hot.

Hot-rod Zhaolu - I want more time with it, but sounded wonderful. It's ridiculous what you can do with DIY...

Gilmore Lite - a LOT smaller than I thought, and still runs pretty good with the big dogs.

I was surprised at how many people were saying that the Darths were too bassy.

I don't know if it's just my being used to it, or something else, but there is no such thing as too much bass.

Thanks to all who came, and those who didn't - you suck.

 

[SK138]

The man saw the wisdom of balanced HD650

Quote:

Originally Posted by roastpuff /img/forum/go_quote.gif Balanced HD650 - wow, I don't hate these anymore. I hate the single-ended Sennheisers with a passion, but the balanced Zu Mobius makes SUCH a huge difference it's not even funny. No veil, great bass and PRaT, mids and high are crystal. I love them - wish we had a properly-terminated balanced cable so that we could try them with the Balanced Desktop driving them instead of just the DAC1.

 

[WiredMonk]

I got canned at my job over the weekend, so I couldn't really afford to pay just to get addicted to upgrades. Sorry =/

 

[OracleGuy]

Roastpuff, thanks a LOT for organizing this meet, and special thanks to Tyell at HeadRoom for sending the balanced and unbalanced Desktop amps.

I was really hoping to see how my balanced HD650s compared out of the Balanced Desktop vs. straight out of the DAC-1 but my Zu Mobius has female connectors and I didn't come up with M-M XLR patch cables in time.

I've been wondering if I should add a "real" amp (like the Balanced Desktop) on to the DAC-1; don't know how much better it would be. It would be nice to be able to listen to an analog source if nothing else.

Anyway, this was my first meet and I ended up being overwhelmed even with a small event like this. It's pretty tough to A-B headphones in a (noisy) environment like that when you're comparing different cans/sources/amps/cables in every possible uncontrolled combination!

I must say, my HD650s (balanced) remain among my favourites compared to what I heard at the meet. That was my first listen to K701s and I thought they were good, but wouldn't trade based on what I heard. They definitely seemed brighter than the Senns, but maybe thinner in the midrange? I'd need a better listen in a quieter room to tell. They sounded good both balanced and unbalanced.

I thought the TrevorNetwork Dynahi was impressive -- man did those heatsinks get hot! Lots of punch out of that amp.

I was impressed by the RSA Tomahawk--couldn't believe how small it was in real life. Like a box of matches but it could still drive full-size cans!

Yes, I did think the Darth's were too bassy!!! I guess you'd get used to them but I found the bass distracting.

Lots of pics were taken at the meet, so hopefully some will get posted.

Great to meet everybody that showed up!

 

[OracleGuy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WiredMonk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I got canned at my job over the weekend, so I couldn't really afford to pay just to get addicted to upgrades. Sorry =/

Ooh, that bites! Sorry to hear that. You should have come anyway--it might have cheered you up. Just need to keep control of the upgradeitis! Hah, like I'm one to talk ...

 

[fatman711]

I wanna see pics!!!

 

[bhjazz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatman711 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wanna see pics!!!

Me, too! Whazzap???? Did anyone take photos? C'mon, roasty!