Hard to beat you guys (and girl) in putting reactions on this forum. Don’t you have jobs to do?
What a day it was.
I really didn’t know what to expect, but then again, I guess nobody did. My biggest fear was that nobody would show up. It turned out we ended up with a group of 14 dedicated head-fiers. It was really nice to meet people I only knew by their handle on the forum. From most of them I didn’t even know their age. A little asking around proved that only a few of us knew each other in person. One thing is sure: there’s no such thing as a typical head-fier. Our group consisted of people of all ages and professions.
As for the gear, I must admit I was not able to listen to all the stuff I planned to.
But I still had a few surprises. I found the Ultrasones in general not comfortable. I’m interested in some other closed cans, so I especially paid attention to the Proline 750. I found them way too bassy. For the same reason I listened to the AT W1000. I think I can really grow to like these, but to be honest, I think they’re too expensive. That’s why Hans (hoosterw) was so kind to let me listen to
ATH-A700, which are more in my league. Unfortunately I think they can’t keep up with the W1000 (more squeaky mids).
And then the Grado’s. On another occasion I had the opportunity to compare the SR60 (their cheapest model) to the Stax SR-303. I was positively surprised of both the comfort and the sound of the SR60. On our meeting I had a listen to other Grado cans, for instance the RS-1’s. I think they’re nice and I can understand why so many head-fiers love them, but I find them highly overrated (sorry, my opinion) for what you have to pay for them. Furthermore, I’m not comfortable with the larger, but harder surrounds.
I also listened to the Stax SR-404, which I didn’t directly compare with the SR-303, but from memory they have more or less the same signature. I very well could get used to it, but again, they’re both way out of my league.
AKG K701’s were a real letdown. Maybe it was the amp they was connected to, but I found them to be scratchy and light. Procreate later told me he thought they sucked too, but he listened also to the K701 on another amp (I forgot which one) and then he found them to be very nice.
I could have listened to the baby Sennheiser Orpheus HE60/HV70 all day. They are very easy to live with, comfortable, very neutral but still nice. Sad but true; this combination is also out of my league. All applies also for the balanced version of the HD 650. On the meeting I couldn’t tell them apart. Of course, I listened for a limited amount of time and the music that played at that time was not my favourite.
All listening experiences I compared to my faithful Beyerdynamic DT 880 for reference. I know them well and they have their shortcomings (a tad too little mids, too optimistic in the highest region) but they held well to all cans mentioned above. I find them too analytical at times and especially compared to the W1000, they sound too dry. Furthermore, they are with the exception of the K701, the most power hungry of the lot.
The cans I missed the most on this meeting are AKG K271, Sennheiser HD 280, but most of all the models 2005 Beyerdynamics. I think I must organize a new meeting …
Thank you all for a wonderful experience.
