sisenor
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Asr, you're probably still driving home right now but I thought I'd get this up and running. I'll post pictures later and my impressions of the phones and amps. p e a c e
Boulder mini-meet
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sisenor
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Well, I'm not really sure why I bothered to start this thread earlier, before I had something to say...I think I was still excited from the eargasms Asr was giving me all day and my subconcious wanted to set up another date
Ha ha..
The meet was awesome. Thanks again to Asr, who graciously brought his setup knowing that I could only offer a very modest setup in return and no one else could make it-that was super cool. Anyway, the pictures off my friend's disposable kind of sucked, but:
Here's the best shot I have of our setup
Here's me trying my best to listen to an AKG 701 out of a nice source/amp for the first time (coming from an iPod) and make some sense out of it.
Here's Asr before he auditioned his first IEM, my sf5p
And, here are my friend and I looking like we were listening to kum bay ah:
So, basically I learned that I need to spend more money
And I'm incapable and unqualified, after the short time I listened to everything, to comment on the individual headphones and amps. They sounded great and I was happy that the 80 and 225 were able to play with the big boys when amped. I learned a small bit about soundstage too listening to some circumaural phones.
Asr, throw up some pics too.
Later y'all
The meet was awesome. Thanks again to Asr, who graciously brought his setup knowing that I could only offer a very modest setup in return and no one else could make it-that was super cool. Anyway, the pictures off my friend's disposable kind of sucked, but:
Here's the best shot I have of our setup
Here's me trying my best to listen to an AKG 701 out of a nice source/amp for the first time (coming from an iPod) and make some sense out of it.
Here's Asr before he auditioned his first IEM, my sf5p
And, here are my friend and I looking like we were listening to kum bay ah:
So, basically I learned that I need to spend more money
Asr, throw up some pics too.
Later y'all
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Finally some time to report back with my meet impressions. It was nice to meet you guys, was definitely a worthwhile meet, I got to compare the SR225 with the SR80 and try out the super.fi 5 Pro and listen to some new music. Didn't mind the lack of more people - it turned out great since it was quieter and we all got to listen simultaneously. So that was an edge we had over most meets - you can't usually listen because of background noise, but we really got to listen this way.
Great meet overall, it was nice to get back to the basics after the chaos of the National Meet. Mini-meets are the real essence of Head-Fi anyway.
- Specific impressions:
SR80: having owned the SR225 for a few weeks now I was interested in finding out how much of a difference there really is between the two. To me there's no contest whatsoever. The SR225 is better than the SR80 by a landslide. It's measurably better at detail retrieval, as it just gets more of the picture. There's more "flesh" and weight to the lower-mids than the SR80 too. It just got more of that essential guitar twang in rock music. And with the SR80, the bass had a tendency to get drowned out by the upper frequencies when they kicked in - not so with the SR225, it just clearly kept it in and separate and distinct. Overall clarity was noticeably better. Also better at separating layers than the SR80, which tended to mash them. Made it much easier to hear multiple guitar layers. As for if the SR225 is worth $100 more than the SR80 - well that's hard to say. If the price difference were $50, I'd definitely say it's worth it. $100 is pushing the limit IMO.
super.fi 5 pro: I only listened to these for about 10 minutes. Have never tried an IEM before so this was my first. Heh, the isolation was amazing on it. With no music I could still hear sisenor talking but it was very muffled, like listening through 3 pillows or something. As soon as the music started, it was awesome - couldn't hear a single thing. In terms of the SQ, well it didn't exactly impress me. Seemed like a bass-oriented IEM - there was plenty of impact and lower-level strength. I was amazed by how much bass could come from something so small. It certainly wasn't DT770-level bass but it was a lot more than what I was expecting. The high-frequency extension didn't seem very good to me, was kinda rolled off at the very top. I kinda got a dark-sounding vibe from it. Also it was very sensitive - for the first time I heard the infamously high noise floor on the 2005 AE-1, definitely wasn't expecting that. Definitely want to have my AE-1 upgraded to the 2006 model now.
5G 30GB iPod: Can't say too much here as I didn't listen long, but the files on it were mostly encoded at a high bit-rate. Drove the super.fi 5 Pro with ease.
K701: and the K701 surprised me with the Joe Satriani CD (pictured below), it was a great pairing. It really is an amazing headphone for rock - that is, for those who prefer a more distant sense of soundstage of course (since Grados get much closer).
- Pics:
The equipment setup, all my stuff (although you can see part of the iPod there)
sisenor's friend rocking it with the SR225
sisenor and yours truly
sisenor's friend examining the AD2K
Not sure which Grado this one is
Me mugging for the camera
SR80 glamor shot
SR225 and SR80 glamor shot
sisenor's home theater setup, the speakers were cool (seemed a bit focused on the mid-range) and the subwoofer was an Infinity, looked like a 12"
Close shot of sisenor's HT components
The equipment setup allowed for all three of us to listen simultaneously (a convenience that cannot be overstated): Arcam output #1 to the AE-1, looped out to the Cayin; Arcam output #2 to the Millett Hybrid. Reminded me why I got the Arcam and AE-1.
sisenor and his friend rocking it out together!
Thanks again for the meet sisenor! Hopefully this will give the other Colorado Head-Fiers an incentive to get something going now! Too bad I won't be here for another meet though, as I'm moving to Cali in a few weeks.
Great meet overall, it was nice to get back to the basics after the chaos of the National Meet. Mini-meets are the real essence of Head-Fi anyway.
- Specific impressions:
SR80: having owned the SR225 for a few weeks now I was interested in finding out how much of a difference there really is between the two. To me there's no contest whatsoever. The SR225 is better than the SR80 by a landslide. It's measurably better at detail retrieval, as it just gets more of the picture. There's more "flesh" and weight to the lower-mids than the SR80 too. It just got more of that essential guitar twang in rock music. And with the SR80, the bass had a tendency to get drowned out by the upper frequencies when they kicked in - not so with the SR225, it just clearly kept it in and separate and distinct. Overall clarity was noticeably better. Also better at separating layers than the SR80, which tended to mash them. Made it much easier to hear multiple guitar layers. As for if the SR225 is worth $100 more than the SR80 - well that's hard to say. If the price difference were $50, I'd definitely say it's worth it. $100 is pushing the limit IMO.
super.fi 5 pro: I only listened to these for about 10 minutes. Have never tried an IEM before so this was my first. Heh, the isolation was amazing on it. With no music I could still hear sisenor talking but it was very muffled, like listening through 3 pillows or something. As soon as the music started, it was awesome - couldn't hear a single thing. In terms of the SQ, well it didn't exactly impress me. Seemed like a bass-oriented IEM - there was plenty of impact and lower-level strength. I was amazed by how much bass could come from something so small. It certainly wasn't DT770-level bass but it was a lot more than what I was expecting. The high-frequency extension didn't seem very good to me, was kinda rolled off at the very top. I kinda got a dark-sounding vibe from it. Also it was very sensitive - for the first time I heard the infamously high noise floor on the 2005 AE-1, definitely wasn't expecting that. Definitely want to have my AE-1 upgraded to the 2006 model now.
5G 30GB iPod: Can't say too much here as I didn't listen long, but the files on it were mostly encoded at a high bit-rate. Drove the super.fi 5 Pro with ease.
K701: and the K701 surprised me with the Joe Satriani CD (pictured below), it was a great pairing. It really is an amazing headphone for rock - that is, for those who prefer a more distant sense of soundstage of course (since Grados get much closer).
- Pics:
The equipment setup, all my stuff (although you can see part of the iPod there)
sisenor's friend rocking it with the SR225
sisenor and yours truly
sisenor's friend examining the AD2K
Not sure which Grado this one is
Me mugging for the camera
SR80 glamor shot
SR225 and SR80 glamor shot
sisenor's home theater setup, the speakers were cool (seemed a bit focused on the mid-range) and the subwoofer was an Infinity, looked like a 12"
Close shot of sisenor's HT components
The equipment setup allowed for all three of us to listen simultaneously (a convenience that cannot be overstated): Arcam output #1 to the AE-1, looped out to the Cayin; Arcam output #2 to the Millett Hybrid. Reminded me why I got the Arcam and AE-1.
sisenor and his friend rocking it out together!
Thanks again for the meet sisenor! Hopefully this will give the other Colorado Head-Fiers an incentive to get something going now! Too bad I won't be here for another meet though, as I'm moving to Cali in a few weeks.
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What, no contesting opinions on my statements of the SR80 and super.fi 5 Pro?
sisenor
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Well, I was just gonna say I'm the least photogenic person in the world...yikes.
No, actually you're right and your words were pretty kind coming from your "final" setup. Just kidding, maybe you have what you want. But for now, I must say, I'm ok.
Unless, you want to transfer the charity of those DT880s this way ????????
No, actually you're right and your words were pretty kind coming from your "final" setup. Just kidding, maybe you have what you want. But for now, I must say, I'm ok.
Unless, you want to transfer the charity of those DT880s this way ????????
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Heh, well maybe there'll be another chance for a mini-meet someday. My job will require me to travel back to Boulder every couple months so we might be able to work something in sometime.
Where are the comments from the other Colorado Head-Fiers???
Where are the comments from the other Colorado Head-Fiers???
OakIris
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It would seem that the meet went very well indeed. I am sorry to have missed it, especially as I have never tried out a pair of Grados and would like to do so.
As for a future meet, I have posted in the original "Someone from Colorado?" thread offering to host a meet this fall, but have received no responses thus far. Maybe we're all too reclusive here in Colorado!
Holly
As for a future meet, I have posted in the original "Someone from Colorado?" thread offering to host a meet this fall, but have received no responses thus far. Maybe we're all too reclusive here in Colorado!
Holly
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