stewtheking
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- May 6, 2005
- Posts
- 2,671
- Likes
- 27
Okay, so I've unpacked everything from my giant orange bag after the meet, and have settled down to write some impressions.
Firstly, the cool people who came. Jonathan (Griffin), Dex (Dexdexter), Matt (matheprat) (although he did leave early), Pete (toric334) (who left with a lighter wallet, thanks to my PA2V2
) And the three guys who came later. Enormous apologies for not remembering your names, but at least one of them was mofonyx.
There was a lot of pretty gear that arrived. Dex had his ultrasone table, and Jonathan had his GS1000's and RS-1, and then kept on pulling more headphones out of his boxes, like a magician's hat.
Now, I'll do the disclaimer here that everything was done under meet conditions so the impressions are hardly going to be definitive, but there were just few of us that the listening wasn't too impeded.
Right, first things first, and it was the first thing I tried, the GS-1000's. These are a strange beast, and I wasn't sure about them at first. I was expecting a grado with soundstage and more bass, but these aren't like that at all. They are extremely detailed, and have a nice soundstage, and extra bass as compared to the RS-1, but they don't have quite the richness of tone that the RS1 have. They are an odd beast, but I quite liked them, and the bagel pads don't look quite as crazy in person as they appear in photographs, they are ALMOST normal looking!
Okay, next up are some portables. I got to hear some that I wasn't all that impressed with. The v-moda vibes are an absolute bass monster, but not in a good way to my ears, and I didn't find them particularly clear either. The Sony ECX90 (can't quite remember the model number) were a little bit better, but I still found them a disappointment considering some of the favourable reviews. However, I don't think I was getting a great fit, so that could be partly to blame. I also wasn't too impressed with the Altec Lansing IEM's. Some reviews have said these are 90% of the ER4's, but I did not hear that today. I know my portable amplification isn't massively powerful, but they seem nearly as hard to drive as the k1000's, and I wasn't getting much joy from listening to them.
How do I compare them to the ER4's? Well, because Pete brought a pair. These actually floored me a bit. I have heard how Ety's can be sterile and lifeless, but I didn't hear that here. I was really impressed by the detail and the clarity. Sound-wise they are awesome, but I could never live with that form factor. The cables just don't seem to sit right on my face, I couldn't get them properly into my ears (the foamies are GIGANTIC!) and the cable kept pulling them down a bit. Not my favourite IEM but lovely to hear.
At this point I should mention the generosity of Doctorjuggles (Justin) who sent me a bunch of Shure foamies for people to try with the various IEM's. It was very useful having them there, and they arrived just in the nick of time, the very second I was leaving my building to go to the meet!
The other nice portables I heard were Jonathan's Baby Stax, the SR-001 Mk2. These things are very like the ER4's for me. Fantastic sound, but I couldn't get on with the form factor. The sound is fantastic and airy, with real sparkle in the top end, (something I enjoy with my k1000's, and the baby stax did it almost better) but they fell a little flat on bass impact and the fact that I couldn't get comfy with them for love nor money. They always felt insecure and like they were going to be crushed by my ears.
Okay, what was next? In terms of sources, Jonathan's CD player was a very nice machine, but I'm not really a source guy so I can't make any sensible comments on it. The other source that did impress me though was the iMod. This thing is really nice. It's handy getting a line out from the headphone jack and it did genuinely seem to be an improvement over the lineout from the bottom of my iPod. However, this could just be the difference between the 320AAC on mine, and the Flac on the iMod. Either way, at least one if not both of those things was sounding pretty sweet.
There were a few very nice amps kicking around. The Headfive was a nice thing to hear, and is a very capable little amp for the money. I got a change to play with the crossfeed filter on it a bit, and it looks like a great addition to the amp. The Heed canamp was another that I liked. Didn't get much of a serious listen to it, but it looks very pretty, and has a pleasing ammount of warmth coming off it in use! There was also a nice WNA amp, modded by PinkFloyd I believe, that was driving the GS-1000's very nicely. All of those were lovely, but I'm a tube guy, so the amp that really grabbed me was the Woo that Jonathan brought. It's a really lovely amp, with a nice rich tone, and truly excelled at any of the vocal and acoustic stuff we threw at it. If I were looking for a new amp (heaven help my poor decrepit wallet) I'd be looking at woo.
The stars of the meet, for me anyway, were the Ultrasones that Dex brought. Those of you who have been following Dex's posts recently will know of his love for a good ultrasone, and I am very much beginning to see why. They have fantastic soundstage, and a really interesting presentation, because the sound is shot at the back of your ears from the front, rather than directly in. They reminded me a lot of how my k1000's sound. Very clear, and with fantastic soundstage. They also have an unbelievable impact to the sound. Listening to a big-band record (which is recorded very punchy anyway) was staggering. These ultrasones genuinely seem to be a fantastic headphone. They also come with a couple of different cables, one straight one coiled, and spare pairs of pads. They are really awesomely well designed and built. I admit it, I am al ultrasone convert. The only downside for me was that I found the two open models he had (no idea of the model numbers, I have zero head for figures) a little bit bright for my tastes, but I am seriously considering trying to trade my HD580's in for some Ultrasone fun.
Right, that wraps up my little ramble. I had a really great time, and it was nice to meet some more fellow head-fiers. I hope a good time was had by all.
Firstly, the cool people who came. Jonathan (Griffin), Dex (Dexdexter), Matt (matheprat) (although he did leave early), Pete (toric334) (who left with a lighter wallet, thanks to my PA2V2
There was a lot of pretty gear that arrived. Dex had his ultrasone table, and Jonathan had his GS1000's and RS-1, and then kept on pulling more headphones out of his boxes, like a magician's hat.
Now, I'll do the disclaimer here that everything was done under meet conditions so the impressions are hardly going to be definitive, but there were just few of us that the listening wasn't too impeded.
Right, first things first, and it was the first thing I tried, the GS-1000's. These are a strange beast, and I wasn't sure about them at first. I was expecting a grado with soundstage and more bass, but these aren't like that at all. They are extremely detailed, and have a nice soundstage, and extra bass as compared to the RS-1, but they don't have quite the richness of tone that the RS1 have. They are an odd beast, but I quite liked them, and the bagel pads don't look quite as crazy in person as they appear in photographs, they are ALMOST normal looking!
Okay, next up are some portables. I got to hear some that I wasn't all that impressed with. The v-moda vibes are an absolute bass monster, but not in a good way to my ears, and I didn't find them particularly clear either. The Sony ECX90 (can't quite remember the model number) were a little bit better, but I still found them a disappointment considering some of the favourable reviews. However, I don't think I was getting a great fit, so that could be partly to blame. I also wasn't too impressed with the Altec Lansing IEM's. Some reviews have said these are 90% of the ER4's, but I did not hear that today. I know my portable amplification isn't massively powerful, but they seem nearly as hard to drive as the k1000's, and I wasn't getting much joy from listening to them.
How do I compare them to the ER4's? Well, because Pete brought a pair. These actually floored me a bit. I have heard how Ety's can be sterile and lifeless, but I didn't hear that here. I was really impressed by the detail and the clarity. Sound-wise they are awesome, but I could never live with that form factor. The cables just don't seem to sit right on my face, I couldn't get them properly into my ears (the foamies are GIGANTIC!) and the cable kept pulling them down a bit. Not my favourite IEM but lovely to hear.
At this point I should mention the generosity of Doctorjuggles (Justin) who sent me a bunch of Shure foamies for people to try with the various IEM's. It was very useful having them there, and they arrived just in the nick of time, the very second I was leaving my building to go to the meet!
The other nice portables I heard were Jonathan's Baby Stax, the SR-001 Mk2. These things are very like the ER4's for me. Fantastic sound, but I couldn't get on with the form factor. The sound is fantastic and airy, with real sparkle in the top end, (something I enjoy with my k1000's, and the baby stax did it almost better) but they fell a little flat on bass impact and the fact that I couldn't get comfy with them for love nor money. They always felt insecure and like they were going to be crushed by my ears.
Okay, what was next? In terms of sources, Jonathan's CD player was a very nice machine, but I'm not really a source guy so I can't make any sensible comments on it. The other source that did impress me though was the iMod. This thing is really nice. It's handy getting a line out from the headphone jack and it did genuinely seem to be an improvement over the lineout from the bottom of my iPod. However, this could just be the difference between the 320AAC on mine, and the Flac on the iMod. Either way, at least one if not both of those things was sounding pretty sweet.
There were a few very nice amps kicking around. The Headfive was a nice thing to hear, and is a very capable little amp for the money. I got a change to play with the crossfeed filter on it a bit, and it looks like a great addition to the amp. The Heed canamp was another that I liked. Didn't get much of a serious listen to it, but it looks very pretty, and has a pleasing ammount of warmth coming off it in use! There was also a nice WNA amp, modded by PinkFloyd I believe, that was driving the GS-1000's very nicely. All of those were lovely, but I'm a tube guy, so the amp that really grabbed me was the Woo that Jonathan brought. It's a really lovely amp, with a nice rich tone, and truly excelled at any of the vocal and acoustic stuff we threw at it. If I were looking for a new amp (heaven help my poor decrepit wallet) I'd be looking at woo.
The stars of the meet, for me anyway, were the Ultrasones that Dex brought. Those of you who have been following Dex's posts recently will know of his love for a good ultrasone, and I am very much beginning to see why. They have fantastic soundstage, and a really interesting presentation, because the sound is shot at the back of your ears from the front, rather than directly in. They reminded me a lot of how my k1000's sound. Very clear, and with fantastic soundstage. They also have an unbelievable impact to the sound. Listening to a big-band record (which is recorded very punchy anyway) was staggering. These ultrasones genuinely seem to be a fantastic headphone. They also come with a couple of different cables, one straight one coiled, and spare pairs of pads. They are really awesomely well designed and built. I admit it, I am al ultrasone convert. The only downside for me was that I found the two open models he had (no idea of the model numbers, I have zero head for figures) a little bit bright for my tastes, but I am seriously considering trying to trade my HD580's in for some Ultrasone fun.
Right, that wraps up my little ramble. I had a really great time, and it was nice to meet some more fellow head-fiers. I hope a good time was had by all.
