[drez]

 
Thanks @pkwak and @hpz for organising it.
 
See you guys at the next one

 
Thanks for coming - I think I have to get one of the ZX2 now.
 
@pkwak & @hpz eternal thanks for making this meet happen.  
 
BTW if anyone wants my Calyx M send me a PM.

 

[Errymoose]

Yeah, the HE560's were fantastic.  Probably a good thing I didn't like them with my amp particularly or I'd be wanting to spend a lot of money
 
The soloist/HE-560 pairing was the one thing I've heard that could possibly tempt me away from my V200/T1 for not significantly more money...
 
And of course many thanks to @pkwak and @hpz for another well organised meet!

 

[sandalaudio]

  Yeah, the HE560's were fantastic.  Probably a good thing I didn't like them with my amp particularly or I'd be wanting to spend a lot of money
 
The soloist/HE-560 pairing was the one thing I've heard that could possibly tempt me away from my V200/T1 for not significantly more money...

 
Personally I thought the HE560 was the first pair of headphones that could potentially be better than my T1 that I love so much. I'm sure they both have their good and bad points (particularly the HE560 is so hard to drive), but they both have the nice characteristics that I really like.
 

   
Thanks for coming - I think I have to get one of the ZX2 now.
 
@pkwak & @hpz eternal thanks for making this meet happen.  
 
BTW if anyone wants my Calyx M send me a PM.

 
I also thought the NW-ZX2 sounded like a big improvement from the ZX1 that I normally use. The ZX2 is still too low power to drive the demanding loads, but I guess it's a great companion for portable use such as IEMs. I'm also running out of space on 128GB on ZX1, so the extra micro SD card slot on the ZX2 means a lot to me.

 

[DJScope]

Big standouts for me were the Fidelio X2 and R70x. Really great headphones and a decent price. 

 

[drez]

To be honest I think the ZX2 is more gain limited than power limited (at least for my in-ears) - I was maxing out the volume control but still dynamics and body were superior to my Calyx - but Calyx is new so maybe needs some burn in.  I think gain is limited because of some sort of health and safety madness EU regulation.

 

[Errymoose]

   
Personally I thought the HE560 was the first pair of headphones that could potentially be better than my T1 that I love so much. I'm sure they both have their good and bad points (particularly the HE560 is so hard to drive), but they both have the nice characteristics that I really like.

Well, not the only thing I think could potentially be better (hello SR 009).  But the only thing I'd be willing to purchase that could be better, more like...
 
I also found I was pushing the volume higher with the 560.  Which amp were you using with them?  I did not like them with my V200.  But then I tried them on the Soloist that was hooked up to my DAC at the time and was super impressed.

 

[sandalaudio]

  To be honest I think the ZX2 is more gain limited than power limited (at least for my in-ears) - I was maxing out the volume control but still dynamics and body were superior to my Calyx - but Calyx is new so maybe needs some burn in.  I think gain is limited because of some sort of health and safety madness EU regulation.

 
You are right. When I measured up my ZX1 under load, I found that the volume button maxes out way before it ever reaches clipping on low impedance loads. It feels like Sony took the conservative approach of making sure it meets THD spec no matter what load you put on it (especially those <10 ohm IEM), whereas lot of other DAPs simply crank up the gain until it starts clipping. However, I do wish if Sony did give us the option to run the ZX1/ZX2 to higher voltages even if that means clipping, like on Fiio's "High Gain" mode.
 

  Well, not the only thing I think could potentially be better (hello SR 009).  But the only thing I'd be willing to purchase that could be better, more like...
 
I also found I was pushing the volume higher with the 560.  Which amp were you using with them? 

 
Let's forget about SR009. Buying that almost feels like declaring the end of my headphone journey as a hobby, unless I'm a millionaire.
 
The fact that HE560 was hard to drive was almost a welcome thing for me, because I'm sick of high end headphone makers creating super-efficient headphones to cater for the iPhone crowd, at the cost of impedance stability and ultimately the sound quality. The HE560 drove fine on my Lehmann BCL or Grace m903, and I'm sure everyone who is even remotely considering buying a HifiMan already owns some beefy desktop amp to drive it. I certainly wouldn't even try to drive it on my NW-ZX1 etc.

 

[thecrow]

I also found I was pushing the volume higher with the 560.  Which amp were you using with them?  I did not like them with my V200.  But then I tried them on the Soloist that was hooked up to my DAC at the time and was super impressed.

On the other side i briefly listened to the he560s with my soloist amp and irdac and wasn't too impressed with that 3 way combo. The v200 and sabre dac are a great pairing.

I'm thinking/learnt:
the he560s with the soloist work better with the sabre Dac than my irdac (burr brown);
The v200 and the sabre dac were great (more appealing than what I expected) - for my ears good meat and level of warmth and I don't usually go that way;
The soloist needs a little warmth/grunt that the irdac provides as opposed to the leaner/transparent/brighter sabre dac. I can't ever see myself separating those two. They are a 2 in 1 unit;
How crucial it is in matching dacs with amps and HPs.

And sorry Nori but the dt880s are a great HPs for us older folk. Still living in the past I guess.

Thanks for organising the meet. And the pizza and lamingtons. And for all that attended and brought their gear.

 

[pkwak]

Sorry for late notice but a proper review will be done by John Reekie from Hifi Zine.
In the meanwhile please post your impression/review/photos here.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/772927/can-con-5-impressions-review#post_11724931