[UntilThen]

This August or Sept 2016 is good. I've new tubes to show on Elise.

 

[Jimmy6]

Good idea thecrow. Maybe somewhere closer to public transport?

Though I can imagine the logistics of finding a safe venue where people can't easily make off with goods difficult. Must be a reason why it's always been held at Epping. It's a nice quiet place

I'm just happy it's not in the blue mountains

 

[thecrow]

How about a room on one of the campuses if anyone has connections. Eg UTS, Syd uni., something around there

 

[pkwak]

This year's good for me. Prefer on a Sunday.

If it's the same crowd it will be the same gear. Is another venue possible in another part of sydney so as to get additional people that might not want to travel.

I can't think of any off hand but happy to keep a look out

I personally have no issue in travelling.

Unfortunately Sunday is not good for me as I work. But I can make the meet late. Say 12.30 to 8 pm? Also please keep an eye out for a suitable venue. The venue needs to be big enough to cater for approx. 100 people, must have lots of power outlets, must have tables and chairs. Must also offer public liability with the cost of hire. Finally must be under $30 per hour.

 

[thecrow]

Because of the cost that's why I was thinking if anyone new anyone in a smaller club or uni

If most prefer Saturdays then no dramas, but if Sundays is a preference, with Wing from minidisc perhaps able to attend feel free to check in with me as you start arranging a date etc as if I'm able to attend (which is more than likely) I'm happy to help out by setting it up in the morning for you (and everyone). Happy to help where I can. Just don't expect me to bake any cookies.

 

[sandalaudio]

I guess it's hard to find somewhere with free parking and close to the station.
 
It's one of those situations where a lack of parking means serious people with huge kits won't be able to come, whereas too far from the station means the casuals with a couple of IEMs won't bother to come all the way in.
 
We need to find someone like a rich CEO to join the community to host a meeting...
Then again they probably would use large speakers rather than headphones..

 

[UntilThen]

Unless we find a better alternative, I thought the Epping Creative Centre is perfect. The big room is just 100 metres from the big car park and very private. Very secure too.

 

[sandalaudio]

  Unless we find a better alternative, I thought the Epping Creative Centre is perfect. The big room is just 100 metres from the big car park and very private. Very secure too.

 
I've been told by someone who lives around there that there is a proposal to redevelop that whole park (including the aquatic centre), so I hope that doesn't happen too soon.

 

[chocolatewol]

Hi everyone! I know this is a bit late but I put together a running diary of my experiences from Can Con 6. This was my third or fourth one attending and while I don't have as much to offer as the other attendees, I know my own understanding of the hobby, the products and also the social environment of the meet-ups has grown through my experiences. I thought I would do this to try and focus on specific points of the experience so I got the most out of it, and also to force myself to engage in order to have something worth discussing. If anything, I hope this sort of thing demonstrates the true value of the local/regional meet-ups and especially the value of such gatherings in the metro NSW area. I think that these Can Cons could be a great way for the doors to be blown wide open for newcomers to the hobby and if anything I would like to dispel any of the fears about potential arrogance or 'being way too intense' for people. Everyone has made me extremely welcome when going to the Sydney meets and I have had many opportunities to try headphones, amplifiers and accessories that I would never be able to demo from my home - and meet up with some great people who have a lot of insight to share. Nori's collection, for instance - and his insight - would be an immediate way for anyone at almost any price range to dive in and figure out what they like. 
 
Before we get into the meat of this (in case anyone wants to skip the rest, as it might get long), I would certainly like to again thank @hpz and @pkwak for organising, and to say that it was an utter pleasure to spend the day with @sandalaudio, @Jimmy6, @Jimmyboei, @UntilThen, @wink, and everyone else. @drez I saw you across the room - and it's always nice to see a friend face. You looked like you were seriously into it and I'm sure we'll catch up next time.  
 
I also want to say that I'm not so good with names and sometimes not familiar with product model names, so if I have made any mistakes I apologize. Any characterisations I have made are only via my own impression and I do not intend any insult, you are all fine people and I hope I have interpreted your remarks and attitudes correctly.
----
 
CanCon 6 – Epping Creative Centre – February 27 2016
My starting aims:

1. Compare different headphones out of my source with sample music with the W1000Z
2. Explore different sources with the W1000Z
3. Get a preview of the Fostex TH-X00
4. Catch up with everyone

10:30 AM – I have arrived, people setting up. Nori (sandalaudio) is unpacking his huge collection. Another fellow (noted as Erwin, later) comes in and sets up a serious selection of serious amps: the KGSSHV, the Blue Heaven, some others and a Schiit Yggdrasil DAC and a bevy of electrostatics. I take the time to wander around the building, slowly set things up and investigate the kitchen. I talk a little to two men who are with the creative centre either running or attending a leatherworking class. The day is starting slowly and I’m a little sleepy and I need a new belt. For a second I’d not mind doing some leatherwork and learning something new. 
 

 

 

11:25 AM – People are still largely milling around, waiting for more people to show up. It seems myself, and the people who are serious exhibitors (not myself) have come but the actual looky-loo foot traffic is light as of yet. However, the conversations and listening have started which is good to see as Drez hangs out with Erwin and gives his display a really earnest audition. A few more people showing up – demonstrating perhaps that the best start time for actual attendees looks closer to 12:30 than 10:30. It’s nice and relatively quiet and it’s time to get into some listening. 
First listen: Nori’s Beyerdynamic T51p – finally understanding what the ‘cushier’ Beyer earpads are like.

1. The Verve – Bittersweet Symphony – this is a much meatier feeling output than the DT1350. It’s a little more bassy, maybe a little congested. The feeling on the head is different – the headbands don’t split, so there’s more of a weirdly centralised weight there, but the on-ear feeling is much more comfortable, almost as comfortable as the Amperiors.
2. Pearl Jam – Black – there’s a lot of sort of weird, scratchiness coming through before the songs/in the treble. I don’t know if it’s my amp/dac or these particular headphones. [Note: It was the USB connection to the DAC. While the Fiio E07k is portable, it tends to be used only at work. Apparently the cable isn’t behaving well and with the constant pushing around it seems like the connector (or my laptop port) is loose] Something to watch out for. The bass is much more present rather than the DT1350 and seems to maybe erode the particular fastidiness of those headphones that I personally appreciate so much. (tried to briefly compare with the DT1350 and given that baseline I realize appened to take two tracks with that determined lo-fi sound)

11:44 AM – A friend of Erwin has shown up – John? And they are very into it. And it sounds great. It sounds great from across the room. The only problem with the extremely open electrostatics is that they absolutely pollute everything else. The two fellows are definitely enjoying it (and I am from here as well) but thank goodness for having headphones I guess. 
 
 

12:02 PM I wandered around a bit to listen into conversations, now sitting down with Nori’s Sennheiser HD650 – customised from Japan, apparently. It has a balanced cable which he gave me an adapter for, and then I had to adapt it with the Grado adapter after all that. It’s a bit clampy but the velours are fairly nice. Didn’t get to listen as Erwin (head-fi: wink) accosted me to talk about headphones and many other things. With a few conversational questions I was treated to his entire history with hi-fi which as told is fascinating and very hands-on, including building heaps of amplifiers over the years, and his amazing electrostatic collection. He loves the natural sound, so he prefers the Stax offerings to any of the dynamic ones, but notes that he has come today to see what is up and happening and also give people an opportunity to experience what is his very expansive and rare offerings. He also has a large range of dynamic headphones and is apparently the mysterious owner of the HP-DX1000 that I had heard about residing in Sydney.
About an hour later, after hearing a lot about his feelings on the scientific community and the plausibility of several universe origin theories (Erwin has a lot to offer on a lot of topics), I took a test run through his amps and headphones including a smaller on-ear electrostatic, the HE-60 (Baby Orpheus), the Stax 007-mk2 and the Stax 009. I don’t know if I’ve heard such natural sounding music before. I think I preferred the 007-mk2 for its slightly warmer tones, and the 009 felt like I wasputting myself in a slightly more analytical cloud. Both had a much more pleasant feeling across the board. When listening to something like the HD800 I immediately notice the expansiveness of the soundstage and the extreme clarity with which I am hearing things, but it seems at the cost of something (bass presence and meatiness). The immediate feeling when listening to any of the electrostatics (even the on-ear) was that it was effortlessly recreating tones across the spectrum. The tuning and space might vary, but never felt like it was as uneven as dynamics have felt in the past. This was certainly ear-opening. 
 

 

 

 

 

I listened to a recording of “When the Saints Come Marching In”, which had beautiful brass tones and yet was so percussive and punchy. I also listened to a little song called “Don’t You”, a compelling combination of female vocals, the song structure, the pathos, the strings, I’d listen to a whole album of that, whoever it is. If only I could find out! [Note: Apparently is Amber Rubarth… time to explore.]
13:50PM Visited Nori and used his T1 and his Beyer DT1770 in order to see what was what through his Violectric amp. I didn’t spend enough time to get real exposure to make a distinction, but then we got sidetracked into talking about ifi USB filters so I ended up listening to two tracks out of his macbook focusing on that aspect. The ifi guy is our vendor today and has brought a lot of product with him, including those sorts of things and as such, he is interested in everyone to try and discuss his offerings on show. Regarding the USB filters, you may not get a great difference out of a macbook as the interface is fairly clean, he says.
I would like to try Nori’s Chord Mojo out of my PC with his (or any) T1 against headphones I have and am familiar with.
14:17 PM Talked to Richard, who has a Chord Mojo and also some Grado SR325 – which he didn’t bring, he obviously came with the intention of hearing and learning as much as he could. He lent me his mojo, unfortunately I could not get my laptop to recognize it. As such, I wasn’t able to get anywhere with it. The Mojo is heavy for its size, yet pretty neat, and not too expensive. But if I can’t get it to work I’ll never be tempted, obviously. 
 

It’s hard having two prongs – wanting to try the different driving hardware (amps, etc) and also the different headphones. The duality of this makes it very hard to really compare anything, as there is no real baseline. I think I will have to focus on pushing headhpones through the gear I am at least familiar with for now, as that is at least indicative of the likely environment I will (ever) have.
15:05 I had some lunch: a slice of pizza, half a lamington, a caramel chip cookie, a handful or two of grain waves, a portion of an ANZAC biscuit. I’m still peckish,  but don’t necessarily want more pizza though it does look tempting. Maybe later! Now, I’ve taken back the HD650. Erwin says this model is ‘customized’ in that it doesn’t have the foam to cover the driver, making it much more bright – and we’ll see. Supposedly the “Sennheiser veil” will be lifted. All I can tell is that they are businesslike headphones – they don’t sport any fancy looking craziness like the HD700 or HD800, but they do seem to get the job done, but without a lot of pizazz.

1. These aren’t as dark as I remember them being, but they are fairly flat and laid back – not particularly aggressive. They are mostly pleasant. Bittersweet Symhony’s many moving parts blending together better than with the previous listen on the Beyerdynamics. I am not finding separation to be particularly strong, but it’s nice enough. The blend of sound on Pearl Jam’s Black also quite fine – these are definitely competent. I think Nori suggested I try them to note the difference, but I don’t really know the HD650 well enough to know, other than that I had previously found them pretty dark.

15:12 PM Jimmy6 came to look at my paltry collection, asked about the two woods and took away the Grado PS500 to have a listen. He listened to Arianna Grande and Amy Winehouse, said the soundstage was extremely narrow – as I have found, and I gave him the larger earpads just to see the differences. When he comes back I’ll try his Chord Hugo (hopefully without having to use it with my laptop).
15:20 PM Jimmy6 was good enough to come back and let me use his Hugo and his iPhone (which handles digital audio out via the cable gracefully, unlike my Nexus 4) – and as such I will now use Amy Winehouse’s “You know I’m no good” and The Beatle’s Come together as a track for a quick run through of the Grado PS500, ATH-W1000Z.

1. The Grado PS500 has a warmer, groovier sound while the ATH-W1000z has a very sterile sound for a wooden headphone, but it has good range. The Hugo is pretty pure and clinical.
2. Comparing “Come Together” on the ATH-W1000Z and the Chord Hugo demonstrates that the E07K (albeit with a not great mp3 vs FLAC) is a little sloppier, perhaps a little bit bassier in presentation than the Hugo, which is pretty nice and clean. It may bring to mind the need to upgrade, but it also has too many variables uncontrolled to be sure. But it does sort of paint the picture that there are improvements on that front to be had. 

15:37 PM I am finally back to Nori’s DT1770 (with the new Tesla 2 driver), the T1 (because I’ve long wanted one) and the ATH-W1000Z as a baseline. Here goes, hopefully without inconveniencing anyone. For this I am going to try with Silverchair’s “The Lever” because of the density of the song as well as he heavy distortion; also going to also try Jack White’s Love Interruption for its sense of space.

1. Silverchair – the Lever
   1. ATH-W1000Z: Shows the reverb likelihood with the wooden headphone, even though they have mostly been pretty (surprisingly) clean. The muddledness of the distortion is pretty thick.
   2. The T1 has significantly higher impedance (which has been the primary reason for me not getting one in case it would not work out in terms of driving without proper output capabilities. Using the EO7K on the 6db setting has made a fair difference. It’s a cleaner yet darker presentation (though anything is less lush than the Audio Technica) – and sharper, the precision of the Tesla driver fairly apparent. The T1 are also open or semi-open.
   3. The DT1770 is a seriously large headphone. While the overall size of the ATH-W1000Z is larger (and the cups chunkier), and the earpad size is similar to the T1, the solid, utilitarian blockiness of it all makes it fairly imposing. The clamp is strong and the isolation is pretty good, and the velours nice. I have almost no idea what to expect from this. The darkness of this recording is coming out with the Beyerdynamic headphones – but the precision is nice. So far I like the DT1770 more than the T1, interestingly enough.
   4. Adding in the Sony MDR-Z7, which I had previously listened to and found boomy and messy. But hey, why not. These are meant to be super-ranged (Hi-Def) and have an insane range and an insanely large driver – and they do go deep and have a fair bit of reverberation in it. The laid back mids remind me of the MDR-R1. It still doesn’t seem like a headphone I would purchase for its cost.
   5. The AKG K812 will have a real test with this song, as the heavy distortion may not come out – or may come out unpleasantly for the dirty mess it is meant to be. Suprisingly, it responds well, and the distortion fuelled bassline is present and yet also highly detailed. The K812 do not suffer from the endless air that the K712 do apparently (but they certainly aren’t worth $1600??)
2. Jack White – Love Interruption
   1. Beyer DT1770 – still a dark presentation, the warmth of the acoustic isn’t really there, but Jack White’s vocals are pretty nice and the broken vocals of the accompanist are very interesting; it does seem to fit the song to some degree.
   2. T1 – like a breath of fresh air, this lighter and airier headphone gets back on my head. It’s hard to wear the DT1770 for too long perhaps. This recording is now a little lighter, the weird wind instruments are decent and the acoustic is coming out a little more.
   3. The W1000Z are by far the easiest to drive (had the 1770 on “30”, the T1 at “30, Gain = 6” and the W1000Z are more comfortable at 25. The darkness has all but dissipated and this song has no meaningful bassline to really anchor the song, as such this guitar, wind and piano tune is pretty light on the ears. The vocals are exemplary as one might expect. By comparison to the T1 or DT1770, this may feel less ground.
   4. The MDR-Z7 isn’t as dark as the DT1770, but also not as precise, the woodwind feels a little more blended; on the whole aspect separation seems to not be as clean.
   5. AKG K812, the supposed heir apparent to the K712 but with funny earpads (or rubber spacers, more like), is open-air, and has a spacious sound. The distance has it feel not quite punchy enough but it does have a fairly aggressive leading edge on its notes. It seems like the complaint that the K812 is too mainstream is alleviated with this material.
3. Dire Straights – Your Latest Trick
   1. ATH-W1000Z:  A song that should round out everything – clean, sax, and a meaningful song structure with some ambient noise should at least attempt to be a fair middle ground for these headphones. As expected, the ATH-W1000Z sound exactly as I’d expect the song to with these headphones.
   2. Now to switch up the order, turning back to the DT1770: The lightness of the sax line in this song is pretty clean and promising on the DT1770, there’s a moderate sense of space with the recording. The guitar line is a little bright.
   3. The T1 even more spacious (due to the openness?) and still precise, it’s a very nice time with the recording and very good at separating the various parts. Now the sax line comes and is pretty lush. The vocals are less deep, there’s a little less of the coolness of the 1770 which if not always oppressive may be likely to take over. Perhaps here the T1 take back over to my most normalized listening desires (over the DT1770) but it does show how important track choice is for a headphone’s appropriateness.
   4. The MDR-Z7 show off a certain earnestness now, presenting the sax, vocals, etc quite forwardly, perhaps (strangely) for a large headphone the soundstage just isn’t that good? But it is presenting the details OK now. Confusing.
   5. The AKG K812 is expected to thrive on this mid-centric song, it does – it’s just as lush as anyone would expect an AKG to sound, with more warmth than the K712. 

 
 

 

 

16:40 PM – after having wandered out for a bit more food, come back and made a little bit of conversation and listened to a bit of some piece using a balanced HD800S, I met a nice guy “jimmyboei” who has two Woo Audio tube amp set ups, and I listened to the with Daft Punk’s Get Lucky and the HD800 – soon to try the other one.
16:47 PM – Jimmy6 wins the door prize, some Pioneer headphones
16:53 PM – Matthew (head-fi UntilThen) who told me to listen to the HD800S came and enquired about my headphones, and took the JVC DX700 and the ATH-W1000Z
17:12 PM – Matthew has come back and said he quite liked the ATH-W1000Z but the extreme boom of the JVC DX700 wasn’t to his taste (and I agree).
17:16 PM – Nori has reminded me to try the ESW9LTD, promising they are quite different to my base model. At first glance they are built the same, and still have the same, terrible, weak cable. They do have a lighter, breezier sound – but still with some of the deeper punch. They don’t seem quite as boomy/reverb intensive. That being said, they may be a better every day headphone but without some of the uniqueness of the regular model (listening to Arcade Fire – Wake Up) but it is promising and I probably would choose it over the ESW9 if I had been making that purchase again. It’s definitely much more moderate, and pretty engaging. It still suffers from some of the same discomfort. My issue is that it may perform better but stand out less, and for me the ATH-ESW9 is a novelty at this point.  
17:40 After another walk around the building I finally got a chance to finish listening to the Woo Audio comparison, using Daft Punk’s Get Lucky and the same HD800 again. Jimmyboei was very gentle with his opinion, but I think he prefers the other fellow’s WA2 amp output. I’m not sure, and they are both sounding great – but the other model does have a certain tube-y richness that is engaging.
 

 

17:58 PM Spent some time (finally?) with the ifi vendor, Cameron, who gave me his card. He had me listen to some music on the DSDmicro unit but it was fairly clean and pleasant to listen to – and has a large range of possible inputs and outputs. It would be a better desktop item than my current “portable” and is worth looking into, but it may be too expensive for my primary use currently which is a work desktop and podcasts. Especially notable while sampling was an orchestral version of Roxeanne. [Note, the ifi DSDmicro is $825 – so would need some extended time with it before I change my direction at that point. It’s very compact and solid and sounded promising, however].
18:00 PM Finally, at long last I am going to give a preview of the TH-X00, which I have coming in May. But nope, Peter (TheCrow) stopped to chat. I had seen him trying to help someone on the little forum about coming, and he seems like a really swell fellow, so I don’t mind being waylaid. I look forward to maybe starting up a rapport with him. He suggested I try the HiFiMAN that pwkak has.
18:10 PM The TH-X00 are pretty bassy, but they have decent detail in the mids (Pulp – Misshapes) but pleasantly so without being disgusting. I think I won’t have any problem with these, while they will be definitely full-on in that regard.. They are articulate but the soundstage isn’t so broad (or as analytical) as the ATH-W1000Z, but they will be a great companion to the ATH-W1000Z. They likely replace or supersede the DX700. This combination of very warm and respectable is hard to get high marks form, but the TH-X00 seems adept at doing both.  
16:30 PM I had a quick listen to Paul (pkwak)’s HE500 because Peter suggested I do so – the HE-500 have a fairly warm and aggressive feeling, but have an evenness to them that is not usually found (to me) at the same time. It’s almost like you can tune the planar driver without sacrificing much in the rest of the band. Having an even quicker squiz with his K702, I found they were still lifeless.
Some final notes:

1. It definitely seems like people come for very particular things:  some come for the fellowship, some come almost entirely to listen to their own headphones or a particular pairing (frequently the HD800 and electrostatic fans do this), some come to compare between models, and some (but oh so few) come for the first time to explore and just bathe in the vast array of items available. It would be nice if there were more of those to see that we were actively growing the hobby as well. Perhaps Nori’s amazing headphone collection would be of interest to those people.
2. Things I learned: Having never heard electrostatics or planar headphones before, their differing sound source and presentation was an awakening. It’s a bit scary.
3. I got to spend some time with the T1 and the DT1770. I don’t currently have any full size Beyerdynamics in my “stable” and I have been thinking I should fix this. Should I get a DT880? Should I wait for the T1 when I get a better amp and dac? Should I go with the DT1770? I think I have a few more clues now.
4. The HD800S is generating a lot of interest, but I don’t know how much direct comparison was happening. If anyone from the meet has any commentary on this, that would be cool! 

 
 
-- Thanks again for the day. 

 

[thecrow]

chocolatewolgood work.

I think you captured the vibe of the day pretty well. Particularly for those thinking of coming along that aren't sure what quite happens.

Well done
Peter

 

[pkwak]

Great review chocolatewol.

 

[wink]

Great write-up.  

I was wondering what you were doing as you were engrossed in typing away madly as you were listening to the different 'phones.  

 
btw, the SR-007 were Mk1, not Mk2, 

 

[chocolatewol]

Sorry about that! I wasn't sure (and as is obvious, wouldn't know the difference either!). I took a guess.. leave it to me to have the wrong one.
Thanks for the kind words - and even more your time, company and guidance through listening to your gear!! It was great.

 

[sandalaudio]

Fantastic write-up. Great that we all got to try a whole bunch of headphones in a relaxed environment, with familiar pieces of music.
 
Makes you realize how many good headphones are out there, each with their own special character. In the end, there is no such thing as an "end game" headphones that people often chase after. The more you try, the more you run out of money...

 

[UntilThen]

Bring on the next meet again.