I'm not even half way through reading impressions, but need to post now before I fall asleep at the keyboard.
I really loved the Cavalli Audio Liquid Lightning stat amp, with 009, 007 and HE-60. The Liquid Fire was also one of my favorites, and one of the best amps with the HE-6. I was surprised at how well it drove them. The Audeze table was also one of my favorites, and again I liked the Liquid Fire with LCD-3 the most, with the other two amps at the table fairly close to each other with the Luxman/2A3 having the edge over the RWA. The DACmini/LF was surprisingly good for a budget DAC.
I was telling people at RMAF that I thought the LCD-3 combined the best features of the LCD-2 and HE-6 into one phone, and that the SR-009 combined the sound signature of the 007 and the HE-60 into one phone. If someone bought these two new phones they might not need to consider the other four. I was happy that the LCD-3 didn't clamp my head like a vise, but thought the pads may be a tad too soft and thick, and the phones were not as stable on my head as a result (kept wanting to swivel to the front or rear as I moved my head around).I did think the LCD-3 and SR-009 sounded a bit different, with the LCD-3 being a bit more organic and warm anad punchy, but with added ambience, air and space over my LCD-2. The SR-009 were like a fulller and weightier sounding HE-60 to me, which means that they bordered on being fatiguing with poor recordings and high volumes when I tried them.
The BHSE seemed just a little bright with the 009 and was better suited for the 007 in my opinion - it was a smooth bright, but still more than I wanted. And I liked the mids on the Cavalli Liquid Lightning (CLL) amp a little better (regardless of phone). CLL also had more than enough power to drive the 007 to high volumes without breakup, distortion or fatigue (claimed 1300-1400v peak to peak on 400v rails). What I did not like was switching from the 007 to the SR-507 and immediately hearing the upper mids/lower treble etch and more forward/less spacious presentation. I'd much rather listen to my Lambda Nova Signature headphones than SR-507, although the 507 still beat many of the dynamic headphones out there.
So the best amp for the 009, 007 and HE-60 was the Cavalli, in my opinion. My second choice for 007 was the BHSE, and for 009 my second choice was the revised WES (because it wasn't as bright as the BHSE). I didn't spend much time with the A-10 except with the HE-90 and Jade, and I preferred the 009/WES or 009/Cavalli and 007/BHSE more. The A-10 sounded very good, just not at the top of my list. The revised WES seems to have a bit better power and speed (esp in the bass) than the original, and I was impressed with the improvements. Jack says the power is the same, but I don't believe it.Anyway, I'd say that I'm most likely to sell the LCD-2 and HD800 at some point to buy the LCD-3, and then after that sell the WES for a Cavalli amp but keep the 007 and HE-60. I just thought the 009 was a little too close to my pair of HE-60 to justify buying them sooner than later. Interestingly, with my ZDT amp the HD800 sound marvelous, and similar to the HE-60 on my WES or KGSS. I really like the HD800 and don't want to sell them, but I really have to use just the right amp to get the best performance from them (ZDT). I liked the LCD-3 just a little more, even with the 2A3 amp that replaced the ZDT - enough that if the ONLY way I could afford to buy the LCD-3 was to sell something then I would consider the HD800 and LCD-2 to get it. I personally think my ZDT with the partial silver transformers and Sylvania Gold Pin 5751 is a little better than the 2A3, but I preferred the 2A3 over the Super 7. I still think the BA is the best of the EC amps so far, with my upgraded ZDT not far behind.
I tried the JHA 3A and was blown away once I got a good seal. I only needed to set the bass knob at 10 o'clock, and anything past 12-1 o'clock was too much for me but never clipping even at loud volumes. And it was an overall bass boost, and not mid-bassy or bloomy sounding when boosted. Once this system can be used plugged into the wall and not run the battery down with use on my computer I'll consider ordering one, and I'll feed it via my USB > coax adapter. But even via LOD and Apple lossless via 16Gb Nano it was impressive. I did have to hold the demo IEM very tightly against my ear to keep the seal, but that gave me a deeper fit in the canal as well, closer to what the custom would be like.
I did try the UM Miracle demo and they reminded me a lot of the ES5 demo, so imagine they'll be even better as a real custom like the ES5. I wasn't interested in the Merlin and didn't have time to try them.
The Vmoda 80 something was nice for a budget phone. I might have liked the T50RP a little more, but the T50RP was a little dark in the highs and lacking some micro-detail. The new Fostex flagship headphones reminded me of a cross between the D2000 and D7000, but with a brighter treble and more recessed mids. I think they would fatigue me and not excite me due to the mids, but the T50RP were warm, relaxed and smooth sounding.
The DT-1350 were noticeably better than my son's HD25-1 II and they're on my list for a closed portable phone now. The 1350 headphones disappeared much better than HD25 which to me are more like a "closed MS1".
At the HiFiMan table I tried the HE-6 with the EF6 amp, and I felt it had plenty of power. I kinda wanted a little better bass impact, but it was the same with the Dark Star. Fang is still working on tweaking the EF6 and said he'd take that into consideration. Regardless, it's significantly better than the prototype EF6 at RMAF 2010. The EF6 was also a better match for the HE-500 as far as I was concerned, and really opened them up a lot. The HE-300 (second batch) sounded wonderful for a $299 open headphone, and still more fun than the HD600 for a similar price, although not as much of a reference phone. They still excite me more than my old Pro 2500, or SR-225/325i. Fang says the second batch has improved build consistency from phone to phone. I ran out of time to try to the RE272, but I haven't been thinking much about getting better universal IEM now that I have the W3/4 and UM3X with UM56 custom tips.
The new coax monitor speakers from CEntrance sounded nice with the DACmini PX, but the room was too noisy to make any real assessment of their abilities. I still like the DACmini CX enough that I brought my own to use with HE-500 and LCD-2, even though CEntrance was bringing theirs. Alex at Audeze also liked it enough to buy one after borrowing one at the show. It just might be the best bang for the buck right now in DAC/amps, although I haven't heard them all.
I did like the Sennheiser RS220, with great detail but I think a little less bass than a decently driven HD600. I might still take an HD600 on an EF2 amp over the RS220 as my primary budget rig, but as a wireless system I haven't heard better.
I'll post more when I think of anything I missed.
