Amp for the Shangri-La. Since the headphone looks exactly like a HE1000 so no pics for it. It sounds great, very nice vocals and positioning of sound. But the hall is really noisy so could not tell much more.
The WA8. I call it transportable
Versus the CDM. Its heavier then it looks. Sound wise thicker mids, stronger bass and a more laid back vocal range. I quite like it really. And very good blacks even on IEM.
The Chord Dave. Tested it out with my KSE1500 using rca to stereo. Really good details, punch in the mids and all round enjoyable signature. The greatest improvement was those small little bass rumble within the tracks thats mixed with the vocals. Its all clearly heard today. Great stuff!
The Abyss. Impression was its good. I put it at just below the HE1000 personally. Want to try it again in the future in a better condition.
The full metal jackets. Was investigating the difference between the old Angie and new Angie II. Its slightly smaller in dimensions. Sound wise a touch better clarity and a little less warm at the same setting on the knobs. Unsure if its the cable as I didnt go round swapping with my personal Angie.
SR-009. Definitely one of the best in production headphone. Fast, punchy, great clarity and lots of air. Though I felt the soundstage is a little small, everything else is just great. Use to be totally pricey but today with all the new headphones similar or even out pricing it, this is quite a good deal.
The Opus player. I thought it was great. Very nice controlled bass and a little on the neutral side. For 599 usd, running android with balanced out, I thought it was great. But note the Onkyo DAP cost around the same but way bigger. Also it has a rather terrible screen. Non IPS, terrible viewing angle but hey we are head-fi so its all good.
Meze Classic 99. Im really impressed with it at just 300 (with additional 20% off canjam). Its sub bass rumble is really good, clarity is still maintained and nice vocals. However tracks with many quick drum beats can get all jumbled up.
IEMS from Music Sanctuary. Tried the Zeus, felt it was very reference but the universals has some sort of 'sss' sound whenever it peaks. They did say the customs are much better. The most suprising find is the HUM which they recommended me to try. Quite like its smoothness, warmth and well controlled bass.
The Codex. Pity I cant try it fully.
The Orpheus. Great sounding thing after so many years. Maybe its too noisy but the bass is a little lacking compared to the other 2 electrostats.
The Blue Hawaii amp with SR007. Tried it out with SR-009 and it was great. Improved mids with a touch of warmth and smoothness. Things felt more lively with more power in the vocals and bass. I actually preferred this setup to the other 2 electrostats (at least in the canjam condition).
