[gilency]

So much hype about the Hugo. I was very underwhelmed by it.
Sorry to miss the DIYers including Frank and Milos. Hope you guys are having a great time.
I really would like to see more DIY in this community,especially among the younger generation.
Nothing beats the satisfaction of building something with your own hands.

 

[nhlducks35]

Took a while, but here are the pictures I took for the Head-fi meet
 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nhlducks35/sets/72157649301805003/

 

[adorable]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/79651000@N00/sets/72157651213242250/ Here we go! Again! 170 photos from Saturday's meet =) Damn sexy headphones... =P

 

[wahsmoh]

  I love the K7xx! It is an amazing headphone for its price.
 
what do you mean that sound stage & detail was lost by a fully open design? usually open headphones have better sound stage & sound more natural than closed headphones.
 
look forward to seeing the rest of your impressions.

You are totally right. They are not source dependent, have no harsh highs I usually associate with AKG and dynamic drivers in general and overall they sound tonally very nice. Very easy to drive and highly efficient design, recommended for any new Head-fi'er who doesn't have enough dollars for DAC/amp expenses but could easily start with and O2 + ODAC and be very satisfied or similar Schiit

 

[Stillhart]

Okay it's late , I'm a bit drunk, very tired and typing on my phone... But I'll give some QUICK impressions:

- The HE-1000 is just as good as I remember from CES. Nothing else to say there. (Thanks to Jude for giving me so much time with them!)
- The Dharma was the surprise hit of the show for me. It sounds fantastic at the $1200 price point. Their $1500 hybrid amp is really good too.
- The Ether is great as well but I think it's priced just a bit too high. Very natural, neutral reference sound that took on the characteristics of the source equipment. It just gets out of the way. Very nice.
- The Yggy... What can I say other than I'm now a believer. I listened with HE-560 and my test tracks, and I heard stuff I'd never heard before. That's amazing.
- The Layla is the real deal too.
- The Fidelio X2 is the budget king.
- Nighthawk is the most comfy headphone I've used, period. Marshmallows all over your face and head. :-D
- Cavalli Liquid Carbon and ... The portable... Are both awesome. Wow.
- EL-8 is much improved from CES, but still sounds a little off to me... Something with the mids.
- Head-fi'ers are an amzingly friendly, polite, welcoming bunch of folks. I met a ton of great folks and I'm having a blast.

More later. I'll try to answer questions as they come up.

 

[wahsmoh]

Okay it's late , I'm a bit drunk, very tired and typing on my phone... But I'll give some QUICK impressions:

- The HE-1000 is just as good as I remember from CES. Nothing else to say there. (Thanks to Jude for giving me so much time with them!)
- The Dharma was the surprise hit of the show for me. It sounds fantastic at the $1200 price point. Their $1500 hybrid amp is really good too.
- The Ether is great as well but I think it's priced just a bit too high. Very natural, neutral reference sound that took on the characteristics of the source equipment. It just gets out of the way. Very nice.
- The Yggy... What can I say other than I'm now a believer. I listened with HE-560 and my test tracks, and I heard stuff I'd never heard before. That's amazing.
- The Layla is the real deal too.
- The Fidelio X2 is the budget king.
- Nighthawk is the most comfy headphone I've used, period. Marshmallows all over your face and head. :-D
- Cavalli Liquid Carbon and ... The portable... Are both awesome. Wow.
- EL-8 is much improved from CES, but still sounds a little off to me... Something with the mids.
- Head-fi'ers are an amzingly friendly, polite, welcoming bunch of folks. I met a ton of great folks and I'm having a blast.

More later. I'll try to answer questions as they come up.

edited because I noticed you did mention it takes on the source material. very true. it is priced a bit high, needs work on sliders

 

[Stillhart]

edited because I noticed you did mention it takes on the source material. very true. it is priced a bit high, needs work on sliders

I heard it on no less than 4 setups and it sounded different on all of them. Really cool in a way, but in another way its like... I really couldn't tell you what it sounds like. That can be good or bad dependng on your tastes.

And agree about the price and sliders. Comfy tho despite the sliders.

 

[n3rdling]

So much hype about the Hugo. I was very underwhelmed by it.
Sorry to miss the DIYers including Frank and Milos. Hope you guys are having a great time.
I really would like to see more DIY in this community,especially among the younger generation.
Nothing beats the satisfaction of building something with your own hands.

 
Sucks you couldn't make it to this one.  You guys gotta come out to the next meet now   Zashoomin has a table in the members room and he brought his DIY KSA5 Klone, DIY B22, and DIY First Watt F4 monster.  Frank brought another beauty but I think it's going home with somebody else.

 

[blubliss]

Meet impressions to be taken lightly since sessions were short.
 

1. The Yggdrasil at purrin's table did nothing for me, maybe my expectations were too high.
2. n3rdlings Stax DAC >headamp aisteaus>009 was incredible.
3. Hugo TT>HD800 was really smooth and very enjoyable.  Was great to speak with Rob Watts.  I may get a demo of the TT or wait for the big brother to be announced which will come at the Munich Show in May.

 
It was really nice to see people, some of whom who were around at the '09 LA CanJam.

 

[wahsmoh]

I think overall Dan really demonstrated that the Ether is a flagship. It is something you build up like the HD800. It is not a pick your source and amp kind of beast, it has many different flavors much like the many different HD800 setups I have heard in my time. A well done headphone though in the way it convinces the impact and dynamics of the music much like the Abyss when the synergy is right like I heard with the Rag and Yggy

 

[drfindley]

   
Thanks for your feedback. My guess - and that's all it is - is that you were still short of purrin's 'magic starts to happen' stage (24-48 hours) on the first day of the meet:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/693798/thoughts-on-a-bunch-of-dacs-and-why-i-hate-chocolate-ice-cream/3270#post_11450551
 
Of course, I'm assuming that fire regs etc dont mean that exhibitors are required to turn off all their gear at night before they (presumably) go back to the hotel. 

I listened to Purrin's setup (and amazing LCD-2 mods) for a while. After hearing the Yggy and then going to hear other DACs, I could hear a noticeable sound quality loss even from top DACs. While I didn't listen to it 48+ hours in, it was a game changer for me. Led Zeppelin was finally sounding like vinyl.

 

[wahsmoh]

 
I listened to Purrin's setup (and amazing LCD-2 mods) for a while. After hearing the Yggy and then going to hear other DACs, I could hear a noticeable sound quality loss even from top DACs. While I didn't listen to it 48+ hours in, it was a game changer for me. Led Zeppelin was finally sounding like vinyl.

Wish you could have heard my Theta DAC. Shoutout to Mike M, the Bifrost Uber makes a nice hat for my Progeny and a good heat dissipater for my Assgard 2

 
Enjoying that burrito DSP soundstage and imaging
 

 

[nonamodnar]

Quick impressions:
- Canjam and headfiers are incredibly friendly (and can be wacky outside of audio discussion :-D)
- Biggest surprise for me is the Yggy/Rag with HD800 at Schiit. I have this song that I listen to almost for every day for 2 years only for a particular segment of sound that gives me personal eargasm. The Ryggy shows me something that I haven't heard for two years.
- Frank's stat rig is something to be admired, a work of art and labor of love in and of itself.
- Bill's LCD-2 modded and OJ's HD800 modded are incredible. A great way to elevate your audio experience with inexpensive mods.
- Abyss's fit is as quirky as finding the right dac/amp for HD800. But once you find it, it's heaven.
- purrin's EC amp is quite phenomenal with LCD3, modded LCD2 and Abyss (in the afternoon only, the morning listen was meh due to Yggy)
- Dramah (?) headphone will be a very capable challenger in the $1000+ Segment.
- Nerdling's demo is exquisite with the R10 Omega Aristaeus and 009 (my condolences to your 009 btw, good time chatting with you).

Lastly, most people at Canjam today listen to (to me at least) ear-splitting volume level.

 

[drfindley]

 
Wish you could have heard my Theta DAC. Shoutout to Mike M, the Bifrost Uber makes a nice hat for my Progeny and a good heat dissipater for my Assgard 2

 
Enjoying that burrito DSP soundstage and imaging
 

Ah, I completely missed that! I would have loved to have heard the burrito filter in the Progeny. Too bad I only stayed a day. What a fun mean and a bunch of fun setups.
 
My favorites:
1) Purrin's Yggy + modded LCD-2s
2) Layla's. Wow. 
3) Carvalli Liquid Glass + HD 800. I've never heard the HD800s sing and have base like that.
4) HE1000 balanced. There was slim pickings with the source material, but I was able to find some familiar stuff and I was impressed.
 
While I spent the whole day listening to different setups, I still feel like I only got to hear half a show. Still worth it.

 

[UmustBKidn]

...

Lastly, most people at Canjam today listen to (to me at least) ear-splitting volume level.

 
I noticed this several times as well. I frequently found myself sitting next to someone with open back cans, and was really shocked at how loud they sounded, just sitting next to me. It didn't bother me (my cans are closed lol), it just impressed me with the volume level.
 
I do have a pair of Grado SR80i's, and I've tested out how loud they sound off of my head, at the listening level I prefer (I use them at work, so it is important to me that they not be noticeable). The sound level was very quiet, compared to my colleagues sitting next to me today lol.
 
As someone who has tinnitus, probably induced by years of listening to overly-loud music, I would suggest to my friends that they learn to temper the volume control, for their own good.