[PolkManiac]

Anyone know if Astell&Kern is running a special with this show like they did with RMAF last year?

 

[Sound Eq]

@reeltime

So how did the wa8 and the continental v5 match up! I've personally tried the continental V5 and was mighty impressed

also interested in v5 , by whom is it made

 

[preproman]

   
Most Impressive:
 
1. Stax L700. The Stax room showcased their new L700, which was driven by the Stax 006 tube amp and an unknown DAC (the Stax rep didn't know either). To me, this setup was the most musically engaging system of the show, which made me want to just sit and enjoy the music. I own the Stax 009s and 007s (driven by KGST and KGSSHV Carbon), and it sounded like that the L700's tonal balance was in between the two flagships, merging the clarity of the 009s and the euphony of the 007s. Technically, I would say the L700s was a level below with regard to size of soundstage, imaging, spatiousness, linearity (L700s slightly mid-forward), and separation; however, the musicality sucked me into the music more than the 009 and 007 setups in the same room.
 
 
Most Disappointing (i.e., did not satisfy due to soaring expectations)
 
1. Hifiman Shangri-La PROTOTYPE, amped by 300B tube amp and Hifiman DAP. I am a big fan of Fan Bian and Hifiman. For the longest time, the HE-6's was my favorite headphone, and I highly regard the HE1000s. My expectations were very high for the Shangri-La entering the meet, given the praise for Fan Bian's previous electrostatic (HE Jade) and anticipated high price point. In short, I was disappointed the two times I listened to the system, once around 10:30am and again at 3pm. I wanted to give it another chance the second time, thinking that the tubes may have not warmed up enough the first time. The sound was underwhelming the second time as well.
 
The two strengths that stand out to me is the 3-D/depth of the sound, and its hard hitting, tight bass. Regarding the latter, the bass is as tight and impactful as the Stax 009s on my Mjolnir KGSSHV Carbon. However, the sound was also muddy/not transparent, tonal balance U-shaped, congested/not wide sound stage, and there was slight grain in vocals. Again, I think Hifiman does disservice to themselves by using their DAP as source as opposed to high quality dedicated DAC. Its a mystery how much higher this system will scale with a better source. Also, I should mention that there were two Shangri-Las on display, and the one with darker wood sounded more transparent for me, when I switched back and forth. It is important to note that Shangri-La on display is still a prototype, and I have confidence in Fan Bian that sound will be much improved by time it is production ready and when paired with better source. I had similar disappointing experience when I first heard HE1000 at a meet, but impressed by it after living with them and finding the right pairing.
 
 
Random Notes
 
 
3. It was sad to see the Hifiman HE-6 no where in sight, not even on the Hifiman table. I hate to admit this, as I paid 3x more for my He1000s, but IMO, a modded HE-6 may still be the best headphone Hifiman has produced. It would be great to see a HE-6 MkII with a version of the mods applied. It would be even better if Hifiman names the MkII something like HE-6 Headfi version, to recognize members like Jerg and Ohrougami who have taken the HE-6 to another level. Wishful thinking, I know.

 
 
Very good report.  I agree with you on the HE-6.
 
Interested to hear your impressions on Mr. Speakers Electrostatic headphones if you got a chance to hear them.  Like, where do they sit when compared to the stax line up.

 

[fiascogarcia]

  also interested in v5 , by whom is it made

ALO.

 

[joe]

For those registering today, please note that if you want to purchase your entry with a credit card, you will need to do so through Eventbrite here. We are only accepting cash payments at the registration desk.

 

[BoyNamedSue]

   
 
Very good report.  I agree with you on the HE-6.
 
Interested to hear your impressions on Mr. Speakers Electrostatic headphones if you got a chance to hear them.  Like, where do they sit when compared to the stax line up.

 
Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to hear the Mr. Speakers Electrostatics as I didn't know they were available. I really like how Mr. Speakers tuned the Ether-C so wish I took the time to visit their room. There was just so many systems to check out and time went by very quickly.  

 

[bearFNF]

I found a grey hoody at the cart track last night if some is missing it. It will be at the Registration desk.

 

[Insidious Meme]

Very good report.  I agree with you on the HE-6.

Interested to hear your impressions on Mr. Speakers Electrostatic headphones if you got a chance to hear them.  Like, where do they sit when compared to the stax line up.

Considering that Dan wasn't done with the tunings yet, and he had 2 differently tuned headphones to listen to, you may only get a ballpark idea of what Dan might be doing compared to what Stax offers.

 

[UNOE]

What time will the drawing be at?

 

[Allanmarcus]

  What time will the drawing be at?

 
They do it later (like in a week or two) after everything has quieted down. 

 

[gr8soundz]

 
Cavalli Audio never disappoints-- unless you actually try to buy something-- is it me?  Or are they perpetually sold out of EVERYTHING?  
But the portable Spark sounds delicious.
 

 
13 hours of battery life, and they told me they're trying to push it to 18 hours!  The sound is a knockout.  Huge fan of the Spark (and everything else Cavalli makes). 
 
I did get some face-time with Jack Woo.  He's positively giddy over Woo's latest:
 


There's plenty to like... Class A power delivered off internal battery.  Tube-y goodness like every other Woo.  
This thing is aesthetically beautiful.  
The volume knob beckons your fingertips to give it a whirl.
 

 
However I had some major issues: limited battery life-- non-user replaceable tubes -- an average DAC section-- and SIZE.  It's ginormous for a portable, and pretty heavy.  
 

 
But for best- in-show...
 

 
This is a Continental Mini (not the official name.)   An unreleased amp-only version based on the Continental.  
Count Me In!  It's tasty/sick.  I will be purchasing when available.

 
Thanks for the pics and info on these amps.
 
I was trying to decide between the WA8 and ALO CDM but no tube rolling on the WA8 and now the Continental V5 may affect my choice.
 
How did the V5's sound quality compare to the WA8?
 

 

[bearFNF]

What time will the drawing be at?

They do it later (like in a week or two) after everything has quieted down. 

The drawing is today at five o clock.

 

[joseph69]

I'm on the East coast…just curious, what is the prize for the drawing?
Thanks.

 

[reeltime]

@reeltime

So how did the wa8 and the continental v5 match up! I've personally tried the continental V5 and was mighty impressed

I preferred the Continental.  
 
My reference was the AK240 linked to a Chord Hugo.   I played pretty much the same tracks all day so I was tuned into the changes between the amps and headphones.
 
Compared to the Chord Hugo direct to my headphones, the Woo WA8 added some dimensionality and warmth, but I lost detail and clarity.  The Continental was more focused and precise.  Less warm than the WA8, not surprising, that's sort of the difference between Woo products and ALO Audio products in general.  But the sound was clearly improved coming out of the Continental V5 vs Hugo direct, whereas I wasn't entirely sure the WA8 was delivering to my headphones a preferable sound over the Chord.  It was a different sound, not necessarily better.
 
Add to this the form factor issues-- the Continental V5 is about the size of a Chord Mojo.  The WA8 is about the size of 2 movie-sized boxes of Milk Duds stacked together.  The WA8 runs very very warm, the Continental V5 runs cool to the touch.  The Continental V5 has 8 hours of battery life, the WA8 is around 4 hours.  The WA8 adds a DAC, but it uses the 9018 DAC chip (a good one) but it can't match the Chord's proprietary DAC chip (nor should it, the Hugo DAC runs more expensive than the entire WA8).  The Continental V5 tube, I was told, is user changeable, the Woo's tubes are not, it's soldered into the device.

 

[reeltime]

   
Thanks for the pics and info on these amps.
 
I was trying to decide between the WA8 and ALO CDM but no tube rolling on the WA8 and now the Continental V5 may affect my choice.
 
How did the V5's sound quality compare to the WA8?
 

See above