[GrindingThud]

Lurkin in the lobby, grabbing a starbucks.

 

[bearFNF]

Room service rocks!!! Awake and kicking...

 

[bearFNF]

steady flow of people through the meet. some think we are the main headphone room, heh, then they go down the hall and see all the vendors.

 

[warrenpchi]

You should joke with them and say "yep, just us five guys.  But we're not selling our gear.  For that, you might want to check out one of the TWENTY OR SO EXHIBITORS DOWN THE HALL JACK."

 

[GrindingThud]

Some very well executed diy:

 

[warrenpchi]

Some very well executed diy:

 
Is that modulor's stuff?

 

[GrindingThud]

Yep! .....and here is my pile - Woo Audio WA3 w/constant current mod, and KSA5 clone:

Is that modulor's stuff?

 

[warrenpchi]

Yep!

Is that modulor's stuff?

 
I just called one of my friends at the meet not too long ago, and modulor's stuff was one of the highlights for him as well. 

 

[YC Frank]

Someone have listerned AK120II at the meeting? What's the different between AK120II and AK240 IN SOUND?

 

[Billheiser]

Some very well executed diy:

Takes one to know one.

 

[Naugrim]

Great meeting you guys today!  I've attached some pictures from the event.  Upgraded my Mad Dogs to Mad Dog Pros because MrSpeakers was there (Dan is a great guy!), got to listen to the HE-400i, HE-560, H-6, Fostex TH900, Several Audeze's, Alpha Dogs, Mad Dog Pros, HD 600's, and a few others (in ear stuff).  Got to listen to some amazing amps.  It was truly eye opening.  And yes, I'm pretty much going to be putting my pennies away so I too can own a 3 thousand dollar amp and 2 thousand dollar headphones. All in good time I guess.
 
I've also decided to return my HE-400's and get the He-400i's.  I'm gonna miss the outrageousness of the 400's - but the 400i's were a lot more refined and SOOOOO comfortable.  It literally felt like half the weight - you could wear these things all day long.  I tried the 560's too and they were great - but not 400 dollars more great, IMO, and I don't like the fake wood venire.  Now the HE-6's were just perfect.  I'm not sure whether I preferred those or the LCD - 3's more - both were amazing with the HiFiMans being more balanced and the LCD - 3's being more..um..cinematic (if that makes any sense).  I think that if I could have only one pair of headphones forever, I'd take the Fostex TH-900's.  They are closed and light weight so I could use them everywhere and they were very punchy in terms of base and overall spectrum was solid everywhere (although I liked the closed Audeze LCD - XCs better - but they are much bigger).
 
Again, an amazing day.  Supposedly 2 weeks until the 400i's are available - so I'll send my 400's back in a week or so (Amazon rules!).  
 
Great times, great technology, and kind people who were willing to talk with a noob like me.  Thank you all!  
 
Oh yeah, that's me in the Alpha Dogs.  Beautiful (the headphones, not me!).  I decided to go with the Pros instead because I like a little more base with some of the clarity of the Alpha Dogs and Dan was kind enough to let me trade up right there (as I had recently purchased the Mad Dogs).
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[warrenpchi]

  Someone have listerned AK120II at the meeting? What's the different between AK120II and AK240 IN SOUND?

 
Funny you should ask that...
 

1. @mikemercer's impressions:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/718321/brand-spanking-new-a-k-ak120ii-and-ak100ii/540#post_10609437
2. My impressions:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/718321/brand-spanking-new-a-k-ak120ii-and-ak100ii/540#post_10609438

 
mikemercer is actually at the show... so if you catch him there, you can probably ask him to elaborate on what he posted. 

 

[Byrnie]

So my main goal here was to give myself a lot more experience with planars and some other flagships.  My other goal was to try my TH900s with most of the amps there.  Keep in mind these are my opinions:

-Abyss + Cavalli Liquid Gold - I didn't like the fit at all but maybe that requires more finangling than I was willing to put in.  To me it didn't sound amazing so I guess I don't get the allure of these (to each his own his own of course).  I felt like I was being strapped into an electric chair.
 
-Stax 009 + HeadAmp Blue Hawaii - I enjoyed this quite a bit.  Still, it's too expensive for my blood.
 
-Stax 007 + HeadAmp Blue Hawaii - I enjoyed this quite a bit.  Still, it's too expensive for my blood.  We'll see if my opinion on these (007 and 009) changes as I get more into the hobby.
 
-TH900 + Grace Design m920 - It sounded good but I thought it was slightly edgy and that I may get fatigued by it after a while.
 
-TH900 + BMC PureDAC (per Drew from Moon Audio recommendation) - it wasn't a noticeable difference over my current setup but it sounded good.
 
-TH900 + HeadAmp GSX MK2 - Sounded very nice to me with my TH900s.  I'm not sure if I can part with that kind of cash right now though.  It also sounded great with the LCD-X, HD800, and HE-6.  I spent a lot of time here also.
 
-TH900 + WA7 duo w/ stock tubes - I really really enjoyed this combo and it's a front-runner for me for a future amp.  I spent the most time here because after first listen, it was the sound I was looking for with my TH900s.  I like this pairing much more than the AURALiC Taurus MKII that I have on loan from The Cable Co.  The Taurus is a great amp but I don't like the pairing as much as I do with the WA7, there seems to be better low end impact to my ears.  This is definitely going on my Want List for next year
 
-Grado PS500 - I must confess I'm not much of a Grado fan so olease keep that in mind.  They did sound good to me right from my phone.  Thanks BearFNF for the listen!
 
-HD800 - I tried these on the HeadAmp GSX MK2, straight out of an AK240.  I thought they sounded good out of the DragonFly v1.2 too.  They didn't come off as bright to me at all but maybe it was the tracks that were playing or the combo or something.  Very comfy and I now understand why they're called "detail monsters".
-LCD-X + Mjolnir + Gungnir - They sound great but I felt they were too uncomfortable so I can cross them off my future "Want" List.
 
-HE-6 - Sounded great also but not very comfortable but given the HE-560 sounded so similar to me (I didn't spend more than 5 min with the HE-6 so that might be why I didn't notice much difference), I will probably just get the HE-560.
 
-HE-560 - Wow!  What an improvement in weight and comfort over the HE-500.  These will definitely go on my future Want List for next year.
 
-Alpha Dogs - They sound just as good as my 1540s but I feel my 1540s are more comfortable.  My dad loved these headphones and went back multiple times to listen more on them with the Ly2 + Bifrost Uber combo.  Don't get me wrong these are great headphones and Dan was very awesome to talk to.
 
-AK120 II - I also really enjoyed this player.
 
I wanted to say hi to Mike Mercer and Frank I but I never ran into them.  I wanted to say hi to Scot Hull again, he's a really cool and funny guy.  Thank you @warrenpchi and @Frank I for the wonderful event.  My dad and I really enjoyed ourselves and will definitely be back next year.  I had a ball talking to BearFNF, Boweii, Mitchell, modulor, and BillHeiser.  Simon Ho and Michael Liang of Woo Audio were tons of fun to talk to and some of my favorite vendors there and thanks for educating me on tube amps.  Also Dan from Mr. Speakers and the guys from Astel & Kern!  Lol Drew Baird of Moon Audio always looks so serious that it was cracking me up.  I don't think I saw Drew smile once, lol so funny!  Everyone was very nice and cordial.  Frank I and Warren Chi, I would love to help out more next year, with getting vendors and maybe even setup

 

[GrindingThud]

Yes, great meeting everyone today! What an outstanding show. The 4th floor rocked with tons of headphone related vendors....I've actually never seen so many in one place. One thing I took a lot of time to do was to test my LCD2.2 side by side with the new fazored version. They do sound quite a bit different from each other. 1st thing I noticed is the new ones are quite a bit more sensitive.....making comparison harder than I thought it would be. Accounting for volume, they both have similar signature and neither sounds colored. My opinion is that they retain the Audeze house sound. The fazored ones do image better. They both have outstanding bass response and I could not tell any difference on the low end. One of the better sounding amps I heard was the Crayon. Really transparent amp with lots of power in reserve. The liquid glass was also pretty sweet sounding when fitted with 6SN7. Another favorite was the GSX mk2. I was also able to listen a lot to the HD-800 on my modified WA3 (thanks c1audio)......what a spectacular pairing. I could be happy with that setup as near end game.

Big yellow was pretty cool too (Viva)...I had a close encounter of the tube kind with this one (glad I could help).


Frank, I enjoyed talking with you this afternoon. Big thanks to you and Warren for coordinating such an outstanding event.

After packing up later in the afternoon, I had some time to wander the speaker rooms. I was underwhelmed with the majority of the turntable setups, although I did appreciate the Zu setup. Way too many clicks, pops, and other surface noises to be considered hi-fi this day and age. Those that ran all digital configurations were mind bogglingly good.

 

[warrenpchi]

-Abyss + Cavalli Liquid Gold - I didn't like the fit at all but maybe that requires more finangling than I was willing to put in.  To me it didn't sound amazing so I guess I don't get the allure of these (to each his own his own of course).  I felt like I was being strapped into an electric chair.

 
LOL, I have my own differences of opinion with the Abyss, although it has nothing to do with fit.  I'm just not wowed by the sound.   I mean, it's fine, I'm not complaining.  It's just not, like, wow for me.  That said, I do believe that the LAu is the best amp there is for it.  So if you don't like it with the LAu, you're probably not going to be enamored with it driven from anything else either. 

 

  -Stax 007 + HeadAmp Blue Hawaii - I enjoyed this quite a bit.  Still, it's too expensive for my blood.  We'll see if my opinion on these (007 and 009) changes as I get more into the hobby.

 
The one rig that I most enjoyed... ever... even more than an Orpheus audition... was an 007 Mk I via a KGSSHV.  It was just about perfect.  I envy you, as I have yet to hear an 007 Mk I driven by a BHSE, despite the fact that HeadAmp is at every meet and show II'm at.  I think that's because I'm a co-organizer at every meet and show I'm at, and never get to listen to anything. 

 

  -TH900 + WA7 duo w/ stock tubes - I really really enjoyed this combo and it's a front-runner for me for a future amp.  I spent the most time here because after first listen, it was the sound I was looking for with my TH900s.  I like this pairing much more than the AURALiC Taurus MKII that I have on loan from The Cable Co.  The Taurus is a great amp but I don't like the pairing as much as I do with the WA7, there seems to be better low end impact to my ears.  This is definitely going on my Want List for next year

 
Ooh!  I love that amp! 

  It basically sounds the same as the original WA7 when you're not going optical in (in case you're wondering).  I myself am running an original WA7 (upgraded to EH gold pins) with the WA7tp tube power supply.  A Mytek DAC feeds the the WA7 & WA7tp with Nordost interconnects and WyWires headphone cabling throughout.  The headphones vary, but it's usually an LCD-X.  I heavily recommend the WA7 and WA7tp as it's wonderfully versatile, effortlessly smooth and refined, and much more linear than one would expect of a Woo.
 

  I wanted to say hi to Mike Mercer and Frank I but I never ran into them.  I wanted to say hi to Scot Hull again, he's a really cool and funny guy.  Thank you @warrenpchi and @Frank I for the wonderful event.  My dad and I really enjoyed ourselves and will definitely be back next year.  I had a ball talking to BearFNF, Boweii, Mitchell, modulor, and BillHeiser.  Simon Ho and Michael Liang of Woo Audio were tons of fun to talk to and some of my favorite vendors there and thanks for educating me on tube amps.  Also Dan from Mr. Speakers and the guys from Astel & Kern!  Lol Drew Baird of Moon Audio always looks so serious that it was cracking me up.  I don't think I saw Drew smile once, lol so funny!  Everyone was very nice and cordial.  Frank I and Warren Chi, I would love to help out more next year, with getting vendors and maybe even setup

 
Hey you're welcome!  Big thanks to Frank who led the charge on this one and saw it all the way through!
 
Wow, sounds like you had a really good time! 

  Which is, of course, awesome to hear.  I had a few personal matters to deal with, but otherwise would have loved to hang out with everyone again.  With the exception of Mitchell, modulor and Billheiser, everyone else you mentioned seem like old friends by now - especially the guys in the Audio360 crew (Mercer, Liang, Frank, Scot, Brian, Bowei, and Ian).  BTW, Drew serious?!  LOLOLOL, must have had a lot on his mind.  I don't know what's going on with next year right now (wayyy to early to say) but hopefully it will be just as fun next year!

BTW, that's how I got started doing meets:  I got bit by the meet bug.  Now I'm a fanatic, so be careful what you ask for...

.
 
 

Yes, great meeting everyone today! What an outstanding show. The 4th floor rocked with tons of headphone related vendors....I've actually never seen so many in one place.

 
That's just how we roll! 

  Kidding!  What really makes everything work are the manufacturers being so supportive and generous with their time.  That said, if you ever get a chance to come out to the west coast for business/vacation/school, we'd love to have you at one of our meets or shows:
 

 

 

 

 
And of course, there's our Mecca... the ever epic... CanJam @ RMAF:
 

 

Big thanks to you and Warren for coordinating such an outstanding event.

 
Thanks!  WTG Frank!