Carzy four man min-meet at Smokey's place
Jun 16, 2004 at 8:22 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 15

ServinginEcuador

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First of all, a huge thanks to Smokey and his mom for making the meet at his place a real blast. They stocked up on pretzels and Dr. Pepper just for me, and that personal touch really made the meet flow smoothly. The pizza at the end of the day just topped everything off. I totally enjoyed the time spent with Smokey, Carlo, and StuartR.

As to the gear we had a great time listening to all kinds of stuff. A big hit was Smokey's tube rectified Weebl zzz built him. It truly is a space heater, but the sound it makes is awe inspiring. I borrowed it for a couple of weeks, and will compare it to the Egmont Reference and my KGSS over that time frame.

I did some comparisons of my Denon vs. the Cary 306/200. Using StuartR's Melos the difference was minimal, even using an SACD on my unit vs. a redbook on the Cary. That difference was increased once the Weebl was hooked-up. The sheer speed of the Weebl and Omega II really showed me what this CDP is capable of doing. I also plan on doing some listening tests with my unit over the next week against a heavily modified Shanling T200 SACD player, so stand by for that also. In just about two weeks I am sending my unit in to have it rewired with some Siltech wiring, which is said to make some pretty substantial improvements over the stuff currently inside it. Time will tell.

Smokey had an Aural solid state amp on hand for audition also. I didn't like it that much and felt that for the price there are several amps out there that beat it.

Carlo is truly the Melos Man! He brought along his latest creation he was working on for Smokey, and spent a lot of the day fiddling with it. Stuart's Melos was there and we all took time listening to it with the various cans we had.

The Leatherheads weren't much of a hit with me. They just seemed like the W2002s with a slight refinement. Admitedly I only spent about 10 minutes with them, so my opnion carries little value.

I must now recant EVERYTHING I said about the R10 not having enough bass. I listened to them using the Melos and Aural amps, and with either one the bass was deep and quite impactful! There was no lack of bass at anytime I listened to them. I guess the problem with the pair I originally heard was simply the EAR HP4 and not the Sony. I can still say I still much prefer the Omega II, especially when using the Weebl. I will have access to the R10s here in my system for a good four days of private use, and plan to spend a tremendous amount of time listening to them and comparing them against the O2/Weebl combo.

I had a great time meeting the three other head-fi members at the meet, and they made it totally enjoyable. I was there from 11am until about 9:30pm that night, and I was wiped out when it was over. This made me really look forward to the meet coming up this Saturday where there will be another 27 people to meet and talk with while sharing some incredible gear together.

I didn't take any photos at the meet, but Stuart should scan his and post them when he finishes off his roll and grades all the papers he needs to get done.

Thanks for everything Smokey!
 
Jun 16, 2004 at 9:21 AM Post #2 of 15
LOL, you guys getting warmed up for the Mega SoCal Meet?

I'm really going to have to hear some Maestrobated action with my R10's now.

Doug, if you like bass, you're gonna love the bass with the HD650 Blockhead combo. I'm still breakin the HD650's in. Gonna run them nonstop til Saturday.

-Ed
 
Jun 16, 2004 at 9:24 AM Post #3 of 15
Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood
LOL, you guys getting warmed up for the Mega SoCal Meet?


Yeah, we wanted to avoid the shock of having to meet almost 30 people at the same time, so we had a dry run over at Smokey's place. It was so cool as he had one of the world's coolest cats on hand to entertain us. If he wanted to be petted he would run his head into your arm, leg, or hand and just push until he got some lovin'.
 
Jun 16, 2004 at 9:25 AM Post #4 of 15
Seems like you guys had a great time! It's funny trying to picture Carlo sitting in a corner working on an amp, saying "Get away, Doug! Leave me alone! Can't you see I'm working!?!? Ya, ya, they all sound good..."

Quote:

Originally Posted by ServinginEcuador
As to the gear we had a great time listening to all kinds of stuff. A big hit was Smokey's tube rectified Weebl zzz built him. It truly is a space heater, but the sound it makes is awe inspiring. I borrowed it for a couple of weeks, and will compare it to the Egmont Reference and my KGSS over that time frame.


Just to clarify, it's the Egmont Signature that I'm bringing. Nik has the only Egmont Reference, at least until he puts it out to the curb for something new!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ServinginEcuador
I also plan on doing some listening tests with my unit over the next week against a heavily modified Shanling T200 SACD player, so stand by for that also.


Also, my T200 has had some minor mods done to it, but it is not heavily modded like my doc's T200c.

I'm in agreement concerning your assessment of the L3000's. From the 20 hours or so I've listened to them, they really don't seem to be near to "R10 level" good, but they are indeed good. My brief encounter with the W2002 at the NY meet suggests that we hear alike. The L3000's were better, but not a whole lot better. Maybe a bit more refined.
 
Jun 16, 2004 at 9:30 AM Post #5 of 15
Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus
Just to clarify, it's the Egmont Signature that I'm bringing. Nik has the only Egmont Reference, at least until he puts it out to the curb for something new!


My bad. Signature, not Reference Egmont. Got it! Either way you slice it you still get awesome.
biggrin.gif


Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus
Also, my T200 has had some minor mods done to it, but it is not heavily modded like my doc's T200c.


Minor mods, not major. Got it too. I'm learning as I go, so I'm making mistakes at times when I try to remember something like this and the amp designation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus
I'm in agreement concerning your assessment of the L3000's. From the 20 hours or so I've listened to them, they really don't seem to be near to "R10 level" good, but they are indeed good. My brief encounter with the W2002 at the NY meet suggests that we hear alike. The L3000's were better, but not a whole lot better. Maybe a bit more refined.


For the difference in price I wouldn't buy them unless I had a large windfall like a winning lottery ticket. They were decent cans, but there's nothing spectacular.
 
Jun 16, 2004 at 9:47 AM Post #6 of 15
Sounds like a good time, with some amazing gear, but carlo is supposed to be working on my amp, not having fun darn it!
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Doug, can you elaborate on the Denon player? What model and any mods?
 
Jun 16, 2004 at 9:50 AM Post #7 of 15
No prob, Doug, just don't want to get your expectations up too high.

After reading the fantastic review posted by Andrea who listened to Nik's Egmont Reference system, I'm thinking that his Linn source is a big factor that explains a lot of the "Wow!!!" sensation.
 
Jun 16, 2004 at 9:52 AM Post #8 of 15
gpalmer,

It is a 2900 with some pretty extensive mods. There are two transformers added, along with a shunt regulation board to regulate the power. There was at least three daughter boards added also. One is for the clock, one for the tube output stage, and one near the tube output stage. He bypassed the entire output stage with the tubes, thus eliminating all the op amps and such Denon left in the signal path.

His next mod he recently came up with is to rewire the unit with Siltech wiring. It is stiff and unyielding, but he did an A/B comparison against a unit without the new wiring and he said that the Siltech stuff really helped the unit sound faster, more open, detailed, and such. I'm sending it back to him to have the wiring installed after the meet.

If you want to see what it looks like inside send me an email thru the board and I'll send some of the internals.
 
Jun 16, 2004 at 10:05 AM Post #9 of 15
Who did the work? I am dabbling with the idea of a modified 5900 myself so I'm curious, don't really mean to derail the thread... *blush*
 
Jun 16, 2004 at 10:08 AM Post #10 of 15
Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus
I'm in agreement concerning your assessment of the L3000's. From the 20 hours or so I've listened to them, they really don't seem to be near to "R10 level" good, but they are indeed good. My brief encounter with the W2002 at the NY meet suggests that we hear alike. The L3000's were better, but not a whole lot better. Maybe a bit more refined.


Sadly, I really love the W2002 so I might just have to pick up a set of the L3000's. There is something about how they do the midrange with the Headmaster that is just sooooo good...
 
Jun 18, 2004 at 4:33 AM Post #12 of 15
gpalmer,

If you like the combination of the 2002 and modded Sugden, then you will really like the 3000. I have listened to this combo for awhile and it really shines. I still don't know why, but the Carlo modded Sugden never sounds quite as good unless its feeding an Audio Technica headphone. The same way, the AT never sounds quite as good unless its being driven by the Sugden. Must be some kind of weird synergy.

btw I was a little more impressed with the Aural Audition than Carlo, Doug, or Stuart were. But I was looking at it as a change of pace, rather than a standalone best of breed. But anyway, I did send it back to Aural before the 14 day return period was over. In the end I decided that I had better options open to me, like the Blue Hawaii and the Blockhead.
 
Jun 18, 2004 at 5:14 AM Post #13 of 15
Quote:

Originally Posted by smokey
If you like the combination of the 2002 and modded Sugden, then you will really like the 3000. I have listened to this combo for awhile and it really shines. I still don't know why, but the Carlo modded Sugden never sounds quite as good unless its feeding an Audio Technica headphone. The same way, the AT never sounds quite as good unless its being driven by the Sugden. Must be some kind of weird synergy.


Yup, I've been using a setup with the Linn Ikemi feeding the carlo modded Sugden to the L3000. It's wonderful, the L3000 seems to get rid of the last few niggles I had with the W2002s performance, mostly in the area of the bass response. It's very warm and smooth, I find I can just sink into the music.
 
Jun 20, 2004 at 4:12 PM Post #14 of 15
Quote:

Originally Posted by smokey
btw I was a little more impressed with the Aural Audition than Carlo, Doug, or Stuart were.


John,

As you have way more experience with the amp, only your opinion carries any real weight to it. The 10 minutes or so I spent with the amp doing comparisons to the Melos didn't afford me the opportunity do really get to know its character, strengths, and weaknesses. My impressions were superficial at best, and only reflect the small amount of time spent with the amp. Given a chance to audition it for a few weeks might change thing, or it might just reinforce them.
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Jul 2, 2004 at 3:17 AM Post #15 of 15
Carlo is "Da Man". I hope he never gets out of the business of modding amps. He did strange and wonderous things with mine. Music listening would be a poorer hobbie without him. Sounds like y'all had a whopping good time. We need names and MUG shots though.
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