[Claritas]

First, I want to thank Keith for organizing the meet. It was great seeing old friends and acquaintances and meeting new ones.
 
The sonic high point for me was listening to Austin's Paradox. I gave up trying out test tracks almost immediately: I just sat there listening to all of Bach's Inventions and Sinfonias with tears in the corners of my ears. Paradox isn't what I expected; "neutral" can be used to mean so many things. It's not bright, except negligibly so in the highest octave. Instrument timbre and impact is just so right. The pace is very slightly slow which invites the listener to put everything under a microscope. It's probably wishful thinking, but I think I could be happy with it as my only headphone.
 
I was very pleased with ogodei's Rag. He kindly let me hook up my CDP. K340 is usually unlistenable on solid state--not on the Rag. It's very smooth and slightly warm with vivid details. Vocals in particular benefit from its fullness without becoming forward. Unbeatable for solid state.
 
I really enjoy the ZMF Vibro. Honestly, it's a no contest compared with Alpha Dog. Vibro leans toward a warm, smooth sound; forgiving but not rolled off. It sounds clean from a Geek Out, but I would throw a tube amp at it (not Vali though) to get good, aggressive bass. The Blackwood is a slight improvement but it's definitely worth the extra money. I connected more instinctively with it because of the richer sub-bass, and the treble is even cleaner. I congratulate Zach on his latest success.
 
I'm glad I had an opportunity to revisit some old and recent favorites: HD800 and HE560. HD800's immersive soundstage is always a thrill, though it's still too bright overall for my long-term listening. HE560--"this joint is jumpin'!" It has a little too much bass for me, but I could live with it.
 
The new Sony Z7 made a bad impression on me. I can live with its softness/mushiness. But I'm hearing something seriously wrong with the soundstage. It has kind of a horseshoe shape with the listener sitting in the center: shallow in the middle and most of time the musicians were playing somewhere behind me. I listened to half a dozen tracks and gave up.
 
Here's a photo of my rig. Yes, those are crystals on my gear. "My system has never sounded more translucent." 

 

 
Last, it was great going out with you guys after the meet. So nice to chill and have a beer after a day of fun.

 

[liamstrain]

It was good to meet everyone. A few familiar faces, and a lot of new. I had a great time. 
 
Sorry I had to cut out early. Definitely regretted leaving pre-pizza on the drive back. 
 
A few listening impressions:
 
• Senn HD 800, revisiting this as an option, I tried it on a few different rigs (including my own, thanks Frank). It performed better than my memory of it in meets past, and doing the side by side with my beloved HD 600s, well - it just wasn't fair to them. I think I'm going to need to start putting away money for a pair of these. 
 
• Fostex TH900 - these too exceeded my memory of them. I'm not as big a fan of their sound signature, but it's hard to argue that they are anything but amazing. 
 
• Oppo PM1 - don't need 'em. Pretty, but not interesting sounding, or particularly neutral or anything. Glad to see more people trying to make headphones in that tier, but those are WAY too pricey for the sound they put out. Stiff competition at that price point. 
 
• AKG 340 - very interesting to hear them on the Darkvoice (336?) - The tubes and output impedance helped tame them from what I remember hearing in the past ... I may have to track down a pair.
 
• FraGGler's Bottlehead S.E.X - a very interesting amplifier. I had not before had a chance to listen to one of these, and initially, despite being impressed with the sound (even via the pretty but mediocre Sony Z7s) I wasn't sure it was an amp that filled a niche for me. The more I think about it though, the more it's an attractive option - especially with the ability to drive efficient speakers like the back-loaded horns I play around with. 
 
• ZMF Blackwood - everything I like about the T50RP, but without it's flaws... actually, that's not really fair to the Blackwoods - they are a whole new tier in headphones based off the T50's driver. Very impressive. 
 
• Hifiman 560. Comfortable, but I was less than impressed by both the build quality and the sound. They were certainly good sounding, but not better than anything I already had...a bit hotter than I expected in the highs, as well... I am glad I passed on them. 
 
• Smyth realizer - weird in a good way. My brain had a hard time sorting out why it felt headphones, but was experiencing speakers. Very cool bit of technology to get there. I don't think it is something I need - a good crossfeed plugin does what I need from that kind of mapping - but very interesting to hear in person. I can see why some people really enjoy it.
 
I didn't even bring my cameras this time, so no real photos. Just a quick cellphone grab of my setup. Looking at it here makes me want to re-case that M^3 even more... picked up a few bits and bobs for the build today - maybe I'll actually get it done. 
 

 

[liamstrain]

  Yes, those are crystals on my gear. "My system has never sounded more translucent." 

 

 
Hah! I almost asked about those at the meet...but not knowing you, I was frankly a little afraid of the answer I might get.  :/

 

[Zoide]

I also enjoyed the Sony Z7s quite a bit but need to play around with damping them to tame the bass bloom. Supremely comfortable. So much so I contacted Sony to see about getting spare pads.

The HE6 is still the best Hifiman to my ears even when "improperly" driven on my humble 2W amp.

 
What's your take on the Z7s vs. the HE-6? I owned the HE-6 for a while a few years ago but traded them for the HE-500 because of the positive sound quality reports and much lower amping requirements. Now I'm tempted by the Z7s and their way better comfort and build quality, plus my hopes of better soundstage/imaging... 

 

[Zoide]

  The new Sony Z7 made a bad impression on me. I can live with its softness/mushiness. But I'm hearing something seriously wrong with the soundstage. It has kind of a horseshoe shape with the listener sitting in the center: shallow in the middle and most of time the musicians were playing somewhere behind me. I listened to half a dozen tracks and gave up.

 
Is there a chance you put them on backwards? I've read that they're so comfortable that it's easy to place them on non-optimal positions on your head and still feel like they're well placed.

 

[Claritas]

Is there a chance you put them on backwards? I've read that they're so comfortable that it's easy to place them on non-optimal positions on your head and still feel like they're well placed.

No. First, I checked. Second, with orchestral music you can generally expect seating of the string section to be standard, so you know what left and right are supposed to be. Good thought though.

 

[qveda]

You certainly didn't deserve to be ragged on (pun intended) for not hearing a difference: people ought to have admired your honesty instead. I'm not trying to pick a fight but there's nothing "COMPLETELY SCIENTIFIC" about running an ABX with five guys standing on both sides of the test subject talking the whole time.

What a great, real world, and also COMPLETELY SCIENTIFIC, review by Ogodei !   and I can appreciate it, because "I have a masters degree... in Science ! "  

 

[adamaley]

  First, I want to thank Keith for organizing the meet. It was great seeing old friends and acquaintances and meeting new ones.
 
The sonic high point for me was listening to Austin's Paradox. I gave up trying out test tracks almost immediately: I just sat there listening to all of Bach's Inventions and Sinfonias with tears in the corners of my ears. Paradox isn't what I expected; "neutral" can be used to mean so many things. It's not bright, except negligibly so in the highest octave. Instrument timbre and impact is just so right. The pace is very slightly slow which invites the listener to put everything under a microscope. It's probably wishful thinking, but I think I could be happy with it as my only headphone.
 
I was very pleased with ogodei's Rag. He kindly let me hook up my CDP. K340 is usually unlistenable on solid state--not on the Rag. It's very smooth and slightly warm with vivid details. Vocals in particular benefit from its fullness without becoming forward. Unbeatable for solid state.
 
I really enjoy the ZMF Vibro. Honestly, it's a no contest compared with Alpha Dog. Vibro leans toward a warm, smooth sound; forgiving but not rolled off. It sounds clean from a Geek Out, but I would throw a tube amp at it (not Vali though) to get good, aggressive bass. The Blackwood is a slight improvement but it's definitely worth the extra money. I connected more instinctively with it because of the richer sub-bass, and the treble is even cleaner. I congratulate Zach on his latest success.
 
I'm glad I had an opportunity to revisit some old and recent favorites: HD800 and HE560. HD800's immersive soundstage is always a thrill, though it's still too bright overall for my long-term listening. HE560--"this joint is jumpin'!" It has a little too much bass for me, but I could live with it.
 
The new Sony Z7 made a bad impression on me. I can live with its softness/mushiness. But I'm hearing something seriously wrong with the soundstage. It has kind of a horseshoe shape with the listener sitting in the center: shallow in the middle and most of time the musicians were playing somewhere behind me. I listened to half a dozen tracks and gave up.
 
Here's a photo of my rig. Yes, those are crystals on my gear. "My system has never sounded more translucent." 

 

 
Last, it was great going out with you guys after the meet. So nice to chill and have a beer after a day of fun.

 
Which version of Bach: Inventions and Sinfonias were you listening to? I'm interested in finding a better/more moving recording. Thanks in advance.

 

[Claritas]

  Which version of Bach: Inventions and Sinfonias were you listening to? I'm interested in finding a better/more moving recording. Thanks in advance.

 
Glenn Gould's studio version from 1964 on Sony; it's more cerebral than moving though. His live version of the Sinfonias (only) from his 1957 Russian tour is moving but has poor sound quality. That's also on Sony and comes with a beautiful Goldberg Variations from the 1959 Salzburg Festival. For more modern sound, you might like Angela Hewett.

 

[adamaley]

Thanks for the quick response. Great info!

 

[zach915m]

I did want to thank Jack (head-fi name?) for giving me the run down of the Smyth Realiser.  I've gone to a lot of Jazz concerts and watching the HD Blu-Ray he had along with wearing those grado's with the Realiser was pretty cool.  I can only imagine the experience on a huge projector screen like Jack says he has at home.  Sit close and you'd think you were there!  The orientation of where the musicians are seems to come through somewhat along with the boomy nature of some of the instruments, (in a good way) making one feel like they are immersed by the musicians.  It's pretty neat stuff, especially when paired with video IMHO.
 
Already measured my desk to see if a Ragnarok would fit.....it's tight!
 
I really quite liked the Ultrasone Sig-Pro's as well.  I haven't read much about them so fortunately I went in without any real bias.  Hey have a WAY more even keeled response than I was expecting from any Ultrasone, and the upper mids/treble response was exciting without hurting my ears at all.  Great soundstage for a can that is small enough to be called semi-portable.  Very cool!
 
I didn't listen to everything that I wanted to - always looking forward to next time!  Thanks for a great time guys.

 

[FraGGleR]

   
What's your take on the Z7s vs. the HE-6? I owned the HE-6 for a while a few years ago but traded them for the HE-500 because of the positive sound quality reports and much lower amping requirements. Now I'm tempted by the Z7s and their way better comfort and build quality, plus my hopes of better soundstage/imaging... 

Very, very different headphones.  Definitely a win for the Z7 when it comes to comfort and build quality, but the HE-6 is superior in pretty much everything else.  Personally, the HE-6 is a little too hot in the treble for me, which is why I never got a pair after auditioning one for a couple weeks, so the Z7 is a more pleasant listen for me.  Like Claritas mentioned, it does sound at times that the soundstage on the Z7 can wrap around you to the back.  I THINK it might have been intentional on the part of Sony to create a 3D effect, but it definitely started to sound weird to me on certain tracks once I had noticed it.  The HE-6, does things a little more naturally, although they didn't have the air and imaging that the HD800s had when I still owned those.
 
I don't think this would normally be VS for most people.  For me, the Z7 might be the closed back complement to a better open headphone when you want something a little bit different to listen too.  I have one on hand now to tinker with to see if I can't balance the boominess a little.  If I can, and can purchase one closer to $400 sometime next year, I am certain I will grab a pair.

 

[Zoide]

  Very, very different headphones.  Definitely a win for the Z7 when it comes to comfort and build quality, but the HE-6 is superior in pretty much everything else.  Personally, the HE-6 is a little too hot in the treble for me, which is why I never got a pair after auditioning one for a couple weeks, so the Z7 is a more pleasant listen for me.  Like Claritas mentioned, it does sound at times that the soundstage on the Z7 can wrap around you to the back.  I THINK it might have been intentional on the part of Sony to create a 3D effect, but it definitely started to sound weird to me on certain tracks once I had noticed it.  The HE-6, does things a little more naturally, although they didn't have the air and imaging that the HD800s had when I still owned those.
 
I don't think this would normally be VS for most people.  For me, the Z7 might be the closed back complement to a better open headphone when you want something a little bit different to listen too.  I have one on hand now to tinker with to see if I can't balance the boominess a little.  If I can, and can purchase one closer to $400 sometime next year, I am certain I will grab a pair.

 
Thanks for your comments. Judging by your comments, I take it after trying all those headphones you concluded that the HD650 was the best option?

 

[FraGGleR]

   
Thanks for your comments. Judging by your comments, I take it after trying all those headphones you concluded that the HD650 was the best option?

For now  I haven't found a flagship that is perfect for me, so the HD650 is my favorite standby until someone makes a flagship that is perfect.  

 

[SoundApprentice]

If any of you guys are also Instagram users, I have been tagging the photos with #ChiUniFi