[veindoc]

Anyone hear the 800s driven by smaller amps like Liquid Carbon. Were they up to the task?
 
Nick

 

[Hansotek]

The Liquid Carbon drives the HD800 very, very well - particularly out of balanced mode. That would be my amp of choice for it, if I didn't have the Liquid Crimson as well.

 

[veindoc]

thnx much for feedback
 
Nick

 

[Levaix]

I came late to the party and left early, but was glad to hear a few different setups for different reasons. Prepare for unpopular opinions! 

 (And also keep in mind my not-quite-stock Sig Pros may not be the best test bed for some of these setups.)
 
- I've been drooling over the Cavalli Liquid Gold for some time, so it was great to finally hear it. And... while it does sound good, I was extremely underwhelmed for the price point. Maybe I would have noticed a bigger difference if my headphones were less efficient. Kind of unfortunate, but very fortunate for my wallet.
 
- The HeadTrip was unusable with my Sig Pros. With the volume at 0 there was medium-level background hiss, and I was too scared to try it with any music.
 
- Whichever A&K player that was, I was once again underwhelmed. It sounded nice; I preferred the Questyle QP1R. The form factor was pretty bold, not sure that's a great thing.
 
- This was the second time I had the chance to hear the microZOTL, and this time I actually spent some decent time listening with more music options available. Holy crap do I like this amp. Once again it seems Zach and I share our (excellent?) taste in equipment. Even though it was very different, I found myself wishing someone had brought a Questyle CMA800 (either R or i) so I could compare the two, as I think one of these beasts is going to be my next amp.

- The RSA Raptor was NOT on my watch list, but it's a beastly little amp. The combo with the HD 800's was amazing, and I liked it with my Sig Pros, too. After I saw the size of the power supply it made a lot more sense, but still, very nice sound. Wish I had some more sources to try it with. I might have to look into some of his less expensive amps for my work setup.
 
- I didn't really listen to any other headphones aside from aforementioned HD 800 and the limited edition Omni that Zach brought (which I liked). Honestly I think the bug has passed for me in terms of head equipment. I'm enjoying my Sig Pros and TH-X00. But it was still great to come out, hear some sweet amps, talk with old friends, and make a new one or two.

I think that's all I've got. Yup!

 

[Keithpgdrb]

I'm finally getting a chance to say a few words.
 
Thank you all for attending.  I am thrilled by the number of people that we had, and that we didn't run out of room.  Special thanks to those of you who brought things to raffle.  We are slowly building up a budget.  My grand plan is to try to hold a larger meet in a larger space about 6 months away from Axpona.  This should encourage some more vendor involvement, which always boosts attendance.  at this time, we have a large chunk of what it would cost to rent some space.  I'll let you know how much we raised on saturday after I count it up.  All my stuff is still boxed up from the meet.  ugh!
 
Anyway.. Thank you all for being great attendees.  Nothing got broken, lost, or damaged to my knowledge, and the seniors were thrilled with the leftover chips and things.  Thank you as well to those of you who helped put the room back together.  that was incredibly helpful.
 
I only got to listen to a handful of things this time.  not sure why.  some stand outs for me were the new hd800s, and a few of the IEM's that were on deck.
 
 Its amazing how far IEMs have come since I was shopping for them years ago.  some impressive sounds for sure.  The HD800s was great sounding, but its so hard to really assess at a meet.  hoping to bribe steve for some more ear time before he goes to china or something.
 
Always cool to have the Abyss in attendance, but what a pain in the ass that thing is.  hearing it at a meet is an exercise in frustration.  while I have no doubt it is an amazingly capable headphone, the headband design is just ridiculous.  I even overheard someone saying that when people come to listen to his headphones, he gives them access to everything EXCEPT the Abyss because he has it dialed in for HIS head.  Forget it.  
 
Thanks again everyone.  I only took one picture all day.  but its a happy ending.
Until next time my friends.

 

[adamaley]

Thanks for the hard work, Keith. Your efforts made it worthwhile driving down from Minneapolis, and I'll be happy to do so again next time.

 

[Audio Addict]

.

 

[ogodei]

Are you really outside in a tent addition to the restaurant?

 They wouldn't let us play the kazoos inside the restaurant itself.

 

[jlmathis]

So jealous I didn't see this until today. Recently moved to Chicago in October and this would have been awesome. Are there any local facebook Chicago audiophile groups?

 

[Audio Addict]

 They wouldn't let us play the kazoos inside the restaurant itself.

Did you get a standing ovation for the song selection

 

[Claritas]

Thanks to Keith for bringing us all together again, to Zach (ZMF) for his generous support, to all the raffle prize donors, and to the coffee addicts who helped us keep up with the beat. Also, a special shoutout to our friends from Minnesota and Wisconsin! It was so nice meeting up with you guys, and I hope you all made it home safe.
 
Chord 2Qute, DNA Stratus, HD800S
 
HD800S is a real improvement over the original. The well-known treble peak is still noticeable--but it's no longer glaring. (Gosh, I wonder how it'll sound modded.) It's slightly fatiguing soon after you start listening, but now you can actually get used to it. The strange thing is that it sounded a bit muted in general compared with HD800, and perhaps a little thicker. Soundstage might be slightly taller and seemed somewhat shallower, but I'm inclined to attribute these minor differences to the DAC. Resolution and background are on par with the original. It's still very clean and revealing, still uncolored and emotionally unaffecting. I could probably actually live with it on this set up--except for old records.
 
PSB M4U2
 
I have to say it sounds more neutral to me than HP50, a later phone also tuned by Paul Barton. The overall warmth is immersive. The bass isn't boomy, and it has respectable impact. The upper mids are little brittle. The upper treble is very slightly elevated, but not offensive. Pacing is very natural. The soundstage is something of a weak point: it's kind of shallow, becoming thinner in the center, and the two sides are slightly angled. The problem is hardly noticeably with soloists, but I could hear it with a full orchestra. Bottom line: it does many things well.
 
MEElectronics Pinnacle P1

I got to hear this for only 15 minutes towards the end, so consider this only a sketch of an impression. The metal housings are on the heavier side--I imagine that this is what it feels like to wear hanging earrings but we'll have to have some other guy enlighten us about that--but it's not noticeable if you're sitting, as opposed to working out. It sounds very nice. The general sound is a bit thick or foggy, in the direction that people like to call lush. Pacing is a little slower than real life. I didn't pay close enough attention to the bass to comment, but it's not elevated or I would've noticed. The mids sound neutral for the most part, though there's some shelving in the upper mids. I'm afraid it sounded kind of rolled off on top, but it's very possible that was a fit issue on my part and could be corrected with tiprolling. Nevertheless, I tend to prefer that sort of sound in IEMs for casual use. These are all tentative thoughts so please don't take them too seriously. For a reasonably-priced IEM, it shows considerable promise. I'd like to give it a longer listen at some point.
 
Turbulent Magnum V5

The general tone is very considerably darker than Grados. The bass might extend a little deeper. The real difference is smoothing out the peaky upper mids somewhat, which gives the Magnum a more gentle sound. Soundstage is very slightly taller, but otherwise the same: it still has the usual congestion. One important point is that it seems to scale much better than Grados. That can make a big difference. People will find that it's a different flavor, and it comes down to personal preference. I can see a lot of Grado fans being disappointed, and everyone else being relieved.
 
ATH-M50x

This well-known "starter phone" is better than the original, which I never liked but didn't hate. Bass is less emphasized. Treble is also less emphasized and has a fuller body. The result is more neutral and less V-shaped, though I wouldn't call it neutral. Soundstage is deeper too. Almost everything's better about it. The only thing that threw me off is a honky sound in lower mids that I don't remember in the old M50. It could be pad-related and completely fixable, but it's not a big deal either way. At this price, I still prefer XPT100 because it's more detailed and has a much bigger soundstage. But M50x is much more portable. So if that's a factor, go with M50x.
 
Shure KSE1500

This IEM is a mixed bag. Its body has a nice smooth liquidity. It has very steady pacing; the notes are centered or weighted on the right moment of the note. Bass doesn't go very deep at all. It also lacks impact and reverberations and leans toward being "one note." The upper mids exhibit a weird timbre that's sort of plasticky, as if two hard surfaces were being rubbed against each other. Staging is just a little panned, but well within what I'd consider acceptable. Obviously, it's not really portable because of the amp--more like transportable. Unless you're a devotee of e-stats, you'll probably prefer a different IEM.
 
Enigmacoustics Dharma

I was very disappointed by this headphone. Its warm tone is enjoyable, but it has a mid-treble spike that ranges from annoying to piercing--vaguely reminiscent of X2 but nowhere near so bad. Bass isn't especially rolled off for a non-planar open phone, but the bass texture is spongy and kind of gross. It's fairly fast-paced, but sounds incoherent amongst the different ranges as if it has a confused sense of timing. The soundstage is pretty much a straight line through the head. Fortunately, it has no perceptible gap. One can likely fix the treble spike and incoherence somewhat by pairing it with a warmer tube amp (Woo WAtever), but I don't think it's worth the effort.
 
Gear used: Schiit Yggdrasil & Meier Corda Classic, iPod 5.5 & Leckerton 6S-II
 
I hope to see you all again soon, in good health and with good headphones.

 

[RCBinTN]

Great meet impressions, all.  
Just a question - how does the Chord Dave measure up against the Yggy?  And, does it really cost $12,000?
 
Thanks -
RCB

 

[AxelCloris]

Great meet impressions, all.  
Just a question - how does the Chord Dave measure up against the Yggy?  And, does it really cost $12,000?

Thanks -
RCB

No, the Dave isn't $12k, that'd just be silly. It's $13,300. $16,000 with the stand.

 

[RCBinTN]

No, the Dave isn't $12k, that'd just be silly. It's $13,300. $16,000 with the stand.

 
Thanks.  How does it compare to the Yggy?

 

[AxelCloris]

Thanks.  How does it compare to the Yggy?

I'd love to be able to offer a comparison, but it's been months since I least heard the Yggy and my time with the DAVE was brief. At the meet I spent a lot of time simply catching up with everyone since I only see them once or twice a year. I did get a chance to hear the DAVE briefly prior to the meet and I have to say first impressions were strongly positive, but I wasn't focused on critically listening and just enjoyed the music. I will say that I felt it was incredibly detailed without being aggressive, and it had a very pleasing response throughout the range. I don't think it's all that forgiving of low quality tracks, but one of my well-mastered guilty pleasure songs sounded positively beautiful.

I'm sure comparisons between the two will come in before too long. I think the DAVE is going to be at CanJam Singapore this month, so we might get a couple of show impressions comparing them.