[Eagle_Driver]

I've just arrived home from the meet. I had a great time over there.

This time, I didn't bring as much equipment to this meet as I had been bringing to previous meets - only a Sony D-EJ2000 portable CD player, a RS Emmeline SR-71 amp and Sennheiser HD 555 and HD 595 headphones. Of course, those who compared the two didn't hear much of a difference between them.

I got to listen to Ray Samuels' biggest amp (the B-52) and his tiniest amp (the Tomahawk). The B-52 was top-notch, while the Tomahawk (though it was impressive for its tiny size) didn't quite measure up to his larger amps to my ears.

I also listened to a variety of headphones - both open and closed. My findings:

The AKG K701 had impressed me at the last meet I attended. This time, however, it sounded very bright - almost as bright as a blinding sun.

The Sony MDR-F1, well, delivered the typical mid-fi Sony house sound: boomy and splashy at the same time. It was very comfy to wear, however.

The Beyerdynamic DT 990 (new post-2005 version) sounded quite good, if a touch bassy.

The AKG K81DJ sounds exactly as I had expected: dark and bassy.

The A-T A900LTD was a disappointment to my ears: It sounds tinny and boomy, with an uneven midrange - typical shortcomings for a closed headphone with oversized earcups.

The Beyerdynamic DT 250-80 sounds surprisingly good for a mid-sized closed headphone selling for under $200. (The DT 770 was MIA; I would have loved to listen to that 'phone.)

I give a special thanks to the host, Silentpug387, for the sandwiches, chips and drinks.

Please share your impressions in this thread.

Eagle_Driver

 

[Absorbine_Sr]

A big thanks to Silentpug387. He was an excellent host and made sure that we were fed, watered, and our souls were blessed with a great place to share music.

I went mostly with the intention of listening to unfamiliar cans on my gear, to get an idea of what I'd like to try next. I'd have to agree with Eagle_Driver when it comes to the A-T A900LTD. Though they didn't sound terrible, my expectations were much higher. But I found the Beyer DT990's to be a very nice can, decent bass, excellent mids and just a touch light on the top end. But they were definitely something I'd like to hear again, at home, with lots of time.

It seems like the K701's may be a matter of taste. I personally love mine, but they do need a strong amp. And Ray, I may be trying to trade my 650's for some 600's thanks to you. They sound very good through both the EC/SS and the HD30. I'm thinking they'll like the Zana Deux that's coming too.

I tried several flavors of Grado, and I'm still not sure. Ray's PS2 sounded good, but how could you not sound good out of the Raptor? On my setup it was a toss up depending on the music. Same for the RS1's. I think Grado's are another that I'll just have to buy and live with a bit to see if they suit me. Billy, we'll work on that.

As I said, I went mostly to hear other headphones, but how can you resist the gravitational pull of Ray Samuels and his amps? Both the Raptor and B52 were there (along with others) and I was very impressed. I'm still waiting for my Zana Deux, but the upcoming Milwaukee meet will give me the chance to do some comparisons between it and Ray's stuff. All I can say at this point is both of these amps trumped anything else I've heard so far, and I may have to own one of these before I say I'm finished.

Todd R's Singlepower Extreme (?) was another awesome piece of equipment. I didn't spend as much time listening to it as I should have but what I heard was very impressive. I'm going to need to get another job or win the Lotto to be able to try all of the great amps that are out there. That's the bad thing about these meets - total unaffordable lust!

Todd, Billy, Ray, Eagle_Driver, Behemoth and everybody else who's names I can't remember, it was great spending the afternoon with you. A lot of good conversation (girls in the rooms, Ray!!), good music and friendly folks. I had a great time.

And one more time, thanks to Silentpug387 for stepping up to host this. It was fun!

Oh, and Billy, I'll swap you the XRAY for your Meridian..... for a bit anyway!

A_Sr.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

As promised, some pics from the meet:

 

[Eagle_Driver]

More pics:

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Still more pics:

 

[Behemoth]

Disclaimer: I am a newbie to all of this, and this was my first meet.

I have typically been a closed headphones person due to close living quarters with others, not wanting to hear what they are doing while I'm listening, and not wanting to bother them with sound leakage either. I wish there was a bigger assortment of closed cans at this meet, I guess that is something to look forward to in future meets.

Sennheiser 600s were music to my ears, especially Ray's balanced through the B52. I actually preferred their sound to the 650s. I really had no basis for knowing what good open cans could do, and I am quite sure I will get a pair of these sometime this year. The rest of Ray's rigs went like this in my mind ("new car...../new audio gear.....")

The AKG K701 I was not a very big fan of, I can't quite seem to pinpoint the words for why, I guess the sound of it just felt a bit vacant to me, perhaps because my attunement to my A900ltds?

I tried all the different flavors of Grado. I do like their presentation, but they are not comfortable at all to me, the flat pads were vastly more comfortable to the rings but none come near Sennheiser or ATH comfort levels.

Portapros! I had not had the chance to hear them prior to this meet, Liked them so much I picked up a pair from Todd R. Such a huge sound and so much Bass from such a tiny little pair of pocket headphones.

I have been saving to start my first portable rig as well so I was glad to be able to test out Ray's Hornet and Tomahawk. I will eventually be purchasing the Hornet amp.

My shopping list after this meet is something like this:

Ipod 5.5 gen 80gb video (unless convinced otherwise)
The Hornet + docking cable of some sort
Sennheiser 600s
Then somewhere along the line a beefy CD player and desktop amp


Thanks again for hosting Silentpug387 and for your hospitality.

 

[Icarium]

Any of you know what Ray's HD600s were cabled with? I didn't see an itemized list of stuff in the meet thread, but sorry if that info was posted there.

 

[Audio Addict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icarium /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any of you know what Ray's HD600s were cabled with? I didn't see an itemized list of stuff in the meet thread, but sorry if that info was posted there.

While I wasn't at this meet, my recollection from the September 06 meet was Ray uses his military wire, which sells by the inch I think.

 

[Silentpug387]

I'd like to thank everyone who came out to the meet. I had a great time and learned a lot about headphones. I figured out the bottleneck in my system and fortunately it is the cheapest component to replace. I'm going to switch from going from my laptop to UA-1ex, to a cd player transport. No more mp3's for me.

The most eye-opening experiences for me at the meet were listening to my RS-1's with flatpads and replacing the Woo3 in my system with a Gilmore Lite. The difference between RS-1's with flatpads and with the standard pads are huge. The flatpads really do add low-end and make the headphone generally less bright, significantly. Also, when I swapped out my Woo3 for propheci's edGilmore Lite. I listened to The Pixies - Havalina with the Gilmore Lite it sound inarguably better than with my Woo. But, then I listened to a classical piece (I forget which one) and I thought my Woo sounded better. It made me realize how different amp's can affect the sound so greatly, and that there aren't clear winners, even when coupled with specific DAC's and headphones.

 

[mrarroyo]

It looks like you guys had a great time! And to top it off it was organized by a Head Fier with less than 50 posts. Amazing!

 

[bhd812]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silentpug387 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd like to thank everyone who came out to the meet. I had a great time and learned a lot about headphones. I figured out the bottleneck in my system and fortunately it is the cheapest component to replace. I'm going to switch from going from my laptop to UA-1ex, to a cd player transport. No more mp3's for me. The most eye-opening experiences for me at the meet were listening to my RS-1's with flatpads and replacing the Woo3 in my system with a Gilmore Lite. The difference between RS-1's with flatpads and with the standard pads are huge. The flatpads really do add low-end and make the headphone generally less bright, significantly. Also, when I swapped out my Woo3 for propheci's edGilmore Lite. I listened to The Pixies - Havalina with the Gilmore Lite it sound inarguably better than with my Woo. But, then I listened to a classical piece (I forget which one) and I thought my Woo sounded better. It made me realize how different amp's can affect the sound so greatly, and that there aren't clear winners, even when coupled with specific DAC's and headphones.

Actually what you listened to were called "comfy pads" and you can pick them up at any radio shack..

the flats are a tad bit different in sound and fit..To me they are a must for rs-1's but the comfy pads gave you some idea of what a bowl and a flat just may be.

ray listens to his rs-1 with comfy's and a few others do also, I have tried both and own both..always went back to the flats on my rs-1's.


anyway I will post more about the meet, I had fun and sorry my ears were not in the mood..No I am really sorry cause there was some damn nice gear there..

 

[dariusf]

that sucks! after at least a month away from the forum, I check back to find out I missed a meet by a single day!

I'm glad you guys had fun, and I missed the B52

 

[Jahn]

glad to see the Non-Oversampling DACs representing in force! They make a good combo with the RSA stuff I've found. Looked like a blast!

 

[mrarroyo]

Any comments on the Musical Fidelity X-Ray?

 

[chuckywang]

Is that Sailing to Philadelphia I see? I approve.