[Aura]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audio Addict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Also, I would like to thank Michael M at Sound Earphones.com for the generous gift certificate for the raffle, which unfortunately I did win, but was won by Mike. Have fun spending it.

Yes, how I could have forgotten. Thanks so much to everyone who both donated and participated in the raffle (I think pretty much everyone in attendance took part). It was very successful considering the size of the meet and will be very helpful for next year's gathering.

Great to see you again Steve, hope you enjoyed yourself. My only regrets gear-wise are not listening to your perfect wave source combo and the HE-5, but both looked absolutely stellar.

 

[slytown]

56k nightmare first page. Aggghhhhh!

Anyway, sorry I missed the meet guys. I got caught up with work. Sounds like it was fun. I'll be at CanJam though so I'll check you guys out then.

 

[vpivinylspinner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by morphsci /img/forum/go_quote.gif PerfectWave DAC has not been overhyped. It is the real deal.

As the owner of a PerfectWave DAC, Weiss DAC2, Metric Halo ULN-2 and Audio Research DAC7 I could not agree with you more. I think on certain filters it sounds better than the other DACs and is a very nice DAC.

Looks like a lot of fun. I cannot wait until CJ'10.

 

[recstar24]

Impressions:

1) EC/BA - really loved it, my absolute favorite, hyped up by my own desire to listen to it for so long and didn't dissappoint. As stated previously the bass and kick to the drums was so freaking realistic it was scary. I noted in the lower registers of the piano as well it captured the tonality spot on. The stock tung sol 6sn7 seemed to contribute to a slightly darkish character which Jim had mentioned tube rolling would help alleviate. I was curious how using the ultrasonic AC on the filaments of the 307a would sound and I was very impressed, I heard plenty of the DHT air and soundstage layering and the top end was very smooth, beautiful mids of course on an EC amp is to be expected

2) "The Crusher" Dsavitsk made it out to his first meet after some convincing from me and I think everyone appreciated his sharing of knowledge and amps. His pentode amp is pretty ridiculous, but I personally love the l'espressivo he had brought with 6C45 tubes I think. He brought his balanced solid state follower which I heard previously but didn't get a chance to really check it out

3) Asr's rig was really nice, the balanced woo sounded great out of the ayre usb dac. I really liked the ayre, I am a computer usb audio noob but that was a source I could easily live with

4) Audio Addict's rig with the ortho HE-5's was pretty ridiculous. The PS audio combo was absolutely fantastic sounding. The HE-5's had a nice stat like quality to them, very detailed and airy that was very nice sounding, though I personally prefer a fuller, warmer sound.

I wanted to thank Billy, Jim, and Bryan for all their work. Thank you Steve (audio addict) for the donations, as well as Todd R. Thank you Steve (Asr) for coming all the way from colorado just to hang with us, and leaving your ayre usb dac for me to play with before shipping back to you. Matt (mellowvelo), it was a pleasure talking to you and I hope to see you at future meets. John, Paul, Keith, you guys rock and your continued presence at chicago meets means a lot. Sorry if I forgot anyone else but thank you to all the rest especially the first timers, I hope you had a good time and make sure to come out for the big one next year.

EDIT: Knew I would forget someone...Thank you Ryan (birchre) for not only coming, but being a part of the canjam discussion and helping us with some of the more technical aspects of the hotel. And Kevin for taking pics as well as being great to talk to in general.

 

[Keithpgdrb]

wow, that pic from the first page is insane. I have Never wanted to see my self that close up. nope. not at all. I'm sorry you were all exposed to it. the HE-5's look great though. Thanks to all who organized and attended. such great gear, and better people. See everyone next year.

 

[Keithpgdrb]

can we delete the WAY HUGE picture from the beginning of the thread? it screws up the view of the rest of the page.

 

[Absorbine_Sr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keithpgdrb /img/forum/go_quote.gif can we delete the WAY HUGE picture from the beginning of the thread? it screws up the view of the rest of the page.

Page edited per multiple requests.

Impressions -another great meet. Zana + HE-5 = win in a big way. Keith TT talk = informative and fun. Bryan + Billy = heroes. Jvlgato = knowledge + good conversation. Morphsci = person BA owner (grin). Audio Addict = HE-5 crack pusher (thanks Steve for letting me eval). ASR = mega HF'er for coming out to hang with Chi Town lunatics.

Good to see old friends and new acquaintances. CanJam will be great.

 

[Todd R]

Great to see all you guys again, I look forward to it all year.

Really though the PS Audio gear was great, and thanks to morphsci for educating me on the ways of computer based music.

 

[The Monkey]

Tell us more of the PS Audio DAC...

 

[Audio Addict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Monkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif Tell us more of the PS Audio DAC...

The PWT was connected to the PWD by the PS Audio HDMI I2S12 with the PWD running balanced into the Apache.

This is actually the first time I had run the PWD balanced into the Apache. I am not sure what settings of the DAC the others used but I mostly listen to it in Native 44.1 rather than using the various upsamplers included. At the last months RMAF, I was at the PS Audio room when they were running various demos and most people preferred it in Native rather than upsampling.

Also, I left the PWD in the Auto filter setting. The filtering option is tied a lot into whether you upsample or not. The apodizing filters are a key to the performance of the DAC. Robert Harley wrote about how these new filters impact the experience in a sidebar to his review of the Meridian 808.2

I am not sure anyone really played with the phase "in" or "out", which is more a function of the recording.

Overall, the PWD / PWT is just such a great combination. It is also very flexible, especially when the bridge comes out early next year. It has several I2S connections, SPDIF and USB.

I wish I could explain it better but in Native mode with the apodizing filter, it just has this natural sound. Others like Jim and Ryan are better at describing what they experience.

 

[Asr]

People & Equipment Impressions

Thanks to Billy and the rest of the crew for organizing a meet that was like the proverbial calm before the storm. It was my first time within proximity of the Windy City and it was great to finally meet the Chi-town crew, who are really a cool bunch o' guys - Billy, Ryan, Bryan, Jim, Steve (Audio Addict), and even the infamous Dr. Kevin Gilmore, who was actually much nicer than I thought he would be. Somehow I got the impression that Dr. Gilmore would be a grumpy, disgruntled, & overanalytic type.

And the meet itself was nice & laidback with no vendors hawking their wares - well, save for Todd R who hawked some vinyl on me but I told him I didn't have a turntable (it's true).

I also have to thank jvlgato for removing a Klipsch bi-flange that got stuck in my ear (which happened on my flight into O'Hare when I took out my X10s). I really have to start using my JH13 customs to avoid this kind of situation in the future.

As far as equipment, I really did not do much listening. I couldn't listen to anything for a good few hours due to aforementioned Klipsch bi-flange being stuck in one ear, so I spent that time socializing and taking pics. By the time I got the bi-flange out there were only a few hours left which passed quickly. That said, I can't offer much in the way of impressions but here they are anyway fwiw:

- Woo WA22 (sourced by Ayre QB-9): this was the first time I've actually listened to the WA22 (most of my listening time lately has been on my electrostatic setup) and it sounded pretty good, at least from what I could quickly tell against meet noise. It seemed to drive both the HP1000 and K701 effectively. I'll eventually be spending much more time with this amp later, but I won't have it back for a while - I loaned it to a Head-Fier after the meet and then it'll be going to Florida for the meet there on 12/5.

- Eddie Current Balancing Act (sourced by Cambridge Audio Azur 840C): I can't offer any sonic comparison between this amp and the WA22 since the two amps were in different systems, but I can say that the BA is definitely a promising amp, and I'm sure the two amps are close competitors. I was personally pleased to note that the BA has a nice low gain, while the WA22's is higher. Both of them also had no tube noise that I could detect. I would also personally advise anyone looking into either amp to not sweat over any sonic differences - they're both solid and well-made amps with reputable vendors behind them. Does anything else really matter? That said, there was something about the system that detracted from the listening experience for me - with my balanced Qualia 010, I sensed an unnatural frequency balance tilt somewhere in the upper mid-range and treble. I'm not completely sure about it though given my limited listening time. If I had to guess what was causing it, I suspect it may have been in part from the 840C based on what I've read about it. I would need to hear the BA on my own CD player in order to confirm it. The Qualia and BA pairing still sounded very good though, and the two could even be great together, but for me on morphsci's system it wasn't totally optimal.

- RSA Apache & PS Audio PerfectWave Transport & DAC: Something about this system didn't totally work for me either. Not that it was bad, but I didn't get the kind of pristine treble that I do get with my Qualia on the Gilmore Lite and Plinius CD-101. I would have to isolate the PS Audio PerfectWave DAC from the system in order to get an accurate handle on whether or not it was the cause - which I may end up doing at some point anyway, since I live pretty close to PS Audio's manufacturing facility. Aside from that, this system also sounded very good regardless.

Hyatt Regency & CanJam 2010

I also took some time out of the meet to tour the Hyatt Regency O'Hare since it'll be the site for next year's CanJam 2010.

Wow is all I can say. The hotel was pretty massive overall and also very modern-looking but more to the point, I thought it was a fantastic location - not necessarily for CanJam per se, but for any large-scale event. Just looking around got me excited for CanJam 2010. I'm sure everyone who attends next year is going to love this place, because it was awesome! The meeting facilities were also very accommodating and look like they'll be perfect for all the vendors and Head-Fi members. Lots of space will be available across two floors. I'm not sure if it's the most amount of space for a National Meet yet (as CanJam 09 seemed quite expansive) but it's definitely up there.

I took some pictures of the Hyatt Regency O'Hare that I'll post later.

As for CanJam 2010, well there's only one thing I can say about it. Everyone should attend. If anyone hasn't yet attended a National Meet, now is the time, more than ever. These things are CAN'T-MISS events. If you have something else scheduled for the date next year, then re-schedule the other event, because this is going to be a massive throw-down. There's going to be all sorts of audio gear, Head-Fiers, vendors, and all-around mayhem.

I have no doubt that Team CanJam 2010 will pull off a grand event. The team that's been assembled looks ready to do this and then some. I've been to all the National Meets so far and watching the evolution of these is really just fantastic - it's amazing how far they've come and who knows where they'll continue to go?

Head-Fi meets are always rewarding experiences and if anyone hasn't been to one yet, if nothing else make CanJam 2010 your first one! Whether you're in the USA, or Canada, or even farther away, make plans now to attend - you won't regret it, I guarantee it.

 

[Pars]

It was really great meeting those who I hadn't previously met. Really nice to meet both Aura (Bryan) and dsavitsk (Doug), as well as Mellovelo and Keith.

I particularly enjoyed both of Doug's amps even though everything was foreign in the system to me (source, phones, etc.). I'd have to say for me the transimpedance amp was my favorite, though I liked both amps of his that I listened to.

I liked the PS Audio Wave as well, though I tried some Shostakovitch via the balanced HD-600s and the Apache with it, and it reminded me of why I don't like Senns for classical.

I listened to the HE5s for a short bit through Mike's system. A can I would need to spend more time with but sounded very promising. I also listened to Jim's Denon 2000s thru my rig and while I could see some merit to them, the treble put me off a bit. I really should kick myself for not listening to these thru Jim's BA (DOH!!).

All in all a fun meet, and great to talk with all. I definitely agree that this is a really nice venue and should make for a great Canjam,

 

[Asr]

Absorbine_Sr's Resolution Audio Opus 21 and Zana Deux

Wheatfield HA-2

Keithpgdrb's vintage receiver and Tascam CD-450

Audio Addict brought these headphone-emblazoned cookies

View of the meet room

Absorbine_Sr's Acer Aspire One netbook

We open the 2nd box of headphone cookies!

My rig - Ayre QB-9 and Woo WA22

Aura's HeadAmp Gilmore Lite V1

DIY Gilmore V2 w/ vintage Rotel RCD-855 and RCD-991 CDPs

morphsci's EC Balancing Act

morphsci's full system - computer w/ PS Audio Digital Link III, Cambridge Audio Azur 840C, EC Balancing Act (not in picture - set of balanced headphones)

 

[Asr]

"The Crusher" dsavitsk's DIY balanced DAC creation (corrected)

quad of Amperex 6688A tubes on dsavitsk's balanced tube DAC

dsavitsk's pentode tube amp creation

Aura's Parasound D/A-1100HD and Grado HF-2

two LPs I won in the raffle - A Love Supreme and The Velvet Underground & Nico

Team CanJam 2010 - recstar24 (Ryan)

Team CanJam 2010 - Aura (Bryan)

Team CanJam 2010 - bhd812 (Billy)

Team CanJam 2010 - Billy & Bryan

Team CanJam 2010 - Dr. Kevin Gilmore (Señor Staximus Maximus)

Team CanJam 2010 - Absorbine_Sr (Michael?) (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

Unpictured members of Team CanJam 2010 - morphsci and Pars

 

[arcer63]

My name is Andre, I know that I met some of you. It was so nice to meet those that I did meet. This was truly a new experience for me and even though I was (relatively) new to the site I was glad to see that everyone was very open and very willing to discuss music and headphones with the newbie. It was a very eye-and-ear-opening experience for me. I had meant to bring my er-4p->s but had forgotten them at the last minute. I would have liked to hear them through some of the crazy systems that I was able to hear there.

Some Impressions

The most amazing thing to me was the fact that I did not dislike anything. I was able to hear the differences in the different audio gear, and they were very varied in their signatures, but I was able to find redeeming qualities about every system. I dont think I was able to listen to enough of the same music on the various systems that were there to actually notice differences in detail that much, except with balanced headphones. Because I did do a lot of system hopping (at one point only using my HF-2s), by the time I was done I was just glad that I had purchased them, because they did sound very good with every system. Upon returning home the first thing that I did was listen to them through my system. Fortunately [for my wallet], I was pleasantly surprised. Although I had heard some great systems, mine was able to hold its own. I cant wait for CanJam '10, Ill be bringing my system there for sure.

The one thing that I had never experienced or been aware of the impact [on the listening experience] of was the soundstage(headstage) of headphones. The first time I noticed this was on Absorbine_Sr's K310 through his Zana Deux. Time after time, on many of the heaphones there there was a separation of instruments that I had never experienced to such a degree before. Another system that was a standout in this area was Audio_Addict's balanced HD600 fed from the PS Audio dac and transport(which were awesome) through the RSA Apache. Another amazing system was Audio_Addict's HE-5 through dsavitsk's DIY pentode amp. I don't know if Steve had even heard this great sounding combination as it was close to the end of the meet.

Another thing that caught me by surprise was the fact that some of the headphones were so damn comfortable. I dont remember which headphones felt the best, but there were some that blew me away in terms of comfort before any music even started playing through them.

For the People

Absorbine_Sr : Thanks for being so friendly initially and letting me store the HF-2 at your setup.

Audio_Addict : Your system was amazing, I think it was probably the most aesthetically pleasing (visually) setup there. I think I liked it the most for my HF-2s. Also, you should really try to hear the HE-5s through dsavitsk's pentode amp. It was glorious.

recstar24 : Thank you as well for being so friendly when I walked in looking lost.

dsavitsk : Nice job on those amps, I really enjoyed all of them with the HF-2 and especially the Pentode amp with Audio_Addict's HE-5s.

BHD812 : Thank you for helping us with that parking issue that we were having. And excellent job setting up the event, it was a good time.

Aura : Good luck with setting up the meet next year, I'm sure it will be great. I'll be bringing my setup for sure.

keithpgdrb : I hope you enjoy that cable you won during the raffle, I hope that installing it isnt too difficult. Remember: you could just slide everything forward a foot.

It was great meeting all of you. See you all at CanJam 2010!