crappy weather and a lovely day at
SoundKitchen in Rotterdam.
Warm welcomed with good coffee which is another specialty of theirs.
I had my MDave with me cause it was headphone auditioning time once again
I wanted to try some models i havent heard alot as i'm still only using my old HD800.
So off the wall came Susvaras to start..
I tried them on my stack in combination with the Enleum amp and ofc direct out..
It was a good listen on both setups but i wasnt blown away actually. Bass was deep and extended ..the stage and highs felt average vs my HD800. But what i wanted to test.. Dave direct did not sound thin anymore as before i made the cap mods, external amp or not felt equally authorative here.
Then the Hifiman Organic landed on my head.
i had to turn the volume down fast as its so much easier to drive.. its lower tier immediately showed but its well balanced. Only the treble was on the edge of sharp.. it had kind of a metallic resonance in its housing to my ears.
Next up was the Meze Elite.. from now on everything was driven direct off Dave.
Like a warm hug it grabbed me with a smooth and cozy signature ..this makes lounge style listening for long hours on the couch vs the Senns which place the perfomance further away on the same songs. Dave held firm grip on its drivers.. if i wouldnt be such a soundstagehead they would be an easy pick.
This Meze has a beautifully crafted cable i must say.
Then i was handed the Final D8000 Pro to plug in. I never heard any offerings of this brand.
It had supprisingly good synergy with my setup. And easy to drive. Stage width was similar like my Senns but the depth was superb. I could make up vertical placement of instuments with ease on some songs like i havent heard before.
On the treble side it was interesting as it is bright and smooth at the same time, not piercing as i would expect but capable of digging up even more details with finesse.
In the bass department it was beautifully laid out.. here the Elite showed a bit more texture and easier to follow tune but imo the Final had this just fluently going into the mids.. just right for my taste.
Next i had to compare Dan's Stealth and Expanse to see how they behave on my modded Dave.
Damn .. i havent heard the stealth this authorative before.. super controlled low end.. here i heard the clear improvement of my mods. Dave played around -8db volume as it needs more voltage but the current reserve in the caps truly show its benefit. The midrange i found a bit dry compared to the Meze which just has more magic and fun to my ears.
But the stage stayed to much behind for me when i play larger scale orchestral works.
The Expanse opended this part up.. but not by a large enough margin. They sound supprisingly close to each other for open vs closed type. If i had to pick one i would still go for the Stealth as the seal is just to much a benefit and it sounded the best balanced to my ears.
Oof 17:00 hours already.. time vaporizes so quick when having fun.
The Final is the one i will want more time with.
This i would like to hear next to Yamaha's YH5k.
Well i'm signing off now. Till my next journey