Colorado Head-Fi Meet Impressions - June 22, 2024

[XVampireX]

Thanks
For comfort, I'm honestly not the best person to ask. I'm the guy with the dreads waving in the picture at dinner. I basically have a pillow on my head all the time, so almost never have any comfort issue with any headphone, the only exception being too much clamp, which is not something the Immanis suffer from. I can add for any fellow large headed listeners that it might be a close fit. They fit me, but I have get the headband on its highest/last click so it's close.

Oh, I was actually interested to know who the guy who seemed to be deep into the Immanis from the pictures, heh

 

[fiascogarcia]

Room 2 was similarly packed to the brim, but almost all of it from the collection of a single Head-Fi'er, @eruilluvitar ! He said he got up at 3am to start packing his car, and I believe it. Thanks for sharing it all with us!












With all the HPs, amps, and DACs to demo, it looked like a messy explosion of audio goodness in every direction. But . . .

Thanks again @Hiker816 for the great photos and for the opportunity to meet such great head-fier's. As everyone has mentioned, I was astonished at the vast array of gear that was available to try, plus having the time to listen really put a cherry on top of the experience. I never would have imagined being able to hear so many things that I've not heard before. Among first time listens for me were the Immanis (loved it especially with the Envy with Elrog tubes!), the Kennerton and Final Audio phones, the WA23, the Schitt Ragnarok, the super cool sounding Stax gear, and the Zahl. To everyone there; you were all so kind, and willing to help me and each other out, I'm really honored to have met each of you and hope to see you all again soon! Cheers!

 

[Aleksandar R.]

First off, huge thanks to @Hiker816 for setting this meet up. It was a great time, I am very glad to have been able to come. Also big thanks to at @eruilluvitar for the insane amount of gear you brought, and also for dinner. I'm sorry I can't ping everyone else I talked to, I'm only remembering people by their real names instead of their headfi handles but it was so good meeting all of you. I feel I have made some new friends and will definitely be coming back for future meets.

For the audio side of things, I had 2 goals for this meet. First, to listen to the Immanis and make sure I still wanted it. I had been happily driving Susvara every day for a couple years now, and had not gone to Canjam NYC expecting it to be supplanted. My initial impression of Immanis was just so good that I had to put down a deposit immediately. That being said, I had been doubting my impressions ever since due to the bad listening conditions and the fact that I had not been able to directly A/B vs Susvara. My second goal was to see how I felt about some fancy amps. For context, I am currently running the Holo Bliss at home as my main amp, with a few other solid states that don't see much use. I have never owned a tube amp, and had only heard them at loud shows, so had never been convinced of their worth. I went in to this with part of me wanting to be convinced that I do in fact need one because of the glowing reviews so many on here give them, and the other part of me wanting to be convinced that it was all just hype. It was knowing that Immanis would be here along with so many great amps that convinced me to buy my plane ticket.

I first sat down with the Immanis at the SAEQ Armageddon and my initial impression was disappointment. Not because it sounded bad, but because I think I had hyped up the Immanis too much in my head since I had last heard them. They sounded impressive, but not "this is a huge step above anything else I've ever heard" impressive as I had thought upon first listen months ago. I then moved them to the Envy, and then the Viva 2A3. I can finally say for the first time that I have heard the tube sound that everyone loves so much, and I think I get why it's so special. I definitely got super in to it with the Envy, and then when I heard the 2A3 I was blown away. Was definitely a step above the Envy IMO. The Envy felt a bit muddy in comparison. The 2A3 hit like a truck, giving a very full bodied sound. That being said, I did then go back to the Armageddon and had a much more favorable opinion the 2nd time around. After A/B'ing the 2A3 and Armageddon, I think I did actually still prefer the Armageddon. Maybe it's just because solid state is what I'm used to, but that type of presentation just seemed more correct to me. While the tube amps add fun qualities in other ways, I guess my preference in the end is for clarity and what I perceive as accuracy. I did try the Immanis off the WA23 as well, which did sound lovely, but my position stayed the same.

After testing Immanis on all the tube amps I was interested in, my next goal was comparisons to Susvara. I mentioned before that I had probably hyped Immanis up too much in my head prior to this meet, so my initial impression on comparing the two was again disappointment. I apologize in advance if I am not able to explain what I heard in a way that is super satisfying. I have never reviewed anything or really had to verbalize how I felt a headphone sounded or compared to something else. I have been in this hobby for maybe 7 years now, but it has always been a very personal hobby and I have only just recently started interacting with my fellow audiophiles on places like this. When I began A/B'ing the two, I was surprised at how close they were. I thought Susvara was on par, or very at least comparable in terms of amount of detail, and only just a bit behind when it came to stage/imaging. The Immanis staged bigger to my ear, but not to a huge degree. How the imaging differed was maybe the most interesting bit to me. I would describe Susvara's imaging as pinpoint, and accurate, and exact, and precise, but not necessarily the most natural or real sounding. The Immanis in comparison had the uncanny ability to just make things sound actually there. It feels as if the Susvara gives a very analytical spacial presentation, where the Immanis lets the technicalities of what it's doing fade in to the background so you can just enjoy how real it all sounds. Put another way, the Susvara was like being just a bit too close to a screen and being able to make out the individual pixels, while the Immanis was like being at the perfect viewing distance and just seeing the perfect picture as it was meant to be seen. It is not that the Immanis is lacking that detail, it's just not so in your face about it. I want to emphasize that all of what I just said is about spacial presentation and imaging, not about overall detail retrieval. On that, they seem roughly comparable. I feel I would need more time with them in my own space to be able to pick apart any differences there. A consequence of this difference in stage/imaging is that the Susvara felt a bit flat in comparison to the Immanis to my ear. I feel people either love or hate this word in this hobby, but holographic is the first thing to come to mind to describe the presentation from the Immanis. So TLDR, while not as shockingly good as I thought upon first impression, the combination of comparable detail and better spacial presentation make the Immanis a step (maybe smaller than I would like) above the Susvara to my ear.

The other stand out at the meet for me was the Zahl HM1. Not because of the sound quality (sound quality was good, it just felt comparable to my bliss at home), but because of the features. Being able to add an analog bass shelf or treble shelf is just so fun to mess around with, and the "stage knob" was one of the coolest things I've ever played with. To my ear it didn't so much make the stage bigger/smaller as it moved parts of the presentation from center to side or vice versa. It was also surprisingly smaller than it looks in pictures, it could definitely easily be fit on a desk. Do those fun features make it worth an extra $5,000 over something like the Bliss? I guess that will up to the person. I can definitely see the value in having that in your collection.

I tried a bunch of other things too but only briefly, so I will wrap things up here. I am now left with the question of whether or not I still want the Immanis or a fancier amp as my expectations have been tempered. I would appreciate the Immanis for sure, but I could also maybe just be continue being content with my Susvara. I guess I have some thinking to do. Hope my impressions give someone a bit of insight in to something they wondered about. Cheers!

Thank you for your very detailed impressions!

One question, please.
What was the choice of music you listened to? What genres, if there was a preferred ones at all?

Cheers,

Alex

 

[DJJEZ]

Most impressesive meet I've ever seen. The assortment of gear is unreal.

 

[moha97]

Thank you for your very detailed impressions!

One question, please.
What was the choice of music you listened to? What genres, if there was a preferred ones at all?

Cheers,

Alex

Thanks for creating such an amazing headphone!
No preferred genre for me, am very all over the place when it comes to my listening preferences. Here’s a short list of some favorites from my test playlist

Woven song - Olafur Arnalds
Blue bird - Hope Sandoval
Palisades, CA - Larry June
Kodoku No Hatsumei - Toe
D’vocean - Eastghost

 

[goldwerger]

Wow, I wish I flew in, this seems as good as any CanJam and more. Amazing setup. Thanks for all your impressions! If this happens again next year I might plan to visit. Just, wow.

 

[fiascogarcia]

Wow, I wish I flew in, this seems as good as any CanJam and more. Amazing setup. Thanks for all your impressions! If this happens again next year I might plan to visit. Just, wow.

Not a lot of iem representation, but my gosh, the headphone (and amp) selection was phenomenal!

 

[Rebel Chris]

I didn't spot the Schiit Vali 3

 

[Hiker816]

I didn't spot the Schiit Vali 3

We'll get that fixed for next time . . .

 

[Yagi]

Had a great time at the meet, was a blast trying out the crazy assortment of gear and talking to everyone. Highlights for me were the L3000 and E3 but there was just so much great sounding stuff that I loved hearing.

 

[HONEYBOY]

So jealous! Wished I flew in for sure. Oh yes, I can shout without hesitation that @eruilluvitar has the most "epic collection" of gear I've seenl. Always great to catch up with him to see what new goodies he picked up!

 

[Hiker816]

Impressions! I went into our meet with amps on my mind, and definitely focused my time there.

Viva Egoista 2A3:

• Non-headphone-specific observations: Based on what I had heard about the Egoista 845, I expected this amp to be a furnace. It certainly was warm, but no more than most other tube amps I’ve experienced. I don’t think I like the recessed tubes, though. I was wondering how I would get the 2A3s out—thankfully that job fell to someone else.
• Driving the Valkyria:
  • More tonal weight driven by the Viva than the class-leading tonal weight already baked into the Valk. Everything sounds just . . . so . . . full. Staging also seems a bit more intimate than the already incredibly intimate Valkyria. It’s more of what makes the Valk the Valk. It might go a tiny bit too far, TBH. Great timbre, though. And so much energy. And vocals sound just amazing.
• Driving the Abyss 1266 TC:
  • Is it possible to get the 1266 even slammier, with even more bass and subbass body? Yes, in fact, it is. With the Viva. It’s not a night and day difference, but it’s definitely noticeable. I would say the Viva has slightly less control over the bass than some other amps, though, with slight smearing on some tracks.
• Driving the Immanis:
  • Through the TI-1a Interface: I hooked up my TI-1a interface to the Viva first. My immediate reaction was shock—it was remarkably holographic, with incredible tonal weight, but mostly, insane bass quantity . . . and the bass slam kicked like a friggin mule. Literally more bass quantity and slam than I had ever heard before, including from the Abyss 1266 TC (until I put the 1266 on the Viva, though the 1266 didn’t pull ahead by much). The bass and subbass seemed to linger longer before decaying, too. This did appear to come at the expense of a bit of texture, timbre, and resolution, though, and there was more bass bloat than I’d like. It also sounded a touch smeared and congested in busy passages compared to some other amps, like the Zahl or VM1a. I love great bass, but I don’t consider myself a basshead. TBH, the bass quantity and impact on the Immanis driven by the Viva was a bit too much for me. I found it distracting. But if you’re truly a basshead, you owe it to yourself to check this out, as it’ll knock your teeth loose. Stages more intimate than, say, the Zahl or VM1a. More of a noise floor than on those amps, too (but by no means bad). The Viva moves the Immanis away from the classic ribbon or e-stat signature and toward a planar/dynamic hybrid.
  • Through the Viva-specific Interface: I mentioned all this to Danny and he told me I needed to try the Viva-specific interface. So I did. WHOA, I did not expect that dramatic a difference! The bass quantity and slam came down to reasonable levels; gone was the bloat, bloom and boomyness, but the bass still reaches soooo deep and is soooo rich. Timbre and resolution are top notch, and the holographics are just amazing. Great tonal weight through the whole FR (though less through the bass compared to using my interface). Better control over the drivers, especially in the bass. It still makes the Immanis sound a bit less like a ribbon, and more like a hybrid between a planar and dynamic, than do other amps, but less so than on the Viva with my interface. Staging was less intimate than with my interface, but still more so than with some other amps (like the Zahl). Does a good job with bad recordings. Great vocals.

SAEQ Armageddon:

• Driving the Valkyria:
  • Somehow, drums sound simultaneously full in volume but slightly hollow. Great tonal weight and very authoritative. Guitar has great timbre—it really shines. This amp can sound a bit congested on some tracks, and almost like there’s a bit of a noise floor on others. Slight sibilance with cymbals. Can sound a bit 2D. Bad recordings can sound noticeably bad—bass can sound distorted and boomy, though on some tracks it can sound muffled such as to be less bothersome. Overall, just incredibly full and rich.
• Driving the Abyss 1266 TC:
  • Based on what this amp did to the Valk, but especially the Immanis, I expected it to kick the 1266 bass quantity and slam up more than it did. The difference was more subtle. But it’s the 1266—it still has great, rich, bass and subbass that digs deep, though it can sometimes be a bit bloomy with this amp. The Armageddon may fill in the mids a bit, but only on some tracks. This amp didn’t seem to affect the staging of the Abyss much. With some bad recordings, the flaws come straight through, and with others, they sound a bit veiled and not too offensive.
• Driving the Immanis:
  • The Armageddon infuses the Immanis with more tonal weight and bass slam than any other solid state I’ve heard. It just sounds fuller, especially but not only with subbass, and plays with more authority. Staging is more intimate, though, especially with stage depth. Bass extension and holographics are great. Timbre is very good, but a touch behind the Zahl and VM1a. Great instrument separation. Treble is very good, but can be a tiny bit fatiguing on some tracks. On flawed recordings, the flaws can be bothersome with this amp—more so than with the Zahl, and much more so than with the HSA-1b (tube amps handle this better). Very energetic. Great with vocals.

Feliks Envy:
Wow, what a beautiful amp. Sadly, I only got to hear one headphone, the Immanis, on the Envy—would have loved to audition more cans. I demoed it after we rolled in the Elrog 300B-Mo’s in place of the Sophia Electric. I planned to roll the Sophias back in to compare, but didn’t get a chance. Others who heard both said the Elrogs were a significant step up, as one might imagine. What I heard with the Elrogs was great. Fantastic tonal richness, powerful yet controlled bass, and timbre, texture, and resolution all seemed superlative. Bass quantity and slam were great, but probably less than with the Viva or Armageddon. Would love to spend more time with this amp.

MASS-Kobo 394 II:
I tried this with the Immanis (which I own), and the Final Audio D8000 (first time hearing this HP—impressions below). This amp sounds big. I kept looking at the diminutive box unable to reconcile its size with the sound I was hearing. The 394 II has complete technical mastery, but without sounding in the least bit thin, which I suppose I should have expected based on its 465 big brother (which I heard and loved at CanJam). It’s not as euphoric as a TOTL tube amp, and perhaps not quite as refined as the Zahl, but it has exquisite control over the drivers—great authority. And it sounds big—did I mention that?

Final Audio D8000:
Based on what I had read, I expected these to be really dark, but they didn’t really seem that way. Don’t get me wrong—they have powerful and authoritative bass—but not at the expense of the mids or treble. At least not as much as I expected. I think it might be a touch behind the 1266 on technicalities, but would need more time to assess. Definitely a HP I wouldn’t mind demoing for longer.


Besides vetting amps, I had in mind to do a shootout between the Immanis and Susvara, as I know everyone is very curious about that comparison (as am I). Sadly, I just wasn’t able to make that happen in the available time. We had such an embarrassment of riches when it came to great gear to demo that there was a lot I couldn’t get to. One attendee asked about making the meet longer. Should have listened to him. Next time!

 

[OnlySoMany]

I was pleased to meet so many other head-fi'ers yesterday and break bread after. Thanks to everyone who brought their collections and favorites.

Thank you especially to @Hiker816 for hosting, organizing, and playing every position on the field all day long. Thank you also to @SageM for sending in the Raal and the epic toob amps. And to @www.schiit.com for sending in gear as well.

I was too busy to take pics but glad others did.

I mostly ran around with my Magna and TI1a trying different amplifiers with the ribbons. Standouts were the Mjolnir v1 brought by @dishinpies (nice to meet you) which is a cult amp for good reason. It drove the Magna with authority, made me think of a 70s muscle car. The Woo Audio WA23 generously brought by @eruilluvitar, one of I think over 100 pieces he brought, also sounded really great. Of course the Raal table with the Envy and Viva were incredible. The Immanis off the Viva was, for me, the show stopper. I've not heard the Arperio or the HE1, but this is probably pinnacle of anything I've had on my head. The Envy was also incredible, and at times I thought possibly the Viva's equal. There was some 300B tube rolling going on and I did not keep track of what iterations I heard. But I share with many others the Envy is a great tube amplifier for the Raal systems. I thought it was particularly good with the Magna.

I enjoyed listening to the Valkyria and 1266 off my Mass Kobo. I find the Valkyria one of the most idiosyncratic (in a good way) headphones ever, but fascinating for its in the head, intimate imaging and tonal weight. My two experiences with the 1266 finally show me why this headphone is so favored as a TOTL. I never owned one but can see why so many do.

A shocker for me was the Stax X9000 provided by @Mister Crash from a Mjolnir Carbon and Okto DAC. This is a great headphone IMO. From memory, my favorite e-stat ever. I listened also to a 007 (not sure what version, but knowing Mister Crash, it is one of "the" versions to have). I liked this also but preferred the X9000. I know this is an expensive headphone, but IMO it belongs at the top of any list of great headphones.

At the end as the packing up started, I had a chance to listen to Susvara OG (not sure whose it was, but thank you) on the Mass Kobo and it was beautiful. The most laid back and luxurious I remember hearing the Susvara off any gear I owned when I owned it. I also listened to this off dual-mono Schiit Gjallarhorn speaker amplifiers. Yeah, this worked. More authority. This is a great $600 solution for a lot of headphones I am finding.

In hindsight I am sad I did not listen to the new closed back ZMFs and related tube amplifiers from other kind members. Next time.

In the end, it will come as no surprise to those getting to know me, I am still a ribbon fan boy and my best moments came with the Magna and Immanis off the monster 300B amps. Regrettably, I also need a new car, so I doubt either are in my future. But I can share with confidence as a former VM1a owner that the Envy and Viva are worthy of consideration for those new Immanis owners.

This was my first meet and it was a lot of fun and educational. Thank you to all of the participants.

Happy listening and wagyu dreams.

That is what led me to buy my Viva and go down a very expensive road. I had to part with a few pieces of kit to afford it, but it was worth it. The first listening impression immediately I knew it was something special. The way it does speed, dynamics, and space it just something to behold. I first heard it at CanJam Chicago and knew I had to find one. This was immediately after buying my Woo Audio WA33 so funds were tight. But God willing I was able to make it happen.

I would love to hear a comparison with all the kit shown at this meet. You guys are so lucky

 

[Hiker816]

Oh, crap, I totally forgot to mention the Stax SR-X9000. I was really impressed with it when I heard it at CanJam, and spent more time with it at the meet, driven by @Mister Crash 's Mjolnir Audio Carbon. The X9000 provide surprising bass and tonal weight for an e-stat and they are just so impressively clean and incisive, yet totally fluid. A friend of mine, who is not an audiophile (yet) but travels at least twice a month to attend live shows, was completely blown away by this HP, for good reason. I'm really impressed with the Immanis' treble, but listening to the X9000, I was struck with its airy sparkle. Based on my limited experience, I've concluded this is something that only an e-stat can provide.

 

[Duncan_McCloud]

Insane amount of gears.

Rag 2 absolutely lit up any headphone connected to it

May I ask if the Schiit Ragnarock 2 is really so good ? I know that it almost out of production.
I have seen a pic of a Schiit Folkvangr as well.
How do they compare ?

Thanks