[HeadphoneAddict]

I am starting the impressions thread here for the 2009 Colorado Meet.

Colorado High-Fi 2009 Summer Meet 7-25-09 (UPDATED DATE/LOCATION!) - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

We started off with dinner Friday night with Ray Samuels, HeadphoneAddict, HeadFanatic, Blutarsky, plus Plaidpatypus and his GF Liz. We had a good time chatting and talking shop. Asr showed up later at the hotel for a visit and make sure the room was all ready, and he has been invaluable in setting up the location and making sure we get everything we need. We get started with the meet at 8:30AM and I am the only one still awake. Sigh...

Here it looks like Ray is stoking the pipe in the photo, but I assure you no hanky panky was left unaccounted for.

My son next to Ray strokin... er I mean talking with us.

Plaidplatypus and Liz.

 

[Sherwood]

Meet wuz great lol. I herd hedphone.

 

[Blutarsky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am starting the impressions thread here for the 2009 Colorado Meet. We get started with the meet at 8:30AM and I am the only one still awake. Sigh...

Ummm, hey I just got home about ten minutes ago... start squirting the tears!

 

[Dominat0r]

You know its not a true party unless im there with you larry =)

Lets see some more pics!!

 

[mrarroyo]

Yes we want to see more pictures! Enjoy the meet.

 

[Tyson]

Hello all,
I had fun at the meet. I had a friend with me (a tech who's overhauling my Singlepower Supra), and we kind of kept to ourselves a bit. I promise to be more social at the RMAF.

It was nice to have all that equipment and gear in one place to listen to all at once. I brought my Lawton Audio D2000's (with additional "Tyson" mods), and my main purpose was to see which amps were happy driving the rather difficult load of the LA-2000's. Unfortunately, there weren't that many that were fully up to the task.

For me, the clear standout of all the amps was the Eddie Current - it had it all, tight controlled bass, smooth and organic mids, and spacious highs. It sounded amazing with both the LA-2000's as well as the Senn HD800's that were also at the table.

Next best amp was the Woo Audio 22, which was a clear step down when driving single ended headphones (like mine), but was much closer in quality when driving balanced headphones.

The Woo Audio 6 sounded OK, but was clearly under powered for the LA2000's.

On the Hybrid and SS side of the house, the M^3 was very nice, probably my favorite SS amp at the meet. Ray Samuels had a prototype tiny little board (not even cased up yet). It sounded very, very good with the Sony R10's. And of course the B52 with the Orpheus headphones sounded great also (but out of my price range at $5500 for just the amp).

One the disappointing side, I'd say the Audio-GD compass was a bit bloated and flabby in the bass, and overall a bit muddled sounding compared to other amps. But, it was not piercing or unpleasant to listen to. It's sins were sins of omission, not commission.

The Cavalli EHHA was better overall, nicer bass and cleaner sound, but it also was a bit thin in the mids, and a tiny bit strident with the LA2000's. I was hoping it would be better, as I was considering building one, but I suppose I'll wait till the Stacker 2 design is finalized. I should note that I only got to hear it after it had been hooked up a short time, and the tubes used usually have a big impact on the overall presentation. If I'd had more time, I would have tried some other tubes, which might have made a better match for my headphones. Overall, a good amp.

I wish I could have stayed longer, but had to get back to my family this afternoon.

 

[bixby]

I spent a lot more time than I had planned. Had to run back up to Longmont for another function this eve.

Thanks to all those who exhibited, it gave us a great opportunity to hear loads-a-gear. And thanks to the vendors and members for putting this together, I appreciated it. Hope to see all at RMAF when I can stay longer and have some drinks with y'all.

 

[Dominat0r]

lets see some pics =)

Glad you guys had fun....

 

[Effusion]

I just got home from the meet and wanted to thank Larry and everyone else for setting everything up. I enjoyed meeting everyone, checking out all the gear, and learning from Bill and Johnnie!

Craig let me know if you like any of those tubes and no worries take your time...

I hope to see everyone again for the Audio Fest in October!

Until then...

 

[Johnnie]

Folks,

Had a great time at the meet. I really enjoyed meeting everyone and getting to hear so many different rigs in one place. I've summarized my observations below. It's hard to know where to begin as it's a bit overwhelming. Nonetheless, a few observations.

I now know why many extoll the virtues of the Stax Lambda Signature. I heard it being driven by an SRM-T1 I believe. Very even and balanced throughout the range with great detail. More more impressive than my SR-404s.

Listening to Larry's Omega IIs on his maxed GES was a revelation. I was surprised at how well the GES drove the OIIs. The soundstage and detail is unbeleivable. I now know what I'm saving my pennies for.

The A-10 looks even better in person. Pictures don't do it justice. Thanks to Ray for making the trip to Denver for the meet.

The biggest surprise (that shouldn't be) was how much I liked the K1000s. Now I understand why so many people love this phone.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay too long. My wife's plans changed due to a "disagreement" with her mother. That caused her to stay in town. She was kind enough to allow me to attend after a long week with our girls.

Johnnie.

 

[Johnnie]

Oops, I almost forgot. Thanks again to Larry and Steve for all the hard work in putting this on. The venue was great.

 

[barleyguy]

I really enjoyed myself today at the meet. Got to hear a couple of dozen phones and lots of amps as well. Highlights:

Larry hooked his balanced Stax to Ray Samuels' balanced electrostatic amp. Ray is all about the jazz, and he was playing a female jazz artist with great soundstage. Very impressive. I probably can't afford the Stax or the amp they were connected to, but it was a pleasure to listen to them.

Ray Samuels also had his full line of portable amps along. I think my favorite was the Mustang. Very crisp and quite small. He had a Shadow prototype with no case there. I didn't try it, but other people were raving about it.

Another pleasant surprise were the JVC woodies. They have a warm detailed sound that I think is better than their pricepoint.

I spent a good amount of time at Powerhound's Westone table, listening to the UM3X and W3. I have custom silicone tips, so I tried them both under that context. I'm going to commit blasphemy here and say that, with custom tips, I prefer the 10th row sound of the W3 to the front row, in your face sound of the UM3X. They are both great, but my personal preference is the W3's. I even convinced Powderhound to let me borrow them for an hour or so to listen to them on my own sources.

And last but not least, there was a "free" raffle near the end of the evening, and I won a hand-built, Cavalli Audio Tube Hybrid Amp (courtesy of Wiatrob, who built it with his own two hands and a soldering iron). Boomy had a collection of tubes, and was nice enough to give me a Mullard 12AU7 and a vintage Tung Sol 12AU7 (the Tung Sol is my favorite, but the Mullard and the GE it came with are tasty as well). I have to say that I love this amp. I'm still completely stoked about winning it.

So, I spent the last hour or so of the evening listening to my new tube amp with a variety of headphones. All around a great meet. I'll try to be at the next one in October.

Many thanks to everyone there for being great, and to Larry and Steve for pulling things together.

 

[jvlgato]

Looks like a great meet, guys! More pics! More impressions! Keep it coming!

 

[sachu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by barleyguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif And last but not least, there was a "free" raffle near the end of the evening, and I won a hand-built, Cavalli Audio Tube Hybrid Amp (courtesy of Wiatrob, who built it with his own two hands and a soldering iron). Boomy had a collection of tubes, and was nice enough to give me a Mullard 12AU7 and a vintage Tung Sol 12AU7 (the Tung Sol is my favorite, but the Mullard and the GE it came with are tasty as well). I have to say that I love this amp. I'm still completely stoked about winning it. So, I spent the last hour or so of the evening listening to my new tube amp with a variety of headphones. All around a great meet.

Wow..nice score there

Generous of wiatrob to give away such a quality amplifier.

Be sure to try a 6CG7/6FQ7 on it (6.3 volt heater setting).

 

[p0wderh0und23]

Great meet no doubt! Good to put faces with people and the gear... whew the gear on hand was amazing!

I think we all now KNOW why he's called Headphone Addict. Highlight of the day... Ray Samuels giving Larry crap about how long it was going to take for him to tear down. Ray gave him 27 min, I think Larry still took WELL over an hour.. LOL!!!