[DT770]

[size=small]Well, I had a wonderful time at the CanJam meet today. It was the first one I had ever attended.[/size]

[size=small]The depth and breath of the gear was indeed amazing.[/size]

[size=small]It was wonderful to meet all the folks whose names you had heard before. Thank you to Steve and Larry for putting the meet together, agree that the venue was very nice.[/size]

[size=small]I was quite impressed with Headphone Addicts amps and ‘phones, particularly his Stax and his 'HE Audio' JADE electrostatics.[/size]

[size=small]Other wonderful cans heard were:[/size]
[size=small]Denon D2000's woodied and recabled.[/size]
[size=small]AKG 701 on the Little Dot III[/size]
[size=small]Sennheiser HD800's[/size]
[size=small]Ray's Sennheiser Orpheus[/size]
[size=small]Lot's of High End Grado's[/size]
[size=small]JVC woodies[/size]
[size=small]Audio Technica AD2000's <-- think these were my personal favorites.[/size]

[size=small]I was also impressed with coredump’s Little Dot III amp. Meant to hear an M^3 today, but somehow managed to miss it. Will have to make a better effort at the October meet.[/size]

[size=small]It was also good to hear that Ray Samuels is a ‘Jazz Head’ because that is me, too. I brought a Jazz CD that Ray commented on. It was Eliane Elias, Ray. All her stuff is very good. Check out her latest, I’ll bet it will be right up your alley.[/size]

[size=small]It was also great to meet and talk with Headphone Addicts’s son, Ben. Your lucky Ben, I wish I my Dad had been into audio purity when I was your age.[/size]

[size=small]I came away with a pair of Audio Technica A700‘s bought from coredump. Glad to have them and they will fill a niche I have for a good sounding closed pair of phones to use at work.[/size]

[size=small]I though the meet went off well and I would readily attend again.[/size]

Thanks to all who brought gear and shared...

Cheers to all…

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Hey all!

I'm so tired that I had to rent the hotel room an extra day, so my son and I could load the car up tomorrow. I brought just about everything headphone related with me except my ATH-ANC7 noise canceling phones and my Marantz CD5001. There was very little room left in my 7 passenger Subaru.

I grabbed the wrong camera bag when I came up here so I have a bunch of good photos and no memory card reader, the wrong data cable and cannot upload photos to my computer till I get back Sunday. I'll check my iPhone and see if I have 1 or 2 teaser photos left on that to upload.

So here are my impressions:

It seems my Woo GES does drive the O2 Mk1 better than I thought, and my only complaint all along has been the power output and desire for more slam. Well, the GES is topped by the A-10 by at least an extra 2dB (maybe 3dB) of headroom (600v peak to peak both, but Ray said he is able to adjust the gain and the power output to play louder if he wishes). And maybe there was a little extra bass punch but it was hard to say when using different music and having to go back forth between the two rigs. I was still surprised at how good the GES on a $995 PS Audio DAC could sound when just a couple of tables away was the A-10 with Merridian CDP.

The A-10 does sound very nice, especially with Plaidplatypus's new SR-404 limited anniversary edition, with which I did not hear any etch in the upper mids lower treble like the the SR-Lambda Signature. So, I tried the 404 limited on my GES and they sounded good with that too. I was expecting a SR-404 to not agree with me, considering my favorite Lambda is the vintage normal bias SR-Lambda.

I still liked the O2 Mk1 on the A-10 more than a Lambda, but the margin was not as big as I thought it would be. I didn't get the time to try my HE60 with the A-10, but I did try my Smegma Pro (woodied Gamma Pro) which sound bright with the A-10 just like with my GES. It seems when you tune the amp for darker headphones the Smeggies will let you know. Anyway, I think that if my GES had that extra 2-3dB of volume like the A-10 that I would be perfectly happy with the amp for my O2 Mk1. Ray was impressed enough with the O2 Mk1 that he would like to acquire a pair, so please let him know if you want to sell yours - he might even do a cash + trade for his O2 Mk2 that have 400 hours of burn-in and little usage. You'll have to discuss details with him.

Back to the A-10 - The A-10 does an excellent job converting SE input to balanced and we did switching back and forth between the Merridian XLR balanced outputs and the RCA inputs. The soundstage and detail was pretty much identical - the only difference I detected was the SE input was slightly brighter than the balanced input. Ray agreed that was correct because the Telefunken tube in the SE phase splitter is slightly brighter than the pair of Bugle Boys in the balanced input.

I also enjoyed Plaidplatypus's new Stax Sigma/404 which are a whole new league better than the old Sigma Pro he loaned me for a month a while back. Much better detail and dynamics, but I may still prefer the 404 limited anniversary edition and definitely prefer the O2 Mk1. I tried to trade my Woo WA6 for the 404 Limited, so he'd have an amp for his RS-1, but Plaid declined (just like I turned down Rays offer to buy my O2 Mk1 - I've created a monster

). Turns out Ray is a headphone addict too!

So, I listened to the K1000 on 3-4 different amps and I kept coming back to the Eddie Current ZDT as my favorite, although in the noisy room the ZDT wasn't quite loud enough with them. I still think maybe Naamanf's Beta 22 had a little more power and control with K1000 when I heard them in February, but I could happiliy live with my current rig. We used the same ZDT a lot driving a Stax SRD-7 pro transformer off the speaker outputs, and had 4 stats running at one time between the ZDT and GES, with up to 10 stats on the table at a time - it was nuts. I still think the GES drives most stats better than the ZDT (especially the O2 Mk1), except for the HE Audio Jade which sounded great with both rigs. That was whole intention, was to have the GES and WA6 in my living room rig, and use the ZDT in my bedroom rig so I could listen to anything - dynamics, K1000 and stats.

Other tidbits:

I think I would pick my HD800 over Asr's Qualia 010.

I think I would pick my ZDT over the WA22 prototype. The WA22 is great and beats my WA6 easily in soundstage size and separation, and in power. The WA22 was similar to the ZDT with balanced HD600/800, and farther away with the D2000/7000 or K1000. WA22 also sounds great with all the Grados, but with the Denon D2000 and D7000 (both modded) the ZDT was a little better (as described before by Tyson). But, I'd be happy with the WA22 with any of my headphones, and would like to replace my WA6 with one.

The Headroom Balanced Desktop via Cullen Audio modded PS Audio DL3 and Music Hall 25.2 CDP drives balanced HD600 well enough to call that a final rig for most people.

Fidelity-Audio.com 4-pin HD600 cable is a $199 3-meter pure copper cable that keeps up with my 2-meter APS v3 cable for less money, and still includes a nylon sleeve.

I think the Shadow sounds similar to the P-51 Mustang in half the size, and I still prefer both of those with my IEM over the the SR-71. These small portables do really drive the R10 and Denons very nicely as well.

I learned not to confuse the Sony SA5000 with the Qualia 010, but I'm okay without owning either.

The Lawton Audio LA7000 (woodied recabled modded D7000) were noticeably better to my ears than last year's MD5000DE that I reviewed, and very similar to my Lawton-woodied APS V2-cabled stuffed-earpad D2000. Several people preferred the LA7000 to my modded D2000, including Blutarsky and Ray Samuels. The D2000 still had about 1/3 of the listeners choose that over the LA7000. Both of them have much improved mids over the stock models, which I would venture to say is very engaging, and much improved bass control as well. Regardless, everyone agreed we'd rather have the R-10 if price was no object. Ray felt the LA7000 needed just a little more bass, and that the D2000 were a little darker and he didn't like that as much. I agree with both assertions, but the LA7000 have more and better bass than last years Lawton Audio MD5000DE, and it is enough for me. It's not enough for Ray, but that's because he's been spoiled by his wonderful R-10 which I would love to have someday, but I wont spend that much on a single headphone.

As stated before, the LA7000 do have slightly less bass than the R10, but I thought they come close enough that people could enjoy them at 1/3 the cost of an R-10. I like both, recognizing that there is a slight increase in brightness with LA7000, and a slight increase in bass with my D2000. But the cupped hands mids of the MD5000DE are gone in the LA7000 (never there in the D2000). I knew there was a reason that I kept the modded D2000 when I sold the Edition 9, because they are still one of the best closed headphones you can still buy new today (but then need to be modded). But now that I spent more time with the LA7000 I recognize that they are a small step above what I have now (which is very close to an LA2000). I would like to own a pair of these myself someday, since the R-10 are out of my reach.

I am out of things to say right now, but I'll come back later with my photos and get those posted.

Cheers!

 

[Dominat0r]

pics or it didnt happen!!

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

ALSO,

Steve (Asr) and I want to say thank you so much to everyone who made this such a great meet. We also want to thank Ray Samuels Audio and Doug Leavy (p0wderh0und23) of Westone for coming out and joining us for the meet and bringing great gear for everyone to listen to.

Doug brought a couple of pairs of W3 and UM3X for everyone to try, with various universal tips so everyone could have a listen without sharing too much ear wax, and he supplied some nice amps and iPod for music in case someone didn't have their own rig to try them out.

Ray brought the new A-10 electrostatic amp, and a multitude of various color portable amps that made me hungry for candy (Skittles). The HE90 were beautiful as ever, to listen to and look at. His company was a sheer pleasure as well, and we teased each other all day, back and forth. He got the best of me when he gave me 27 minutes to break down my huge rig and he got his put away in 26 minutes and I took an hour and 53 minutes.

It was also a pleasure to have Plaidplatypus travel the farthest of anyone to come, all the way from Florida, just because we became online friends and met once before as he passed though town when relocating last year. I'm glad that he won one of the free Nuforce headphones as a raffle prize.

I want to than Lawton Audio for the loan of the LA7000, and Woo Audio for the loan of the WA22 prototype, while he fortunately finished the final WA22 in time for the NJ meet on the same day.

I also thank TTVJ for the loan of the TTVJ FET-A amp. And, it was great of craiglester to donate a bunch of junk that we snapped up anyways in an informal auction (my son is very happy with the Stax electrets and the nakamichi CD player

). Finally I want to thank wiatrob for donating the Cavalli CTH amp that was given away today. Someone donated some IM716 but I forget who - sorry! Overall, enough money was voluntarily donated to completely pay for the location and to send money to Head-Fi.

 

[mlarn]

Had a really good time meeting and putting faces with names I see on here all the time, so thank you to Steve and Larry for all of the effort is getting this together. I was surprised that there were so many people there, and thank you to everyone for bringing out your gear.

This was the first time I have had the chance to listen to so much amazing gear, and I was a little overwhelmed by everything I heard. Looking back, I should have brought a notebook to jot down impressions to keep everything straight. After I got home, I realized I did not even know what most of the rigs I listened to were composed of.

This was the first time I had ever listened to a Stax setup, and I was really impressed. There was a point when I was listening to one of Larry's Stax setups (with plaidplatypus) and when the song ended the crowd in the live recording began clapping I turned to look over my shoulder to see what the commotion was all about. Very lifelike and sounded amazing.

First time for Grado's as well. Listened to a few pairs from coredump's Alessandro MS1's to ASR's HF-2's. I still like the Senn sound overall, but definitely will be looking for a pair of Grado's to compliment them in the near future.

I enjoyed nine's setup a lot. His Duet and M cubed sounded amazing. I was right next to him and went back and forth to compare the same songs between rigs and it was no contest. Much more separation and weight, it really sounded great.

ASR had 3 rigs and I enjoyed each of those as well. Was blown away by the Pico and AE-2 setup, and the Woo tube amp and TTVJ FET-A were amazing.

Everything I heard on Wiatrob's table was incredible too.

Thank you also to Ray for coming out and bringing so much gear. The Thunderbolt sounds even better than it looks, and that is saying something! And his stable of portable amps are impressive as ever.

I stayed away from the Westone table, only because I didn't think I would be able to leave the meet without buying a new pair...

I know that I have forgotten half of what I wanted to say, but regardless I had a great time. Thanks to all!

 

[krmathis]

Sounds like you all had a nice time!

Enjoying all those headphone rigs...

 

[buddhashenglong]

I can't believe I missed it, hope everyone enjoyed it and I will triple check the CanJam@RMAF date.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...Well, the GES is topped by the A-10 by at least an extra 2-3dB of headroom (450 peak to peak voltage vs 600)...

The GES swings 600v p-p not 450v.

 

[coredump]

Some thoughts after the meet.

The R-10s don't suck.
The Stax OII MKI are an improvement to your head.
The PS1000 is my favorite Grado
Didn't like the RS1s as much as I though I would
I really liked the Travagan’s White and Red combo.
I think I prefer the HD600 over the HD650
The HD800 are very nice
I won the NuForce NE-8 in the raffle. Woot. Burning them in now.

The Big Surprise: LA7000 (D7000). Loved them. I thought they sounded very similar to the R-10. The LA2000 were nice but nothing like the LA7000.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

CLICK THUMBNAILS TO VIEW LARGER PHOTO, or visit Gallery: ImageShack Gallery

A small fraction of my cases of gear:


After unpacking my gear, with several headphones still in their cases:



Sherwood listens to Blutarsky's ESP-950 with Stax cable:


Ray fixes the crossed-up wiring on Blutarsky's 4-pin XLR HP-1000:


HeadFanatic's rig with an rds Millett Starving Student amp in a Nascar 24 case, assembled by -=Germania=-:


Plaidplatypus (foreground) next to craiglester:


The headphones are multiplying:


Close up of Eddie Current ZDT with PS Audio Digital Link III and Woo WA6:


Close up of PS Audio Digital Link III and Woo WA6 next to Woo GES:


HeadphoneAddict rig #2 with iMod > DLO homedock HD > Apogee mini-DAC, feeding Single Power Sq Wave XL balanced, ALO AMphora, Nuforce Icon (desktop) and Head-Direct HiFiMan EF2 tube hybrid amp:


Asr setting up his rig #3:


Asr's other two rigs - laptop > Pico DAC > AE2, and North Star Design Sapphire CDP > Woo WA22 prototype:


(not sure)


PSA DL3 Cullen mods with HR Balanced Desktop and Music Hall 25.2 CDP:


crucial I think with a Cary of some sort?:


Boomy3555 "briefcase balanced rig":


Boomy3555 "briefcase balanced rig":


(not sure, a Little Dot of some sort)


(not sure, a Little Dot of some sort)


(not sure)


(not sure)


(not sure)


(not sure - might be Sherwood's rig)


Ray Samuels with my O2 Mk1, and p0wderh0und23 with Ray's R10:


Ray Samuels with my O2 Mk1, and p0wderh0und23 with Ray's R10:


p0wderh0und23's Westone Demo setup - 2 pair W3 and 2 pair UM3X, and a multitude of tips:


HeadFanatic's rig again (his MSSH and iPod video, with my Travagans Red/Black, Travagans Green, Super Pro DAC707 DAC with Sony D-EJ2000 PCDP, and SRD-7 Mk2:

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Asr has some photos posted from the meet. See: Asr CO meet 2009 photos

 

[Lil' Knight]

What? No Stax from Asr?

 

[Sherwood]

Well, kids, I had a simply excellent time meeting you all, listening to your systems, and handing out some demo discs. I also took a few photos, and I hope did you all justice.

My humble rig and an admirer, Keith (a.k.a. Bixby), looking awfully serious: (iMac -> Peachtree Nova -> K1000s / Vintage RS-1s. Also Nova -> trends TA 10.1 -> Stax SR-Lambda)

Greenman's Excellent PS Audio -> Music Hall -> Headroom -> Balanced HD650 rig where I happily switched between balanced and SE to try and discern differences. Verdict: more listening is required

When listening critically, it's important to choose songs of exemplary musical value to fully flesh out the strengths and weaknesses of the system as a whole. this track was plenty to prove to me that I prefer the Compass to the LD III for the HD 650s.

Ray Samuels, ever the salesman, auctioned off some donated equipment to benefit ASR, whose generosity and organization made this the best CO meet yet. ASR generously vowed to donate any revenue above expenditure (i.e. profits) right back to head-fi. Class act -- now come back!

Of course, some things simply cannot be sold:

Ray also brought a cadre of portable amps and hooked them up to an iPod (iMod?) and a sony R10. The prototype amp sounded excellent -- very dynamic, and very lifelike timbre, though obviously not the best I'd heard from the R10. Ray claimed "This little guy will drive anything" -- I returned with my K1000s and he amended his statement.

I didn't get to spend time with everything I loved, but I did manage to spend a good 15 minutes with this beauty of an amp, the Cary 300 SEI. Apparently the Cary has ludicrous distortion when called upon to drive real-world speakers, but it was wonderful driving the HD800s, and simply astonishing driving the K1000s. I can honestly say I've never heard better, including the HE90 from Ray's A10 fed by a Meridian CDP. I must own.

A menacing WiatroB enjoying (?) some O2 mk.1 from Ray's A10. It was a good setup, but Bill cannot enjoy what he does not build.

The Emotiva CDP: Sounds excellent, will blind you. I believe the blindness is designed to enhance your other senses. In that sense, this player is unrivalled.

Here's member HeadFanatic (clever, eh?) enjoying some Stax goodness. He shall soon surpass us all.

Ray was kind enough to haul an HE90 around. It was alright, I suppose, if you like awesome.

Boomy's gonzo movie rig. This thing was crazy, and sounded excellent. Boomy, on the other hand, is surely a mad scientist of some sort:

You're reaching for the wrong one, friend

Larry's rig was impossible to capture photographically. You can only see it in real life through a set of those eclipse-watching goggles. This was my best attempt:

I have no idea what's going on here. I just trust that it makes sense to someone:

The AKG K1000 was designed not only to be the most musically pure transducer of all times, but also as a veritable chick magnet:

Once she puts them on, however, all that confusion melts away. Sorry about your wallet, unsuspecting bystander...

So there you have it. Another successful meet carried off by team CO. Huge thanks to ASR for organizing, funding, and spearheading this process yet again. Steve, you're a credit to the community. Also big thanks to HeadphoneAddict, whose tireless efforts made all this possible. Larry, half these folks wouldn't show up if you weren't there. Wiatrob dedicated a phenomenal Compact Tube Hybrid amp to the giveaway, which I dearly wanted to win, but all prizes went to better men than I. Thanks for that, Bill. I'd also like to thank Craiglester for his generous donations to the giveaway, and for driving me to Qdoba. His delightful accent has buoyed me through three meets now, and I hope to see him for many more.

My personal best sound of show goes to Crucial, whose minimal, aesthetically attractive and sonically amazing rig won my heart. Honorable mentions go to HeadphoneAddict's ZDT/HD800 combo, Wiatrob's CTH driving my K1000s, and GreenMan's excellent music selection. I wish I could have heard more, but I always feel that way after a meet.

Great meet, ladies and gents. Now come to RMAF!

 

[Luminette]

Firstly, Thanks to Asr for making the meet happen. Second thanks to Larry, for having so much gear and expertise as to draw more people to our meets.

I noticed that my listening abilities hardly existed anymore. Discouraging, but to be expected when having been completely withdrawn from listening to any hifi audio since last x-mas. And thus I can't offer any impressions on equipment, sorry guys.

I mostly stopped in to keep in touch with people and to brush-up on a few new products I had missed. Got to hear the Jades, 800s and Qualias, and despite my hindered ability to assess them, I could still aquaint myself with their general characteristics first-hand instead of only having read about them.

I'm loving the development of the Colorado scene. Looking forward to RMAF very much

 

[Dominat0r]

great pics guys....good job on the meet to Steve.

Looks like it was smashing good fun..