[Hardwired]

And a good time was had by all. Some great equipment and headphones, and some great people.

Here are some pictures to enjoy.

Thanks to Happy Camper for setting things up.

Attendees (if I forgot someone, remind me, I was listening too hard to pay much attention):

Happy Camper
Absorbine_Sr
DocHamm (and roadie)
Hardwired
number1sixerfan
compuryan
chobint

 

[number1sixerfan]

It was good to meet all of you. It was a very relaxing setting. Sorry I had to leave so soon. Can't wait until the next one!

 

[compuryan]

Thanks for the pictures, also thanks to happy camper for hosting. I loved the chapel room, it was such a serene environment to listen to music in. I really enjoyed it.

As for my impressions: I loved Absorbine_Sr's rig. His Opus 21 cd player kicked major ass and the Zana Duex always impresses me. I also enjoyed the baby orpheus, it made everything really clear sounding despite being a little light on the bass. I also became attracted to Hardwired's Yuin PK1 after listening to them hooked up to my sansa. I think I'll probably buy a pair the next time I get a little extra money. chobint's diy stuff inspired the diy side of me. It got me thinking again about building, which I haven't done since I built my little cmoy. Honestly, everyone's gear sounded really nice and it was hard to pick out a pair of crappy sounding 'phones. I'm glad so many people could make it and I can't wait for the next meet.

 

[Happy Camper]

All hail the Orpheus. Yes gang, it's that good. We had the top end of about every current dynamic hp made. We had some of the better amps to test them on. While all sounded good, the baby O outpaced them all. The NM24 fed the HE70 a really clean and layered sound. When Mike moved the Opus over, it sold me on the source first investment.

The ZD is as good as advertized. Mike's rig is really the best I've heard in a dynamic rig. Of course being my first meet, I'm impressionable but it was very musical with no weaknesses.

Those imods are very nice as well. Played through the hybrid Millet, I could be happy with this as a main rig.

After a few tweaks, Ryan's Cayin has really come into it's own. Listening to the 600s and 650s re-cabled, I can see me loosing some love for the 701s. The Ed. 9s also remind you why you haven't heard jack til you listen to them.

The DIY rig Tobin set up was impressive. As powerful an amp as any there. Good job.

In all, too many toys, too little time. As Jeff mentioned in his pics, there was a lot of blah, blah, blah. It's always fun to talk shop with more experienced head-fiers.

Thanks to all for making the effort. Especially Mike (Ab_Sr) for his expenses incurred and time.

David

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif We had the top end of about every current dynamic hp made. We had some of the better amps to test them on. While all sounded good, the baby O outpaced them all. The NM24 fed the HE70 a really clean and layered sound. When Mike moved the Opus over, it sold me on the source first investment.

LOL. This scenario is exactly why and how I ended up with the baby O

BTW. Are you saying Opus 21 was much better than NM24??

 

[Happy Camper]

Noticed an improvement. I can't say much better because both were better than I've heard. In fairness to the NM24, we were feeding it through a $150 transport. As you know, when you are listening all day to a lot of gear, you can't really concentrate on the finer details.

 

[DocHamm]

I put this in the old thread ... oops ... so here it is again.

I let my roadie drive and we found it! Well, we found something. Just kidding! Had a great time! Cool stuff, cool music and cool people!! My only regret was not bringing some of my larger (better) gear, but hey, hopefully there will be a next time. The only bad thing is now I feel the need to spend more money. Already picked up a couple of CDs!

Here are a few photos my roadie grabbed of Chobint's DiY ...











<... now where did I hide that washing machine money ...>

Thanks Cho! You gave me a bigger edge on getting my roadie to build a tube amp!

 

[Happy Camper]

This is an evil woman. Good intentioned without a doubt

.

She sends me a link to the baby O for sale.

Should I float an IC? NO, NO, NO....[size=xx-small]how do I do this?[/size] aGH!

Your an evil minion of Head-Fi Doc.

 

[number1sixerfan]

My Impressions:

Ultrasone Edition 9: I am going to talk about these first because I was really interested in hearing them. I first plugged them into the ZD with the Opus CD player. First thought: What? It sounded so congested and "unamazing". I kept listening and about 10 minutes later, it sounded really good. This has to be a reflection of mentally adjusting to the closed sound. After the first few minutes, they really started to sing. They were one of the most lively cans I have ever heard with very tight and controlled bass.

Zana Duex vs. Singlepower Extreme: This was my second most anticipated face-off. My first thought was why do people even bicker over which is better. They both sounded amazing. Listening to the ZD quickly made me regret getting rid of it. It is very, very musical due to it's top end perfection. To the contrary, the Extreme was so very lush and extremely enjoyable. One could say that the ZD is definitely not as tubey/lush as the Singlepower, and one could say that the Extreme may not be as accurate/detailed as the ZD. But ultimately, I could live with either. Period.

Ryan's Rig: I was very impressed with this rig. It definitely had the great synergy. I have owned the HD650's a couple of times and I have not heard it that good before. It was so much more balanced than when I had it. I also have gained respect for the DAC1. Often people say it's too analytical/bright, but I am convinced that this is a good thing with certain headphones(such as the HD650).

HE60: I left this meet with a newfound appreciation for these stats. Their clarity is just a step up from anything I have heard to date. There could be more bass, but for my listening preferences they are very good. As for the NM24 and the Opus feeding the HEV70, I could not discern much of a difference if any. I'm sure there was, but I think that I would need more time between the two. It is very hard to make a definitive conclusion after we each literally only listened to the Orpheus w/the Opus for five minutes one by one.

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by number1sixerfan /img/forum/go_quote.gif HE60: I left this meet with a newfound appreciation for these stats. Their clarity is just a step up from anything I have heard to date. There could be more bass, but for my listening preferences they are very good. As for the NM24 and the Opus feeding the HEV70, I could not discern much of a difference if any. I'm sure there was, but I think that I would need more time between the two. It is very hard to make a definitive conclusion after we each literally only listened to the Orpheus w/the Opus for five minutes one by one.

I concur with this statement. I didn't listen to the same material either. I listened to the re-mastered Royal Scam on the NM24 and Shpongle on the Opus. The difference may have been the age of the recordings too.

Thank you for making the NM24/HE60s available.

What I meant about the source being your first investment was a good source makes the rest of the system. You have to get that before you can match the rest of the system. Not meant to be a criticism of the NM24. Fact is the NM24 really let me know how "tired" my old CAL dac sounds. When I hooked up the NM24 to my system, I got a big wow. Doc also noticed a marked improvement. Its at that point that you get that sick feeling in the pit of your gut knowing your not done.

 

[krmathis]

We need more pictures!

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif I concur with this statement. I didn't listen to the same material either. I listened to the re-mastered Royal Scam on the NM24 and Shpongle on the Opus. The difference may have been the age of the recordings too. Thank you for making the NM24/HE60s available. What I meant about the source being your first investment was a good source makes the rest of the system. You have to get that before you can match the rest of the system. Not meant to be a criticism of the NM24. Fact is the NM24 really let me know how "tired" my old CAL dac sounds. When I hooked up the NM24 to my system, I got a big wow. Doc also noticed a marked improvement. Its at that point that you get that sick feeling in the pit of your gut knowing your not done.

Aww man don't worry. I am not the type of person that has such an emotional attachment to my gear that I can't take criticism of it. I loved hearing feedback about the HE60's, even though almost every noted the lack of bass. As for the sources, I just couldn't tell under the circumstances. If you all thought the Opus was better then I can definitely respect it and take you at your word. I would love more time with the Opus. Ultimately, for me I couldn't really "hear" the sources with the HE60. Everything just sounded so amazingly clear, with a tad lack of bass.

Also the Opus and ZD were simply amazing paired together. The HD600's sounded ridiculously good out of them.

I would love more time with the Opus.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif We need more pictures!

 

[number1sixerfan]

Also, I forgot to mention that I have never amped the UE-11 before this meet. I always used them for school. Since I've graduated, I just don't use them as much. But after using them with the Headroom Micro, I was completely blown away. I mean I now want to buy that same amp for my UE-11's.

I also tried the TTVJ and an amp from Dr.Xin, but I think the Headroom Micro(correct name?) just meshed so well with them.

 

[Hardwired]

I had fun plugging my PK1s and E500s into the Zana Deux. The Zana's top end didn't match up well with the PK1s which also have a lot of top end, but the E500s and Zana Deux sounded excellent together. The Zana added the very top end the E500s lack, if that's possible.

The worst pair of headphones I listened to all day was my Denons, which should give you an idea of the quailty we had at the meet. The HE60s took the prize but my Ed9s held up pretty well under the strain.

I know A_Sr took some pictures so maybe he'll post his soon to make krmathis happy.