[scompton]

I'm surprised no one has started a thread yet so I thought I'd go ahead.

It was a pretty cool meet lots of good equipment. Unfortunately, I again forgot to bring a camera. Fortunately others remembered.

My favorite part of the meet was the Sennheiser rep showing up to apologize for not being able to find a HD800 for use to demo. Three were already there.

I really liked AmanGeorge's amp. It's a prototype made by his father and was beautiful and sounded great too.

 

[4N6]

Great meet. I enjoyed meeting everyone and listening to some great gear.

 

[markmaxx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scompton /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm surprised no one has started a thread yet so I thought I'd go ahead. My favorite part of the meet was the Sennheiser rep showing up to apologize for not being able to find a HD800 for use to demo. Three were already there.

We ended up with 4 sets all together, plus all re cabled and balanced.

The Sennheiser rep (some one else help me here,, but he reps many more brands than sennheiser too, right?} was so nice he offered his office for our next meet. The guy from Myer Emco ( I am embarrassed I forgot your name) said it would be a great place for a meet.

Got to get ready for work, more later!! Yes work on Sunday in the snow and cold on a horse farm

ick!

Time for quick story:...
4N6,, for me had the rig of the meet (and there were some nice rigs there !!!) Meridian 808.2 >TTVJ Millett 307A Headphone Amplifier, a great balanced tube amp, and re cabled HD 800. The room was nice and quiet and I was listening to a very well recored live Jazz CD ,,,well any way 4N6's rig was so nice and the cymbals shimmered like no rig I ever heard before and the bass was so nice and tight and went to sub woofer low levels (I was in the my headphone disappeared zone) and in the back,, way, background of the CD there were some glasses clinking together very quiet voices ever so noticeable that the 808.2 resolved so nicely for me and I had this """goose bump moment"""" WOW this Meridian is AMAZING!!! I have never heard that cell phone ring way in the dark background of my favorite CD, I was so shocked that at that very moment I opened my eyes to tell ever one what I had discovered in the background of this recording. Just in time to see the Sennheiser rep leaving the room with his cell phone!!!! I got a BIG laugh from everyone. Now off to work.

 

[m1abrams]

Had a great time at my first meet. Enjoyed meeting everyone and getting a chance to hear some great gear. Glad to see the number of people who not only braved the snow but carried their incredible gear in it.

Since I am not sure I connected my online persona with my physical self, I was the guy with the DIY M^3.

 

[scompton]

The Sennheiser rep said he reps for 17 different companies. The only ones I heard him mention were Beyer and Yamaha. He was pretty excited about my Yamaha orthos.

Edit: Looking at the Florida meet thread reminded me to mention that having a meet in an AV store worked really well. The room we were in had a Peachtree DAC set up.

 

[AmanGeorge]

Sorry I haven't gotten a chance to post yet, I left the meet and drove straight to Charlottesville, and just got back today.

The store was a nice place that was pretty well set up for a meet, with lots of chairs and gracious hosts, but the room we were in ended up being a little cramped. The second room where Steve/boom shaka laka's Singlepower rig was set up was underutilized - it had this big comfy leather chair and low lighting, making for a very nice quiet listening environment.

I agree with markmaxx - the Meridian feeding the TTVJ to balanced headphones was really fantastic. The 800s sounded terrific, but so too did the MDR-SA5000s, which sounded much better than I remembered when I previously owned them in single-ended form, being driven by a significantly more modest rig. That rig is a keeper, really terrific stuff.

Steve/scompton's orthos were great too - there is something about orthos that can't be captured by dynamic that I've heard - I think that the combination of nice, deep, and impactful bass, thick and musical midrange without at all losing detail retrieval or is really special. I'm looking forward to the Audez'e release, when I can combine all those qualities with a very large headstage.

Many thanks to all who came, I'm going to post pictures at some point this evening.

EDIT: PS, for whoever was saying Audiogon was tougher to navigate to find used deals, bookmark this link: http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/srch...eadphone&B1=go

 

[AmanGeorge]

Some pictures from the meet, taken with my little Kodak. Hopefully DoomzDays will get around to posting some of the prettier pictures he took with his legit camera as well.

The beginnings of my rig in the morning - I was the first one there, but the store had set up their peachtree rig at the back of the room with some b&w monitors.

The room got a lot more packed... here's 4N6 listening to my rig, PC/USB -> DLIII -> Rethm Gaanam amp -> Recabled Sony MDR-CD3000s. The Sonys got a lot of love at the meet, with many suggesting that I'm crazy to be thinking about selling them. With an HD800 on the way, we'll see if I can justify hanging on to both. The CD3000 does sound oh-so-sweet with a tube amp though...

m1abrams's M^3 build, with the Sigma11 power supply in the same box - very nice-looking build and casework, with a lot of attention to detail. Also sounded great with my K701 - it gave them some serious punch in the bass. I'd highly recommend this amp as a serious contender for the K701s in the price range.

Boom Shaka Laka's rig - a Sony CDP feeding a Singlepower MPX3 and an Antique Sound Labs amp, with recabled HD650 and a Grado HF-1. The 650s sounded really lush creamy and warm through the Singlepower - very beautiful, relaxed sound, but still the 650 is a little too dark for my personal tastes.

The rig of the meet for me: 4n6's Meridian CDP, TTVJ Millet 307A balanced amp, feeding balanced HD800, SA5000, and CD3000. I actually didn't get a chance to listen to his CD3Ks on this rig, which I feel bad about - I would love to hear what they sound like on such an impressive balanced rig. But the 800s I think were the best I've ever heard them, and the SA5000 was stunning compared to what I remembered from having owned them previously.

Here is markmaxx enjoying those Sonys

And here is Boom Shaka Laka sitting back and enjoying his rig, comparing my CD3000 to his 650s in the little underutilized room that was actually a beautiful place to take a seat and listen to tunes undisturbed.

Great meet, it was wonderful meeting all you guys, I can't wait to do it again!

Cheers

 

[ctemkin]

I, too, had a great time meeting people and comparing gear. Many thanks to AmanGeorge for setting it up.

 

[eruditass]

Oh man, I had no idea there was a room to be underutilized! I would've been all over that. One thing I would've liked more was some focused critical listening with some equipment, but I guess that is what I get for arriving so late! I did leave the meet a bit underwhelmed in that respect, but next time I will be sure to a) bring my own music that I am quite familiar with, b) have some quiet critical sessions, c) bring my on rig to compare with., d) arrive on time.

The surprise of the day for me was how acceptable the SA5000's sound (which I was pretty sure I'd hate), which included some nice tight and present bass. But that was on 4n6's awesome rig.

As for the very well recorded jazz cd - who was it? I loved that CD and must have it! I hope it will sound as good on my rig or the upgraditis bug I have been trying to avoid may strike me. P.S. Aman, that audiogon link is awesome.

And then there were pics:

Yup, he still shoots his rig glances to make sure the bliss is true.

 

[priest]

Thanks to everyone for bringing their amazing gear and especially to Aman for organizing the meet!

 

[Boom Shaka Laka]

Cheers Arman for the meet up. Proto has nice style points (reminds me of Jesus Baptista's granite art sculptures). Amazed by how nice the open presence was on the AKG601's for their price point. Didn't realize just how dark my HD650's were after listening to the new Senn 800's which had incredible depth, but not entirely fair since I was also comparing single-end vs bal.

I concur, the Meridian/TTVJ Millet 307A balanced amp was an incredible rig. Unfortunately the room was quite loud at that point so I didn't get to enjoy it much. But really, I just came for the food.

Nice pix DoomzDayz.

 

[johnwmclean]

nice pics and impressions!

 

[markmaxx]

Great pictures guys! x2 I didn't know about the other room,

And I am a singlepower guy.

I wrote up some impressions of some of the headphones and rigs and deleted it all

I will re do tonight! Some big surprises for me. Sony 5000 were nice, I liked the AKG 701, The RaySamuals Apache and the TTVJ amp sounded different than I remember from other meets, but were source differently than the other meets. Source matters.

More detailed thoughts later!

 

[m1abrams]

I think Aman and Boom Shaka Laka were the only ones that knew about the "secret room"

What really went on in that room?

 

[AmanGeorge]