luvdunhill
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2006
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First a listening of what I evaulated the systems with:
Anna Moffo singing Lakmé's "Où va la jeune indoue?" re-released by RCA on SACD on the album entitled "Opera Arias". Total track time is around 8:15, and is my de facto standard soprano test track. I usually listen to this first, as if the system cannot handle her voice then it will fail down the line.
Julia Fisher playing the Fifth movement of Bach's Solo Violin Partita No. 2, subtitled "Ciaconna" or "Chaconne". Another excellent recording of what is perhaps the pinnacle of the solo violin repertoire. Furthermore, in my humble opinion as a violinist, one of the most difficult pieces to play well, perhaps less so technically but more so emotionally. Also, this recording is excellent and if you haven't checked out the Pentatone label, you need to!
Miles Davis, Kind of Blue 1997 reissue Track 1 "So What". I listen to a bit of jazz, and I use Miles' trumpet to gague the highs and Paul Chamber's bass to gague the timbre of the lows. Also, this is an excellent track to judge the pacing of a system.
Thomas Zehetmair playing Eugène Ysaÿe's "Sonates pour Violon Solo". I skip around on this CD a lot, but this my quintessential definition of "fast", "detailed", and "resolution". This is a very tough CD to get right.
Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, conducted by Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Orchestra. I use the first movement to look for textures and how a system renders complex interactions between different instruments playing at different levels. This is an excellent one to use when comparing tonearms, cartridges, and alignments on a good vinyl setup. Alas, this was the RCA SACD reissue...
So, I started the day listening to pabbi1's Blue Hawaii (BH) and Sennheiser HE60 combo. I spent probably a good 30 minutes with it, despite the glares from others. I started with the Moffo track. Well, I was rather surprised here. The BH/HE60 really missed this one. There was a hazy graininess in the "coloratura" sections. Unmistakable really. Okay, so I moved on to the Miles Davis. Here I didn't hear the above as much, but felt the highs were definitely muted. The trumpet didn't bore a hole through my skull like it should. However, from a pace standpoint the system was probably the best I've ever heard. Kudos in this department. Drums and bass were spot on as well. I walked away from this track feeling a lot better about the system and optimistic on what would show up next. Next, I listened to the Bach Partita and again, the lower octaves or two were perfect and the highs were good, only lacking a bit of airiness. I guess at this point I was just confused, thinking the electrostatic tube combo would be bass-lean (from the tubes) and have penultimate highs (from the 'stats).. however, it was the opposite. Finally, I listened to the Reiner track. I think this is where the system excelled in my opinion. Throw it tons of texture, tons of dynamics, tons of instruments... yeah, it nails it. Period, end of story.
Next I listend to my rig for about 45 minutes. I'm not sure if people usually do this at meets, but I figured now is the best time to do it. I listened my Sennheiser HD650 with Zu and the Western Electric 396A + Sylvania 6BL7GT in my MPX3 SE SLAM. Well, I can give the blow-by-blow as above, but to some it up, it did the solo instruments extremely well and I was 100% content with my setup. Really... yeah, really... kinda... okay, so maybe... no really. In all seriousness, I was very happy. For my listening habits I was satisfied. The violins sounded wonderful, both the Bach and the Ysaÿe. No hint at all that this was a tube setup, fast and articulate. Even Mile's trumpet sounded perfect... most people would say "harsh" or have to rest their ears after a track or two, but in my opinion this is spot on for how it should sound. Now understand that I have used the above tracks to voice my entire system, including the types of coupling capacitors in the MPX3, tubes, interconnects, DAC, etc. So, they better sound good, or I've failed somewhere along the line. So, comparisons? Okay, I'm probably going to get written off as another HD650, Singlepower fan-boy... that's okay, it sounded really good to me. Also, what limitations there were, namely the midrange in comparison to the HE60 and very nice low foundational bass of the BH, are in some respects an artifact of my source. Vinyl does a huge number on these two things, and while I have no doubt that the BH + HE60 could scale and sound even better with a vinyl source, the fact is I was happy with what I have (or had? keep reading)...
Well, I was going to keep this review chronological, but let me digress. Pabbi1 definitely didn't like the AKG 340 with this tube compliment (and his insane volume level. I've never seen a MPX3 at 80% volume with a 2c51 input tube
). Well, I did some more listening last night and I may see where he's coming from. It has no drive, no aggression, no life ... on certain material. I started listening to some Mahler, Bruckner, etc. and see his point. Ok, but it does should very nice on vocals, and chamber. Alex and Al both commented on needing a kilowatt amp to drive the K340s. Hm, debatable perhaps? I don't know. There is no lack of dynamics, no struggling with "simpler" music for sure... okay, well fast-forward again.. I rolled in the SLAM tubes, specifically the Tung-Sol 5687 D-getters and tried out a metal base "RCA" 7N7 short bottle. Well, I think pabbi1 liked this a bit more. He maxed out the volume and listed to some Tool and Velvet Revolver... we didn't talk much about it, but he said that it sounded much (much) better... okay, well, I never listen to the SLAM tubes these days, and the meet was the first time in a while. I guess they have their place. The next person I see ask what the best "$100 headphones" are and doesn't talk about music preferences and sonic goals I'm going to jump down their throat. I mean, this more than anything was "obvious" at the meet. Period. If you didn't learn anything from my post, remember that. Please.
Okay, a few more digressions. I liked the Denon AH-D5000, especially compared to the Beyers and the non-woody Audio Technicas... I even liked them compared to the ED9s. The bass was perfect. Wow, perhaps a bit bloated and slow in the kick drum (yes, I tried some random non-classical track and I really have no idea what it was). It sounded really good to me. <flame suit on>They reminded me a bit of the L3000 in the bass</flame suit off> I'd definitely recommend them to someone who says likes the Senn HD-600 over the HD-650 and perhaps likes the Audio Technica sound signature. Also, they have a nice headstage for a closed can. I guess my only complaint is they sounded a bit colored to me and the highs sound kinda confined and compressed... I listened to these cans (the Denon, ATH LTDs, and the Beyers) on both the Shanling two-box setup and my MPX3.
As for the ED9... well, I really, really liked how they fit on my head. Very comfortable. I really only listed to them for about 15 minutes and don't really want to make any absolute judgments on them. My gut feeling is "overpriced" and they won't scale as well as other cans. I think they will make a mid-level system sound very, very nice, but how high can they go? I mean, I think they would make the hallmark of a $2,000 system and it would sound very, very nice. However, my gut feeling is you won't see them in the uber-systems and the systems where people hold the source as the most important component and spend appropriately here. I didn't dislike them, but I didn't fall into love with them. I definitely preferred them with the tube setups, as it sorta helped fill in the mid range a bit. Sorry I didn't more time with them, as I had to leave a bit early and they got there a bit late. I really hope someone else will comment.
Um, I also liked the Headroom setup... it sounded really good as a whole. My one complaint is that I wanted to parcel the system apart and listen to the RWA Olive and Headroom amp separately in other systems. So, I only can really comment on the system as a whole. I think it sounded very coherent and all the parts were working well to add to the big picture. I thought the RWA Olive was a very slick device. I listened to it on a couple occasions and it seemed to have an almost romantic presentation, a bit warm in the mids and recessed highs. Not a complaint, probably just the owner's preference. I especially liked this setup with the ATH W10VTG's. Very cool headphones, and really kicks the crap out of the current production AT woody models. Yeah, game over for the W1000 and W5000 in my book (BTW, I've owned both).
So a few more details before we get back to the meet of this story... I wish I could have heard the Koss ESP/950 with a CD player and with my music. Same with the Meyer Corda Move, I didn't get a chance to listen to it. I wish I could have tried the Rega Apollo with the Headroom (and even more with the BH) and in general it would have been fun to mix the sources up a bit, but that's just me. I'm definitely a "source first" type of guy... I'd rather swap sources than cans at these types of meets, but people would definitely look at me strange...
Okay, sorry so... The Stax... well, in comes in the KGSS and after a long conversation with pabbi1 about how I'm going to build one and am lacking a few parts... and in walks in one! cool! I had another full listening session with all my music and had the HE60 and the various Stax cans on hand. First the Sigma... um, it was like listening through a heavy London fog. Really. I'm not going to say the word that first came to my mind, but yeah... was something broken? Should I blame it on a bad seal? Okay, well quickly I grabbed the HE60s. Muuuuch bettter. Me like. So, in my female vocalist track the highs were perfectly clear and airy. Definitely bested my Singlepower in this regard and bested the HE60 + BH. Game over here. Seriously, try the track listed above and listen and compare the two if you have a chance. It's night and day. Next I tried the Bartok, since this was my favorite track on the HE60 + BH. I think the BH edged out the KGSS as the winner on this one. Again, the complexity and dynamic contrast works very well on the BH. I also noticed the bass was superior on the BH. In what respect? Hard to say. It seemed to resonate more on the BH and maybe had a tad more extension on the BH. For things like kick drums, and the higher bass range they were dead even. For the low notes of a bass guitar or organ, I would say the BH had a clear edge on extension. As for the resonance, I don't know how to describe it. It's like the notes hung on for longer with the BH than the KGSS. In general though, the KGSS had better decay and transients, so it wasn't this aspect at work. I dunno it's hard to compare without more time with both. I finished up with the solo violin tracks and I'd say the KGSS has a definite edge here, as above with the soprano. The midrange, things like reed instruments and piano, I'd have to give a nod to the BH *with the HE60* (so this was probably the HE60s more than the BH). Same with pace. I think we're talking about a 5-10% difference here. Very, very close. For me personally, I'd choose the KGSS just for the highs. I won't miss one bit the difference in extension and timber of the low bass. Plus I'd get the nicer decay, transients and speed of the KGSS, which is essential for me.
So, I listened to the two Lambdas as well. I really liked them. I think the Pro is my favorite. On the BH they sounded really good. It was the fact that I had a chance to try the Lambdas that allowed me to really make the comparisons in the above paragraph, as I could separate out what was the HE60 and what was the BH. I think a lot of the sound of pabbi1's rig is from the BH sonic signature, not as much from the HE60s as listening to the Lambdas confirmed. Again, the Lamdas on the KGSS sounded very similar to the HE60s on the KGSS. The highs were wonderful. So, what can we conclude? Both the HE60 and the Lambdas get out of the way of the amplifier + source and let it do the talking.
At this point I switched between the BH setup and the KGSS and the HE60 and the Stax Lambda Pros. I guess my stated confusion in the first paragraph on why the BH + HE60 has such wonderful bass and recessed highs never got solved. In fact, with the solid-state I was surprised that the bass was missing here and didn't pop up when using the HE60s. If/when I owned the KGSS + Lambda I'd try a few more sources out to see if I can get that bass to show up again. I'm not sure it's the cans, as the Lambda Pros had very nice bass (in an orchestral context) on the BH.
If I was hard pressed to tell a difference between the HE60 and Lambda I would say the HE60 has a tad better bass and a more liquid midrange. I'd say the the Lambda is about 80% of the HE60 in these regards. In other areas it's a dead heat. Yup, the Lamdba + KGSS stole my heart at the meet. Superb rig! I guess I should also mention the Rega Apollo versus the Eastsound player in pabbi's rig. I'd really love to swap the two so we could compare them more. I'd wager that the Eastsound would make the KGSS really sing and perhaps it would help out the bass a bit, who knows? Everything in the chain is a contributing factor. Again, I'd be interested what sources Mark has used with the KGSS and what other people have used with the KGSS.
Finally, what about the Koss + KGSS, anyone tried this combo? Alex mentioned it as being superb (the Koss) and just curious if anyone else has tried it out in this combo?
In closing, thanks to Alex and everyone else for a great meet!! I think we need to think about a 2-day meet next time!!
Anna Moffo singing Lakmé's "Où va la jeune indoue?" re-released by RCA on SACD on the album entitled "Opera Arias". Total track time is around 8:15, and is my de facto standard soprano test track. I usually listen to this first, as if the system cannot handle her voice then it will fail down the line.
Julia Fisher playing the Fifth movement of Bach's Solo Violin Partita No. 2, subtitled "Ciaconna" or "Chaconne". Another excellent recording of what is perhaps the pinnacle of the solo violin repertoire. Furthermore, in my humble opinion as a violinist, one of the most difficult pieces to play well, perhaps less so technically but more so emotionally. Also, this recording is excellent and if you haven't checked out the Pentatone label, you need to!
Miles Davis, Kind of Blue 1997 reissue Track 1 "So What". I listen to a bit of jazz, and I use Miles' trumpet to gague the highs and Paul Chamber's bass to gague the timbre of the lows. Also, this is an excellent track to judge the pacing of a system.
Thomas Zehetmair playing Eugène Ysaÿe's "Sonates pour Violon Solo". I skip around on this CD a lot, but this my quintessential definition of "fast", "detailed", and "resolution". This is a very tough CD to get right.
Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, conducted by Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Orchestra. I use the first movement to look for textures and how a system renders complex interactions between different instruments playing at different levels. This is an excellent one to use when comparing tonearms, cartridges, and alignments on a good vinyl setup. Alas, this was the RCA SACD reissue...
So, I started the day listening to pabbi1's Blue Hawaii (BH) and Sennheiser HE60 combo. I spent probably a good 30 minutes with it, despite the glares from others. I started with the Moffo track. Well, I was rather surprised here. The BH/HE60 really missed this one. There was a hazy graininess in the "coloratura" sections. Unmistakable really. Okay, so I moved on to the Miles Davis. Here I didn't hear the above as much, but felt the highs were definitely muted. The trumpet didn't bore a hole through my skull like it should. However, from a pace standpoint the system was probably the best I've ever heard. Kudos in this department. Drums and bass were spot on as well. I walked away from this track feeling a lot better about the system and optimistic on what would show up next. Next, I listened to the Bach Partita and again, the lower octaves or two were perfect and the highs were good, only lacking a bit of airiness. I guess at this point I was just confused, thinking the electrostatic tube combo would be bass-lean (from the tubes) and have penultimate highs (from the 'stats).. however, it was the opposite. Finally, I listened to the Reiner track. I think this is where the system excelled in my opinion. Throw it tons of texture, tons of dynamics, tons of instruments... yeah, it nails it. Period, end of story.
Next I listend to my rig for about 45 minutes. I'm not sure if people usually do this at meets, but I figured now is the best time to do it. I listened my Sennheiser HD650 with Zu and the Western Electric 396A + Sylvania 6BL7GT in my MPX3 SE SLAM. Well, I can give the blow-by-blow as above, but to some it up, it did the solo instruments extremely well and I was 100% content with my setup. Really... yeah, really... kinda... okay, so maybe... no really. In all seriousness, I was very happy. For my listening habits I was satisfied. The violins sounded wonderful, both the Bach and the Ysaÿe. No hint at all that this was a tube setup, fast and articulate. Even Mile's trumpet sounded perfect... most people would say "harsh" or have to rest their ears after a track or two, but in my opinion this is spot on for how it should sound. Now understand that I have used the above tracks to voice my entire system, including the types of coupling capacitors in the MPX3, tubes, interconnects, DAC, etc. So, they better sound good, or I've failed somewhere along the line. So, comparisons? Okay, I'm probably going to get written off as another HD650, Singlepower fan-boy... that's okay, it sounded really good to me. Also, what limitations there were, namely the midrange in comparison to the HE60 and very nice low foundational bass of the BH, are in some respects an artifact of my source. Vinyl does a huge number on these two things, and while I have no doubt that the BH + HE60 could scale and sound even better with a vinyl source, the fact is I was happy with what I have (or had? keep reading)...
Well, I was going to keep this review chronological, but let me digress. Pabbi1 definitely didn't like the AKG 340 with this tube compliment (and his insane volume level. I've never seen a MPX3 at 80% volume with a 2c51 input tube
Okay, a few more digressions. I liked the Denon AH-D5000, especially compared to the Beyers and the non-woody Audio Technicas... I even liked them compared to the ED9s. The bass was perfect. Wow, perhaps a bit bloated and slow in the kick drum (yes, I tried some random non-classical track and I really have no idea what it was). It sounded really good to me. <flame suit on>They reminded me a bit of the L3000 in the bass</flame suit off> I'd definitely recommend them to someone who says likes the Senn HD-600 over the HD-650 and perhaps likes the Audio Technica sound signature. Also, they have a nice headstage for a closed can. I guess my only complaint is they sounded a bit colored to me and the highs sound kinda confined and compressed... I listened to these cans (the Denon, ATH LTDs, and the Beyers) on both the Shanling two-box setup and my MPX3.
As for the ED9... well, I really, really liked how they fit on my head. Very comfortable. I really only listed to them for about 15 minutes and don't really want to make any absolute judgments on them. My gut feeling is "overpriced" and they won't scale as well as other cans. I think they will make a mid-level system sound very, very nice, but how high can they go? I mean, I think they would make the hallmark of a $2,000 system and it would sound very, very nice. However, my gut feeling is you won't see them in the uber-systems and the systems where people hold the source as the most important component and spend appropriately here. I didn't dislike them, but I didn't fall into love with them. I definitely preferred them with the tube setups, as it sorta helped fill in the mid range a bit. Sorry I didn't more time with them, as I had to leave a bit early and they got there a bit late. I really hope someone else will comment.
Um, I also liked the Headroom setup... it sounded really good as a whole. My one complaint is that I wanted to parcel the system apart and listen to the RWA Olive and Headroom amp separately in other systems. So, I only can really comment on the system as a whole. I think it sounded very coherent and all the parts were working well to add to the big picture. I thought the RWA Olive was a very slick device. I listened to it on a couple occasions and it seemed to have an almost romantic presentation, a bit warm in the mids and recessed highs. Not a complaint, probably just the owner's preference. I especially liked this setup with the ATH W10VTG's. Very cool headphones, and really kicks the crap out of the current production AT woody models. Yeah, game over for the W1000 and W5000 in my book (BTW, I've owned both).
So a few more details before we get back to the meet of this story... I wish I could have heard the Koss ESP/950 with a CD player and with my music. Same with the Meyer Corda Move, I didn't get a chance to listen to it. I wish I could have tried the Rega Apollo with the Headroom (and even more with the BH) and in general it would have been fun to mix the sources up a bit, but that's just me. I'm definitely a "source first" type of guy... I'd rather swap sources than cans at these types of meets, but people would definitely look at me strange...
Okay, sorry so... The Stax... well, in comes in the KGSS and after a long conversation with pabbi1 about how I'm going to build one and am lacking a few parts... and in walks in one! cool! I had another full listening session with all my music and had the HE60 and the various Stax cans on hand. First the Sigma... um, it was like listening through a heavy London fog. Really. I'm not going to say the word that first came to my mind, but yeah... was something broken? Should I blame it on a bad seal? Okay, well quickly I grabbed the HE60s. Muuuuch bettter. Me like. So, in my female vocalist track the highs were perfectly clear and airy. Definitely bested my Singlepower in this regard and bested the HE60 + BH. Game over here. Seriously, try the track listed above and listen and compare the two if you have a chance. It's night and day. Next I tried the Bartok, since this was my favorite track on the HE60 + BH. I think the BH edged out the KGSS as the winner on this one. Again, the complexity and dynamic contrast works very well on the BH. I also noticed the bass was superior on the BH. In what respect? Hard to say. It seemed to resonate more on the BH and maybe had a tad more extension on the BH. For things like kick drums, and the higher bass range they were dead even. For the low notes of a bass guitar or organ, I would say the BH had a clear edge on extension. As for the resonance, I don't know how to describe it. It's like the notes hung on for longer with the BH than the KGSS. In general though, the KGSS had better decay and transients, so it wasn't this aspect at work. I dunno it's hard to compare without more time with both. I finished up with the solo violin tracks and I'd say the KGSS has a definite edge here, as above with the soprano. The midrange, things like reed instruments and piano, I'd have to give a nod to the BH *with the HE60* (so this was probably the HE60s more than the BH). Same with pace. I think we're talking about a 5-10% difference here. Very, very close. For me personally, I'd choose the KGSS just for the highs. I won't miss one bit the difference in extension and timber of the low bass. Plus I'd get the nicer decay, transients and speed of the KGSS, which is essential for me.
So, I listened to the two Lambdas as well. I really liked them. I think the Pro is my favorite. On the BH they sounded really good. It was the fact that I had a chance to try the Lambdas that allowed me to really make the comparisons in the above paragraph, as I could separate out what was the HE60 and what was the BH. I think a lot of the sound of pabbi1's rig is from the BH sonic signature, not as much from the HE60s as listening to the Lambdas confirmed. Again, the Lamdas on the KGSS sounded very similar to the HE60s on the KGSS. The highs were wonderful. So, what can we conclude? Both the HE60 and the Lambdas get out of the way of the amplifier + source and let it do the talking.
At this point I switched between the BH setup and the KGSS and the HE60 and the Stax Lambda Pros. I guess my stated confusion in the first paragraph on why the BH + HE60 has such wonderful bass and recessed highs never got solved. In fact, with the solid-state I was surprised that the bass was missing here and didn't pop up when using the HE60s. If/when I owned the KGSS + Lambda I'd try a few more sources out to see if I can get that bass to show up again. I'm not sure it's the cans, as the Lambda Pros had very nice bass (in an orchestral context) on the BH.
If I was hard pressed to tell a difference between the HE60 and Lambda I would say the HE60 has a tad better bass and a more liquid midrange. I'd say the the Lambda is about 80% of the HE60 in these regards. In other areas it's a dead heat. Yup, the Lamdba + KGSS stole my heart at the meet. Superb rig! I guess I should also mention the Rega Apollo versus the Eastsound player in pabbi's rig. I'd really love to swap the two so we could compare them more. I'd wager that the Eastsound would make the KGSS really sing and perhaps it would help out the bass a bit, who knows? Everything in the chain is a contributing factor. Again, I'd be interested what sources Mark has used with the KGSS and what other people have used with the KGSS.
Finally, what about the Koss + KGSS, anyone tried this combo? Alex mentioned it as being superb (the Koss) and just curious if anyone else has tried it out in this combo?
In closing, thanks to Alex and everyone else for a great meet!! I think we need to think about a 2-day meet next time!!
