[fierce_freak]

Four of us headfellows gathered together today to have the first Western NY Meet Head-Fi has seen (as far as i know). We had a great time (or at least I did

). I'm a bit tired now to post impressions, but that'll be up by sometime Tuesday. For now, I'll post the lone two pics taken at the meet, lol.

^ sjt78 with some of jamesp's gear and a can or two belonging to Pete7

^ some of sjt78's gear

 

[Jahn]

you definitely had some no-foolin gear here - man, this weekend was the Meet Weekend or something! looking forward to reading the impressions!

 

[Voltron]

Congrats on the FEWNYM!

Looks like you had plenty of gear to play with and had a good time doing it. Is that jamesp's PPX3 SLAM? It may be the picture angle or something but I am curious what the driver tube is because it looks big and bulbous. I really haven't seen too many SLAMs so maybe it is standard.

 

[Borat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Voltron Congrats on the FEWNYM! Looks like you had plenty of gear to play with and had a good time doing it. Is that jamesp's PPX3 SLAM? It may be the picture angle or something but I am curious what the driver tube is because it looks big and bulbous. I really haven't seen too many SLAMs so maybe it is standard.

I think it's a 6SN7 and it only looks ginormous in relation to the dinky 5687's. I'm listening on a similar setup as I type, except with a Cardas cable for my HD600, not a Clou Red. I need to get me some of those cool looking tube dampers for my SLAM though.

Nice impressions. Looks like fun.

 

[sjt78]

Thanks for posting the pics Jim (fierce_freak). You caught me in a meditative state in that first pic

I also had a ton of fun. The four of us (jamesp, fierce_freak, pete7 and myself) had quite the selection of gear to pass around. I had been looking forward to listening to some of Jim's (jamesp) gear for a while, namely his PPX3 Slam and Stax system. The Stax system definitely did not disappoint and was by far my favorite of the afternoon. I think all three of us were trying to figure out a way to pry it away from Jim. Pete's (Pete7) HR-2 connected to my Rotel cd player was very nice sounding as well for a SS opamp based amp. It is no secret that I prefer tubes, but it was a very nice amp that I could easily live with. My second favorite sound of the afternoon was Jim's (jamesp) HD600 with Zu cable connected to my Morgan Jones amp and cd player. That is just a great sound I can live with for a long time. It was very smooth and non-fatiguing, while possessing enough detail to satisfy me.

Other impressions I have include comparing my HF-1 with Pete's RS-2 using my tube amps. I found them to sound more similar than different and while the RS-2 had a bit more sparkle up top, the HF-1 had more slam. I wound up missing the slam when listening to the RS-2, but probably over time I could get used to having less bass slam. I was very excited to try Jim's (jamesp) PPX3 Slam as I have been tempted to buy one on more than one occassion, but had never heard one. I listened to a few tracks and definitely noticed more of a soundstage compared to my Morgan Jones amp, but was disappointed as I had hoped for more. Maybe I didn't like the synergy betwen the amp and Jim's (jamesp) Sony 9000es, but whatever it was I won't be lusting over the PPX3 Slam any more as I am satisfied with my Morgan Jones for now. I didn't try out any of Jim's (fierce_freak) portable gear as I didn't want to get hooked again on any of it. I can't justify spending any more money on my ipod based system as I just don't get to use it enough on the go and I'm satisfied with my Ipod and UM1s.

Overall I had a great time. Thanks Jim (jamesp) for hosting a great meet and we all agreed that this should not be the first and last western ny headfi meet. We'll plan another one soon and hopefully there will be some new faces and some new gear

 

[fierce_freak]

Yeah Steve, haha...I like the pic, though. It was a great time with great folks and great gear. Big thanks to jamesp for hosting...can't wait to have another one.

Update on my ipod: seems my old firewire cable developed a short and killed the battery, so it's off to redwine to be replaced. I was really disappointed that I couldn't show off just how great that thing sounds.

Alright, time to finally post some impressions (however briefly):

First thing I went for was the E500. To be honest, on my first listen the thought that crossed my mind was "I waited so long for this?" That changed, though, and rather quickly. The E500 was one of the best pieces of gear I heard at the meet (and ever, really). One has to keep in mind I'm a self-proclaimed IEM guy, though

I did a quick test between Pete7's SR-71 and my Hornet. They sound very similar with the SR-71 having a bigger soundstage and the Hornet having more impact or what I like to call "snap." I also had a brief listen of Pete7's Pocket Reference II...that's a nice amp that I'd like to spend some time AB'ing with my hornet.

After that I took over the table with the PPX Slam for a while to test out many things. I listened to Pete7's modified CD3000 and wasn't really impressed. I could tell it was a good can, but something sounded kind of off to me. After that I picked up jamesp's AT 900LTD. I liked this one better than the CD3000, but there was some strange sort of suck-out in the midrange that really bothered me. I think if not for that I would have really enjoyed 'em.

I plopped the 325i on my head (i've owned these before) and was shocked to hear just how good they were with the Slam. I always liked the 325i (and it's hard for me not to pick one up again), and the Slam really just made it one of the top 'phones of the meet for me. I also AB'ed the 325i and the RS2 for a while but couldn't come to a conclusion on which I liked better, though I was leaning towards the 325i.

Then I moved on to what probably stole the show for everyone at the meet: the Stax SR-404 with the SM-313 driver. Everyone agreed (i think) that this was a fine system and for about a grand all that anyone would ever really need. I couldn't decide whether I liked the SR-003 (i've owned this before) or the SR-404 better, though.

I also tried out the HD650 with the Zu...this was a very nice combination. I liked the HD650 when I owned it previously, but the Zu really brought it up a notch (something everyone agreed on).

There were some things I didn't get to try out, unfortunately, but there's always next time

For me, best of show can-wise were the SR-404, SR-003, 325i, RS2, and E500 (funny, i consider these 5 the best I've ever heard

).

Again, I had a great time. Look forward to doing this again soon

 

[Pete7]

I had a great time with these 3 guys, and it was a real treat hearing gear that I hadn't had to buy just to audition. Although I consider myself to be a pretty serious listener, I've only been involved in the high end of this hobby for about a year. I'm a little ashamed to admit that the other day was the first I'd ever heard gear out of a dedicated source. Mostly for home use I've listened out of a computer soundcard with lossless files, so I was floored to finally get to hear what a real source sounded like. A total night and day difference compared to what I'm used to. Later that night, I ordered a Sony CD Player to help get my feet wet.
My favorite headphones were definitely the Stax SR-404. Incredibly pure and organic sound, with plenty of impact. Runner-up went to the HD650 with the Zu Cable. I previously had the HD650 and Equinox and after about 2 months became bored of the sound and sold them. Sounded like something was missing, mainly the top end. Now if I had had the Zu instead of the Equinox, I have a strong feeling I'd still have the HD-650's. I think the Zu strikes a nicer balance than the Equinox. More treble extension and the low end doesn't seem to overpower the rest of the frquency range. I really felt that the Equinox cable lifted the veil, but I think the Zu does an even better job.
Hope we do this again soon with some more Western NY Head-Fi recruits.

 

[Pete7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Voltron Congrats on the FEWNYM! Looks like you had plenty of gear to play with and had a good time doing it. Is that jamesp's PPX3 SLAM? It may be the picture angle or something but I am curious what the driver tube is because it looks big and bulbous. I really haven't seen too many SLAMs so maybe it is standard.

It's definitely not standard. He's got a crate full of tubes for that baby.

 

[fierce_freak]

I wanted to mention that I think all of us were in agreement that the K701 (which was not there, this based on past experiences) was nothing special. I could be wrong, but that's the impression that I got. We all generally said that it sounded great on first listen but after a bit just sounded too artificial.

Correct me if I'm wrong, guys

 

[jamesp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fierce_freak I wanted to mention that I think all of us were in agreement that the K701 (which was not there, this based on past experiences) was nothing special. I could be wrong, but that's the impression that I got. We all generally said that it sounded great on first listen but after a bit just sounded too artificial. Correct me if I'm wrong, guys

Jim, you are absolutely correct about the K701, it was great the first 50 hours then it became boring. I also wanted to say something about Steve HF-1/headfive combo. To me that combo sounded almost as good as Pete's RS2/PPX slam, it make me wonder why I got rid of mine in the first place. Whoever have the HF-1 #299 please give it back

. I was also very impress with the CD3K, it was great to hear the sparkling high and low down low from the CD3K that I don't think other headphone can match.

 

[Nik]

Hi guys,
thanks! Very nice impressions. Totaly agree about the K 701... and I'm waiting for a Zu cable for my HD650 (Equinox), what you have said about these two cables is also what I'd think... I'll confirm you next days.