[philodox]

Well, we had what turned out to be a quite successfull Hamilton Meet yesterday.

There were less people than expected, but it was probably better in the end as my condo got filled up pretty quick. This was one of the longest running meets that I've been a part of... We started before noon and I think the last couple people left around midnight.

Personal highlights for me were the Alessandro MS-1 and Joe Grado HP-2's... I'm really starting to loose my original reservations about the Grado sound. I will follow up with more detailed impressions later.

Unfortunately nobody guessed what the Mystery Amp was, so I am the proud owner of a new bottle of Scotch, thanks Renato [looser101].

Thanks to Rick [Yorgi] for getting some snacks and bringing more beer [like we needed it].

 

[philodox]

I’m going to fill in the names as best I can, but if I get anyone mixed up or don’t have the first name please send me a PM so that I can update it.

I’ll intersperse a few impressions as well, but I’ll be coming back to write in more detail later.

No, I’m not showing off one of my D&D books… I think this is when I was trying to get everyone to write down their username/realname/gear to make it easier for people to find out who everyone is. This list, of course, I forgot at home today so I am forced to work off of memory here. And I drank a *lot* of beer that day.

BTW, in this picture it is looser101 [Renato], Asmo [Jody], me [Jason], RedLeader [Micah], feens [Trevor], Rhydon [Rhydon]

Micah, Trevor, me, Rhydon, and that is the back of my work friend’s head [Mike]

In this picture and the one before it you can see the headphone stand that Trevor’s friend made for him… watch out Larry, this guy makes nice stuff!

The Rega looked great, and both of the DAC’s that that we had hooked up to it were very nice. Not really the sound that I'm looking for, but impressive none the less.

Another shot of the Planet, with the GS-1 for company. The HeadAmp had great build quality and actually wasn’t all that bad once I figured out there was a high gain setting. [Actually Rhydon had to tell me]

Those HP-2’s of his are very nice, but more on that later.

You can also see the cheapo isolation feet that I put out for people to use… nobody went hardcore and cut the tennis balls in half though.

aerius [Eaphan] enjoying the Joe Grado’s… it looks like Happy Bunny wants a turn.

Both of the K340 setups on my rack… I think you can guess which one is mine and which one is Eaphan’s.

Another close up shot.

A slightly blurry picture of the Eastsound CD-E5. You can still see the amazing build quality of the unit though. I've not seen another CD player this solidly built... except maybe the Sony SACD-1, and even it doesnt have a 1/2" thick aluminum front plate.

Here is a picture of my Dynahi... you can see the 1/4" to 1/8" adapter with little teeth marks on it. I was not aware of this before the meet. I confronted my Wife about it when she got back and she said "I didnt do it" all cute-like, so I couldnt really be mad. She's not supposed to be letting those little buggers in the office. Oh well, maybe I can replace the heatshrink on it at some point... at least the cable itself isnt damaged.

Is Micah staring at my speakers, the ‘Disco 80’ portable turntable, or his computer screen?

A shot of the back of Rhydon’s rig that shows off his beefy RCA cables.

And another…

Trevor is listening to Ricks setup and, surprisingly enough, I’m talking. Jody is feigning interest in whatever I am blathering on about.

Renato’s setup. His ‘Mystery Amp’ was my second favourite amp at the meet with the K340’s… the first being my Dynahi. It is surprising that it is such a simple circuit. His CMoy was also quite nice and the Xenos is an amazing value and really clean sounding.

You can also see the back of my ‘Listening Disc’ in this shot.

And here is the front of the CD... and holding up the ‘Listening Disc’ is Rick’s setup.

I absolutely love the interface on his SACD player, very slick. Sound wise it is very accurate and laid back… maybe a little bit too polite for my taste though.

His PPA was hooked up more often than not, and the HA-1 was mainly used to test soundcards in the office... and then Rick left it behind. Happy Birthday to me.

The headphones are relaxing after a hard days work.

Two of the Kitchener boys are comparing Senn’s [HD600 vs. HD595] on the Rega/HeadAmp setup. Looks like the other one is listening to Renato's rig with him watching.

Anyone notice how half of the pictures have Rhydon and Trevor in them listening on this rig?

Ahhh, the headphones stand. I think I might have to have one made for me.

Another shot of the headphones stand.

roy_jones [Rob] and Renato discussing something, DIY most likely.

Micah is enjoying the MS-1’s… wait, are they plugged directly into a PCDP?

Ah yes, the K340. I think I giving Rhydon a lesson on how these hybrid headphones work. Every once and a while Eaphan would pipe in to correct me.

Looking at Eaphan’s reaction, it looks like the lesson got pretty funny at this point… or maybe he is just laughing at the weird expression on my face?

A big thanks to Rick for taking all the pictures. Sorry that you couldn't be in any of them.

 

[aerius]

My goal as always was to cut through the hype and hear things for myself. In this case, I wanted to hear the Joe Grado HP-2 and see what all the hype about them was about as well as the Senn 595 to get through all the conflicting opinions. Those were my two main goals.

First impression of HP-2, holy crap these things are overbuilt! It's all machined metal and the finish work and attention to detail is unreal. Pictures don't do it justice, pick one up and you know why it costs what it does and it almost seems like a bargain.

I first tried them out of Rhydion's Rega Planet 2000 & Headamp GS-1 setup. Incredibly friggin' ruler flat response, I don't think I've heard anything like that. Details were among the best I've heard but it was bass shy and the bass was really really tight and not to my taste. I decided this thing desperately needed tubes so off it went into my DIY amp.

And it was much happier there, and IMO that's where we got the best sound of the entire meet. The bass is filled in nicely and no longer has that ultra-tight sound while still remaining very fast and resolving. Soundstage depth & height is also expanded nicely and it picks up much needed groove.

It is also now only the 3rd headphone I've ever heard to get the lower notes of a Bösendorfer grand piano right, the others being the AKG K340 and Grado PS-1 Pro, and in terms of goodness it's somewhere in between the two. The PS-1 and my K340 have more fullness in the bass, but the HP-2 has more speed, control, and resolution than my K340 and is probably about the same as the PS-1 in those respects. I'd have to hear them back to back to be sure.

Treble was probably the most extended of the 'phones we had on hand with the possible exception of philodox's K340. Goes way up past my hearing range giving cymbals a wonderful shine & decay. And no harshness along with great separations and detail retrieval. On the ending of Sarah Slean's "Sweet Ones", lesser 'phones such as the Senn 580 will blend half the cymbal hits together and make it sound like one constant swish. My K340 will resolve each individual hit but doesn't have the extension to get the decays right nor to differentiate much between each hit. The HP-2 get each cymbal hit, the small differences in sound & texture of each, and the decay, and layers them out in all 3 dimensions despite a very busy sound atmosphere where the band's going full swing with multi-tracked vocals.

Midrange was quite nice too, though personally I'd prefer more warmth. Guitars, vocals, violin, horns, everything I threw at it was reproduced without colourations or issues. It doesn't have the effortless smoothness of the PS-1 which allows one to become completely lost in the music but it's still among the best I've heard. Better than my K340 and makes Senns sound broken.

Speaking of Senns, the 595 was the other one on my list. I've heard reports of thin, shrill, boomy, Grado-like and a million other conflicting things. Everyone who's heard one seems to say something different. So of course I had to go hear one for myself.

Overall I'd say it's an improvement over the 580. Nicer fuller sound and a less forced presentation. Main improvements are in the bass where tonality & fullness is much improved though speed & detail are still about the same. Treble doesn't have the harshness of the 580's but again, speed & resolution remain about the same.

Sounstage, it's halfway between the upfront Grado sound and back of hall Senn sound. Doesn't have the pinpoint imaging precision of the K340 or HP-2, but it seems a bit better than the 580. Doesn't have as much depth as the 580, but also suffers less from the "3-blob effect". Still doesn't have the seamless soundstage of the K340, HP-2, or PS-1 Pro. Overall I'd say it's the best Senn I've heard to date. Has its flaws to be sure, but they're more livable than those of other Senn products I've heard.

More impressions to follow, expanding on the above and also the Shure E4.

 

[Jahn]

wow those are some really in-depth perceptions of the HP2! it's always better to cut through the hype and get to listen to the can itself, eh? I'm glad you gave it the old college try

 

[RedLeader]

Hmmm, hard to really post my opinion after something like that. Seems anything I have to say will pale in comparison.

Anyways, it was my first chance to hear a pair of MS-1s, and I'm smitten. I carried those things around listening to several different amps and sources, and my favourite setup of all was the mystery amp out of my old d141. Renato, when you've got a second, PLEASE send me the specs for it, I can't wait to build one of my own. The speed and bass response was incredible, and I just can't get enough of the forward sound.

Had some fun with a DAC shootoff, and I'll let someone who actually wrote down what they were to describe them. For the first time I heard audible differences in cables, and that came as quite a shock to me, being very new to this whole thing. Got to hear some HP-2, and was quite impressed by them, as well as several different portable amps. I can't wait for the pics to be posted and you can all see the diy tube amp that was there (not sure who's it was), the sound was phenominal, the high-end detail was just amazing.

Also got to hear the e4s, and was ultimately not that impressed. I tried them as well out of the mystery amp (my favourite) and the high-end detail was extremely impressive, but when you got to a rock song with a fuller presence, it got very harsh very quickely. It seemed to overpower any bass response, and made them extremely hard to listen to. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed them on several classical tracks I listened to, but without proper (to my ears) bass response, I'll give these a pass.

When I think of something else I'll give more impressions. Thanks looser101 for looking over my cmoy, philodox (and his significant other for being out of the house) and to whoever brought the corona!

 

[looser101]

The Mystery Amp was built based on a schematic posted on Head-Fi back in 2003. It's a rather simple MOSFET based amp and all the info can be found here .

My "quicky" build included 2.2uF polyester box caps in the inputs and 2x470uF/25v Cerafine outputs caps (2/channel) and an RK97 volume pot. I will probably be building a better version of this amp, using boutique parts and definitely a much larger case.

As a noob, I will refrain from giving my impressions of everyhing I heard. There were other Head-Fi'ers at the meet who can do a better job than myself. As a generalization I enjoyed everything I heard.

Unlike Redleader's impression, Philodox's Sure E4's were a revelation to me. Out of my iRiver iHP120 and driven by the Xenos 0HA (portable amp) they really sounded beautiful. After all the mixed reviews of canal phones I had read, I thought they wouldn't suit me. Luckily, right of way I realized I had a good seal with the foamies and when the music started playing I was truly impressed. They were definitley not bass shy and were very well balanced across the audio spectrum. These will definitely be my next headphone purchase (my wallet hates you Philodox - damn you - LOL).

I had a great time at my first meet and would like to thank Philodox for setting this up and his better half for letting us use his condo.

-R-

 

[RedLeader]

Quote:

Unlike Redleader's impression, Philodox's Sure E4's were a revelation to me. Out of my iRiver iHP120 and driven by the Xenos 0HA (portable amp) they really sounded beautiful. After all the mixed reviews of canal phones I had read, I thought they wouldn't suit me. Luckily, right of way I realized I had a good seal with the foamies and when the music started playing I was truly impressed. They were definitley not bass shy and were very well balanced across the audio spectrum.

Hmmmmmm... this has me thinking, did I just not get a good enough seal? Well I hope we can do this again, because I want to try them again.

 

[Gord SW Ont]

Way to go ... nice to see another successful head-fi meeting held in Canada.

Would have tried to make it if I knew it would last so long ... only got access to the car at noon but thought by the time I packed, drove to Hamilton and setup my gear the meeting would be over.

Maybe next time.

 

[roy_jones]

Quote:

Originally Posted by looser101 The Mystery Amp was built based on a schematic posted on Head-Fi back in 2003. It's a rather simple MOSFET based amp and all the info can be found here . My "quicky" build included 2.2uF polyester box caps in the inputs and 2x470uF/25v Cerafine outputs caps (2/channel) and an RK97 volume pot. I will probably be building a better version of this amp, using boutique parts and definitely a much larger case. As a noob, I will refrain from giving my impressions of everyhing I heard. There were other Head-Fi'ers at the meet who can do a better job than myself. As a generalization I enjoyed everything I heard. Unlike Redleader's impression, Philodox's Sure E4's were a revelation to me. Out of my iRiver iHP120 and driven by the Xenos 0HA (portable amp) they really sounded beautiful. After all the mixed reviews of canal phones I had read, I thought they wouldn't suit me. Luckily, right of way I realized I had a good seal with the foamies and when the music started playing I was truly impressed. They were definitley not bass shy and were very well balanced across the audio spectrum. These will definitely be my next headphone purchase (my wallet hates you Philodox - damn you - LOL). I had a great time at my first meet and would like to thank Philodox for setting this up and his better half for letting us use his condo. -R-

I'm so glad you got a chance to try them- I only wish I'd still been around to see your reaction. I wasn't sure whether you would, cause I know that you expressed some reservations about them- but it was funny, because the meet was my first chance to really sample some real hi-fi equiptment, and I was nervous that my perception of the E4's would be forever tainted by the superior gear...but to my own surprise, that wasn't the case. Any more impressions that you got from them?

Pretty amazing quality, that one can get out of a purely transportable rig. Mine really isn't too different than the one that you were using- and I'm not surprised to hear you enjoyed it. I don't think I gave your MS-1's enough time, really. I was right onto the 225's. Pretty sure I'm going to get a pair of HF-1's, but believe it or not, I'm still very split about the Senn/Grado sound. I think I'll get a Grado first, just cause I think it would probably mesh a little bit better with what I've got currently. I remember being impressed with that Xenox amp of yours. Brought things forward much more than my Porta Corda, I felt..but it was a brief audition.

RedLeader- I had a feeling, even as you were putting the E4's in, that you weren't getting a good seal...and then was pretty sure once you gave your response to them. If I remember correctly, you were wearing them down (like normal buds) and I also remember thinking you didn't have them in far enough. I sympathize cause they are a real pain to figure out how to get a good seal with. Took me a couple weeks, easily. Don't write them off completely, if you think you might be interested in canalphones in the future....although something like the UM2 would be a better solution anyways, for a bass head. The E4's really need an amp to shine...

 

[aerius]

The Shure E4, now that I've had a night to sleep on and think about it, confuses the heck out of me. It does a lot of things well and I can't point to any real weaknesses but for some reason there's just something about it that gives me a subconscious nagging feeling in the back of my head. It doesn't have K340 or HP-2 levels of detail, refinement, and goodness, and at the same time I can't point at something and go "this is what sucks and this is why I don't like it" like I can with almost every headphone.

Initial impressions were great, nice full bass and enough of it to make me happy, good tone though a little weak on the attack & decay compared to my K340. Doesn't quite get the Bösendorfer sound right, a little dull I think would be the word, but certainly nothing to complain about. Overall I'd say the bass was about the same or better than my Grado 225 which is a lot better than my Senn 580 since the latter can't do tone for crap.

Actually, now that I'm organizing my thoughts to type this out, I think I have an idea of what's bugging me about the E4. It seems like they're a little restrained and are not fully letting the music go. It's as if it's always holding back a little something.

Anyways, back to impressions. Midrange & treble is I think where the restrained sound kinda nags on me. There's nothing wrong persay with the midrange, vocals, guitars, and so forth go through pretty much uncoloured though not as clear as the HP-2 or K340. But things which should jump out a bit don't really do so, like Tori Amos' vocals on "Leather" or the horn section on Sarah Slean's "Bank Accounts". The fingersnaps at the beginning of "Sweet Ones" also weren't as crisp and individually unique as they are on the K340, but it was definitely better than 580 level. Small things, and not much to honestly complain about.

Treble was nice, bettering the extension of my K340 and I think it's about equal in detail. Not quite as smooth, but not much is.

If I can name one weakness with the E4 I think it would be imaging & soundstaging, but I believe that's inherant to the canalphone design. I can get sounds out of my head but it doesn't have the depth & height I'm used to. If anything I'd describe it as similar to a Grado 225 with flat pads. It's not as upfront as the 225, yet the effect is similar.

Overall, and despite my subconscious nagging feeling, I'd buy them if I had need of a canalphone. Though they don't have the "audiophile goodies" of the top level 'phones, I really did like them and would happily buy them if I could fine a use for a pair. They were definitely fun to listen to.

 

[RedLeader]

wait, how the heck are you supposed to wear canal phones? That was the first time I had tried actual canal phones, now I'm confused.

 

[philodox]

Okay people, the pictures are up now in the second post of this thread.

 

[feens]

I have to say I had a truely enjoyable first meet. Many thanks go out to Philodox for organizing this and doing a great job as a host.

Still being somewhat of a noob to head-fi, there's not a huge amount that I can go into depth on, but I'll take a stab.

I didn't have a huge plan for the meet, but did have a few small goals....I really wanted to try out my cans (HD-595) on a few different DACs/amps, just to see how much of a difference I'd notice. As well, my big goal was to see what kind of difference it would make having them amped. I was somewhat overwhelmed with all of the equipment there, but I did manage to accomplish what I wanted.

I bought my 595's based off a listening session that myself, Asmo and RedLeader had at Bay Bloor Radio, as I liked the sound of them compared to the other cans there. I found the Grados to be too forward and lively for my taste, and the 580/600/650's to be too laid back. As well, with a limited budget, I knew I would be using a M-Audio Revolution 5.1 for a source, and the 595's I had read would work well un-amped. When all was said and done, I have to say that I am amazingly, really pleased with my own setup. I confirmed that I do like the 595 sound better than the 580/600, and the difference I noticed from using the Revo 5.1 unamped vs. amped was minimal, though I'm sure that's partly from my untrained ears. Regardless, I had expected to return home wanting to purchase an amp of sorts, and I didn't, which is good because I can't afford one anyways.

As for using other sources and amps, I could really hear the quality difference compared to using a computer as source, and found it really interesting trying to hear the differences while comparing the sources. I could certainly see the difference between the Rega and the VDA-1/VCA-1, but the difference between the VDA-1/VCA-1 and the Perpetual was minimal. I don't really know enough to say what differences I noticed at this point though.

A few surprises that I had were listening to the HP-2's and MS-1's. I was never a fan of the Grado sound, but I found these to be somewhat of an exception. Both of these seem to be more relaxed, and suit my tastes more. There are times when I like a little more kick than my Senns give me, and I think if I ever had a much larger budget, I could see myself buying some MS-1's.

It was interesting to try out the tube amp as well. Definately a warmer sound than I'm used to, but I didn't spend enough time to really comment on it. As well, I had my first listen to electrostatic headphones, and I'd actually say I didn't think they fit my tastes. Not hat I though they sounded bad, but I found them to be really laid back, with not a lot of bass impact.

I think that really sums up everything I have to say. I hope to have a little more listening experience next time I go to a meet, and have a bit more of a plan. This was a great start. Thanks to all who came and made it a success as well.

 

[philodox]

First two things that I want to point out that I noticed. Both have to do with gain.

1. I think that some of the amp comparison's that were done were a little inconclusive as the gain is so different on the various amps. My Dynahi has such high gain that for most people it is almost un-listenable with Grado's and other low impedance headphones even at the lowest volume. Because of this, it was much easier to compare the GS-1 the Mystery Amp and aerius' tube amp. For anyone who did have a good listen to the GS-1 and the Mystery amp, they are definitely in the same family as the Dynahi being MOSFET based.

2. There were some comments on the K340's being laid back and dry sounding. I'm not sure that aerius would agree with me here as he listens to these at very low volumes, but IMO these problems disappear as they get more current [EDIT: or voltage rather, thanks to Renato for correcting me

]. There is definitely a reason why I listen to these so loud. When played like this there is nothing laid back about them... at least not compared to Sennheisers. I wasn't too surprised though, for some reason the K340's don't seem to get the best reception at meets.

Okay, now for some impressions.

Sennheiser - I had a chance to revisit the HD580 and HD600 again, and while I can see why people like them, they are not for me. I heard the HD595 briefly as well and the situation is much the same. They are more forward and easier to drive but I don't like how acoustic music sounds on them and they have the same soundstaging/imaging issues as the other Sennheisers.

Grado - At each meet I've attended over the past few years, my relationship with Grado headphones has slowly been turning from hate to affection. I listened to the MS-1 first and was quite impressed. If the HF-1's sounds anything like this I will be quite happy. If it is the midpoint between them and the SR-225's in terms of sound with a bit more refinement I will be ecstatic. The HP-2's are at a different level. Moving from the MS-1's to the HP-2's was like the difference between the K271S and the K340. Huge. Still, for their price tag I don't think I could justify it as a second headphone. If I didn't have the K340's I might consider getting the HP-2's with a more modestly priced amp instead of the K340's and Dynahi... but I think the AKG's are better as an all around headphone. I'd like to have some more time with these at the next meet I go to as I was too busy talking to everyone to give them the listen that they deserved. The HP-2's sounded quite nice with aerius' tube amp, but personally I preferred the speed and imaging of my Dynahi [it could have very well been the source as well, it's hard to say]. If I was planning on using Grado's with the Dynahi on a regular basis I think I'd have to have a gain switch installed though as I do like listening to music quietly sometimes.

Rhydon's Rig - The Rega Planet/Perpetual/CI-Audio setup was pretty crowded, so I only got to listen to it for a little bit and I think when I listened it was just through one of the DAC's. I asked feens which one he thought was the best and listened through that one, though I can't for the life of me remember which one it was. With both the K340's and the HP-2's I found the bass to be less present and a little sloppier and the imaging wasn't quite as accurate with the K340's as it is on my rig. I love the look of that Rega though... beautiful. Unfortunately it is next to impossible to tell what it was that was lacking... could have been the source, the amp, the power situation. Who knows? All in all it was a good listening experience though and I would be quite happy with that setup. Here is hoping that that Singlepower SLAM works out for you Rhydon.

Computer as source - I only had a limited listen to the two soundcards at the end and while they do definitely move the computer into the hi-fi range [over the AV710 that I use], when compared to the home sources that we had there they sounded a little sterile. I preferred the EMU by a fair margin over the Revo, but as I said this was a very limited audition so don't quote me on that.

Portables - The iRiver and iAudio DAP's were quite impressive. The fit and finish on these make my old Archos look like it was designed by a child. The GUI's were great as well, quite intuitive. Both of the portable amps that Renato brought were great considering their cost and size. They drove his Alessandro's with good punch and authority. The CMoy was fun sounding and had an interesting design and perhaps a bit more extension while the Xenos was very clean and maybe a little more Hi-Fi sounding. It is hard to say for sure though as I'm not too familiar with the MS-1's. I meant to try out the wireless features of my PSP as Renato brought his, but never got around to it.

Rick's Rig - I heard his setup first at the Toronto meet that Tomek held a while back and it blew me away... part of the reason I bought my Eastsound. It still impresses, but now I've got something of my own at that level and I'm quite happy. The thing that I like the most about his source is the user interface and if I had to criticize something it would be that it is a little too polite sounding.

Well, I think that is everything. Thank you all for coming... I had a blast. Maybe the next time I host one of these things I will do a bit less talking and more listening. Probably not.

 

[Rhydon]

I think im going to have to agree with RedLeader. I doubt anything i have to say will compare with Eaphan's [Aerius]

Very nice review Eaphan!

From the top, im sure everyone can tell by now, the meet was definatly a success. I thought the turnout was great, the people were amazing, and the location (Philodox' condo) was top notch! I want to thank Jason [philodox] for holding the meet; Jason, man you did an awesome job.

Impressions-
Im going to follow the pictures, a walk-thru and explanation.

Starting off, i had brought my Rega Planet 2000, Perpetual Technologies P3a w/ Monolithic p3, Harmonic Tech Truth-link, Grado HP-2's, and Head-amp GS-1. Listening to the HP-2's thru the GS-1 is a unique experience, as Eaphan put it "Ruler Flat Response...". The GS-1 does a nice job as an amplifier, tho i think now after hearing the HD600's, HD595's and MS-1's i would have to say that the GS-1's neutral character aligns better with an exciting or slightly colored headphone. As seen in the first 2-3 pictures, Trevor and I are demoing the 2 DAC setups, we couldn't tell too much of a difference between the two (VDA and P3a), however they both bested the REGA's analog output (just when i thought i could manage to let go of the perpetual

)

Picture #4 shows Eaphan carefully dissecting the HP-2's. He had roughly a 5 minute go with them. Its funny because when he took them off, he looked at me and said "they need some tubes..."- He was able to pick up right away on the GS-1's hinted signature, enjoying the combination but at the same time knowing where their ultimate synergy would be revealed. Eaphan told me he wanted to show me something, he lead me down the hallway into what seemed like the "audiophile's showcase", there lay the Dynahi, Eastman, something Denon, and what looked like a science experiment gone wrong, lol. You really had to be there to truly see the complexity of this thing. Wires everywhere, tubes here, massive foil caps there, it looked as if it was going to tell me my fortune. The detail, work, and time put into this thing was nothing short of astonishing, i shall now refer to this amplifier as "Beast". Eaphan tells me to plug the HP-2's into the Beast and throw a CD in the Denon. Now the Denon was another surprise. Eaphan had managed to get ahold of an industry/professional Denon CD drive (used in broadcast), he had also modified the output stage up the wazzoo. I decided my first listen would be "Old shoes"- by David Baerwald & New Velvet Pillow Orchestra.....Wow......I think if you could sum up all the descriptor words of your favorite audio equipment and make one particular expression, it must of been the one Eaphan saw on my face. I was stunned. Eaphan had managed to piece together a work or art! I still lack the experience to describe this "Beast" and the praise it deserves. The signature of its sound, off the bat, was a perfect match for the HP-2's. I myself do not like most tube headphone amps because they tend to sound colored, warm or hazzy. This was not the case with Beast. At no time did it ever show a hint of coloration with the HP-2's, but rather a NATURAL reproduction of all timbers in the recording. The highs went thru the roof, the sparkle and pizzaz they carried was a real treat to hear. The midrange was dead on. Flowing out of the HP-2's like effortless liquid sound. No hazzyness, no smuthering, just uplifting, glorious reproduction. But the real treat of this amplifier was its ability to drop some serious, yet VERY accurate bass. Finally, the HP-2's opened up like there were no limitations. no boundaries. The Beast manage to drive them down all the way to what seemed like 20hz and below, yet it always had a handle on every frequency at any time. Authority never went unnoticed in this homemade marvel. Sound-staging and imaging were also some of the Beast's best qualities, really i cant say there was one thing wrong with its reproduction. I think that all the time and knowledge Eaphan has put into this has payed off. He has built one VERY nice sounding amplifier. I think i asked him 50 times if he would build one for me! But i think the reason why its so good is the fact that he dosent have to worry about cost or time, but rather whenever he feels like a challenge, he improves his design and parts list. Eaphan i know ive told you a thousand times but, WELL DONE!!!

Moving on, Jason told me that i had to listen to the Dynahi. On aside, Jason i want to apologize for pronouncing the Dynahi as Dyn-a-hee, rather then Dyn-a-high. After just recently seeing how Kevin produced something called the "Dynalo" it finally clicked, lol! sorry!

The Dynahi was an interesting unit. First impression was 'nice speaker amp'. Jason has managed to get a hold of a unique brick of solid aluminum. The build quality of the Dynahi is bar-none the best i have ever seen in headphone amplifiers and possibly tops that of some of the mid-priced speaker amps. I think the case it uses came from plutonium transportation or something, the fit and finish were gorgeous. One thing i should say about the room where the equipment resided (the green room, or audiophiles corner i guess) is that, well, it was a little warm.... I think everyone at the meet would have to agree with me on this one

Some nicknamed it the Sauna, it seemed like a perfect explanation

Jason had explained to me that the majority of the rooms temperature emanated from his Dynahi. To share his belief he asked me to gently touch the right underside of the amplifier. This was kind of funny because he had this expression like he had some nasty surprise awaiting my initiation, kind of like the look on a kid when he knocks on your door and theres a flaming bag of dog crap on your doorstep

Anyways, to make a long story short, i think i almost burnt myself. The Dynahi runs very warm, actually it runs hot, very hot. Im guessing this thing feeds so much current and voltage that cool temperature is a luxury. Atleast Jason has his winter heating under control!
Enough of that, how did it sound!? Well, quite nice infact. Easily the best Solid State headphone amplifier out there (to my knowledge). It had great attack, speed, detail and bass response. It was really fun to listen to. However, with the HP-2's i still preferred Eaphan's Beast. The Dynahi is ment to drive some serious loads, and it does it very well, but for some reason i enjoyed Eaphan's unit more. Again this is strictly personal preference as both amplifiers represent a benchmark in head-fi equipment.

Going to some of the last photo's; Jason was explaining to me the concept behind the K340's. I had never seen an electro static headphone in person before, let alone a dynamic hybrid. Considering the design of both technologies, i was curious on how AKG was able to implement both of them in the same enclosure. Jason gave me a thorough explanation of its technology. He urged me to try the Dynahi with these headphones, as he had purchased the amplifier for this particular headphone. My first impressions were awesome. I was taken back on how great they sounded. I now see why AKG is used in a studio environment. They are bloody neutral! Yet, they arnt cold or sterile. Sound-staging is wonderful. It takes my HP-2's out to lunch. I was worried that electrostatics may have too much of a pushed sound-stage (like some sennheiser's), but not the case here. EVERYTHING was in place! I know thats the common belief behind the HP-2's, but Jason's K340's seemed to challenge that. I am still amazed on how well it portrayed the recording. I think the only let down of the K340's would be there bass response. It was a little on the lean side, but none the less it was there. I just felt the HP-2's had more of an authority in that particular neutral department. If i heard the AKG's before i bought the HP-2's i might of reconsidered. Tho i LOVE my HP-2's and they have certain strengths over the AKG's, i would of been just as happy with the 340's or even the AKG house sound. Very nice.

That's about it from my end. I had to leave early that day, which i regret. I had such an awesome time. Again, Jason, thank you for holding the meet, and thanks for all the great advice!

Eaphan, that amp! JESUS!

Cheers-
Rhydon