After another long workday i'll try to post some of my impressions aswell.
I want to send a disclaimer ahead though; I'm not that experienced and comparing audio equipment and especialy in decribing the differences.In addition i was pretty tired sunday...
The
K701(MoonAudio recabled) really underwhelmed me,i heared it through Ralphs Transporter+Standard Desktop aswell as Sqeezebox+maxed Desktop and briefly trough my own setup and olivers Gilmore lite.
To my ears it sounded dull, not realy boxy or plasticy but it gave a strange enclosed feeling. I'll have to give them another chance though as i cant believe that is the phone so many people are raving about.
I'm not complaining about neutrality i think, it did sound slightly coloured to my ears and had that strange feeling.Thats all i could complain about but it distracted me a lot.
Ultrasone,in the beginning they didn't appeal to me much at all.The bass didn't sound right and i think it was a little uncontrolled and overemphasized on the pairs i tried which were Ralphs Pro750 and2500(Desktop Max) and the new HFI780.
In addition the looks turn me off, the new models are nicer and they are no big faults but imo they are still disproportioned.All new production phones are presented in a nicer black packing and theres a sturdy and well organised carrying box(do the HFIs come with it aswell?)
HFI 780
They are very detailed in a way to put the K340 to shame,and reproduce with precision,but the highs seemed to be slightly overdoing and the bass felt wrong.I checked them side by side with my K340s and was realy impressed by the detail and analytical character,mids were realistic and the highs open but a little sibiliant.If there wasn't that bass issue i would seriously consider them,would even have bought them right at the meet if they were nicer looking to me
I totaly missed to check out the Edition 9s although they were at my table at some point :S
I finaly had a chance to listen to
Audio Technicas
W1000 and
W5000.
First off, they are even more beautiful in real life,amazing design.
I briefly checked thrillmetoos W1000 on Digitalminds setup,but it was not my own music.So well,they were nice and i couldn't point at any faults in those short moments but i think they were a little uninvolving.
Enoyin had Hans' W5000 at his table (Stello DA100+Woo6),this was the phone that attracted me to head-fi by it's sheer unresistible look when i was checking for upgrades to my monitoring.I was highly pleased to put it on my ears (realy comfortable).
It sounded like there was nothing hindering the music to flow and the reproduction was very detailed BUT , they were seriously lacking in body,the bass was there but it had no impact,it was more like perceiving whats happing in low regions but not hearing it to its full extend.My memory is not that firm concerning their soundstage so that gives me another reason to check them out once more..
The meet was the location for my first
Grado encounter.
I listened to Olivers SR 225 from my setup trough his Gilmore Lite.
First thought, hm how can one describe grados a head-vices, didn`t feel much of them on my head..
They are realy aggressive with electric guitars sounding upfront but i think for my taste it was too much.No other complaints , i guess i was not very criticaly listening though.
Same for the GS1000 Hans had kindly provided,you have to turn them up loud to get the feel, but they groove and i think the highs were not as shrieking as on the SR225.Heard both phones trough the Headsix and Gilmore Lite.
Digitalminds SET-amp was my first serious encounter with tube amps,the sound was very lush and relaxed but for some music the tubes are adding to much for my gusto.
His
PMB500 was impressing in combination with the 805 they had sweet midrange and a very pleasing/musical character.
I liked Enoyins setup a lot the sound the Stello and Woo6 were putting out was much to my taste,annoyingly i payd most attention to the cans though and couldnt concentrate enough to listen realy critical
The
Larocco PRIIMKII sounded nice but as my vibez freaked out after a few minutes i didnt listen to it for a long time, it was able to drive the K340 to high enough volume without distortions though.
Thanks for sharing, and the gain switch realy is more than safe enouigh not to be switched accidentaly
More impressions later i guess.
Shame on me for not beeing on level physicaly aswell, i'll have to rest a little before the next meet i attend.I learned a lot though, i will definately counter check with phones i know and primarily use music i know everything else was not half as revealing for me..
It was a great meet with nice and interesting people and a great host.
Looking forward to see you again
,[size=xx-small]well okay it didn't take us that long, we just made a small sidestop in maastricht, got lost in the alleys, and couldn`t find our way out for an hour or two
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