[Swimsonny]

Original thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/601003/uk-2012-head-fi-meet-september-15th-cambridgeshire
 
This saturday (September 15th) we got to attend the long awaited (by me any way) UK Head-Fi meet in Cambridge. It was organised by Andy (Smial1966) and i can not emphasis enough how good a job he did because i found it amazing. The equipment turn out was good, as was the distributors, the people and of course the raffle! Being only 16 and fairly new to this hobby, i knew little as to what to expect and i loved every minute of it and wish it had gone on longer. Some of the headphones i got to ear blew my mind and i have now a huge want to get a serious desktop rig.
 
Other than listening to headphones i got up to all sorts of fun with the likes of Zenpunks ear tip problem and me and Julians need to win the recabled Hifiman as a prize with our sighs of relief every time someone chose something else.
 
So. knock your selves out with what you want to say and i think i should say once again.....
 
A HUGE THANKS TO ANDY as well as the SPONSORS for DONATING EQUIPMENT FOR US!!!
 
 
Okay as you know there was a raffle and money was going to a charity in cambridge for the death. Well here is Andy's post about how much we raised and it is just fantastic!
 
 

Quote:

Guys,
 
I'll start looking at a Saturday next February to hold the mini-meet on.  

 
Incidentally, there's a nice little piece on the Cambridgeshire Deaf Association website -  http://www.cambsdeaf.org/ - acknowledging the donation of £1,150 raised from the meet. 
 
Cheers,
 
Andy.
 

 

[headinclouds]

I second that - It was a very good meet, thoroughly enjoyed the day and the evening  meal.
Good to meet again friends made last year.  It was great to chat with so many knowledgeable and helpful people, both the head-fiers and the experts from the manufacturers such as the guys from Arcam and Fried Heim of Violectric etc.
This was the best audio meet I’ve been to.  Tremendous range of gear and people got together.  Huge thanks to Andy for making it happen.   I feel that I really improved my understanding of things and got a view as to which direction I am likely to go in with my own music quest.
And thanks to those people who share their gear; it is this spirit which makes it so good.  
For the music I was able to hear through them the Stax Lambda set ups were a big discovery (thank you Ra97oR).   I will investigate Stax thoroughly one day.    Those who were near me at the time realised I was drooling for an Arcam D33.   I can’t stop thinking of it.  This is a dangerous obsession -throw a bucket of water over me, someone.
 
Looking forward to the next meet!

 

[headinclouds]

[size=11.0pt]W[/size]hile I'm online I'll add this pic:
 
 

 
[size=11.0pt]Hello guys!  You are ‘gonna cause me to spend so much money.[/size]

 

[Krisman]

Thanks to Andy for organising this event. Was great to see all the great kit people had and try out some truly tempting headphones! HiFiMAN have shot to the top of my buy list I think...
 
The raffle was amazing and been trying out my prize Arcam rPAC all day! What a lucky boy I am!!

 

[Mattyhew]

What a great meet,
 
Currently adding up the pros and cons of selling my kidneys to buy a pair of fostex

 

[digitaldave]

First off, thanks to Andy for organising the meet - it ran really well, and I think everyone had a great time.
 
Second, thanks to the individuals and companies that very generously donated prizes for the raffle.
 
Third, thanks to all those that attended, without whom there wouldn't have been a meet.
 
I'm not going to post any in depth thoughts on gear, as to be honest, I didn't spend much time doing in depth, critical listening. However, I did listen enough to answer a few questions that I had. Such as...
 
1) I'm very happy with my modded Denon AH-D5000s, and don't feel the need to upgrade or change them for a different model for my main listening pair.
 
2) The B&W P3s sound better with the ear pads on upside down. Strange, but true.
 
3) I need to re-evaluate my IEMs, as I'd love to find one that sounds like the Denons.
 
4) The Headroom Micro DAC/Amp combo is a pain to move about, as it has a separate power brick for each part, each of which is about the same size as the stack! I'll be looking for a combined DAC/Amp that's a lot easier to move about.
 
5) The Harman/Kardon CL and BT headphones sounded quite good. Interesting design as well. I could see myself enjoying a pair of the CLs.
 
6) Likewise the V-Moda M80. Nice sounding headphones...
 
7) As are the Sennheiser HD25 (but I don't think I'm surprising anyone with that revelation).
 
8) Head-fiers are a generous lot - well done in raising a significant amount for the charity!
 
Dave.

 

[sjgriffin66]

Hey Guys,
 
Just a quick note to say a BIG thanks to Andy for organising and well done to all for such a great fund raising result. It was nice to see some friendly faces from last year and to make some new ones too. The positive comments about the new LCD-3s were just the icing on the cake.
 
Looking forward to a more northerly get together next time 

...
 
and a nod of much respect to Fried for making my journey from Teesside look like something you do on a spacehopper for fun!!!
 
Simon
decent audio

 

[MrQ]

Well done Andy on a great meet.

 

[Swimsonny]

Well done Andy on a great meet.

MR.Q, what player did you use I'm conjunction with iTunes on your MacBook? I quite liked it + your music library was awesome!

 

[MrQ]

Quote:

MR.Q, what player did you use I'm conjunction with iTunes on your MacBook? I quite liked it + your music library was awesome!

That was Audirvana Plus (Beta). Used in integrated mode.

 

[smial1966]

Guys,
 
My impressions of the meet are predominantly about the people present and what a really great bunch you all are. Regrettably I only managed to listen to the Cavalli Liquid Lightning & Stax 009, but what an astonishingly beguiling sound the combo made!  

 
Please post your impressions of any retailer gear that you listened to, especially anything that you won in the raffle, as it was generously donated and any reviews help generate interest.
 
Just to reiterate for those of you who've stopped reading the original meet thread, after deducting costs (which were minimal) we raised £1150 for the Cambridgeshire Deaf Association.
 
Cheers,
 
Andy.  

 

[MrQ]

Andy, what model Audio Note CD player was that the Attorney was using? I believe it was yours?

 

[complin]

I'm also interested in an Audio Note DAC understand the 2.X is the sweet spot of the range?
 
Quote:

Andy, what model Audio Note CD player was that the Attorney was using? I believe it was yours?

 

[TIMITS]

I am interested in hearing impressions of some of the more esoteric items that were mentioned in the original thread.  For example ECP Audio's DHSA-1, Bakoon Products AMP-11R, Human Audio's Muto DAC or even the contentious Altmann Tera-Player.  Did anyone get the opportunity to hear these and how did they compare to other better known gear?  It would be great to hear real life impressions.
 
 
 

 

[TheAttorney]

Quote:

Andy, what model Audio Note CD player was that the Attorney was using? I believe it was yours?

I believe it was a Audio Note Zero. I was well impressed with it -  a very natural "analogue" sound.
Andy told me is costs around £1K and that it has a valve stage inside. At that price it's a steal.