Ok on to more detailed meet impressions
Rockhopper Audio Beta 22 Wow this is a great amp! The sound is detailed yet smooth. It was paired with the "Nugget Audio" TH Signature DAC being fed by lossless I-tunes. The bass was powerfull and with detail that many amps lack there was nice articulation when the electic bass strings were picked and it delinated the attack the player used on the strings well. Nuetrality was a strong point of the amp and headphones tend to sound like themselves without the stamp an amp can sometimes place upon them. Cymbals with the RS1 rang with air and sizzle that cymbals have with the HP2 they were shelved slightly and that is more indicative of the headphone not the amp. I listened to this amp with both my RS1s and HP2s and it handled each well. I like that is has a seperate power supply from audio section as well. Finally someone is building a balanced amp with one 4pin xlr instead of dual 3 pin xlrs.
If you are in the market for an amp I would take a serious look at the Beta 22 either single ended or balanced it has the sauce
Woo Audio 5 This is the Swiss Army Knife of Amps. If you are a speaker/K1000 and dynamic headphone user you should take a SERIOUS look at this amp. The amp sings with k1000s and is among the top tier of amps to pair with this headphone. My newly balanced Grado HP2s sounded great out of this amp and as did the Rockhopper this amp also had a 4pin xlr althought not a balanced signal it sounded great. The mids were more meaty than the Beta and slightly more out front. This probably had more to do with the DAC in use (Wavelenght Audio Cosecant) than the amp but who knows.
I had the pleasure of hearing the amp with Mikes speakers (Omega Compact Hemps) and they sounded great with the amp as well.
TakeT Headphones AgileOne (Gene) brought his TakeT headphones with him and we were able to get quality listening time Friday night at Mike's home. These headphones while not fully realized yet have many positive attributes. The bass is great and ginormous and defined, it could use a slight tightening but not too much. The mids are beefy as well and sounded great. I was expecting them to sound more transpartent and faster. These may not be replacement cans for those that like the K1000 signature but might serve as a counterbalance to the slightly lean k1000 sound.
I had fit issues with it as I shave my head and the blue leather guides that help hold the headphone on my head grind into my scalp and created discomfort after a few minutes. I'm sure I could tweak out a fix if I owned them but this should be addressed by the manufacter.
My quibble with the headphone is they have a slight veil that left me feeling like I was slightly removed from the music. I am confident that with a redeigned transformer or a dedicated amp designed to drive these they would shine and could be a top tier headphone. Keep an eye out for these as members get more of a handle on how to better match amps to these to drive their brutal needs.
RSA B-52 Always a treat to hear this amp with Ray's balanced R10s at a meet I have heard this combo several times and what can I say it's a great combo. This is one seriously packaged headphone amp/preamp that shows off Ray's ability to design fit and finish of an amp, nobody does fit and finish better than Ray on his home amps nobody. Ultimately the sound is not for me as sound preferance is a individual choice but there is no questioning this is a top tier amp for the serious home listener.
I'll end this with the SoFlo community, expats (me
) and usual out of towners make these meets so much more than meets. We are a unique band of brothers and sister
and it shows. The meet started Friday night and ened mid afternoon Sunday, it included 3 sitdown meals and 2 live bands on two nights. We love each others company and love to give each other a tought time. Huge thanks to Mike for hosting and sheparding all those during the meet it can be a thankless task but Mike we thank you. If the National is half as fun as this meet you all will have the time of your lives. It will be so much more than a meet. The hotel was the same as the one we are having CanJam 08 at and is an ideal location perfect and beautifull with a killer atrium in the center, full bar, grotto, fish pond, awesome outdoor pool, huge rooms, and a great large meet room.
Rockhopper Audio Beta 22 Wow this is a great amp! The sound is detailed yet smooth. It was paired with the "Nugget Audio" TH Signature DAC being fed by lossless I-tunes. The bass was powerfull and with detail that many amps lack there was nice articulation when the electic bass strings were picked and it delinated the attack the player used on the strings well. Nuetrality was a strong point of the amp and headphones tend to sound like themselves without the stamp an amp can sometimes place upon them. Cymbals with the RS1 rang with air and sizzle that cymbals have with the HP2 they were shelved slightly and that is more indicative of the headphone not the amp. I listened to this amp with both my RS1s and HP2s and it handled each well. I like that is has a seperate power supply from audio section as well. Finally someone is building a balanced amp with one 4pin xlr instead of dual 3 pin xlrs.
If you are in the market for an amp I would take a serious look at the Beta 22 either single ended or balanced it has the sauce
Woo Audio 5 This is the Swiss Army Knife of Amps. If you are a speaker/K1000 and dynamic headphone user you should take a SERIOUS look at this amp. The amp sings with k1000s and is among the top tier of amps to pair with this headphone. My newly balanced Grado HP2s sounded great out of this amp and as did the Rockhopper this amp also had a 4pin xlr althought not a balanced signal it sounded great. The mids were more meaty than the Beta and slightly more out front. This probably had more to do with the DAC in use (Wavelenght Audio Cosecant) than the amp but who knows.
I had the pleasure of hearing the amp with Mikes speakers (Omega Compact Hemps) and they sounded great with the amp as well.
TakeT Headphones AgileOne (Gene) brought his TakeT headphones with him and we were able to get quality listening time Friday night at Mike's home. These headphones while not fully realized yet have many positive attributes. The bass is great and ginormous and defined, it could use a slight tightening but not too much. The mids are beefy as well and sounded great. I was expecting them to sound more transpartent and faster. These may not be replacement cans for those that like the K1000 signature but might serve as a counterbalance to the slightly lean k1000 sound.
I had fit issues with it as I shave my head and the blue leather guides that help hold the headphone on my head grind into my scalp and created discomfort after a few minutes. I'm sure I could tweak out a fix if I owned them but this should be addressed by the manufacter.
My quibble with the headphone is they have a slight veil that left me feeling like I was slightly removed from the music. I am confident that with a redeigned transformer or a dedicated amp designed to drive these they would shine and could be a top tier headphone. Keep an eye out for these as members get more of a handle on how to better match amps to these to drive their brutal needs.
RSA B-52 Always a treat to hear this amp with Ray's balanced R10s at a meet I have heard this combo several times and what can I say it's a great combo. This is one seriously packaged headphone amp/preamp that shows off Ray's ability to design fit and finish of an amp, nobody does fit and finish better than Ray on his home amps nobody. Ultimately the sound is not for me as sound preferance is a individual choice but there is no questioning this is a top tier amp for the serious home listener.
I'll end this with the SoFlo community, expats (me
