This was my first meet and even though I could only stay a short time, it was great fun, entertaining and extremely enlightening. Everyone there was very friendly. There was an underlying sense of comradery to be sure. People were very friendly and willing share helpful words and opinions. i suppose it was like a meeting of like-minded fanatics, so no one was ashamed to open up about their love and appreciation of equipment. Big thanks to 909 who is an excellent young guy. A great organizer - very personable and helpful - who greeted each arrival individually and made them feel comfortable. I hope he had a great time, he deserved it for all the hard work. I was very pleased to meet the famous Uncle Eric (who's hardly old enough to be an uncle) and sorry that I missed meeting Edwood who I've known here awhile but never seen!
I learned alot today about phones I've read about for years, but never listened to. It should be said, one listen is worth ten thousand words! There were tons of phone lying everywhere just ready to be freely auditioned. I can't believe the generosity of those who put them out to share. I even wore a fabled set of Sony R10s courtesy of Ray Samuel - a real gentleman and very nice to speak with. If you are thinking about buying phones and have the chance to go a meet. I would say it's a must. Again, there's nothing like hearing phones to find your panacea.
My own revelations:
Ray Samuels is a genius of sorts. Although I've been reading praise for his amps for nearly 8 years, I've never heard one before. He had a table with all the amps pictured above. An SR71A, Predator, Tomahawk and his new baby, the Mustang. Well, they were an eye-opener. I was totally entranced by their sound and, frankly, I now know that I'm less of a tube man and more of a solid state fan when it comes to headphone amps. Ray's amps are gorgeously smooth and wonderfully rich sounding. He is a genius because he's pulled off the Holy Grail of audio: Create a sound that reveals the full sonic picture (detailed) while presenting it with an invitingly rich sound. Somehow he manages to create a detailed sounding amp that is at the same time smooth, engaging and never fatiguing. Not one of his amps had a touch of sibilance or brightness, yet all the detail was there. And his midranges are magical, too. Vocals are right on the money! I've spent decades listening to vocal presentations and Ray has nailed it. Perfect weight and presence and body. All in these little tiny amps of his! Of all the amps, I fell deeply in love with the SR71A. It is going to be my next purchase (come Xmas bonus) and it's may well be my last amp. It's that good. I would happily eschew any full-sized desktop for that sound this little portable puts out. It made my HD580/600 sing! A perfect match with wonderfully rich, perfectly proportioned impactful bass. By far Ray Samuel's table stole my heart and attention!
As for headphones, Revelation One: I've always thought I might like some of the lovely AKG701s. Boy, what a surprise. I was initially enamoured with their airy treble (for about 30 seconds), but what a problem with sibilance! After all these years of considering a pair, I ran screaming from the AKGs, sorry to say. Only the old fashion K240 were sort of to my liking, even though not my favorites either. Revelation two: I spent some time running through phones just using my ipod's out. Of course it was a far less glamorous listen that through many of the wonderful amps (I liked Dave's(?) Lisa II quite a bit, the rolling bass boost knob was very handy), but I wanted to see which cans worked "stand alone." The clear winner, and a big surprise because I kept reading threads that said they "must have" a big amp behind them, was the nicely balanced, rich sound I got from a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880. I'd never heard them before either, and I really liked them. If I had to live without an amp and wanted a good pop/rock phone, I'd definitely invest in a pair of these Beyers. (I may do so with a price tag sub $200 on Amazon). They were also nice and light to wear. (Oh, did I mention the Sony R10s are also like wearing a feather! I was so surprised. I didn't hear any rock or pop through the R10s, but some classical and violins sounded superb. I could hear this phone plays alot with reflection and it's enclosure and the results were great for a chamber music type listen. Of course, I don't even want to think about lusting after R10s). I did a quick run of Grados. I'm starting to develop an appreciation for Grados, although i still will keep my Senns, they are great headphone. The RS-1 are of course very, very nice. But my main thought was, "Jeez, can't they even get rid of this sandpaper-feeling cheap @#$% foam in the top of their line!" I'm mean, really. But beside the very pleasant and fun to hear Beyers, I think the other phones that would be on my "must have" list would be the Stax. Crazy how they sit on your head away from your ears! But, oh, the spaciousness and naturalness that lends to these "speaker phones". Of course my first thought was, "I wonder how you fix the bass issue?" as most ear-sitting cans give you that big bass whallop, but I'm sure someone has figured it out for Stax.
The Big revelation, sort of: I've owned Senn HD600 and grilled modded HD580s, so I spent A LOT of time comparing them the HD650. I know this is an ongoing question here. And, yes, the HD650 are darker and bassier - which I always thought I'd like better. Suprise, although the vocals are more liquid and chocolaty, they might in fact be a touch syrupy. I honestly have to say in 9/10 cases I preferred the HD580/600. The only time the HD650 sounding right was when paired with a bright sounding tube amp. Were they then so much better than HD600s? No, I didn't think so, but at least they finally sounded right! I did neglect to do an iPod out with HD650, which was an oversight, but that's almost a mismatch in terms of products. But is the HD650 darker and more veiled? Absolutely. Do it think in most cases that it's as well balanced as the 580/600 with most equipment - No. Would I spend the extra money for the HD650? I now think my answer is also "no." That was real shocker.
Otherwise, it was a wonderful day. Thanks again to 909. My advice to all headfiers is seek out the meet closest to you!
Thanks, 909. Jude, this young man is a great Head-fi representative!
