[derekbmn]

Man very impressive !! Frank Cooters amps as always ,look amazing and if that is what the "The Balancing Act" is going to look like....well damn ...I like it...ALOT.

Looking forward to reading more impressions. Keep them coming.

 

[blubliss]

Well, that was really fun!! Thanks so much to 909 and jp#s for organizing a great little gathering. Everyone there was really friendly and respectful of all the gear.

This was the only larger meet I have been to, so I got a chance to listen to many things I have never heard before.

The most impressive experience I had at the meet was in the Smyth room. This is incredible. You actually have to take the headphones off your head to realize you are not listening to speakers. And none of the cave-like echos I have heard with all other headphone surround sound systems; just totally realistic. I will definitely be buying one of these when they come out.

Next, DouglasQuaid was kind enough to leave his O2 MkI hooked up to my ES-2 all day and I must say that this was an excellent combination in my system. I will be looking for a pair of these. It added the bass impact the HE90 does not have and smooothed out the highs a bit in my system, which is a good thing. I did not get the "dark" presentation I have heard written about so much and the soundstage was excellent, not "smaller" with my amp. I still love the HE90 but I can see the O2s as suiting many of my moods.

I also loved the GS1000 that AC1 hooked up to my SDS-XLR. The whole sound spectrum was quite balanced and very musical. His were balanced with a Moon Audio? Black Dragon cable. He mentioned to me that his well-worn in pads make a great improvement with the sound.

The K1000 was a unique headphone. I liked the feeling of not having closed-cups around my ears. I did not listen that much but I liked what I heard. It was not a bass beast but seemed balanced to me.

I really like DigiPete's DIY Dynamite?/K701 (balanced) combo from an SACDmods player. This was the best I have heard the K701 which I generally do not like. Much more bass than I am used to hearing from these phones.

Listened to my L3000 from the pico/PC in IronDreamer's system and I can see how he is quite satisfied with this setup. I was amazed at the beautiful sound that came out of that tiny amp. The bass was not subterranean, but it was more balanced.

I did not listen for long, but someone brought over a markl modded d5000 headphone. Compared to the R10, it is not in the same league, not close IMO. The timbre and texture of the instruments is off compared to the R10.

Near the end of the day, we hooked up an AudioNote 5 Signature DAC that Mikhail brought into my system and I must say that it was very, very smooth without loosing any detail. But at $90K, I can take a pass.

Thanks again to the organizers!! See everyone next year at CanJam '09.

 

[zippy2001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by derekbmn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Man very impressive !! Frank Cooters amps as always ,look amazing and if that is what the "The Balancing Act" is going to look like....well damn ...I like it...ALOT. Looking forward to reading more impressions. Keep them coming.

The Eddie Current Amp that was at the meet was the new "Afficienado"?, Craig's new top of the line amp. The Balancing Act will be coming soon also.

 

[zippy2001]

Where do we start, a big Thank You to David (909) for organizing this meet. The LAX Hilton will be a nice venue for next years National Meet.

The vendors Eddie Current, Ray Samuels, SinglePower and Smyth Research were all great to talk to and audtion some wonderful gear. Thank you for your support of Head-Fi.

It was extremely nice to meet some of the members of Head-Fi community in person and to share some great gear.

I will post more pix and impressions later.

 

[markl]

Just as a quick FYI, the official demo unit for the markl mod-ed MD5000DE was not available, so I sent a brand new un-burned-in balanced pair, as that was all I had. Does not put the best foot forward of course, as everyone knows these units need 250+ hours of solid burn-in to develop, but I did want to have a presence at the show. Would like to thank Edwood for making that possible.

Looks like it was a fun time. Those Cooter amps are something else (look great anyway).

 

[blubliss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just as a quick FYI, the official demo unit for the markl mod-ed MD5000DE was not available, so I sent a brand new un-burned-in balanced pair, as that was all I had. Does not put the best foot forward of course, as everyone knows these units need 250+ hours of solid burn-in to develop, but I did want to have a presence at the show.

Not to belabor the point, but my R10s I compared your phones to have about 100 hours on them as I got them almost new (maybe 10 hours). So my comparison stands. Even when it was at the the 10 hour stage, my R10 was in a completely different league from the modded denons, IMO. If I come across a burnt-in pair I would be happy to listen again with an open mind.

Of course this is in my system which is extremely detailed and transparent. Other systems may give a different perspective.

 

[foo_me]

Wow...everything looks so awesome.
Frank Cooter's stuff usually sounds better than it looks

Wish I could've listened to his new creations.
Well, at least I can look forward to canjam next year!

And am really liking the look of the afficianado! Impressions?
No balancing Act?

Looking forward to impressions!

 

[markl]

Quote:

Not to belabor the point, but my R10s I compared your phones to have about 100 hours on them as I got them almost new (maybe 10 hours). So my comparison stands. Even when it was at the the 10 hour stage, my R10 was in a completely different league from the modded denons, IMO. If I come across a burnt-in pair I would be happy to listen again with an open mind.

No worries.

FWIW, I owned the R10 for years, but sold them in favor of the Denons. For me (and a few others), the Denons are more balanced/natural/realistic, with an extra dose of cajones missing in the R10. Everyone mileage may and does vary, but that's what's so great about meets like this one, great chance to survey the market see what works for you. Cheers.

 

[Borat]

Wish I could have made it. I had to bail out at the last minute. It looked like a lot of fun and some great gear showed up.

blubliss's table looks to be just about as good a headphone setup as you could possibly put together. Top of the line digital source, amps (both dynamic and electrostat), and headphones. Even an active cable shielding component. That's impressive.

I love the vintage look of that Eddie Current Aficionado. Their designs are always really classy looking.

Ray's new Mustang looks really tiny. With another portable, does this mean he is phasing out The Hornet and/or Tomahawk?

 

[DouglasQuaid]

Thanks to 909 for playing nanny for the day. Thanks to Ray for playing tricks on the early arrivals and for keeping dinner interesting. Thanks to Mikhail for the comic relief and for the new phone number. Thanks to Blubliss for motivating me to finish my amplifier. And also apologies to Blubliss for bringing the sr007 and passively forcing him to buy a pair.

I spent much of the meet fiddling with things I either was in the market for purchasing or things certain friends were in the market for. As such, I spent most of my time with the electrostats, portable dacs, and a bit of time with the L3000 and Markl's offering.

First thing I saw when I walked in was Ray Samuels lounging in his chair with his Meridian and an R10 with cables being fed into what appeared to be a small shrouded box. Not having much experience with the R10, I enjoyed what I heard and was quite happy with the experience. The volume was a bit high so I wasn't sure if the highs were strong because of the volume or because of something else in the chain.

As I did not have my own laptop on-hand, I didn't feel comfortable swapping usb cables to directly-A/B the pico and the predator. I was impressed with both of them. Both felt quite capable of offering a very good listening experience at any location you can browse your notebook computer. If I had remembered to take my Etys, I feel I would be able to give a more detailed impression of each as well.

I've heard some random "5.1" headphones before and they sounded unbelievably terrible. Smyth Research's system was the first I've experienced that was able to accurately portray the direction and simultaneously accurately mimic the sound signature of a speaker system in one room or in a completely different room. I have my qualms about the vibrating chair, but I was quite impressed with the capabilities of the system offered and I can't wait to experience it again through better headphones than the sr202.

Blubliss's APL -> ES2 -> HE90: I walked to this table and put on the HE90 knowing that once I walked in with the sr007, it would never leave that table. The bass was nothing I've previously experienced with the HE90. Strong bass is something I've recognized in Mikhail's amps, and the ES2 delivers in this regard. It works very well with the HE90, but can occasionally be overpowering with the sr007. The highs were very strong on the HE90s, almost to where I could see myself becoming tired of them after a long listening session. I DO like the HE90s and could consider buying a pair if they were available in the mid-4digit range. But at 10k+ and me never owning an ES2, I don't see to many situations where they would significantly outperform the sr007.

Also at the table connected to the same source was another over-the-top Singlepower amplifier, the SDS. Let me say that this amp is a rather terrible match for HP1000s. Mikhail mentioned something about the tube choices, so perhaps that verdict could change. The R10s were really able to shine with grandiose classical performances. But when it came to something with a bit more beat and a groove to it, I kept switching back to the the electrostats. The L3000 seemed to be capable headphones, but I would continually reach over for the sr007, even though they were usually on someone else's (blubliss) head. Perhaps I could love them more on a different amplifier.

Denon D5000: The only thing I kept thinking about when listening to these was the abnormally strong muddy bass. I felt obligated to grab them, put them on the mpx3 (which I distinctly remember for its bass-altering capabilities), and play my demo drum & bass track (Pendulum - Fasten your Seatbelt). Needless to say, I'm sure my amusement either annoyed or fully entertained some people nearby (I know blubliss enjoyed it). I believe this setup could seriously challenge the mpx3/DT770 for the basshead's dream rig. Mark, I really hope the 250hr burn-in makes a dramatic change in the function of these, as I was sincerely let down after experiencing what you claimed to be the greatest dynamic headphones.

George Petrelli's Famous Steak House: The steak had a rather odd texture but still tasted decent. The green beans were mushy and overdone, clearly left in the boiling vat for far too long. Baked potato was tasty and the large green onions instead of the chives (even said chives) were actually tastier than the usual chive topping. The only thing this place could EVER be famous for was the ice: abundant, long-lasting, ever-refreshing.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just as a quick FYI, the official demo unit for the markl mod-ed MD5000DE was not available, so I sent a brand new un-burned-in balanced pair, as that was all I had. Does not put the best foot forward of course, as everyone knows these units need 250+ hours of solid burn-in to develop, but I did want to have a presence at the show. Would like to thank Edwood for making that possible. Looks like it was a fun time. Those Cooter amps are something else (look great anyway).

Mark, you should've included a 1/4" adapter cable, it would've allowed more people to try them out in different rigs. There weren't that many balanced rigs at the meet.

But they got the most time on the one of the best rigs there.

-Ed

 

[markl]

Hey DouglasQuaid,
Are you sure you had the modified pair, or a stock pair? They would have been balanced with Jena wire.

If you think the mod-ed unit has too much bass, definitely stay away from the stock (and the forthcoming D7000 which is reputed to have even more bass than D5000, I'll know for sure in two days)!

The mods help dampen, tighten and control the bass of a stock unit. Still, I've even read complaints that the stock Denons don't have enough bass, so it goes to show about different strokes... Cheers.

 

[DouglasQuaid]

Definitely was a modified pair. Should a fully-ready demo unit and more balanced amplifiers be available at Canjam 09, I would be happy to give them another listen. Thanks for sending the demo pair as I was quite interested in trying it out.

 

[LFF]

Many thanks to 909 for organizing this meet. It was a fun and awesome time.

As always, it was great to meet various head-fi'ers.

The biggest surprise by far was listening to Ray Samuel's secret amp. I was allowed to listen to an amp underneath a sheet about the size of the Apache. The sound was warm, BIG and natural. I didn't even ask how much as I figured it would be around $2,000.00. What a big surprise to find out I was listening to a tiny little amp called the P-51. It is soooo tiny and the sound is anything but! It's a definite winner IMHO. The best is that it will be available very soon and will be under $400.00!! It looks like I will have to start saving up to buy one of these little beauties.

Smyth Research and their product was also really cool to listen to. The sound comes extremely close to replicating the home theater experience and it will definitely be something to keep a close eye on.

Velogreg and Zippy2001's rigs were a real treat to listen to. If I had either of their rigs and nothing else then I would be a very happy listener.

Also, many thanks to Zippy2001 for his door prizes!

Dinner was wonderful and spending time with all you guys was a blast even if the food wasn't.

 

[purk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blubliss /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not to belabor the point, but my R10s I compared your phones to have about 100 hours on them as I got them almost new (maybe 10 hours). So my comparison stands. Even when it was at the the 10 hour stage, my R10 was in a completely different league from the modded denons, IMO. If I come across a burnt-in pair I would be happy to listen again with an open mind. Of course this is in my system which is extremely detailed and transparent. Other systems may give a different perspective.

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl /img/forum/go_quote.gif No worries. FWIW, I owned the R10 for years, but sold them in favor of the Denons. For me (and a few others), the Denons are more balanced/natural/realistic, with an extra dose of cajones missing in the R10. Everyone mileage may and does vary, but that's what's so great about meets like this one, great chance to survey the market see what works for you. Cheers.

Mark,

I believe Andy currently own 2 pairs of R10s. I'm not sure which pair that he brought to the meet, but I sold one of my bass-light R10 to him over a year ago so he should be fairly fimiliar with the R10s by now.

Bubliss,

Nice to see that you were at the meet. Did you left the meet itching wanting to buy any more gears?