First off, let me note that this was my first meet, and I had to travel 5+ hours to get there, so I wanted to get the biggest bang for my buck. In my case, this meant focusing on mostly the high-end stuff, which I never see around my area. So, if you're looking for impressions of portable or entry-level equipment, you won't find much of interest in this post.
Due to the fact that there was so much equipment I'd never heard before, my impressions will be of overall systems by necessity. Where possible, I will highlight the performance of individual components.
Systems:
Computer setup (??? soundcard -> Art DI/O -> Earmax Pro -> CD3000): This setup was going to have to work to get my approval, since I had to do a good deal of work helping Hirsch troubleshoot the darned thing in the first place. It did not succeed. MP3 files were being streamed across the LAN, and the sound seemed ok. Didn't do anything really bad, just didn't capture my attention or do much really well, either. I was also listening to random artists at the time, so that probably didn't help my reaction to this setup. Since I got a better handle on the CD3000 and DI/O later, my guess is either I didn't care for the EMP in the chain, or the MP3 format was lacking.
SACD setup (Sony 9000 -> PPX3 -> Senn 600): Only had a real brief listen to this, just one song off Rebecca Pidgeon's
The Raven. But I was pretty impressed. This combination was very rich, vivid, and airy, just drew me in, even though I usually don't care for the laidback sound of the 600. If only all my music could be well-done in SACD format...
Blockhead setup (Meridian G08 -> Blockhead -> Grado RS-1): I didn't expect this to do much for me, and I was right. I need a proper soundstage, and the Grado "wall-o-sound" just doesn't do it for me, no matter how well-driven. Also need circumaural headphones, another strike against the Grados. On the positive side, I was surprised that the vocals sounded pretty natural and overall the sound was pretty balanced. Not the overly warm presentation I was expecting from the RS-series. I regret I didn't get to hear the Blockhead->650 combination, but oh well.
End-table setup (??? -> PPX3 -> CD3000): I can't remember what the cdp was at the end of the table by the back door. Big black cdp, "Audio ???". This sounded reasonably impressive, better on instrumental music than vocals. Think I got a better handle on the character of the CD3000 here, as I remember thinking the big and slightly bloomy bass, and detailed treble, were pretty impressive. Midrange was just kinda there, good but not great. Frequencies seemed like seperate layers, rather than one integrated whole. Initially impressive, but would likely get tiresome later. I talked to WmAx about this, and if the filters he put in his CD3000 managed to integrate the frequencies, I could see myself liking the CD3000 more, though still not as much as my W2002.
Airplane setup (CD-ROM -> Art DI/O -> Fisher receiver -> K1000): I take back all the bad things I ever said about the K1000 being the ugliest headphone ever. It's actually not that bad in person, and much smaller than I thought. It's simply not photogenic. The sound was also pretty nice. I was very, very impressed by how defined and palpable female vocals were on this setup, few things get my attention faster. Also thought there was a reasonable amount of bass. On the downsides, the treble seemed a bit steely, and while I wasn't specifically listening for it, complex passages seemed kinda muddled (an impression later confirmed by meech).
Stax minor-league setup (Wadia 301 -> 007t -> SR-404): Pretty nice, clean sound. Didn't really hold my interest, though. Also, in place of my K1000 bashing, these earspeakers now get the dubious honor of being the ugliest headphone technology in existence.
Stax major-league setup (Wadia 301 -> 007t -> Omega 2): Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! From what I understand, when I listened to them, they were still warming up, and weren't even using one of the Gilmore amps. In spite of that, I heard a crystal-clear sound that let the emotion of the music through, along w/ some quite adequate bass and a good, airy soundstage. Vocals were palpable and not lacking in richness. I can only imagine how they would've sounded after being fully charged. I want an Omega 2 system now, to complement my dynamic rig.
Baby Orpheus minor-league setup (Wadia 301 -> 007t -> HE60): Very nice. Big soundstage, very clear, great at micro-details. Nice, full-sounding bass as well.
Baby Orpheus major-league setup (Wadia 301 -> Blue Hawaii -> HE60): For instrumental and classical music, this was the best setup I heard. So airy, yet so precise, one might almost say ethereal. I wish I could've stuck around to hear the Omega 2 on the Blue Hawaii, I'm pretty sure the Omega 2 would've sounded much better, unbelievable as that may be.
R10 in Hirsch's setup (Creek CD-53 -> Supra -> R10): Anybody that has bass problems w/ the R10 needs to talk to Hirsch. There was definitely no lack of bass on this system. The sound was interesting. You know how some systems seem to have smoothness filters applied? This system had "realism" filters applied. Most instruments sounded "live", as opposed to being recorded in a studio. Depending on your tastes, this may or may not be to your liking. I probably didn't describe that clearly enough, but it's the best description I can think of right now. In my case, I thought something was missing from this setup, like the emotion of the music wasn't quite shining through. I also was expecting a bigger soundstage, though imaging was certainly very precise. Objectively, a very good sounding system, though not quite to my tastes.
R10 in my setup (MF NuVista -> Headroom Max (old version) -> R10): I was quite interested in hearing the R10 in my system, lucky to have gotten the chance. My system is pretty smooth (though definitely not lacking in detail or resolution), somewhat airy, deep/wide soundstage, slight tendency to the warm and bassy side of neutral, and always lets the emotion of the music shine through. All this came through the R10, confirming the impression that the R10 is a very transparent headphone. However, the great bass the R10 had on Hirsch's system was MIA on mine, which was the only disappointment. If the bass problem could somehow be fixed, I would somewhat prefer the R10 over my W2002... if the price differential was reasonably close. But for the price differential, there is no way I'm getting a R10. Though I am thinking about upgrading to a Leatherhead in the distant future.
In conclusion: The R10 is very good, but definitely not in a league of its own; the Supra line of amps are great at getting out of the way of the music and I really liked them (though I wish I could've heard meech's Maestro Supra); I'm pleased my setup more than held its own (IMO) against all the other dynamic setups I got to hear; I WILL own an Omega 2 + Blue Hawaii setup in the future; all you people listen REALLY FRICKIN' LOUD!!!
