[Hirsch]

Gear was everywhere. This Rotel/Melos combo had a very clean sound.

Veda Audio Dynahi and Philips 963sa

Dynahi with Melos SHA-Gold

Music Hall Maverick. One of the headphones isn’t modded.

A tangled web…

Creek CD50, Ack! dAck! and Sophia Integrated amp.

Ergo A.M.T. This one has the amplifier as well.

Veda Audio Dynahi meets Moon Audio Dynahi

I think he likes the Qualia.

The GS-1 shows its stuff.

It’s pretty easy to lose something has small as the Moretto HAP-03 in all of the gear. There were also two Earmax Pro’s out at various places. I’ll have to see if I can find them in the rest of the pics.

 

[thrice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hirsch I know the Ack! dAck!, and can read Sony on the player, but somebody else is going to have to write the rest of this caption.

TOP PIC: That's a Sony DVD-775 with the Ack! dAck! V2.0 and an M³ powered by an external STEPS.

LOWER PIC: The Rockhopper Audio table with a PIMETA and the W100 with a PPA behind it. The Home version of the M³ is on the far right.

 

[gsferrari]

M³ kicks PPA butt all around the park. Bass is waaaay better...the amp feels a lot less "constricted" than the PPA...a certain "freedom" to the sound. I warmed up this amp in a *snap* and I thank the guys/brains behind the design...good stuff!

Thrice also gave us an excellent example with stepped attenuator (DACT by the looks of it).


As for my newfound respect for the Sony Qualia - I love them...not as much as the HE-90 but pretty close...The Qualia was a LOT less sensitive to amplifiers than the R10...sounded great out of the M³, MPX3, maestro, SDS, Dynahi, GS1, AE...

The R10 is a lot more picky about amplification IMO.

I am a BIG fan of the Qualia now...I prefer Stevio's Qualia because it sounded significantly different from Hirsch's example. Stevio's had warmth, bass and midrange...Hirsch's was all about the midrange and upper end...effortless and no hint of glare, grit, congestion...

I think the cables and burn-in played a HUGE part because the BRAND new Qualias that I heard at ayt999s place sounded HORRENDOUS. Now I can believe him without doubt when he tells me that they sound good...they dont sound good - they sound amazing!

Cant wait for my paycheck

 

[Edwood]

Man, I really need to hear a fully broken in pair of Qualia's. I think it would behoove Sony to have fully broken in Qualia's for demo units.

-Ed

 

[thrice]

gs: thanks for the kind words.

I had a great time but did not get to hear much as the host. Most of my impressions are from brief listening stints only so take them with a grain of salt.

R10 vs. Qualia: For me the R10 wins ( right now at least

). It's true that the Qualia may have more bass but I think the R10 has better quality bass. Although I did hear the Qualia out of Hirsch's Meridian>Supra SDS>Qualia setup at his place and man...that really made the Qualias shine. It's really 6 of one half dozen the other when it comes to these cans I think. It's a good thing I can't spend a lot of time with either since it will be years before I could afford them.

Dynahi: Great amp, kinda wishing I hadn't sold all my boards

. Oh well, at least I know where to get one now

GS-1: Great amp as well, we had a lot of great Solid state amps at the meet and the latest from Headamp was one of them, sure to be popular.

Singlepower PPX Slam: It's a grand slam...end of sentence.

Singlepower solid state: Wow, smooth, warm, rich. Look out for this one.

The Ergo 2: I ordered a pair of these as soon as I heard them. For $200 I don't think you can go wrong here. I haven't had a lot of time with them, but I've enjoyed them when I did get to listen to them. Now I sit here and wait for them to arrive so I can begin the burn-in process. Sure they're geeky but who cares. The bass is rich and the soundstage, while not as good as the K1000, for the price it gets you pretty darn close. Nothing beats the K1000, but the Ergo 2 may just become the poor man's K1000. (Which is good for me, being a poor man and all

)

Wheatfield: Man, I don't know what Hirsch put into this amp, but it was like butter, smooth rich creamy and delicious.

Ack! dAck! V1.0; V2.0; V2.0 High-rez: We had a chance to A/B/C these at Hirsch's place and they just keep getting better as you go up the line. The differences are subtle as you step up, but they get faster and more detailed. A fine DAC made better and a definite must buy.

I was looking at sources this meet for the budget constrained. I may have found it. I had a Toshiba 3950 modded (by me) and a Sony DVD-775 that was recommended to me. The player that I really liked was the Philips DVD963SA so I am currently looking for one used. That should keep me for awhile since I really liked both the analog out and the digital out with the Ack! dAck!


Noodles: I don't know where Steve took everyone for Italian food, but the lasagna was excellent as well as the ziti. The sauce was smooth and robust, but not overpowering with a slight hint of tarragon. The cheese was melted to perfection. The pizza was good too.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood Man, I really need to hear a fully broken in pair of Qualia's. I think it would behoove Sony to have fully broken in Qualia's for demo units. -Ed

Well its little brother is in the house, so you'll get at least the faintest flavor of it perhaps. I certainly like what I am hearing

 

[gloco]

Wow, i just went through the entire thread. Looks like you guys had a blast, now i'm getting the urge to attend a NY meet.

Hey GS, you sure you liked the Qualia's?

 

[EdipisReks]

i'm really interested in the headamp AE-1. i'm going to be looking for a nice transportable this summer, and it looks like the SR-71 and the Supermacro V3 are going to have some serious competition.

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdipisReks i'm really interested in the headamp AE-1. i'm going to be looking for a nice transportable this summer, and it looks like the SR-71 and the Supermacro V3 are going to have some serious competition.

The coolest part about the AE-1 is that the batteries can be charged internally through a DC jack. The Li-Ion batteries are supposed to last 150 hours.

 

[philodox]

Can't the Supermacro's batteries be charged internally?

 

[tkam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox Can't the Supermacro's batteries be charged internally?

Yep they sure can.

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tkam Yep they sure can.

How long do they last?

 

[tkam]

According to Xin about 60 hours

 

[philodox]

I'm sure they last a lot less than the AE's, but when is the last time you went on a 150hr hike?

The batteries on my portable source and dac/amp last long enough to get me through a whole work week and I charge them on the weekend [assuming 4-6hrs use per day]. I think it is great that they have managed to get 150hrs out of the AE, but until they build a good portable that has a similar battery life it makes little difference.

 

[EdipisReks]

i personally like the idea of long lasting batteries. less chance of fogetting to put fresh ones in, or whatever, and have the amp crap out half way through the day.