KHBauer,
Eviscerated. Thank you for your astute observation and implicit correction. Just to be on the safe side, though, I supplanted the misspelling with a two-syllable synonym. Right about now, I need a shame-faced smiley. (And to think: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary was just in the next room.)
PKMan,
Now I wish I'd held onto the MPX3 and K701's a little longer, although I don't think the AKG's, even with 5687 tubes, would have surmounted their bass slam deficit. Well, at least with the HeadFive and the UE 5 Pro's, I don't have to worry about leaving the tubes on, or greeting customers with unsightly headphone hair.
Besides, I think I prefer the intimacy and head space of IEM's anyway. In addition, I'm getting a wider soundstage with the HF/EU combo than with the MPX3/K701's, or at least more of a sense of space outside my head, but that might be due to the better separation of instruments and vocals with the HeadFive.
Listened to Schubert, Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks and 4nonBlondes (Bigger, Better, Faster, More!)--and more Keely Smith--today. The HF was not at all forgiving of the 4nB recording's tinny treble (but it didn't stop me from getting temporarily lost in Pleasantly Blue, Mr. President and Drifting). Wow, after about 125 hours, this amp has really opened up, just as Dr. Meier promised! Cymbal hits that sounded splotchy and non-descript last week are now well resolved and tingly. Brian Auger was spot-on, tight (the, I think, autoharp, in Dawn of Another Day shimmered). Acoustic guitars on BotT (Buckets of Rain) sounded roomy, rounded and nicely detailed, and Schubert's 9th (the last movement, especially) sounded sweeping and spacious. Keely Smith's S'posin' came all the way through with that purity and intimacy that only her voice can deliver.
I wouldn't characterize this amp as euphonic or warm (as I have read elsewhere), neither do I find it over emphasized in the bass. Rather, I find it fairly neutral, true to the source and irrepressibly musical (hallmarks of the the other two Meier amps I've listened to: the original HA-2 and PreHead--oh! I would so much like to audition the HA-2, Mk.II SE! One of my most memorable listening sessions involved the original HA-2, HD600's with Cardas cable and the Dave Brubeck Quartet's Time Out cd).
At $250/shipped, the HeadFive is the best deal I've ever gotten on a brand new audio product. Thanks again, Dr. Meier!
