[yukari]

Just came home from the Melbourne's 2nd head fi meet in 2010 .
 
There're a few more people around this meet (about 18) compare to 12 last time.
Happy to see some familiar faces from last meet, but good to meet new headfiers as well!
 
Thanks all attendees for coming, and thanks Duckman and Stang for coming in earlier to help out.
Big big thanks to Duckman for organizing the venue and help out with setting the room up prior the meet.

Attendees inlcude:
Collagen, Crikey, Decayed.cell, Duckman, Evilzardoz, Gamerzhell, Kunalraiker, Lejatte145,
Maus, Minivan, Oohms, Peepee-king, Rhys, Sando, Sixty2strat, Stang, Trysaeder...

 
I think this meet seems to be a bit more organized the the previous one, and hope you all feel that too =P
Happy to see ppl spending lots of the time listening each other's gears, and discussing about them.
Thanks for finishing all the pizza, glad it wasn't raining during that 1/2 hour lunch time.
Thanks to those carpooling and helping out other headfiers =)
 
HD800, K1000 I think are definitely the most popular headphones in this meet.
Too bad the Magums didn't arrive before the meet. But that means we might have it next time , maybe?
 
Collagen, hope you'll be back in Melb again , and many of us would love to know the cable for the modded headphones LOL
 
 
Hope you all enjoyed the meet and found sth new that interested you.
And hope to see you all again!
Please feel free to leave some comments/impressions etc!
 
 
 
************************************** 27/06/2010 **************************************
Thanks everyone for posting their impressions!
 
I emailed WooAudio about the headphone stand, and hope to get back from them soon.
They have two designs, the latter one has single or double version.
 
http://www.wooaudio.com/products/wahps.html
http://www.wooaudio.com/products/wahps2.html
 
Once I got a reply from wooaudio, I would probably start a group buy thread =)

 

[yukari]

Some personal impressions LOL
 
I think the K1000 is the standout in this meet!
I am surprised by how nice the sound comes out of it. I guess the amp it uses also helps bring that surprise out. The only downside is the K1000 might not be comfortable enough for me to have it on for very time hours...
HD800, I tried it with darkvoice 3322, then spl auditor. I think I like the latter combination in comparision. HD800 got really nice soundstage though. But it's not the first time I've heard , so not as surprising as the K1000 I guess.
the Stax O2....I think maybe I got such a high expectation of it, so it is not as surprising as K1000. It still got the smooth comforting sound of Stax, but I am expecting something more out of it. Maybe trying it with a different amp would make a difference? I would love to give it another chance.
HF2...sort of better than what I expected, esp as Gardo's , which probbaly not my most preferred sound...
I really hope next time we might have a pair of PS1000 as well....LOL
 
p.s. pictures still in my camera, but thx to all who have posted theirs =)

 

[stang]

The Stax O2 David (Duckman) had were amazing. The K1000 were very, very nice too. I was surprised by the HD800, I was expecting them to be very, very good, but unfortunately they were not what I was expecting. They were a bit too "trebley" and, IMO, could not compete with the Stax O2 or AKG K1000. The Stax had a lovely, lush, smooth sound with slightly rolled off treble, which I loved. The HD800 in comparison had a wider soundstage with more forward mids but they lacked that warmth and comforting sound of the Stax. Mind you the Stax were out of a "$300 in parts" DIY amp and the HD800 out of a SPL Auditor (both through same source). The Stax with jazz were just so nice to listen to. I could imagine myself sitting back in a nice comfy chair in front of a fire in my living room, just sitting back and relaxing, they were just so nice! The K1000 (bass heavy) I only listened to for about 5 minutes, but damn were they nice. Trumpets sounded so alive and recordings sounded so dynamic and realistic. I have never heard such detail. Bass definitely did not lack at all, either, which was surprising to me, since they are earspeakers. However, even though, IMO, the K1000 did sound better, I could see myself purchasing the Stax O2 more than the K1000 because the K1000 are earspeakers and of course, leak a lot of sound and also buying a good enough amp to drive them may very well deem difficult and cost a lot of money. 
 
I also compared my DT880 600ohm to a pair of DT990 (think they were 32ohm as they were easy to drive). I preferred the DT880 for sure, as I am clearly not a bass head. I think what I prefer is a very well extended bass with just enough quantity to hear every bass note, not an overly emphasized bass. The DT990 fatigued me a bit because of their mix of (IMO) overdone treble and bass. I also managed to try a pair of HD580 with the driver covers removed. I prefer my DT880, but the HD580's mids were more forward (FWIR), making it a tough decision (since I mainly listen to metal and rock). Still, I personally believe the DT880 are a league ahead of the HD580.
 
The highlight for the day for me was listening to Davids O2. I would sell my MAD Ear+ HD, Grado HF-2, DT880 600ohm, Walkman X1060 and Westone UM3X to have that setup 

 It amazes me, even with metal and rock. Drums sound lovely, although the mids are a tad recessed, so guitars are a little laid back (though this may be due to lack of amplification?). The K1000 were such amazing headphones, but I simply could not see me buying them in the near future because of convenience. 

 

[Gamerzhell]

An excellent meet. Heaps better organisation than the first one.
 
Headphone wise, K1000 and HD800 were the stars of the show. The HD800 when compared to the HD650 was +20% of everything and with the bass cleaned up, when compared to the K701 it is closer to +10% of everything and some more bass. The K1000 was wonderful, almost perfect even. Though you will need a nice speaker amp to power it and it leaks like no tomorrow. That being said, if I had ~$1500, I would take the K1000 over the HD800, even if I had to use it in public.
 
Kudos to Yukari for organising this meet. Thanks to Maus and Lejatte145 for bringing the HD800 and K1000.
 
Hopefully we'll have another meet soon, and out of the rain this time ;P
 
ninjaedit: 'tis unfortunate that my k701 and meelec M9s didn't arrive before the meet. Would've liked to compare the newer 8 bump k701 vs the older 7 bump one.

 

[stang]

I didn't compare K701 to HD800 (I compared K701 to Stax O2), but at least now I can say that I would rather the K701 over HD800 (both got me moderately interested), mainly because of the price difference. Most definitely I would take the K1000 over the HD800, but I believe I would be happier with the Stax, as they not only do wonderfully with Jazz, but also rock and some metal. 

 

[Trysaeder]

Wishlist before meet: DT880/600
Wishlist after meet: DT880/600, HD650, K702 with more comfortable pads and headband.
What surprised me:
DT880 wasn't as comfortable as I thought. The middle of the headband touched the middle of my head, which I hate.
HD650 was very comfortable, I think it was stretched.
K701's pads were very hard.
 
Overall, the meet helped my solidify the direction that I am going with my headphones.

 

[stang]

Ah so you liked my DT880 600ohm? What gear did you try them with?
Yes, I also find the K701's pads are very hard, but it doesn't bother me too much. I didn't listen to the HD650. Mainly because they seemed to be occupied a lot of the time but also because I already know what I need to save for: K1000/Stax O2 

 

[Trysaeder]

Just the M3 and my clip, I was going to try them for BFBC but didn't get time.

 

[peepee-king]

I just want to know what the HF2 was re-cabled with... but I'm sure I'm not the only one ;p

 

[Gamerzhell]

After seeing a partially completed M3, I am tempted to go all out and build a 4 board balanced B22 + 2x O22. Dunno where I'm gonna dig up all that money though

 

[stang]

My M3 was completed (I didn't build it though

). It was the little silver amp under my Playstation 1 SCPH-1002. 
Lol I didn't try the recabled HF-2. Probably a good thing because I would want my HF-2 recabled, too. That will set me back a lot of money 

 Damn I really want to buy K1000 or Stax O2 now...I need a job 

 

[JIGF]

Great to read this, keep it coming. And pics guys, pics!

 

[stang]

Quote:

Great to read this, keep it coming. And pics guys, pics!

Yes! Where are the piccies? 

 I know we had some. I want to see my ugly head with headphones on 

 

[evilZardoz]

Hi,
 
I only got there at 4PM. whoops!  Guess I missed the K1000s...
 
The main reason I went was to audition the HD800s.  I love the soundstage on them and the clarity in the mids but compared to my 650s, I can't say I'm terribly impressed and would need to keep the 650s on-hand as well as the 800s just don't seem to render some music as well.  Perhaps it was the Darkvoice 3322 doing this... or the DAC... Hopefully I can try these cans out with the BCL at some stage.  Still, the HD650s really sounded amazing on Maus' setup with the DV 3322 and the DAC he had.
 
Was REALLY impressed by the Darkvoice amplifiers and I've rekindled a love for tubes.
 
Hopefully next time I can investigate portable amp solutions

 

[Mr Joboto]

Sounds like a great meet! You got me interested in checking out those O2s stang :S Put up some pictures soon so I can see the stuff that I miss out on because I'm not where any of the meets take place