Melbourne Mini Head-Fi Meet - 13th November 2011
Nov 14, 2011 at 8:16 AM Post #37 of 37
Small but amazing crowd of headphones and people.
 
Big thanks to Aaron for organizing and Jate for the venue..  but also for the two rare rare headphones.
 
Don't think this meet is big enough to warrant a new thread for impressions but here are mine.
 
 
AKG K1000. My second run-in with them, in a smaller meet which could be better because I got to spend more time with them. They're for what they are, the 'airiest headphone' ever. Obviously. Comfort is also amazing. Zero Isolation. Even if the drivers are positioned alot further out then conventional headphones the clarity and detail was not lost in the air. However, I felt the bass lacked impact compared to normal headphones. Of course it being completely open had something todo with the bass translation but then JAtte told me that the amp pairing had something todo with that as well as the primary amp he uses was not at the meet. I'm really intrigued now. The K1000s are a totally different ballgame in the world of headphones. Kinda makes want to test out the Sony PFR V1
 
LCD2 + Burson. The Burson is known to tighten things up as well as add some little brightness and excitement in the treble department. Paired with the LCD2 whom I felt is a dark-ish headphone with a sliiiight treble roll-off and heavy-handed sound, this combo sounds amazing. The bass here is absolutely creme-de-la-creme. Second best bass I've heard in the meet! tied with my own Edition 8s and beaten only by that very special electrostat. Although I still don't think the LCD-2 scales up to the hype that it currently is in, these are definitely a top top headphone, especially backed by the Burson. The HD800's are still preferred but like all things audio, is extremely subjective from individual to individual, and as with top tier headphones, the preference is marginal.
 
HD800. Now this, unlike the LCD2's are not quite the best of matches when paired with the Burson. Soundstage is amazing, and the bass is nice but the HD800s are borderline flat-analytical and on the Burson's they sound a little electronic, especially when listening to mostly jazzy, bluesy and classical stuff. Had them on the DNA Sonett and wooow. I've never encountered this amp before but they do a better job syncing with the HD800s. They become less 'professional' sounding and in turn is far more enjoyable to listen to with slight warmth added in. This is where the HD800s show its true colour by being more flexible. They can be tuned into a headphone for all genres of music simply by pairing up, whilst the LCD2s I felt cannot shake off the dark overtone and treble roll-off. They are remedied by the Bursons but not completely removed. Maybe its because I do like some treble hotness and sparkle which the LCD2's are too polite to ever do.
 
HD650 + Burson. Now arguably this is a second rung/tier headphone. And out of my dual LME4562 opamp or the Meier 3move, they sound just about right, a nice sounding mid tier headphone with a Sennheiser-ish laid back signature. But paired on the Burson's I felt they give the LCD2's a run for their money, and are just as capable as the LCD2s in every department. I felt the only difference between the LCD2s and the 650s is that the 650s cannot match the attack and decay of the LCd2's planar drivers. This is only apparent in extremely congested music, AND may be preferable in some genres. Amazing. The Bursons bring out the best of a lot of headphones. This I felt is one of the better ones! I've never thought too highly of the HD650s. Till the meet. In all honesty, I'd be happy 'settling' for the Bursons + HD650 for a system at home. Money well saved!! This awesome surprise is why head-fi meets are worth attending.
 
Ultrasone Edition 8 Limited. I've only had these set for 2 weeks prior and so it was a good day to take them out to meet some big boys of its tier. On the corda 3move they sounded nice with the crossfeed off but a little strange when turned on. Not sure, will test this crossfeed again tomorrow on the SPL Phonitor. Otherwise, straight out from the iphone, they're the best sounding of the bunch. They scale up well too! sounding even better on the Bursons, but I've always felt that the Ed8 had a metallic tinge to its notes, and the Bursons really made this tinge more obvious, not sure if I like this tinge. Head-to-head versus the LCD2s on the bursons were an interesting match. The LCD2s bass was locked in a tie with the edition 8s, but both albeit dealing with bass differently. The LCD2s mids however absolutely trumped the Edition 8s. This is obvious with vocal-oriented music where the LCd2s' had a very rich and creamy vibrato on vocals while the Edition 8s were just rather clinical sounding. Treble was preferred on the Edition 8s. They had more sparkle and excitement, borderline fatiguing but still preferred. The HD800's soundstage was too much of a difference to the Edition 8s to ever fairly be compared side by side.
 
 
Grado SR325. Heavy cables? whoah. Is this cable a stock one? They weigh almost more than the headphones themselves. The build was not inspiring on the Grado's. They are a little flimsy on the hand and on the head. Soundwise, typical grado. A nice warm kick with the bass, nice midrange and exciting enough treble but compared to everything else in the little thai takeaway this day, they're really out of their depth.
 
 
Beyerdynamic T1. This flagship beyer is really a beyer through and through, carrying the beyer flag and carries the best of Beyer's signature sound. I felt the T1s were a compromise between the HD800s, the LCD2s and the Edition 8s, with a meaty overtone. Whilst the other top headphones excel in one thing or another, or have a particular drawback, the T1 doesnt seem todo anything better than any of the other top tier offerings but seem to have no weaknesses either. Very versatile piece. Sounded almost identical to Kiteki's T5p actually, but audio memory is never reliable.
 
 
Sennheiser HE60 + Amp. Putting a review or impression on these is frankly, difficult. I've never been so blown away by a headphone before. From top to bottom, along with presentation and staging (which is wide, but not too big like the HD800s or K1000) and everything else in-between, there is an obvious gap in class between these and the rest of the 'world class' headphones in attendance. This I guess separates the 'world class' from the 'legends'. Okay maybe I'm just over-exaggerating. The HD800s might still sound technically better, the LCD2's are..  err..  heavier..  and the Edition 8s have shinier eacups but... audio gear has always been about reproducing a recording, be it live or studio. And the HE60s produces audio so lifelike, so natural and so..  REAL..  its mindblowing. I actually cannot pinpoint exactly where these pair of headphones excel at or anything because I had two extended listening sessions with them and both times I was just distracted by music..  MUSIC!!! 
 
 
Worth-A-Mention: Incase Sonic. This grey little unassuming looking headphone actually sounds really impressive! I expected them to be slightly bloated, heavy bass and nothing else. But they actually are pretty tight with a neutral take on its sound signature with supremely comfortable earcups. I really hope these do well in the market because they're quite a gem. I can see them being used on the streets or even..  SNOWBOARDING. I dont know why, I keep thinking of snowboarding when having them on me.....
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top