[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ebonyks And fred, that picture of me with the R-10's is the single worst picture i have ever seen of me in my life. Vengance shall be swift and painful

I thought the same thing even though I've never seen you before

Sounds like you guys had fun. Nice pics.

 

[KR...]

Quote:

Originally posted by Rizumu I thought the same thing even though I've never seen you before Sounds like you guys had fun. Nice pics.

Now that's what I call headphone hair!!!

BTW, what is this amp?

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Hajime, did you do any compro's of HDxx0 replacement cables?

 

[Uncledan]

Quote:

Originally posted by KR... Now that's what I call headphone hair!!! BTW, what is this amp?

This amp looks cool!

 

[Hajime]

Quote:

Originally posted by Iron_Dreamer Hajime, did you do any compro's of HDxx0 replacement cables?

A little. A huge disappointment for me today was that I couldn't hear the Zu cable. The Zu looks so nice but I was literally pushing as hard as I could to try to get it into my HD650's and it wouldn't fit. Rey (Reynman) and Fred have a pair of my cables now and they both have a few cables to compare them with, so you should get some good comparisons soon.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Shucks, I guess that was one of the old Zu cables, that apparently have a different fir from the newer ones. BTW I didn't think you cables are ugly

 

[Lil_JV]

Did anyone listen to IMEP's SDS Labs amp? I am in the process of building mine and want to know what I can look forward to. Any more pics of it? BTW the case looks amazing IMEP. Did you paint the transformer? I was thinking of doing that.

JV.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Fred, by muscle memory, can you compare the K-1000's with the RKV as opposed to the Sophia Baby amp? I would think that the Baby would be a good contender for the K-1000's and it can often be found at Audiogon for around $500-$650.

The problem with the Baby is that many of the older ones out there do not have a headphone jack installed and for those of us who have converted our K-1000's over to a standard headphone plug via a replacement cable, this would be a problem.

 

[Ebonyks]

I can tell you from personal experence that the RKV would be a much better match for the K1000's than the sophia. The model we used also didn't have any headphone ports, so i'm not sure how that would effect anything

 

[ls20]

for some strange reasons... headphone amplifiers look so sexy and geeky-cool at the same time

 

[jpelg]

Ebonyks - Major congrats on organizing your first meet! I know that is no small undertaking, and I am so glad that it came off without a hitch. It certainly sounds like everyone had an awesome time.

Your impressions regarding the Meridian source are very interesting. Liking the Music Hall, and even the Sony NS500V, more in some aspects, I guess you prefer a slightly brighter, or more 'edgy' sizzle to your sound. That's cool. That may change over time, and since you like the Melos, your taste can't be all bad

.

Tube - Glad you could make this meet and lend some 'old-school' exerience. Anytime you want to make a quick few C-notes, just let me know and I will take those HP-1's off your hands. Oh, and that 'extra hole' on the Melos isn't stock - it's part of carlo's mod package, but you might need the new extra-large case

.

Man, those DIY amps look awesome! I am very impressed, regardless of how they sound. I think the commerical manufacturers have some things to improve upon in comparison. We definitely need to build up the NY-area DIY contingency.

Most of all, I am glad to read that people are listening and deciding for themselves what they like and don't like. That's the way it should be. Keep in mind that meet conditions are not like listening at home. What impresses upon first listen at a meet, may not be something you can live with. The reverse is also true.

Again, major congrats to Ebonyks, and to all who participated. Keep posting more impressions.

 

[Ray Samuels]

To see a young man like Ebonyks, taking the responsibility for a task that is some times so hard even for a grown up man with many years of experience & doing a meet in the level that he performed made me think twice regarding his energy & his love for music & his fellow head-fiers. I would like to say thank you for the wonderfull time that I enjoyed at your meet.
There were many amps to listen to & enjoy at the meet. The phily audio Just looked nice, I have to get intouch with the maker of that chassis to see if I can get that kind of shiney chrome finish for my future amps, because thats all what it did, sorry Chris, It did have NOS tubes in it, & they were changed to another more expensive set of NOS tube, but it just looked good with the NOS tubes.

Ebonyks Melos, sounded great, it was the first time I have ever heard that amp, even though it was driven by unknown source to me. Some how I didn't get shocked, so even if I did , it would just wake me up.

I was in shock when I saw the hand work of a headfier, his amp was a work of art. He did make his own pc brd, & assembled an amp with the highest hand work I have ever seen in my life, the pictures are displayed on the 1st page, it not only looked great, but it sounded even greater. The hand made wooden chassis was just a piece of art to look at. I had all the respect to such workmanship & sound quality that that amp produced. I am sorry that I don't remember his name but may be some one will help me in that.

I do have the HD600 with Cardas, I like them very much. I had never heard the HD650 until this meet. They had Cardas after market cable too. I listened carfully comparing the two, I do not know if they were burned-in or not, if they were, then I would say that they were just heavier in tonal characteristics over all frequencies & that took the highs to a level that I did not enjoy, there was no resolution in the headphones when compared to the HD600, I will stick to the old faithfull even after I get my R10's.

Thanks again to Ebonyks, for the great job & his level of performance & best wishes for the future meets.
Ray Samuels

 

[john_jcb]

Quote:

Originally posted by Lil_JV Did anyone listen to IMEP's SDS Labs amp? I am in the process of building mine and want to know what I can look forward to. Any more pics of it? BTW the case looks amazing IMEP. Did you paint the transformer? I was thinking of doing that. JV.

I think most people listened to it after they finished praising the workmanship of the insides and the casework. I listened to it for a short time and I really liked the sound with the HD-600's I used. IMEP and I talked about swapping in a Meridian but time got away from us. I do not think you will be disappointed.

I thought the HD-650's were a little shifted a bit towards the bass. It may be they just need some burn in. I would like to get a pair sometime but I think the 700's will be out by the time they work their way to the top of my must have list.

It is amazing how quickly an afternoon slips by when you are having a good time. This meet was just the right size but I think a couple of more hours would be nice. You could actually get around and listen to everything and not have the feeling you were hogging a piece of gear by listening for a time.

One thing that I have noticed at every meet I have attended is how quickly total strangers seem to join in and enjoy themselves. After a short time it is more like a family gathering (without the arguments).

A couple of side notes:

It is too bad ChenaynayC couldn't make this one, maybe next time. You do know there is a one case of Sprechers Root Beer (on ice) penalty for being absent?

Charlie: The PX-200's have 32 ohm impedance. When the price goes down I will order you a pair so start saving. BTW there is a handling fee.

Peter: My wife thanks you for the root beer.

IMEP: Venture outside the DIY forum, the amp forum is calling.

Tuberoller and directions?? They let you drive the firetrucks?

 

[Ebonyks]

Well, i took apart the melos, and (Edit: I figured out the problem, there was a small tear in the dieletric on the hot wire on the powercable on it, i've covered it up carefully with teflon tape, so hopefully, this shouldn't happen again. Sorry 'bout that chris)

As for the merdian, i really don't understand what was wrong with the system. My normal source is a MMF 5, which favors laid-back relaxed sound as opposed to up-front bright and edgy sound. Right now, i'm blaming this on synergy, but perhaps ray's gear is really shining in spite, as opposed to with, his source. I dunno.

Also, i'd like to try and encourage people to plan meets of their own. At the meet, i was joking about how i spent less time organizing the meet than i would have driving down to a chicago meet, which isn't entirely true, but it really wasn't nearly as bad as i would have thought. Really, if tuberoller decides to stop hosting the chicago meets, it's really not as much effort to put a meet together than i had feared. Besides, for a day with these guys, it was more than worth it

 

[IMEP]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ray Samuels I was in shock when I saw the hand work of a headfier, his amp was a work of art. He did make his own pc brd, & assembled an amp with the highest hand work I have ever seen in my life, the picture are displayed on the 1st page, it not only looked great, but it sounded even greater. The hand made wooden chassis was just a piece of art to look at. I had all the respect to such workmanship & sound quality that that amp produced. I am sorry that I don't remember his name but may be some one will help me in that. Ray Samuels

Thanks Ray. Your comments along with Tuberollers and John's really mean a lot. You are all too kind!

I'm now trying to convince my wife that a Stealth would make a great Birthday/Christmas present. It sounded awesome with the R10's! I'll let you know how the negotiations progress.

On the same note, I wish that I would have never put the R10s on. WOW!

It was also good to meet fellow DIY'r Stereth(sp?). His DIY amps sounded great!

I had a great time and it was really cool to put faces to the names. I can't wait for the next meet.

Thanks Ebonyks for putting the meet together. It was a hoot!