Montreal SSI meet impressions
Apr 4, 2010 at 9:22 PM Post #16 of 44
I stumbled into the Head-fi room in Montreal, there were so many cans in the room I dubbed it the pantry. I spent over 2 hours there and I wish I could have stayed longer. It was my favorite room at the event, thanks to head-fi for such a user friendly room and the setup to compare some of the products that I am looking to buy.

I met a staffer named Dave who explained the room to me and then again, in English, when he found out I didn't speak French. Thanks for your patience, and deft skill in 2 languages. As I promised I joined head-fi and this is me first post.

So, now I get to throw in my 2 cents on some of the phones.

Beyer: 770 hard sound, not to my liking. 880, more open but indistinct highs, too soft. T-1, Balanced and open sound, good depth. My faves.

Sennheiser: 650 only a quick listen but good. ( my friends draged me out jabbering about xing the border before 1:00 ) 800, balanced and musical and very detailed, the only drawback was the tendency to put a spotlight on any flaw in the system.

AKG: 701 great mids and highs but trunicated bass, unbalanced sound.

I look forward to attending the next meet in the NE. I wish I could have stayed longer in Montreal.
 
Apr 20, 2010 at 1:23 AM Post #17 of 44
Following the success of the twinhead +hd650 combo, I bought a pair of hd600s with cardas cables. I think it sounds even better than the 650s, with less pronounced mid-bass. It sounds surely less euphonic but they are NOT veiled at all.
 
Apr 20, 2010 at 3:11 AM Post #18 of 44
I never did give my impressions from the show, did I.? Here follow, then, my impressions.

There were friendly people (even the pompously righteous missionary), and excellent set-ups.

I thought this last year and I thought it again: the AD2000 are really nice headphones. Though rather annoying to wear due to the driver touching the ear, the sound is fairly neutral and engaging. As I listened to a heavy vinyl of the 300 soundtrack (which amp was it on? The Burson?), I was thoroughly absorbed by the music.

From the Beyerdynamic camp, I had the opportunity to hear three cans: The DT770, DT880 and T1, with my preference coming in that order. The DT770s are good, but boomy. The DT880 are very good: The bass is not too present (I don't like bass. That makes one person in the world.) and the trebble is quite pleasent. Because of this, and their not having a huge soundstage, I think they might be quite good for telly and film viewing.

The T1s are very good indeed, presenting a very well rounded sound. Sadly, as I only was able to audition them on a Lehman amp and with music with which I was rather unfamiliar, I dare not say more, save this: I propose that these are headphones which do not wow immediately. Rather, these are headphones that will happily play any thing and make it sound good. Not stunning, mind: good. Though I strongly suspect that I will be purchasing these at some point, I remain unconvinced that they are vastly superior to cheaper offerings: they may not be worth the hefty price tag.

The HD800 are, in this respect, the opposite. They are stunning headphones, immedianely telling the listener that he is about to experience a new headphone. I maintain, as I said last year, that they are the K701 --- but perfected. If the K701 is a sphere with radius n, the HD800 is a sphere with radius n+m, where n is a real integer and m is a real integer which is rather larger than n.

The other Sennheiser offering was the HD650. A very good offering it is, but not to my liking. Listening to the Vorspiel from Tannhäuser, the instruments lacked sparkle and were too darkly rich for my tastes.

The orthodynamic offering from HiFiman was very nice indeed, but I don't think I heard them on an amp that did them justice: the highs seemed a bit harsh with the bass a bit wanting for power.

Here endeth part one, as I just deleted a HUGE amount of writing and I need to regain my equanimity: good thing I copied until here.
 
Apr 20, 2010 at 3:57 AM Post #19 of 44
Quote:

Originally Posted by Presently42 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
There were friendly people (even the pompously righteous missionary), and excellent set-ups.


Oh man, I do remember that guy. Unfortunately, me and presently were alone when he popped up and proceeded to talk about the link between spirituality, vegetarianism and high-end audio.

And yes, we did A/B the k701 and AD2000 using the 300 soundtrack with the Burson. And yes, I still believe the k701 sounded dead on that music
tongue.gif
...
 
Apr 20, 2010 at 4:06 AM Post #20 of 44
Quote:

Originally Posted by papomaster /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Oh man, I do remember that guy. Unfortunately, me and presently were alone when he popped up and proceeded to talk about the link between spirituality, vegetarianism and high-end audio.


Bah, I ate steak for dinner and listened to some Genesis on my speakers, does that count?
tongue_smile.gif


Wish I was there to see this, sounds like fun. Also, I really need to listen to those AD2000 in a non-meet setting sometimes.
 
Apr 25, 2010 at 6:24 PM Post #22 of 44
That would be great! If you want to try any of the stuff listed in my sig in exchange, it will be a pleasure. I also have a HeadAmp GS-1 coming my way.

About a summer meet, my offer to host one at my place still stands. It's pretty easy to get here by public transportation, 165 bus from Guy-Concordia (15 min.) or Côte-des-Neiges (8 min.) and a 2 min. walk from the bus stop. I'm in for a relax meet with 5-6 people and some good beer to improve the listening experience. Let me know guys if some of you would be up for such an event, most probably sometimes in June.
 
Apr 25, 2010 at 7:37 PM Post #23 of 44
Hmmmm, a GS-1 is on my short listening list for amps, with the einar sound vc-01i and woo 2. Also, we could do a smaller meet in june while planning something bigger for later on (something like mid-august) with more people.
 
Apr 27, 2010 at 2:03 AM Post #25 of 44
I will order the Phoenix as soon my PayPal will be ready with my new back account.

I still have B22 in construction ... will be finish one day! But before that day, I want to try a solid state to use with my HD800 balanced!

My SP Dragon is pretty amazing ... but I can't wait to do a proper A/B between them to know wich one I really prefer.

When I will know what I prefer, I will be able to put some gear on sale ... :wink:
 
Apr 27, 2010 at 2:05 AM Post #26 of 44
Quote:

Originally Posted by papomaster /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I just ordered the non-i version of the einar audio. It should arrive some time next week. Can't wait...
ksc75smile.gif



Look interesting Papo ... keep us informed!

You not tempted with Audio-GD gear ?
 
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