[ClieOS]

The day kicked off with the Shure SRH1540 press event on the morning, just over the hallway from the Mook festival. Audio Technica launched their new IM series a day earlier, which I missed unfortunately.
 

 

Shure HK sent a few people over for the event.
 

 

Pretty girl is a must, don't you say?
 

 

Well, we get to try the SE846 as well.
 

---

Now to the main event - Mook HeadFest. It is very early in the morning so you won't see that many people from pictures below. The place became much packed in the afternoon.
 

The first thing I saw on the way in is the banner for NuForce upcoming flagship IEM, which took me by surprise.
 

 

The Primo 8 is rather good sounding actually, but I heard from unconfirmed source that it could be quite expensive. Overall a solid IEM, and could really become a hot item if NuForce prized it right.
 

As mentioned, it is still very early in the morning so they are not fully setup yet.
 

Westone. Got to try the W40 the day before and it seems to be pretty similar to the original W4.
 

 

 

 

 

Atomic Floyd
 

 

The Singapore local new startup Dita is another surprise for me in the show. Will review it early next year but you guy should really keep an eye on them.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jaben specialty - bundle deal.
 

 

Jerry was kicking back on the morning, enjoying a moment of peace and quiet - not for long though.
 

 

 

Custom version of Roxanne with the full carbon fiber upgrade option.
 

Universal version of Roxanne. According to Jerry, the production is helddback by the cable manufacturer.
 

Wagnus got a lot of attention as well.
 

 

 

 

Wait, who is this?
 

FitEar was popular as always.
 

Mr. Suyama looked a little lost as he couldn't find some of his demo units (*they pop up a few minutes later)
 

 
Some of the random stuffs below...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teac had quite a few gears on the show.
 

 

 

 

iriver was secretly showing off a new prototype with full touch screen faceplate (instead of half a faceplate like AK100 / AK120) to only a few people. Sorry, didn't take a picture of it.
 

 

GoVibe.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[z3r0day]

Great pics! I wish there are more conventions like this in the North America!

 

[xaddictionx]

The event is definitely well received! With lots of new introductions and surprises!

 

[DarknightDK]

Dropped by the event today and I'm glad I did.
 
Got to try out the headphone that has been getting a lot of hype here on head-fi lately; aka Mr Speakers Alpha Dog. Overall, I was impressed with the overall coherency of the sound. It sounded very open and spacious for a closed can. Midrange and highs were also very smooth and clear which is typical of a planner headphone. Unfortunately, the set up at the show was sub-par and could not drive the headphones to its full potential.
 
I was also very impressed with the Abyss headphones. Best in show IMO. It combines the best qualities of the LCD-3 and HD800. The bass is just so good - clean, deep, tight and punchy. Simply fantastic. Wasn't too impressed with the design and finish though. Seemed more like a 'prototype' build to me. All in all, really impressed with the Abyss but at S$7,500 a pair, it aren't happening.
 
Another surprise for me was the MASS-Kobo custom build amplifier: Model 394 (www.masskobo.com). Plugged in my HD800 and was blown away. It sounds like an amp made for studio monitoring. Very clean, neutral and precise, with excellent control of the bass. Great synergy with the HD800.
 
Shout out to Jerry Harvey. Great guy. Took the time to meet with the fans and chat about his products and anything under the sun. Signing autographs and all. Its great to see him standing behind his brand and coming all the way out here to meet the fans. Throughout the show, it was evident that JH Audio was the most popular booth - fans wanting to meet with Jerry and to try out the new flagship Roxanne IEM.

 

[Joe-Siow]

Had the pleasure of meeting ClieOS for the Shure 1540 launch event and share a few words with him.
Man is extremely knowledgeable and I gained a few insights from him.
 
Highlights of the 2013 event for me included Abyss (sounds AMAZING, as with the price), the Analog Square Paper amps, DITA with The Truth cable IEM and FitEar MH334 (though I've already heard in Jaben Singapore 2 weeks earlier).
Seeing Mr Suyama in person was an eye opener (yes, I know, fanboy mode).
 
Anyway, great show by all involved. My group of friends and wife enjoyed today tremendously.
Keep up the good work, and hope to see this event flourish.

 

[bmichels]

Could you tell us a little more about the A&K "big brother" prototype ?

Was the overal size bigger than the Ak120 ? iPhone Line ?
Was the graphical interface much improved?
Does it has à " real" Line-out
What DAC chip ? One or 2? DSD ?
AVAILABILITY DATE ??
Does it already has a name ? ( AK140 ? AK200 ? ... )
.....

Thanks in advance

 

[macdevign]

Kudos to the organiser. This time the event is much better with more spacious room.
 
I'm not too sure why but the following established vendors are missing, or did I miss their booth ?
- Denon
- Audio Technica
- Hifiman
- Audeze
 
So unable to try some excellent products like hifiman he6, and the new line of Audeze headphones.
 
What surprise me is that some headphone bundles are really unbelievable. Can anyone get Centrance Dacport, Beyer T90 and a good headphone stand in a bundle for less than SGD$700 ? Yes, you can at Mook event.
 
And besides, the Abyss is also very good value because its price now include a very good headphone amplifier. I am too blown away by the sound of the Abyss, and it is really that good.
 
Also get to try the new AKG K812 headphone ( the demo comes with a short good quality custom cable, not the original long cable for testing so the opinion might vary). It  sounds awesome with  huge soundstage like Hd800, with more pristine detail and crystal clear sound. Its sound signature is bit similar to Fostex Th900, with the latter having the bit warm tonality. Its build quality is top-notch.  Listeners might have missed a great thing if they dismiss it just because it is designed for studio usage. It gives hd800 a run for the $$$.
 
So which sound better ? Shure 1840 or Shure 1540 ? My vote is on Shure 1840 as it sounds more organic and natural compare to its closed brother.
 
And I also amazed by Beyer T90 which I feel portray a more holographic and upfront vocal than the more expensive T5p, though the instruments sound more prominent on T5p. 
 
 
In all, this event is worth going for.  Definitely love to see the participation of Hifiman and Audeze in the next Mook.

 

[kurochin]

Was there for only a while, as I had other engagements. My first headphone "event" of any kind in Singapore (I just moved here less than a year ago). Very well put together, I must say.

My personal highlights;

Stax SR-009
First time I've heard the 009. Can't form a conclusive opinion due to limited time and ambient noise, but what I heard was very, very impressive. If I had that US$10K or so lying around, The 009 + decent electrostatic amplifier would be my pick ahead of the Abyss, for sure. Quite comfortable despite the weight. Audeze should send some staff to the Stax factory to learn about ergonomics. Overpriced, but impressive nonetheless.

JPS Abyss
Also very impressive. Didn't quite make my jaw drop like the magical SR-009, but the Abyss has more of a sound I'm comfortable with. Nice ballsy bass. Quite similar to my Fostex TH900 in some areas, though the Abyss is probably more adept in terms of technicalities, given their crazy price. Not a fan of the looks, though. Something so high-end shouldn't look like scaffolding, nor should it have a crass tattoo parlour logo. Other than that, no complaints. Great headphone, as long as I don't have to look into a mirror while wearing one.

Rudistor Chroma Headphone + Amp
The one pictured above. Really good synergy between the two, and the amp in particular looked lovely. I'm not a huge fan of the Grado type of sound, but the Chroma is definitely special. Has this unique, diffused (in a good way) midrange. Not overly sharp like modern Grados either. I'd been curious about Rudistor amps for a while, so it was nice to finally get the chance to try one.

Final Audio IEMs
Forgot the model name. Looks like some kind of golden horn or trumpet. Never knew a universal IEM could image this well. The best vocals I heard at the event, period. Not a fan of the looks though. Way too shiny for me. Heinously expensive. Pricier than most CIEMs, I think. Comfort could be better too.

Fitear CIEMs
I'm waiting for my MH335DW to arrive. Nuff said. Suyama-san was a bit shocked (probably due to my skin colour, since I'm not Chinese) that I could speak Japanese. Shame he was so busy attending to so many people at the time. MH334 was probably my best-in-show along with the Stax 009 and Abyss. I thought the Final Audio buds had unreal imaging, but the Fitears are on another planet altogether. Most CIEMs (in my experience) image more on a flat plane just above your neck, but the Fitears (334 in particular) sound like they're creating this dome around you. It's Tuesday morning here as I'm typing this, and I'm still gobsmacked.

Jerry Harvey
I'm more impressed with the person, to be honest. Really swell guy. Great attitude. Tattoed like a complete beast. If anyone could look cool wearing the JPS Abyss, it would be him. The JH CIEMs were alright, but nowhere near the Fitears, to my ears.

Analog Square Portable Tube Amps
They sound way better than I expected. Way, way better. I reckon they'd put many desktop amps in that price range to shame. They also look great. Build quality is sublime. I don't really have the need for a portable setup of any sort since I drive most of the time but in a perfect world, I'd have one of these babies sitting on my desk.

Wish I could've stuck around for the entire weekend, but sadly had to go out of town for work related stuff. So much headporn, so little time.
....

 

[myap2328]

Wow this is cruel... There was another thread started way back about this festival and just because a contributor posted here this was chosen to be featured and the other thread was locked?

This is not fair, to be honest. That thread provided many headfiers with useful information about the festival and also many peoples impressions and thoughts about it, and the moderator just locks it up? Wow...

 

[DrRuss]

Wow this is cruel... There was another thread started way back about this festival and just because a contributor posted here this was chosen to be featured and the other thread was locked?

This is not fair, to be honest. That thread provided many headfiers with useful information about the festival and also many peoples impressions and thoughts about it, and the moderator just locks it up? Wow...

totally agree with you man!..wickedly true...

  cheers to sidrpm who first and originally started this thread...

 

[ClieOS]

Wow this is cruel... There was another thread started way back about this festival and just because a contributor posted here this was chosen to be featured and the other thread was locked?

This is not fair, to be honest. That thread provided many headfiers with useful information about the festival and also many peoples impressions and thoughts about it, and the moderator just locks it up? Wow...

 
Sorry to hear that the other thread get locked, but I doubt it is due to me being a contributor (also, the 'contributor' title was given to anyone who donate to HF a few years back, when the donate system was still in place). The two sub-forum kind of acts like a pro- and post-event discussion area and thus why I didn't post the pictures over at the original thread but instead here. The mod locked it up probably trying to concentrate the discussion in one place. The thread get locked down in this sub forum as well, once the discussion stop for a week or two.

 

[myap2328]

 

Wow this is cruel... There was another thread started way back about this festival and just because a contributor posted here this was chosen to be featured and the other thread was locked?

This is not fair, to be honest. That thread provided many headfiers with useful information about the festival and also many peoples impressions and thoughts about it, and the moderator just locks it up? Wow...

 
Sorry to hear that the other thread get locked, but I doubt it is due to me being a contributor (also, the 'contributor' title was given to anyone who donate to HF a few years back, when the donate system was still in place). The two sub-forum kind of acts like a pro- and post-event discussion area and thus why I didn't post the pictures over at the original thread but instead here. The mod locked it up probably trying to concentrate the discussion in one place. The thread get locked down in this sub forum as well, once the discussion stop for a week or two.

 
Thanks for the heads up! Cheers!

 

[sidrpm]

Wow this is cruel... There was another thread started way back about this festival and just because a contributor posted here this was chosen to be featured and the other thread was locked?

This is not fair, to be honest. That thread provided many headfiers with useful information about the festival and also many peoples impressions and thoughts about it, and the moderator just locks it up? Wow...

 
 

  totally agree with you man!..wickedly true...

  cheers to sidrpm who first and originally started this thread...

 
Thank you both for your support. I noticed the earlier thread was locked and did send an email to the moderator. Unfortunately I have not received a reply. 
 
I would love to share photos and impressions with you gentlemen at any time you wish.
 
Clearly this has happened before and will continue to happen and sadly I cannot do anything about it at this point in time. Who am I to argue with the mods or with the person who started this thread. Cheers to them all....

 

[joe]

The other thread was created in the Meet forum used for planning meets, whereas this thread is in the Meet Impressions forum which is used for meet coverage and impressions.  That's why the thread was closed, and why the moderator linked to this thread for continued conversation.

 

[sidrpm]

  The other thread was created in the Meet forum used for planning meets, whereas this thread is in the Meet Impressions forum which is used for meet coverage and impressions.  That's why the thread was closed, and why the moderator linked to this thread for continued conversation.

A courtesy note at the end of the previous thread directing people here would have sufficed.
 
Can any one of us start a new thread under Meet Impressions?