[Theogenes]

  Wow, Theo. I must say and I mean this in the most flattering sense, you may be the most observant person that I know. 

  And this whole time that I saw you hunched over your failing atom processor Gateway netbook from hell...smoke coming from your ears...four letter unmentionables passing like foam from a rabid dog's mouth...you were actually still taking it all in. Amazing, truly. 
You are a kind a gracious host and we all appreciate the effort you went through to put it all together. Cheers to you sir...

 
Ha!! I thank you kindly

. And I should probably apologize to anyone who actually heard the vile things streaming incessantly from my lips as I attempted to threaten my @#$%^ setup into working properly. I have a thing about inanimate objects that exist to do something and then don't actually do that exact thing, like playing my #@%&*()*&^%$#%&*()_)(*&^%$#$%&*()_(*&^%$#  music. *Breathes deeply, thinks about kittens, and finds center*. See? All better!!

 
Btw, I've already had my first savings-related casualty from the meet: I just picked up a set of Alpha Dogs. It's a good thing I haven't found a good deal on an AK100 ii yet...

 

[MattTCG]

^^ Haha...I bought hd600's before I got out of the door. 

 

[Theogenes]

So YOU'RE the culprit, eh?? No wonder I didn't see those HD600's around... Lol! Hopefully you can come to whenever we have the next one, and you can bring those along with ya... Assuming you haven't sold 'em to Jay by then

 

[MattTCG]

^^ Nah, Jay is not a Senn man. 

 

[jaywillin]

  ^^ Nah, Jay is not a Senn man. 

well the hd800 balanced on the bha-1 was tasty , and i liked the hd700, though i didn't hear it for very long.
 
and theogenes, take it from one "strong" personality , you got one too brother,and that's a good thing, and so enthusiastic !
making everyone feel welcome and at home, not everyone is good at that ,
thanks again , and job well done
 
i hope we can make this a twice a year deal, lets grow this thing !

 

[phillyd]

I'd gladly come down again! I can make it a day trip and $50-60 in gas is worth it!

 

[RUMAY408]

^^ I didn't want to repost everyone else, but Phillip I came close to selling my HD650, I just re-cabled them and realized those cables would also have to be resold.  I didn't want to sell them but your incredible enthusiasm and intelligence blew me away.  
 
I said 1/2 of the top 30 HP's in the world, were at that meet I wasn't very specific, I meant in the history of headphones.  If anyone has not read David Mahler's 58 flagship headphones thread, it is a must, somewhat dated X 2 years and a number of HP's later, still a very interesting take on HP's and as objective as I think on Head-Fi.
 
He included the LCD 2 and revision, Fostex TH-900, HE400, HE500, HE-6, PS1000, Senns HD800, HD700, HD650, HD600 (how did I miss that), T1
 
The HE-560 and LCD-X would be on the list if the review was done now, no doubt in my mind about that statement.
 
The meet was so seriously fun. I started the meet setting up in the "crack house" We talked about tagging the walls with Head-Fi signs. We should have added to the ambience. I knew avatar's but no faces, spending time with people who appreciate HP's, was as much fun as the HP's. I have several regrets, I wish I would have tried the HE-500, HD700, every LCD on my setup and the HD600 which I just never found.
 
Theogenes one hell of a show!

 

[MattTCG]

^^ There is always some hp or gear that I regret not getting to listen to at a meet. The great thing, among others, is that at every meet I get to attend first hand experience often dispels some myth I've had in my mind about how some hp sounds. The first meet that I went to I was able to try the hd650 for the first time. I feel head over heals for it. Ironically, at the Nashville meet I finally got to spend some quality time with the hd600 and came home with it. 
 
I think that it would have been a blast to break for dinner and then come back for an evening session. Possibly enjoy an adult beverage or two with an evening finish to the meet. 

 

[Theogenes]

  well the hd800 balanced on the bha-1 was tasty , and i liked the hd700, though i didn't hear it for very long.
 
and theogenes, take it from one "strong" personality , you got one too brother,and that's a good thing, and so enthusiastic !
making everyone feel welcome and at home, not everyone is good at that ,
thanks again , and job well done
 
i hope we can make this a twice a year deal, lets grow this thing !

 
Ha!! Thanks man, I really appreciate it .
 
And yeah, I'm game! I'm thinking late Q1, early Q2, whaddy'all think?
 

I'd gladly come down again! I can make it a day trip and $50-60 in gas is worth it!

 
Awesome, man!! It was good to meet you and cool having you down. Next time we'll have to see if we can find something to unseat the HD650!

 

  ^^ I didn't want to repost everyone else, but Phillip I came close to selling my HD650, I just re-cabled them and realized those cables would also have to be resold.  I didn't want to sell them but your incredible enthusiasm and intelligence blew me away.  
 
I said 1/2 of the top 30 HP's in the world, were at that meet I wasn't very specific, I meant in the history of headphones.  If anyone has not read David Mahler's 58 flagship headphones thread, it is a must, somewhat dated X 2 years and a number of HP's later, still a very interesting take on HP's and as objective as I think on Head-Fi.
 
He included the LCD 2 and revision, Fostex TH-900, HE400, HE500, HE-6, PS1000, Senns HD800, HD700, HD650, HD600 (how did I miss that), T1
 
The HE-560 and LCD-X would be on the list if the review was done now, no doubt in my mind about that statement.
 
The meet was so seriously fun. I started the meet setting up in the "crack house" We talked about tagging the walls with Head-Fi signs. We should have added to the ambience. I knew avatar's but no faces, spending time with people who appreciate HP's, was as much fun as the HP's. I have several regrets, I wish I would have tried the HE-500, HD700, every LCD on my setup and the HD600 which I just never found.
 
Theogenes one hell of a show!

 
No doubt, man, there were a LOT of great headphones and setups there... The only thing we were really missing were Stax cans, and at the rate Jay is progressing, he'll have a few by the next meet anyway

. Totally agreed on the monster Mahler ranking btw.
 
Oh, and you can thank Matt for missing the HD600-- he snatched 'em up to take back to his own personal headphone lair. Sneaky fella, that one.
 
Ha!! Yeah, the room was 'interesting' to say the least, but we made the best of it, and I don't even think some of the guys who showed up later noticed much. There was too much awesomeness happening on the tables and in the conversations to spend time looking at walls! (Btw: I do wish I took a picture of the part of the wall where there was a lamp built into the wall, and someone wrote "LAMP" in huge letters and drew an arrow to it. Made me laugh for some reason).

 

[Wildcatsare1]

   
Ha!! I thank you kindly

. And I should probably apologize to anyone who actually heard the vile things streaming incessantly from my lips as I attempted to threaten my @#$%^ setup into working properly. I have a thing about inanimate objects that exist to do something and then don't actually do that exact thing, like playing my #@%&*()*&^%$#%&*()_)(*&^%$#$%&*()_(*&^%$#  music. *Breathes deeply, thinks about kittens, and finds center*. See? All better!!

 
Btw, I've already had my first savings-related casualty from the meet: I just picked up a set of Alpha Dogs. It's a good thing I haven't found a good deal on an AK100 ii yet...

Theogenes, I say your financial casualty to the great Alpha Dogs need's to be compounded with a call to Trevor to pick up a set of those awesome Vanquish Cables, you liked them, didn't you 

, you do have that wonderful discount card Trevor provided for the Meet. You know of course your Alpha Dog experience will be incomplete without them, muhaa, muha, muhahaha 

.

 

[skyline315]

A few of my impressions:
 
1)  This was my first experience with the HD600/650.  The hype is justified.  While listening to the 650, I felt the infamous "Sennheiser veil" was a bit overblown.  However, I immediately went back to my 400is afterwards, and the difference was clear.  While it was easy to be seduced by the smooth sound of the 650s, I don't believe it would work for me as an every day headphone.  Still, I fully understand why people fall in love with the sound.
 
2)  HD800...I'll agree with Theogenes here.  I was pretty blown away/impressed by what I was hearing, while simultaneously realizing they weren't something I had any desire to own or listen to on a regular basis.   
 
3)  LCD-X.  My favorite headphone of the meet, hands down.  Sometimes headphones just sound "right".  These checked all the boxes for me.  And, somewhere, somehow, my wife knows I'm typing this as she rolls her eyes and says, "Of COURSE, you fall in love with the headphone that cost $1,700".
 
4)  HE-560.  Having just bought the HE-400i, I was really dreading hearing these headphones.  And, my worst fears realized...they're clearly a better headphone.  But, thankfully, I don't consider them to be $400 better.  *sigh of relief*  Like others, I did an a/b comparison with the open and closed grill versions.  I'd have to do more listening with a wider selection of tracks.  The increased air in the sound with the grill mod was very welcome, but the extra bass...I'm not so sure about.  It seemed a little rumbly and I really prefer a tighter bass sound.  But, this could have been completely track specific.  I'm sure I'll perform a grill mod on my 400is at some point which I'm guessing will have a similar effect.
 
5)  Alpha Dogs - I liked them.  A lot.  If I had any use for a full-sized closed headphone, this is where I'd look.
 
6)  Amps - I was on a mission to find the best amp pairing with the 400i.  Truth is, they sound pretty good on most everything.  Guess I'll stick with the Asgard a little longer until I find a combination that really works.  
 
So, time to upgrade my source, perhaps?  The HRT MSII has been around for a while.  It's practically begging to be replaced.
 
Advice, gents?  

 

 

[jaywillin]

  A few of my impressions:
 
1)  This was my first experience with the HD600/650.  The hype is justified.  While listening to the 650, I felt the infamous "Sennheiser veil" was a bit overblown.  However, I immediately went back to my 400is afterwards, and the difference was clear.  While it was easy to be seduced by the smooth sound of the 650s, I don't believe it would work for me as an every day headphone.  Still, I fully understand why people fall in love with the sound.
 
2)  HD800...I'll agree with Theogenes here.  I was pretty blown away/impressed by what I was hearing, while simultaneously realizing they weren't something I had any desire to own or listen to on a regular basis.   
 
3)  LCD-X.  My favorite headphone of the meet, hands down.  Sometimes headphones just sound "right".  These checked all the boxes for me.  And, somewhere, somehow, my wife knows I'm typing this as she rolls her eyes and says, "Of COURSE, you fall in love with the headphone that cost $1,700".
 
4)  HE-560.  Having just bought the HE-400i, I was really dreading hearing these headphones.  And, my worst fears realized...they're clearly a better headphone.  But, thankfully, I don't consider them to be $400 better.  *sigh of relief*  Like others, I did an a/b comparison with the open and closed grill versions.  I'd have to do more listening with a wider selection of tracks.  The increased air in the sound with the grill mod was very welcome, but the extra bass...I'm not so sure about.  It seemed a little rumbly and I really prefer a tighter bass sound.  But, this could have been completely track specific.  I'm sure I'll perform a grill mod on my 400is at some point which I'm guessing will have a similar effect.
 
5)  Alpha Dogs - I liked them.  A lot.  If I had any use for a full-sized closed headphone, this is where I'd look.
 
6)  Amps - I was on a mission to find the best amp pairing with the 400i.  Truth is, they sound pretty good on most everything.  Guess I'll stick with the Asgard a little longer until I find a combination that really works.  
 
So, time to upgrade my source, perhaps?  The HRT MSII has been around for a while.  It's practically begging to be replaced.
 
Advice, gents?  

 

uberfrost

 

[skyline315]

  uberfrost

Seems like the natural direction to go.  Just wanting to be sure I'm going to hear a real improvement in sound.  DACs are something I really don't have a firm grasp on regarding their impact on sound.

 

[Theogenes]

  ^^ There is always some hp or gear that I regret not getting to listen to at a meet. The great thing, among others, is that at every meet I get to attend first hand experience often dispels some myth I've had in my mind about how some hp sounds. The first meet that I went to I was able to try the hd650 for the first time. I feel head over heals for it. Ironically, at the Nashville meet I finally got to spend some quality time with the hd600 and came home with it. 
 
I think that it would have been a blast to break for dinner and then come back for an evening session. Possibly enjoy an adult beverage or two with an evening finish to the meet. 

 
Agreed. In my case, it was compounded by the aggravation that my source wasn't working, as I would have had plenty of time to listen to everything if the damn thing had worked correctly up front. /aggro.
 
Dude, the dinner idea is brilliant! We'd need to figure something out for having the gear watched while we were gone (go in two shifts, maybe?) but I'm down for that next time. If you have any other ideas on how to handle the logistics, I'm all ears!!
 

  Theogenes, I say your financial casualty to the great Alpha Dogs need's to be compounded with a call to Trevor to pick up a set of those awesome Vanquish Cables, you liked them, didn't you 

, you do have that wonderful discount card Trevor provided for the Meet. You know of course your Alpha Dog experience will be incomplete without them, muhaa, muha, muhahaha 

.

 
You know, I'd curse you, but I've already been on the Norne site today and built a set of wicked Draug 2 cables and added the to my wishlist for reference later... On second thought, I'll curse ya anyway .
 

  A few of my impressions:
 
1)  This was my first experience with the HD600/650.  The hype is justified.  While listening to the 650, I felt the infamous "Sennheiser veil" was a bit overblown.  However, I immediately went back to my 400is afterwards, and the difference was clear.  While it was easy to be seduced by the smooth sound of the 650s, I don't believe it would work for me as an every day headphone.  Still, I fully understand why people fall in love with the sound.
 
2)  HD800...I'll agree with Theogenes here.  I was pretty blown away/impressed by what I was hearing, while simultaneously realizing they weren't something I had any desire to own or listen to on a regular basis.   
 
3)  LCD-X.  My favorite headphone of the meet, hands down.  Sometimes headphones just sound "right".  These checked all the boxes for me.  And, somewhere, somehow, my wife knows I'm typing this as she rolls her eyes and says, "Of COURSE, you fall in love with the headphone that cost $1,700".
 
4)  HE-560.  Having just bought the HE-400i, I was really dreading hearing these headphones.  And, my worst fears realized...they're clearly a better headphone.  But, thankfully, I don't consider them to be $400 better.  *sigh of relief*  Like others, I did an a/b comparison with the open and closed grill versions.  I'd have to do more listening with a wider selection of tracks.  The increased air in the sound with the grill mod was very welcome, but the extra bass...I'm not so sure about.  It seemed a little rumbly and I really prefer a tighter bass sound.  But, this could have been completely track specific.  I'm sure I'll perform a grill mod on my 400is at some point which I'm guessing will have a similar effect.
 
5)  Alpha Dogs - I liked them.  A lot.  If I had any use for a full-sized closed headphone, this is where I'd look.
 
6)  Amps - I was on a mission to find the best amp pairing with the 400i.  Truth is, they sound pretty good on most everything.  Guess I'll stick with the Asgard a little longer until I find a combination that really works.  
 
So, time to upgrade my source, perhaps?  The HRT MSII has been around for a while.  It's practically begging to be replaced.
 
Advice, gents?  

 

 
Great impressions, man!! And I'm pretty much with you on everything (with the possible exception of the modded 560s, which I really liked a lot). Just out of curiosity, were there any amps you didn't think the 400i paired well with?
 
And as far as source, you better believe we can help you spend your hard-earned dough

. Any specific features or budgetary requirements?

 

[MattTCG]

uberfrost

This.