RCBinTN
Headphoneus Supremus
Thanks to Theogenes for organizing a great meet in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Pics and impressions to follow!!
Awesome dinner and great to chat with the boys.
Man I had a blast guys. Maybe next time my amp will work and I'll have my TH 900 in the mail. Unfortunately i coukdnt test out headphones for my amp, but I heard a couple of great setups and met some really cool people. Shout out to Joe Saxon, Dan (mr speakers), Joedoe, Speedster and Theo, yall were really cool to talk to. All in all, I call that a success regardless of my amp situation. Hopefully il be back next year!
For me, I think the HD 800 stole the show on that Questyle CMA 800 amp. I nead to know what Joe used as the DAC, because that was an incredible combo. Really took my breath away.
At the Nashville meet today I had the chance meet some cool fellow head-fiers and to hear cans and amps that I have never heard before. My general impressions are:
The HD800 is very clear sounding and nice to listen to, but did not wow me in the bass department.
A big surprise for me was the Grado PS1000. Jazz on this can had nice separation and clarity, without mistaking the Grado signature sound.
I didn’t keep track of all of the dac/amp combos I heard, but I came away realizing that I prefer my Dac-Wow/Pioneer SX-650 stereo receiver sound to some others I heard. I brought my Alpha Primes and Sound Magic HD200s to try out on different equipment.
The main things I wanted to hear, since I have recently placed orders for them, are the Ether and Cavalli Carbon. Listening to the Ethers through the Carbon with music played through what I believe was an Astell & Kern player, was utterly fascinating. Dan had some classical music playing through it which was obviously well-recorded, presenting a 3D sound quality.
There were 3 other amps that Dan had, a Cavalli Crimson, the schiit ragnarok and yggdrasil, and a Woo amp (I don’t remember the model number); I preferred the Woo. The Ethers are lightweight, comfortable, and it seems they will upgrade as far as your equipment will take them. The Woo/Ether combo (not sure what dac Dan was using) is hands down the best thing I have ever heard. The realism and separation blew me away. I never felt I was missing anything with the Ethers.
I even tried the Ethers with my Ifi nano and sansa clip. I was able to get loud and good sound from the Ethers, much louder than with my Primes.
Oh, and I prefer my Primes to the Audeze phones I heard.
So, in a nutshell, I feel good about my purchases of the Ether and Carbon, and look forward to receiving them in a few months. And I also feel that my present setup is able to hold its own.
Theogenes, thanks for settling up a great meet, Dan, appreciate your support of the Nashville Meet. The Ether is out of this World good!!! It was great seeing everyone again can't wait until the next event!!! More impressions coming tomorrow, right now my bed is calling.
I just want to say this was my first Head-Fi meet and I couldn't have had a better time (I wish I could have stayed longer). You guys are just the best. Being a new guy to the headphone scene you all made me feel more than welcome. I'm really bad with names but I have to thank Theogenes, KilKil and Skyline315 for being so helpful and welcoming. A special thanks to Dan (Mr. Speakers) for bringing his Woo 5 (I have to have one(someday)). His Ether's are awesome so are the Primes. This guy is just so passionate about his craft and it shows in his product. I'm almost thinking of selling my Alpha Dogs and getting some Primes (they are that much better). I will have a pair of Ethers (These with the Woo 5 were just ( The best thing I have heard so far) I haven't heard a lot so take it with all the salt you have.I heard Audeze LCD 2's and (closed backs don't remember the model) , HD 800's and HD 700, HD 650 ,Senn Momentum( pretty nice sounding), AKG 7,5 's and Beyer Tesla's , Grado something 1000 wood model and they sounded great. I'm a new guy to all of this so I don't know all of the models so I'm doing the best that I can. All that I can say is thanks for doing this. Count me in on the next one right now. All of the people I met were just the best.
Just got home and got everything set back up! I'm listening to music on my new Momentum 2's, thanks to Joe Saxon, and enjoying it greatly! A special thanks to Keith from Emotiva, for not only being wonderful company but also giving me one of his Emotiva Optical cables, which is VERY nice.
Also thanks to Dan (Mr. Speakers) for sharing some great knowledge, great headphones, great amps and great company. It was a pleasure to meet you and I will be looking your way when I have some real money for a new headphone!
Thanks, of course, to Burnley (Theogenes) for organizing the meet. I know you poured a lot of time, energy and resources into the meet, and I'm sure I'm not alone in being extremely grateful for all you did to make this meet exceptional.
If I could, I'd mention all of you who shared great gear, great discussion, and great company, but I'd be on here all night. Thanks to you all!
I have lots more pics coming but wanted to share these and say thanks kindly to everyone who contributed to make this meet possible.
I thought the Massdrop's K7XX were a real winner. As far as value, they may be my new #1 recommendation to people wanting good sound at a dirt cheap price. Really outstanding at that price point.