[RCBinTN]

Thanks to Theogenes for organizing a great meet in Spring Hill, Tennessee.  Pics and impressions to follow!!

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Subbed, great Meet!

 

[speedster2333]

Wow what a great meet!  I couldn’t wait to get back and see everyone I met from the previous meet back in September and meet some new awesome people as well.  Seriously, these people are so nice to talk with, always warm and inviting.  People, make it out to these, they are so incredibly fun to see the new equipment and try everything out. Literally, if it’s there we want you to try it.
 
Ok so now onto the fun part.
 
Listening Impressions
My Setup:
BiFrost Uber>Kimber KS 1021>Cary HH-1(new Tesla E88CC 32 tubes)>Norne Audio Skoll 2>HD700
I had tons of fun doing a little tube rolling.  After coming from the 6922EH tubes I found the Teslas to be substantially more extended, open and airy.  They almost gave a “magical” sparkle to some tracks that I’ve listened to many times over.  Bass was deep, controlled, and impactful, this is some seriously good bass.  Most people will find the HD700 fatiguing which it can be if done improperly. Replacing the stock cable from last meet did wonders and took that edge off the peaky treble.
 
My Setup: w/ MrSpeakers Ether(SE)
Out of this world good.  I didn’t do too much listening with these at my setup but managed to listen to George Winston Colors/Dance one of my all-time favorite songs.  The way this setup managed to convey so much emotion astounded me.  I have never felt so close emotionally to the music, I loved every second of it!  The naturalness of this headphone is really a cut above any I’ve heard to date.  Great job Dan.
 
My Setup: w/ LCD-X(SE)
Probably one of my favorite headphones of the meet.  Listening to M83 Wait was almost like a dream.  It had a euphoric almost blissful sense of space.  Closing my eyes I felt like I was floating away, such an awesome feeling.
 
My Setup: w/ Beyerdynamics T1(SE)
This may sound weird.  The Cary HH-1 was voiced using the T1's but I didn’t really like them.  I don’t know why, I feel like there has to be something wrong with me.  I know they are great headphones something almost seemed too polite about their representation.  I may be so used to the 700’s, the T1’s felt slow in comparison.  I don’t know I won’t blab anymore…
 
My Setup: w/ HD800’s (SE)
Fantastic headphone, the sense of soundstage and imaging are more expansive/wider than the hd700’s.  I like it for some recordings but still prefer the 700’s.  Although Jeff Buckley Hallelujah is always goose bump raising and it left me with more goose bumps than usual.  Every breath he takes makes you feel like we lost a great musician way too early and that his best stuff was still to come
 
My Setup: w/HE-6(SE)
Sounded ok, amp not suitable but wanted to try it nonetheless.
 
My Setup: w/ LCD 2.2F(SE)
            Only listened a few minutes with these.  I have not critically heard the 2.2 pre-fazor.  The Fazor seemed more natural/flat than most headphones, but found myself comparing it to the LCD-x which was my favorite. The X’s seemed lighter although I don’t think they are, must have been broken in longer. 
 
RCBinTn: Schiit Gungnir>Mjolnir>LCD-X(balanced)
            Thank you both for letting me commandeer your headphones for a while on my rig.
            Ok so listening here got me really intrigued with the LCD-Xs.  I found the Schiit stack to be very detailed and accurate and the LCD-Xs brought the most out of them.  Perhaps a little dry because I found the X’s to be very Euphoric with my gear.  Same headphones completely different feeling.
 
Theogenes: Lynx Hilo>Audio-gd Master 8>HE-6(balanced)
            This was a fun headphone, very natural representation of guitars, very crisp but juicy.  Sweet setup here.  Wish I had more time here.
Theogenes: Lynx Hilo> WA22>HD700(balanced)
            Very accurate, but a little dry for my tastes. Great sound staging and pinpoint imaging.
 
MrSpeakers(Dan): Schitt Yggdrasil>Ragnarok>Ether (wywire in between)(balanced)
            Most people have the strongest feelings about these next setups.  They are out of this world good.  By far the cleanest reproduction of music I’ve ever heard hands down.  I’m listening to Michael Hedges like Dan recommended. Phenomenal guitar player.  With my setup it doesn’t have the sense of space and separation like the Yggdrasil has.  The Yggdrasil is a game changer, what are the people over at Schiit doing?  Seriously this DAC is a killer, I do feel slightly depressed listening to my BiFrost Uber after hearing this.
 
MrSpeakers above setup: w/ HD700(balanced)
            This really makes the 700’s sound incredible.  Maybe not as musical as some but clean, grain free open all the jargon that goes with that.  Makes me love these headphones even more.
 
MrSpeakers: Yggdrasil>WA5>Royal Princess Tubes>Ether(balanced)
            Perhaps the end-all be-all of headphone setups.  There has never been more REALISM in any setup I’ve ever heard.  It’s so real it’s unreal, it’s that out of this world.  Like I said above very clean, grain free and open airy everything you look for, it’s probably what most of us strive for.  Dan did a great job with his new Ether, maybe one of my next headphones.  This setup can change logical priorities into horrible mistakes so be cautious if you ever get a chance to listen.
 
MrSpeakers: Cavalli Carbon>Ether
Listened after hearing the above, forgot to really listen sorry…I know everyone loved this bang for your buck setup.
 
Surprises:  Loved the LCD-X. Ether super light comfortable probably the most comfortable headphone out there.  Audeze EL8 sounded really good and they were brand new out of the box. Thanks Michael Britt and welcome to Nashville. Quite surprised by the new Emotiva gear. so small but actually packs a pretty big punch, kudos.
 
Misses: really wanted to try the hd600 on the cary, bummer thought about buying that one again.  Didn't get to listen to the WA7 for more than 10 seconds.  
 
 
Thanks everyone for letting me get a chance to talk and check out all the cool gear. Look forward to seeing everyone at the next meet.
Special thanks to Dan (MrSpeakers) on making the long trip with all his gear a real show stopper and a special thanks to Theogenes for arranging this successful meet once again.

 

[RCBinTN]

Dear Daniel,
That is the most comprehensive impressions post that I've ever read.
 
Wow.  Were you taking notes, or is that all from your memory?  Oh to be young, and strong.  Thanks for capturing many of the things that I missed!
 
BTW, we will be stocking up on some M83 and Michael Hedges music - thanks for the tips.
 
Cheers,
Dick

 

[reddog]

Subbed.

 

[Theogenes]

Well, the 3rd edition of the Music City Meet in Nashville, Tennessee is officially over-- and I, for one, had an absolutely AWESOME time!!

This is the place to post any pictures, video, impressions, thoughts, or really anything related to the MCM #3. What was your favorite table? Your biggest surprise of the meet? What would get your personal "Best In Show" award?

I'm going to post some of the pictures that attendees were kind enough to share (thanks Dick, thanks Mom!!), but I did want to take a moment to thank everyone who attended-- it's staggering how open, friendly, and engaging everyone was throughout the day, and how generous everyone was with their time and their most treasured gear. You guys ROCK!!!

A couple of specific appreciations are also in order:

Aaron (@harlw) for not just singlehandedly building the meet logo in his spare time and generously donating it to the group, but for also handling all the details of getting the meet shirts designed, printed, and delivered in a pretty tight window. Great work, man-- you are very much appreciated!!

Joe (@jmsaxon69) from Headphone Audiophile for hauling carloads of great gear all the way from Atlanta, being so involved and engaged with everyone, and for generously volunteering two raffle giveaways (congrats, mbritt and RCBinTN!) for the guys at the meet!

Daniel at Massdrop for volunteering to give an AKG K7XX Massdrop Edition headphone to one of our raffle winners! There was a K7XX in attendance at the meet, and I heard several people who made a point to tell me how good they thought it sounded-- to the point that I got a PM about it afterwards asking me how to go about snagging one!!

Keith at Emotiva for bringing over the Stealth DC-1 DAC and a handful of prototypes of pretty sweet products set to be announced shortly at one of the national audio shows. It's pretty rare for companies like Emotiva to have a presence at headphone events, so this was a really nice surprise, and it was much appreciated!

Trevor at Norne Audio for yet again generously sending us a ton of great-sounding (and great-looking!) cables to try out for any number of setups. Trevor has always been a strong supporter of our meets, and it's now becoming a tradition for some of the new folks to be blown away by the quality of his stuff!! And a kudos here to Wildcatsare1 for always making sure Norne is involved and exceptionally well represented!

Mike at Woo Audio for not just supporting our meet, but sending over the excellent WA22 balanced amplifier with some really, really nice tubes for everyone to check out!! Beyond the obvious charateristics of being very attractive and built like a bomb-shelter door, the WA22 was consistently one of the standouts of the meet itself-- even to a solid-state guy like me. I'll definitely be posting some more in-depth thoughts on this one later, so stay tuned!!

Tyler at Alclair for his support and his sharing some of his excellent IEMs with our guys! I think the feedback I got from one of the participants summed it up best: "These are just flat-out the best IEMs I have ever heard, period." Good sound doesn't just come speakers and big headphones-- IEMs have really provided a pretty amazingly powerful way to connect with ones music in basically any scenario!

And last, but anything but least, Dan Clark of Mr Speakers. Not only did Dan weather a pretty horrific series of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles-esque snafus on the trip to the meet, but he schlepped an absolutely mind-blowing level of (unreasonably heavy) gear with him for us to check out! You'll hear a LOT about Dan's table from anyone who attended the meet-- I know it's going to be the standout for many of the guys who attended, myself included! And I can't fail to mention the pizza Dan generously bought for everybody... You'll notice a distinct Walking Dead look on the faces of attendees prior to the arrival of the tower of steaming-hot pies, and the glowing satisfaction of gluttony utterly sated afterwards! (On my face, anyway....)

I'm going to get into more detail about my impressions later in the thread, but I wanted to kick this thing off for everyone by making sure at least some of the guys who contributed to the success of the meet were spotlighted for all their help. Thanks to everyone who attended and supported us for making this, in my opinion, the best meet we've had yet!!

Now let's get down to it: What did you love the most? What surprised you the most? Did you meet anybody particularly interesting or awesome, and what did y'all talk about? What do you think we could do next time to make this thing better? Jump in and let us know!!!

 

[Theogenes]

A few early impressions copied over from the original meet thread:

MattTCG, wearing a suspiciously sexy pair of sunglasses, on the pre-meet dinner at Cool Springs Brewery:

Awesome dinner and great to chat with the boys.

Goropeza on the meet itself:

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!

And a quick overall impression:

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.

Maakheru's's impressions:

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.

Wildcatsare1's quick post-meet impressions:

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.

Buke9 on his first meet:

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.

Phillyd's's impressions after the long trek back home:

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!

MattTCG:

I have lots more pics coming but wanted to share these and say thanks kindly to everyone who contributed to make this meet possible.

 

[Theogenes]

And what impressions thread would be worthwhile without some pictures?

[Side Note: I would love to have any pictures anyone took at the meet, even if they're just random shots! PM me for my email address if you have any!!]

Also, it should probably be noted that I'm just throwing all the pictures out that I've received so far Wikileaks style, with no editorial oversight.

 

[skyline315]

Ah, my biggest regret is not snagging the Ethers to listen to on my own humble setup.  But, with Dan's assortment of amps, it was hard not to have fun listening to those gems.  
 
As I said in the Ether impressions thread, I think it's the real deal.  Very clear and detailed sound without being harsh or aggressive.  It's a headphone I could relax to without having to sacrifice detail in the process.  I was especially impressed with how it handled classical music.  I wish the price were lower, because at the $1500 point I have no hope of ever owning them.  Dan, I must encourage you to keep pushing the envelope and releasing bigger and better gear.  This will allow the Ether's price to drop considerably in the used market and give poor schmucks like me a chance.  So, get on it!  

 
Seriously, though, I felt that it went toe-to-toe with the HD800, so I can't argue that the price isn't justified.  Comfort is AT LEAST on par with the 800s if not better, and it certainly is a nice looking product.  They're lightweight, but they feel premium enough to once again justify the price.  It feels like there was great attention to detail when developing them.  Well done, sir.
 
Other thoughts: 
 
I gave the HE-6 another shot and enjoyed them quite a bit more this time.  Sorry, Theo...I know the T1s have found a place in your heart, but with the 6s in my stable, the T1s would be shipped off to another home before I could blink.  
 
I was glad to see Emotiva diving further into the headphone realm of audio, but I do wonder how seriously they are taking it.  Do they really care about these products, or are they simply trying to fill holes in their product line?  I'll be watching with great interest.  I love to support the local guys and am definitely in the market for a portable solution.
 
The EL-8 left me a little cold, to be honest.  It was a perfectly fine headphone, but didn't do anything that made it stand out for me personally.  I certainly couldn't fault anyone for buying them, but for my tastes I'd consider it a side-grade to several headphones that are priced lower.
 
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.
 
And, most importantly, I was very relieved to get home, get my setup running again, turn on the music, and still REALLY love the sound.  I'm always afraid that a meetup is going to completely ruin my fun after I get back home.  I (and my wife) are always relieved when that's not the case.
 
Thanks, Theo, for all your hard work on this.  I'm immensely grateful.  

 

[RCBinTN]

The Speedster at work...at the meet.
 

 

[kilkil]

Thanks for the great meet.  I meant to take more photos, but this is all i took, i never actually walked around with the camera.
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[kilkil]

I'm a fan of AKGs, The K7XX sounded great, I only listened to it for a short time and I like it better than my K701s.
 
I love my Audio-Technica ATH-W5000.  There was a ATH-W1000X that i really liked, quite a bit more bass than my w5000, I think it has a bit less of the magical upper midrange  that i love.  I'd be happy owning the w1000x, though i think the w5000 are better suited for me.  I loved the replacement pads Fred had, they are the Brainwavz velor memory foam pads.  I'm hoping that they also fit the w5000.
 
Beyerdynamic and Grados, both headphones, the higher up in the line, I liked them better.  Grados just had a weird sound signature and i didn't care for the bass.  Top end Beyers, were pretty good, I could see myself enjoying them, I remember something about the bass bothering me, but didn't spend enough time to pinpoint it.
 
Planars, these are what i was really looking forward to hearing at the meet.  
Audeze, for the short time i listened, i enjoyed the sound, they are way too heavy, i didn't seriously listen to them.
 
Hifiman had two that i really liked (these two are a lot better than the other models of Hifiman i tried), HE-560 and HE-6, both were modded, so I'm not really sure what un-modded sounds like.  I went back and forth and liked the sound of the HE-560 better.  Big benefit is that the HE-560 is lighter, this has a possibility of joining my collection.
 
Mr. Speakers.  Ether is amazing, I loved almost everything about it, lightweight, comfortable, great detailed music reproduction.  These were so close to coming home with me.  The only thing that held me back is my love of female vocals and the magic (some call this organic, I'm a chemist, i can't use this word) i want to hear with them.  This is not saying anything bad about the Ether, many headphones are missing this magic.  The funny thing is that the Alpha Primes had this magic, but the Ether did everything else better.  I think i need a custom headphone....
 
I have a good DAC and Amp, so i wasn't really looking at them, I loved the blind comparison of the Woo WA5, Schitt Rag, and Cavalli Liquid Crimson.  I confirmed I'm not a tube guy, in comparison my overwhelming thought of the woo is that it was muddier, darker, less emotional impact, but during the electronic music it had more bass impact.  Next is the Schitt, compared to the Cavalli, the Schitt was a bit softer/gentler across the whole spectrum, bass was less tight, less detailed (boomier).  This leaves the Cavalli as my favorite.
 
I hooked up my DIY Dynahi amp and did direct comparison to the Schitt amp.  in comparison, i would say the same thing about the Rag.  The Dynahi performed great.  This begs for a direct AB comparison with the Cavalli, which i didn't have time to perform.  Maybe next meet.  

 

[jaywillin]

Keep the impressions and pics coming !

 

[MattTCG]

For me, this meet was about three things:
 
1. Help my friend Joe setup and show his products...headphoneaudiophile.com
 
2. Meet and speak with Dan Clark who I've known for some time but never met. 
 
3. Spend some quality time with the Ether and Carbon.
 
Here are my impressions related to point number 3...
 

Spoiler: Long winded impressions of the Ether

I want to be pretty direct and to the point with my experience with the Ether this weekend. The Ether is the most enjoyable experience that I've had listening to music with headphones. I've completed a somewhat embarrassing amount of trades, buys and sells looking for the headphone that ticks all the boxes for my demanding expectations. I've heard and owned some impressive headphones along the way but it always seemed that something got in the way of true contentment. After extended listening sessions on multiple amps and dacs with the Ether, I feel that I have finally found my end game. And honestly, I'm as happy for myself as I am for Dan Clark.
 
The first thing that I noticed when I slid the Ether on, was how light and comfortable the headphone was. I think that the overall curb weight was somewhere between the he400i and he560 at around 370 grams without cable. The fitment system is very similar to the Stax with suspension strap and auto adjust. The headphones just float on your head and within a period of about five minutes I didn't feel the headphone at all. It simply hugs lightly around the ears and stays put. It is unquestionably one of the most comfortable headphones that I've ever worn. As someone who struggles with heavier cans, this made me very happy indeed.
 
The Ether at first listen is strikingly fast in terms of decay between the notes. Is it Stax fast? Let me just say that it's very very close. Voices and instruments just seem to start naturally and instantaneously. The bass is tremendous both in terms of extension and texture. This is NOT a monitor style signature and bass shy in any way. My jaw dropped several times listening to sub bass/electronic music through the Ether. The bass seems to be quite linear where the Ether does not add or color the bottom end with extra bass that isnt' present in the original recording. As much as I enjoy the sr-009, the bass on the Ether is clearly better IMO, with no reverb or lingering sub bass resonance after the note. Stax do bass texture very well but they just couldn't slam like the Ether does.
 
The mids were breath taking for me. Listening to Rob Wasserman's Duets, the vocal by Jennifer Warnes was just so transparent and natural that I couldn't believe it. Hauntingly beautiful vocals is the only way that I can describe the Ether mids. I love my hd650 and hd800 (with the right amp) for females vocals. The Ether was at times, embarrassingly better with vocals. There is a level of transparency with voices that instantly connected me to the music. Because I listen to a lot of female jazz vocalist, I couldn't have been more pleased with just how impressive the Ether rendered the mids. For me, most of the music lives in the mids. If a headphone can render female vocal accurately and with a natural tone, then I know that I'll be able to enjoy a healthy portion of my favorite music.
 
The hd800 (with the right amp) is generally agreed upon to have some of, if not the best treble extension in the game. On the wrong amp the hd800 can be treble fatiguing and strident. How good is the treble on the Ether? Very much in the ballpark with the hd800 on a good amp. While I would still give the nod to the hd800 with classical music, overall I preferred the treble on the Ether with all other genres of music. The Ether never shied away from a hi-hat cymbal crash. When the musician struck the cymbal with authority, the sound came across without reservation, was dynamic and engaging and never harsh. Again, the Ether was able to match the music in a linear fashion.
 
Because of it's retail price of $1499 the Ether will naturally draw comparisons to the hd800. For me, the Ether is clearly more enjoyable headphone than the hd800. Even when I put the hd800 on $3500 Woo wa-5 with stellar pair of Royal Princess tubes, the Ether sounded better and excelled both technically and musically...all while on the $600 soon to be released Cavali Carbon amp. Don't be surprised to see comparisons to Stax with the performance the Ether brings to the table. Add the Carbon to the Ether and at $2100 total and prepare to see some seriously furled brows for those who spent two or three times that much once they hear the Ether/Carbon combo. The Ether does have good legs and scales up nicely with flagship amps. On the wa5 and Liquid Crimson, the Ether stepped up it's game and became even more transparent and dynamic.
 
So what's wrong with the Ether and what don't I like about it? Well, if you need a closed hp the Ether is not for you. $1499 is still not cheap and not everyone can afford it. You'll need to prepare to spend at least $500 on an amp to get most of the performance from the Ether. Although it's surprisingly easier to drive than most flagships. The Ether is not available yet, so if you need a headphone today, you'll have to look elsewhere. If the price is in your budget and you're able to wait a few months, then I highly suggest taking a long hard look at the Ether.
 
I knew at the end of the day on Saturday that the Ether was my end game headphone and that I'd get one as soon as possible. Time to start crossing off the days of the calendar.  I think  that best compliment that I can give the Ether is that when listening to it, I constantly had to remind myself to stop enjoying the music and start analyzing and critiquing the headphone. It is simply an incredibly engaging experience. 
 
My hat is off to Dan and his team.
 

 

[jazzfuze]

  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.
 
 

   I really enjoyed my time at the meet. My eyes were opened in a big way to the importance of a quality amp.
   I brought my Massdrop AKG K7XX and was very happy to know that others were impressed with them.
   Please help me out here...I keep seeing the price drop on the Senneheiser 600s and 650s. 
   In your words compare the AKGs and the Sennheisers. Are the 650s that different or should I
    just stick with the K7XXs?  Also,which amp would go best with the AKGs? A mid-level
   Schiit stack or the WOO WA3?  Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.
   And again, thanks to all who made the meet happen and for making it a great success!

   Mick Trammel