[skullguise]

Placeholder to start the impressions thread.
 
Thanks to Fidelis and Vinnie Rossi for hosting/coordinating.
 
EDIT: some of my quick thoughts:
 

1. My big aims for the show were to chat with people, hear the HiFiMan HE-1000's and (if present) the Enigmacoustics Dharma 1000
2. Mission accomplished on all, and then some
   1. A GREAT time was had catching up with people I'd met before, as well as meeting new people
   2. The HE-1000's driven by Vinnie's LIO amp was great.  As I mentioned to several, I'm not a huge planar fan; they do some truly wonderful things, but the whole "balance" has not always been to my personal taste.  The HE-1000's changed that.  Honorable mention kudo's to ZMF Omni's as well, they did some very nice things
   3. The Dharma was a great listen as well, off the Oppo HA-1 and my own Micro-ZOTL 2; I think it was still not fully burned in but had some great top to bottom sound.  I may be getting these soon!
3. There was also a great couple amps near my setup (which won judge's votes as 2nd and 3rd place): a DIY tube amp from the Fidelis technician, and an updated old Fisher tube receiver.  Both did some very special music (the former driving Audeze LCD-X's; some acoustic music I heard was pretty dang great, again even though I don't love planars)
4. I liked the variety and attendance, and liked to share music tastes as well.....

 
Fidelis also had in reps from Technics and REL.  I heard the new Technics gear, including some coax speakers that remind of KEF LS-50's.  They did some great imaging, dynamics, and had very decent bass.  There was a ssssibiliant ssssmear that was intrusive a bit, but if that can be tamed they could be very good,
 
As always, the folks at Fidelis are fantastic; helpful, smart, fun, and passionate.
 
And the last great thing for me?  Two folks at the meet "got" my T-Shirt, YoYoDyne Propulsion Systems.  I have NEVER had anyone understand it without an explanation.  That alone made this meet worth it 

 
 
Looking forward to pictures and other folks' impressions.

 

[MrMan]

Well I am home after a 3 hour drive. 
 

 
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There was a better version of this but I'd love this picture for the front page.
 

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[Ishcabible]

Glad you all enjoyed the Floats! I think skullguise's HD800 setup was my favorite of the meeting. The HE1000 was kind of underwhelming; it had disappointing dynamics.

 

[MrMan]

Glad you all enjoyed the Floats! I think skullguise's HD800 setup was my favorite of the meeting. The HE1000 was kind of underwhelming; it had disappointing dynamics.

 
Really ? I enjoyed the HE-1000 prob the most of the meet. Skullguises setup + ZMF's headphones = pad shaking bass. Something I've never experienced. 

 

[ninjapirate9901]

Had a great day out yesterday. It was good to meet everyone and I had a blast talking to everybody there. Big thanks to Vinni and the lads at Fidelis for sorting out this meet, also cheers to Zach for showing up with all your gear.
 
Didn't try too much there but a few things were new or stood out to me.
 
Dharma D1000 - First time trying it, not bad. Good extension at both ends, mids were not recessed, bass wasn't bloated (and I didn't hear any noticeable distortion). Treble was a tad bright, noticed a few peaks in the treble. Comfort was good, slightly more clamp than the HD 800, pads were a bit firm, but not bad at all but not something I'd add to my already overgrown collection.
 
HiFiMan HE-1000 - Again, first time trying it out. Driven through the Vinni Rossi system, it sounded very smooth. Overall tonality was very enjoyable, good body to bass and mids, expansive soundstage, maybe a little lacking in treble response.
 
Fischer amp - Wow, didn't expect it to sound so good. Sounded very nice with the HD 600/800, nice rich characteristic, surprisingly low distortion and noise floor.
 
ZMF Omni - Noice. Definitely a warmer tonality, good bass impact and extension, smooth mid range which carries through to the lower treble, a little dark up top. It reminded me of a bassier LCD-2 pre fazor. Comfort felt better than my AD's, and the build and finish was very nice.
 
Decware amp - Also noice. Not exactly sure which model it was (it had dual xlr outputs) but it sounded pretty damn good with my LCD-2's and the Omni's. Slight bit of ground loop noise was apparent though.
 
 
Some pics:
 

 

[ninjapirate9901]

A few more:
 
 
Shameless

 

[Allanmarcus]

Any impressions on the Grace m9xx from anyone? Anyone try it with hard to drive planers? 

 

[Rynsin]

  Any impressions on the Grace m9xx from anyone? Anyone try it with hard to drive planers? 

 
Yes -- I'll write them up soon.

 

[zach915m]

I'll write more soon as I had a great time! I do want to note any of the background noise coming from the decware or violectric amps was from my cell phone which was feeding Tidal as my Hotspot. I kept trying to move it around so it wouldn't mess up the sound but sometimes it was in a bad spot - sorry for that!

 

[Rynsin]

What a wonderful meet with wonderful people! Special thanks to Fidelis for hosting the event and providing food.

1. Sony MDR-Z7: finally got a chance to listen to Sony's new TOTL headphone that @ninjapirate9901 brought along. I listened on my setup (DACmini CX and Tisbury Audio CA 1), and I wasn't terribly impressed with the sound. It seemed to have a serious detail problem, an almost blurry sound with low resolving power. Over smooth. It also had a strange soundstage -- oddly forward, with some stuff in the back, and a total gap in the middle. But it had bass that was "thumpy" and impactful, if you are in to that sort of thing.

 

 

1. Stax SR-009 on Mjolnir KGSS-HV: I think everyone was excited to listen to this super awesome setup that @skullguise brought. The SR-009 had amazing detail and a wide-open soundstage. At high volumes, it sounded just a tad harsh on female vocals. "Shyer" by London Grammar really brought out what I loved on this setup. One particular thing that struck me was how the reverb in the song sounded really natural and added to the sense of "being there", whereas on other headphones the reverb can sound really overdone or fake. The SR-009s were also extremely light.

 

 

1. HD 650, Lyr, Bifrost: I'm pretty sure this was @geddyl 's setup, but I could be mistaken -- I wasn't smart enough to take a picture. I was shocked at the level of detail produced by this setup, given that the HD 650s are dynamic. The bass was really rich and controlled, and it wasn't "thumpy" or overblown. On Hotel California, the drums sound amazing and the guitar was crisp although slightly blurred. The soundstage was a little cramped, especially next to the GS1000e. The attack was good, it was fast where it needed to be. Vocals were a tad harsh and the reverb felt a little fake. Very sweet on vocals and wonderfully dark!
2. HE-1000 and Vinnie Rossi LIO: I think this setup was voted best in show for a pretty good reason. Congrats to @decur .I have to admit, I wasn't totally blown away by the HE-1000s as I thought I would be, but it was still pretty impressive. The headphones were extremely lightweight and comfortable, which was a surprise. Detail couldn't be better. Bass is airy but not muddled. Female vocals were never harsh, even at high volumes. The reverb didn't produce the natural sounds that the SR-009 did. The HE-1000s are dangerous: it is very easy to turn up the volume! Silky with impressive details.

 

 

1. HD 800 + microZOTL: the other half of @skullguise 's setup was a microZOTL amp and a stock HD 800. I think many people -- myself included -- were shocked at how good these unmodded HD 800s sounded. There's a lot of detail, and the soundstage was great as expected. It is still pretty bright, but the low end was a lot better than I'd expected. Normally the brightness of the HD 800s makes female vocals piercing to my ears, but here they were very solid. Not harsh at all. Very nice presentation of the HD 800s, but greatly outshinned by the SR-009s.

 

 

1. ZMF Omni: I got to listen to the awesome setup that @zach915m brought along to showcase the ZMF stuff. I really wanted to like the Omni, but after a prolonged listening session next to the LCD-XCs, I can say that, to my ear, the LCD-XCs are better. The Omni's bass was a bit too slamming for me, almost to a painful level. Setting the bass aside, they actually sound a lot like the Paradox Slants -- very accurate and transparent. But I'll stick with the sweetness of the LCD-XCs for now.

 

 

1. HD 800 via PureDAC and Auralic: This was part of @ninjapirate9901 's massive setup. The HD 800s were modded, and I thought the combination had good detail and precision but was a bit too bright. Vocals were clear but perhaps should've been a bit more forward. Really a good example of "brightness done right", as compared to something like, say, DT 880s.

 

 

1. HD 800 and Emotiva XDA-2: This was @MrMan 's setup, and it mostly confirmed my suspicions that the HD 800's aren't the right headphone for me. Again, the detail and the soundstage were great, but it was still just a bit too bright and harsh on the vocals. Less than on most HD 800's I've heard (are these modded?), but still a bit much for my taste.

 

 

1. Jecklin Float Model II: @Ishcabible brought these. They are hilarious. They don't sound very good though.

 

 

1. HE-560: I forgot who brought these (I think it was @ninjapirate9901 ), but I was really surprised at how hard these are to drive! My amp was designed to power them, and I had to crank the volume knob up more than I ever have before! They're very light and comfortable, but lack some of the details that I get from the LCD-3. The sound was solid, but a little raspy/grainy on some female vocals.
2. Grace m920 and Grace m9XX: @ViperGeek brought along two awesome Grace Design DAC/amps, which I listened to a bunch with my LCD-XCs. With some older stuff (Carole King), I couldn't make out the difference between the two. With Hotel California, I could hear the m920 being a tad more polite (which I liked) than the m9XX, which sounded a little rough around the edges. The physical design of the m9XX was also a little interesting -- the fact that is it (somewhat) portable is pretty cool, but it felt a little cheaper than I expected. The m920, however, feels solid. On @ViperGeek 's recommendation, I listened to "Serve the Ego" by Jewel, which really highlighted the differences between the two Grace devices. It made the m9XX sound very rough. I also got to play around with the different discrete -> continuous filters on the m920 (fast, slow, linear phase) which was interesting. There's definitely a difference, but the brain adjusts pretty quickly.

 

 

1. LCD-X and audio-GD Master 11 @johnzz77 brought this awesome setup. The Master 11 is way bigger than I thought it was! I was really impressed with the combination, as well. The sound was lush yet detailed, and had very controlled bass. It didn't quite have the same impact as the LCD3s. They also seemed a little slower than the LCD-3s. My big take away was just how well put-together the Master 11 is! Really impressive.

 

 

1. AudioQuest Nighthawk: @ninjapirate9901 had a pair of modded Nighthawks that were interesting. Much better than stock, but a bit too bright and with a lot of roll off. 3/5.
2. Dharma Enigma and Oppo HA-1: Not sure who brought this, but they were awesome! The combination was pretty good, and I like the (digital) VU meters on the HA-1. The sound was clean, accurate, with solid details but a tad slow. The vocal articulation is wonderful. They could've benefited from a slightly wider soundstage.

 

 

 

Again, thanks everyone for a wonderful meet! I hope to see you all again soon.

 

[MrMan]

My setup was the absolute worst for the HD800. It was the only amp/dac I had for the meet. The hd800 really do need a crazy amount of power to have them sounding properly. 
 
Was the one setup (that I was able to try with the hd800) that I really liked. I'm sure vinni's would have sounded great If I tried the hd800 on them. 
 

 

[Vinnie R.]

All,
 
I want to thank the Fidelis Team for hosting the 2nd Nashua, NH Headfi Meet in a row - I was really glad to make it this year! 

It was great to see everyone that came, and there was plenty of gear to listen to, food and drinks (catered in by Fidelis), and
even a few demos from industry reps (Technics and REL) that came to the store.  Not to shabby at all!
 
Also, thanks again to MrMan and Rynsin for posting the meet thread and taking role call of member and equipment.
 
And thanks for posting all your pictures and impressions here!
 
Happy Holidays! 

 
Vinnie

 

[ViperGeek]

  What a wonderful meet with wonderful people! Special thanks to Fidelis for hosting the event and providing food.
...
 

1. Grace m920 and Grace m9XX: @ViperGeek brought along two awesome Grace Design DAC/amps, which I listened to a bunch with my LCD-XCs. With some older stuff (Carole King), I couldn't make out the difference between the two. With Hotel California, I could hear the m920 being a tad more polite (which I liked) than the m9XX, which sounded a little rough around the edges. The physical design of the m9XX was also a little interesting -- the fact that is it (somewhat) portable is pretty cool, but it felt a little cheaper than I expected. The m920, however, feels solid. On @ViperGeek 's recommendation, I listened to "Serve the Ego" by Jewel, which really highlighted the differences between the two Grace devices. It made the m9XX sound very rough. I also got to play around with the different discrete -> continuous filters on the m920 (fast, slow, linear phase) which was interesting. There's definitely a difference, but the brain adjusts pretty quickly.

 

 

Thank you for lending your experienced ear to a comparison of the two Grace DACs/amps.  I really appreciate you taking the time to give them both a careful listen, take notes, and share your opinions.  My very new-to-the-game impressions were that the two units were definitely different, but in a very subtle way, and as you said, varied based on music, and also which headphones I used.  I can't yet tell if the difference is due to the DAC implementation, the DAC chipset, and/or the difference in amplification stages, but IMO both are excellent.  It's just that the m920 is a bit more excellent, and has several additional features the wizards at Grace Design just couldn't fit into a 4" x 4.5" x 1" black box.
 
Continuing to stress that I'm about six months into headphone insanity, and this being my first Head-Fi meetup, I wanted to briefly share my biggest impressions as well.
 

1. My 10-hour-old Audeze LCD-2 rosewood/Fazors sound very good, but @Rynsin's LCD-XCs were incredible.  Both connected to the same Grace m920 DAC/amp, the XCs simply broadened every aspect of what makes the LCD-2s great.  These are on my short list for the next round of frivolous audiophile spending.
    
2. A friendly Head-Fier swapped out my stock Sennheiser HD 650 cable with a pretty blue Cardas cable and I couldn't believe the difference.  Up until that moment, I was still dubious about the improvements a simple conductor that takes a (relative) low frequency signal from one end of a cable to the other can make, but now I've seen/heard the light.  I'm still not sure spending $285 on a cable for $500 (HD 650) headphones, or $689 on a cable for $1200 (LCD-2) headphones is a justifiable business decision, but I now firmly believe that a substantial difference can be heard, even by a n00b, by simply swapping cables.
    
3. @ninjapirate9901 graciously put up with my insistent and nagging questions about the audible difference between single-ended vs. balanced headphone gear.  While he believed that, for the most part, the biggest advantage of balanced connections is noise reduction (e.g. ground loop hum, common mode induction, etc.), I heard a vast improvement in the performance of my LCD-2s by swapping out the SE cable for his 4-pin XLR balanced cable and auditioning his BMC PureDAC.  Of course, there were way too many variables (DAC, amp, cabling) and unknowns to state conclusively that the change of single-ended to balanced made all the difference, but it definitely piqued my curiosity about perhaps dipping into the wild (and expensive) world of fully balanced equipment.  Given my love affair with the Little Dot MK III, I've been coveting their fully balanced MK VI+, but with the cost of returning the unit to China being about 50% of the list price of the unit, I've gotta be really, really, really sure I want to go this route.

 
Once again, thanks to the hosts, sponsor, and attendees for making this an extremely enjoyable and eye-opening event.  I can't wait for the 3rd annual New England Head-Fi meetup!
 
- Dave

 

[Ishcabible]

  My setup was the absolute worst for the HD800. It was the only amp/dac I had for the meet. The hd800 really do need a crazy amount of power to have them sounding properly. 
 

 
I actually liked your setup for the price! I've heard way more expensive combos sound worse.
 
Also, huge thanks to everyone involved! I wish I had more music for people to try but my music hard drive recently died and I haven't been able to get a new one. I hope to come again next year but I'll have markedly less gear. I'll edit this post with further impressions.

 

[ZoNtO]

Originally Posted by ViperGeek /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
[snip]

1. A friendly Head-Fier swapped out my stock Sennheiser HD 650 cable with a pretty blue Cardas cable and I couldn't believe the difference.  Up until that moment, I was still dubious about the improvements a simple conductor that takes a (relative) low frequency signal from one end of a cable to the other can make, but now I've seen/heard the light.  I'm still not sure spending $285 on a cable for $500 (HD 650) headphones, or $689 on a cable for $1200 (LCD-2) headphones is a justifiable business decision, but I now firmly believe that a substantial difference can be heard, even by a n00b, by simply swapping cables.

[/snip]

 
Could you confirm which Cardas HD650 cable you tried out? Been thinking about trying one out, but see multiple versions online, e.g. Fat Pipe, older grey version (most common), or new Clear.