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My second and consecutive visit to the National Audio Show 2014. This year the headphone section was given much bigger floor space and was super popular. Recognised a few Head-Fi members from the previous London meet. No buying by me, although there were show discounts to be had. Have entered the ballot for Rugby World Cup 2015 tickets and will find out in Oct 2014 whether I have been successful and for how much wallet-hurt
All thumbnails clickable. The full album for the max resolutions is here: link (apologies in advance for any out-of-focus blurry shots). Please note I only had my humble clas -db + pico power rig and these were show conditions so take nothing away. Zilch. For any manufacturers and retailers reading: please, please do not bring your headphone rigs if you are only going to place them next to your latest and greatest speakers!! Culprits included Icon Audio. Was wanting to try their flagship headphone amp too...
Ultrasone Edition 5 and the only headphone at the show that came complete with a display / guard case and 1x attentive minder. Heck Abyss and SR-009 were in the house and available freely on tabletops. Reason: only 20-pairs will apparently be available in the UK. The Ultrasone rep said they regretted releasing in Asia first as this had a knock-on effect on supply for the rest of the world. He went on to explain their limited editions sell very well in the Asian markets because customers buy them as gifts for special occasions and New Year. I am not going to say too much because Ultrasone house sound has never been to my personal taste (see also Beryerdynamic treble).
Chord Hugo now in black! The original silver finish has this "sparkly" effect. Harder to examine under show setting but the black finish appears not to share the same shimmery effect. See full gallery for the complete Chord stand photos. The "tan" case colour was not at the show sadly. Did not bother demoing as have had home-demo of the Hugo already and will buy soon enough...
Oppo Oppo everywhere. 2x PM-1 and 2x PM-2 in the main headphone area. PM-1 also in the hifi+ magazine room. The Oppo UK rep was quite open about the two-models being the same driver but PM-1 having that extra luxury construction (my paraphrasing). The PM-1 display / carry box exterior admittedly was very attractive. The HA-1 amp sounded spacious and impactful under show conditions. Enjoyable pairing with the Oppo headphones. I also queried whether the amp stand would make it to retail on the regular (answer: no plans at the present moment). The Oppo rep said they were surprised normal consumers wanted to buy the Oppo amp stand as they had only build them for retailers to display Oppo wares. Unsure why really, at this end of the game aesthetics and display are valid considerations.
The AKG K812 flagship seemed somewhat understated next to [presumably] the entire AKG family and indeed the flashy tables all around. First impression is that it is super light and disappearing fit similar to HD800. Brief impressions is that it is spacious and the all important mid-range sounds natural. More bassy than HD800. Not really the correct environment to evaluate.
The iFi Audio stand was really popular and everyone was testing with their iDevice. Got bored turning round from taking a photo only to see a new person had nipped in at the table and was keen to try Auralic so...
Ortons Audio and Hifi+ magazine each had Auralic stacks in their rooms. The Gemini 2000 was in the Ortons Audio room only. One word on the Vega + Taurus MKII combination: Stunning. Testing with HD600, HD800, TH900, HE560 and PM-1. Supreme control and resolution. Over to you Schiit and Chord for your 2015 flagship products (assuming Auralic do not announce new happenings in 2015 also). Show conditions sadly did not allow true comparison to the Gemini 2000. The Auralic head-fi thread deserves far more postings.
Hifiman are currently refreshing their range and the HE-400i and HE-560 were both present. My star headphone of the show was the HE-560. The asking price of £650 is by no means cheap at all but with everyone bringing out a statement £1000 headphone, sometimes seemingly for the sake of it, the HE-560 was very impressive *under show conditions*. Compared to Fostex TH500 and the Oppo PM-1, the bass extended deeper and there was more bass texture. The overall timbre and tonality just seemed 'right'. Now super, super excited for the HE-6 successor.
Show impressions are notoriously unreliable from which to make any definitive assessments but if these findings are replicated in the tranquility of one's home then quite a few manufacturers suddenly have a problem on their hands due to Hifiman's gameplan (note: this is not, not an invitation to increase the HE-560 retail price or make the HE-6 successor cray-zay expensive!).
Giant chess and checkers available in one courtyard. There was also live music and barbeque in another courtyard. Unsure who the band were when I was eating my lunch but the guitar amp was clearly turned too high resulting in uncomfortable distortion and pops. Ugh
The third generation E series was also present, with only minor gaps in the entire lineup. Nearly everyone wanted to hear the SR80 and SR125 whilst I was at the table. The RS1e sounded great to my ears. Tighter and more controlled bass than the PS500e
Audeze are pretty much now a ubiquitous sight whatever the context of events. The full range was here on two-tables. Full-size rigs and with the latest A&K players. Really need proper sit-down time with these although will say there was noticeable pressure on the top of my head from the weight. Audeze really need to take note from what Oppo and HifiMan are doing.
All thumbnails clickable. The full album for the max resolutions is here: link (apologies in advance for any out-of-focus blurry shots). Please note I only had my humble clas -db + pico power rig and these were show conditions so take nothing away. Zilch. For any manufacturers and retailers reading: please, please do not bring your headphone rigs if you are only going to place them next to your latest and greatest speakers!! Culprits included Icon Audio. Was wanting to try their flagship headphone amp too...
Ultrasone Edition 5 and the only headphone at the show that came complete with a display / guard case and 1x attentive minder. Heck Abyss and SR-009 were in the house and available freely on tabletops. Reason: only 20-pairs will apparently be available in the UK. The Ultrasone rep said they regretted releasing in Asia first as this had a knock-on effect on supply for the rest of the world. He went on to explain their limited editions sell very well in the Asian markets because customers buy them as gifts for special occasions and New Year. I am not going to say too much because Ultrasone house sound has never been to my personal taste (see also Beryerdynamic treble).
Chord Hugo now in black! The original silver finish has this "sparkly" effect. Harder to examine under show setting but the black finish appears not to share the same shimmery effect. See full gallery for the complete Chord stand photos. The "tan" case colour was not at the show sadly. Did not bother demoing as have had home-demo of the Hugo already and will buy soon enough...
Oppo Oppo everywhere. 2x PM-1 and 2x PM-2 in the main headphone area. PM-1 also in the hifi+ magazine room. The Oppo UK rep was quite open about the two-models being the same driver but PM-1 having that extra luxury construction (my paraphrasing). The PM-1 display / carry box exterior admittedly was very attractive. The HA-1 amp sounded spacious and impactful under show conditions. Enjoyable pairing with the Oppo headphones. I also queried whether the amp stand would make it to retail on the regular (answer: no plans at the present moment). The Oppo rep said they were surprised normal consumers wanted to buy the Oppo amp stand as they had only build them for retailers to display Oppo wares. Unsure why really, at this end of the game aesthetics and display are valid considerations.
The AKG K812 flagship seemed somewhat understated next to [presumably] the entire AKG family and indeed the flashy tables all around. First impression is that it is super light and disappearing fit similar to HD800. Brief impressions is that it is spacious and the all important mid-range sounds natural. More bassy than HD800. Not really the correct environment to evaluate.
The iFi Audio stand was really popular and everyone was testing with their iDevice. Got bored turning round from taking a photo only to see a new person had nipped in at the table and was keen to try Auralic so...
Ortons Audio and Hifi+ magazine each had Auralic stacks in their rooms. The Gemini 2000 was in the Ortons Audio room only. One word on the Vega + Taurus MKII combination: Stunning. Testing with HD600, HD800, TH900, HE560 and PM-1. Supreme control and resolution. Over to you Schiit and Chord for your 2015 flagship products (assuming Auralic do not announce new happenings in 2015 also). Show conditions sadly did not allow true comparison to the Gemini 2000. The Auralic head-fi thread deserves far more postings.
Hifiman are currently refreshing their range and the HE-400i and HE-560 were both present. My star headphone of the show was the HE-560. The asking price of £650 is by no means cheap at all but with everyone bringing out a statement £1000 headphone, sometimes seemingly for the sake of it, the HE-560 was very impressive *under show conditions*. Compared to Fostex TH500 and the Oppo PM-1, the bass extended deeper and there was more bass texture. The overall timbre and tonality just seemed 'right'. Now super, super excited for the HE-6 successor.
Show impressions are notoriously unreliable from which to make any definitive assessments but if these findings are replicated in the tranquility of one's home then quite a few manufacturers suddenly have a problem on their hands due to Hifiman's gameplan (note: this is not, not an invitation to increase the HE-560 retail price or make the HE-6 successor cray-zay expensive!).
Giant chess and checkers available in one courtyard. There was also live music and barbeque in another courtyard. Unsure who the band were when I was eating my lunch but the guitar amp was clearly turned too high resulting in uncomfortable distortion and pops. Ugh
The third generation E series was also present, with only minor gaps in the entire lineup. Nearly everyone wanted to hear the SR80 and SR125 whilst I was at the table. The RS1e sounded great to my ears. Tighter and more controlled bass than the PS500e
Audeze are pretty much now a ubiquitous sight whatever the context of events. The full range was here on two-tables. Full-size rigs and with the latest A&K players. Really need proper sit-down time with these although will say there was noticeable pressure on the top of my head from the weight. Audeze really need to take note from what Oppo and HifiMan are doing.
