[vcoheda]

some impressions.
 
 * the Pinnacle is a beast of an amp. i spent a few hours listening to it with the HD800 and LCD2. the amp sounded great with both headphones but better with the LCD2. the sound was crystal clear with a slightly upfront presentation and very wide (L to R) sound stage. i can't say it sounded better than my BA (also PX4/6SN7) but without being side by side, it is hard to say. i briefly tried the HE-6 on the amp and the headphone seemed underpowered. in terms of build quality and looks, the Pinnacle is top notch.
 
 * the Lyr/LCD2 definitely wins for best high-end sound on a budget. the Lyr has great synergy with the LCD2 and powers it effortlessly.
 
 * i briefly compared the O2 MK1 and O2 MK2 on a Stax 717. i did not hear much difference between the two. the only thing i did conclude is that the 717 is a great amp for O2. if you cannot afford one of the better Stax amps, the 717 is the one to get.
 
 * Kerry built a dynamic amp for a few hundred dollars in parts which made the HD800s sound fantastic. the DAC was an Opus. very nice combo. he does good work.
 
 * i listened to the RWA gear. they have a new amp for the LCD2, which sounded nice.
 
i spent a lot of my time on the Pinnacle or talking -- a good time overall. well worth the trip.
 
vcoheda

 

[wavoman]

Thanks to all who came, and thanks for the GREAT photos.  While we all missed nikongod, who is a fixture in NJ, clearly my concern over pix was misplaced. Our group is blessed with many fine photographers. (And my face is red, it seems one of our potential nikongod stand-ins that I worred about is a professional!  But I got what I deserved, in the end he couldn't come because he landed a paid photo shoot! My apologies to you-know-who-you-are).
 
Anyway the pix speak for themselves.  The SQ of most rigs was off-the-charts (in and two cases, that I shall not mention, off-the-charts in the wrong direction -- made me feel good that I still have some sense of hearing at age 62).
 
We finally got a true, simultaneous quick-switch comparison of O2 Mk 1's vs O2 Mk 2's Spritzer Mod (by the man himself).  Six of us took the test, including 2 people I will certify as golden ears (one tunes organs for churches).  Five people had the identical opinion, one outlier.  What was it?  You want to know??  You should have come to the meet.  Only joking, not everyone lives in New Jersey/New York/Philly I recently learned.  I will let someone else more authoritative and well-known post it.  (If I post the results along with my opinion I am afraid someone from HC might read it and I will get 41 flame posts in response, and 17 PMs telling me I am an idiot, which is something I already know and therefore the exercise will waste eveyone's time).
 
On other matters, I remain convinced it is very very difficult for an all solid-state headphone amp to sound as good as a tube or hybrid.  I say this despite having spent considerable money on solid state amps myself (fully balanaced Beta 22 and QES HPBA, plus various Stax ss amps, not to mention the Lyngdorf and/or PS Audio driving my K1K's).  As a result of this meet I am getting Red Wine's hybrid for my K1K's, and selling the PS Audio.
 
The Wyred4Sound 32 bit DAC, and the PS Audio DAC both sounded great, held their own against the Berkeley Alpha costing much more.  I had made a promise to myself to only get 32 bit DACs from now on, and then poof I fall off the wagon -- it is tough being a recovering DAC-aholic, and my sponsor at DBA [DAC Buyers Anonymous] was nowhere to be seen or, in this case, heard -- and go for Vinnie's DAC board in the Red Wine hybrid, which ain't 32 bits, but it's a Wolfson, and having slept with many a 5.5 Gen iPod over the years I have a fondness for Wolfson (small consolation for not getting to sleep with the Gen X owners of the iPods and so on).
 
It was fun teaching kiddies the importance of button RS-1's to HPs, and T Rex to the history of rock.  Such is the rewards of age.  You'll understand some day.
 
And any day I get to spend time with people I do not see enough (Doug, Dave, many others) is fantastic.  I have said many times the strength of Head-Fi is the physical side, not the virtual side.
 
Attendance was not "light", it was nonexistent.  At our peak we had maybe 25 people in a room for 60.  As I sadi above, the photos speak for themselves.  I had a great time explaining to the dinner-venue restaurant why 7 people showed up to claim our table for 16.
 
In earlier years we were packed.  I guess we failed to hype this meet enough, but heretofore simply posting was all that was needed.  Here's the question -- no one has any incentive to push and publicize a meet ... what's the gain?  For whom?  Either we post and people come, or we don't have meets.  MOTs may have an economic incentive, but while we love the MOTs who come we do NOT want this to be MOT sales show.  That's something else, that's CanJam (or whatever ... always in Denver now??  ... what a bummer),  MOT tables do not show off the rig synergy that members have achieved -- amazing in many cases -- nor DIY builds.
 
The essence of a meet was summarized in a moment for me yesterday -- one member unwiring his DAC and running it over to the table with another member's DAC for a conceived-in-that-minute smack down.  That's smart, that's fun, that's real progress.
 
But we can do the same with small, well-planned in-home meets.  There's a rich tradition of these mini-meets, and I think that may be our future.  The Jersey Boys are going to check out the next two NY meets before we put a deposit down for 2012.  We are also willing to turn the meet over to new blood ... maybe we are stale after 5 years, maybe the location has to be different, or the dates ... let us know!  I am still happy to pre-fund (we get better hotel rates by pre-paying very early) from my pocket, no problem.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[cat6man]

This was my 3rd NJ meet and I had a good time listening to the rigs.  I didn't think I'd be able to come until that morning but I got my 16 year old
daughter to come with me.  She was bringing her ubiquitous Sennheiser HD238 and ipod nano, but I convinced her to also bring a CD-R of some of
her favorite music in uncompressed mode (her nano has mp3s) on a CD we burned before leaving the house.  On the ride to Whippany, listening to
a pretty fair car stereo (3 way Morel speakers, Focal amp), she mentioned things like "I didn't know there was a tambourine on that song".
 
When we arrived, after an all you can eat lunch at the excellent chinese buffet restaurant just a block east of the hotel on route 10 (in the mall with Dick's
Sporting Goods), we were shocked to see how few CD players there were, so we headed to one setup so I could show my daughter what her music
would sound like uncompressed on some seriously good headphones and the tube amp (HP?) using the visual level indicator tubes.............she was very impressed
with an A/B comparison of her HD238 and the high end Sennheiser stuff, but of course you can't really wear HD800s walking to school.
Then we plugged the HD238 into her nano for a baseline, then added the small HP? headphone amp in line with the nano and she was wowed by how
much better her phones & nano sounded with just the line amp (now she knows why my travel system has a Predator between my ipod touch and etymotics!).
Thanks for the demo man! 
 
We need to teach our kids that compression is the tool of satan!
 
At this point, she had accomplished what she wanted and retired to the lobby sofa to do some art and read Tolstoy.....my turn.
 
I didn't spend quality time with all the rigs so this is somewhat selective.
 
I discovered the Pure I-20 adapter for ipods which is being order this weekend.  I have been looking for exactly this functionality for my ipod touch,
which I will set up on the table next to my headphone listening chair, which I also use as the remote control for my squeezebox server (4 TB on ReadyNAS ultra+,
giga-bit cat6 cabled LAN to logitech touch streamer for digital out to D/A).  Now I just need a 3 or 4 meter digital cable from the Pure I-20 to the main DAC.
 
I really like the sound of the HiFiman headphones but they are just too heavy for me.  I also like the HD800 with 2-box Woo amplifiers a lot.
 
Once I saw it was there, I was looking forward to some quality time with the Alpha DAC but never figured out how to control the source/server via IPad.........I was particularly
surprised by how different the Alpha could sound depending on the filter settings.............totally different beast with each setting.........made my
head spin and impossible to get a calibration in my head.............definitely deserves more time/investigation.
 
Spent some quality time with the Stax MKI and MKII and 404 (I have 404 limited editions) and think that the spatial presentation of the MKx are really something
special compared with the 404 line...............I may have to figure out how to get a pair!  This was not part of my plan (nor was upgrading my old stax to the 404LE after my first
head-fi meet.............I should be learning the lesson by now and stop being surprised).
 
No more bringing home-made test CDs with me................from now on, memory sticks or small hard drives if I want hear rigs with my own music.
 
Thanks to the organizers and everyone who brought rigs!
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[Vinnie R.]

All,
 
Thanks to Larry and John for organizing the meet, and for allowing me to be part of it.  This was my first NJ Headfi Meet... and
with or without a large attendance, I'll be coming to the next one!  I enjoyed meeting new people that I haven't met at the NY meets,
and the room was spacious, well lit up, and it was a lot of fun!  Nice pics posted, BTW!
 
Decur f- thanks or picking me up on the way down and driving to and from the meet.  Your portable rig (iPod Classic, CL Solo, ALO Continential feeding
those Audio Technica Gradiosos) was what synergy is all about!  Loved your HE-500s with your "Izzy HPA," too!
 
Cheers to all who stopped over and listened to the RWA Audeze Edition set-up with the upcoming RWA CD-T1 tranport
and/or Pure i20 - both fed from the LiFePO4 pack in the Audeze Edtion amp (linear regulated 12V out).  Not portable, but "Tranportable."

 
Hey Vocheda and Decur - I'm definitely going to make it happen

 
And Wavoman - your K1000s are going to sing like never before when I'm finished, guaranteed!  Also great chatting with you about your DSD to PCM
findings

 
Happy listening,
 
Vinnie

 

[vcoheda]

@ Vinnie: looking forward to it. : ) and the K1000 amp you are making for Larry is going to be killer! can't wait to hear it.
 
also -- a big shout out to Wedge (Sonny) who lugged 200+ pounds of gear to the meet, including the mighty Pinnacle.

 

[revolink24]

This meet was awesome! The absence of great crowds of people and the abundance of amazing rigs means I got to spend much more time listening than usual.

Stax O2 Mk1 vs Mk2 Spritzer mod was an interesting comparison. Both blew me away, but in the end I preferred the Mk1. Spritzer's mods are brilliant though - if you have a Mk2, you should definitely check them out. The O2 Mk1 SRM- 717 combo was my favorite at the meet - the Stax mafia may have a convert. Even the SR404 sounded brilliant out of it.

No Blue Hawaiis or 009s made it for this meet, which made me slightly sad, but hopefully they'll make an appearance next meet.

Comparing the LCD2 on all sorts of different amps was a great experience. Two of the pairings blew me away. Firstly, the Pinnacle was simply brilliant with them. I've never, ever heard any dynamic setup that has come close. Those two really sung together. Secondly, the Lyr really did justice to them. My personal opinion is that if you're on a budget and need an amp for LCD2s, this is the only one I've heard worth considering.

LiqTenExp preferred his Little Dot MKVI to the Lyr, I preferred the Lyr (both with LCD2s). Good reason to go to meets and try things before you buy them! More listening time would probably help too.

Of course the people make the meet, and this meet didn't disappoint. Despite the low turnout, the people who came made for a great time. People who I hadn't met before, like Kerry, Wedge, John, LiqTenExp, and Region2 were all great. Wedge put loads of work into bringing an unbelievable amount of incredible gear to the meet, so special thanks to him.

Special shout out to the late dinner crew: only seven of us were left at the end of the day, which is much lower than usual, but it was a great time. I'm sure several of the people there thought we were crazy ("is the song about electrostatic diaphragms?"). Sorry I had to leave so suddenly!

 

[ManBeard]

Thanks to Larry and Jon for organizing this meet. I had a blast. It was great listening to all the awesome gear that showed up. It was also great to meet everyone and chat about gear/music.
 
The highlight for me was definitely hearing the Pinnacle powering the HD800's and the LCD-2's. Both were amazing pairings and makes me want to drop the $10K on the Pinnacle.
 
It was interesting comparing the O2mk1's and the mk2's. It was close but I ever so slightly preferred the mk1's. The mk2's were just a tad brighter and had a little bloat to the mid-bass.

 

[decur]

well,my 3rd new jersey meet was wonderful for me!
it was great seeing and chatting with all my head-fi buddies. i think this was the 1st meet,that i did not see immtnbiker,nikongod,bozebuttons,and davederek (i really missed seeing you guys)
vinnie-its always a pleasure,and cant wait to hook up again! also,your modded sony cd/dvd player is friggin awesome,sounding really clean,warm and natural.i look forward to getting one for my bedroom rig.
also,love the idea of a headphone amp only version of the isabellina hpa. you are going to sell a ton of these.
ok,my biggest surprise,was how wonderful the shiit lyr amp sounded for $459.00 all i kept thinking,was that it sounded waaaay to good for the money. the lcd-2 and my hifiman he500  sounded great with the lyr.
the next pleasant surprise was the wyred 4 sound dac. this dac was killer good,and very very musical to my ears. i will probably sell my lavry da11 to get one of these for my singlepower amp.
ok, the the woo audio wa5le loaded maxxed  out with the sennheiser hd 800. these 2 are just plain made for each other,like 2 peas in a pod.i recently sold my senns hd-800,because,they sounded terrible to me with many,many amps!
maybe some day,i will buy a wa5le and re-buy the hd-800s.
lastly, vinnie, i am so happy with all my red wine audio amps, they put a smile on my face,everytime i power up.
 

 

[TMoney]

Quote:

No Blue Hawaiis or 009s made it for this meet, which made me slightly sad, but hopefully they'll make an appearance next meet.
 

If there is another meet in the Tri-State area next week let me know. My 009s might arrive in time.

 

[customcoco]

Quote:

 
 

 
 
 

what's that amp? it's HUGE

and what's the model of the audio gd dac? ref7 maybe?
 

 

[revolink24]

If there is another meet in the Tri-State area next week let me know. My 009s might arrive in time.

As you can see from your quote (my timing was superb) week was a typo. Oops!

 

[revolink24]

what's that amp? it's HUGE

and what's the model of the audio gd dac? ref7 maybe?
 

That's vcoheda's Headroom Balanced Max, and yep, that was a Reference 7.

 

[LiqTenExp]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sphinxvc]

Thanks Larry and John for organizing such a fantastic meet.  Sonny, thank you for lugging out your collection & the Pinnacle, it was a treat for all of us.  As others said, the low turnout was a little disappointing, but it made the meet better for listening than most big ones.  The number of digital ipod docks out were startling (and much appreciated).  I was able to log almost 2.5 hours of pure listening time, so that was a big positive.  It was great meeting those I haven't before, Decur, Manbeard, Ed, Revolink, John, Kerry and Larry.  Kicking back with a part of the Stax Mafia at the Macaroni Grill afterwards was awesome, I think I learned more about Stax systems during dinner than I have reading head-fi for a year.  Larry, you are hilarious.  A really big thanks to Charles who drove me out to the meet and back.
 

---

 
Gear Impressions
 
The Pinnacle: I have not heard the LCD-2s sound any better than this, period.  The realism it achieves puts it in a category of it's own .  
 
The WA-5 and HE-6: Most of my listening time was on this rig.  I've heard the LCD-2s several times out of a number of high-end rigs, but I can't say the same for the HE-6, so spending as much time as possible on this rig was something I wanted to accomplish.  It did not disappoint, at one point I had chills listening to a live performance of Thunderstruck by AC/DC. Verdict: HE6 by a hair on technical ability.  Preference, equal.
 
The Leben / Peak/Volcano and LCD-2s: I enjoyed these, but next to the Pinnacle, I admit they paled a bit.  Between the two however, I preferred the Peak/Volcano.
 
Little Dot MK VI+ with LCD-2s: this one totally took me by surprise.  It sounds fantastic for what it costs (Roughly $800?).  
 
Lyr with LCD-2s:  Best in class under $500, but at under a thousand my pick would go for the Little Dot.
 
Isabellina HPA with HE-500s:  A very nice match with the HE-500s.
 
Stax O2 MKI and O2 MKII (with Eliot's mod) and SRM-717: This was superb -- the comfort unparalleled -- a step ahead of the LCD-2s and HE-6 at times.
 
Audez'e Edition Amp/DAC with LCD-2s: This had a very lovely, organic sound to it.  This is the third and final iteration of the Audez'e Amp/DAC I'm hearing and this time Vinnie has hit the sweet spot, nice job!  

 

[decur]

i forgot to mention,
a BIG THANK YOU!!!! to john and larry who organized this meet