[charliex]

Hey guys (no gals this time) - can everyone put their meet impressions here, not in the original meet announcement thread - thanX.
I'll post my own impressions later.

 

[cs098]

Sucks I forgot the bring my camera today but I still got alot of impressions from the headphones I heard today!!!

 
K1000 out of zotl and AK dap
Very open.  Decent weight,  macro dynamics are good micro dynamics is laid back.  Very neutral.

 
X00 out of diy f5 amp and concero dac
Punchy bass.  Decebt clarity and detail.  Dynamics r guy.  Tiny stage.  Warm. 
 
Subpac fiio e17  and Sony z7
Subpac is very fun.  No stage.  Laid back.  Good clarity.  No fatigue.  Warm neutral.  Treble rolled off. 
 
Mac mxa70 with hd 800
The hd 800 is not fatiguing though I hear the peaks. Soft sound and Laid back. But weight is good. Stage is small on the amp. 
Clairty is meh.  Sound lacks 3dness. 
 
Eikon
Smaller stage.  But warmer.  Good dynamics. Grain the the treble.
 
Lcd XC (unicorn?)  with agd nfb-28
Narrow stage but good depth.  Good clarity. Good dynamics. Good imaging.  Decent detail. Pretty neutral.  Sibilant. Not muddy at all unlike the last XC I heard.
 
Kgsshv  and yggy with  sr009
Shouty upper mids. Where's the stage.  Not 3d. Clarity is lacking.  Bass has a bit of Punch.  Weight is better than usual. MicroDynamics are meh. (admitted;y  the yggy is said to need days of warming up, without the warm up, it can sound cold and will be lacking in soundstage) 
 
Lcd 2 with Mac 2505 and sony haps1b
Good clarity.  Pretty neutral.  Okay dynamics.  Deep but not that wide stage.  Decent imaging. Not fatiguing.
Eikon is more 3d sound. More dynamics. Some tonal problems in the treble and mid bas, due to lack Burn in.
 
Cayin stack Modded hd 800 Vs utopia
Hd800 has wider stage and larger scale. Comparable resolution and dynamics (sometimes I think the 800 has the edge, while other times I think the utopia is a bit better in detail and dynamics).  Tone and smoothness better on Utopia. Utopia is more musical
Bass stronger on hd 800. Hd 800 a tad more fatiguing. 
 
Jecklin floats with  Mac 2505 and sony haps1b
 
He6 out of mxa70
Not as clean vs the 2505 but more dynamic.   Smaller stage.  Speaker out far better than headphone out.
 
He 60 with stax tube energizer
Warm but balanced. A bit more weight and dynamics than most estats.  Very natural and smooth.
Jade with exstata
Channel balance too left 
Warm and smooth.  Lower treble a tad boosted and metallic. Nice Texture. 
 
Modibit/magni stack with eikon.
Good dynamics.  Good stage. Smooth. Clarity is lacking. Treble splashy and a bit rolled off. 
 
He 1000 via zotl
Meh microdynamics.  Warm neutral. Soft sounding.
 
Sansui Au 717 and geek pulse and he 500
Wide stage but no depth. Very left right imaging. Good dynamics.  Detail is okay
 
Hegel dac amp with Dt 1770
Warm. Good macro dynamics.  Too quiet to judge micro dynamics. Pretty clear. Imaging is good.  Wide stage little depth.
 
Utopia vs he-1000 vs he-6 with  Mac 2505 and Sony haps1b
Stage is narrow but good depth. Very detailed, natural, smooth and musical. 
Bass is very strong  and moves a lot of air (the 2505 has a ton of output impedance so many dynamic headphones will sound like that). Great dynamics.  No metallic timbre. More forward and intimate. Similar clarity. 

He1000 has similar stage to utopia.  Soft and laid back.  But clean and clear.
 
He6 has larger more 3d stage.  A tad less resolving, dynamic and textured vs utopia.  More open and spacious vs utopia.
 
He6 with sansui speaker amp
Smaller stage than McIntosh 2505.  Less clarity.   More forward. Not as natural.  Punchy bass. 
 
Yggy with bottle head mainline amp Modded hd 800
Mainline is laid back, warm and very smooth and musical.  Yggy has no stage but is well behaved otherwise.
Same impressions with eikon


 

 

[RobinK]

Great meet. The only way I could see it going any better is if the room was bigger but there is nothing anyone could do about that.

Just to clarify, the headphone amp was NFB-28, not NFB-27 as I originally mentioned at the meet (The 27 is actually the bigger one). Audio-gd's naming scheme is confusing and lacks any logic.

To be specific, it was REF1 DAC into NFB-28 2014 edition headphone amp.

I really liked the HE-6 and Stax. However, I would never spend that much for headphones nor would I want a headphone that is not compatible the majority of amps so I could never own the Stax and the HE-6 requires so much power it is heavily restricted in amp selection as well.

It was fun do to more comparisons with Ether C VS LCD-XC. I think it is a toss up between preferences with these two.

 

[FallenAngel]

Pics or it didn't happen

 

[tylerchris]

Big thanks to @bigfatpaulie for hosting a great meet! Truly a wonderful host, and a great group of guys to chat with, and share in this obsessive hobby! In addition to the gear, I also quite enjoyed seeing the different music collections people bring to these meets. Definitely a wide, eclectic mix.

A couple photos below. I didn't take detailed impressions this time around, but quite liked the HE-6 driven out of Courtney's "new" vintage Macintosh MXA-70.

Also, had a listen to the new Campfire Andromeda IEM's, and was quite impressed. Thought they were quite comparable to my JH Angie's, though didn't have that much time with the, as they were quite popular.

Lastly, was my first time trying Nick's (@nephilim32) subpac bass chair add-on. It was really a cool experience and I can envision there being certain times (with certain kinds of music) where I'd really enjoy using it.

 

[FallenAngel]

Damn, that looks awesome! Wish I could have made it!

 

[ilcg1]

The meet was awesome! Thanks, Paul for organizing it.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

I just wanted to thank everyone that came out, especially those that brought their massive, heavy rigs!  I can't get over all the effort so many of you went through: thank you so much.
 
This was my first meet and I, personally, had an amazing time!  There was a lot of outstanding gear, but more than that, a lot of outstanding people.  Everyone was so nice and helpful (special thanks to those that helped on clean up!) and everyone was very respectful of the room and other peoples gear.  The passion we have for this hobby as a collective is inspiring and humbling.
 
I just can't tell you how grateful I am to be part of such an amazing group.
 
The first people started arriving just before 11 and the last people trickled out just before 7, but I know the final few could have stayed longer!  Some conversations just don't want to die  So I take that as a huge compliment!
 
There were so many amazing setups and rare gear there; it is quite something to see two massive HE-6 rigs, next to a Carbon, next to a HE60 next to...  We have a lot of very serious enthusiasts here in town!
 
I also want to thank Yuri for bringing that very special bottle of Ukrainian Cognac.  I think I speak for us all when I say that it was really wonderful!
 
Now, I KNOW there are more photo's out there (though, none of anyone dancing this time) and I would love to see 'em!  I didn't get a chance to take any of my own.
 
Thank you again to everyone that came out and shared in our hobby.  It was a such a privilege to have everyone and thank you for making this meet such a success!
 
-Paul

 

[Andykong]

Looks like the GTA gang just had an exciting party.

There are multiple factors that contributes and determines whether a HeadFi meet is successful or not. The host is a factor that we all agree, so Paul definitely is the one we should applause. The other obvious factor is the hardware lined up in the event, and based on the photo we saw, the GTA meet is impressive on this account. However, in my experience of hosting and participating in HeadFi meets, the biggest surprised is always the people involved in the party. We can always setup the same combination of equipment somewhere, sometime, and they should sound similar if not identical, but its difficult to gather the same mix of people into one room, and even when we managed that, we might still end up with very different iteration, that's the fundamental different between man and machine. It is this kind of gathering that bind people with common passion together, we might have meet online as "regulars" of a forum, but its the face to face interaction that build up a permanent relationship.

I run into Paul back in August last year, and when he proposed to organized a meet to introduce the Cayin stack to Toronto headFi back in late November, I was completely flattered, and Cayin is honored to have our iDAC-6 and iHA-6 alongside such a wonderful equipment collections at the GTA meet. This is the first meet that Paul organized, and looks like this can become the first of a reputable series of gathering and exchanges, and will eventually motivated the HeadFI hobby in Toronto. Time will tell but for the meantime, I urge everyone share more photo and impression of the meet, making it a splendid start for 2017.

 

[ambchang]

Gotta say the meet was just phenomenal, the amount and quality of gear was amazing.
 
My favourites have got to be:
 
McIntosh 2505 + Modded HE6 - the weight, spacing, and everything is just top notch.  I thought I was done with my upgrades with the HE6+Sansui, but there's always a next step.  Maybe I will find someone to recap the Sansui instead of going after a McIntosh.

Speaking of McIntosh, that McIntosh MHA-100 (or was it 150) is just sublime, the dynamics, and low end of it is better than any headphone amp I have ever heard.
 
The AK300 + Andromeda was impressive as any portable combo. I'd be content with that combo listening to anything.  The sense of space was extremely impressive for an IEM, and it is just so musical.
 
The Etymotics ER4PXR was as good sounding as it was uncomfortable.  But for that price, I don't think I have heard an IEM that sounds better.
 
The AKG1000 is just so worthy of it's reputation, the sound stage is out of this world, and the sound quality as top notch as expected.
 
The KGSSHV + SR007 MKI, SR009 and HE Jades!  Where do I begin!  I thought I died and went to heaven.  I have trouble choosing between the three, they all sound great, and the great thing is, I can't afford any of them, so I guess my wallet can breathe a sigh of relief.
 
The ZMF headphone was fun, the LCD-XC was great, and the Beyer770 was very impressive.  I just hate the fact that I didn't get the time to test all of the headphones.
 
I stepped on dog **** after I parked, I had to pay a $30 parking ticket because I was 20 minutes late, but I gotta say yesterday was a great day, literally a kid in a candy store for me.
 
Already looking forward to the next meet.

 

[cs098]

Potato pics from my phone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rockin_Zombie]

I keep missing these meets due to family commitments
 
Would have been nice to try out the HD800 and Eikon. Could have also brought my HE6 rig but looks like there were two already! Next time hopefully. 

 

[Clsmooth391]

Thank you so much Paul for an amazing meet. You were a great host. Appreciate all your time and effort.
It was nice meeting so many great people who share the same passion.

 

[k4rstar]

Fantastic meet, really glad I decided to go. @bigfatpaulie did a great job hosting and setting this thing up, thank you to him and all of the people who took the time to bring their gear. Great time meeting everyone.
 
 
I did not get enough critical listening in to provide any impressions. I really liked the HE-6 and HE-500 fed by the Sansui integrated, also the Hegel HD12 DAC was impressive with HD800s and DT1770s.

 

[charliex]

I've been out all day and I just started unpacking the Cayin stack (amp and DAC) to set up ..... and if weight is any indicator of quality build, I was totally gobsmacked at the staggering weight of these units, both separate and together.
Quite the workout!
Now, lets get down to a week of hopeful audio bliss.