[Mkubota1]

Quote:

With my iPhone > Pure i-20 > Schiit Lyr > AKG K702, I was ostensibly (with notable exceptions) one of the few representatives of budget-fi at the meet. 

 

It's funny what's considered 'budget-fi' at Head-Fi.  

  Less than the cost of your first car?  Two month's salary?  I'm actually glad when people have straightforward and relatively affordable rigs to listen to.  There can be so many variables in these systems, and the further up you go where you begin to split hairs, sometimes you don't know what (hardware) you're actually listening to.  (See earlier post about what's inside of n3rdling's BH compared to ASR's.)
 
To me, part of these meets is seeing the best of the best.  But another part is listening to stuff other than what the Apple store or BB carries.  Heck- I can't even think of a place near me off the top of my head where you can listen to something as common (in our world) as DT880s or SR325s.  Where can I go to listen to an HRT Music Streamer?  Maybe we could have a 'Cheapskate Room' next time where the total value of everything on the table cannot exceed $1200?  

 

[Maxvla]

Impressions-

HE-500: Good bass and clarity. Much more enclosed soundstage than the K702’s. They do everything well, but there’s no wow factor. I want to be excited about my headphones. There were no goose bump moments with these cans.

T1: Much like the HE-500’s they did a lot of things well, but were not terribly exciting. Better soundstage than the HE-500’s, but not as good as the K702’s.  More mid emphasis than the HE-500, and less bass extension.

HD 800 (Anax mod): Listening to the K702’s for the last year has turned me into a soundstage junkie, and these were the only cans that really fed my addiction. They were very spacious and incredibly detailed (revealing). They had more bass than the K702’s, but not by a lot. However, even with the Anax mod, there were parts of some songs where the treble made me wince. This was especially noticeable with Tori Amos and the banjo from Punch Brothers. On the right system, the HD 800’s sound spectacular and do not have this problem. They sounded particularly good on the TTVJ Pinnacle, FrankCooter/Ironbut’s tape system, and the Balancing Act.

LCD-3 (TP mod): “Musical” would be the best word to describe these. Larger soundstage than the HE-500’s and similar to T1 (maybe a smidge smaller). The soundstage didn’t sound enclosed, it sounded intimate. Every song was completely engaging. The bass was outstanding, but the overall tone was a little on the warm side. Of course, these sounded better (much much better) on Frank’s system.

LCD-2: Same magic as the LCD-3’s, but slightly less. Everything the LCD-3’s did well, these did well, but to a marginally lesser extent. Enjoyed listening to all my tracks. Not as revealing as some of the others, this is good thing to a certain extent, given my system. It is hard to justify paying $1000 more for the LCD-3’s when these do nearly as good a job.  

Magnum (V4): Surprisingly nice. Airy and detailed with great mids. Enjoyed the Smashing Pumpkins track with these. If you can get around the Grado comfort issues, these are a great lower cost option. I can’t get around the Grado comfort issues.  

HE-6: I know that the Lyr is supposed to be able to handle the HE-6’s, but I had to crank it up all the way for the Rachmaninov track. Maybe there’s not enough juice coming out of my DAC.

Of course, these are just one person’s opinions about how these headphones sound on his system with his music.  YMMV. Thanks again to everyone!

You have the same ears as me! Word for word my thoughts on those above. I removed the ones I haven't heard yet, except the Magnum fitted Grados which I also can't stand the fit of. Too bad you didn't find a better power match on the HE-6 to get a real taste of their performance.

 

[Questhate]

 
Quote:

It's funny what's considered 'budget-fi' at Head-Fi.  

  Less than the cost of your first car?  Two month's salary?  I'm actually glad when people have straightforward and relatively affordable rigs to listen to.  There can be so many variables in these systems, and the further up you go where you begin to split hairs, sometimes you don't know what (hardware) you're actually listening to.  (See earlier post about what's inside of n3rdling's BH compared to ASR's.)
 
To me, part of these meets is seeing the best of the best.  But another part is listening to stuff other than what the Apple store or BB carries.  Heck- I can't even think of a place near me off the top of my head where you can listen to something as common (in our world) as DT880s or SR325s.  Where can I go to listen to an HRT Music Streamer?  Maybe we could have a 'Cheapskate Room' next time where the total value of everything on the table cannot exceed $1200?  

X2
 
Well said. I was telling my buddy that dropped by that I was disappointed there weren't more "mid-fi" or "budget-fi" setups. 
 
Don't get me wrong, it's awesome to be able to hear all of the best-of-the-best in one place. Not many opportunities where you'll get to hear all the high-end Stax and fully-stretched out LCD-3s, HE-6s and HD800s. But a "Cheapskate Room" is a great idea for folks that come through and want to be able to find a nice "realistic" setup. 
 
On an unrelated note, I can't believe I missed out on $700 UERMs! I'm really kicking myself for that one. 
 

 

[Questhate]

 
Quote:

I thought you'd be there, but then I read something about you sending a bunch of stuff to Wualta and figured we wouldn't see you or your open-backed DIY. Next time.

Same here. I was looking forward to trying some of RD's vintage orthos. We'll have to set up a mini-meet and drag him along. 
 

 

[purrin]

 
Quote:

On an unrelated note, I can't believe I missed out on $700 UERMs! I'm really kicking myself for that one. 

If you are planning to come down to SoCal for a summer meet, I'll see if I can invite UE again. You'll need a BA to fully take advantage of them though.

 
 
LOL, there were at least three people listening to the UERM out of the BA. 
 

 

[Lurkumaural]

Quote:

You'll need a BA to fully take advantage of them though.

Now you're just making me sad.
 
$700 UERM sounds like such a deal.  Hopefully when I'm ready, UE will be too.
 

 

[purrin]

Quote:

Now you're just making me sad.
 
$700 UERM sounds like such a deal.  Hopefully when I'm ready, UE will be too.
 

 
Think of the positives: SQwise, $700 UERM + iPhone => $2800 headphone rigs
 

 

[gogators]

Thanks for liking my old Technics 820. But I do not agree that they sound like crap, these have Orhodynamic drivers as the lcd2 and he6 headphones. They sound natural and smooth. 
 
Quote:

I had an amazing time, it was so much fun getting to know everyone and listening to amazing and critical feedback. I mostly wanted to get to know everybody's preferences of sound as I craft future hi-fi gear for this community.  It was odd as the content had such an impact at this show on the inpression of "whats good" compared to Canjam.   I secretly tested a popular new genre, dub step on many rigs and learned a lot.  Yet, other genres the owners had qued up sounded brilliant and articulate.  The right weapon for the battle is critical. And content, content, content.  Even same genre in the same year's mastering is vital on uncompressed tracks.  
 
A lot of the gear couldn't handle modern music I found out.  Last time, I mostly tested jazz and acoustics and I liked the hd800 and stax 009s.   There is a huge "divide" now IMO of what is a great headphone based on the genre, more than ever before.  It's important to have multiple headphones to maximize your experience based on genre and environment.
 
The most kick ass headphone for me was the antique Technics, it sounded like crap but I loved the ID!  Loved the reel 2 reel and I'm always a sucker for  tube amps, but nobody brought a LP record player. Let's get pure analog next time!    I wish I won the Altoids amp.
 
Cheers everybody, see you in LA for the next meet soon!!!
 
 
 

 

 

[Lurkumaural]

Quote:

 
Think of the positives: SQwise, $700 UERM + iPhone => $2800 headphone rigs
 

Not helping

 
There are a few banks in my neighborhood, I guess I can hit the ones where I don't do my banking...
 

 

[CEE TEE]

Quote:

Think of the positives: SQwise, $700 UERM + iPhone => $2800 headphone rigs

I would also add the new AMB mini^3 with Lithium Battery that MisterX makes for $150.  Gain of 2, "High Performance" version.
 
More clarity/definition and punch.  (Really technical terms, I know...)
 
I'll be giving my Dad my non-Lithium version and getting the Lithium version as they are now available!

 

[purrin]

Is the battery higher voltage? I forgot to drop by Ti's table.

 

[Questhate]

 
Quote:

 
If you are planning to come down to SoCal for a summer meet, I'll see if I can invite UE again. You'll need a BA to fully take advantage of them though.

 
LOL, there were at least three people listening to the UERM out of the BA. 
 

Already brought up a potential "Disneyland and whatever else happens to be going on in Socal" trip in the summer with the GF. 

 

[Maxvla]

If you are planning to come down to SoCal for a summer meet, I'll see if I can invite UE again. You'll need a BA to fully take advantage of them though.  

LOL, there were at least three people listening to the UERM out of the BA. 

These UERM are no joke. I'm sure they scale well beyond the gear I have. Wish I had them already made when I was at RMAF, but that's where I picked them out so no go.

 

[grokit]

Quote:

calaf's table / Pretty impressive what Macbooks can drive these days.  

 
Which Meier amp is that?

 

[melville]

Has anyone compared sound quality of the Eddie Current 2A3 against the DNA Stratus 2A3?
If any, I wonder how they fare against the beautiful Decware at a fraction of their price?
Thanks.