[CEE TEE]

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I thought I'd let you know that I ended up buying a pair of the K702's after hearing your "budget-fi" set-up!  To my ears, it definitely competed with most of the other high-end gear at the meet.      

This is great.  A LOT of stuff sounds good that is under $10,000.  I know it is hard to chime in when everyone has been talking about the Orpheus or other BIG set-ups.  
 
Would be nice to keep hearing about impressions of other REALLY NICE KIT that wasn't in the "Stratosphere Room".  

 
(Or even talk of kit that wasn't quite up to expectations is fine too.) 

 

[SanJoseCanJunkie]

Agreed.  Despite what some others say, the K702 delivers high-end sound to your ears, and is still one of the best buys in audio after the MS-1, especially when bought used since is is a gateway for so many people.

 

[uzi]

 
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This is great.  A LOT of stuff sounds good that is under $10,000.  I know it is hard to chime in when everyone has been talking about the Orpheus or other BIG set-ups.  
 
Would be nice to keep hearing about impressions of other REALLY NICE KIT that wasn't in the "Stratosphere Room".  

I mentioned it before, but I went to the meet with the hope of finding an amp for my HD650 that wouldn't break the bank.  I came away really liking the Schiit Valhalla (moreso than the Lyr or Asgard)... and now I'm wondering about the Bottlehead Crack and the Little Dot stuff.
 
Basically, I'm thinking I like the sound of tubes, but I'm a little bit hung up on... you know... tubes.  Tube rolling feels like another rabbit hole to go down, and I'm not crazy of the idea of the tubes themselves.  Still, if that's the price you pay...
 
But yeah, I'm more interested in "the best bang for the buck" rather than "the best", which I felt there was more of at the meet... not that I'm complaining about the chance to listen to "the best".

 

[Maxvla]

It's a good point. Meets tend to be the best gear. When HD650 was a TOTL can they were everywhere, now with planars and HD800s T1s, etc out and about, you hardly ever see HD650s anymore. A lot of the meet-going crowd have either finished their journey, are almost done, or are well on their way to being done with their gear and as such low and mid-fi stuff isn't as well represented. Depending on the location of the meets, the cost of transportation factors in as well. If you want to show off your multi-thousand $ setup(s) spending $100 on gas doesn't seem too bad. Someone with a $500 rig isn't as likely to do the same unless he is looking to upgrade.

 

[Mkubota1]

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I thought I'd let you know that I ended up buying a pair of the K702's after hearing your "budget-fi" set-up!  To my ears, it definitely competed with most of the other high-end gear at the meet.      

+1  
 
'Audiophiles' get caught up in hyperbole (self-included) and easily lose perspective on a lot of things.  I like the idea that purrin threw out for the upcoming L.A. meet of having a few budget rigs under $1k.  I hope this talk doesn't discourage the rock stars (n3rdling et al) from showing up though.  We need both- dreams and the real world.
 
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Basically, I'm thinking I like the sound of tubes, but I'm a little bit hung up on... you know... tubes.  Tube rolling feels like another rabbit hole to go down, and I'm not crazy of the idea of the tubes themselves.  Still, if that's the price you pay...

I just picked up a 'demo' Valhalla from Audio Advisor.  One of the reasons I got this amp was the fact that Schiit explicitly says NOT to roll tubes on this one.  So there you have it- a tube amp with a built-in incentive not to roll tubes!  I am even considering getting an Asgard as well.  At these prices, amp rolling is not much worse (or better) than rolling tubes.
 
 

 

[Anaxilus]

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I just picked up a 'demo' Valhalla from Audio Advisor.  One of the reasons I got this amp was the fact that Schiit explicitly says NOT to roll tubes on this one.  So there you have it- a tube amp with a built-in incentive not to roll tubes!  I am even considering getting an Asgard as well.  At these prices, amp rolling is not much worse (or better) than rolling tubes.

I believe Donald feels the same way about his Stratus.  Tuned to sound best w/ cheap, current production stock.  Can't imagine they wouldn't scale a bit but who knows.
 

 

[Donald North]

I selected and tuned the amp with the stock tubes with which it will ship. A couple months ago I tried some NOS Sylvania double flat black plates and no doubt it sounded even better, maintaining the tonality with higher microdynamic resolution. What I didn't want was people to think that they automatically must ditch the stock tubes and seek out NOS ones.
 
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I believe Donald feels the same way about his Stratus.  Tuned to sound best w/ cheap, current production stock.  Can't imagine they would scale a bit but who knows.
 

 
 

 

[Anaxilus]

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I believe Donald feels the same way about his Stratus.  Tuned to sound best w/ cheap, current production stock.  Can't imagine they wouldn't scale a bit but who knows.

Oops, fixed.  Must have been late...
 

 

[daigo]

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This is great.  A LOT of stuff sounds good that is under $10,000.  I know it is hard to chime in when everyone has been talking about the Orpheus or other BIG set-ups.  
 
Would be nice to keep hearing about impressions of other REALLY NICE KIT that wasn't in the "Stratosphere Room".  

 
(Or even talk of kit that wasn't quite up to expectations is fine too.) 

 
I agree whole heartedly, especially as I try to keep my home set up in the mid-fi range.  While these meets are awesome for exposing yourself to what some of the high end audiophile gear sounds like, there is good gear at all price points.  The temptation is definitely there to purchase the higher end rigs for that extra bit of detail/soundstage/bass/etc that they provide, but you can definitely enjoy music without spending more than a few hundred bucks. 
 

 

[CEE TEE]

Thanks for chiming in on non-TOTL gear, @Thojo, @uzi, @Maxvla, @Mkubota1, @SanJoseCanJunkie.
 
(Had fun listening to my AKG K240s last night and a co-worker has been having a lot of fun with them out of his phone today...

)

 

[uzi]

Got a call from a UE rep today confirming my order.  She said that I should have my UERMs in about 11 days.  (Just a heads up for others that are getting UE stuff from the show.)

 

[shane55]

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Thanks for chiming in on non-TOTL gear, @Thojo, @uzi, @Maxvla, @Mkubota1, @SanJoseCanJunkie.
 
(Had fun listening to my AKG K240s last night and a co-worker has been having a lot of fun with them out of his phone today...

)

Oh sure.... but you nearly gave me the stink eye when I offered my M50's for you to try! Hmmmph.

 
The 'fi' is to low for you? 

 

 

[CEE TEE]

^Mr.shane55,
 
The venerable @rhythmdevils let me borrow his M50's a couple of months ago and I was expecting BIG bass for some reason...was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't the case!
 
(So that's why I turned your M50's down...

)

 

[tdogzthmn]

Tubes FTW, I spent a good deal of time walking around with my K400s and all the amps which I preferred had tubes.  The magic from tubes plus the magic that is the K400 really makes for a wondrous sound for under $1K

 

[Snake Eyes]

Wouldn't it be better if the headphones were sitting on your ears instead of all that hair

?
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