[wakeride74]

Thanks Asr for putting together such a great meet!

Curse you Ray Samuels! That Raptor with the Tung Sols sounded perfect with my GS1000's. Just when I thought I was content with the Lisa III!

Curse you Al... and everyone else that brought PS-1's. They still hit the sweet spot for me and I may just have to hunt for a pair. As Jack Bauer would say "DAMN IT!!!"

robm321 - Not sure how I missed you man... maybe we'll have to get a East Bay mini-meet going in a couple months!

Justin's Pico was a big win for me... the DAC section of that thing was just unbelievable. The Xin Reference was nice but a little dark and maybe a tad too warm for my tastes. It would probably mate well with Ety's and Shure E4C's.

 

[robm321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by foo_me /img/forum/go_quote.gif Rob...it was a pleasure meeting you. Think you'll definitely be happy once you do get the mods! For anyone else out there wanting to build a really good or even top class k1000 system, there are other ways to build it besides my choice of zanden and emm labs. I'm just not patient enough to go from lowest to highest and when I found a good match, it was worth it to just get the components when I had the opportunity. There must be tons of integrated speaker amps and within that, tons of 300B integrated amps. Moreover, there are plenty of sources that can come up to the level of an emm labs for a lot less such as IMO, an ayre 5cxe. So, while still very expensive, there are different degrees and the most important thing would be to be able to audition each piece before and see how it synergizes with the k1000. Like Nik did (for his I'm sure equally enjoyable system) that first started me on this road, it's worth it to synergize each component because for the k1000s, it seems every piece does make a difference with the k1000. For me, the tubes mattered, the ICs mattered, the equinox cable mattered, the cage mod mattered, and to some extent, the power conditioning mattered as well.

Very nice meeting with you as well. I think we share a lot of the same tastes.

I agree with you about sources. I recently got my Modwrighted Denon 3910. I heard it a year ago when my dealer was saying it was the best redbook player he's ever heard regardless of price (plays SACD,DVD-A,HDCD,etc. also). I agreed and still think it's the most analog sounding player outside of vinyl. For those looking for a bargain (expensive bargain). Dan simply uses the transport and case of Sonys and Denons and basically makes everything in the signal path his own (make sure to get the full mod package) - saving the costs of designing the transport and case. It remains the best digital I've heard for my tastes at a very reasonable price.

However, there is no way to reach the level that your amp can reach for less. I think there are good matches with the K-1000 out there that just haven't been found yet. Either way, I agree with you in principle that finding good synergy can be had for much less. Till then, I'm waiting for Ori to come through as his amp has promise if he can bump up the dynamics with a bit more power.

Now if I can just find someone willing to re-cable mine K-1000s...

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakeride74 /img/forum/go_quote.gif robm321 - Not sure how I missed you man... maybe we'll have to get a East Bay mini-meet going in a couple months!

Yeah, I don't know what happened. Either way, I think an East bay mini meet would be great.

 

[wakeride74]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ichiboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Excellent meet, I'll post up pics when I'm not lazy. HD650 vs. Denon D2000/5000- My entire goal of the meet was to find a victor of the D2000/5000 and HD650's, for myself I feel that the Denons emerged victorious. What makes them great to me is that they are similar cans to the 650's, yet improve on some of the things that just didn't really work for me. They are noticeably more forward, bass is less overpowering, much less dark, and comfortable as hell. Arg.... I might just need to jump ships here. My favorite rig by a mile was blessingx's macbook/WA6/Lavry setup, especially considering how economic a setup like that is (relatively speaking, of course ). It looked gorgeous with everything perfectly matching and more importantly, nearly every headphone I threw at it sounded terrific. It was really a joy to pair with the the D5000's. The software he was using was very fun to play with as well. However, I may be biased in that he had Pavement and Sufjan Stevens on his rig . The Pico was amazing, I was completely mystified as to how such a small DAC and amp sounded that good. I ran E9's and HD600's on it and was very very impressed like nearly everyone here. That thing was smaller than a freaking tomahawk, hats off to headamp! I also really enjoyed the singlepowers and a lot of the higher end setups, however I try to avoid becoming too enamored in things I clearly cannot afford .

I only did a quick A/B with the my stock Denon D5000 and the pair that was recabled (who's are those?? PM me with info on that recable) but I agree with what you said about the recabled pair sounding cleaner. Did you happen to compare the D5000 to the recabled D2000? I didn't have a chance to do that and I'm curious how wide or narrow the gap is between them.

On a side note if all your Denon listening was done through the Stello it might be a bit bass heavy for those cans IMO.

 

[Icarium]

Ha, JP now that you are in the area I'm sure you can hear the naked K1000s again in not too long

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robm321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, I don't know what happened. Either way, I think an East bay mini meet would be great.

Be careful what you wish for, because it just might come true.

Ok so the pics continue! Everything below is also available in this Photobucket gallery for those who might prefer that style of viewing.

 

[Asr]

 

[Asr]

 

[Asr]

 

[Nugget]

To ASR and everybody who attended, thanks for making my first meet a great one. I'm an utter newbie who knew nobody (alliteration not intended), but within five minutes of my arrival Ray Samuels was shepherding me toward his B52>R10 rig and asking my impression of his Qualias. Everyone else was similarly welcoming.

As for my impressions, I lack both the experience and vocabulary (the only "high-end" cans I'd heard pre-meet were some RS1s) to say much, so I'll keep it short. I was blown away by the R10's smoothness, how much fun the GS1000s were on rock tracks, and the K1000s in general. I was skeptical of the latter, as I am of anything that gains a following largely after it's discontinued, but they really were that good.

On the other hand, I was slightly underwhelmed by the Omega IIs. Not that I can point to any particularly deficiency. It's just that they seemed almost too polite, too polished. I guess I'm just not a candidate for electrostatics. I was also unimpressed by two cans that had been on my short-list to replace the ones I'd destroyed: the DT990 and the Darths. On Mikey's ASL MkIII the DT990's top end really stuck out; even quiet cymbal taps came right to the forefront. They played better with an Opera, but still not my taste. As for the Darths, well, I just wasn't impressed in any particular, which really surprised me. The bass was muddy, mids still recessed. But maybe I'm being unfair to the Beyers, as I listened to them right after taking off some K1000s and (what I believe was) a pair of HP-2s.

That leaves the K701. Accurate, lively, just a very nice can. Not nearly in the same league as the ones that really impressed me, but pretty darn good and a lot closer to my price range. I'll have to bring the remainder of my rig to the next meet and see if they're a good match!

Thanks again, guys.

 

[kramer5150]

Wow what a great meet!!
Thanks ASR for setting this up.
Thanks Bruce for the CDs... Van Halen & Queen, doesn't get any better than that

I really liked the Mini^3 (AD8397), it had some great instrument separation that (in my mind) put it a small notch up on top of the other 8397 based portable amps I have heard in the past. The other mini configuration was more ambient, and distant, a very different presentation that I was able to readily pick out in ~15 minutes of IEM listening.

Did anyone else find the Xin Reference the bass-monster of the portables? It had a very different sound. Smooth, ambient, at times distant sounding mids (vocals/snare drums/guitars). Treble was a little more forward than the mids. The bass though seemed to be a little more than the other amps.... not flabby or over-done in any way though. Plugging in my RS1...

 

[wakeride74]

I listened to the Xin Reference with my ES2's which can be too bright with the wrong amp and I still found the Xin amp to be a little overly warm and somewhat dark to my ears.

This may be a really random question but did anyone happen to hear some PS-1's with a DAC1? I'm very curious how the detailed and maybe analytical character of the DAC1 mates with the warm PS-1's. I'm thinking of offloading my Stello, GS1000 and maybe the Denons to aim at a DAC1 USB > Raptor (with Tung Sols) > PS-1.

 

[Icarium]

Oh man there was Queen? Yeah Bruce you rule. I need to mooch from you some more ;p

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow what a great meet!! Thanks ASR for setting this up. Thanks Bruce for the CDs... Van Halen & Queen, doesn't get any better than that I really liked the Mini^3 (AD8397), it had some great instrument separation that (in my mind) put it a small notch up on top of the other 8397 based portable amps I have heard in the past. The other mini configuration was more ambient, and distant, a very different presentation that I was able to readily pick out in ~15 minutes of IEM listening. Did anyone else find the Xin Reference the bass-monster of the portables? It had a very different sound. Smooth, ambient, at times distant sounding mids (vocals/snare drums/guitars). Treble was a little more forward than the mids. The bass though seemed to be a little more than the other amps.... not flabby or over-done in any way though. Plugging in my RS1...

 

[Icarium]

Well one note about Ray Samuels set of Qualias. They are large size which fits basically maybe 1 person on Earth, some guy with a gigantor head (I'd be surprised if they fit Ray well). In fact medium is more suited for large heads. Small is what most people fit into. So basically no one who tried his pair could have conceivably gotten a good fit and it was probably tough for a good # of people to get a good fit on mine, which are medium.

 

[mrarroyo]

Was the Reference a Beta version? If so does anyonenknow when it was made (May, June, July, or August)? I ask because there has been a very significant changes done to the amp. Thanks.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Was the Reference a Beta version? If so does anyonenknow when it was made (May, June, July, or August)? I ask because there has been a very significant changes done to the amp. Thanks.

God question... FWIW.... I overheard someone else saying it was relatively new and hadn't been burned in yet.