It was a great meet, guys! We counted about 23-27 people at the meet. The room looked big when it was empty when I went to take a look at it. But with 20+ people there, it looked kind of tight. I was glad that it was during the winter, as the heat generated by all the electronics and bodies made it quite warm in the room even with both windows open.
All in all, it was great to see some old and new faces. Whoever made those little name tags with people's call signs and avatars, thanks! It was really helpful, but I think half way, most people had lost their "name" tags.
I ended up bringing just two amps, the Rudistor and the HP-100A. I mainly wanted to try other headphones. Well, the Rudistor didn't fare well with two Sonys I tried. With the Sony R-10, it had sibilance. You can hear it with the Sssssss. With the other model which I forgot the model number, the problem wasn't as bad but still there, and the bass was bloated. That leads me to conclude that this amp is only good with Sennheisers and other high-impedance phones. Yeah, the Rudistor didn't sound impressive at the meet. It sounded kind of flat for some bizarre reason. After I removed the T connector, it improved some. I had to check after I got home to make sure it wasn't busted. It's sounding fine right now. Maybe it's the stable electricity at night.
It probably needs more burn in as well, as I was only able to have it on for about 4 to 6 hours at most since I got it two weeks ago.
One riddle I was able to solve was that the hum problem I was having with the HP-100A, which I complained about in so many threads. I think the problem before was because I had it plugged into a power conditioner, and it didn't like that too much. Now I know to plug it directly into the wall. It doesn't have a pitch black background, but it sounds pretty good. Not as refined as Rudistor, but it costs 1/10th of Rudistor. It's like comparing the handling of an Integra R to a Ferrari or NSX.
I didn't get to hear AMB's M^3. I was very impressed of its predeccesor when I first heard it last year.
I guess the parking maids were out in force today (end of the month). I am sorry if any of you got a ticket. I did not realize San Mateo has started charging for parking in the parking lots.
Thanks for keeping the place clean. My cousin was expecting that she would have to do a lot of cleaning afterwards. She said we can use the place again in the future if we want. She'll give us a big break on the rental fee now that she knows we are pretty good at keeping the place clean and didn't make too much of a distraction to her regular business.
I would like to make a suggestion that in the future, when there are rooms available, that people carry on discussions outside of the main listening room so that others can actually listen to different equipments in the main room in a somewhat tolerable environment. I think that's what most people are there for.
Also check to see if there's climate control! Especially if the meet is in the summer time.
I noticed that only 17 people had signed the liability released form, which led me to believe that probably only 17 out of the 25+ people had paid. I didn't want to make this a big deal during the meet, but I think the burden should be shared by all who attended as we all benefited from this type of event, and the burden should not be carried by only a few honorable men and women. Had we rented a conference room at a hotel or some other facilities, we would have had to pay a set fee, and the rest of us would have to fork over mor money to cover for the people that didn't pay. If the fee is a financial burden for somebody, just speak up, I'm sure all of us would be glad to cover for a few outstanding members.
Lastly, thanks to everyone that made this meet happened. It was a real team effort by several people to coordinate and get things organized in a short amount of time.
If anyone's interested in hearing the Rudistor again, feel free to contact me and you can come over to my place after I give it at least another 30 or 40 hours.
