a few impressions.
* my B52 + Bal 800 (stock cable) was my favorite rig at the meet. i listened to an L3000 (single ended) and an HP2 (bal) on my rig and preferred the 800 to both. the L3000 was very smooth and enjoyable but the sound stage is limited and the detail was not as good. the bass quality (slam) was better on the L3000 but not by much. the two headphones have a pretty different flavor though. if you want a headphone with an ultra-smooth sound and great bass impact, then the L3000 is the one to get. the HP2 was more similar to the 800. both had great detail and tend toward a neutral/flat sound. the bass on the HP2 is decent and very focused but lacked the impact of the 800. the 800 had more depth but the HP2 does left to right so well that although you feel like first row, the various singers/instruments do not compress into one another. but the overall sense of space was noticeably smaller on the HP2. that said, i was still pretty impressed with it.
* the WES + O2mkII was also impressive, but i just preferred the 800 over the O2 (on that setup). the O2 had better imaging and that stat clarity/precision, but not more detail. on some tracks it was very engrossing. on others, not so much. in general, the 800 had more texture/nuance, impact and overall liveliness. the WES was very nice but it didn't wow me. although my expectations were very high.
* the WA22 + 800 sounded excellent, but it didn't make me want to switch it out for my B52. the biggest difference was sound stage and bass impact. the former was larger and the latter better on my B52.
* the Jade + maxxed GES was surprisingly good. at times i liked this setup more than the WES/O2. i think part of it is that i like the O2 but don't absolutely love it and definitely prefer the HE90 over it. so i am not firmly in the O2 camp.
* other thoughts. the 800 sounded okay from the balanced phoenix but not great. the D7000 is a decent headphone but not something i would look to acquire. the GS1000 (bal or single ended) continues to underwhelm me. ari's RS1 w/ SR60 drivers sounded very good. there was some grain to the sound, but overall i liked them. vinyl transferred to CD sounded as good as (or maybe better than) my best sounding CDs. i really need to look into this.
that's what comes to mind for now.
* my B52 + Bal 800 (stock cable) was my favorite rig at the meet. i listened to an L3000 (single ended) and an HP2 (bal) on my rig and preferred the 800 to both. the L3000 was very smooth and enjoyable but the sound stage is limited and the detail was not as good. the bass quality (slam) was better on the L3000 but not by much. the two headphones have a pretty different flavor though. if you want a headphone with an ultra-smooth sound and great bass impact, then the L3000 is the one to get. the HP2 was more similar to the 800. both had great detail and tend toward a neutral/flat sound. the bass on the HP2 is decent and very focused but lacked the impact of the 800. the 800 had more depth but the HP2 does left to right so well that although you feel like first row, the various singers/instruments do not compress into one another. but the overall sense of space was noticeably smaller on the HP2. that said, i was still pretty impressed with it.
* the WES + O2mkII was also impressive, but i just preferred the 800 over the O2 (on that setup). the O2 had better imaging and that stat clarity/precision, but not more detail. on some tracks it was very engrossing. on others, not so much. in general, the 800 had more texture/nuance, impact and overall liveliness. the WES was very nice but it didn't wow me. although my expectations were very high.
* the WA22 + 800 sounded excellent, but it didn't make me want to switch it out for my B52. the biggest difference was sound stage and bass impact. the former was larger and the latter better on my B52.
* the Jade + maxxed GES was surprisingly good. at times i liked this setup more than the WES/O2. i think part of it is that i like the O2 but don't absolutely love it and definitely prefer the HE90 over it. so i am not firmly in the O2 camp.
* other thoughts. the 800 sounded okay from the balanced phoenix but not great. the D7000 is a decent headphone but not something i would look to acquire. the GS1000 (bal or single ended) continues to underwhelm me. ari's RS1 w/ SR60 drivers sounded very good. there was some grain to the sound, but overall i liked them. vinyl transferred to CD sounded as good as (or maybe better than) my best sounding CDs. i really need to look into this.
that's what comes to mind for now.
