[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Towert7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is the first time I have read someone describe the HD800 as lush.

They are on the EC ZDT amp with a GE 5751 grey plate tube.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romanee /img/forum/go_quote.gif Erik - what was the very small tube hybrid at the Cavalli table -- the one with the small black heat sink on top/back? It sounded very nice with whatever tube was in it? Did you buy that one? [cfcubed: feel free to chime in...

Both of the two amps Chris had were Compact Tube Hybrid (CTH) amps. The smaller one only had 1/8" jacks for input and output. The larger one has both 1/8" and 1/4" headphone jacks and an 1/8" and RCA outputs. It also has upgraded coupling caps. This larger "maxed" version is the one I bought. I heard it previously in Bayside last spring and it made a lasting impression. When Chris listed it for sale I urged him to bring it to the meet once again and told him I would most likely buy it after getting another chance to listen. I just needed to confirm it sounded as good as I remembered. To be honest, it sounded better.

I am listening to Andreas Vollenweider through it right now with the
Amperex PQ 8416 and my Denons and it sounds wonderful. I was listening last night and the amp has two very distinct qualities that, in my mind anyway, make it a top performer.

I can't begin to cite any technical specs and I can't even claim to have too much experience with tubes but tube rolling seems to make a big difference with this amp.

The second point is that the amp just seems to get out of the way so you can get on with listening. Despite different tubes imparting their unique sound, it still sounds natural with the tubes I've heard it with so far. I'm listening to music now and not amps or tubes.

 

[cfcubed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romanee /img/forum/go_quote.gif Erik - what was the very small tube hybrid at the Cavalli table -- the one with the small black heat sink on top/back? It sounded very nice with whatever tube was in it? Did you buy that one? [cfcubed: feel free to chime in...]

Erik has the "larger" of the two CTHs I had there... One where you can use 1/8" or 1/4" out, RCA or 1/8" in, blue velvet pot & Sonicap Gen I (w/Sonicap Gen II bypass) coupling caps.
The smaller CTH (my avatar) is a pretty std build but w/24V reg moved to top mounted HS because smaller cases have less air & wiatrob's perforated tops weren't around then.

P.S. Oops - Erik beat me to it. BTW here is the main tube compatibility by heater voltage list. Glad you're still loving the amp Erik.

 

[tintin47]

^I was thinking the same thing. I thought that the HE5 had more bass than the 800 when I listened side by side.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif They are on the EC ZDT amp with a GE 5751 grey plate tube.

Yes, but still this is the first time I've heard any HD800 setup called lush.

 

[immtbiker]

Yeah...it's tough to call the 800's lush. But after many hours of comparison, taking into consideration, sound, comfort, and price, the HE-5's edge out the 800's for me.

The 800's have beautiful bass, but it doesn't go low and deep enough. The HE-5's have a spatial quality and deep, realistic bass, that I have always been looking for. Comparing the HE-5's and the LCD 2's are going to be a war, that will resemble the fight that ensues between the O2's and other stats. The LCD2's have nice detail and are slightly more efficient, but they are more laid back and neutral, like the O2's than the HE-5's. The HE-5's are alive, jump right in your face, and bring a keg to the party. Different strokes/ different folks. More like a Jade.

The R-10's bass is probably the best I have ever heard (and I'm not talking quantity because Yikes Denon 7000's with the Siltech wiring, won hands down in the bass department). They may not be the truest bass performers, but the 7000's beat out the 2000's and even the MarkL modded 5000's.

The amazing thing is, that when I compared the Audio G-d Phoenix with Yikes DAC and the 7000's, and then put on the HeAudio Jades into Ethan's modded Siltech GES, the Jades/GES won by a large margin, IIMHO. I told this to Yikes, and I thought we were going to get into a fisticuffs, but he just smiled, and said, "of course". At least I'm not alone. It must be the medication that he's been taking.

It will be nice if the Jades can be made in a factory and we can have another competitor back in the Electro world, with high build quality.

This was the first time that I had heard a pair of O1's, (can't imagine why, after all, this is my second life), but what synergy they had with Doug's Maxxed out WES.
A note on that. The only difference between El_Doug's Maxxed out WES and the prototype one Jack had at his table is the 2 different stages of Blackgates. Jack is offering the standard WES with all of the trimmings, sans the Gates. You are really getting a great product for a competitive price.

Dougs Maxxed WES only had 100 hours on the BG's, so there was no way to hear a true competition to the standard model. Those BG's need lot's and lot's of time on them, and it's tough to do, because I wouldn't advise leaving a tube amp running when your not home without a professional sprinkler system hovering over them. Any solid state can run for weeks with any cause for concern.
Perhaps we can get nikongod or Nate or Kerry to "whip up" a sprinkler system with some used parts from there spare parts bins with some polyethylene tubing or PVC piping added into the mix.
Who knows, they can use the leftover tubing for new stands with rounded elbows for the spring meet.

Ray' Thunderbolt II (not Thunderbolt I, that was a different plane) is a tremendous sounding amp, and when it first came out, there were comments about it's looks and volume knob placement, but I think it is breathtaking, and the bottom end that that puppy puts out, is unusual for a stat amp, and Mr. Wu and Mr. Samuel (both their real names) are going to be my next exiting "thrill of the chase" adventure in my life. Without that, we might as well be in Scrabble tournaments (reference to a National Scrabble tournament that took place next to one of our meets at the Adria in 2006).
However, with an unemployed spouse, the GES and a good headphone are going to have to find a good home other than mine, to provide the funding.

I don't know how many of you other "old foggies" remember Hot Tuna, but in San Francisco, Frank Cooter turned me onto "Live at Sweetwater", and if anyone wants an excellent reference CD for Jack Cassidy bass and Jorma Kaukonen acoustic guitar, live but clean and potent, to check out electrostat amps with, that CD is the Cat's Meow.

A point to be discussed at a further time. It seems that our silent auctions are growing into bigger and bigger money earners. I used to have to depend on the kind contributions of attendees pockets to pay for the room. I think that this group is one of the best in the world. I suggested to Erik, that instead of donating all of the overflow money to Jude and Head-Fi, people should still donate money to Head-Fi every year if they can, after all, it does a huge source of pleasure in their lives, but maybe Erik should hold on to a percentage of the overflow, in order to get a larger, more meet-eased place to hold the November meets. I like the idea of having it in Westchester. It doesn't affect city-ites any more than the Spring Bayside meet location does, and it really helps out the people headed from the North, compared to heading out to Babylon.

Speaking of Babbling on, I'm done...for now.

 

[decur]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah...it's tough to call the 800's lush. But after many hours of comparison, taking into consideration, sound, comfort, and price, the HE-5's edge out the 800's for me. The 800's have beautiful bass, but it doesn't go low and deep enough. The HE-5's have a spatial quality and deep, realistic bass, that I have always been looking for. Comparing the HE-5's and the LCD 2's are going to be a war, that will resemble the fight that ensues between the O2's and other stats. The LCD2's have nice detail and are slightly more efficient, but they are more laid back and neutral, like the O2's than the HE-5's. The HE-5's are alive, jump right in your face, and bring a keg to the party. Different strokes/ different folks. More like a Jade. The R-10's bass is probably the best I have ever heard (and I'm not talking quantity because Yikes Denon 7000's with the Siltech wiring, won hands down in the bass department). They may not be the truest bass performers, but the 7000's beat out the 2000's and even the MarkL modded 5000's. The amazing thing is, that when I compared the Audio G-d Phoenix with Yikes DAC and the 7000's, and then put on the HeAudio Jades into Ethan's modded Siltech GES, the Jades/GES won by a large margin, IIMHO. I told this to Yikes, and I thought we were going to get into a fisticuffs, but he just smiled, and said, "of course". At least I'm not alone. It must be the medication that he's been taking. It will be nice if the Jades can be made in a factory and we can have another competitor back in the Electro world, with high build quality. This was the first time that I had heard a pair of O1's, (can't imagine why, after all, this is my second life), but what synergy they had with Dean's Maxxed out WES. A note on that. The only difference between Decur's Maxxed out WES and the prototype one Jack had at his table is the 2 different stages of Blackgates. Jack is offering the standard WES with all of the trimmings, sans the Gates. You are really getting a great product for a competitive price. Decur's Maxxed WES only had 100 hours on the BG's, so there was no way to hear a true competition to the standard model. Those BG's need lot's and lot's of time on them, and it's tough to do, because I wouldn't advise leaving a tube amp running when your not home without a professional sprinkler system hovering over them. Any solid state can run for weeks with any cause for concern. Perhaps we can get nikongod or Nate or Kerry to "whip up" a sprinkler system with some used parts from there spare parts bins with some polyethylene tubing or PVC piping added into the mix. Who knows, they can use the leftover tubing for new stands with rounded elbows for the spring meet. Ray' Thunderbolt II (not Thunderbolt I, that was a different plane) is a tremendous sounding amp, and when it first came out, there were comments about it's looks and volume knob placement, but I think it is breathtaking, and the bottom end that that puppy puts out, is unusual for a stat amp, and Mr. Wu and Mr. Samuel (both their real names) are going to be my next exiting "thrill of the chase" adventure in my life. Without that, we might as well be in Scrabble tournaments (reference to a National Scrabble tournament that took place next to one of our meets at the Adria in 2006). However, with an unemployed spouse, the GES and a good headphone are going to have to find a good home other than mine, to provide the funding. I don't know how many of you other "old foggies" remember Hot Tuna, but in San Francisco, Frank Cooter turned me onto "Live at Sweetwater", and if anyone wants an excellent reference CD for Jack Cassidy bass and Jorma Kaukonen acoustic guitar, live but clean and potent, to check out electrostat amps with, that CD is the Cat's Meow. A point to be discussed at a further time. It seems that our silent auctions are growing into bigger and bigger money earners. I used to have to depend on the kind contributions of attendees pockets to pay for the room. I think that this group is one of the best in the world. I suggested to Erik, that instead of donating all of the overflow money to Jude and Head-Fi, people should still donate money to Head-Fi every year if they can, after all, it does a huge source of pleasure in their lives, but maybe Erik should hold on to a percentage of the overflow, in order to get a larger, more meet-eased place to hold the November meets. I like the idea of having it in Westchester. It doesn't affect city-ites any more than the Spring Bayside meet location does, and it really helps out the people headed from the North, compared to heading out to Babylon. Speaking of Babbling on, I'm done...for now.

aaron
my amp/source and phones at the meet

were northstar transport,red wine audio hpa sony r10 & senns hd-800s

 

[vcoheda]

the maxxed WES/O was brought by el_doug (doug).

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif I suggested to Erik, that instead of donating all of the overflow money to Jude and Head-Fi, people should still donate money to Head-Fi every year if they can, after all, it does a huge source of pleasure in their lives, but maybe Erik should hold on to a percentage of the overflow, in order to get a larger, more meet-eased place to hold the November meets.

I'm open for a bigger, better place. My only concern is having enough time to find a location that can accomodate quarter of a million dollars worth of audio equipment and 50 headphone geeks. I sort of stumbled upon the KoC hall because I go by it several times a week; I even vote in there. One day I thought maybe they would rent it out and we would have a meet there. If it wasn't literally around the corner from my house I would have never been able to pull off the first meet, let alone a second one.

There are a few hotels in White Plains, especially the Crowne Plaza, that have meeting facilities. One of those might be our best bet.

But never mind next November. I'm thinking summertime portables meet and pig roast at my house!

 

[FrankCooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Immtbiker The 800's have beautiful bass, but it doesn't go low and deep enough. The HE-5's have a spatial quality and deep, realistic bass, that I have always been looking for. Comparing the HE-5's and the LCD 2's are going to be a war, that will resemble the fight that ensues between the O2's and other stats. The LCD2's have nice detail and are slightly more efficient, but they are more laid back and neutral, like the O2's than the HE-5's. The HE-5's are alive, jump right in your face, and bring a keg to the party. Different strokes/ different folks. More like a Jade. :

Greetings Arron! You've pushed me over the HE-5 edge! There will of course have to be a purpose-built DHT amp to bring out their best. Warming up the soldering iron already.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif A point to be discussed at a further time. It seems that our silent auctions are growing into bigger and bigger money earners. I used to have to depend on the kind contributions of attendees pockets to pay for the room. I think that this group is one of the best in the world. I suggested to Erik, that instead of donating all of the overflow money to Jude and Head-Fi, people should still donate money to Head-Fi every year if they can, after all, it does a huge source of pleasure in their lives, but maybe Erik should hold on to a percentage of the overflow, in order to get a larger, more meet-eased place to hold the November meets. I like the idea of having it in Westchester. It doesn't affect city-ites any more than the Spring Bayside meet location does, and it really helps out the people headed from the North, compared to heading out to Babylon.

I like the idea of reserving some money for future head-fi meets to insure a proper size and that future even coordinators do not get stiffed with the bill if turnout isn't that great. It should help insure that head-fi meets are the best they can be.

Speaking of turnout, I think this year the room was less crowded. Perhaps it was because of all the people who stayed home due to illness. I'm afraid I ate my own words, thinking there would be more people than last year.

As for westchester, I have never been. On one hand you don't have to go across the bridge onto long island, but on the other hand it would be taking me closer and closer into the heart of Manhattan.
Google maps estimates about an extra 20 minutes if traffic isn't bad, plus paying a toll. Certainly not as nice as Harrison for those coming from up north, but not sure how it compares to the bayside place. Also not sure how parking is...

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by decur /img/forum/go_quote.gif aaron my amp/source and phones at the meet were northstar transport,red wine audio hpa sony r10 & senns hd-800s

I'm sorry Dean. I had you on my mind because ot "The Monkey" picture threads. I knew it was El_Doug's. I have to stop having late dinners. Accept my apologies Decur.
You are going to get an inferiority complex. First you were called The Monkey, and then you had a new amp in your system that you didn't even know that you had

Sorry dude. You were next to me at the Spring meet at the Adria. I edited my post.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Towert7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif As for westchester, I have never been.

Drew, you were in Westchester all day on Saturday, silly goose.

Harrison, New York - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Towert7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif As for westchester, I have never been.

Yes, you have, at least twice.

Harrison is in Westchester County, which is the first county north of New York City. Aaron's saying he likes that general location. White Plains is the County Seat and the next town over from Harrison. There are a number of hotels in the area. It's right off I287 which connects directly with 95 and the Hutch so it would be virtually the same communte.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif Drew, you were in Westchester all day on Saturday, silly goose.

...................

Ah, haha!
Shows how much I know New York.
I typed in westchester, ny into google maps and it placed me right next to the bronx zoo. Didn't know it was a County.

^_^

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrankCooter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Greetings Arron! You've pushed me over the HE-5 edge! There will of course have to be a purpose-built DHT amp to bring out their best. Warming up the soldering iron already.

Hi Frank. You were missing a "]" bracket after the word "Quote, so you didn't get the blue box with the quote. I fixed that for you.

Since I pushed you over the HE-5 edge, can I have one of your beautiful (looking and sounding) blue Mercury vaper whatchmacall-it amps?

Give a little, take a lot