[gloco]

Just came back 30 minutes ago, i had a blast! I got to hear the gilmore v1, k1000's, beyer 880's, R10's, Sennheiser Baby O's, AT W2002 and many more cans. Out of everything i heard the Baby O's left the best impression on me, they sounded great, bass, treble extension, soundstage...everything just mingled together perfectly making them a very cohesive experience.

I can't say the same for Hirsch's W2002's, i was extremely disappointed in them...talk about being amp dependant! They sounded thin out of the gilmore, moretto and i think i tried them with a Cary amp too. KR tried them with the sudgen and they had some decent bass response, but to my ears, they still lacked any cohesiveness, they simply sucked.

They sure looked purdy.

The Baby O's were gorgeous, i probably stated so a dozen times while listening to them, they sounded THAT DAMN GOOD. I threw on various rock and pop cds, every single cd sounded just right, these suckers have great treble extension without becoming bright or fatiguing.

The Stax Omega II's were also there. They sucked. Boomy/veiled-like bass, funky midrange and literally no top end...they were quite rolled off. Everything i tried with them sounded bland/dull. I don't even want to waste any bandwidth talking about these, i was very disappointed.

The Gilmore+K1000's sounded quite decent, a bit thin, but not bad at all, the K1000's are definitely worth every positive word spoken about, the imaging is great, i also tried them paired with another amp, the name escapes me, but they sounded great with this amp, i think it may have been the Cary? Not sure, but the vocals were astounding, great pair of earspeakers for sure.

Hmm, i can't recall what else i listened to at the moment, i guess i'll add more comments later.

Last but certainly not least, i'd like to thanks everyone who was there, we had a blast listening to everything. Everyone was very cordial and easy to talk to. Thanks to Hirsch, highwaystar, williamgoody, hazmat, KR..., Grinch (resembles the grinch believe it or not!), skippy, Ian, bozebuttons (who sweated his arse off setting everything up! Mucho Gracias) and many other great head-fiers (Fred? Hope you stick around much longer next time!). Oh, how could i forget? Thanks to John Grado for letting us crash at Grado Labs and allow us to listen to his Vinyl setup which was definitely impressive...those chairs ruled too.

(edited for typographical errors)

 

[Matthew-Spaltro]

Quote:

Originally posted by gloco The Stax Omega II's were also there. They sucked. Boomy/veiled-like bass, funky midrange and literally no top end...they were quite rolled off. Everything i tried with them sounded bland/dull. I don't even want to waste any bandwidth talking about these, i was very disappointed.

 

[skippy]

there was no pie.

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by skippy there was no pie.

LOL

 

[grinch]

John Grado is one of the best hosts I've ever been around and his continued support to New York (area) Head-fiers is truly appreciated from all and so first I'd like to thank him for his efforts in this matter. His speakers are very interesting, but having only ever really heard one decent pair of speakers before, I am positive that it is not my place to make comments on them. But his vinyl rig suuuure sounded sweet.

I would also like to thank HeadRoom for sending the BlockHead. We are so lucky to have such great gear in our midst, and I easily recall the times when HeadRoom's shipment of amps was what made a Head-Fi meet a Head-Fi meet.

Now for some impressions:

W2002:
This headphone has never really my cup of tea. Last meet I had tried it on some various amps and I just didn't feel it had what I liked. It seemed to have this strange similarity with the Sony CD1700 and CD3000's and I started to believe that I just didn't like closed headphones. I have never owned a pair (except for Etymotics) and so i used to scrub this up on that chart. However, today I tried them out again and discussed them a bit with jpelg and I found out why people enjoy them. While listening to them, I told jpelg "This is how the HD600 SHOULD sound." They have a very wide soundstage, and it's totally believable. When using these with the Headamp.com Gilmore V2 the bass was really articulate. I felt they had such an awesome response, it really helped drive the music and signature into my mind. The midrange was very milky smooth and had a small amount of bloom to it that was very seductive. However, as the frequencies went up I felt that this was where the good news started to end. The high-end felt a little thin and shrill, but not grainy like the HD600. A very nice headphone and very sexy as well.. I wouldn't pay $750 for it, but I did think it was pretty nice if that's what you're into.

W100:
These haven't been the flavor of the month for quite a while, but I threw them on right after the W2002 just to hear what they had to say. I had heard so much about how they were great with female vocals and WOW the rumors were true. The midrange has such body and bloom it was incredibly seductive with the female vocals of my J Street Jumpers album (mapleshaderecords.com). The bass fell behind the W2002 as far as control goes, and the highs were nothing too special (similar to W2002 as well). I found the coloration very enjoyable on the Gilmore and can see why so many enjoyed them at one time. The coloration is there, but nice if your amp is a good flat solid state.

The Big Boys: Sony R10/Cary 300sei and Stax Omega 2's/007t Tube Amp
I started off the day with these as I knew my anticipation had been built up for enough years to make me want to hear them RIGHT NOW! Comparing the two directly (same source and cables: Tom's (bozebuttons) Martin Levinson DAC and Nordost Valhallas) was really a great joy for me. I sat and switched between the two over the course of Tori Amos' Boys for Pele. Specifically i used "Blood Roses" for the wonderful harpsichord recording, and "Professional Widow" or "Caught a Lite Sneeze" for bass and overall instrumentational picks. Anyway, they're both great system and I really enjoyed them both.

The R10/300sei combo is really impressive. I remember not liking the 300sei that much at the past meet, but this time was a bit different. This amp really lights up the R10's: the attack and punch/slam of this setup was incredible. Every snare drum seemed to pop and the harpsichord decayed into the darkness. Everything was alive and lively and smooth, the midrange was deeply seductive. I have heard rumors about the R10's not having enough bass.. whoever said that hasn't heard this setup. Although the bass doesn't extend as low as other headphones, it was certainly there and authorative with this amp. I really really liked the R10's with this combo and can see why Tom listens to this one most often.

Now switching to the Omega 2's, I felt the coloration go away. Each note was so crisp and articulate, I finally understand all this talk about the speed, attack, and detail of the 007's. These headphones felt so controlled I was also really impressed with this setup. After switching back and forth for a while, I began to realize that the R10's have this sort of certain sparkle on the treble that the Omega's didn't. There was this life in the R10's that felt a little lost on the Omega 2's. The Omega's felt more transparent, but also less "fun." I sat and pondered it for a while and wonder what a change in amp will do. Someday I hope to hear these with either of Kevin Gilmore's designs and really see who's boss. I felt like the amp was holding the Omega 2's back a bit and I hope to hear them again sometime in a different setup. They feel like they could easily come out on top, they just need the power to do so.

DT880:
I was fairly interested in this headphone for a while and so I tried it out on the Gilmore. I did enjoy it, it was very HD600-like in it's presentation, though not quite as laid back (good thing). The treble had a certain glare to it, but it felt really nice. The soundstage was nice and they were very comfortable. There was no mid-bass hump and they were well-controlled in the frequency range. I could easily see somebody preferring these to HD600's, even with the Cardas or Equinox cables.

BlockHead with HD600/Cardas and modded Grado RS-1:
I started with the RS-1 and I really wanted to like this setup. The HeadRoom Max's signature is basically doubled in this setup and I feel that it just doesn't do justice to what the RS-1's are most good at: PRaT. The lack of detail made me feel these headphones were just a bit boring in this setup. There was no fine vibrations coming through and although the overall sound was pretty smooth, it's not how I'd like RS-1's to sound. I threw my set of Vwap's flat pads onto the RS-1's and left them on; I didn't see anybody switch them back to the bowl pads that they came with.

HD600 fans: This is the best you will ever heard the HD600. This amp was built and designed totally around the HD600 and it preys on everyone of the HD600's great aspects. I threw on Dave Brubeck Quartet's Live at Carnegie Hall and let it sit for the duration that the BlockHead was hooked up to my Cary. When listening to this live and minimally mic'd un-EQ'd recording, I found the crossfeed very enjoyable. Snapping it on I felt the stage fully expand within the space between my two ears and the Sax, Piano, Bass all sounded like they were in front of me as oppose to me sitting in the middle of them. The bass was authorative and the midrange was pretty awesome. This was certainly the best I've heard the HD600's sound. The highs were less grainy than usual too. Very great setup if you're into that headphone, but personally I'll take the Grado HP-1 over it anyday and anytime.

Prepare for Contreversy: Emmeline HR-2 and Headamp.com Gilmore V2 comparison using Sony R10 and Grado HP-1:
I figured if I am going to do a comparison with these two amps, I might as well use the two best dynamic headphones I've heard to do it. I sat and listened to a couple of albums and switched headphones, and switched amps fairly often. The basics of it sounded fairly similar in most reguards. The Gilmore felt more transparent but when compared to the HR-2 felt like it had less body. The high-end on the HR-2 felt a little missing, as if some treble extension certainly wasn't there compared to the Gilmore. The HP-1 seemed to really mesh well with both amps, as well as the R10. I sat and listened to the R10 for a while (crowning myself markl) with the HR-2 and I understand how people enjoy this setup. The headphone's seductive midrange was enhanced by the HR-2's slightly "tubey" nature. The bass was definitely there and the high-end still had that sparkle but it wasn't quite as nice when compared to the 300sei. The HR-2 seems to be a bit on the dark side of neutral. I listened some more and after a long comparison I really feel that a V2 Max (which is equivalent to the price of the HR-2) would beat the pants off of it. I really feel the addition of a stepped attenuator and better power supply caps could give the R10's the body they need to sound more transparent and less bloomy. This is of course, just my opinion after comparing a $850 amp to a $550 one. The HP-1 seemed to give me the same feelings about the HR-2: slightly missing treble, but somewhat overly bloomy body in the midrange and bass. The R10's excentuated this a lot more of course, but it was still there even with the HP-1's. Overall I'd take the Gilmore I think, especially considering what I imagine the V2 Max (or SE or SA or whatever the hell is most politically correct) sounds like.

Philips 963SA:
This was my first time hearing this player and I really liked what i heard. For ~$400 it seems to be _the source_ to buy these days and I can understand the hype somewhat. The bass seemed to be a bit tipped up though. I believe it has some sort of bass management in the software for dvds and 5.1 systems and such, so I wonder what the default settings are. I didn't get to hear the player with the 192khz Upsampling turned off, but I did enjoy the short times I spent with it.

carlo modded Sugden Headmaster:
I once owned this fine amp and really liked it but after getting HP-1's I just felt the need to move onto better things. After listening to HighwayStar's modded version, I wished that i would have kept it. The bass response was phenomenal and the high-end felt a lot more cleaned up. Anybody who feels the need for improvement with this amp should certainly take a look at having it modded. A few power supply changes really made a great difference in this fine amplifier.



Okay, that's all I seem to remember listening to at this point. Damn my hands hurt from typing.

 

[grinch]

(This post presented in correct punctuation in honor of something most may never understand.)

I felt the need to put this into its own post. It wass that good. Earlier this week i received my cary 306/200 that I'd bought from audiogon and began re-hearing every single one of my cds. Suddenly i realized that my HP-1's certainly are the best dynamic headphone I own and that in the near future some sort of upgrade will need to take place reguarding my amps. Carlo had mentioned to me recently that I should hear the HP-1's with bozebutton's Maestrobator. He promptly dug up this thread: http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=19250 which i re-read last night before today. I sat in wonder hoping for the best, so interested in the possibilities that had been built up for me.

Towards the end of the meet, the crowd started to break up and everybody had heard the BlockHead on my system and nobody touched it for a while, so i asked Tom (bozebuttons) if I could setup his Maestrobator on my Cary 306/200 system. He said sure, so i put the BlockHead back and set the Maestrobator on top of my Cary. I then connected my Cardas Neutral Reference cables to it, threw on a stock power cable, turned on the Cary's upsampling and queued up Tom Waits' Alice. What I was about to hear would certainly change my mood for the rest of the day.

One would think that after spending a good six hours listening to every high-end headphone available, that nothing would really suprise me, that i had certainly heard the most out of what was available as far as headphone audio that day. I was so wrong. This setup made me realize the beauty of things I've never felt. I sat and listened to every croaking vocal gasp that Mr. Waits had to offer me and craved more. His string sections faded in and out, "good decay" doesn't even begin to describe how perfect they sounded. I then switched to Blood Money and listened to most of that album, this must have been a good half hour of me sitting there and hogging this beautiful system. Trumpets flared with such panache, I was simply floored. After this display, I went in for the kill: Kid A. A last minute feeling made me grab this album for the meet, I figured it wouldn't hurt to have. "Everything In It's Right Place" was so gorgeously ironic that i could barely keep from laughing. That keyboard/organ just crept in, a ping of short decay followed each note slowly on into oblivion. The air between the notes was soft and thick as Thom's voice started to drift in from somewhere beautiful, describing something that I'll never have the words for. I sat and continued through the album, closing with probably my favorite track: How To Disappear Completely. It was during this that I figured i should probably quit being so ****ing rude and start saying goodbye to everybody. "I'm not here. This isn't happening."

I was having so much fun with the HP-1 that I forgot about the R10 for a while, but once or twice switched over to it to see if I felt the same with it. This is where the R10 is limited. While the HP-1 only gives what it takes, the R10 adds a midrange bloom and a certain attempt at a soundstage that sometimes feels really good and sometimes feels lost. Combined with this Melos I felt the R10's were truly beat-out and that they overly colored the sound and it just didn't work. The Melos gave the HP-1's tonally neutral body which was so transparent yet enjoyable at the same time, I found it hard to describe. The Melos gave the R10's an overly bloomed midrange and bass which distracted from the overall sound and didn't allow me to feel the separation of the notes and sounds. In this setup, there is a new King in town.

The long of the short of it, this amp was incredible and by far the best headphone setup i have heard to date. Maybe I need more time with the Orpheus and some Omega 2's with Gilmore designed-amps driving them, but as Carlo once stated: "This is it." I would like to congratulate Carlo on the accomplishment of this amp, even if I feel like I may be the only one who can truly appreciate it today.


I'd also like to ask most of the attendees for a short forgiveness, as most people were leaving I was simply spellbound by this setup and rudely sat and continued to listen. So anybody I did not say goodbye to: Thanks for coming and I enjoyed meeting you. It's days like this that help me realize how great this headphone community really is. Despite any differences on the board, everyone got along and just loved talking about audio. So many of these head-fiers have so much to say about what they're hearing that I wish they would post thoughts more often. I can't wait to read more confessions in this thread and I hope everybody's thoughts remain in tact.

 

[bootman]

What a great meet!
I listened to so much stuff that I know I will forget some impressions in my first post.

First of all, thanks a million to those who put this together.
John Grado is a very gracious and generous host.
It was great that Tuberoller and Hirsch were able to make the meet.

A couple of very important facts became very apparent to me after the meet.

Epiphany #1.
The name "King" is well deserved.
I went to the meet with the preconcieved notion that these cans are over-hyped.
I wanted to say that "yeah, they are good but not as good as they say".
****, these cans are that good.
These cans seem to defy your notions of what cans should sound and feel like.
The best way to describe the sound is that they are effortless.
You know how every can has some limitations?
Some break up in the extreme high treble.
Some (most) break up with very low bass.
The King does none of these things.
They sound like they are not working hard at all!
Fit?
They are huge yet they sit lightly on your head.
Easily one of the most comfortable cans that I have worn.

Epiphany#2
The most important part of the audio chain is the source!!!
Nothing will make your cans shine, no matter what brand or type then a killer source.
(And we had a few killers at the show.

)
The Cary 300sei/sony dvd 7700/Mark levinson 360 trio was absolutely insane!
Grinch's Cary was so sweet.
I heard his HPs with the Melos and I agree with everything he said about them.

Epiphany#3
My MSII held up their own with the big boys.

But damm, I need a better source to do them justice.
(see #2 above

)


Come on Gloco, the Omega II were not that bad.
I did like them (alot) along with the Stax 2020.
(my faith in Stax has been restored)
especially fed from the 007t amp.
The HE-60 were definitely faster and more extended in the top end than the Omegas though and were excellent in there own right.
They really sounded good fed from that Stax amp but I felt they lost their magic when run from the Senn amp though.

Still, if I owned them I would have no need to upgrade.
(well maybe except for the King. Damm you Sony!

)

I'll post some more impressions later tonight.

EDIT:
Here are some pics of the meet.
http://photos.yahoo.com/boot342

 

[markl]

Quote:

The Gilmore felt more transparent but when compared to the HR-2 felt like it had less body. The high-end on the HR-2 felt a little missing, as if some treble extension certainly wasn't there compared to the Gilmore. The HP-1 seemed to really mesh well with both amps, as well as the R10. I sat and listened to the R10 for a while (crowning myself markl) with the HR-2 and I understand how people enjoy this setup. The headphone's seductive midrange was enhanced by the HR-2's slightly "tubey" nature. The bass was definitely there and the high-end still had that sparkle but it wasn't quite as nice when compared to the 300sei. The HR-2 seems to be a bit on the dark side of neutral. I listened some more and after a long comparison I really feel that a V2 Max (which is equivalent to the price of the HR-2) would beat the pants off of it. I really feel the addition of a stepped attenuator and better power supply caps could give the R10's the body they need to sound more transparent and less bloomy. This is of course, just my opinion after comparing a $850 amp to a $550 one. The HP-1 seemed to give me the same feelings about the HR-2: slightly missing treble, but somewhat overly bloomy body in the midrange and bass. The R10's excentuated this a lot more of course, but it was still there even with the HP-1's. Overall I'd take the Gilmore I think, especially considering what I imagine the V2 Max (or SE or SA or whatever the hell is most politically correct) sounds like.

grinch, if you would, please clarify a few of your observations re: the HR-2 vs. Gilmore. You never really spell out which amp is better to you; you make us read between the lines. As I read your tea leaves, it sounds like your ears have shown you that the HR-2 sounds better than the standard Gilmore, you all but say so very coyly. Instead of making that clear you make excuses for the Gilmore suggesting it's unfair to compare a $550 amp to a $875 amp. Then you insist that an amp you *haven't* heard (Gilmore SE) is better than the HR-2, or as you say "beats the pants off it".

You also put down the HR-2 by saying that it doesn't compare to the $4K Cary! OK, Mr. Double Standard, have it your way.

Having now heard the HR-2, grinch, I think it would behoove you to write a follow-up in that other thread (HR-2 vs. Sugden) in which your grinchy nature reared it's ugly head.

BTW-- in my rig, the HR-2 is ANYTHING but "dark". In my review, I questioned whether some would find the treble too agressive.
Quote:

Epiphany #1. The name "King" is well deserved. I went to the meet with the preconcieved notion that these cans are over-hyped. I wanted to say that "yeah, they are good but not as good as they say". ****, these cans are that good.

Se, told ya so!

Quote:

Epiphany#2 The most important part of the audio chain is the source!!!

Told ya so!

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by bootman Come on Gloco, the Omega II were not that bad. I did like them (alot) along with the Stax 2020. (my faith in Stax has been restored) especially fed from the 007t amp. The HE-60 were definitely faster and more extended in the top end than the Omegas though and were excellent in there own right. They really sounded good fed from that Stax amp but I felt they lost their magic when run from the Senn amp though. Still, if I owned them I would have no need to upgrade. (well maybe except for the King. Damm you Sony! ) I'll post some more impressions later tonight.

To me ears they did sound that bad, i kept switching between the Baby O's, the Omega II's and the 2020's, even the 2020's sounded much better. It's all about treble extension...the Omega's didn't seem to have that sparkle i like. Hey, at least i got to try those Baby O's, before the meet i would've never thought i would've been so floored with one headphone as i was with those.

 

[grinch]

i forgot to add a couple of things, so here they are:

SinglePower Amps:
First off, I would like to say that Mikale (spelling?) who designs/builds SinglePower amps was a great guy. He came all the way to the meet and talked with each member and asked what their feelings on the amp were. He answered any questions on them and talked about tube selections, all kinds of things. I think it's really awesome that a designer go out of his way to do stuff like that. Anyway, I thought I'd mention that before I went on with the sound comparisons.

The Copper amp was interesting. I can see how this might be a good amp for the budget-minded head-fier who loves a strong low end and a moist tubey sound. This was the smallest amp, with less regulation than it's silver brother. The amp was pretty much the stereotypical tube amp, and the designer said it was made to sound that way. Very neat amp, I'd look for these in the future.. probably a great match with HD600's or something.

The Silver amp reminded me a lot of the RKV. It was very articulate and much clearer and more neutral than the Copper one. The high end wasn't extremely extended (just like the rkv) but it was, overall, very pleasant. He said that it was fairly tube-dependent too, and they switched the tubes later but I didn't get a chance to listen to them. Cool guy and I wish him good luck in our little community.

AKG K1000:
The short of it: They still suck. I've heard these damn things on three or four different amps and no matter what I just can't get into them. Sure the imaging is neat, but the grating bright signature is just totally unacceptable to me. Just my feelings on it, even after hearing them on the RKV.

On a side note, I saw somebody listening to them on my Melos SHA-X which was interesting. Never knew it had the power to drive them.


This is where I'd like to again thank new york area head-fiers for today, as I really enjoyed myself thoroughly. It was great meeting everyone and I have a lot more stock in whatever everybody says after some of the conversations I had today. I'd really like to see more of you guys post reviews/impressions! You all seem to have a lot to say on the idea of this stuff and I wish that the rest of head-fi could benefit. I especially enjoyed my conversations with williamgoody, jpelg, lan, fcj, hirsch, bozebuttons, highwaystar, and the rest of you guys i can't really remember at the moment. Anyway, I know there's at least _one_ person looking forward to hearing what you have to say on the stuff, so get to it.

 

[grinch]

Quote:

Originally posted by markl grinch, if you would, please clarify a few of your observations re: the HR-2 vs. Gilmore. You never really spell out which amp is better to you; you make us read between the lines. As I read your tea leaves, it sounds like your ears have shown you that the HR-2 sounds better than the standard Gilmore, you all but say so very coyly. Instead of making that clear you make excuses for the Gilmore suggesting it's unfair to compare a $550 amp to a $875 amp. Then you insist that an amp you *haven't* heard (Gilmore SE) is better than the HR-2, or as you say "beats the pants off it". You also put down the HR-2 by saying that it doesn't compare to the $4K Cary! OK, Mr. Double Standard, have it your way. BTW-- in my rig, the HR-2 is ANYTHING but "dark". In my review, I questioned whether some would find the treble too agressive.

can't you go post in a california meet thread or something?

i think it is a bit unfair to compare a $550 amp with an $875 one, but i did it anyway because i figured people would be interested. i didn't have a v2 max on hand, but if i did i wouldn't be suprised if it beat it out. after today i have heard what simple things like better power supply caps and a dact can really make a gross difference in the sound of an amp, and a v2 max could surely give the hr-2 a beat down. as it stands for today i'm not really sure which one i liked more, but the gilmore was definitely more transparent. i guess if you like fake body and coloration, the hr-2 could be better. i spoke with a few other people and they seemed to feel that the hr-2 has the body and the gilmore is transparent. it is my theory that a similarly priced gilmore would have both transparency AND the body to go with it. i may be able to get back to you later, but antness wasn't able to send me a v2 max for the meet so i had to make do with what i had.

anyway, i hope this helps.

by the way, your "aggressive treble" is probably due to your source. i've never heard it so i can't be sure, but that's just my theory. in the almost-week that i've had my 306/200 i've found it is nothing but neutral and sweet with the most musically pleasing sound i have ever heard from a source. i guess that isn't saying too much since i haven't really heard many sources, let alone many sources that cost over a thousand dollars, but it really is head and shoulders above anything i've heard so far.


[edit]: typo kind of made me say the opposite of what i wanted to say :/

 

[gloco]

I forgot to mention the Sony CD3000's. Head-fier FCJ brought them in, they sounded quite decent out of the gilmore but one thing bugged me...i had to lower the volume dial down to about the 8 O'Clock position. I brought this up with FCJ and he also agreed that its a real negative aspect of these headphones, anyone else notice this as well? It really kills the ability to have any "space" to slide the volume dial around at all for enjoyment's sake.

Oh, i got to try out John Grado's vinyl setup, damn its nice! I threw on side 2 of the Taxi Driver soundtrack and was nearly put to sleep by the soothing sounds those speaker towers beamed outward. Although i noticed when i threw on Garbage's first album the bass felt rather slow and sluggish, kinda killed it for me

Next time i go to a meet i'm going to do what Grinch did....sit in one spot and just...LISTEN. He had this devilish smile on his face for some reason

Must of had a ball listening to the King's eh?

I had such a hard time sticking to one headphone for longer than 15-30 minutes as i wanted to try as many as possible. The D66 Eggo's sounded pretty damn good...one thing that took me by surprise, most of the headphones are way smaller than they appear in pictures minus the R10's and AT W2002's. The K1000's are tiny! Pretty comfy too for the short time i tried them out.

My favorites were definitely the Sennheiser Baby O's, that's all i can think about...bootman knows i like these suckers a lot, i kept throwing them on, as Gopher and myself kept swapping between the Stax and Sennheiser electrostatics for comparisons. I even got Grinch to briefly listen to a DMB track off of "Before these crowded streets" without going into a fit of rage

 

[KR...]

Here is my meet review, brace yourselves

1st of all every single person at the meet was super nice and a pleasure to meet, though I am terrible with names, you know who you are, LOL! I have near perfect aural and visual memory but I am not good with names or numbers at all.

I learn a lot from this meet. The 1st being that sources is greatly underrated at this site. After hearing the Mark Levinson/Sony combo, it drove that point home pretty hard. Holy cow, did that combo kick serious ass. Grinch's Cary CD Player was pretty damn sweet as well!

The best headphones at the show would have to be the Sony R10, yes they really are the kings. These headphones are a bit of a paradox, in that they are freaking huge (wait until you see the pictures, you will see what I mean) And they are a bit ugly as they make you look as if you had Mickey Mouse ears! (again wait for pictures) However the very second you place these wooden monsters on you head they disappear! They are extremely comfortable and lightweight you really don’t feel them on at all, amazing! The sound is to die for, very natural and lifelike, they were hooked up to a beautiful and impressive sounding Cary tube amp. They are great with every type of music, yes even the bass was killer. Of course the combo of the amp, source (Mark Levinson/Sony) and cables (Valhalla, praise Odin!!! And the insanely massive Nites power cords) sure as heck help make these headphones sound so damn good.

Stax did make a much more impressive showing this time around. I really love their top of the line tube amp which makes those purple Baby O’s sound so damn good that they beat out the Omega2 to my ears!!! That’s not to say that the Omega’s were bad, but they couldn’t keep up with the blazingly fast Baby O. The purple babies sounded lustfully good in this setup, too bad their own amp doesn’t sound anywhere near as good as the Stax one. The Omega2 ear speakers were much more laid back, with less air and a slower attack. The type of headphones you could really sit back and relax with. The Baby O’s however are a lot more fun to listen to and they look better too. IMHO. Sennheiser needs to bring these back ASAP, but also sell them without the amp. The Stax Basic system sounded great as well, nice and warm but with plenty of details with great bass! I liked these better than the Omega2! We hooked them up to the big Stax amp and it was amazing, of course no one will ever buy these headphones for this amp and that system, but still! It’s own amp was pretty great too, for $450 it’s one hell of a combo that most people would die happy with. My own gripe was that they look and feel like cheap pieces of crap! They felt and looked like something you would get at a 99 cent store, but hey at least they sound excellent.

The AT 2002 were the best looking headphones at the meet, as good as they look in pictures they look even better looking in person. However, they sounded thin, brittle and bright with everything source and amp combo with the exception of the Headmaster/ Philips SACD combo. Only here did they sound very good. They are very picky headphones! They really did sound like crap with everything else, but sounded pretty damn good here, go figure! The W100’s were there too, but didn’t impress me.

The Sony CD3000 sounded pretty damn good hooked up to that little bronze tube amp, someone please jump in with the name of this awesome thing. That tube amp’s bigger chrome brother sounded awesome with those upgraded tubes which cost about $375 for the group, the tubes alone that is.

The little SS amp that was next to it and that (Emmeline HR-2) was the most tube like SS amp that I ever heard! Very warm and rich, it would be a great amp for someone who loves that tube sound but doesn’t want to deal with tubes.

All the BD’s failed to impress me much other than their new close cans the DT880, which really did sound quite good. Both Melos amps sounded really good, but I liked the Cary better, just my taste. The Gilmore DIY was pretty damn good, but not the monster others here tried to make it out to be. But to be fair, this one was pretty small, so I guess you could make it more insane and better, but I wasn’t super impressed with this one. It wasn’t bad but I wasn’t blown away.

The RS-1 with the Blockhead was pretty damn good, but the HD600 are still the kings of this amp, the Blockhead and the HD600 is still one of the very best combos that money can buy.

The AKG K1000 still sound great, one of the best headphones that money can buy. For me, they sounded their best with the upgraded cables (Equinox) hooked and up to the beautiful NORH (Sp?) Tube amp.

The Grado speakers really are kick ass, the soundstage was a bit small (it was only as big as the room) but had very realistic imaging! These speakers are all about imaging. Nice chairs too

 

[carlo]

grinch,

I'm glad you had the opportunity to hear that rig... sometimes I wish I had the ability to express that there's moments where all I hear is music and the audiophile crap goes out the window. Hence a long rambling post that made me feel empty after writing it but I hoped people would understand what I was trying to say. Your kind words mean much here. Thank you.

 

[gloco]

KR..., i couldn't have wrote my impressions any better! The Omega's were just way too slow for my tastes, i imagine i'm sounding redundant, but i gotta repeat it: the Baby O's are that damn good, i really want a pair now! These little beasts floored me...and yeah, they are beauties too.

After this meet i had a good idea of what kind of sound my ears prefer, the Baby O's fit the bill.