[vwap]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch It was also extremely gracious of John Grado to host the meet. It was great to meet him and talk to him.

Did anyone threaten bodily harm to him for taking away the flats and not bringing them back?

 

[pod-lover]

Quote:

Originally posted by vwap thanks for the pics. Alright.. now everyone identify yourselves..

i'm the sexy guy with John Grado

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Thanks for the quick impressions guys. Sounds like and awesome meet.

BTw, whos the hottie in your avatar Tan?

Biggie.

 

[tanfenton]

New Yorkers are aces at this: impressions posted within hours of meeting's end--good ones at that!

Biggie, why, that's Jesus expelling Grinch's demons.

NGF

 

[dd3mon]

Wow.. personal preference strikes again.. most meets the top rigs are fairly well agreed upon, possibly due to source matchup, etc.. These impressions are all over the place! Great to hear a first Gilmore v2 vs. Emmeline review, keep 'em comin'

-dd3mon

 

[radrd]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tuberoller I don't know.I tried to give this amp a chance.I'm glad I didn't buy one.There are some great solid-state amps around and the Gilmore V2 just isn't one of them.It sounds OK and seems able to drive most headphones well but this amp is just flat.Some may speak up for it and call it neutral and uncolored,but I see it as plain and uninspired.If you have heard Krell Loudspeaker amps I think you can get an idea of what I hear.The V2 offers no real competition for the Headroom,Meier Audio or Samuels amps.I think the fans of this amp want it to do well and that's fine but this amp has certainly benefitted from a lot of hype.Justin did a good job of creating that hype but the V2 is ultimately a disappointment.

Now that you have pronounced it to be a disappointment

, would you mind adding some substance? Some people might actually be considering the Gilmore or another one of the amps you have talked about for their next upgrade, and describing the Gilmore as "plain and uninspired" don't exactly paint much of a word picture. What headphones/source did you listen to it with? Was it weak/strong in any particular areas? Thanks.

(Yes, I'm very biased because I own a Gilmore V2 and I really like it, but I think this is still a fair request

)

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tuberoller Gilmore V2 - I don't know.I tried to give this amp a chance.I'm glad I didn't buy one.There are some great solid-state amps around and the Gilmore V2 just isn't one of them.It sounds OK and seems able to drive most headphones well but this amp is just flat.Some may speak up for it and call it neutral and uncolored,but I see it as plain and uninspired.If you have heard Krell Loudspeaker amps I think you can get an idea of what I hear.The V2 offers no real competition for the Headroom,Meier Audio or Samuels amps.I think the fans of this amp want it to do well and that's fine but this amp has certainly benefitted from a lot of hype.Justin did a good job of creating that hype but the V2 is ultimately a disappointment.

When it comes to amplifiers I have a tendency to hear where you are comming from. What you just posted, makes me think maybe I should try a few solid-state amps out before making a decision.

 

[bootman]

That's me on the right in the P5170009.jpeg pic talking to Gloco.

Quote:

which amp did the grado Hp-1 really blend well with?

The HP-1s really sounded well with the Melos.
I'm a big believer in system synergy.
The Melos gear were designed with the HP-1 in mind.
I'm sure that it was used to voice the equipment.
(Did anyone else notice all the Melos gear that John Grado had hooked up to his speakers?)

Quote:

I would love to hear some more impression on the K1000 + nOrh SE9 setup.

I got to hear both a stock cabled K1000 and one with the Equinox cable running off the SE9.
I liked the combo.
It had good soundstaging and does voices well.
(good midrange)
The only thing that would make me hesitate on a pair is the fit.
The pressure they apply on my temples would bug me after a while.
I could easily hear a difference between the two and preferred the Equinox cabled one.
The stock cabled one was definitely bright sounding compared to the stock one.



Oh, I forgot Epiphany#4
SACD is a great format.
Thanks to williamgoody's SACD of the Police's greatest hit, I'm a convert.

Quote:

Se, told ya so!

I saved you the trouble Markl of telling me again.

 

[bootman]

Quote:

Originally posted by john_jcb These two differing opinions on the same headphone while at first blush seem troubling are in fact very illustrative of a point that I think isn't made enough. They are opinions nothing more, nothing less and they are correct and reflect what the reviewer heard and how their brain interpreted the sound. As we listen to equipment and form our own opinions we can see where we hear what a reviewer hears and where we differ. People always say that you should keep an open mind when listening to new equipment but I think preconceived notions and biases may color how we hear the sound. As one reviews more and more equipment hopefully these preconceived thoughts can be filtered out of the review. When you are able to calibrate a reviewer based on your hearing and preferences they become invaluable.

I couldn't agree more.
The difference in opinions on the Omega II are another example.
It's a simple fact that everyone hears differently and in turn are capable of coming to two different conclusions on the same product.
This is why I love these meets.
It gives me the opportunity of hearing gear that I normally would not be able to audition (if only briefly) and then form my own opinions.

 

[grinch]

Quote:

Originally posted by jpelg Grado HP-1 - These need no introduction. I listened to these out of my Benchmark again, and loved them (again!). I also listened out of the Maestrobator Melos and thought the combo presented a strangely warm-colored sound. Very unusual for this can, but that's what I heard. Grinch loves this combo though, and we agree on alot of other stuff, so go figure.

i tell you man i tried the maestrobator earlier on in the evening when it was hooked up to the stock dvd player and there wasn't much going on. i could tell the amp had some damn power, but the source was really limiting it. it wasn't until most everybody was leaving that i got to plug it up to my 306/200 and that's when the magic began. i've never heard such a setup before, it was just breathtaking.

i kind of sucks that i waited around until the end of the night to do this, as nobody got to hear it except for me, although i did get kr and bootman to give it a quick thirty second listen just as they were walking out the door. this was something truly special, we'll have to set this up next time around.

 

[grinch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tuberoller After meeting Grinch I now see what his problem is.I see he was able to form some pretty stout opinions after listening for "five minutes in a crowded noisey room".Good for him.

Fred, I see no other way to take this than personal insult. When you first arrived in the room, I went up and shook your hand and introduced myself, and your reply was simply "oh, so you're grinch" and a sneer. After that you no longer attempted to exchange any words with me for the duration of the evening.

I assume that you're holding some sort of grudge from that last thread. You know, the one where I apologized to Ray Samuels and agreed that I would not post anything else on the Emmeline until I had heard it.

I realize the room was noisey, but I did not conduct my little A/B comparison until later in the evening, after you had left. The differences in the amps were hard for me to decipher at first, that's why I spent a good half hour or more listening to only these two amps and multiple recordings. I tried to outlay the best of what I heard, quiet room or not. The fact of the matter is that the HR-2's signature does not agree with me and never will, reguardless of the listening environment. This is after testing it on my exact system through at least three different recordings of different genres and over at least a half hour of direct listening with Sony R10's and Grado HP-1's.

I am somewhat offended that a person of your stature in this community could say such things to me, even if we do disagree on certain components. I reached out to you in an attempt to bury any kind of "hatchet" we had between each other and you just rolled your eyes at me and gave me a snide remark. I've read nothing but positive posts after people meet you in person and I find it discomforting that I am the one to sully your record.

I still feel that given the difference in price, a few small improvements would give the Gilmore the upper hand. The main problems I had with it sonically seemed to all be related to parts that are upgraded in equivalent models. There is smearing in both amps, probably due to the fact that a potentiometer is used as oppose to a stepped attenuator. Antness offers a DACT in his upgraded model and I believe Ray Samuels only offers an opamp swapping. I did find the power supply of the HR-2 to be rather capable though, no need for much of an upgrade as far as that is concerned. These are just my feelings on the two amps, and I see no need for insulting comments to be exchanged just because we disagree on preference. However I do find it interesting that you consider the Grado RA-1 amp so special because of how neutral it is, but the Gilmore is just lifeless. I guess you feel that coloring the sound is a good thing, but those just not my feelings as of late.

 

[eric343]

Interesting comments about the Gilmore, Fred... Kevin Gilmore is (or at least was, before he build his own absofrickenlutely crazy power amp) a serious Krell fan, and probably has more electrostatic transducers (including one or more of almost every Stax ever made) in his house than Joelongwood does headphones. On the other hand, I think you've shown yourself to favor the warmer 'tubey' sound (see your username!), so I guess I'm not surprised to read your comments.

Overall, this is a fascinating thread - it really revealed to me how differently people hear!


....and dammit, Grinch, my wallet is shaking in fear after your comments about the Cary! Damn you... I need to find a paying job this summer... grrr.

 

[lan]

This meet was awesome! Even more so than last time because there was more goodies and more cool people.

AMPS

Singlepower MPX3 (the silver one). With the stock tubes it was alright. When I feel neutral about something that usually means there's nothing too bad that stands out about it and I need to listen to it for longer. I didn't feel the music until they were replaced with bozebutton's NOS ones. Wow. I really wanted to hug this amp at that point.

The music was much more engaging. The top end isn't that pronounced just like the RKV but still liquid.

Maestrobator Melos (carlo modded). This was another amp that stood out.

HEADPHONES

AT W100 & AT 2002 - Well I had trouble getting them in the right position on my head. I find them a bit too large for me and the angle of the driver? sort of made placement crucial. If they moved a bit the sound would be different. So I ended up just holding them where they sounded the best. Both of these were warm and the bass was good. I didn't like the high frequency reproduction. The 2002 did do better in that regard. They sounded a bit slow for my tastes and sound rather boxed.

It's 3AM, my brain isn't working well so it's mind farting time hehe.

CD3000 - I liked them. I can see how some people like these over HD600s. They're a bit large.

R10 - I'd need to borrow these.

Because there a lot of little things going on with them and I can't tell in such a short setting. It's hard to appreciate.

HD600/580 - There is this graininess and midrange bloat that kind of annoys me sometimes. My HD580 with foam removal does help with the bloat and it sounds a bit better than even HD600 w/ the foam. Both used Clou. Equinox cable wasn't there which I would've loved to try again.

HE60 - I loved them. The dynamics were what I was expecting with electrostatics. They lost some charm with going from the 007t amp to the HE70 (stock) one. Not as bad as some say it is. Things could be a lot worst in terms of fidelity.

Omega II - Quite laid back and not my tastes. Speed was good though. Could be sweet for classical but not rock.

Stax Basic System something? - Too warm for my tastes. Electrostatics are something though.

PX100 - Pretty flat frequency compared to Porta Pros which are rather warm. They could be nice gym stuff.

PX200 - A little bit of volume attenuation. These are semi closed no? Well they sounded a bit better than PX100s. The frequencies range was more extended but I'm not sure how efffective that translates being in the city or loud places. Maybe midrange bloat is nice.

PX250 - DUH! forgot to try it :/

HP-1 - I'm not really into the Grado sound but these had it going on. Better than HP-3 and RS1 to me.

MISC

DAC comparision. Modded ART DI/O (Bolder Cables, MENSA w/ Bybee power supply) vs. Benchmark DAC1 vs. PDAC. I liked the ART DI/O best. It seemed quite a bit clearer sounding.

nOrh SE9 tube swapping. Electroharmonix Fatbody vs. some NOS ones. The NOS had better frequency extension but that pushed the K1000+SE9 combo for me into way too bright mode.

K1000 cable swapping. Stock vs. Equinox. The Equinox was clearer, had better bass, and extended highs. Once again the added highs was way too bright for me.

Philips 963A. Sounds pretty good. I couldn't tell difference between upsampled and normal mode.



Favorite moment. When somebody (which I won't name) plugged in $14.99 clipon headphones into the Cary

*passes out*

 

[HappymaN]

Quote:

Originally posted by lan Favorite moment. When somebody (which I won't name) plugged in $14.99 clipon headphones into the Cary *passes out*

ROFL. That made my day.

 

[williamgoody]

Quote:

Originally posted by vwap Did anyone threaten bodily harm to him for taking away the flats and not bringing them back?

Gloc brough a pair with his SR100's and I told him to hide them before we got a hold of them.

Got a chance to A/B Antness's Gilmore V1 and V2, both very, very good amps. Feeding from my NS500V with the 880's, the only real difference I could discern between the two versions as far as the sound was my perception of a little more gain added with V2. Both had excellent bass and treble extension which really brougnt out the qualities of the 880's very well. If anything I found the V2's added gain to result in a slightly warmer sound over the V1.