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.