[shplorgh]

Ahh man, I had a great time! Sorry I had to leave so soon. It was really great finally meeting some of you guys, Jason was a great host. Some quick impressions:

Qualia 010: Their so revealing that you can hear the dirt in the NYC air! Or the cable is ridiculously microphonic.

As for their sound, I couldn't get rid of the echo, so I really can't comment.

HP-1: Grawk, you have a huge head! They were so loose it was hard to get them to stay on. Honestly, I expected more from these, they sounded kind of flat and congested, even out of Pinkie. Oh well.

DT770: I agree with Mercuttio, they really do sound like a Sony mid-fi speaker system, but so nice and fun! Definitely a great gaming can, and I can see how they could work portably.

SA5000: They actually did cancel out high frequencies from outside quite a bit (so lan isn't crazy

). I honestly can't see why anybody would think these are bass light, they sounded pretty nice to me, though not as (painfully) bright as I expected. All in all better than I thought they would be. I didn't get that much time with them though.

W11JPN: Well they sound like they look. Madly colored but in a good way (thanks for the loan jason!)

K280: This was mine, and for whatever reason it sounded alot better out of the dynamight's single-ended output, the top-end was much more "there", even though still not totally. The Chord also seemed to help it, though there are probably better sources out there. It was nicely layered, as lan said. Maybe I'll get it sent to AKG like lan someday.

W10LTD: I didn't really listen to it, since they were mine.

MS2i w/ C-Pads: I pretty much agree with Mercuttio on this one too, it just seemed like something was missing with the C-Pads, though I didn't try them without it.

Impressions on other stuff to come later, but the Dynamight was a bit dissapointing. I'm thinking there may be some kind of transformer for the single ended output (which was all we could use) that was degrading the sound.

Anyway, I had a great time, thanks guys!

 

[Oski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hungrych HP-1: Grawk, you have a huge head! They were so loose it was hard to get them to stay on. Honestly, I expected more from these, they sounded kind of flat and congested, even out of Pinkie. Oh well.

You have to spend a bit of time with the HP1000s to appreciate what they do. If you are swapping between cans, especially with the Qualia around, the first things you'll notice is a relatively smaller soundstage (which can be seen as flat and congested). But if allow yourself to listen to them a bit longer, you'll see that while it is a bit more closed in than others (though much better than other Grados), it's actually very layered and permeable. What they excel in actually is accuracy, neutrality, and sonic weight. Those are the areas where other phones do not match up as well.

As for the Qualias, I have heard them sound VERY good with the bling balanced SinglePower Maestro and another occasion mated with the Apogee DAC. Fit is important, otherwise you may experience that echo.

Otherwise I agree with you concerning the SA5000. I actually have lan's here at my place and have spent a bit of time with them. I was also expecting bright, thin, etc. But actually they sound quite nice, even with a cmoy that I had.

Seems like you guys had a fun afternoon.

 

[jjcha]

Phew, just finished some homework. What a day.

Apologies to so many people I couldn't invite to this mini-meet. It came up at the last second as hungrych was coming into town to visit his family, and I wanted to have him over to listen to some gear, as well as personally listen to the W10LTD and Pinkie again. Also I was stuck in class from 9 AM to 6 PM, so it had to be a short late evening thing (6:30 to 9 PM) with only maybe three or four people in this tiny apt of mine.

Sigh, I've got class again (yes Sunday) in about 5 hours. But how about them thoughts....

W10LTD - ahh, it was great to be reaquainted with these cans again. Hugo (my version of the "yellow bear") was pleased to see them again as well.

I liked listening to them tonight. They do have 67% of what I like about W10VTG, though it is clear that they are a step in the thinner side of the family that developed the W100, W1000, W2002 and W5000. Technically more proficient than the W10VTG for sure. I think with the right amp, I'd prefer the W10LTD over the W100 or W1000. And I think people know how much I love the W2002 (which isn't very much at all.) The LTD is prob my favorite can out of this line of the family other than the W5000, which I think is pretty darned nice from my brief experiences with it. The W10LTD is a very special headphone for a true ATOWF.

Pinkie - I liked listening to Pinkie a lot tonight. I thought it did nice things with the HP-1 and SA5k. Pinkie gives a very nice detailed punch to the mids/upper bass that the SA5k benefited very much from, relative to the Dynamight (single-ended). The honest truth is that I think Pinkie could sound absolutely fantastic with the W10LTD, though I would want a source that was very smooth in a textured/solid manner, expecially around the midrange to play to the W10LTD's strengths. Pinkie can take care of the rest in the bass/mids, and as for the trebles, well, that's not the W10LTD's strength anyway.

Okay, I'm gonna crash soon. Will post some thoughts on the PPA and Dynamight later. Will say it was nice to share the SA5k out of the Dynamight/Chord. It's not 100% perfect for the SA5k, but the Dynamight/Chord does show off a few of the SA5k's better characteristics. Kinda disappointed in the 010 and Dynamight tonight, neither sounded as good as I would have hoped/expected. I don't think the 010 sounded good out of any rig, though the power cord swaps at the end helped.

Also, I think I've also hit the point where I no longer care if a headphone is all that technically proficient or maximizes the sonic attributes I might prefer for my music/rig. I like cans that are interesting and offer something sonically interesting. I liked the K 280 tonight. Maybe not enough to blow me away and really love them, but I dunno, they had a presentation that I found to be nicely fleshed out and allowed me to enjoy my music, even if it weren't super resolving or transparent.

Oh, I gotta say, PSP stock earbuds - I didn't think they were that bad. Sins of omission are okay by me.

DT-770's again impressed me as a darned fine closed can.

Okay, now I gotta find a new fuse so I can get the m902 working again. Really looking forward to that, esp. since I've been less than pleased with the 010 lately. But I guess for now, night y'all...

Best,

-Jason

 

[ayt999]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjcha Oh, I gotta say, PSP stock earbuds - I didn't think they were that bad. Sins of omission are okay by me.

do tell more.

people leave all out the important stuff in these meet threads don't they.

 

[Trogdor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjcha Okay, I'm gonna crash soon. Will post some thoughts on the PPA and Dynamight later. Will say it was nice to share the SA5k out of the Dynamight/Chord. It's not 100% perfect for the SA5k, but the Dynamight/Chord does show off a few of the SA5k's better characteristics. Kinda disappointed in the 010 and Dynamight tonight, neither sounded as good as I would have hoped/expected. I don't think the 010 sounded good out of any rig, though the power cord swaps at the end helped.

What happened guys? Jason, you've heard the Chord/Dyna/010 through my rig...thought that sounds kinda good...

 

[shplorgh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trogdor What happened guys? Jason, you've heard the Chord/Dyna/010 through my rig...thought that sounds kinda good...

We didn't have any balanced cans on hand so everything was run single-ended.

Some more impressions:

Chord DAC + Transport: Looks so cool! Now that I think of it, its smoothness might be what was making everything much less bright than I expected. I didn't compare it to any other source though.

Dynamight: Maybe it was bad synergy with the Chord, but this really didn't sound like I expected; a little congested.

Pinkie: I was suprised how well it went with a bunch of the cans on hand, which was a bit unexpected, though it might have been the source again. Certainly held its own against the Dyna"hi".

Gameboy Micro: So cool.

 

[Jahn]

WHAT THE HECK you guys had a minimeet without me, and PINKIE was there? RATS!

On a more serious note, I would have loved to have heard Pinkie rock out again - folks who have let Pinkie rot on the sale forums for months Just Don't Know. Pinkie really has the juice. Honestly, this Melos is so much trouble, what with tube rolling and all, some days I wish Pinkie was back keeping it real!

 

[Mercuttio]

I ended up borrowing jjcha's SA5K. It's really weird how much I didn't like them the first time I heard them, and how much I'm enjoying them now. They're so crisp and clean... and that high end. Wow. In many ways, what I was trying to get out of the MS2i C-Pad combo is here, in the SA5K.



Oh.. and by the way...The PSP earbuds out of the Dynamight? Total Qualia killer.

Yes, we really did try it.

 

[shplorgh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mercuttio Oh.. and by the way...The PSP earbuds out of the Dynamight? Total Qualia killer. Yes, we really did try it.

And I missed that?

 

[Mercuttio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hungrych And I missed that?

I'm afraid so. I'll never be the same...

 

[shplorgh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mercuttio I'm afraid so. I'll never be the same...

Well the JPN's are yummier than whatever garbage you borrowed.

Now that I think of it, everything sounded much smoother than I expected, and I think the Chord might have been messing with things a bit (in a good way though), like with the SA5000. And the Qualia issue might have also had something to do with the Chord, since I remember Jason saying how horrible it was with it, and the transparency of the Dynahi/might might have just accentuated that. Or you just wasted your money.

I want DT770's and that Linksys wireless thing Lan was talking about now.

 

[Mercuttio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hungrych Well the JPN's are yummier than whatever garbage you borrowed. Now that I think of it, everything sounded much smoother than I expected, and I think the Chord might have been messing with things a bit (in a good way though), like with the SA5000. And the Qualia issue might have also had something to do with the Chord, since I remember Jason saying how horrible it was with it, and the transparency of the Dynahi/might might have just accentuated that. Or you just wasted your money. I want DT770's and that Linksys wireless thing Lan was talking about now.

Well, I'll be glad to trade my DT770s and a Linksys wireless thing for your JPN!

 

[Jahn]

i noticed that JJCha's sources are on the smooth side, like his Grace and Chord. I'm probably more on the agressive and punchy side, but who says you can't mix both? I bet Pinkie and the Chord complimented by the "opposites attract" theory!

 

[MrSlacker]

Looks like you guys had fun. I still cant believe Jahn sold Pinkie.. it was so great!

 

[shplorgh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mercuttio Well, I'll be glad to trade my DT770s and a Linksys wireless thing for your JPN!

Go ahead, it's not like its mine.

No I wouldn't do that to Jason.

My favorite thing about the chord was that it had like 30 buttons for every conceivable function, but you still had to pull the disc tray cover open by hand.