[warrenpchi]

Aha! / OMG! / "NOW I get it" moments:
 
This goes above 1) 'cause it's the most important - Meeting up with the nicest bunch of like minded people in the Bay Area, and a few geographic imports as well. A well spent day for sure!

 
Dude, this is ALWAYS the best part isn't it?  You know what's crazy?  It took this meet - 400 miles away from home - to bring me together with some SoCal friends (even though they are WAY close to me).  Funny how life works.
 

1) UERM - Now I get it. I'm saving for a pair. Detailed without being obnoxious, lush mids without rolling off the treble or the bass, and good bass response. UE's interpretation of neutral, without being boring or fatiguing. As I said - "now I get it".

 
It's so reference it's not even funny.  Now other IEM does what this does (at least none that I've heard) and that makes it singularly special. 

 

6) Schiit Lyr2 - I'll have one of these eventually. The gain switch solves my issues with the original Lyr.

 
So glad you got a chance to hear it.  The guys at Schiit - even in tough times - did us a huge favor by shipping us a Schiit-ton of Schiit! 

 

7) Mike Mercer - OMG! If you know him, no explanation is needed. If not, find a way to meet him. A great guy, and definitely one of a kind!

 
LOLOLOL! 

  Pretty ******* intense right?
 

Time went by fast!

 
Totally! Unfortunately, it's always like that. 

 

  Headamp's BHSE w/ 007 mk1s and Ayre DSD was wonderful

 
I'm pretty sure that I was sitting right next to this rig at one point, while I was talking to @Iron_Dreamer... and didn't even notice it.  Since I'm usually a proverbial chicken with my head cut off at meets (@CEE TEE knows what this is like), I only allow myself the guilty pleasure off listening to one rig per meet.  And this time, it was something else.
 

  Impressions..??  I made the horrible mistake of bringing my credit cards.  Walked out with the demo pair of the Mad Dogs Pro.  Yeah, I was impressed...  And I don't even listen to EDM...  

 
Were you the one I was talking to at Astell&Kern's table?
 

It was a great meet and I too regret bringing my credit card, now there is a hole in my wallet..I want to thank warrenchi and third eye for organizing this event. I will write some review when I recover from my shock of happiness later.

 
Awesome!  Lol, lemme know what you got and how you like it. 

 

 

 

  Did Light Harmonic bring a prototype of the Geek Wave?

 
No Wave, Source, or Pulse.

Thanks, and ouch! I'm so impatient...

 
Though there was that special Geek Out for IEMs... that was cool. 

 

  Coming from someone who's rather new to the hobby, I gotta say it was such a great experience for me, that was my first time attending the headfi meet and it certainly opened up my eyes (or should I say.. ears) about audio equipments. Everyone were so nice and friendly, the exhibitors were very kind and helpful answering my noob questions about the gears.
I arrived pretty late in the afternoon and didn't get the chance to try out all the gears (should have avoided that annoyingly crowded ramen festival in Japantown).
On top of that, I was extremely lucky and won the $1000 gift card from WyWires!!!!! shoutouts to Alex of WyWires, I got the chance to talk to him a little bit and he is such a nice guy. He asked about my gears and unfortunately my low-mid headphones might not benefit much until I get some better headphones and gears ( I only have an ath-m50, sennheiser momentum, sony ma900 and a few sub $100 iems). So right now I'm thinking of trading it with someone who might need it more in exchange for my needs. If anyone is interested to trade let me know, I'll probably going to post in the trade sections as well. Overall, it was such a great day, my only regret was not attending the past meets even though I knew about it, oh if anyone's interested, here are some pictures I took at the meet, again I wish I had taken more but I was too busy trying out the gears

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ghzw7md83nvjd2v/AACWkVX9Rho08RJGw9gHXyW1a

 
fixel, what would you be interested in trading for? 

 

  He failed miserably at getting the gear I wanted too. But he picked up an Alpha Dog for himself.... UGH. >.<

 
Hey, what are friends for right? 

 

  It was my first meetup and I had a blast. I dragged my girlfriend last minute and she had a great time, even though she was unsure if she would have a good time. We stayed 4 hours instead of 20 mins, which means she loved it. And she is not an audiophile or know anything, this was her first foray into quality audio and it really opened her eyes when I showed her the difference.
 
------
 
Overall I had a great time. Learned some new things, what I didn't and did like from the super expensive high-end headphones, and learned some new things. Thank you everybody for bringing the stuff to the show and sharing with us. My girlfriend left happy with a new pair of headphones.

 
SHE'S A KEEPER! 

 
And hey buddy, Fidelios are nothing to scoff at.
 

  Alpha dogs...WOW...now I understand what all the fuss is about with these cans.  And not only did they sound great they were super comfortable with the Alpha pads.

 
Just out of curiosity, did you prefer them with or without the doggie treats?
 

  Also spent some time with Schitt Lyr2, and I think I found the right amp to drive my HE500.

 
AWESOME!  Yeah, they were a big hit at T.H.E. Headphonium recently.  Glad you got to hear it!
 

 

  No Wave, Source, or Pulse.

  Given the fact that I and @warrenpchi were the first to review the Geek Out 1000 (and I then started the Geek Out 1000 Appreciation threard)
I opted to wait, wait til I hear all existing, PAID FOR ORDER are filled - and THEN I'll be happy to review the new Geek for IEMs!!

 
Yup! 

  A review - after all - is for those who have NOT ordered yet.
 

  Seeing his reactions during playback of the song, how weepy he got - I went to take a picture, but, felt it would be disrespectful to capture him in such a vulnerable moment (as he explained to me after, why it meant so much to him) - and THEN I played him Donny Hathaway Live in 24/194 via the CEntrance/Glove Audio A1 DAC/Amp for my AstellnKern AK120 w/ my Audeze LCD-X and Double Helix Cables Molecule Elite Balanced thanks to @scootermafia!!!!
 
and he was BLOWN AWAY!!

PLUS - this was his very first meet!!!!

 
That is uber awesome! 

  This is why I love doing meets.  No reviews or impressions I will ever write - even taken in combination - will equal the power of a single profound audition.
 

  A HUGE thanks to my partners @warrenpchi & @third_eye for helping to make these Meets what there ARE - 
a place of sanctuary for us music addicts and audio geeks - and like-minded Head-Fiers to get together and SHARE our experiences!

 
Bro... thank YOU! 

 

 

   

 
That was Ralph. I got to talk quite a bit with him. Ex-marine with a love for music!

 
Man, now I wish our buddy and fellow Audio360er Kevin (@morserotonin) could make it.  He's also an ex-marine with a love for music!
 

  Again, @third_eye @warrenpchi and all the others that helped behind the scenes, THANK YOU! for a very, very well spent day!

 
So glad you could make it!  Been a long time man, a long time. 

 

 
I think I'm a tube convert now, I'm spending a dangerous amount of time browsing Woo Audio threads trying to figure out their beautiful, but confusing lineup.

 
Uh oh, lol! 

 

  The absolute best test is hearing everything yourself.

 
OMG YES!
 

 
So many cans together gets confusing.

 
Trust me, you get used to it. 

 

  WyWires - Crazy cables! I got to directly A/B my Alpha Dogs with stock cable vs the WyWires. They sounded super clean.

 
They do, they really do!
 

  After LOTS of effort by Warren to find help for the UE table (all the way up to the last minute), I was able to spend a good part of the show/meet walking around catching up with people and even listening to a few things!!  THANK YOU Warren.  (Hafta use some caps myself.)  You are seriously juggling lots of meets this year, dunno how you do it...Headphonium and D.C. and Toronto next?  Madman.

 
Oh c'mon bro... like you weren't working up to the last minute doing the same? 

  It was a group effort.  With M.D. and J.C. working on it from the mothership, to you and I out in the field, to Mercer and Mike who came through big for us... e pluribus unum. 

  And you are MOST welcome!
 
It gets tough sometimes, but meets and shows are in my blood now.  I mean, think about all the fun we have online in this hobby... and then imagine all of that happening in real time, and in real life!  How does it get any better than that right?
 

Originally Posted by fixelexif /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Coming from someone who's rather new to the hobby, I gotta say it was such a great experience for me, that was my first time attending the headfi meet and it certainly opened up my eyes (or should I say.. ears) about audio equipments. Everyone were so nice and friendly, the exhibitors were very kind and helpful answering my noob questions about the gears.
 
Originally Posted by JustinBieber /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 
To anyone reading these impressions and are on the fence about going to a meet up, just go. Trust me, you'll have fun and time will fly. I'm not the most socially active person in the world, but, some of the nicest people are there and it's super easy to start up a conversation and just go with the flow.

 
Could not have said it better myself! 

 

[hmouse]

The meet looks like it was fun! I couldn't go, but I hope people enjoyed the K1000 I sent over there (even though it currently has the bass buzzing issue).

Yes, I enjoyed it very much. It's just awesome driven by LAu

 

[Daegalus]

   
SHE'S A KEEPER! 

 
And hey buddy, Fidelios are nothing to scoff at.
 
 

 
 
She definitely is. And they definitely aren't and I greatly enjoy them, but I still can't get those Alpha Dogs off my mind. I might have to get me a pair soon. Never thought I would love a set of Closed headphones.
 
[Edit] I even had the pleasure of letting someone try the Fidelios for the first time. It was nice to be able to give back to the meet, even in a small way like that. I think he was manning the Audeze station near the end of the day, not Mike Mercer though.

 

[digitalzed]

In my excitement to post yesterday I left out a few important things. To Cee Tee, thanks for taking all the time to really explain the UE lineup to me. I appreciated that very much. Alex and Nina at WyWires, I wasn't looking for a new headphone cable but your Red convinced me otherwise! Thanks for your time. I also agree that the Woo Fireflys are amazing. Darin Fong's software was pretty amazing. I passed on it until it's ready for Mac's. I came to the meet wanting to really like the Oppo headphones but didn't. Maybe it was just that time of day but they did nothing to stand out at those prices. Again, I can't thank everyone who organized the meet enough. This was my first one and I really didn't know what to expect. I was very pleased I went. Not only did I get to audition gear I would almost never have a chance to side-by-side, the exhibitors and attendees could not have been nicer. There are some seriously good people here on Head-Fi.

 

[bcschmerker4]

Looks as though almost everybody at the Meet had some cool word about at least one product (not necessarily the same item for everybody, remember).  Any recommendations for a fallback headphone for a 10.7Ω amp such as I have in my Asus® CM1630-06's XONAR®?  I wanted to check out two Sennheiser® and one Oppo® models (using my Plantronics® 380 as a baseline), but scheduling conflicts postponed that idea from July.

 

[Crashem]

Thanks to all the organizers. It was a bigger pain to bring my equipment than I originally thought, but it was well worth it. Even thought we were in the hinterlands, it made for a quieter listening environment. I endorse the smaller room concept with maybe signs outside of doors letting people know which rooms had stuff.

It was really helpful for me to get the variety of comments and suggestions as well as simply meeting and connecting with local head buffs. The people in the room were nice enough to watch my stuff so I could wander a bit. Now I kind of want to work on mobile setup or figuring out a good he-6 setup. Wish I had more time to demo more stuff. Missed a bunch of stuff I wanted to spend time or more time with. Need to recruit a minion to help with setup and watching over the farm while I wander around (don't tell my wife I referred to her this way if she is at next meetup).

Not surprisingly people loved the sr009 setup. Damn stax are just so good. However what surprised me the most was how much the eddie current 2a3 made me love all types of headphones. Somehow it was just making all sorts of headphones sound great. Don't normally love the grado house sound, but the grados I heard out of it sounded awesome (anyone know which grado model that was?).

Also, I don't know if DS got fair shake. If only ps audio had sent me the DS weeks earlier, then it would have been properly burnt in vs a couple days old. Lampizator seemed to be hit, but the, at first, unintentional lack of cover drew at lot of visual interest. Don't know if that skewed the opinions. JK, the lampizator is great. Wait till I dial in the tube rolling. With sr009/hd800, I think I should thicken up the higher frequencies though higher frequencies sound naturally thin. Wait till I am done with tube rolling to get it just right, I hope.

 

[third_eye]

Wow, this was a blast!! We had 175 in attendance including 125 attendees and 50 members of trade and their guests!! It was so great to finally meet many of the Bay Area head-fiers and to also hear from first time meet attendees about their excitement and passion for the hobby. Our community ROCKS and continues to grow!! 
 
Huge thanks to Warren for helping me organize this event. You rock bro and I absolutely love this tradition!!!  
 

 
Quote:
 

 
As per tradition, bro...
 

 
THANK YOU to the meet volunteers, coolmingli, calaf, shane55, SanJoseCanJunkie, and Jake Barnes who was gracious to bring us a pizza for lunch. And thank you CEETEE, who organized a great after meet event at Max's AND who gave my boys some awesome head-fi rubber bands.

 
Also want to thanks gzone3lement for helping man my table and do the PS Audio DS/Hugo comparisons. AWESOME!

 
Finally, thank you to all of the meet exhibitors, attendees, and friends who travelled up from SoCal. This was super fun!!
 
 
 
 
Now, let's take a short rest and start getting ready for the LA Meet on August 9!

 

[zerodeefex]

 

  Overall, this was a fantastic meet. Lots of good people and gear. Many of the stuff there was a once in a lifetime listen for me, like the rare K1000 and wireless HD580. Also, GREAT deals on used gear. I got an Omega stand from Massdrop for $20 bucks, nice!

To anyone reading these impressions and are on the fence about going to a meet up, just go. Trust me, you'll have fun and time will fly. I'm not the most socially active person in the world, but, some of the nicest people are there and it's super easy to start up a conversation and just go with the flow.

 

Here are a couple shots I took (click to make larger).

 

dat stack...



Sounded pretty good. I thought the X-bass and 3D functions were gimmicky at first. They were actually well implemented and not over exaggerated.
 
Beats by Dr. Sennheiser

These colorwared HD800s looked great! 
 
Vinyl Setup

I listened to Dark Side of the Moon, the original master recording. It was really cool to see how different it was to the digital release I had. This was also the first time in my life I listened to vinyl.
 
Audeze + Studio Six & D100
 

I wasn't sure what kind of music I wanted to hear. I told the dude with the laptop "surprise me" and he played some bassy electronic song (don't know it). But jesus, the bass on the LCD2 with that track was to die for. Pretty sweet.
 
Lampizator + KGSSHV + 009, etc. 


This was my favorite setup and best of all it was in the quietest room (Monterey). I listened to the SR-009 and I took them off a couple times because I had thought the laptop speakers were running in the background. Super realistic timbre and soundstage.

 
 

 I'm the "dude w/ the laptop"! And the track I played for you was "Thirteen Acres" Remix by Hecq (artist TechDiff) off Hecq's Conversions remix LP!
One of my new fave electronic sonic test tracks. SO glad you listened on the LCD-2 w/ Fazor!!!! Currently my top pick in the Audeze line
 
 

  After LOTS of effort by Warren to find help for the UE table (all the way up to the last minute), I was able to spend a good part of the show/meet walking around catching up with people and even listening to a few things!!  THANK YOU Warren.  (Hafta use some caps myself.)  You are seriously juggling lots of meets this year, dunno how you do it...Headphonium and D.C. and Toronto next?  Madman.
 
BIG thanks to Ethan (Third_Eye) too, for an amazing amount of coordination, communication, and keeping the threads going plus everything smooth on the day.  From SoCal, no less!
 
Also a large thank you to Mike Johnson: Michael Mercer's friend who builds speakers stepped up at the last minute to help man the UE table.  Maybe we can get more info on Mike Johnson's speaker builds? I have a feeling from spending time with Mike that they are of great quality.
 
The DoubleTree renovation looks great and the room shapes/sizes (narrow/long) really suit the table set-ups so that you can listen, have some space around each table, and cut down the noise. Nice.
 
Impressed by the Astell & Kern display- they had all kinds of high-end headphones to try with their players.  From full-sized to IEMs, including customs demos from UE and JHA.  Brilliant!  I need to be more disciplined at these meets, I knew that I wanted to listen to some of the esoteric Final Audio IEMs that they had but just couldn't sit still long enough to finally try them.  Next time, I recommend that you ask them what they brought- they may have something on your list to try out and at the same time you get to listen to their players.
 
One nice Head-Fier (oakie) patiently and quietly waited in his corner opposite OJneg and particleman14/Tmoney.  He brought TWO portable tube amps that I have not heard before: the Fostex and the GoDAP.  I didn't have my HD600 or HD800 with me but listened with my UERM.  They are both bigger for portable amps, but c'mon- too cool.  (They actually were cool, they did not get hot.)  The Fostex had a higher noise floor, so not good for IEMs.  Would have liked to try it with larger phones.  The GoDAP was quieter and nice- an "anti-digititus" device.  Brought the headstage presentation up a bit higher and closer while smoothing things out a little and widening each source compared to my Leckerton UHA-6S Mk. II.  So the Leck was more accurate but the GoDAP was very pleasing and easy to listen to.  I have heard the GoVibe PortaTube and liked it with bigger phones.  Would be great to read a comparison of the Fostex, GoDAP, & GoVibe in a shoot-out someday- with full-sized phones and IEMs.

 
Nice Surprise Rig of the Shmeet (Show/Meet):  OJneg's  PC > Gamma 2 > Dsavitsk/ECP Audio Torpedo Amp w/upgraded caps/tubes > HD600.  This combo was immediately detailed and controlled/clean up top for HD600 and had punchy, fun bass that also seemed controlled.  You can build a Torpedo for like $300 at Beezar.  DAC and amp are DIY.  What a great, fun rig.  The long form factor of the amp might also sit nicely on someone's desk, we were thinking.
 
Audio DNYA's modded/re-cabled HD800 and Car Caroli amp.  This was a warm, comfy HD800 set-up which shouldn't pierce anyone's ears.  After listening to the AKG K812 with stock cable on the same amp (not too bad, little analytical), the HD800 seemed warm/rich/cozy/bigger the way they had it set-up.
 
After speaking with Gavin from Light Harmonic, I'm more excited to try and grab a GO 100 when they are in full production. Sounds like they will be even better than the prototype that I was already trying to buy.  Now I'm more excited about the Wave players too.  What they learn from earlier products and delivery should make the units better and get out smoothly by the time we're in 2015.  Glad I have a couple of those coming since I like the Geek Outs a lot.  There was not a prototype Pulse this time, but there seems to be a possibility that it will make the SoCal meet...
 
Had fun at dinner teasing Ti Kan of AMB about the new Gamma 3 DAC under development.  I asked him if it would help him complete the design faster if we all bugged him every other day for updates.  I really like Ti and since the Gamma 2 has had such a long life, I expect the 3 to sound good too!
 
As much as I do want to try the nice gear that I only see pictures of, I end up distracted- wanting to say hello and talk to members that I only see at meets:  tengen, sanjosecanjunkie, Calaf, bobcn, John Williams, jazzfan, Shane55, aamefford, etc. I know I am forgetting some people right now.
 
Thank you Mkubota1 for bringing back some headphone bags from Japan and also some new revision Head-Fi portable bands!  (People at dinner got the new design Mike made with narrow logo version so that when you stretch them, they look "correct" and not "stretched out" around your player rig.  All in black too, with an inset logo.)
 

 
Until next time...

HEY! I'm SO glad I got MJ to a Meet to get a taste of this world!! He and I used to work at a high end audio store together - and we were known as the Stereo Mikes, LMAO.
He's been watching my migration away from high end two-channel and into high performance personal audio since 2009 - and he's always been very interested in seeing what it's all about! I was glad a spot opened up to have him fill-in over at the Ultimate Eers table! He had a blast - and said he was overwhelmed by all the gear "just for headphones"! He wants to come back to a Meet w/ me and just hang out and listen next time! 
 
Also: MJ (Mike Johnson aka Speaker Mike) can tell you sometime - but as one of his best friends, I can tell you he's actually designed and built two to my favorite loudspeakers!
When he had his New Era Loudspeakers line - and working with him taught me SO much! Dave Wilson wanted to hire Mike in high school - but, as much as he respects Dave Wilson (and he does) he said he didn't want to be influenced by another designer. He's built loudspeaker systems for: Motley Crew, Maryln Manson, and the Oakland Coliseum to name a few!!!!
 
and you rock Christian!!
 
 

  Just got back home. @russtafarian, @jw111 (a.k.a. John Williams from the Cavalli table), @shiorisekine (from the Schiit tables) and I had to rush back early this morning to attend an LAOCAS (Los Angeles Orange County Audiophile Society) event featuring a ton of McIntosh gear. Sooo tired, but here are a few brief remarks before I forget.
 
First of all, my utmost thanks to @third_eye (Ethan) who did most of the heavy lifting for this meet.  He's the one who worked for months on end to make this happen, especially when I was busy working on T.H.E. Headphonium with @mikemercer, and working on CanMania with @Frank I. 

  As per tradition, bro...
 

 

 
Next, I wanted to thank @baronkatz who generously sacrificed his whole meet to man my Schiit tables (with special help from @shiorisekine) - and bringing his headphone collection to boot - while I pulled duty at the registration desk.  You guys rock!

 
And speaking of generous sacrifices... @calaf, @coolmingli, @shane55, and @SanJoseCanJunkie... thanks so much for spending huge portions of meet time behind the registration desk prepping badges and raffle entries so that everyone else could have a good time!  You guys...
 

 
Also, you guys should really know that @CEE TEE and @zerodeefex were unofficial meet organizers, who did more than anyone will ever know from behind the scenes, to help make everything a success.  And you thought they just organized dinner plans?  Not even!
 

 
Of course, thanks to my bros @mikemercer, @HiFiGuy528, @russtafarian and @jw111 for all of your hard work doing all the grunt work that, typically, only meet organizers need to do in order to make things happen.  Like I was saying to a buddy at the meet, meets don't organize themselves.  It takes people like you guys doin'what you do.
 

 
And finally, to everyone that came out, both exhibitors and members alike, my thanks to you for sharing yourselves and your time (not to mention your gear).  YOU GUYS are the whole reason for why meets exist. 

 

You know the feelings mutual bro!!!!

 
I'm still over-tired, as MJ made me leave early too!
I was swirving driving my BMW, and he said he was "gettin worried" - well, get your license back, or, LOL, lemme sleep til 9:00AM on a Sunday at least! WE had nowhere to be!!!!
 
The Meet was a much-needed bro-infusion for me!
W/ the wifey still sick - it gets touch at times...
 
Thanks to ALL who made this such a memorable day.

 
I agree, Christian rocks.
 
As for gear:
 
Kudos goes to:

1. Warren and Ethan - For toiling thanklessly to remotely organize a big ol meet. You guys did a great job! I LOVE the renovated Doubletree. CT was right, it's a great spot for meets!!!
2. OJneg's ECP Torpedo - Holy moly, I have no idea what the heck he did here, but I preferred this gamma 2 > torpedo > HD600 to my old gamma2 > balanced beta22 > HD600 rig. Just hit all the right buttons with the HD600. Pretty darned detailed and great bass control (and quantity).
3. Geek Out - I own the 450 and 1000 and now I'm glad I have more of their products on the way. Great resolution, surprisingly non-SABRE-y treble, and the 450 has just the right tonal balance. Head and shoulders over any of the other dac/amps in the space (and I own 90% of them).
4. The random Bakoon amp at the massdrop table - No sure of the price, but it sounded pretty decent with the HD800s. I was surprised, very few amps are able to coax out the wonderful bass of the HD800. I couldn't tell in my brief listening if the bass was as well controlled as the better amps I've heard, but it was pretty pleasant to listen to (with stock HD800s no less). I'm not trading in the 2A3 MKIV anytime soon, but this was pretty decent sounding for a little box. Someone mentioned it would be on sale for well under $1000 which seemed like the right price.

 
Boo-dos go to:

1. Iriver Astell & Kern line ID - The MK2 versions of the 120/100 and the AK240 are way uglier in person than I ever imagined. The players went from attractive with good ergonomics to terrible monoliths this generation. As a product guy, the AK240 made me throw up in my mouth a little bit in person. 
2. Matrix X-Sabre - After about 5 minutes of listening I remembered exactly why I dumped this DAC. It's well built and great for the price range, but hard to listen to for a long period of time for me. The grainy treble is too much for me.
3. Oppo PM-1 - Would have thought it was a mid-fi can until I remembered the price. Felt crazy closed in, especially after having spent a few weeks with the Paradox Slants. Purrin kept trying to get me to try the pad revisions, but the chain was changed up on me and I had a hard time making a quick call on whether my opinion was dramatically swayed. Either way, Oppo's marketing dollars must be going a long way if these are popular at the $1100 price point. I wish I had some time with the PM-2s with the new pads. At $500-700, my tune might change.

 

[EraserXIV]

Damn I'm on the wrong coast. Good weather and endless head-fi meets, what do you guys not have there?

 

[aamefford]

^^^ (up one - @EraserXIV snuck one in there) PM-1's are funny.  Love 'em or hate 'em it seems.  The PM-2 is the more sensible deal, unless you have Bentley taste and budget.  Or got the killer deal on the PM-1's… (as always, beta tester caveat - I am NOT an unbiased opinion on Oppo gear).

 

[soundmanmike]

hey, a big thank you to Michael and Warren, and christen for having me along! glad to have been able to help fill in for UE. I need to buy a set of those, and am definetly going to buy some astell&kern goodies! I could not believe how much headfi goodies there are to choose from. a great croud, and I got to meet some great people. I am going to shoot for the l.a. meet so I can audition some  gear and see some of you guys again.  ( vacation pending). I want to bring some of this gear into my new hifi store as it will be great to show people that there is more than just an ipod and beats. I got to enjoy music on a much more personal level, and that's an experience that should be shared. I love my home system and its good to know that I can bring that sound with me anywhere! now comes the fun of audtioning and putting together a headfi system, or two for myself.  thank you everyone for having me along, much appreciate it! and thanks Michael for not killing me on the way home!

 

[baronkatz]

  Did anyone get a chance to listen to the Mani or the Ragnarok?

Yes, I was at the Schiit table the whole day. I'm surprised you didn't come and visit. The Magni is one of the best values in headphone amps that you can get and sounds great for its size. The Raganork we unfortunately didn't get in, but there's always next time! Something to look forward to for sure!
 

 
Open Headphones - LCD's, Audeze, Stax, Sennheiser... I just felt like they lacked muscle. Like comparing a thick, hearty pea soup to water.

Interesting that you say that. Open headphones are usually more revealing, engaging, awe inspiring ones out there. Closed backs usually sound, well closed in comparison to open ones. Closing the headphones you can say is like a sacrifice that has to be made in order to isolate. I think for example the Audeze LCD-X sounds much better than the XC but those who need isolated sacrifice some of the sound and get the XC. If I could wear open back headphones at work such as the DT880s, Grado SR60i, etc... I would choose those over even my T5P's... 

 

[fixelexif]

 
 
fixel, what would you be interested in trading for? 

 
 

Warren, I'm interested in headphones, amp/dacs & DAP.. anything at all really

 

[baronkatz]

First of all I want to thank @warrenpchi and @third_eye for organizing this amazing meet. I had been to a couple of meets before, but I had never been to one with so many people new to the hobby. It was a rather impressive and innovative idea to expand and enlighten others with our rather strange (in many peoples eyes) hobby.
 
As Warren mentioned, I was taking care of the Schiit table the whole day. Volunteering as staff and introducing people to one of my favourite companies of all time ended up being a lot more fun for me than even just hanging out. I am very passionate about Schiit and their whole no BS philosophy of just making good affordable products in the US. I was a bit sad that the guys couldn't be there as talking to Jason and Mike is always the most interesting and engaging part of these shows, but this gave me the opportunity to represent them myself for the first time.
 
The day - from setting up all the Schiit at 8:30 to taking it down at 4:30, just flew by. I met so many interesting and amazing people throughout the day. I didn't get to hear that many cans but I had heard most of them at the last meet anyways.
 
The biggest surprise of the day, which I had heard at the last meet but surprised me even more this time was the Sennheiser PX100 that the AMB guy had. His amazing DIY amps probably helped a lot but those PX100's sounded amazing even from my phone... I think if those PX100's were full size, revealing, isolating, comfortable cans, they would be the best headphones on the market.
 
The modified T5P's were great as well along with the Abyss. I think the last time I heard them I preferred the STAX 009's, but this time sound wise I preferred the Abyss. However, comfort and looks still need to be worked out.
 
I hope that at the next meet some people will have some of the headphones I've been meaning to listen to for the past few years: Ultrasone Signature DJ's, German Maestro's, Bushmill Grado's (the closed back ones Elijah Wood designed), JVC DX-1000, Audio Technica ATH-L3000, ESW11LTD, ESW10, etc... 
 
We finished the evening off with a wonderful dinner at Max's. I had an amazing time as always and almost wish that this would happen every month or two. Will try to make the LA meets as well when I can. Thanks again to all the organizers and everyone for letting me participate. Pictures I took of the day can be seen here:
 
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zelr2ec3r6sma56/AABdhyrR_F4fP9p97Txty2uVa 

 

[Daegalus]

  Coming from someone who's rather new to the hobby, I gotta say it was such a great experience for me, that was my first time attending the headfi meet and it certainly opened up my eyes (or should I say.. ears) about audio equipments. Everyone were so nice and friendly, the exhibitors were very kind and helpful answering my noob questions about the gears.
I arrived pretty late in the afternoon and didn't get the chance to try out all the gears (should have avoided that annoyingly crowded ramen festival in Japantown).
On top of that, I was extremely lucky and won the $1000 gift card from WyWires!!!!! shoutouts to Alex of WyWires, I got the chance to talk to him a little bit and he is such a nice guy. He asked about my gears and unfortunately my low-mid headphones might not benefit much until I get some better headphones and gears ( I only have an ath-m50, sennheiser momentum, sony ma900 and a few sub $100 iems). So right now I'm thinking of trading it with someone who might need it more in exchange for my needs. If anyone is interested to trade let me know, I'll probably going to post in the trade sections as well. Overall, it was such a great day, my only regret was not attending the past meets even though I knew about it, oh if anyone's interested, here are some pictures I took at the meet, again I wish I had taken more but I was too busy trying out the gears

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ghzw7md83nvjd2v/AACWkVX9Rho08RJGw9gHXyW1a

 
I just looked through the album, and found it funny that the first picture has my gf and I dead center of the picture. Hopefully you don't mind me saving a copy .