Home from Chicago, huzzah!
The drive to the meet on Saturday started out well when DVass13 and I began our journey to the Windy City. Unfortunately we hit a 1-hour detour on I-65 that left us feeling dejected. Thankfully we left Cincinnati at a decent time and managed to make it to Kojaku's place just after 11. Our next stop was Craft Pizza in Wicker Park; I recommend the Wicker Pork pizza if you're in the area. It was there that we joined Hansotek for a tasty lunch. After filling our bellies it was time to make our way to the main destination, ChiUniFi 8.5.
Once I set up my station it was time to sit and talk to the attendees while answering questions about the gear at my table. Since I ended up having to feed most each different setup from a single source, my MBP, I spent most of the time at the meet making sure that everything was working for those who wanted to listen. The most popular items appeared to be the Cavalli Liquid Carbon and the Questyle QP1R portable, but the LH Labs Pulse X Infinity and the Questyle CMA800i received some love as well. Not as many were asking about my ALO Continental Dual Mono, but I suppose that most in attendance were more interested in the various desktop components. A shame really, because that little tube hybrid puts a smile on my face every time.
As traffic slowed towards the end of the meet I took a few minutes to demo some of the gear that was present. I was most looking forward to hearing the Audio-GD Master 11, but unfortunately it did not make it to Chicago in time for zach915m to bring it. I was hoping to get a chance to try the M11 with his new Omni. As for the rest of my experience, here is a small handful of impressions.
Audio Zenith PMx2 - The PMx2 mods do bring improvement to the PM-2's treble, adding a touch more life to the stock sound.
ENIGMAcoustics Dharma - Much improved from what I heard at CanJam SoCal. The crossover adjustment seems to have fixed the transition from electrostatic to dynamic driver. I was informed that this was the final voicing for the product before launch, but since the cups have not been adjusted to allow for a proper seal I'll wait until I hear a production model to believe that. Overall it's a nice headphone with one little splinter, there is a very narrow band in the treble that sounded artificial and ended up distracting me from the music. Do note that this pair was completely fresh and had no burn-in, so that may self-resolve after some time cooking. A proper seal could also alter the odd sparkle in a way that sounds more natural.
Kennerton Magister - I'm going to follow Thumper's sage advice on this headphone.
Koss PortaPro - I own these headphones, but I saw them in a new light at the meet. If you want to hear these sing, feed them from the Yggnarock stack. No, it won't magically transform them into HD800s, but nevertheless it's an excellent match.
Pioneer SE Master 1 - I listened to this headphone from both the CMA800i and the Pulse Infinity>Liquid Carbon combo and found that it did nothing for me. Multiple people mentioned that they liked the headphone from the Yggnarock stack, and I didn't listen to it from that pair, but from my own gear it was nothing special. It seems this headphone is very chain-dependent, and my chains were not a good match.
Virgin Hotels Chicago rooftop bar - Smelled like fried chicken, stunning view. I advise wearing nicer clothing than shorts and a button down casual shirt. It's also advised to bring an Arnold Martinez, should you have one at hand.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by my station and took time to listen to the gear. I hope everyone enjoyed what they heard and are willing to share their feedback here in the thread.