[Asr]

Cardas-balanced HD800 on Meridian G08 & HeadRoom Balanced Home: I'm not exactly a fan of the HD800 and while this system didn't change my opinion, I thought it sounded pretty good regardless and played to the weaknesses of the HD800 nicely (filling in the mid-range and offsetting the treble). I suspected that the HeadRoom amp was doing something right, so I returned to this system later with my own Audeze LCD-2....
 
Audeze LCD-2 on Meridian G08 & HeadRoom Balanced Home (unbalanced mode): I don't have a lot of amp experience with the LCD-2 yet but the HeadRoom amp seemed to be relatively up to the task of driving these headphones. The headphones had good rhythmic drive and a good persistent mid-bass on this amp.
 
HiFiMan HE-6: I didn't listen long to these headphones, as I wanted to find out only two things about it: (1) Could I get it to fit my head? (2) Did it seem promising enough to buy? I got a "yes" on both questions.

The only way I could get the headphones to fit me was by tilting the earcups inwards. As for the sound, I won't say anything - there were aspects that bothered me but also other aspects that interested me. I'm now semi-contemplating a purchase since I qualify for the the HE-5/LE owner discount....
 
Audio-Technica M50: I previously heard these at RMAF last month and revisited them to find out if they might be worth buying. I concluded that I probably won't. They just didn't have enough treble for my taste and the bass response didn't seem like the sort that would provide satisfactory explosions - because if I got an M50, I'd use it for PC gaming and occasional DVD movies, not for music listening. I'm sure these headphones would be ok for less discriminating people but I didn't think they were really for me.
 
Avenson Audio Headphone Amp: Not that I really did any listening on my own setup (just a brief test listen to make sure everything worked) but I observed a few Head-Fiers attempting to listen to the AKG K1000 on this amp (the K1000 was another Head-Fier's and happened to be nearby). I did not listen to this combo myself but I guess a few other folks thought it was ok considering they were successfully listening....
 
Quote:

- Someone's LCD-2/Avenson Audio setup was quite enjoyable.  I also listened to his ESW10 and thought it sounded decent until I learned what the price tag was.

  I'm sorry I didn't get your name, but I think you recommended the ES7's?

That would've been my setup. Correction: the headphones were the ES10 - "ESW10" refers to a completely different headphone with a wood-lacquered driver housing. The ES10 contains no wood. And I did recommend the ES7 over it.

 

[dj nellie]

Quote:

I came to the show primarily to hear the JH-16s, and those were pretty good, but I wasn't as impressed as I had hoped I'd be. It seemed to lack coherence. Maybe this is because I'm used to listening to single-driver headphones and the JH16 had 8, and I was just hearing the effect of the crossover and multiple drivers. While the Etys lack body and can be a bit sterile, the clarity and intimacy can't be beat. I came away from the meet with much less desire to upgrade my phones (and far more desire to upgrade my amp).
 
* And it's a sign that I'm a Head-fi old-timer than far too many people looked at my Etys and said "What are those?" 

 
I really wanted to hear the JHA universals (and talk with the JHA girls) but didn't.  But as an owner of JH16s, I can pretty confidently say that clarity and intimacy are not weaknesses of the JH16 at all.  If I had to point out a flaw of the JH16, it would be the lack of soundstage (relative to full-size cans).  But the deep seal and custom mold (for me) go a long way toward lending an intimate presentation.  In terms of detail, my JH16s easily trump my Ed. 8 and LA2000 (with my modest amps). 
 
Take my opinions with a grain of salt, because I don't have any high-end amps or sources, but it seems that the universal versions of customs sell them short.  I think that, if you're comfortable with hard acrylic in your ears and possibly waiting for several fit adjustments, the universal versions should only be a rough guide to how the IEMs will sound when they are custom fit for your ears.

 

[DavidMahler]

Anyone know whose K1000 were on display and what cable it used?

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

As another poster suggested, maybe taking it to the next level is to plan lunch and dinner, with tickets in advance ... we'd get more leverage with the venue, and with the chosen dinner spot that way.  A private room at Outback -- we could have sold that out I bet.  Just a thought.
 

It sounds like a good idea but I have 2 issues with this, although we could work around them.  1) This is supposed to be for the whole Head-Fi community and if you start charging you may discourage some members from attending and 2) if you start adding cost to the event then there is more liability for the organizer(s).  I don't mind laying out $1000 for a room but if you start adding in meals it's going to get expensive. 
 
I'd like to keep the regional meets somewhat informal and low key.  Save the parties and private rooms for the National Meet.  

 

[Vinnie R.]

All,
 
I apologize for the late response - still catching up with emails and started training a new employee and she'll join me for the next meet.  I always try to get them hooked in this hobby so I can pay with gear instead more useless things like actual money, health benefits, etc.  It's all about priorities...
 
Last Saturday was another great NY meet - with special thanks to Erik for organizing, Yikes for doing the not-so-silent auction, and everyone else who helped out --- and for EVERYONE who stopped over to say hi and give a listen.  I enjoyed meeting a lot of new faces, and this is what it is all about - getting more people to enjoy this insane (insanely fun, that is!

) hobby and share listening to some really great music and gear out there, at all different price points. 
 
It was my pleasure to offer lunch.  I spoke to Erik about it and he warned me that these NY hotels can really put the damage on with the catering, but the NY Headfi crowd has always been very good to me with their friendliness and inviting me to the meets - and quite a few of them are customers - and I really appreciate this and I wanted everyone to be able to stay in one location and not have to roam those mean streets of White Plains, NY looking for a meal!

  The "street toughs" coming out of the nearby Nordstrom when I was driving in looked a little dangerous - haha...
 
It was funny because for some reason, I spent around 45 minutes with the hotel because for some odd reason my credit card would not work for them.   I was starting to wonder how much this really was going to cost - but it was just an error with their machine.  This caused me to miss most of the auction.
 
It was also great to see so many familiar faces - friends, customers, vendors. 
 
Speaking of vendors, Ray Samuels has a BIG WIN with the SR-71b that I listened to... one of the best portable amps I've heard, period!  And it sounds BIG - driving my LCD-2s and even the less-efficient HE-6s. 
 
I was also happy to see Steve Guttenberg and David Chesky visit.  And thanks to Jude who flew in to attend this meet!
 
As always with these meets, it is hard to do "critical listening" because we all like to socialize as well as listen, so the noise floor goes up - but the fun goes up with it (hopefully most feel this way) and there is a lot of excitement.  Maybe we need to have a meet at an office environment that has those sound-treated cubicle walls or something

.    But you guys in NY, NJ, CT, or anywhere else can always contact me and make an appointment to visit RWA here in CT and visit my listening room for home audio, which has comfy leather chairs for headphone listening as well, or both.  Bring your own gear, make comparisons, and have fun here (this isn't a hi-fi store, so we don't need no stinkin' rules - just have fun and listen).  It will be best to set this up in the new year, because I'm backlogged into January and with the holidays and all, it's crazy.
 
I will also mention that I'm really excited to hear that Can Jam 2011 still *might* be in NY, right guys???

  
 
 
Quote:

Anyone know whose K1000 were on display and what cable it used?

 
 
Hi David - nice to meet you in person!  I brought K1000s, but from the gear list, I think others were bringing them as well.  Mine had a stock cable terminated to a 1/4" jack plugged into the Isabellina HPA LFP-V Edition with the new headphone output stage I've been tweaking - but most of the time we had LCD-2s plugged in. 
 
 
Thanks again, everyone!
 
Vinnie

 

[vcoheda]

Forgot to add that Ray's SR-71B drove the HE6 effortlessly. I was quite surprised. This should be a formidable amp once it hits the market, which I believe is soon.

 

[revolink24]

Quote:

Forgot to add that Ray's SR-71B drove the HE6 effortlessly. I was quite surprised. This should be a formidable amp once it hits the market, which I believe is soon.

It was very impressive indeed. It may have even been the best I heard the HE6s at the meet, over many desktop amps 

. I'm not usually big on portable amps, but it was impressive.
 
I didn't even notice that David Chesky and Steve Guttenberg were there! My bad I guess for not getting to see everyone there. Too much listening, I guess.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

As always with these meets, it is hard to do "critical listening" because we all like to socialize as well as listen, so the noise floor goes up - but the fun goes up with it (hopefully most feel this way) and there is a lot of excitement.  Maybe we need to have a meet at an office environment that has those sound-treated cubicle walls or something

.    But you guys in NY, NJ, CT, or anywhere else can always contact me and make an appointment to visit RWA here in CT and visit my listening room for home audio, which has comfy leather chairs for headphone listening as well, or both.  Bring your own gear, make comparisons, and have fun here (this isn't a hi-fi store, so we don't need no stinkin' rules - just have fun and listen).  It will be best to set this up in the new year, because I'm backlogged into January and with the holidays and all, it's crazy. 
 

Mini meet at Vinnie's!  That sounds awesome.  It's about a 2 hour drive for me but I'm sure it would be worth the trip.  Let's do it for Valentine's Day because we all love Red Wine Audio!

 

 

[immtbiker]

I'm so there! Ciao Bella.

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

Quote:

As always with these meets, it is hard to do "critical listening" because we all like to socialize as well as listen, so the noise floor goes up - but the fun goes up with it (hopefully most feel this way) and there is a lot of excitement.  Maybe we need to have a meet at an office environment that has those sound-treated cubicle walls or something

.    But you guys in NY, NJ, CT, or anywhere else can always contact me and make an appointment to visit RWA here in CT and visit my listening room for home audio, which has comfy leather chairs for headphone listening as well, or both.  Bring your own gear, make comparisons, and have fun here (this isn't a hi-fi store, so we don't need no stinkin' rules - just have fun and listen).  It will be best to set this up in the new year, because I'm backlogged into January and with the holidays and all, it's crazy. 
 

Mini meet at Vinnie's!  That sounds awesome.  It's about a 2 hour drive for me but I'm sure it would be worth the trip.  Let's do it for Valentine's Day because we all love Red Wine Audio!

Quote:

I'm so there! Ciao Bella.

 
road trip! 

 

 

[erikzen]

I wanted to make some follow up comments on the E9/E7 that Jack from the Micca Store sent me.  I haven't hooked up my main rig yet after the meet but I did set up the E9/E7.  It has a very small footprint and only needs the USB cable to start making music.  Being lazy and not wanting to unpack all my stuff, I figured I'd give it a shot for a while until I need to send the amp back after the weekend.
 
I have been considering some AKG cans as my next set of headphones and daveDerek was kind enough to lend me his K601.  With impedence of 120 ohms and relatively low sensitivity (101 dB) the K601s have a reputation for being difficult to drive.  With the E9 there was no problem getting enough power to these cans to deliver a full sound throughout the dynamic range.  Soundstage was equally impressive and AKG's reputation for detail and clarity was on display in spades.  I don't want to exagerrate here but these may be the best sounding headphones under $500 I've ever heard and certainly as good as some higher priced ones I've listened to.  When I heard the Persuasions version of "Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", from the Head-Fi/HDtracks "Open Your Ears" collection, literally sent chills down my spine.  Each voice was so clear and articulate and easy to identify, while the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.  Really fantastic sound.
 
The E9/E7 represents a tremendous value.  For about $200 you get a great sounding desktop DAC/Amp combo and the E7 can also be used as a standalone portable DAC/amp as well.  Anyone in the market for an inexpensive desktop solution should take a look at this.

 

[revolink24]

Quote:

I wanted to make some follow up comments on the E9/E7 that Jack from the Micca Store sent me.  I haven't hooked up my main rig yet after the meet but I did set up the E9/E7.  It has a very small footprint and only needs the USB cable to start making music.  Being lazy and not wanting to unpack all my stuff, I figured I'd give it a shot for a while until I need to send the amp back after the weekend.
 
I have been considering some AKG cans as my next set of headphones and daveDerek was kind enough to lend me his K601.  With impedence of 120 ohms and relatively low sensitivity (101 dB) the K601s have a reputation for being difficult to drive.  With the E9 there was no problem getting enough power to these cans to deliver a full sound throughout the dynamic range.  Soundstage was equally impressive and AKG's reputation for detail and clarity was on display in spades.  I don't want to exagerrate here but these may be the best sounding headphones under $500 I've ever heard and certainly as good as some higher priced ones I've listened to.  When I heard the Persuasions version of "Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", from the Head-Fi/HDtracks "Open Your Ears" collection, literally sent chills down my spine.  Each voice was so clear and articulate and easy to identify, while the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.  Really fantastic sound.
 
The E9/E7 represents a tremendous value.  For about $200 you get a great sounding desktop DAC/Amp combo and the E7 can also be used as a standalone portable DAC/amp as well.  Anyone in the market for an inexpensive desktop solution should take a look at this.

I also got a chance to try out this combo with the D2000 and 601s, and I can echo your sentiments. It truly was a tremendous sounding combo for the money. Even the E7 by itself was an adequate, if not great amplifier.

 

[jpelg]

Well Erik, you've done it again! Another highly successful & enjoyable NY meet. Man, I know all the effort you put into these things, but you still make it look easy, AND are the most gracious of hosts on the day. Don't know how you do it. Thanks for all your hard work, buddy. Hope you had as good a time as we all did.
 
In addition, I'd like to personally thank:
 
Beyerdynamic - Peter, a relative newcomer to these meets, has jumped in head first. He and his wife brought in just about every Beyer model, including the various impedance versions of the DT770/880/990's, the newish sura-aural T50, the flagship T1, and the uber-rare new T5. Not to mention donating a pair of DT860's to our auction, and the nice giveaways at your listening table. Your committment to the hobby/business is apparent & much appreciated.
 
Head-Direct - Fang, you have been coming to these meets for several years, and are now a fixture at them. Your work ethic is unquestionable, and your ability to constantly bring us new & better products is incredible. The HE-6's are world-class - congrats.
 
JH Audio - Thanks to Brittany Harvey & the other "Harvey Girl" for putting up with us crazies on a Saturday. You brightened up the room, for sure.
 
Micca Store - Jack, thanks for supporting our meet with some unique & great sounding affordable gear.
 
Ray Samuels Audio - Ray, you are salt of the earth. My wife & I enjoy spending time & talking with you so much at these meets. Your drive to eek more & more from your amp designs is matched only by your generosity & personality. The SR-71B is a crowning achievement, and if I didn't already own a Protector (and no balanced source, atm), I'd be lining up for one. It made the very difficult-to-drive HE-6's just sing beautifully without strain. Another winner, for sure. Thanks for making the trek halfway across the country for us & donating so much to the cause.
 
Red Wine Audio - Simply put, Vinnie is another one of the good guys. He pioneered modifying iPods & other relatively inexpensive audio gear, bringing them to audiophile levels. Now with a complete line of his own amps, DACs, & other various audio gear designs, his business is really taking off. And it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. I didn't get to listen to his table this day, but fortunately for me his shop is only a few miles away from where I live, so I will definitely be stopping by in the coming weeks. Thanks so much for auction donations, & going above & beyond by buying everyone lunch - you are crazy (in the best of all ways!). Thanks man.
 
Woo Audio - Thanks to Jack & crew for sending the WA2. Another NY-meet pillar, your presence was missed.
 
Thanks to those who donated gear to the auction (InnerSpace gets the "Above & Beyond" generosity award!) And thanks to those who purchased said gear to support paying for the room.
 
It was great seeing some of the regular crew (Ari, Devo, Dave, the other Dave, the other-other Dave, and the other-other-other Dave, Tom, Aaron, Telica, Jazz, Dean, Doug, Kerry, Ethan, Ivan), & meet some new ones (Scott/warrior05). I saw a lot of new faces, but my yapping prevented me from getting around as much as I would have liked. Steve, thanks for coming all the way from Colorado to visit NY (sorry we didn't get a chance to talk). Of course, it was great to see Jude again.
 
Let's all do this again after we recover from the holidays?
 
Cheers!

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

As always with these meets, it is hard to do "critical listening" because we all like to socialize as well as listen, so the noise floor goes up - but the fun goes up with it (hopefully most feel this way) and there is a lot of excitement.  Maybe we need to have a meet at an office environment that has those sound-treated cubicle walls or something

.    But you guys in NY, NJ, CT, or anywhere else can always contact me and make an appointment to visit RWA here in CT and visit my listening room for home audio, which has comfy leather chairs for headphone listening as well, or both.  Bring your own gear, make comparisons, and have fun here (this isn't a hi-fi store, so we don't need no stinkin' rules - just have fun and listen).  It will be best to set this up in the new year, because I'm backlogged into January and with the holidays and all, it's crazy.

That would be great!

 

[revolink24]

Quote:

 
In addition, I'd like to personally thank:
It was great seeing some of the regular crew (Ari, Devo, Dave, the other Dave, the other-other Dave, and the other-other-other Dave, Tom, Doug, Kerry, Ethan, Ivan), & meet some new ones (Scott/warrior05). I saw a lot of new faces, but my yapping prevented me from getting around as much as I would have liked. Steve, thanks for coming all the way from Colorado to visit NY (sorry we didn't get a chance to talk). Of course, it was great to see Jude again.
 
Let's all do this again after we recover from the holidays?
 
Cheers!

Somehow I managed to miss you, or at least failed to figure out who you were there. I'll have to make note of that next NY meet!