[devwild]

So, it turned out to be smaller than expected (too many people enjoying the weather unlike us dorks

), but it was still a fun meet, with several new and welcome faces. Also a nice selection of gear that have been strangers to our meets thus far...

After waiting so long to listen to K1000s, I finally got my chance today - and I was really impressed. Honestly, they were different/better than I expected. From the same presonus/dared configuration I use for my speakers at home, the K1000 presented a rich, near-complete presentation with its almost speaker-like imaging. Great vocals, nice texture, surprisingly good bass. Very fun. Unfortunately, if I owned a pair myself, they probably wouldn't get used as much as they deserve, but I hope to have a chance to listen to some again regardless, and in a quieter environment.

The AD2000 is a nice Audio Technica can - more balanced than the Ax00 series and a nice open sound. I personally prefer the SA5000, but I can see this being used as a good all-around open can - which isn't something I had come to expect from AT.

The MPX3 was good too, nice to finally hear a tube amp of that class. It's a shame we didn't have the alternate tubes. My practical side says it might be a bit too much of a space heater though.

Anyhow, thanks all for coming, and for the friendly conversation. I'll post some pictures shortly.

 

[kwkarth]

Connections, man, do we have connections!

 

[devwild]

Another meet, another variant of my gear

Self portrait, waiting for the first people to show

Familiar setting, but new faces

Mmm, black

AD2000s - I'd rotate the picture but I like it this way

Tubes - yea, it's been done, but we'll do it again...

Grado landscape

 

[devwild]

Oh, and no that isn't one Dared moving around, there were indeed three there. Crazy.

 

[agile_one]

Nice meet, people, and thanks for the great pics and initial impressions.

Kevin - nice initial impressions of the K1K's. Glad to see you used them as intended - from the speaker outs of the Dared. I think one's first impressions of them are usually a , "wow". Welcome to the club.

 

[devwild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by agile_one Nice meet, people, and thanks for the great pics and initial impressions. Kevin - nice initial impressions of the K1K's. Glad to see you used them as intended - from the speaker outs of the Dared. I think one's first impressions of them are usually a , "wow". Welcome to the club.

I think you got your names swapped, but thanks

 

[agile_one]

Quote:

Originally Posted by devwild I think you got your names swapped, but thanks

So I did

Apologies, devwild, and kwkarth (Kevin). I stand by my statement, though - very nice meet

 

[Gigabomber]

Is that a Corda Aria I spy in the Pic of James Bean?

Ahh k1000's and an Aria, I've been eyeing them both for a while now.

Can't wait for the impressions.

I bet the meet just wasn't the same without our mascot Seeberg.

 

[devwild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gigabomber Is that a Corda Aria I spy in the Pic of James Bean?

Yes, the Aria is Kevin's, I sold mine as part of me "settling" on two home configurations

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gigabomber I bet the meet just wasn't the same without our mascot Seeberg.

No, it wasn't, especially since you guys are the first to show

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by agile_one Nice meet, people, and thanks for the great pics and initial impressions. Kevin - nice initial impressions of the K1K's. Glad to see you used them as intended - from the speaker outs of the Dared. I think one's first impressions of them are usually a , "wow". Welcome to the club.

Funny, I was wondering how you knew the K1Ks were mine, unless perhaps you read saw the avatar tag line that Jude laid on me several years ago.

 

[kwkarth]

Interestingly, no one was captured in a picture actually wearing the K1Ks, flaps in or flaps out!

 

[panyncor]

It was great to meet everyone — thanks for sharing your gear and time. And special thanks to Devwild of course for getting it organized. Here are some brief impressions.

AKG K-1000 — very, very nice powered by the Dared (which itself is a surprisingly pleasant and versatile amp for the price). The bass was better than I’d expected. Overall an amazingly crisp sound. It's a real credit to the Dared that Ken says the K-1000's sound better powered by it than by AKG's own amp.

Audio Technica AD-900 — The first quality sealed headphone I’ve listened to, and I liked it. Out of the MPX3, it was a bit thicker in the bass than I usually like, but I suspect that might go away with a better pairing.

Audio Technica AD-2000 — James did me a favor and switched the pads so that I could listen to them in their stock form (he had swapped in some W-5000 pads). I agree with his complaints about comfort. Too hard against the ear. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to listen to them in modified form, with the thicker W-5000 pads and additional fabric to push them out even further. This is a headphone I’ve been lusting after for a while, and it didn’t really bowl me over. It’s possible that if I had a bit more time and the replacement pads, I would have felt differently, but for the time being my wallet is safe. Not a bad headphone by any means, but not extraordinary enough to make me want to change my current roster.

Ken’s cables — I didn’t have time for comparisons, but I’ll say that the Ken’s custom made line-out cable lead to better sound than I’ve ever heard from an iPod. I would encourage anyone who wants to enhance the quality of their iPod to contact Ken (who is also a real pleasure to talk to).

AKG K-501 — Good headphones, no doubt. But listening to them convinced me that AKG headphones aren’t my cup of tea. Like the K-701’s (which I recently sold) the sound is a bit too removed. Purely a matter of taste, but I find the music uninvolving despite the obvious fine qualities (most notably the justifiably praised midrange).

Kevin’s Franken-Grados — They’re one of a kind, which is a really shame because they sounded great. SR-200 drivers, if I recall correctly. Okay, so why did they stop making those?

Sennheiser HD-600 with Cardas cable — This was the real discovery of the meet for me. I was kicking myself all afternoon for forgetting my stock-cable HD-600’s, which prevented me from doing a direct comparison. However, I’ve spent many hours listening to the stock HD-600’s and was struck repeatedly by how much better Kevin's Cardas-cabled phones sounded across the board. I’ve held back on a cable upgrade out of skepticism, but I think I may go for it now.

Thanks again everybody!

 

[KB]

Devwild,

Jeez your camera takes some nice photos, or prehaps its a the operator and camera combined? I should have stopped to check the camera too. Put down the headphone.

Panyncor, curse you and your Singlepower !! I have already been talking to Mikhail over at Singlepower. I am even thinking of selling PPX3's bundled with some real fancy interconnects on the web site, if I can hammer out a deal with Mikhail.

Yeah we should do this again in the winter when its real poopy out so the non geeks will attend.

Ken

 

[JaGWiRE]

Kb, I couldn't help, but realise the photos were very good, especially the grado one. I checked, it's a EOS Digital Rebel XT, which is an Canon DSLR, which probably explains the photos.

 

[james__bean]

Sorry guys for not getting their sooner. I just couldn't drag myself out of bed that morning.

I was pleased that I at least got a chance to listen to a headphone I hadn't heard before, the K1000's. They certainly have a distinctive quality to them, but they're just not my cup of tea. I was listening to some Massive Attack and the lower bass just wasn't there. I'd really like to get a chance to listen to them again though. Perhaps with a larger selection of music with me. I think before the next meet I'm going to get myself another iRiver H120. At least that way you can put lossless on there and transfer to a decent DAC.

Speaking of DAC's, from my limited time with the VDA 2 I thought it sounded pretty good. Using it with my PRII and SA5000s just reminded me how much I need to upgrade my source. I was a little bummed I didn't get a chance to listen to the DAC-AH. It would have been nice to compare it with the VDA2. Oh well, maybe next time.