[CD44hi]

Hello,

I am posting the thread to get the impressions started!
I had a very good time yesterday at the meet. Everyone was extremely warm and friendly! Among all the attendees, I have to say that the most colorful and vocal character was Lou. I had a great time chatting with him about this rig and music. He listens very, very loudly

OK, some inpressions:

In the solid state realm I enjoyed the JMT PPA, it sounded great. The sound was clean and powerful. Bass well defined and tight. (I forgot to ask Lou what Op-amps where in it. Maybe he can elaborate.) It mingled well with the Senn HD-600s and was an excellent match with the HD-595s. I did not had a chance to listen to it with the grado cans.

I had a chance to listen to the Supermini that Lou brought. I did no ask about the version. I think there is a new version out every week or so it seems. I actually was bold enough to try to drive the HD-600s with the Supermini. To my dismay it does a good job at my listening levels, which are I would call between low to medium. I liked the JMT MINT also with the Senns. It is quite a revelation for me that such little amps could drive the HD-600s that well. However it depends on the listener particular listening levels, as if I tried to go to higher volume, I could see weaknesses surface.

The tube amps: I heard the MPX3 in the black chassis and I liked what I heard. This amp was connected to the Wadia 301. The amp was suited with the NOS Sylvania VT-231s. I preferred its sound most with the W2002s yesterday. Bass was strong, great level of detail. Solid looking amplifier.
The PPX3 is such a musical little amp. It presents coherent sound and makes great music. The bass is very well defined in this amp.

The electrostatics: I liked the KGSS. We were just braking it in as it arrived the day before. To my ears it presented a very balanced picture and it showed the fluidity that the Wadia player puts out. It is a good match for the omega's.

I will post more later when I see pics to refresh my memory....

Cheers!!

{edit} some more comments!

 

[LTUCCI1924]

CD44hi
HI: How are you? The meet was great. Everybody was very friendly and very polite. I must thank the host also. The only cans that really impressed me was the senn. electrosat 60. Boy I really liked that can. The super mini amp was V 6.2D. The PPA was

Your amp will come with the full compliment of buffers, 4 per channel (left, right, ground) for a total of 12. I will be using Elna Cerafine and WIMA caps as well as some Nichicon Muse Gold caps. Resistors will be hand matched Vishay/Dale RN55D, I will add a current source to bias to Class A, an Alps Blue Velvet potentiometer, and a pair of Cardas gold plated RCA inputs.
OPA627 (ground) and the OPA637 (gain). bass boost simply bumps up the lower frequencies. When disengaged, I don't hear any affect on the sonic characteristics.

I enjoyed having my stuff heard by other folks and think most really liked the senn. 595 with my CD/DVD and PPA amp. I guess this might be a mid range rig but to me it is more than I have ever hoped fore and am thrilled with the sound. Thank You all fore being there and letting us listen to all of the stuff. My only problem I am having now is that I don't use my E3c since I received the 595. I use the 595 in all my stuff including my portable stuff with the super mini amp. I think the 595 are about the size of the grados and that is easy fore portable caring around. Thanks again fore letting me attend the meet.

 

[Canman]

Well here’s a second shot after the power went out and deleted all I had written on the meet:

Thanks to sbulack and his wife for being so gracious as to allow us to invade their living room area with tons of gear and people. The meet was smaller than expected but we had a great time and had loads of great gear to listen to. In attendance were: sbulack, LTUCCI1924, Hirsch, CD44hi, stymie miasma, taylor, rycet, SuperMario, and myself.

Most exciting for me was my new KGSS, which was flown in on Friday from zzz. It has been a long time in the making, but I am very happy so far with the results. It still has a lot of breaking in to do. It only had 20 hours or so on it at the meet and the Omega II’s had about 50 hours. The sound was balanced, but closed in and transients were muddy. They have been playing non-stop and as of now they have started to open up. Sound continues to get better throughout the day…I’ll keep you guys posted on how it progresses.

Mikhail sent in a demo MPX3 for the meet with 1944 Sylvania VT-231’s (almost as old as Lou!). It is a fantastic amp that proved itself to be versatile enough to sound excellent with every headphone I tried with it. This amp has none of the bad classic tube signatures but it does have the good ones like liquidity and musicality. It has an awesome sense of power and musical depth that is uncommon with many headphone amps.

The biggest surprise of the day was how good the Audio Technica W2002’s sounded. I heard these awhile back on a Wheatfield HA-2 and I wasn’t impressed. This time on the Singlepower MPX3 they had presence, texture, and a delicate beauty (in sound and in sight!). If I could afford to buy another pair of expensive headphones I would definitely pick these up.

A few more notes:

Lou’s new Sennheiser 595’s were sounding really good and are a great alternative to the equally priced Grado SR-225.
The PPX3 was sounding really good with Hirsch’s Japanese tubes. I can’t wait to get mine. I love how you don’t think about the gear when you listen to this amp, it just makes you focus on the music.

The Baby Orpheus setup was sounding really nice too. They were powered by the HEV-70 amp and a Nomad Zen MP3 player. The HEV-70 actually sounds makes great music. Don’t take Kevin Gilmore’s word for it, it is not a terrible amplifier. I bet it would sound better if you replaced the wall wart with a linear regulated power supply.

Also, thanks to Headphile and Lou for the giveaways at the meet, they are much appreciated.

Hirsch and Mario took some pictures, so hopefully we’ll have some evidence soon.

 

[meech]

 

[MD1032]

Quote:

Originally posted by meech

 

[wallijonn]

Are we finally going to see what that madman, Lou, looks like?

Ah, Lou, can I get a peek at Debbie?

 

[CD44hi]

An additional note as I forgot to say a big thank you to sbulack for hosting the meet and allowing us to intrude in his house yesterday.

Also many thanks to Headphile for the door price of a Standard Silver 1m interconnect mini-RCA. I had the honor, and pleasure, of been the lucky winner for this item. Very sharp looking cable. I will be using it in my work rig! Thanks again.

Concerning pics, Hirsch took digital ones, Supermario took some shots on traditional film. I am sure we'll be able to look at them.

 

[taylor]

I had a great time too. All the electrostatics there were amazing. Not quite as good as the electrostatics, but at a tenth of their price, I really enjoyed Lou's HD595s. It's nice hearing midrange every once in awhile.

CD44hi, how did you like my IC FET?

 

[Hirsch]

 

[SuperMario]

Hey, guys!

Since I was shooting conventional pictures I need to get the film developed before I can upload the images, as you all know!
That will probably take 2 or 3 days.

Moreover, the pictures were taken in two different rolls of film, one of which is still in the camera with about 10 frames to be shot. As you can easily figure it out, some of the pictures will be uploaded within 2 - 3 days, while the rest you might only see by the end of the week, or later.

I will speed up the process in any possible way, though.


CD44hi, congratulations on your new cables!!


Cheers

 

[sbulack]

I jumped into the headphone amp world in the middle ( a Headsave PPA ), so for me, the meet was a fleshing out of the ends of the spectrum, low and high - both of which, BTW, sounded great.

For the first time I heard a Xin Super-Mini (6.2?) deliberately using a PCDP and each of a) iRiver SlimX-350 earbuds($13.00) and b) Grado SR60($65.00). Listening to the sound of the PCDP unamped and amped through each of the phones, I can say, categorically that the Super-Mini is a Hi-Fi amp, enriching the sound of a good-sounding, but less-than-compelling source in the kinds of ways that I am used to hearing from my PPA. Not to the same degree, but in the same ways. The bass went from decent, moderate(unamped) to full and solid(amped). The mids went from full(unamped) to rich(amped). The highs went from airy and a bit ghostly(unamped) to clear, sweet, refined(amped). I did not notice the soundstage improvement with the Super-Mini that my PPA gives. The sound was overall very pleasantly detailed and intimate.

Also for the first time, I heard a JMT Mint, using the same setup as above, except the amp, with the same headphones. Listening to the sound of the PCDP unamped and amped through each of the phones, I can also say, without reservation, that the Mint is a Hi-Fi amp, enriching the source in the kinds of ways to which my PPA has made me accustomed. The difference between the Mint and the Super-Mini is that the Mint sound was warmer, sweeter, and more liquid than the Super-Mini. Basically, the Mint mildly colors the sound in a very pleasant way that I enjoy hearing for all genres of music. I also did not notice the soundstage improvement with the Mint that my PPA gives. The sound was overall just a shade less detailed than the Super-Mini, but a dollop more intimate.

My personal taste preference between the two goes with the Mint. Part of that goes for my intended application of a portable amp: to warm and sweeten the sound produced by the on-board sound chip of a work-issue computer. The sound starts so chilly and tart that the warm sweetness of the Mint is a good complement to it. With a better source (say, if I were going to bring my PCDP to work) I might prefer the Super-Mini.

As a point of contrast, I tried the Airhead about fifteen months ago, which I sent back after a few weeks (and got a hassle-free refund). Note that this was NOT one of the new vintage Airheads, which I am led to believe is a whole new and improved beast. Also note that I am not a soft touch who calls any electronic device that you can plug headphones into "Hi-Fi".

The most nostalgic piece of equipment at the meet was brought by taylor, whose shopping skill puts all of you ebayers to shame. Taylor saw a Bradford IC FET that had been put out on the curb by its owner, and sniped the trash men. When it comes to gettin' the deal, taylor's " 'da MAN". When I listened to "meddle" by Pink Floyd from the headphone out of this unit through taylor's Sony MDR-V6's, because of its similarity to the sound of my headphone rig back in college (30 years ago), I got the full associative memory flashback triggered by the sound. It was great!!! The Bradford IC FET drove the V6's well, producing a very musical and involving Pink Floyd sound.

Now, on to the Singlepower PPX3:
I had previously heard Canman's RKV MKII tube amp, and had loved it ($1200.00). I was expecting a substantial step down from the PPX3 based on its $400-ish price tag (I learned NOTHING from my experience with the low priced SS amps). I was a bit shaken by the high quality of the sound that I heard from the PPX3 (kind of like when you drink what you think is water and it turns out to be Seven-Up). The warmth, sweetness, refinement and liquidity of the sound caused something inside me to melt a little. A slow lyrical piece was playing. I asked Hirsch, whose PPX3 it was, "How does it do with electronic music with lots of fast, short, sharp transients?". Hirsch's reply was, "Try it and see." So, I did. The PPX3 did NOT lose the detail or prolong the rapid attacks or decays of the high-frequency rapid-fire transients. The liquidity did NOT mean smoothing. Impact? If you hit liquid abruptly and fast enough, it feels like concrete. When the signal hits you fast and hard, the PPX3 delivers it with all of the impact I've heard from a SS amp. I'm really enjoying my PPA now, and have no plans on replacing it. But if I were to be looking for something else some day, at its price point and sound quality, the PPX3 will be on my short list of candidates.

The MPX3:
When I heard the latest production Singlepower MPX3 being fed by Canman's Wadia source, the experience which overtook me is best characterized by sweetness and refinement. On my hit-the-lottery wish list is to have an MPX3 for classical. Not to say that it could not handle every genre of music that I could throw at it. But, based on what I have heard to date, if I could spare the cash flow to get one, the price would be well worth it if all I used it for was to listen to classical music. Since, at its higher price point, the MPX3 is NOT likely to be on my short list for a future purchase, I did not spend much time auditioning it with other genres. But the sweetness and refinement that I heard coming from both Canman's Wadia and the MPX3 are definitely worth commenting on.

The HE60:
I'm left with two lasting memories from my listening on the HE60.

One is the life-size aural images they present. With my rig, I would say that I get half-to-three-quarters size aural images. The sound is great - so present that I often mistake it for sounds in the room and turn my head to see what is making it. But instruments and people in the aural images I get are not full life-size. Well, they are with the HE60. I was listening to a woman singing. I got the aural equivalent of a close-up shot of her head: lots of intimacy and detail and a life-size head and mouth. The instruments were "off-screen" if you will, but full size.

My second lasting memory of the HE60 is the blackness and cleanness of the background. This is one headphone of which I truly say that "What you DO hear is because of what you DON'T hear." With such a low background, really faint sounds made by the singers lips touching or coming apart when they are getting ready to sing again are audible and live/natural - NOT over-amped sounding (like bugs feet pattering on leaves in a nature documentary). The blackness of the background very much puts you close to the singer, able to hear the nuances of the performance, intended and otherwise. Very live and natural intimacy.

It's great to know that this is what headphones CAN do. It's just a matter of time before phones at my price point ($100.00 - $200.00) will be able to do it. It will be exciting if that happens in my lifetime.

The horizons, possibilities and resources in the headphone world that I got to sample at the meet were GREAT!!! Where else in the world (except for another Head-Fi meet) could I have listened to everything that I got to experience first-hand at the meet? It's not cost effective for even people who sell this stuff to set it up to let people listen to it. No, my being able to sample tens of thousands of dollars of audio equipment happened because of the open-handed generosity of the participating Head-Fi members. Is Head-Fi falling down, or on its last legs, or about to disappear as we know it? I did not see that yesterday.
It is in this context that I want to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Hirsch, CD44hi, Canman, LTUCCI1924, taylor, and stymie miasma for sharing their gear with the rest of us. And a special thanks to Hirsch and CD44hi who put in a marathon day to join us (with lotsa gear to set up and take down) from Maryland. My thanks to Larry at Headphile for donating the 1m Silver mini-RCA IC as a give-away at the meet. CD44hi was the drawing winner. Thanks to LTUCCI1924 for donating several very nice door prizes for the meet. Rycet and Canman were the drawing winners for those prizes.

After all that, I reassembled my rig back in the office of my home, settled back in my comfy chair, slipped on my AKG K240S and listened to the "Comatised" album by Leona Naess. It never sounded so sweet.

 

[Tuberoller]

Who's the handy old Leatherneck in the top pic. I see the Tat and know that's from days gone by. Semper Fi brother!

 

[sacd lover]

Any consensus among the attendees as to whether they prefer the singlepower ppx3 or mpx3? I have compared the two myself and they are both top notch amps. I found the mpx3 sounded more "audiophile" and refined, while the ppx3 was more musical to me. I am curious which amp you like best, irrespective of cost.

 

[taylor]

Another great thing about the meet is, not only do you listen to other peoples setups, you try them on, and you can swap around gear to see how they sound in your setup.

Personally, I was interested in trying on grados. Back when i got my V6s I had chosen them over the SR-60. I had wondered whether I made a good decision. So, at the meet, i plugged in the HP1000s and compared them to the V6s. Surprisingly, the HP1000s seemed bright and dry whilst the the V6s were far more musical. I am very happy with my decision getting the V6s, because now that I've compared them to other headphones I know I made a good decision.

We had the whole headphone spectrum there, ranging from Steve's $12 earbuds to Brians KGSS and Omega IIs. And everything in between.

I think the real star of the meet was the Baby Orpheus, it had everyone amazed.

A question for you, Brian. How much did your KGSS cost?

I reccomend all of you to go driving around on Trash Day, it's amazing what audio gear people throw out. Non-audiophile folk often upgade their vintage stereos to new "surround-sound-in-a-box" systems, throwing away very nice gear from the 70s and 80s.

 

[lan]

People liked the HE60 connected to the HEV70 and MP3 player? Most of use didn't like it that much with that amp. Did it have an adaptor to use with 007T amp?