[remilard]

The Sony SA5K was the thing I liked the most at this meet. It expected it to be bright but it wasn't. It has a very clean and detailed sound, fairly upfront with a wide soundstage. This is the first headphone I've heard that is significantly different from the senns, but that I still like a lot.

The Sony CD3000 was better than I expected, I found it a bit bright but not more so than the Grados. The soundstage was very wide, this seems to be what the Sonys do well to me.

I heard the A900 and A700 for the first time. I had read that the sound signature of the A700 was completely different, that wasn't what I heard. To my ears the sound was similar with the A900 sounding cleaner in the highs and a bit tighter in the bass.

The modded Grado SR225 with C pads was the best Grado I've heard (which includes the entire prestige series less the 325i). The C pads do wonders for the comfort without sacrificing anything with respect to sound in my opinion. As with every time I listen to Grados I really appreciate why people like them but I reaffirmed that they aren't for me.

I did some AB with the SA5Ks between the benchmark dac1 and Zemo's modded EMU 0404 with his amp (not sure which type of amp). I found the benchmark cleaner and that it had better dynamics, also a slightly more forward sound. The differences were pretty minor though and I'm guessing the benchmarks edge was in the D/A conversion and not the amplification. I should have hooked the amp up to the benchmark but never got around to it.

I also ABd Zemo's portable amp with a headsave home vibe with the Grados and found them to be very similar. I think some people preferred Zemo's amp with the Senns but the home vibe had been built for Grados.

And finally, Zemo's CDP (forget which model) and Budgie's amp (which he described in technical terms I don't understand) sounded great.

 

[Zemo]

Checked out the CD3k's...you can hear a similar sound to the SA5k's, with the SA5k being far more balanced and clean sounding throughout. bass on the SA5k's was quite a bit nicer as well. I didn't like the way the CD3k's fit at all. Loose and sloppy, yet uncomfortable, with strange pressure on the ears.

The Sony F1's where there...surprising, I actually liked them! Not as much as I like my 5k's, but still plenty. A fairly smooth and rich sound, with more detail than senn's, but lacking a bit in the bass. Also, the highs sounded a bit rolled off. Strange feeling being as open as they were.

Listened to several pairs of grados, modded grados, etc, and reaffirmed what I already believed...Grado's are not for me. Bright, sibilant, harsh....yuck.

Listened to the Senn HD650's...again, no longer my cup-o-tea (I used to love my 600's). I gave up my Senn-loving when I realized that the soundstage is narrow and compressed. Non-fatiguing and clean highs were nice, but not worth the hit to positioning.

Listened to some Shure E2c's...good cans! Solid for portables under $100. They're no westone UM2's, but they're good for the price.

The Benchmark Dac1 sounded very good! Better than my half-hearted pimeta (that's what that amp was, remilard). If I wanted to undo all the goodness in the analog stage of my soundcard and upgraded njoe tjoeb CD 4000, DAC's might be fun to play with.

The A900 vs A700 comparison was similar to my feelings of the A900 vs A500 comparison I did some time back. The A900 sounds more smooth and balanced. Cleaner throughout. A700 is still very good. better than the A500, I'd say. Not a ton, but enough.

Speaking of my amps, I'd love to hear if you guys heard anything you didn't like about them....I can still alter stuff a bit before I move beyond the prototypes.

 

[devwild]

Many many thanks to Budgie for arranging this great meet and the trouble he went through to make it happen. Now we need to have another just so someone can bring a camera

I think the SA5000 was pretty much a star of the show in the full size cans. I thought the sound was just beautiful, and surprisingly I felt that some of its soundstaging and balance held more in common with my 595s than the 650s or CD3Ks, though obviously of higher quality and more lively sound signature.

Several people commented that the MDR-F1 was a nice surprise and I have to agree. I think for piano and guitar - which are two of my favorite types of music - they are the coolest headphones I've heard.

To my ears the A700s and A900s were pretty darn close to each other, well within the price range and probably within psycological adaptation - there were some differences though and I will detail those in an addendum to my A700 review. It might be worth it to compare again after I Blu-tac the A700 since I think some of the difference is in the lack of internal foam and thinner shell.

Pleasantly, what I heard made me pretty happy with my setup which means I actually walked away not wanting to spend more money

. I satisfied my curiosity about the HD650s and CD3Ks... I still prefer my 595s and grados. Might need to save for a good long while for a pristine source/amp/SA5000 combo though.

I think though, this was as much about the people as the headphones. It was fun to meet you all and we had some great conversations. It seemed most everyone walked away with some useful information/ideas.

I look forward to the next time we can get together, and keeping in touch with folks in the area (and as they get them, more toys to test!).

cya 'round town and 'round the boards

dev*

 

[Gigabomber]

Was a great experience and the beginnings of a strong core group for future head-fi meets in Oregon.
Great company and fun for all!
We will have to arrange another very soon,
preferably near the bose retailer

P.S. finally confirmed my suspicion that Westones give Etys a thorough beatdown (for 130 bucks more).

 

[Thaddy]

Zemo which amps where in attenadance at the Portland meet? I'm interested to see how the faired in their debut

 

[Zemo]

Epsilon, Mu, and Lambda were all there, with the Mu getting the most airtime.

 

[james__bean]

I wish I hadn't slept in, this was a fun crowd to talk to and I didn't get a chance to talk to everyone.

I really wanted to get some listening time in though, espeically to compare the SA5k's with my A900's. Maybe next time I'll go to bed earlier than 6:00am.

Anyways, on to impressions. To expand on what everyone else has said already about the A700/A900, one thing I found was that the A700's become pretty sloppy, especially in the treble when you turned up the volume, (passed my normal listening levels but certainly well within others I know on head-fi.) They also had more sibilance than the A900. To the A700's credit though, I felt they were a little more balanced than the A900's at low listening volumes. When doing the A/B comparison, the A900 treble felt more predominant which seemed to make this perceived seperation between the lows and highs compared to the A700's. Despite this, when you turned up the volume the A900's filled out well while the A700's just became sloppier. These differences are not as night and day as I make them out to be though, it took me at least 20 minutes to make out these differences.

The SA5000's were the star of the meet for me though. I spent the majority of my time there listening to them with the 1212m and Benchmark Dac1. The great thing about these headphones is that they have sooo much detail and soundstage but they aren't sibilant like the CD3000's. They also have some pretty good bass that lets you know its presence on the right tracks. The SA5000's are some really great cans.

Still, I don't know if these are the headphones for me. Dont' get me wrong, the detail was great for a lot of things like guitars, pianos, etc, but there was some hip-hop I listened to (DJ Shadow and some Nu-Mark) where they have samples from records. You could actually pick out the pops from the record when listening. I'm not just saying that you could hear the pops. There was so much detail that it seemed to grab that sound and bring it out and seperate it from the other sounds. It just seems like these headphones are unnaturally detailed and it causes you to listen to the headphones rather than the music. I listen to a lot of different genres though, with the California Guitar Trio track that I listened to, these headphones were absolutely outstanding.

I wish I had gotten there earlier though as I didn't get a chance to listen to any jazz with the SA5000's and compare with the Senn 650's. (Actually I didn't even listen to the 650's

) Oh well, there's always the next meet, in Portland or Seattle.

 

[seeberg]

Alright! Time to jump in...
First off, I didn't try any of the Audio Technicas except to put them on-very comfortable. The Sony MDR F1's, SA5k's and the Senn HD595 weren't tried either, due to my preoccupation with the other cans at the meet, but I'd certainly love to have a listen (at my unusually high listening volume, good thing it doesn't kill my ears) in future meets, which I'm totally up for.

What I absolutely loved were the Westone UM2's and the Ety ER4P +S adaptor in either form. They sounded just about perfect, although the HD650's had this impact to their sound using stock cables that was like nothing I've heard. It would have been even better had I routed my player through the balanced cables that were with it, but I didn't see any inputs for it. Another time, perhaps?

I also finally got my opportunity to try out the Grado Flat pads! Very comfortable and ANY harshness in music is gone, just like that. Worth 30$? Not for my present cans, but 325i's and up or Alessandro MS2i's and up, definitely worth the extra green. I just couldn't get into the Beta C-Pads though; they don't have correct clamping force and angles for my small head, so I had to press them in like Gigabomber to get the best out of them.

Listening to the canalphones at the meet was a great learning experience, as the Koss Plug mod project I brought along with me now has a benchmark for the effort that I need to put into it. Of course, they weren't burned in at all- Gigabomber picked me up 15 mins after they arrived in the mail. One thing though: With the e2c clear tips and the Westone short tips, they did sound immediately tolerable. They were the second-cheapest cans at the meet, my iRiver stock buds taking 1st prize on that one.
Quote:

Originally Posted by devwild Many many thanks to Budgie for arranging this great meet and the trouble he went through to make it happen. Now we need to have another just so someone can bring a camera I think though, this was as much about the people as the headphones. It was fun to meet you all and we had some great conversations. It seemed most everyone walked away with some useful information/ideas. I look forward to the next time we can get together, and keeping in touch with folks in the area (and as they get them, more toys to test!). cya 'round town and 'round the boards dev*

Agreed on that one, Dev. Budgie pulled it all off and I couldn't ask for better-well, except for more cans and people next time-If I can get rid of my SR125's I brought, I can get a 4MP digital camera for the next meet. I need one anyway. And yeah, the people that came to the meet were great, hospitable folks with tons of great stories and experiences, not forgetting the discussions about source materials and stuff. Sorry again if I contributed any accidental earwax to anyones' pads- I hope that gunk is washable!
Quote:

Originally Posted by Gigabomber We will have to arrange another very soon, preferably near the bose retailer

Bodies will roll and egos will turn cold on that day of THE BOSENING!
Before I wrap up, I should mention that Remilard gave Gigabomber and I some Ety grey foam tips, which was awesome. Respeck Nuckles, bro!
Here's a quote from my posts at liquidtheater.com that might bring a laugh or two:
"I used to believe in Bose, but Bose didn't answer my prayers and I became disillusioned from the Church of Bose. Now I can hear all kinds of great music the way it was meant to be heard, my balding head of hair grew back, now I date supermodels, gas is cheaper at the pump, and food even tastes better! Did I mention I grew 6 inches in that special of places? It's awesome!"
Take it easy,
Abe

 

[Thaddy]

So where are all the pics!

 

[Gigabomber]

we all forgot to bring cameras, but we won't forget the next time. It's a shame too, woulda been nice to post pictures of the
Quote:

Originally Posted by remilard orpheus, two qualias and all those strippers.

and the
Quote:

Originally Posted by seeberg free money and monkey knife fights. Man, my vote was for Furious George all the way!

That should get a couple more people to show next time 8) we peaked at nine people I think: too many strippers to handle

 

[Zemo]

In all honestly, I think there was too much Gigabomber for those strippers to handle!

 

[seeberg]

You -really- want pics, Thaddy? I'm sure someone here could do ASCII illustrations for ya. We all know what I look like after trying out the selection of canalphones:
-

- /U\
- J L
I know, I know, it doesn't capture the emotion provoked while wearing the Westones or the Etys, but the innovative use of J and L for my legs cannot go unnoticed... ha ha ha,
Abe

 

[Budgie]

The meet was fun and we will defineatly do it again. I will start looking for locations right away. Lets try to make the next one bigger and better. Any ideas can be sent to me by PM.

(On sunday I discovered a blown diode and an intermittant connection in my cd player that acounted for it's unusual behaviors at the show. I thought it was sounding a bit odd.

)

 

[devwild]

Wait a minute, no one mentioned the tests of the portable cd and mp3 players with isolation cones? Where's the exclamation of the outstanding improvement they provided?!

 

[remilard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by devwild Wait a minute, no one mentioned the tests of the portable cd and mp3 players with isolation cones? Where's the exclamation of the outstanding improvement they provided?!

I didn't participate in that, but I will say the cones really helped Zemo's soundstage and imaging.