[devwild]

Thought I'd get this party rollin' early.

So for today's meet, not only to we actually have cameras, but we're also going to provide live updates from time to time throughout the meet. Stay tuned for the good stuff...

...so like, where's all the gear?

 

[devwild]

Might as well take these shots while no one's in the way. Just got my M^3 last night, I had to tear myself away from it to do some cleaning...

 

[remilard]

Those knobs are pimp, should I bring my own drool cup or will you pass them out at the door?

 

[Thaddy]

So like, where's all the updates? Also, did Zemo get his amps to the meet? I'm wondering what the thoughts are about them.

 

[JiiEf]

Give us... pictures and microdac reviews!

/JF

 

[devwild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thaddy So like, where's all the updates? Also, did Zemo get his amps to the meet? I'm wondering what the thoughts are about them.

Absolutely!

more to come, we've spent half our time talking so far and Zemo's disecting every portable amp in sight

 

[Thaddy]

Sweet, I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures of the gear

Looks like you guys are having a good time. I've got a week left until HeadRoom invades my city

 

[james__bean]

microdac sounds good!

I compared the SR71, supermacro and Zemo lambda out of the microdac using the SA5K. My preference is for the lambda with the other two in a tie for second. I want to try this with the 650s which may favor the SR71 more.

edit: Posted by Remilard

 

[Zemo]

M^3 sounds great! Very similar sound to a PPA, with a bit smoother and warmer sound, more forgiving. Very enjoyable.

SA1000 vs SA5000 - SA1k's sound like toys in comparison. They feel cheaply made and flimsy, and sound about the same. Both are very detailed and highly resolving, but the SA1k's sound loose and unbalanced, with some high freq spikes, and a thin low end. Of course, take all these horrible and derogitory terms with a grain of salt, they're all relative to the SA5k's!

 

[devwild]

I haven't done MicroDAC vs Benchmark yet, but I have done the onboard of the Onix XCD-88 vs the benchmark and micro each indivivdually (all through the M^3). The most amazing thing I've noticed is just how close each of these pairings are. I think this points more to the quality of the Onix DAC than anything, but I sure would like to get some more listening in a quieter environment.

Some of Seeberg's pics:

 

[devwild]

Additional comment on the sound of the SA1000s - they respond *amazingly* well to the subtle and clean bass boost of the Rockhopper M^3. You can even out the frequency quite a bit before you hear any bloat. Made me "wow"

 

[tyrion]

It looks like you guys are having a great time. Keep the impressions and pics coming.

Edited by moderator

 

[Gigabomber]

Tried them both through the midified Scd-C555ES player through the Emmeline HR-2 and was blown away by how different the Senns were with the Cardas.
I can hear the "inorganic" sound that a few folks have mentioned with the Sonys and it turns me off in the A/B test, along with their relative brightness over the HD650s. The Sonys were much more comfortable, but the bright edge and the lower level of detail (again doing A/B) has made me into a Senn believer instead of a naysayer. I listened to one electronic and one Opera CD, and felt so strongly about the above impressions that I didn't listen to any others, yet.

Stay tuned for heads up reviews of the amp trio, sr-71, sm3 and Zemos lamda.
So far, my initial reaction was toward the SR-71 sound over the SM3 and that Zemo's at least stands up to those heavies, but we will see how I feel about this later on.

~Gigs

 

[james__bean]

I got a chance to listen to the SA1000's as well. They sound pretty good for their price, however they are lean in the bass in comparison to the SA5000's. Not much of a surprise there though considering the price difference. The SA1000's also sound harsh in the high end. I also found the SA5000's to have a more balanced sound with better soundstage. I think for the price, they are pretty good headphones, but they aren't in the same league as the SA5000's. I compared both on the M^3. The bass boost was really helpful for the SA1000's. More to come later..

 

[devwild]

The shootout of the portables:

Gigabomber's comments on these will be much more detailed I think... he's the comparison king today, notepad and all.

Listening to the three myself with SA5000s (one of the 3 pairs here!), I found the SMv3 w/ OPA627 most pleasing, but I own it, so I'm biased.

I found Zemo's Lambda and the SR-71 quite close to each other actually, with the SM having more subdued treble that those two and a more "round" sound (fuller to some people), which I personally like with the SA5000. The signature balance of the Lambda and the SR-71 is a little different, but the overall feel is almost identical to me. Considering the Lambda is less than half the price of the SR-71 I think it would be an outsanding substitute for those looking at Ray's amp.

Late Edit to clear up a question: the SM had OPA627 op amps, while the Lambda is AD based. Many have speculated, and I agree after listening compared with other AD based amps, that the SR-71 is AD based as well. This may be the source of most of the similarities/differences we heard. I hope to get a chance to swap in my AD8610s, or maybe some Class A forced AD op amps like Xin is pushing now, into the SM and listen again some time. It would most certainly change the results, though how I'm not sure.