Jul 28, 2024 at 10:00 PM Post #2 of 30
Cross-posting from the pre-meetup thread:

Great meetup!!! Met a lot of old friends, and made a couple new ones.
Huge surprise: unexpected appearance made by my good friend @bigbeans and his super awesome dad.
I may post some photos later, but honestly I took very very few photos...

I would like to thank Schiit Audio and Woo Audio for sponsoring the venue and lunch (respectively), and @DeviousEnigma Vince for organizing :pray:
 
Jul 28, 2024 at 10:17 PM Post #3 of 30
Had a great time, as always. Thank you to the sponsors, Schiit Audio and Woo Audio, and to Vince for putting this all together.

Brought my Diana TC and finally got to test it against the Diana DZ and MR. And I got to hear my TC with the absolutely incredible Woo Audio WA23 Luna amplifier. This thing is a beast and has now ruined me, as I now know what kind of thumping, rumbling, slamming bass my TC is actually capable of. I'm thrilled and angry at the same time :)

Another surprise was how much I enjoyed the latest sub-$1000 entry-level headphone + amp combo from Stax: the SR-X1 headphones + SRM-270 energizer. I've heard Stax' entire range of offerings, all the way up to the 9000 paired with the Blue Hawaii, and I can say that the value proposition here is incredible. $980! The SR-X1 also does bass surprisingly well. It's not as good as the 007's or 9000, but for only $500?! Come on.

I didn't get to try the Susvara Unveiled; I'll wait for CanJam SoCal for that one.

I did try the Caldera Closed, after spending some time with the Caldera Open a couple months back. Zach hit a home run with the Caldera, both the open and closed. The Caldera Closed is the best sounding closed-back I've heard. I'm not sold on the cup shape, but that is a minor quibble for such a well-tuned, spacious sounding headphone. It's the ZMF house sound, taken to another level.

Thanks again to Vince, for organizing this. Looking forward to the next one.

D
 
Jul 28, 2024 at 10:56 PM Post #4 of 30
Certainly an EXCELLENT meet, well done Vince & all the volunteers and coordinators.

I went just to listen to the new Stax SR-X1, and it certainly is an excellent modern entry to electrostats, worthy of the SR-X moniker (I am a die hard SR-X mk3 fanatic), even if it is a somewhat different and fresh direction. Thank you to the Stax representative who came down and had these units for us to listen to.

I posted my thoughts on the SR-X1 in the thread dedicated to it.
 
Jul 29, 2024 at 12:15 AM Post #5 of 30
Another surprise was how much I enjoyed the latest sub-$1000 entry-level headphone + amp combo from Stax: the SR-X1 headphones + SRM-270 energizer. I've heard Stax' entire range of offerings, all the way up to the 9000 paired with the Blue Hawaii, and I can say that the value proposition here is incredible. $980! The SR-X1 also does bass surprisingly well. It's not as good as the 007's or 9000, but for only $500?! Come on.

I went just to listen to the new Stax SR-X1, and it certainly is an excellent modern entry to electrostats, worthy of the SR-X moniker (I am a die hard SR-X mk3 fanatic), even if it is a somewhat different and fresh direction. Thank you to the Stax representative who came down and had these units for us to listen to.
Have you guys tried the SR-X1 on the Woo WA7e amplifier? What an awesome combo!!! Highly recommended (and thinking about the WA7e... :grimacing:)
 
Jul 29, 2024 at 12:24 AM Post #6 of 30
Have you guys tried the SR-X1 on the Woo WA7e amplifier? What an awesome combo!!! Highly recommended (and thinking about the WA7e... :grimacing:)
I didn't try the WA7 and I don't know why I didn't; it was literally right in front of me. At that point, I was still reeling from having just tried the WA23, so I wasn't thinking straight.
 
Jul 29, 2024 at 12:37 AM Post #7 of 30
I didn't try the WA7 and I don't know why I didn't; it was literally right in front of me. At that point, I was still reeling from having just tried the WA23, so I wasn't thinking straight.
WA7e (not to be confused with the original WA7...) ;-)
Yeah, the WA23 is pretty awesome. I can definitely see how that would have distracted you :laughing:
 
Jul 29, 2024 at 12:58 AM Post #8 of 30
WA7e (not to be confused with the original WA7...) :wink:
Yeah, the WA23 is pretty awesome. I can definitely see how that would have distracted you :laughing:
Yup. Forgot the "e" :) I'll see if I can try the SR-X1 with the WA7e at CanJam. I suspect it may not be possible, unless Stax and WooAudio share a room.

Speaking of the WA7 (non-e), I owned the gen 3 but it didn't have the juice to really drive my TC and the bass sounded too lean as a consequence. The WA23 did not have the problem. I honestly am still trying to wrap my head around how well the WA23 paired with the TC.
 
Jul 29, 2024 at 1:00 AM Post #9 of 30
It was a pleasure meeting everyone!

Being an IEM guy I spent all the time at the MusicTeck booth. Fantastic people hosting there, as expected!

The Subtonic Storm was a standout experience! What a complete one-and-done musical experience that thing provides! Also never heard any other IEM scale with sources that much and also respond so positively to cable-rolling.

The Traillii Ti was great too, though candidly I feel Subtonic has created something a level above all other IEMs, and that includes the Ti and my own JP version.

My surprise finds of the day were the Elysian Diva 23 and the VE Aura. With the tuning switch set to neutral, I won't be surprised if I end up liking it more than their flagship Anni 23. It was clean, impactful, and dynamic.
The VE Aura had some amazing imaging going for it and bass was wonderful as well. I think I would still prefer the VE10 though due to the 10's darker, more mature treble.

Being a fan of how the RSV sounded to me at $700, I wanted to like the Softears Enigma so bad, but unfortunately it came up short for me at the $3500+ asking price.

Finally, the IEM that made me laugh out loud (not grin, laugh!) was the Symphonium Titan. The bass on that thing hit me like a blanket of low end sound! Unique presentation for sure!

Until next time!

Rolu
 
Jul 29, 2024 at 9:55 AM Post #10 of 30
Yup. Forgot the "e" :) I'll see if I can try the SR-X1 with the WA7e at CanJam. I suspect it may not be possible, unless Stax and WooAudio share a room.

Speaking of the WA7 (non-e), I owned the gen 3 but it didn't have the juice to really drive my TC and the bass sounded too lean as a consequence. The WA23 did not have the problem. I honestly am still trying to wrap my head around how well the WA23 paired with the TC.

My findings on the Wa7 with the TC were the same. Couldn’t quite get there.

How do you find the DZ compares to the TC?
 
Jul 29, 2024 at 2:45 PM Post #11 of 30
My findings on the Wa7 with the TC were the same. Couldn’t quite get there.

How do you find the DZ compares to the TC?
Hi Luke.
Good to hear from you.

These kind of events tend to be on the louder side, as you probably know. It makes it challenging to get a real impression, particularly with open backs, as you end up having to blast an amp's volume to unsafe levels, to rise above the din of the room. And even then, you still end up hearing conversations from those around you and even THEIR music coming through their headphones (since they, too, are blasting their headphones).

Still, I did notice differences in the bass, at least in quantity (as it was impossible to assess *quality* in that environment).

Only "lower end" amps (e.g., Woo Audio Tube Mini and WA7), the MR is, by far, the most bass abundant. However, on high end amps (like the WA23) the DZ and TC have more and better bass. They scale better than the MR. Also, the DZ and TC's bass is very similar to each other, with only a slight edge to the DZ. Interestingly, when I swapped the TC's ear pads for the DZ's new hybrid pads, the bass quantity improved on the TC. That makes any bass differences even less significant.

For sound stage, which is reportedly wider on the DZ, I couldn't hear a difference in that loud environment.

The DZ was lighter than the TC, though that's not a major thing for me, as the TC is already a light headphone. Something I did like is the new head strap. I just wish Abyss would allow existing TC owners to upgrade to that strap as well.

I took pictures (see attached pics) of the MR, DZ and TC's inner headband and screws, and they look identical to me, so I don't understand why Abyss isn't able to give an upgrade path to existing TC owners. Albeit, I didn't bust out my calibers, but they looked identical.

The DZ is an upgrade from the TC, but only incrementally so. Since new TCs also include the new head strap, that is a wash. The DZ has *slightly* more bass, is lighter, and has a wider soundstage (which I couldn't hear, but assume to be true).

If I were buying a Diana, new, and I didn't own a Diana, I would absolutely choose the DZ. No doubt. But, I already own the TC, and I just don't see enough compelling reasons to upgrade, when they are more similar than different.

I would argue that the DZ should actually be called the TC 2 (or TC 1.5) as it has relatively minor improvements over the TC. I don't see any reason that Abyss should continue to offer the TC for sale, since the DZ is also $500 cheaper. (And I say this as someone who loves their TC.)
 

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Jul 29, 2024 at 3:37 PM Post #12 of 30
Hi Luke.
Good to hear from you.

These kind of events tend to be on the louder side, as you probably know. It makes it challenging to get a real impression, particularly with open backs, as you end up having to blast an amp's volume to unsafe levels, to rise above the din of the room. And even then, you still end up hearing conversations from those around you and even THEIR music coming through their headphones (since they, too, are blasting their headphones).

Still, I did notice differences in the bass, at least in quantity (as it was impossible to assess *quality* in that environment).

Only "lower end" amps (e.g., Woo Audio Tube Mini and WA7), the MR is, by far, the most bass abundant. However, on high end amps (like the WA23) the DZ and TC have more and better bass. They scale better than the MR. Also, the DZ and TC's bass is very similar to each other, with only a slight edge to the DZ. Interestingly, when I swapped the TC's ear pads for the DZ's new hybrid pads, the bass quantity improved on the TC. That makes any bass differences even less significant.

For sound stage, which is reportedly wider on the DZ, I couldn't hear a difference in that loud environment.

The DZ was lighter than the TC, though that's not a major thing for me, as the TC is already a light headphone. Something I did like is the new head strap. I just wish Abyss would allow existing TC owners to upgrade to that strap as well.

I took pictures (see attached pics) of the MR, DZ and TC's inner headband and screws, and they look identical to me, so I don't understand why Abyss isn't able to give an upgrade path to existing TC owners. Albeit, I didn't bust out my calibers, but they looked identical.

The DZ is an upgrade from the TC, but only incrementally so. Since new TCs also include the new head strap, that is a wash. The DZ has *slightly* more bass, is lighter, and has a wider soundstage (which I couldn't hear, but assume to be true).

If I were buying a Diana, new, and I didn't own a Diana, I would absolutely choose the DZ. No doubt. But, I already own the TC, and I just don't see enough compelling reasons to upgrade, when they are more similar than different.

I would argue that the DZ should actually be called the TC 2 (or TC 1.5) as it has relatively minor improvements over the TC. I don't see any reason that Abyss should continue to offer the TC for sale, since the DZ is also $500 cheaper. (And I say this as someone who loves their TC.)

Thanks for taking the time to post some well thought out impressions! I figured they wouldn’t be much different.

It’s my understanding that Abyss now offers to add the headband to existing Diana models. I know someone over in the Diana thread got a strap on added to their MR. It may be worth shooting them an email.
 
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Jul 29, 2024 at 4:05 PM Post #13 of 30
Thanks for taking the time to post some well thought out impressions! I figured they wouldn’t be much different.

It’s my understanding that Abyss now offers to add the headband to existing Diana models. I know someone over in the Diana thread got a strap on added to their MR. It may be worth shooting them an email.
Yup, already did, a month ago. They replied that the existing TCs out there aren't compatible:
"...That is only for new sales. Any new TC have been made using parts compatible with the MR/DZ headband. But those are the only TC that work with it..."
 
Jul 29, 2024 at 4:25 PM Post #14 of 30
Yup, already did, a month ago. They replied that the existing TCs out there aren't compatible:
"...That is only for new sales. Any new TC have been made using parts compatible with the MR/DZ headband. But those are the only TC that work with it..."

Oh I see. Good to know.
 

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