[Bizzel]

Still going!

 

[Duggeh]

Bliss.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by webbie64 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Great to see you all had a great meet - good range of headphones, good amount of time to spend with them (except for Duggeh's self imposed time limitations ).

Oh I was delighted to find the electrostat room empty half the time. Slightly detached from the busy ongoings in the main room, I would sit back and relax to some wonderful tunes.

Quote:

Good to hear that, Duggeh. I think they're the affordable IEM for stat (planar) lovers. They're very neutral and deliver what they are fed. Realise that, as a result, you'll find yourself looking for excellent portable sources and amps to give them what you can (recognising that no portable will deliver what your home system can ). But, yeah, they make portable situations very sweet.

The Livewires were superb. They sounded pretty good even though I couldn't get a perfect seal which gives me reason to believe that these $250 wonders sound more or less as good as my $1000 ACS T2! The Livewires also have a sturdier, user replaceable cable which is a major plus.

Quote:

Supports what spritzer is always telling us - O2 needs something to drive them to their potential; anything less will show up weaknesses (in the overall setup, not necessarilly the O2s). As you know, I share your HE60 enjoyment and am yet to hear an O2 attract me away from that. But I trust spritzer's judgement on this; your posting tends to confirm that assessment.

I really enjoyed listening to the O2. However, switching to the O2 from my HE60-tuned ears was not easy. The whole sound has a different character to it. Even though I have heard it in numerous occasions, it still took me by surprise. Initially, it just sounds like someone had stuffed cotton wool into my ears but after a few minutes of listening, I began to appreciate how wonderfully rich and finely textured the sound is. The performer is put just slightly further away than the Baby O and the bass has an almost dynamic, HD650-like character to it. The attack isn't quite as acute as the HE60 and there is a longer decay. The O2 is so darned hard to drive I don't know if I will ever be able to listen to them the way Spritzer says they should (something I don't think Stax themselves have experienced considering their relatively feeble production amps

)

Quote:

The HE60 also responds well to better amplification. I don't think it's as good a match for a well powered SS amp as it is for a well powered tube amp. I'm sure the Koss ESP950 would impress you from a 717 (better bass response generally, even with the lower bias than what it wants - I can only imagine how it'd shine with the 620volt bias recently documented in the US meet).

If your GES sounds better than the 717, then I would be very tempted. Carl advised me to go for tube hybrid designs. The thought of having to find a quad matched pair of NOS 12AX7s (Mullards!) makes my wallet quiver.

The 717 was only a minor but noticeable and worthwhile improvement on the 006t when I was using the HE60. The HE60 is sounding so good at the moment that any audible improvement will impressed me. The 717 just projects a much better focused image in front of you. The performance seems more alive and less grainy/hazy.

At this point it's between the KGSS and the GES but I will patiently wait until I get the opportunity to listen to one of them. There is no substitute for actually listening to something yourself. From what I saw of the WooAudio 4, Jack really does take quality very seriously. The construction is very solid and the attention to detail is impressive. I believe the WooAudio 4 at the meet had some Auricaps and VCaps in it too. How much do second hand 717s go for? I wouldn't mind stepping up to the 717 while I wait for that day when I can actually afford a 'proper' stat' amp with my own money.

 

[SenjStevo]

Hello all!

Thanks again to Jonathan for providing his awesome pad, and being a great host.

I've not got any comments of value sound wise because it's my first meet and i'm not accustomed to hi-fi at all. I need to listen to my Ergos more and really become familar with their sound and generally listen to more music. I pretty much liked every headphone there, and got to listen to everything to various degrees.

I did listen to Bizzel's 650s and the Ergo 2 side by side and loved them both. I didn't like the 325i however, mainly due to the comfort issues and the harsh cymbal sound.

There was such choice in the high-end department i didn't really know where to start. I enjoyed every moment of the stax(all of them), the HE60, and the K1000. The stax were so comfortable for me and so was the K1000. My high of the meet, apart from the banter that is, was listening to Nirvana Live with the Omega and the K1000 swapping back and forth with lisnalee. Second was listening the Lambda and the HE60 with Jeff Buckley...nice...

Oh yeah and the SqueezeBox was very very pretty, i find myself inexplicably drawn to it, especially after Bizzel showed me how easy it was to use.

Anyways i had a fantasic time, and everyone was really nice. Cheers everybody!

 

[milkpowder]

Paul, your Ergo 2 sounded wonderful from the WooAudio 4. It really gives a new meaning to "looks can be deceiving"

The Ergo 2 is a rather balanced sounding headphone compared to the stock cabled HD650. I also noticed you spent a considerable amount of time in the planar room

I've saved the meet photos to my Picasa album:
Picasa Web Albums - milkpowder - 2008 March 2n...

 

[SenjStevo]

Just getting into the music

...i really need to be on my own to enjoy music i think. Combine that with the insanly comfortable HE60s, and you've got one anti-social Paul!

 

[Bizzel]

I found that all the gear sounded better when I was tired. When I'm nodding off, give me Zu 650s and a good bassline and I'm in pure bliss.

Oh, before I forget. Paul, remember when we were listening to the electrostats quite early on and I asked who was playing? I forget who you said it was, can you jog my memory?

 

[SenjStevo]

That was Jeff Buckley - Grace, his other album "Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" is also fantastic, well disk 1 is anyway.

 

[krmathis]

Looks like you guys had a really nice time.
Lots of nice gear, fellow Head-Fi'ers and hopefully a bit of Gin... Right Duggeh?

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SenjStevo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just getting into the music ...i really need to be on my own to enjoy music i think. Combine that with the insanly comfortable HE60s, and you've got one anti-social Paul!

I've always found the SR-Lambda Pro more comfortable. I prefer the Lambda sound too

Warmer, more interesting, better bass extension and organic sounding. I suspect it is my source that's at fault. The CA 740c's dry sound is not the best match for the HE60. I know it's more expensive, but I've heard the same amp+headphone combo with my dad's Esoteric X-03SE and the HE60 sounds much more balanced and real.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Bizzel /img/forum/go_quote.gif I found that all the gear sounded better when I was tired. When I'm nodding off, give me Zu 650s and a good bassline and I'm in pure bliss.

Zu 650s =

I'd like to hear the APS V3 and the SAA Equinox too. Both seem to get amazing reviews.

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Looks like you guys had a really nice time. Lots of nice gear, fellow Head-Fi'ers and hopefully a bit of Gin... Right Duggeh?

LOL Duggeh didn't touch the Bombay Sapphire at all. Maybe he prefers Tanqueray No.10, which I didn't have at the time

I did admire his left over-beer + cold pizza breakfast regime

 

[lisnalee]

Firstly i'd like to say a big thankyou to milkpowder for his great hospitality and letting me stay over, Top bloke.

Duggeh and Milkpowder have done an excellent job reviewing all the great gear at the meet so i'm not going to try and compete with that.

All the electrostats where amazing, especially the omega2 and HE60. I was also surprised how good the little stax SR-202 sounded in such great company, amazing value for money i reckon. I think i know what i want for my birthday

I really enjoyed listening to the AKG K1000. I hadn't really considered these before, probably due to thier strange looks and ther fact they need feed from a speaker amp but they are actually very comfortable and sounded even better than my HD650zu. Definately the highlight of the meet for me.

Thanks to everyone who let me try out their gear, i had a great time and it was definately worth the flight over.

 

[SenjStevo]

Hey there lisnalee! How was your trip back? I got home at an unearthly 4:00 after much cursing of buses and walking.

One of things that really surprised me about the K1000 was the comfort too, and the size! It was so small! Did you prefer it to the omega?

Heres something to tempt you...hehe...no wait i'm tempting myself too!
Stax electrostatic earspeaker SRS-2050 Mk II on eBay, also Corded, Headphones, Accessories, Consumer Electronics (end time 05-Mar-08 22:00:00 GMT)


Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've always found the SR-Lambda Pro more comfortable. I prefer the Lambda sound too Warmer, more interesting, better bass extension and organic sounding. I suspect it is my source that's at fault. The CA 740c's dry sound is not the best match for the HE60. I know it's more expensive, but I've heard the same amp+headphone combo with my dad's Esoteric X-03SE and the HE60 sounds much more balanced and real.

What about the SR-Lambda Pro's sound stage? I think i remember you saying it was a bit artificial? These were dead comfortable for me too, but your the best judge for extended listening sessions. I would really like to listen to your electrostatics again in the future, after i've fully immersed myself with the Ergos sound, and actually compare them. I curious to see how much of a difference there is to my ears, if it's subtle, a totally different listening experience.

 

[Bizzel]

I've given up on finding a balanced Zu Mobius, their UK distributor doesn't reply to any emails. I'm speaking with Alex at the moment about a balanced APS V3 which I'm sure is equally good.

 

[lisnalee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SenjStevo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey there lisnalee! How was your trip back? I got home at an unearthly 4:00 after much cursing of buses and walking. One of things that really surprised me about the K1000 was the comfort too, and the size! It was so small! Did you prefer it to the omega? Heres something to tempt you...hehe...no wait i'm tempting myself too! Stax electrostatic earspeaker SRS-2050 Mk II on eBay, also Corded, Headphones, Accessories, Consumer Electronics (end time 05-Mar-08 22:00:00 GMT)

The journey home was fine, i got in about 9pm on sunday night. Work on monday eneded up being a killer 18 hrs, not what i needed after being away all weekend.

Yeah i prefered the k1000 more to the omega probably due to the fact that the sound stage is a lot bigger when you open the wings out

Snap i'm watching the same 2050II at the moment, im sure they'll go for a lot more thant £102 but if they end up in and around £200 i might have to clear some space for them...

 

[Duggeh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif LOL Duggeh didn't touch the Bombay Sapphire at all. Maybe he prefers Tanqueray No.10, which I didn't have at the time I did admire his left over-beer + cold pizza breakfast regime

I'd had more gin than was healthy the previous night, hence the stinking hangover and alte arrival. That's why I stuck to the beer. The cold leftover pizza and last nights open beer was an awesome breakfast though, especially followed up with the ready made pasta and Mars bar egg. A weekend of aural and oral decadence