The whole day of the meet was great. Had Breakfast will old and new Head-fiers. Actually got to bring gear so it was great for me. Was a little nervous setting up a meet in the Museum. I know how we get sometimes..But the set up went smoother than expected. The Frye Art Museum crew where amazing, we needed something BAM it was there. They moved the tables and provided power strips. It was great to see Doc B and Queen Eileen of BottleHead. Some of the nicest MOT's on the planet. We even had a new MOT Darin (fork) of Jaguar Audio Designs. What was that amp he brought ? It had the blackest background? And the Burson with the clear top was pretty cool to look at.
After a couple hours things settled down it was pretty laid back. It was cool to watch peeps listen to Doc B. The guy can work a crowd. I got pic's... We had some good interaction with the public. Seeing a guy with suit and tie with his hd800's was cool, so was the lady in the fur jacket listening to gear. We even got the curator and a docent or two to listen to rigs. It was kinda unsuspecting to have people ask us how we get together and when and where. Equus was the Man...
Yeah we had a couple hiccups but all in all the meet was fantastic. Got to meet a lot of new people. That is a great sign in this hobby.
After we packed up we went to Von Trapps up the street. That place is huge. They are big enough to handle us without even blinking. Old school German Bier Haus. The food is spot on. Everybody loved the food, but the 100 taps didn't hurt either. I did take a lot of pictures but the are on my phone. may need a little help posting them. Will post more in a bit.
Gil, that is the HPA-21 SATRI Headphone Amplifier that Darin showed. With my early MkII Audez'e LCD-2 the connection marked "current" produced loose bass and all registers lacked speed. The connection marked "voltage" sounded fabulous.
As others have said the venue was beautiful, the museum staff were very accommodating and everyone seemed to be enjoying the event.
It was good to see museum-goers listening to gear and asking questions. Some of them were doubtlessly impressed.
Thanks to everyone for attending and helping to make the meet a success.
Stan
Thanks all for a great meet. Very illuminating. Wish I had time to listen to all. Glad I got to hear Eddie Current, liquid Fire, Fostex 900's. Enjoyed meeting folks.
As stated by other members, this was probably one of the most memorable meets I've attended, so a big, big thank you to BIG POPPA for organising the meet, mochimon for getting us the space in the Frye Museum, and the Frye Museum for hosting us!
First of all, the venue itself was just great. There was plenty of floor space for people to walk about/setup our rigs, the lighting was great with both natural and artificial lighting, and the setup/teardown process was very well-organised and neat. Being able to interact with some of the museum visitors was actually more fun than I thought it would be. It was funny to see people's reactions upon entering the room: "woah, what in world is going on in here?!?"
Second of all, I'm really bad at coordinating between Head-Fi and real names, so my apologies for any mix-matching of people.
Thirdly, I did more talking than I did listening for once, which was fun for me. A lot of new faces showed up to this meet and I really enjoyed just talking about audio stuff in general. I actually lost my voice half-way through a conversation with Peter_S. Fortunately, a few gulps of water from the drinking fountain was all I needed to restore my ability to talk. XD
I never did get back to you Peter_S about the external battery pack for the binaural microphones. You basically plug-in the microphones into this hip-belt/battery pack and connect that to your recording device to record louder sounds.
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/MS-TFB-2
Microphone power supply (Battery Modules): For loud recording situations, the mics need more power than a typical recorder can provide. You can also use a battery module to adjust bass response and adjust levels. See the details on each module for features and specifications.
And for those of you who didn't know, I actually did record one video at the meet in an attempt to document peoples' gear. I concurrently recorded the audio track with a pair of binaural microphones and the result is this video:
The after-meet was pretty fun too. I haven't been to Von Trapps before, but it was a lot bigger inside than I thought. Another big thank you to m2man for buying my drink! The Salzburg Ginger Brew drink I ordered was quite delicious and refreshing. I would definitely recommend that drink to anyone who likes ginger. Beware of the spicy mustard they use as the dipping sauce for the pretzels. I made the mistake of putting a bunch of that sauce on my first bite and I had the typical "too much horseradish or wasabi" kind of reaction.
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Some impressions (I'll probably fill this in when I get the time, and these are in no particular order):
gefski's STAX SR-407 was actually somewhat surprising to me since the upper-midrange/lower-treble transition seemed smoother to my ears compared to my SR-207 despite me reading that the Lambda series earspeakers use the same drivers throughout the line. I only briefly listened to the SR-407s, but female vocals and upper guitar notes weren't as "piercing" to me. I got confused with this model since it says "Signature" on the headband, the SR-207 is labeled "Basic," and I thought it was the Lambda Signature, which is different.
Likewise, I was surprised to hear that Peter_S's older 7-bump headband AKG K 701 was a lot smoother and less harsh in the same upper-midrange/lower-treble transition next to my newer 8-bump AKG K 701. I like the older version much more! >.>
I didn't get the chance to really listen to the bone-conducting transducers before the meet, so I spent some time listening to them. They are quite a unique experience, but they are definitely not high-fidelity, at least with these transducers. The treble is pretty much non-existent and the regular spacial cues you get from binaural or panning stereo sounds are kind of lost. Binaural music can still work out though, depending on the instruments used.
You can still hear everything around you, but you can also hear the music playing, as if it were coming from inside of your body (frankly, it is). You don't really feel anything either, which is the weirdest part; you're just hearing the music mysteriously pop out from inside of your head.
"A voice from within" as Carl Sagan once said when explaining Flatland.
The placement of the transducers also makes a huge impact on how they sound. I found the best place to put them is right in front of your ears kind of by your jawline. If you put your fingers there and talk, you can feel the bones vibrate, and that's how bone-conduction works in principle. I'm not entirely sure where the transducers are on the Google Glass, but another area for bone-conduction is somewhere above your ear.
The transducers also have a gel-like material on it similar to what's found on the electrodes of an electrocardiogram. Upon sticking them onto a surface, you can hear an enhanced bass response, similar to the WOWee One due to the vibrations, and that is what you can hear when the transducers are placed on your head. The sound is pretty warm overall.
Watch the video from 12:03-12:55. People at the meet had some fun doing that with the transducers on the folding tables; they literally shook the whole table. XD
I need to give yet another big thank you to palmfish for bringing along the SACD player. It was pretty interesting comparing the CD layer to the 2-channel SACD layer (I tried the multi-channel SACD layer but it sounded weird with stereo headphones). I'm still not convinced that the SACD format, and DSD playback in general, is very beneficial to what us humans can hear compared to a better-quality mastering typically found in so-called HD music, but the SACD layer did sound much more spacious and transparent to my ears when using the STAX system. It sounded quite good to me. I wish I had more SACDs with me at the time so I can have different genres of music to listen to from other record labels. I know Japanese jazz artist Hiromi has a SACD that I checked out from the library at one point, and while browsing the CDs at Easy Street Records, I found a couple SACDs as well as one DXD PCM-recorded album.
Gah, I don't remember the Head-Fi name...it was the table right next to me with the cool Windows tablet and Beyerdynamic T5p setup. That was an interesting headphone. Its frequency response didn't sound very smooth to my ears, but for vocals, I think this would be a great vocal monitor. The noise isolation was also pretty dang good considering it blocked out a lot of the background noise from the noisy room.
On the same setup, the Schiit Lyr/Bifrost combo paired nicely with the AKG K 701 (at least with my 8-bump headband version). I'm used to hearing the K 701 out of the Objective DAC/2 combo, which is known to have a spacious, airy sound, so going to the Lyr/Bifrost combo seemed to be a downgrade in that regards. On the other hand, the K 701 is also known to have a very wide soundstage without much depth, and the Lyr/Bifrost combo did a nice job at rounding the soundstage a little more, making the K 701 have a more layered sound to it/deeper soundstage. Another thing about the Lyr/Bifrost combo was that it seemed to boost the bass response from the K 701, making it have a much punchier bass with more weight as well, something I thought the K 701 was always lacking. The piano and bass featured in the "Skating" song from the Charlie Brown Christmas album were fantastic! I should look into more albums from the Vince Guaraldi Trio as I only know of their music from the Charlie Brown Christmas show. The somewhat harsh and sibilant upper-midrange and lower-treble also seemed to be decreased with the Lyr/Bifrost, and Daft Punk's newest album sounded quite pleasant since I usually get annoyed with the cymbal hits' "tsss" sounds while using the K 701.
I again forgot the owner's Head-Fi name, but the Shure SRH1840 was definitely an interesting listen. They are extremely light-weight and I was really surprised upon holding it in my hand. That being said, the earpieces don't swivel very much, so getting a good seal on my head was kind of tricky. On the Objective DAC/2, they seemed to have a pretty tizzy treble that was too much for my liking, similar to the HE-500 from what I recall from previous meets when I tried them. The midrange as a whole was pretty nice though, and it seemed a bit forward. The infamous bass response definitely sounded a bit lacking to my ears, both in quality and quantity (at least for Daft Punk's Random Access Memories album). There was just something off to me with the bass response from the SRH1840; either the bass was loose and wooly to me, or the timbre was just off.
After trying Equus's LCD-2 Revision 2 on the Objective DAC/2, I actually liked it more than on other rigs I've tried in the past from memory. The midrange still has has that thick kind of sound to it though, which isn't too my liking, and there seemed to be a slight glare of the treble in the frequencies of hi-hats, which got kind of annoying to me. The bass impact was awesome though, and it worked well with something like Fila Brazillia "Heat Death of the Universe" song. Oh man that bass is to die for!
Though I only listened to it for a brief moment (meaning less than a minute), Peter_S's LCD-3 seemed to be a definite step-up in sound quality compared to the just-mentioned LCD-2.2. Airier-sounding, more detail, harder-hitting bass, and a reduced treble glare were what I noticed with the LCD-3. With the increased bass impact and decreased treble glare, I can see why some people call the LCD-3 darker-sounding compared to the LCD-2.
There was so much stuff to do at this meet that I didn't get around trying the HiFiMANs nor the Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro, DT990, and T1 (if it was there) yet again. I still have yet to listen to one of those Beyerdynamic headphones even though someone usually brings one to the meets. And I had no idea Jaguar Audio Design was a new Member of Trade in the area. I totally missed going to that table except for the fancy-looking clear-top Burson Audio amp. :/
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Just a random thing I noticed, a lot of people seemed to have Daft Punk's new Random Access Memories album. It's a really great album overall in my opinion, and I used that album as my main comparison album. I know SD cards, microSD cards, and USB thumb drives were all recommended to bring as a convenient alternative to CDs and whatnot, and I did have those, but they also seem to be kind of a hassle at the same time.
It's a wild throw of the ball, but maybe in the future we can all have a shared album or two for people to use as test albums, and it would make comparing gear easier for new people as opposed to listening to person A's rig with classical music and trying to compare it to person B's rig with electronic music.
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That is just so cool, hahaha. I've always liked looking at electronic equipment with clear cases.
The dark wood is a really nice touch!
I never actually realised how long this DAC is.
JDS Labs C5D hooked up to an Android phone via USB On-The-Go
STAX SR-407 (Signature) on top of the SR-207 (Basic)
palmfish's SACD player
Comparing the two AKG K 701s
The 2 AKG K 701s (the one on top has the old AKG branding logo)
I was so lost in the moment that I didn't get to try the he4 on a lyr or the odyssey. I had them on the Eddie Current but they felt underpowered, they're just very slightly more efficient than he6. There's always a next time to experiment I guess, how often do the meets happen?
And also maybe something to consider for next time. It seems that to really appreciate the auditions you'd need silence or at least minimal noise in the room. Maybe next time we can set time periods of quiet? Say 5 mins every half hour mark? We could set up a station with a clock, operator, and audible/visual ques to let the room know it's quiet time so conversations could come down to whispers and people can time listening to rigs they have major interests in. Not everyone will have the audition they want when they want but at least there'll be the opportunity. Again just an idea.
I was so lost in the moment that I didn't get to try the he4 on a lyr or the odyssey. I had them on the Eddie Current but they felt underpowered, they're just very slightly more efficient than he6. There's always a next time to experiment I guess, how often do the meets happen?
And also maybe something to consider for next time. It seems that to really appreciate the auditions you'd need silence or at least minimal noise in the room. Maybe next time we can set time periods of quiet? Say 5 mins every half hour mark? We could set up a station with a clock, operator, and audible/visual ques to let the room know it's quiet time so conversations could come down to whispers and people can time listening to rigs they have major interests in. Not everyone will have the audition they want when they want but at least there'll be the opportunity. Again just an idea.
Dream on, broomstick cowboy ;>) Herding cats might be easier. If you would like to hear the gear in a quiet environment it would be advisable to get together with the owner at his/her home or your own digs.
The Eddie Current Zana Deux has an L/H setting. I didn't care for the results when using the L setting with similar cans, Audez'e LCD-2. The H setting gave stellar results.
I'm enjoying Peet's Sumatra blue batak peaberry as I write this. Highly recommended.
As stated by other members, this was probably one of the most memorable meets I've attended, so a big, big thank you to BIG POPPA for organising the meet, mochimon for getting us the space in the Frye Museum, and the Frye Museum for hosting us!
Doesn't seem too much ask no? And the Eddie Current just didn't have enough power even at high gain all the way at 4 o'clock. I could've taken it two notches higher but didn't in respect to the owner. Who the way was a nice gentleman, thanks for letting me audition your gear. I spent the longest at that table, I enjoyed the vast binaural selection.
Dream on, broomstick cowboy ;>) Herding cats might be easier. If you would like to hear the gear in a quiet environment it would be advisable to get together with the owner at his/her home or your own digs.
The Eddie Current Zana Deux has an L/H setting. I didn't care for the results when using the L setting with similar cans, Audez'e LCD-2. The H setting gave stellar results.
I'm enjoying Peet's Sumatra blue batak peaberry as I write this. Highly recommended.
@Curbfeeler: What were the classical pieces that you were using for listening evaluation? Could you post or PM me a list. I want to add those to my library. @miceblue: very nice writeup. I missed a lot of the event having so many patrons asking questions.
@Soundsgoodtome: I can get the HE-500 to work ok, but I think the HE-4 with less magnets has a much lower sensitivity that requires either a transformer output such as the EC Balancing Act (missed Josh) or a high current SS such as the Violectric V200. Of course in a very quiet space and listening 15 dB SPL lower might be fine. Thanks for letting me hear the HE-4. The weight difference was considerable.
There were a lot of patrons dropping by for listening and asking questions. Looks on their faces when they heard binaural tracks was priceless. One fellow slapped me on the back and extolled how he felt in the space with the musicians. He grabbed his wife and put the HD800 on her head. Same reaction.
The Zana Deux always runs at full gain (it only lowers the input). You can't hurt it. OTL amps only work with a small selection of HP's. Too bad about the HE-400. I was surprised how well it worked with the Audeze's.
I had a great time as well and enjoyed the venue. Got some great LP rips from HiDef at the bar, so even the after meet was productive. That Bakoon was a nice amp. Tempting. Good thing I didn't bring my LCD-3's, That might have pushed me over the edge. Very tube like with the Fostex's.
Glad I got to hear the Crack with my 650's. Tough to beat for the price. I tried all the different HD-800's and still don't like them, modded or not. The HE-6 was nice, too bad it needs a 110w amp to go with it.
Dream on, broomstick cowboy ;>) Herding cats might be easier. If you would like to hear the gear in a quiet environment it would be advisable to get together with the owner at his/her home or your own digs.
The Eddie Current Zana Deux has an L/H setting. I didn't care for the results when using the L setting with similar cans, Audez'e LCD-2. The H setting gave stellar results.
I'm enjoying Peet's Sumatra blue batak peaberry as I write this. Highly recommended.
Yup, Stan is right. This is a social event with a large number of people who are going to talk to each other. And that very live room would have been impossible to make quiet. I hear the same thing from attendees at trade shows, but you can't make these events into something they are not. It's more like getting a taste of different flavors at a food fair rather than eating in a swanky restaurant. In fact my biggest problem at previous meets has been when a guy camps out at my table for 45 minutes and I get the stinkeye from five other folks who are waiting for a turn to listen. T'was not the the case this time, but at that one we had at the library last year I got a lot of grief at the end about two or three guys who sat at my table most of the afternoon, "critically listening" to their CD collection.
That is partly why I have gone to a preprogrammed playlist. Miceblue's idea of having one selection that is available at every setup is interesting. I have my doubts that there would ever be a concensus of what it should be, but the concept has merit and I would be willing to include a set track or two in our playlist.
That is partly why I have gone to a preprogrammed playlist. Miceblue's idea of having one selection that is available at every setup is interesting. I have my doubts that there would ever be a concensus of what it should be, but the concept has merit and I would be willing to include a set track or two in our playlist.
Love the list idea. Most people could handle it, even if we have some hold outs.
Base heavy: Something off that Daft Punk hi-res album for a nice bass heavy track.
Male Vocals: the Head-Fi test disk at HDTracks has one.
Female Vocals: sounds like Krall is out. How about Emily Barker? There's hires tracks at Linn. I at least saw that Peter had this album.
Classical: I'm out of my league now
Jazz: ???
Rock: the Van Halen 24x96 is great. You can hear each track floating at exact points in space.
Bob and John had a pile of test tracks...hopefully they'll pipe up.
Yup, Stan is right. This is a social event with a large number of people who are going to talk to each other. And that very live room would have been impossible to make quiet. I hear the same thing from attendees at trade shows, but you can't make these events into something they are not. It's more like getting a taste of different flavors at a food fair rather than eating in a swanky restaurant. In fact my biggest problem at previous meets has been when a guy camps out at my table for 45 minutes and I get the stinkeye from five other folks who are waiting for a turn to listen. T'was not the the case this time, but at that one we had at the library last year I got a lot of grief at the end about two or three guys who sat at my table most of the afternoon, "critically listening" to their CD collection.
That is partly why I have gone to a preprogrammed playlist. Miceblue's idea of having one selection that is available at every setup is interesting. I have my doubts that there would ever be a concensus of what it should be, but the concept has merit and I would be willing to include a set track or two in our playlist.
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