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Hi all, on behalf of the Seattle community, I decided to make an impressions thread for the meet that we had on December 6.
First of all, I want to thank BIG POPPA for organising the meet. He's always on top of things, so the meet went smoothly.
The meet this time around was smaller than normal, but with finals, holiday shopping, work, and other things coming around quickly at this time of the year, I can't say I was surprised. Nonetheless, I had a blast getting around to talk to more people than normal. There were a few newcomers to the meet too, which is always good to see.
I think the big star of the show for this meet was johnjen's Schiit Ragnarok. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to hear it myself, but it looked pretty epic.
^ Those copper cables look insanely cool! I want one of those, hahaha. : D
As I reminded myself from the last meet, I got a chance to hear blownaway's RW AK120 + Vorzüge VorzAMP PURE II combo with my K 701.
I was quite impressed with the combo. It didn't sound very spacious to me, but its soundstage and imaging had great synergy with the K 701 (there was actually a center image!, which the K 701 is infamously known to lack). The treble seemed a bit rough to me, but the warm upper-bass and lower-mids was enjoyable to listen to. The K 701 sounded very dynamic on this setup.
Next time I should prepare a microSD card with music ahead of time since I completely forgot about portable media players using them.
Another big highlight for me was barra's AK100 II + C&C BH2 + HD700. I haven't heard the HD700 before, but I've read a lot of the love/hate relationship for it. With the AK100 II alone, the HD700 sounded just okay to me; it was a bit too bright for my preferences. With the BH2 on the other hand, it suddenly became really fun to listen to. The bass was a bit loose, but the extra warmth was nice to have. I tried the AK100 II with my beta OPPO HA-2 unit and I liked that combo more than the BH2. The soundstage and imaging were more defined, the bass tighter, but it still was a bit bright for me as per the HA-2's sound signature (similar to the Light Harmonic Geek Out).
I didn't get a chance to listen to this combo, but the Cayin C5 looked pretty cool stacked with the FiiO X5.
Likewise, I didn't get a chance to hear this either. The design and build of the Glove Audio A1 was really well-done in my opinion though. Beautiful piece of hardware.
One of the more unique things that I did hear though was the Paradox Enigma, which is made by Head-Fi's LFF. I've seen photos of it before, but you need to see it in-person.
It has a very DIY kind of look to it. It's not my cup of tea in terms of appearance nor sound on the other hand. It has a very thick, almost syrupy, heavy-mids sound signature. The treble is very soft and rolled-off, and the bass was a bit elevated to me. For $900....I don't think I would get one myself. On top of that, the clamping force was extremely strong. If you thought the JPS Labs Abyss has a weird fit, the Enigma comes in a solid second place for fit. I swear, wearing the headphones felt like I was wearing industrial-grade ear protection units.
I also got a chance to listen to the NAD VISO HP50. Overall it's a pretty balanced-sounding headphone, but I found the timbre of the midrange to sound really off to my ears, so I personally didn't like it too much. It certainly looks really nice though, if you can avoid looking at the fingerprint-magnet earcups. The earpads were a bit too snug for my ears since it felt like the driver cover was touching the outside of my ear; that or the earpads were just that small-feeling.
Finally, near the end of the meet, I got to try gefski's STAX SR-407 on my SRM-252S amplifier. I got a better idea of how the combo sounds compared to the last time I heard them because the meet was a lot quieter. To my surprise, I actually like the SR-407 a bit more than the SR-207. The synthetic leather pads of the SR-407 are MUCH, MUCH, MUCH more supple and soft compared to my SR-207, which feels like stiff plastic next to the more pleather-like SR-407. The SR-407 seems to have a larger soundstage with better instrument separation and thus imaging, and the bass has a little bit more presence. Is it worth the price difference ($130)? Ehhh....probably not, but it is a nicer sonic experience with the entry-level amplifier. I also don't really like the SR-407's colour (light tan, kind of like khakis). For the next meet, I hope to have the Light Harmonic Linear Power Supply in my hands, so I'll be powering the STAX with that instead of the step-down transformer/power conditioner/wall wart rig I currently use and hopefully it will affect the STAX's sound.
Last but not least, the after meet was pretty awesome too at the Copper Coin. I ordered the deluxe hamburger with the chipotle mayonnaise and it was delicious!
^ looots of skinny fries there
I also ordered a non-alcoholic ginger beer. A tad pricey at $4 for a tall but narrow glass, but it was really refreshing. Growing up and eating ginger in a lot of foods, it's definitely an acquired taste though. This ginger beer had a very strong ginger spiciness to it and it also had some tanginess to it, almost like orange juice.
I didn't hear very many comparisons between other gear, but people generally seemed very positive about it for its price/features/aesthetics ($299 estimated MSRP with native iOS/Android playback, smartphone charging, 30-minute rapid-charge, and desktop DAC/amp).
[rule]
Also, please check out this thread if you Seattle and Portland residents are interested in a future Head-Fi meet:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/742674/ic-meet-in-the-middle
First of all, I want to thank BIG POPPA for organising the meet. He's always on top of things, so the meet went smoothly.
The meet this time around was smaller than normal, but with finals, holiday shopping, work, and other things coming around quickly at this time of the year, I can't say I was surprised. Nonetheless, I had a blast getting around to talk to more people than normal. There were a few newcomers to the meet too, which is always good to see.
I think the big star of the show for this meet was johnjen's Schiit Ragnarok. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to hear it myself, but it looked pretty epic.
^ Those copper cables look insanely cool! I want one of those, hahaha. : D
As I reminded myself from the last meet, I got a chance to hear blownaway's RW AK120 + Vorzüge VorzAMP PURE II combo with my K 701.
I was quite impressed with the combo. It didn't sound very spacious to me, but its soundstage and imaging had great synergy with the K 701 (there was actually a center image!, which the K 701 is infamously known to lack). The treble seemed a bit rough to me, but the warm upper-bass and lower-mids was enjoyable to listen to. The K 701 sounded very dynamic on this setup.
Next time I should prepare a microSD card with music ahead of time since I completely forgot about portable media players using them.
Another big highlight for me was barra's AK100 II + C&C BH2 + HD700. I haven't heard the HD700 before, but I've read a lot of the love/hate relationship for it. With the AK100 II alone, the HD700 sounded just okay to me; it was a bit too bright for my preferences. With the BH2 on the other hand, it suddenly became really fun to listen to. The bass was a bit loose, but the extra warmth was nice to have. I tried the AK100 II with my beta OPPO HA-2 unit and I liked that combo more than the BH2. The soundstage and imaging were more defined, the bass tighter, but it still was a bit bright for me as per the HA-2's sound signature (similar to the Light Harmonic Geek Out).
I didn't get a chance to listen to this combo, but the Cayin C5 looked pretty cool stacked with the FiiO X5.
Likewise, I didn't get a chance to hear this either. The design and build of the Glove Audio A1 was really well-done in my opinion though. Beautiful piece of hardware.
One of the more unique things that I did hear though was the Paradox Enigma, which is made by Head-Fi's LFF. I've seen photos of it before, but you need to see it in-person.
It has a very DIY kind of look to it. It's not my cup of tea in terms of appearance nor sound on the other hand. It has a very thick, almost syrupy, heavy-mids sound signature. The treble is very soft and rolled-off, and the bass was a bit elevated to me. For $900....I don't think I would get one myself. On top of that, the clamping force was extremely strong. If you thought the JPS Labs Abyss has a weird fit, the Enigma comes in a solid second place for fit. I swear, wearing the headphones felt like I was wearing industrial-grade ear protection units.
I also got a chance to listen to the NAD VISO HP50. Overall it's a pretty balanced-sounding headphone, but I found the timbre of the midrange to sound really off to my ears, so I personally didn't like it too much. It certainly looks really nice though, if you can avoid looking at the fingerprint-magnet earcups. The earpads were a bit too snug for my ears since it felt like the driver cover was touching the outside of my ear; that or the earpads were just that small-feeling.
Finally, near the end of the meet, I got to try gefski's STAX SR-407 on my SRM-252S amplifier. I got a better idea of how the combo sounds compared to the last time I heard them because the meet was a lot quieter. To my surprise, I actually like the SR-407 a bit more than the SR-207. The synthetic leather pads of the SR-407 are MUCH, MUCH, MUCH more supple and soft compared to my SR-207, which feels like stiff plastic next to the more pleather-like SR-407. The SR-407 seems to have a larger soundstage with better instrument separation and thus imaging, and the bass has a little bit more presence. Is it worth the price difference ($130)? Ehhh....probably not, but it is a nicer sonic experience with the entry-level amplifier. I also don't really like the SR-407's colour (light tan, kind of like khakis). For the next meet, I hope to have the Light Harmonic Linear Power Supply in my hands, so I'll be powering the STAX with that instead of the step-down transformer/power conditioner/wall wart rig I currently use and hopefully it will affect the STAX's sound.
Last but not least, the after meet was pretty awesome too at the Copper Coin. I ordered the deluxe hamburger with the chipotle mayonnaise and it was delicious!
^ looots of skinny fries there
I also ordered a non-alcoholic ginger beer. A tad pricey at $4 for a tall but narrow glass, but it was really refreshing. Growing up and eating ginger in a lot of foods, it's definitely an acquired taste though. This ginger beer had a very strong ginger spiciness to it and it also had some tanginess to it, almost like orange juice.
I didn't hear very many comparisons between other gear, but people generally seemed very positive about it for its price/features/aesthetics ($299 estimated MSRP with native iOS/Android playback, smartphone charging, 30-minute rapid-charge, and desktop DAC/amp).
[rule]
Also, please check out this thread if you Seattle and Portland residents are interested in a future Head-Fi meet:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/742674/ic-meet-in-the-middle
