[bhjazz]

Impression thread!  Go! 
 
Ken, Doc B and all the MOTs: first and foremost: Thank you!  Your time at these meets is very much appreciated.  It's always nice to see and hear what you guys (and queens) are up to.   
 
Doc - I had no idea that your DAC was "in the room" and working. Thanks for bringing it along. I thought it sounded great: natural , non-fatiguing, open. I remember, especially, the Nat King Cole tune that was on and how rich and open the recording sounded. I've heard Nat so many times, but this was definitely special. Good stuff...I'll put it on my "must build" list!
 
Ken, good to catch up with you.  Always nice to see you keeping the audio fire burning online.  Thanks for the "tips". 
 
Finally: Front Panel Express: Thank You!  Thanks for donating your building and your Saturday to the headphone gang.  It's nice to have such a good connection with you!
 
Also, good to see all the old gang again. While getting my head filled with Java coding craziness last year at UW I often thought how much nicer it would have been to be just hanging out listening to tunes. Nice to catch up with everyone and also nice to see new faces.  Keep it comin.  Stan and Uncle Bob, thanks for the laughs!  Poetik: nice to meet you.  If you want some DIY tips, just let me know!
 
And thanks to Gil.  You're clearly nuts to keep doing this over and over...just kidding.  Please drop me a pm for the next one and I'll join the mayhem.
 
OK, I saw more than one camera at the show.  Please post some of your pics!  If you are unsure how, drop me a pm and I can help you do so. 

 

[4nradio]

Man, I really I wish I could have made this GTG, and I was still "on" up to about 1 p.m. today! But our power continued to remain off at our house and I was needed to manage the generator and oversee a crew who was cleaning up a tree that came crashing down in the front yard overnight due to the ice storm.
 
The lights finally came back on at 9 pm tonight. Living for a while without the daily conveniences you take for granted really helps you to count your blessings!
 
Anyway, sorry to miss this one; I was looking forward to meeting all of you who attended.
 
So... let's see those pictures of the neat gear and the Head-Fi'ers!
 

 

[Silent One]

 
Yes, a lot of great people involved making this event happen - looking forward to seeing the pix down here in Cali!

 

[bhjazz]

Quote:

looking forward to seeing the pix down here in Cali!

Me, too!  Lots of great gear.  We had a good time!
 
Cheers, mate!

 

[sachu]

Just got back home, and got done with setting up my system back up. 
LIstening to it now before i turn in here.In the brief time i was there, i only got time to snag a couple of pics, Ethan (Equus) and Josh (KingStyles) listening to my rig.
 
 

 
Gil and Stan, take a bow for pulling together what was easily the best attended meet yet in the Pacific NW.
 
Many thanks to Diane, Paul and rest of the team at Front Panel Express for being such gracious hosts and opening up their fabulous facility to our madness. Thanks for the loan on the monitor, keyboard and mouse guys. Glad i could show off possibly the only amp there with front and rear panels (powder coated too!) made by you guys..it turned out splendidly.
 
Good to see many of my friends after such a long time, albeit i barely made it in time before the break down time.
 
Despite the personal emergency this morning, i am glad i was at least able to make it. The 6 hour drive up and back was worth it as i got to spend some precious moments with you all. 
 
Poetik (and your buddy whose name escapes me now), Whafrat, psuedohippy, Seth Bradley, Doc B and Mrs DocB, curbfeeler, Big_Poppa, Serge (heard you were there, but seems like we missed each other by a few minutes), ham sandwich, KingStyles and Equus..the purpose of the meet was served well by seeing you all there, albeit as brief as it was for me. Wish I could have stayed for the after meet..ah well another day, another time..
 
Was also nice to meet new faces and there were quite a few, Jason and nnotis, hope to see more of you guys in future meets.

 

[FlySweep]

Thanks to Gil & co. for putting together a very memorable meet for this first time attendee.  I'ev never been to any kind of an "online community"-related live event but I was truly impressed with the number of people who came (amid the crazy weather the NW was experiencing).  Everyone was quite friendly & the beer was fantastic!  For those I didn't meet, I was the guy with the black "OS/Oregon State" fleece.  I really enjoyed meeting & chatting with some extremely friendly fellow HF'iers (Poetik, PseudoHippie, brianbg, danska, gurus, Matthew from Salem, etc).
 
I didn't get a chance to listen to everything cause I was too busy drooling as I stared at it.  My faves were the Burson HA-160 & Audio-GD DAC-19 (loved that subtle warmth & depth they added to the Paradox).  The Eddie Current Balancing Act rig w/ the LCD-2 (25K?!) = OH MY GOD.  I was pleasantly surprised with the Schiit setups (Bifrost/Asgard+Lyr).  I can see why they are quite popular, great synergy there.  The tube rig that was showcasing Smeggy's Thunderpants was incredible too (who was the vendor?).  I'd say Smeggy's Thunderpants are worth every penny.  Gurus' HE-6 floored me.. I could easily grow fat, old, and lazy listening to it for the rest of my (significantly shortened) life.  I missed out on listening to the Crack (which I regret) or a lot of the other tube setups that had a waiting line.  I kicked myself all the way home for not getting a moment with the Liquid Fire.. it looked WICKED.

I looked forward to seeing you all again.. sooner rather than later!

 

[PlasticChicken]

It was my first time going to a head-fi meet but I had a great time during the event. Will definitely go again to another meet when it happens.

 

[pseudohippy]

If I had internet I would post pics. Stuck typing on the phone. Just wanted to thank the organizers, hosts, setup crew and all those willing to drag all their amazing equipment to the meet for all to check out. I had tons of fun like always

 

[Doc B.]

Quote:

  I missed out on listening to the Crack (which I regret) or a lot of the other tube setups that had a waiting line.  

Apologies for the slightly crowded setup in the room that PB and I shared. Good thing I didn't bring the tape deck, no one would have been able to move. It did seem like there were two or three people waiting behind whoever was listening for most of the afternoon. We sure weren't sittin' there pickin' our noses. Well, not too much anyway...
 

 
Just want to remind everyone that we do have a listening setup at Bottleheadquarters on Bainbridge Island, and all are welcome to give us a call and arrange to stop by. If coming from the Seattle side you can walk on the ferry and we will pick you up. There you are welcome to take all the time you need to have a listen to headphone amps and other delights. 
 
Thanks much to Gil and Stan for the usual super job of wrangling the event and thanks to Diane and PB for offering up FPE and being such generous hosts. It's great to see the meets continue to grow, see old friends and get the opportunity to make new ones. I think Gil said the head count at this one was 48. PB was taking a lot of pics with my camera. I haven't looked at them yet, but I'll try to get them processed and posted tomorrow when I'm back at the office.
 
I'll also take this moment to offer up Bottleheadquarters again for a future Head-fi meet if you guys are interested. 

 

[curbfeeler]

[size=10pt]Thanks for the gracious offer of your facility, Doc. Sure thing. Thanks to the folks at Front Panel Express for their generosity and accomodation. Looked to be the best attended event in our area ever.[/size]
[size=10pt]An embarrassment of riches was on display, and the fine sound we heard is a testament to the devotion and care that our Head-Fi community lavishes on its audio pursuits.[/size]

 

[danska]

Great event guys, I had a blast. Was great to see a nice variety of gear around. I could have used a bit more time to demo some other equipment, but had too much fun bs'n with people. I didn't take a single picture, as I forgot my SD card at home, so I'm looking forward to the other members pics!
 
I'm a big fan of the Bottlehead S.E.X. amp. When the money for my Woo gets here, I'm going to place my order. The K1000s we quite a trip on that amp.
 
Thanks kindly to Front Panel Express, you guys were awesome hosts! And you have a very cool shop to boot! Beer was an awesome addition.
 

 

[gurus]

Good Sound+ Free Beer = Great Sounds.
 
Front Panel Express were the best hosts you could ask for.  The event was very well organized and enjoyed the short time I spent there. I wish I had more time to listen to some other rigs. After all the hoopla I read about the LCD+ Cavalli on Head-Fi  it was a disappointment for me.

 

[BIG POPPA]

Get to my impressions when I get to chill for a little bit. But I did start a Front Panel Express Amp Appreciation thread here http://www.head-fi.org/t/591976/front-panel-express-amp-appriciation-thread#post_8080775

 

[iamoneagain]

Wow, think this was the best meet yet and very well could be my last one here.  Gil said he might try to have another one before I move but really not even sure I'd have the time with a new baby and packing.  Thanks Gil and Front Panel for throwing a nice farewell.   

  
 
The highlight for me was listening to the Stax 007 rig.  I've heard them briefly before but not with that impressive of an amp and not with music I'm familiar with.  I liked everything heard and found the bass to have enough punch and perfect control.  It also had a nice airy sound, completely revealing but still sounding musical.  If I ever sell my L3000/DHA rig, think I'd get the Stax 007.  Now when I listen to my setup, I hear it's closed nature more than before.  But for the time being, think a closed headphone is the most ideal for me.  
 
I spent a little time with the new HE-400 on my rig.  Like it's open sound and how well electric guitar sounded on it.  Didn't have as much impact as the L3000 but not much does.  Also listened to a bunch of Audio Technica's including the new W3000.  I've read that some liked it better than the L3000 and some said it has similar sound especially in the bass.  I found it to sound like a better balanced W5000 but not too much like the L3000.  It's a much brighter headphone with less impact and deep bass in general.  Think I enjoyed the older W1000's the best out of all the other AT's I tried.  Had a nice warm sound with a lot of texture.  Also really liked the Alessandro MS-2.  Almost reminded me of the original PS-1.  I tried the Grado Sr-325 and didn't like it as much as the MS-2.  It sounded brighter and not as liquidy sounding. 
 
Might have some more impressions if I can remember.

 

[bgstern]

I've uploaded some photos I took from the meet.  Too many to post inline so I put them here on Flickr.  
 
And thank you for organizing this Gil, it was nice to see you again!  And thank you to FPE for hosting the event and giving the fascinating tour of your facilities.  Very well done!