[BIG POPPA]

OK, the secret is out I get it. Seattle Head-Fi has been getting a little BIGGER. We were lucky enough to get invited again to Front Panel Express. This time it was a little different. The space has changed a little bit. And if taken a tour last time, it is been much changed and for the better! Man, All the amps given away!!! We are very lucky. Also there was a keg from Georgetown brewery to greet you. Some of you missed that upon arrival!. There was so much work getting all the details handled. There was a bunch of people involved getting this meet together. All the awesome people at Front Panel Express, Dan and Eileen at Bottlehead (some of the most coolest and gracious  people on the planet) , Seth Bradley of Bradley Engineering LLC(from all the way from the Hood River, very dedicated head-fier), And Sachu, A temporary Seattle Transplant( all ways makes a grand entrance

    , All the Seattle Head-fi crew to make this meet so seamless. And Ken from Revolution Power, That guy has been with us since Resolution Audio. Few of you remember that meet. Paul from Front Panel Express designed all those amps and built them all by himself. There is so much work involved getting these meets this far and I just had to put it out there.
A Big Thank You to  Cesar at Portaphile for sending the new Portaphile 627 and the Foxl Bluetooth Portable Speaker, we had tunes going in the Revolution Power Room and we we rocking the Thunderpants with the 627.
gurus, it was such a pleasure to meet you and listen to your rig. We must do it again my friend. Missed the Voodoo doughnuts. Mr. Doll, (iamoneagain) so nice to see you after the birth of Linus, kids change your life(only for the better). hammy (ham Sandwich)hope you keep coming to the Seattle meets. You keep things fun. Equus and Kingstyles THANK YOU for all your help. Just some random thoughts.
To those who lost power during this snow storm, hope you guys can make it to the next meet. And Curbfeeler makes a great caterer

lol. We had a pre meet at Smarty Pants, After set up and Aftermeet at Pyramid brewery. Man, that place makes it so easy from Front Panel Express. This just gives a few thoughts in my head, already working on the next meet.
 

 

[bhjazz]

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The highlight for me was listening to the Stax 007 rig.

Wha?  Where the heck was that?  I think, as usual, I spent so much time socializing...  Would really have wanted to hear that!
 


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I've uploaded some photos I took from the meet.  Too many to post inline so I put them here on Flickr.  
 

Thank you!!!  We really appreciate having those pics posted!
 
 

 

[BIG POPPA]

Those are some awesome pic's, took my wife thought the whole meet with those. Thank You!!

 

[bhjazz]

Doc B - quick question: with your balanced HD650 rig, what was the board you used to switch between balanced and SE?  Is that part of that specific amp?  Sure would like to have a similar circuit available for my own future builds!  Thanks!

 

[sbradley02]

First, many thanks to Gil and Front Panel Express for putting on a great show, your efforts are much appreciated!

Just got internet back on at home, they are restoring the last of the downed power poles in Hood River.

 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.

I believe that was my rig, and thanks.

As to impressions. It is always a treat to get to see and to listen to the cost no object rigs. You get a rare chance to experience the true state of the art. Really appreciate people taking the trouble to bring these (and all the other rigs) in.

A couple of personal "discoveries". It has recently become apparent to me that I need to upgrade my work rig (after all, I spend more hours with it by far than any other system, including my home theater). I liked the presentation of the Schitt Lyr, so I just ordered an Asgard for the office. I think I can fit it on my small and crowded desk .

Second, there was a pair of Audio Technicas I rather liked. They had wood cups with "champagne" colored hardware, and I think they were one of the less expensive AT "woodies" there. They don't seem to match any of the ones in AT's catalog, what model were they?

Again, thanks for the great show, and for making this out of towner feel very welcome.

 

[sbradley02]

Duplicate post deleted

 

[iamoneagain]

Quote:

Wha?  Where the heck was that?  I think, as usual, I spent so much time socializing...  Would really have wanted to hear that!
 
Thank you!!!  We really appreciate having those pics posted!
 
 

Sachu snuck the 007 in at the last minute and setup them up in the back room.  I may have accidentally cut in line to listen.  I was about on my way out but wanted to make sure I got a chance to hear them.  If there is another meet before now and the end of March, maybe I can get a couple hours away to attend.  Might just show up without equipment though.
 

 

[BIG POPPA]

It was almost secret meet like........Deja vu . we are kinda known for this.........Baby Doll Daddy, I will do my best to have a meet before you leave!
Quote:

Quote:

Wha?  Where the heck was that?  I think, as usual, I spent so much time socializing...  Would really have wanted to hear that!
 
Thank you!!!  We really appreciate having those pics posted!
 
 

Sachu snuck the 007 in at the last minute and setup them up in the back room.  I may have accidentally cut in line to listen.  I was about on my way out but wanted to make sure I got a chance to hear them.  If there is another meet before now and the end of March, maybe I can get a couple hours away to attend.  Might just show up without equipment though.
 

 
 

 

[REVPOWER]

This was a fine meet. Thanks for all your work, Gil. 
 
Ron was impressed with the shop and may have some ideas for using FPE for some hydraulic crane operator panels...but that's another story.
 
Thanks to everyone that stopped into our room to say hello and check out the accessories.  It's great to talk to people face-to-face and see what people are building and listening to.  What a great range of gear!
 
I didn't get a chance to listen to much, but I did at least get to ogle most of the equipment and it's always amazing the variety of ways we all listen.  These meets are a an excellent opportunity to check out things you wouldn't normally see in person. 
 
Thanks for Front Panel Express and everyone that helped put this on.
 
-Ken 

 

[pseudohippy]

Here are a few more pics for those that like to see pics Although mine are not as nice as the others already posted. CLICK pic to make BIGGER! Unfortunately I missed the back room with the camera but I think this is most all of it minus the tour of the facility.

 

[bhjazz]

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Sachu snuck the 007 in at the last minute and setup in the back room.

UNACCEPTABLE!
 

 

[Doc B.]

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Doc B - quick question: with your balanced HD650 rig, what was the board you used to switch between balanced and SE?  Is that part of that specific amp?  Sure would like to have a similar circuit available for my own future builds!  Thanks!

That board was designed specifically for (and is included with) the Smack amp to allow switching the output signal between the balanced XLRs and the single ended TRS jack, as well as switching through 16/32/64/128 ohms for various headphone loads. It can also be installed on our S.E.X. 2.1 kit and Stereomour amps, yielding 4/8/16/32 ohm outputs on the S.E.X. 2.1 and 2/4/8/16 on the Stereomour. On those chassis the balanced setting can be connected to the speaker binding posts which is something we have been experimenting with with great results at Bottleheadquarters. Among other things that allows the operation of K1000s in balanced mode on a S.E.X. kit, but it also seems to improve the bass quality when driving speakers. We have been hard wiring the Paramounts I use in our reference system this way and the bass is really getting great.
 
We're working on the installation manual for that board this month, and it should be available soon.
 

 

[Sentient]

Just wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone involved in setting this meet! And to everyone who brought their rig.. I went from only having heard my own FA-002w's with no amp or anything to hearing them with amazing amps and dacs.. as well as getting some time with the HD-800 and LCD 2 and a bunch of others.. Great experience. Definitely worth the drive up from Salem. The tour was pretty fun too..

 

[sachu]

UNACCEPTABLE!

Sorry dude. Didn't think i would be late to this meet as i had been looking forward to it for 2 months. But life happens and real emergencies get priority over audio.

Was glad I made it at least to the meet.

Hopefully the next one i will not be so stressed out and i will be able to spend more time with you all.

Iamoneagain, glad you liked the rig. It wasnt perfect and mostly mp3 and some wav files you guys could listen to. All my good recordings are in flax or ape. Next time I will have the Mac mini configured for playing those file types so you can really appreciate how good that setup is.

Mogami interconnects and DIY power cord(Indian finolex cables) was used. Have found this to be a rather excellent bang for Buck combination of cables.

I might have a transport(USB to sprig converter instead of Mac mini toslink) and maybe even a dac upgrade for next time.

Having heard the 007 many times prior with varied amps, only with the amp i had at the meet have I ever really fallen in love with the o2mk1.

 

[bhjazz]

Quote:

That board was designed specifically for (and is included with) the Smack amp to allow switching the output signal between the balanced XLRs and the single ended TRS jack, as well as...

Thanks, Dan.  I appreciate the clarification.  
 
Hey, it's your birthday today, isn't it?
 
 
 
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Sorry dude. Didn't think i would be late. But life happens and real emergencies get priority over audio.

Hell yeah!  No worries.  Life is like that.  Do bring them to the next meet.  Not a lot of Stax gear up in our neck of the woods!