A great meet up
dBel84 got a picture of me as a very happy Ham Sandwich
devwild got a picture of me deep in thought with the HE-5, no doubt thinking "where's the bass, did someone just put a 701 on my head? No, can't be cause I really like the mids". The HE-5 could do with a more prominent bass (and bass punch) and a deeper bass for my tastes. The build of the HE-5 is nice. Looks good and feels good.
I was very impressed by the Fostex ortho with the closed wood cups. Now that's the fullness in sound and midrange that I like from a headphone and nice bass (that goes along with the fullness). Too bad that it's not a commercially available headphone.
There were some notable firsts for me at the meet. First time ever hearing a Stax (a 404 was at the meet) and a beyer (a 600 ohm 990 and a T1 was at the meet). Now I know why the 404 is generally considered a jazz and classical headphone. It could make me listen to a lot of jazz, but sounded a little odd in the mids to me when I tried some Joe Satriani on it. The beyer 990 showing up was fortunate for me. I've been curious about beyers and considering getting maybe a 990. I found that my AV123 x-head can drive a 600 ohm beyer just fine but the highs (cymbals especially) were a a little too much for me on my SS amp (ouch, my ears). I'll have to give a beyer 880 a try to see if the highs are more tolerable. The T1 was interesting. Only had a short listen on an amp I wasn't familiar with. An open headphone with bass and punch and yet neutral. Now that is something I could like.
Got to hear the little Lisa amp (kicked up a bit) and a Woo 3+ (kicked up a bit) both playing from the same source and both driving HD580 headphones. Made it very easy to go back and forth between the two. I've heard both amps before, but never back to back like that. Lisa brings along some fun to the music. Emphasizes the bass and the percussion hits and transients. Woo 3+ brings along the air and the ambiance. I'm a sucker for the fun sound, but getting the air and the ambiance and additional soundstage out of the HD580 is something special. I do like the Woo. I could be wooed over to tubes based on sound like that.
The LA7000 was a treat. I wasn't sure what to expect. It's still very much a Denon but with noticeably tighter and controlled bass. I was expecting it to be less recessed in the midrange than it was, still noticeably better than my stock D2000 in that respect. The LA7000 is still very much a Denon for both good and bad. Overall I do like because I like the Denon sound. But a little less recessed in the midrange would be a plus for a more neutral sound. Just a short listen to it though so don't draw too much from my brief listen (and at a noisy meet).
KingStyles rig never fails to amaze in an "I can't believe this is all SS and digital" kind of way. So smooth and analog sounding and detailed. A unique sound.
So many headphones and rigs there. Never got a chance to listen to them all, and wouldn't want to in that short of a time span cause it would all just turn into a sonic blur to me. Better for me to focus on a few at each meet. More beneficial to listen a little and talk a little rather than just listen listen listen. So many good sounds and all of them good in their own way.
It was great meeting folks in person and being able to sample the HD800, T1 and HE5 pretty much made my list of stuff I wanted to try this...er...this month. Or something.
