September 10th 2016 Arizona Head-Fi Meet Impressions/Pictures
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Sep 11, 2016 at 12:33 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 9

Coolzo

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Post impressions and pictures here!
 
I would like to thank everyone that participated in the meet, particularly all of our OG attendees (@funch@Garage1217, and others, you know who you are), @BzzzzzT for the handcrafted headphone stands, and the folks at Audio Video Choices for the T-shirts. Also @Destroysall, the other Head-Fi'er who helped make these meets possible in the first place! @MezeTeam (Meze Headphones) as well, I thank for your gracious offer to send the 99 Classics, although I must apologize sincerely to everyone that they were merely one-half a day late in arrival (the post office is a let-down sometimes), and thus were not actually present unfortunately. Finally, thanks to all the general attendees, for lending your ears and your gears. There was plenty of awesome headphones, awesome amps, and awesome people! Thank you all for a great community experience (despite the very unfortunate, slight mishap that occurred). 
 
Sep 11, 2016 at 1:05 PM Post #2 of 9
I had fun  meeting all the folks at the meet. As usual, I got to listen to a lot of gear and it saved me a lot of money that I might have spent without an audition of the equipment.
 
I liked the Schitt stuff mainly and the Torpedo. Woo Audio sounded good with my headphones. Was disappointed how bad the SE-1 sounded on Craig's amps. I guess it's all about synergy.
 
Sep 11, 2016 at 2:28 PM Post #3 of 9
I brought the Zana Deux and Torpedo III and SFD1mk2 Dac.  I am sorry I think I didn't prepare too well for the meetup, m3ntal and I pretty much shared a setup but I dropped the ball on the DDC and cabling front so his krell ksa5 klone and my amps maybe didn't get the fairest shakes. In hindsight I think I had to daisy chain a sys and I forgot to adjust for volume or wired it incorrectly resulting in the krell not having much usable volume.
 
The Jotunheim really took me by surprise, it was the real deal and played very nice with both iems and he560's.  I think this amp will probably be the defacto standard recommendation for a versatile sub $500 solid state amp for some time.  Speaking of which, someone in AZ needs to get a momby! 
 
I think Cskippy's Gumby + Jot rig was a favorite.  I got to hear the campfire andromeda's and they blew me away for what a universal could sound like, they look heavy but fit like a glove.
 
It's been so many years but I never gave the d7000 (non stock pads) a listen until this meet and felt they sound like the grown up of the Denon line, neutral, refined, very tight bass.
 
Glad to see Funch's + Balderon's Balancing Acts as usual, the Yggy on the BA is top of the heap without a doubt.
 
Garage1217/Jeremy is awesome, super chill guy and just talking to him it feels like you can really learn a thing or two or a hundred over a lunch with the guy.
 
Had a great time as usual and can't wait for the next meetup!  Coolzo is the man!
 
Sep 11, 2016 at 4:30 PM Post #4 of 9
First meet for me, but a great experience. Thanks to everyone who came out with some gear to demo, made a lot of very useful comparisons for future reference and enjoyed the discussion. Left with some ideas on how I want to mod my Fostex. Shout out to Garage1217 for being friendly, informative, and having some really neat products. Looking forward to putting one together as a kit. It's too bad the Meze didn't make it in time, hopefully we can get a pair out for the next meet.
 
There was quite a selection of Schiit gear there as well, which made for some easy comparison. The new Jotunheim is sure to be a hit at its price point. I still like the Lyr, but it's time to pair it with a Bifrost Multibit!
 
Sep 11, 2016 at 8:47 PM Post #5 of 9
Big thanks to everyone involved in organizing and preparing the rooms!
 
I unfortunately had to make it a short event with other plans for the day, but I did get chat with a few of you - probably the best part of these events! Missed you @Destroysall !
 
I only got to check out a few pieces of gear, but it seemed like a lot of people are really getting their setups dialed in. Nice to see some solid setups coming along in the Phoenix area!
 
Big thanks to @cskippy for bringing along his measurement setup again and taking time to measure everything that is brought his way! He has a few tastefully modified headphones that are always a pleasure to listen to (HE-6 / HD-650 / DT-880/250)
 
@balderon
@funch
 
Balderon and Funch always going the extra mile by bringing their excellent Balancing Acts and totl sources! Planars seem to really shine on the Balancing Act.
 
Good to see some old and new faces! I'm looking forward to another event when it cools off - maybe somewhere a little larger and a lot less public. Too much random traffic in there and we saw what that leads to.
 
Until next time
-M3NTAL-
 
Sep 15, 2016 at 5:44 PM Post #6 of 9
It was good seeing everyone. Thanks for hosting the event Coolzo. Kinda bummed that Mr. Sneis came back as I really wanted to add that Zana Deux to my collection.
 
As always the Balancing Acts were brilliant and make me question if I should get one everytime I listen to them. 
 
Sep 19, 2016 at 11:40 PM Post #8 of 9
Alright, sorry it took so long to post here.  I had a great time at the meet.  Everyone was so awesome and I really enjoyed a couple Head-Fiers who where fascinated with the measurements.  Unfortunately, half way through, I moved my setup and didn't save all when I closed out of REQ Wizard.  Sucks, but happens.  I'll have to do individual saves for each headphone next time so there is no data lost.  Anyways,  I was able to snag a few measurements after the move.  You can find those here: 
 
https://goo.gl/photos/FTXm9KTnptr7gfut8
 
I got to listen to a few headphones in between measurements.  A couple standouts using Macbook Pro->Wyrd->Gumby balanced out->Jotunheim where a low serial # HD800 stock, and the PM3.  The HD800 where surprisingly controlled and the bass extension and presence was startling!  I'm sure with more critical listening the 6kHz peak might get annoying but for the small amount of listening I did it was completely enjoyable.  PM3 where quite good!  Again, limited listening but it was immediately apparent that the tuning was to my tastes and they are very comfortable.  
 
I had a great time, and hope we can do another meed soon!
 
Oct 30, 2016 at 11:15 PM Post #9 of 9
I see I've missed out on this one. Been out of the headphone thing for awhile. If you guys are planning to do another meet around winter or even as far as next summer, I'll be set to go. Finally got my license so it's easier to move around.
 
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