[iamdone]

Well as for as being a headphone and giving a headphone experience, they may be the perfect headphone. I definately wasn't putting down the system. I was more worried about listening to it and then having trouble enjoying anything else. This would be a big problem because I could never afford such a system nor be that dedicated to take this hobby that far even if I did have the money. So while the little time I did spend with it was amazing, I was able to still enjoy my setup and many other modest setups as well.

Keep in mind, I didn't do any critical listening. I just wanted to get a general idea of what a few headphones sound like. If I sat in quite room and went back and forth with some of the headphones, I'm sure the difference would be more significant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilvg Like I mentioned earlier as well, I have never heard the K1K as good as I heard it out of the Pass Labs at the meet. However, a few things from personal experience are: 1) the HE90 takes a while to really get the full his of. In meet conditions, the subtlety of what it does generally gets glossed over and most people tend to look for the things that stick out. Also, the HE90 always battles expectations. This IS a headphone, it is NOT trying to sound like a speaker. I personally do not want it to sound like a speaker. That's what speakers are for. 2) I owned the K1000 for some time, and I noticed 1 thing interesting and counterintuitive (for me). While this is probably the most open and hence, speakerlike headphone, I found that while I thought it would be the most susceptible to room noise, it actually wasn't. Obviously a quiet room for any headphones would be ideal, but since the K1K's give a speaker like presentation, it doesn't seem to rely on dead quiet to deliver its sonic punch and subtlety. Whereas, to me, the HE90 is a very delicate phone in terms of getting the complete jist of the phone. Something, to me, that is impossible to do in meet conditions. I think I've owned almost every major top tier headphone (barring the Original Omega) and PS-1, and I have to say, to me, the HE90 does what I need. The K1000 too though, very very nice, and its price differential w/the HE90's make it very attractive (not to mention far greater availability). But I think, for me, what it comes down to is that, over time I just really really enjoy the HE90 signature. Neil PS: Again, if anyone notices they have Dhammapada by John Mayer (the composer), please PM me. I am missing this CD. =)

 

[Voltron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilvg J-PAK- The EMM Labs Combo sounds AMAZING out of speakers. It scales far better with my speaker rig than even with headphones! The PRE is also spectacular and it really does make an excellent top tier system. humanflyz- You really should have bothered me =) That's what meets are for! Lol. I mean, later on in the evening we were driving up to four sources out of that EMM. Really it would not have been an interruption to connect that rig. It is with this that I make an offer to you: If you bring your Rig to my apartment in San Francisco (either the new F1 or the Aleph), we can have a real listening session =) Bring your friends too. Neil

Can I be one of humanflyz's friends? The best thing would be for him to hold onto the Aleph and the F1 long enough to do a comparo mini-meet. When are you getting that F1 again?

 

[J-Pak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilvg J-PAK- The EMM Labs Combo sounds AMAZING out of speakers. It scales far better with my speaker rig than even with headphones! The PRE is also spectacular and it really does make an excellent top tier system. humanflyz- You really should have bothered me =) That's what meets are for! Lol. I mean, later on in the evening we were driving up to four sources out of that EMM. Really it would not have been an interruption to connect that rig. It is with this that I make an offer to you: If you bring your Rig to my apartment in San Francisco (either the new F1 or the Aleph), we can have a real listening session =) Bring your friends too. Neil

Yeah if I went speakers I think the EMM combo would make its way in there

 

[humanflyz]

I'll be getting the F1 in one week, two weeks at most. And I was going to do a comparison myself anyways, but since Neil has made an offer I couldn't refuse...

 

[neilvg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Voltron Can I be one of humanflyz's friends? The best thing would be for him to hold onto the Aleph and the F1 long enough to do a comparo mini-meet. When are you getting that F1 again?

Aww... Al, you can be one of *MY* friends

Of course you can come along. A little focused down mini meet at my pad would be fine... Neilpeart, Voltron, iamdone (if you want to come, you live in SF, you are welcome), J-Pak (if you want, esp. to hear the source), and of course humanflyz (and anyone else who really wants to come).

Neil

 

[J-Pak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by humanflyz I'll be getting the F1 in one week, two weeks at most. And I was going to do a comparison myself anyways, but since Neil has made an offer I couldn't refuse...

I think one of the big benefits you'll see with the FirstWatt is being able to use fully balanced cables from the Lavry straight to the amp.

One of the things that made me lean more towards the Aleph 30.

 

[humanflyz]

Yup, the F1 is a true balanced amp, so it should control the bass even better.

 

[xantus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilvg Aww... Al, you can be one of *MY* friends Of course you can come along. A little focused down mini meet at my pad would be fine... Neilpeart, Voltron, iamdone (if you want to come, you live in SF, you are welcome), J-Pak (if you want, esp. to hear the source), and of course humanflyz (and anyone else who really wants to come). Neil

count me in! I'd love to hear how it scales, and to hear the phones in a quieter environment than the meet was usually.
(plus I could bring Nielp those mix cd's he wanted

)

 

[Grahame]

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilvg Aww... Al, you can be one of *MY* friends Of course you can come along. A little focused down mini meet at my pad would be fine... Neilpeart, Voltron, iamdone (if you want to come, you live in SF, you are welcome), J-Pak (if you want, esp. to hear the source), and of course humanflyz (and anyone else who really wants to come). Neil

Neil,
Does the offer extend to pseudo-Marinites as well as (The) City dwellers?

Grahame

 

[yellafella321]

party at neil's!

 

[robm321]

I would like to join the fun

Maybe this warrants another (mini)meet thread? Just a suggestion.

I don't know why I would want to compare since the HE-90 would never be something I could justify, especially since I have a speaker rig to support. But I would love to have some more listening time with it and get to hear the F1 with the K-1000.

I appreciate the offer!

 

[neilvg]

Alright, this should be just fine. So I have interest from the following:

voltron
humanflyz
xantus
Grahame [we'll accept Pseudo Marinites]
robm321

We'll probably get a couple more in there. Humanflyz, tell us when that Firstwatt will come in (as soon as you know for sure). That way we can plan a specific date.

I'm thinking of making this rather small and focused. Primarily a meet which allows us to actually get some good headphone listening done. Also, for those interested, we can hear my speakers out of the EMM Labs (not the best speakers, but they sound 'aight

)

I'm thinking this could potentially happen in 2-3 weeks, preferably on a saturday morning. We could just relax and chill out at the pad.

Let's move future discussions here: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...75#post2436375

Neil

 

[Voltron]

**D'oh! Edit**

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Voltron Sorry to be slow, Azure, but I had to make up for being gone all saturday by helping put all sunday. Circularlogic owns the Stello and we did a comparo of that dac to the Ori-modded Zhaolu, and he possibly added in the Headroom Home dac in my Desktop Amp we listened through. I thought he would post something by now. With a classical selection, the Zhaolu was very smooth and clean, but maybe a little laid-back. When we flicked the switch to the Stello (one on fiber and the other on s/pdif) the sound level jumped considerably and the whole presentation was more lively but also more forward, to an extent. Both dacs did a nice job but had different presentations. With a John McLaughlin guitar piece, the differences were far less apparent. It was odd, actually, but the Zhaolu brightened up and the was very dynamic, and even the sound level difference was less noticeable. It was more of a toss-up for me on that track. They are both great for the money. One more thought I had on this setup was that Ori's Oritek digital cable was very nice. I tried it on his modded dac but also on my Onix CDP. Very clean, balanced cable (see neilvg's comments below on RCAs. Ori makes some sweet stuff). We both had similar impressions on these but I am not sure if Dustin did more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by circularlogic Stello DA100 / Ori's Zhalou - Voltron and I did a comparison of the two dacs through a Headroom Desktop Amp with Desktop Modules. A good comparison was difficult due to the fact that the Stello was significantly louder than the Zhalou. Listening to Mozart's Requiem, the Stello seemed to be punchier, especially in the midrange. The Zhalou had a more laid-back and smooth sound, albiet with slightly less edge and detail. To my ear the Zhalou seemed dull in comparison, though that may be a result of the gain change. Both are great dacs with different presentations, however imo the DA100 is more pleasant to my ear.

Which headphones did you guys use?

 

[J-Pak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilvg Aww... Al, you can be one of *MY* friends Of course you can come along. A little focused down mini meet at my pad would be fine... Neilpeart, Voltron, iamdone (if you want to come, you live in SF, you are welcome), J-Pak (if you want, esp. to hear the source), and of course humanflyz (and anyone else who really wants to come). Neil

Thank you very much for that offer Neil. I would love to visit San Fran someday, maybe when I start work I'll use vacation time to fly down.