[DecentLevi]

  This has kinda piqued my interest, but it all depends if I wanna get out of bed on a Saturday.

Well as mentioned this is a rare 6-hr. meet for this area and likely to be the last one I put on (for plans of future relocation). So I'd recon you will be thanking yourself later if it means getting up a little early, because IMO what these meets are all about is making friends / partnerships in the field and experiencing / discovering more from a hands-on approach than you could have ever fully experienced from years of reading alone

 

[DMck2000]

  I can bring
 
Cary audio Sli 80 Ultimate edition Integrated Tube amp
Hd800S
Hd800
LCD3F
 
and the rest of my chain
USB disruptor
Mutec MC3+
Eastern Electric Minimax modded DAC
Shunyata Venom PS8

Which headphone would you say works the best with your Cary Audio SLI 80 amp?

 

[Rainstar]

 Which headphone would you say works the best with your Cary Audio SLI 80 amp

The headphones i own that I could call high class are Tesla T1, HD800, HD800S, Audeze LCD3F.
 
and even the lower end, AKG K553, HD600, Fostex TH-X00, Audio Technica AD700, A900X, 
 
What I use the most are HD800S and Audeze LCD3F, 
 
Characteristics of the Cary amp will carry onto your headphones. Those are :smoothness, Rounded top and bottom(there is not enough ZING oomph or attack/speed or snappyness and is rather quite laid back), extremely warm, Bloated but it retains its full body sound is quite defined and have depth.
 
The lows are a bit flabby, it can deliver quite a punch but from a wider larger glove does not have a visceral jab like accuracy. 
The mids is where I believe it shines most, in terms of clarity and soundstage, any musical instrument blows you away 
The highs are not as sharp as other faster amps, talking about transience of certain songs, just has a totally different decay to it.
 
It is not an amp that I would say is up in your face and if you are after speed and detail the SLI-80 is not for you.
using it with speakers quite effectively fills the room with musicality, is very organic and rich
If you are using it for Vocals, Jazz, classical, involving instruments this is for you.
 
It pairs really well with the Tesla T1 to form a good balance 
 
It pairs with HD800's and takes away its troublesome treble
It pairs well with HD800S new found bass but isnt anywhere near other bassphones, I find this to be more of the jack of all trades but its a real toss up with Tesla T1
yet retains sennheisers awesome ability to do 3D sound imaging
 
Audeze LCD3F, really really excellent vocals and strings, more layered and alive there an ambiance with these, an after taste
I pick these when I want bass on my head, I usually have the speakers on for real bass.
 
I think the modifications that were done to my amp is an unfair comparison to other Cary Audio Sli80's This thing rocks massive amounts of force, power and with it can come harshness even at 35-50% volume I dont even dare turn the knob any further. My small nearfield speakers can easily be Horn style far field with the right tuning/dialing and use of spatializer hardware of software.

 

[DMck2000]

The headphones i own that I could call high class are Tesla T1, HD800, HD800S, Audeze LCD3F.

and even the lower end, AKG K553, HD600, Fostex TH-X00, Audio Technica AD700, A900X, 

What I use the most are HD800S and Audeze LCD3F, 

Characteristics of the Cary amp will carry onto your headphones. Those are :smoothness, Rounded top and bottom(there is not enough ZING oomph or attack/speed or snappyness and is rather quite laid back), extremely warm, Bloated but it retains its full body sound is quite defined and have depth.

The lows are a bit flabby, it can deliver quite a punch but from a wider larger glove does not have a visceral jab like accuracy. 
The mids is where I believe it shines most, in terms of clarity and soundstage, any musical instrument blows you away 
The highs are not as sharp as other faster amps, talking about transience of certain songs, just has a totally different decay to it.

It is not an amp that I would say is up in your face and if you are after speed and detail the SLI-80 is not for you.
using it with speakers quite effectively fills the room with musicality, is very organic and rich
If you are using it for Vocals, Jazz, classical, involving instruments this is for you.

It pairs really well with the Tesla T1 to form a good balance 

It pairs with HD800's and takes away its troublesome treble
It pairs well with HD800S new found bass but isnt anywhere near other bassphones, I find this to be more of the jack of all trades but its a real toss up with Tesla T1
yet retains sennheisers awesome ability to do 3D sound imaging

Audeze LCD3F, really really excellent vocals and strings, more layered and alive there an ambiance with these, an after taste
I pick these when I want bass on my head, I usually have the speakers on for real bass.

I think the modifications that were done to my amp is an unfair comparison to other Cary Audio Sli80's This thing rocks massive amounts of force, power and with it can come harshness even at 35-50% volume I dont even dare turn the knob any further. My small nearfield speakers can easily be Horn style far field with the right tuning/dialing and use of spatializer hardware of software.

Thanks for the in depth reply! I'm just wondering because I'm looking for a huge upgrade for my Sennheiser HD800 in terms of the amplifier. How would you say it compares to the DNA Stratus when paired with the HD800?

 

[Rainstar]

My best advice is not to shop blindly. Be happy with what you have now when the time comes and finances align with the sales Gods pull the trigger. Have 2-5 choices. Try to somehow audition those choices. With music you like. DNA Stratus, Cavalli liquid gold, cary sli 80 modded or cad 300 sei, woo wa22 or wa5, leben cs600(get one without hum problems). Moth, Eddie current, studio six ALO And probably 10 other great choices.

Your ears will differ with other people. hd800 is a bright headphone, some say to go tube and stay away from anything Sabre dac or other overly bright amps. Yet some love the ear torture. There's no best or perfect option unless you have infinite $$$$. I made my choice wanting it to also power jazz/classical high efficiency speakers. I know a guy with loads of money and has gone through 10 amps and 10 dacs reselling mostly as a loss to just experience them all to get what his standards deems Best. I usually try not to input my bias. But my dream headphone amp was between studio six ALO, headamp mkii, Cavalli LG, and a surprising DIY project that has no name.

 

[DecentLevi]

7 days and counting for this unique meet...​

 
Anybody still interested to join, please let us know, and feel free to post any questions you may have.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

nice!

 

[DecentLevi]

@HiFiGuy528
Wow, that's you, the Woo Audio rep?! 

? I think we go to all the same meets. Are you gonna attend just as an observer or bringing anything?
 
EDIT: Could you bring the WA-22 and maybe the Focal Utopia?

 

[HiFiGuy528]

  @HiFiGuy528
Wow, that's you, the Woo Audio rep?! 

? I think we go to all the same meets. Are you gonna attend just as an observer or bringing anything?
 
EDIT: Could you bring the WA-22 and maybe the Focal Utopia?

 
Yeah, we've met a few times.
 
WA8 + Utopia is what I had in mind. 

 

[DMck2000]

   
Yeah, we've met a few times.
 
WA8 + Utopia is what I had in mind. 

Oh yes! That Utopia and the WA8 look like a perfect portable setup, cannot wait until Saturday to have my mind absolutely blown.

 

[Rainstar]

I have been reading a lot on the holo audio springs dac, seems all level 1-2-3 upgrades are sold out. would love to slap it into my chain for a few minutes.
 
any mind blowing experiences = being bit by the upgrade bug once again.

 

[koven]

  Oh, I see. And the WA22 probably handles the lower-z cans better with the variable gain settings. Someone said that the WA22's having a transformer may have the potential to reduce the overall fidelity, vs. an OTL amp. Maybe we will have to try both sometime. Can we try some of my 6AS7G / 6080 / 5998 class tubes in your amp? I'll also have some phenomenal 6DJ8 / 12AT7 types also. They're all in excellent condition and I can let you change them if needed.

 
yes of course, i look forward to trying your tubes

 

[DecentLevi]

Wow, you just took this whole meet up a notch in 'resolution' with the addition of those Focal Utopia headphones! I'd recon they'll pair especially well with the likes of the WA2, Cary audio Sli 80 Ultimate edition Integrated Tube amp and the solid-state Amp: GS-X MkII that will be present. I can also bring my Liquid Carbon amp to try it in balanced if any interest, on my system which will be sporting mostly DSD audio (SACD via Foobar + Wyrd in bit perfect mode) with the X12 DAC
 
Also from what I've heard the Holo Audio Springs DAC is only back-ordered about one month, not sold out

 

[HiFiGuy528]

Good news everybody! For the meet, I'll have the following for audition. 
 
- WA8 Eclipse in Space Gray with Focal Utopia
 
- WA7 (2nd gen) + WA7tp in silver with Sennheiser HD800S
 
- WA7D in silver with solid state PSU with beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro
 
Learn more about these products at: http://wooaudio.com/products/

 

[DecentLevi]

Hello everybody, due to a miscommunication with Woo Audio, the library's policy on no selling at this event had slipped through the cracks. I'll be contacting the vendor to update his previous post. This is a free public event focused on educational / hobbyist purposes, rather than profit-driven