[jibzilla]

First I would like to thank jds labs for hosting what I thought was a wonderful event. Not just my first head-fi event but my first hifi event ever... so yah thank you big time. Second my name is James and I had the only TT setup and I'm horrible with names so please forgive me if I do not remember who you are.
 
My impressions. MAJOR SHOCKER! You guys liked my airbow's with the 727ii more the lcd-3f with the peak/volcano. Some of you even told me it was your fav. which to me is really saying allot considering all the great gear there besides my own. Either I was listening to headphones at the time or did not hear you but yah little said about the 3f. Maybe it was cause I was playing vinyl through them more? The airbow's did not have any vinyl played through them. In any case you guys are more than welcome to your own opinion but yeah I though it would be more the 3f's that caused people's jaw to drop, especially with the Marconi valve, the mids are just magic to me.
 
My fav. I'm a sucker for d.i.y. and the gent with the built from scratch beta 22 with the hd 650's really did it for me, the second time around

. I did not realize it was a goldpoint stepped attenuator the first time around and they were awfully quiet. Still the hd800's with the lyr/bifrost, the hd600's with the bottlehead crack/gojo, he560's with the bmc all amazing. I really feel the stl. represented at this meet with some really amazing sounding setup's.
 
For those that told me the airbow were there fav. Do not get the 407. It and the 507, that sounds the exact same, do not sound anywhere near as good as the sr-sc-11. I liked the airbow just a bit more than the 007mk2 even. The ii ver. of the 727 is setup for U.S. voltage. You can get the sr-sc-11 from pricejapan.com for around $700 shipped last time I checked. A 727ii used goes for around $1-1.5k depending on the condition. Realize though it was being driven by a $1k demo $1.5k retail auralic dac. so results will vary.
 
Really nice meeting you all.

 

[cn11]

One of those who told you the Airbow was their favorite was me. It really nice sounding and very fast. I loved how fast it sounded, with such control over the notes. At some point I know I'm going to get something by Stax, no doubt. 

 

[jibzilla]

  One of those who told you the Airbow was their favorite was me. It really nice sounding and very fast. I loved how fast it sounded, with such control over the notes. At some point I know I'm going to get something by Stax, no doubt. 

Thank you and I agree with your assessment of them. Very fast and effortless come to mind when I listen to them. Still when I listen to the liquidy mids and more impactful bass of the 3f's I have to give it to them being my fav. The Marconi valve can make them sound awfully mid centric though and they were sharing head time with the 650's. I also was not paying that much attention to my rig after taking an hour to setup it didn't leave me allot of time to listen and mingle. I did not put the 5692 red base in until the very end and I think I should have started off with that tube as it is much more tonally balanced.
 
I'm not quite sure but I think I might start from scratch again on my ortho/dynamic rig. Even the dac and amp. It is really good but after listening to so many other great setups at the meet and traveling my butt off to listen to the best setup I have ever heard I feel like there are still a few things missing that I would like to have. Pretty much all of it rides on the he-1000 and will it play nice with a dna stratus and metrum hex cause I know that with an hd 800 is the best I have ever listened to and it's awfully similar to the stax setup, just times 2 if you can believe it. The stax setup I'm done with. I thought it sounded amazing and this meet sort of proved it.
 
I would also like to add that the closed fischer and o2/odac and he500 and project ember/modi were also very nice sounding. Sorry I forgot to mention them in the previous post but I def. listened and very impressed.

 

[Hibuckhobby]

Was this a really small show...or is it just that no one took pictures or has written anything?

 

[jibzilla]

It was a small meet in St.Louis, around a dozen people. Still there was allot of great gear there. We might have an annual thing. I hope so, St.Louis is an awesome city and certainly big enuff. There are a few pics on the meet thread.

 

[cn11]

I think for me as to why I didn't post more in depth impressions... it's because I'm learning that they're tough to form resolved observations/impressions during. There's noise around (especially troublesome with open phones), distractions, and most rigs are playing music you aren't familiar with. That said, the Airbow system I could tell was quite special compared to the others around in that situation. Someday I'll have some Stax gear at home to enjoy in a more comfortable setting! 

 

[jibzilla]

  I think for me as to why I didn't post more in depth impressions... it's because I'm learning that they're tough to form resolved observations/impressions during. There's noise around (especially troublesome with open phones), distractions, and most rigs are playing music you aren't familiar with. That said, the Airbow system I could tell was quite special compared to the others around in that situation. Someday I'll have some Stax gear at home to enjoy in a more comfortable setting! 

I'm free most Tuesdays if you would like a better listening session with them. I agree with you on the meet impressions. They are cool but allot of distractions make them not quite ideal.