[akwok]

Hmm.. Larry just e-mailed me, saying that he too thinks the foo_me pair has impacted drivers. No driver guard?

Hopefully mine doesn't sound muddy..

 

[foo_me]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akwok Hmm.. Larry just e-mailed me, saying that he too thinks the foo_me pair has impacted drivers. No driver guard? Hopefully mine doesn't sound muddy..

Better get in touch with him then as to how to fix it!
Hopefully, once it's fixed, a more proper impression could be made of them.

 

[RnB180]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veniogenesis What cables are these? (Sorry for my lack of knowledge about cables) Cheers, Thomas

those are my sky blue RCAs. the so cal meet was the first time Ive taken them out publicly, though there was very little interest in the meet for cabling, so they spent most of the time lying around, I think Ray was the only guy there that actually took interest in looking at them

The famous Grover interconnects were also present

though I couldnt locate the owner, so I was unable to run personal comparisons at the meet, I was probably the only one walking around and picking up high end cables and examining the how well they were put together.
though the grovers were one of the cables I did take a serious look at in examining. with the popularity of the grover cables, I wanted to see what the excitement was about.

maybe some other time I can listen to them.

 

[Jetlag]

so..... anyone get a chance to plug the UE-10s into the Hornet &/or SR-71?

BRB, do you think it might be a bit harsh on the highs with the 10s since it appeared to be with the 5s?

 

[RnB180]

the cable mustve used reflex tech flex,
the flash set off the reflective portions of the sleeving and came out with a cool pic

 

[Jasper994]

Wow! That was really fun!!!

I especially enjoyed hanging out after the meet each evening with everyone.

I hope everyone had as good a time as I.

I'm not sure if it's really good or bad because I got to hang out with some really great people, but I really didn't do a lot of listening at this meet. Going into it, I knew I probably wouldn't because I'm actually quite happy with my current setup. I did listen to a few things though.

My favorite thing in the meet is definately the UE 10 Pros! Those things just sounded incredible with anything and everything I threw at them. Sadly, I don't have $900 to drop on them right now.

Oh well, I shall start saving and one of these days I'll get a pair.

The Headroom Desktop DAC/amp was a very lush and warm sounding combo. With the E4, however, the treble seemed very rolled off. This isn't something I experience with my gear. This to me is a perfect illustration of just how much system synergy is important. Though I didn't try it, I would imagine the Headroom Destop DAC/amp would pair very well with Etys for those of you who like their sound but wish for a little more bottom end and a little less top end.

Speaking of system synergy... I got to sit down and listen to Ray's Meridian 508, paired with the Stealth and the HD600s (with Cardas cable). Very, very nice!

I was blown away when I listened to Cantus - One by One!

I definately want to take a moment to thank several people:

Peter Rasla, for allowing us the use of the facilities!

Luis, for convincing his boss to allow us to invade their conference rooms and for being a warm and considerate host. We're definately going to have to hang out for non-Head-Fi related stuff as well, maybe check out The Library...

Edwood, for all your efforts in organizing and coordinating the meet! Thanks also for picking up the cake.

Tyll, for bringing out the 5 huge Pelican cases worth of gear! I hope you enjoyed the birthday cake!

Thanks also for letting me try your Sensaphonics. Oh yeah, and thanks again for the really cool hat.

Ray, for bringing out all your gear and being such a riot!

Thanks also for the invite to Chicago. I would definately like to come visit you one of these days. Thanks also for answering all my questions, I hope I didn't ask too many...

Mike from UE, for hooking us up with the product demos! Those UE 10s were awesome! Thanks also for coming out! I hope you got to hear a few things that you enjoyed.

Matt from Shure, for sending us the box of tips! They were very helpful in allowing everyone to try various IEMs. Hopefully next year you'll be able to come out and join us.

Bill, for making those awesome name tags, very classy!

Thanks to everyone else who joined us for this spectacular meet! I hope everyone had the opportunity to try at least a few things they really liked.

I really enjoyed meeting all of you. I had some great conversations with various people and loads of fun!

-Aaron

 

[rx7_fan]

I listened to the UE10 briefly on the Hornet (at 3 gain). The sound was more forward and I really liked it. I usually listen to hip-hop/rap, r&b, techno, trance,pop so mellow amps aren't my thing. There were absolutely no hiss at all, the phone was silent when the volume knob was at '0'. On the other hand, when I listened to the SR-71 at 6 gain, there was a bit of hiss and the sound was more mellow, probably for classical or jazz. I think because of this, a little more details where shown with the sr-71. But I didn't care for that much details because of my musical taste.

 

[BRBJackson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetlag so..... anyone get a chance to plug the UE-10s into the Hornet &/or SR-71?

I listened to (hogged is more like it

) the UE 10's for a good 45 minutes, with both the SR-71 and the Hornet, after I did the shootout. The SR's volume pot had about 10 degrees or so of rotation before they started getting too loud. This was with the standard internal gain (set at 6). If you desire less gain, Ray said he could do that as well, you just have to ask. The Hornet of course had the gain switch, and with it set to 'low', there was plenty of adjustment available, so no worries there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetlag BRB, do you think it might be a bit harsh on the highs with the 10s since it appeared to be with the 5s?

It actually was just the tiniest bit edgy with the E4's (not the SF 5Pro's). I was expecting the UE 10 to be more so due to it's extended treble resolution, but it turned out to be about the same as the Shures. As I mentioned, it's just something to bring up, not in any way a bash of the Hornet's treble presentation. I think it boils down to this: If you're somewhat of a treble guy searching for the finest details, get the Hornet. If you want a slightly more laid-back sound, go for the SR-71. If you want a supremely balanced, perhaps polite sound, the Micro may just do it for you. You likely can't go wrong with any of them.

 

[brianknewbie]

Wow. Where to begin?

This was my first head-fi meet so was definitely an eyeopener. Things I learned:

* This is not surprising because I had expected this based on previous meet impression reports -- but yes, head-fiers are indeed some of the nicest & down-to-earth people that you'll meet. Very cool to be around 20-30 "strangers" but able to feel comfortable right away -- not just common interest in head-fi but just everyone was well-behaved, polite, very careful with each other's equipment etc. :

* I admit, when I first saw head-fi, I thought all you people were certifiably insane for getting together to....listen....to....headphones....

but I think attending this first meet was just another "I'll NEVER do that" which was broken; I remember this isalso what I said when I saw the insane price tags for UE-10s and PS-1s

* While I like my PS-1s very much, the R10s are just a bit better with vocals such as Ella Fitzgerald -- I'm still very much a newbie to expressing how & what I like about certain headphones, but R10 + Ella = certain magic that PS-1 doesnt have. The difference is not night & day, somewhat subtle, and the PS-1s are still very very good with this. But on the other hand, there is certain music that I did not like with the R10s. Very detailed without seeming cold, but just no impact. There is one particular part of a NIN song that has a drum riff that is just AWESOME to listen to with PS-1s, but the same track with R10s has similar detail but just no impact whatsoever. Very very strange to compare the two -- overall, an interesting phone and one I'd hope to be lucky enough to spend some more time with at another meet.

* I listened to KGSS + a Stax phone (cant remember which one) and this is a combo I'd like to listen to further as well.

* Not sure what it was in my system that I didnt like with SA5000, but I prefer the sound of the SA5000 with petery83's PPX3 or Ray's Raptor. On my system, SA5000 sounds detailed but almost "thin" .... but sounded much fuller on PPX3 and Raptor. I'm trying hard to resist getting a tube-based amp such as Earmax Pro etc since I know nothing whatsoever about tubes

... might just see how well I like it with Hornet.

People to thank:
* LFF for graciously hosting the meet and making countless trips downstairs to let people in. I'll be checking out that Chopin complete set you recommended to me and will probably be asking you via PM about other CDs since this seems to be definitely be your forte.

* Edwood -- thanks for explaining the technical side of the mods I had done to DAC1, the Offramp Turbo (modded Transit), and slight upgrades to GS-1. Was great to be able to see these opened up and see for myself that, "yes what I paid for is actually there."

Was also cool to hear your admiration for the work that Steve did with DAC1, Transit and Justin with GS-1. I obviously do not have the same technical expertise with this as you do, so it's great to hear praise from someone who is knowledgeable about the subject and able to dumb it down for the rest of us so we can relate

* Ray and Tyll for both being crazy enough to not only fly out from Chicago and Montana, respectively, but also bringing all your equip with you too! What can I say about both of these guys that has not already been said many many times here on head-fi, except to just say that I really respect both of you guys for everything you bring to head-fi and was great to meet you both. I liked both the MicroDAC and Hornet and now the wait for both of these items is even longer to endure

Finally, was just nice to meet everyone from head-fi -- I'd start to name you all but no way would I be able to match up faces with names with screennames

and wouldnt want to offend any of you by accidentally leaving you out. Had some great conversations with a lot of you, got some great CD suggestions, and look forward to seeing you at future meets etc!

~Brian

 

[brianknewbie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RnB180 the cable mustve used reflex tech flex, the flash set off the reflective portions of the sleeving and came out with a cool pic

Wow that's an awesome pic....I just emailed it to Drew @ Moon Audio

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salt Peanuts Did the modded Electrocompaniet ECD-1 make it to the meet? If so, anyone has any impressions?

No, I was going to bring it, but was not able to make the meet, as the entire day Saturday was consumed with taking my daughter back to college, which put me in a situation where I had to play catch-up with a bunch of things on Sunday (until about 7 p.m.!). I was totally bummed I had to miss the meet and have to live vicariously by these great reports. I guess I just have to look for a meet that goes from midnight to 6 a.m.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetlag so..... anyone get a chance to plug the UE-10s into the Hornet &/or SR-71? BRB, do you think it might be a bit harsh on the highs with the 10s since it appeared to be with the 5s?

I gave the Hornet and the UE10 (demo pair) a good listen on Sunday. It is anything but bright. It is a very neutral amp (which all well made and designed amps are) and the noise floor (hiss noise) is very very low. The UE10's really reveal this noise (although my R10's I can hear more of it). The "hiss" noise is only noticeable at insane volumes. You would blow your eardrums out if you played music. The only problem I heard was that the Hornet's gain (even at the lowest setting) was too high for the UE10's. I had maybe 10 degrees of movement on the pot before the volume was at it's max comfortable listening level.

But Ray has informed me that he has picked a different pot that will ramp up the volume at a slower rate, so that it will offer more volume range for low impedance headphones. I do like Ray's choice of potentiometer for the Hornet. Wiper noise is audiable but only with no signal playing, and at insane volume levels. left/right tracking is very good. Especially with a pot with a progressive volume curve rather than a linear one.

In short, Jetlag, no worries. If you were looking for a tiny amp, this may be your ticket.

-Ed

 

[Jon L]

Was there any more comparisons of DAC1 to EA modded DAC1, and stock transit to EA modded Transit on Sunday?

 

[Ferbose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon L Was there any more comparisons of DAC1 to EA modded DAC1, and stock transit to EA modded Transit on Sunday?

I believe Edwood compared my stock DAC1 to the modded DAC1 on Sunday using his R10.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferbose I believe Edwood compared my stock DAC1 to the modded DAC1 on Sunday using his R10.

[crickets chirping]So time to spill the beans on this one

And where are those pics?

[/crickets chirping]