[canloader]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon L Ray, that Omega II setup was even more expensive than you think The setup was laptop->toslink(isolates noise)->Empirical Audio Modded Monarchy upsampler/jitter box->coax->Audiologic 24 MXL tube DAC (nice piece by digital guru Jerry Ozmont)-> very heavy-duty looking interconnects->KGSS->Omega II. I'd hate to tally up the total cost. I think a lot of the nice sonic qualities come from that DAC. Wish I had a chance to compare that DAC to Empirical Benchmark DAC..

I have been waiting and waiting to listen to a pair of Omega II. Wow! The beauty of ES Earspeakers. I would have liked to try them on my setup but so much to do! and my amps were 1/4mi down the hall..

I also missed out on listening to the AKG1000~ darn darn. Now I can see the mini-meet idea..
I loved the meet! Even though I only got to set-up for 4+ hours. We lost you guys on the way to the Spectrum

Oh well, Emily was driving...
Thanks to Tyll for cruizin' some Headroom gear to the rear station. I am now going to go for a outboard MicroDAC. It was sweet. USB and bang! into the STAX amp. Ray is a great story teller and FULL of knowledge! My minty moy will be going to a friend and I cannot wait for the Hornet! The balanced PS-1 setup was just a treat. I wish to have been there on Sunday. I still have to get the pics from the cam. I will post soon!

 

[Borat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sduibek Bright? I didn't find the Hornet bright at all. The opposite in fact, I found the Hornet to be detailed and airy without being harsh or bright in the treble. I find the treble of the SR-71 to be harsh and fatiguing within about 30mins.

Really? The SR-71 is the smoothest sounding portable amp that I have heard with my HD 600 (Cardas). I could not ever imagine being fatigued by it. Was this impression formed with your Shure E3's? Interesting.

My impressions of the Hornet and SR-71 fall closer in line with arnaud's, maybe because we are both Sennheiser users. Though I do hesitate to call the Hornet "bright," more like "punchy" and "aggressive."

And I think the Meridian 508 is sort of on the bright side, it's just that the dark nature of the HD650's seem to even it out so the end result sounds closer to "neutral."

I forgot to add my impressions of another headphone:

Audio Technica ATH-W1000 - I'm fairly certain this was the AT model I was listening to. It had "Sovereign" printed on the cups. These were a major disappointment IMO. The look of this headphone is so seductive, but then you listen to it and become bored out of your mind. I thought the mids were much too dry and this headphone was generally uninvolving. I didn't feel the emotion or impact of the music with these on. I bet if Ray Samuels lost this instead of the Hornet PCB, he would not lose any sleep over it.

 

[bookkeepers_son]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon L Ray, that Omega II setup was even more expensive than you think The setup was laptop->toslink(isolates noise)->Empirical Audio Modded Monarchy upsampler/jitter box->coax->Audiologic 24 MXL tube DAC (nice piece by digital guru Jerry Ozmont)-> very heavy-duty looking interconnects->KGSS->Omega II. I'd hate to tally up the total cost. I think a lot of the nice sonic qualities come from that DAC. Wish I had a chance to compare that DAC to Empirical Benchmark DAC..

Well, that figures, Jon! There was just a staggering amount of gear that I didn't even notice the Audiologic. Yes, that DAC is a doozy. I was seriously considering one before, still am, in fact. Didn't he design the Jadis DAC, too, before? The Audiologics sometimes go for good prices on Audiogon (probably not the latest model, though).

 

[AC1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bookkeepers_son Well, that figures, Jon! There was just a staggering amount of gear that I didn't even notice the Audiologic. Yes, that DAC is a doozy. I was seriously considering one before, still am, in fact. Didn't he design the Jadis DAC, too, before? The Audiologics sometimes go for good prices on Audiogon (probably not the latest model, though).

Jon L is correct on the assessment of my O2 setup. While the KGSS does help the characteristics described above, the great majority really comes from the from both the Audio Logic DAC and Empirical modded Monarchy Upsampler (which is interfaced to the Laptop via USB). Actually, the back end was not broken in either, where the Monarchy had an all new clock and new upsampler chip (arrived on that Friday), while the AL DAC had new Telefunken CCAs (put in on Wed). Even after a few days it is more open and smoother than it was at the meet. I would say the back end is about 75% of the total cost (not counting the laptop). The good thing about the O2 and KGSS is that is has been flexible in revealing the changes/improvements of the back end for all aspects of the sound, where I have not hit a limit like I have on some of my other headphone setups.
Jerry did design the Jadis Dac along with his Altis stuff.

 

[LFF]

A quick complaint - Sure we had Shure's and Ety's and Super.fi's but.....WHY DIDN'T ANYONE BRING THIER BOSE TRIPORTS?????? How could we miss such great quality headphones at one of our meets?

Check out this thread:

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=132887

 

[Nospam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LFF A quick complaint - Sure we had Shure's and Ety's and Super.fi's but.....WHY DIDN'T ANYONE BRING THIER BOSE TRIPORTS?????? How could we miss such great quality headphones at one of our meets?

But we did have them

See the bottom of this link:
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showp...2&postcount=36

 

[Ferbose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audioengr The input digital pulse transformer on the DAC-1 is grounded. It should not be. This, combined with the grounded power cord, creates a ground-loop that can pick-up noise. It's one of my optional mods to replace the transformer and float it.

Thank you for sharing this engineering insight.
I am not alone on this forum believing that DAC1 sounds better with power-cord ground floated. I remember Neilpeart mentioning this, too.

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nospam But we did have them See the bottom of this link: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showp...2&postcount=36

]

Dang it! I dont know how I could have missed such great headphones

.

I did most of my listening on Sunday so maybe thats why I missed Tylls Headphones. Maybe next time.

 

[amb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferbose Thank you for sharing this engineering insight. I am not alone on this forum believing that DAC1 sounds better with power-cord ground floated. I remember Neilpeart mentioning this, too.

Yes, NeilPeart, morsel and I opened up his DAC-1 a few months ago when we had a mini-meet at my place. We found that the DAC-1's signal ground and AC ground are all tied together without any ground breaker. This is a recipe for ground loops if you connect the DAC-1 into a system where another component also has its AC ground tied to signal ground, or if the system has a connection to TV cable.

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LFF ] Dang it! I dont know how I could have missed such great headphones . I did most of my listening on Sunday so maybe thats why I missed Tylls Headphones. Maybe next time.

Count yourself lucky, I almost got whip lash I pulled them off so fast...

 

[10068]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borat Really? The SR-71 is the smoothest sounding portable amp that I have heard with my HD 600 (Cardas).

Stop right there. The HD600, and furthermore the entire Cardas line from what i've seen, remove treble information from the signal path.

not that this is necessarily a bad thing... I prefer a slightly darker sound than most, being very sensitive to treble. But saying "the SR71 is smooth on the HD600 and Cardas" is kinda moot. Anything would be smooth on that combo

Quote:

I could not ever imagine being fatigued by it. Was this impression formed with your Shure E3's?

Various phones.

Quote:

Though I do hesitate to call the Hornet "bright," more like "punchy" and "aggressive."

Yes.

It's punchy and lively, yet smooth detailed and airy.

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood LFF had a very interesting test track that he used which he called the "Bass Crusher". Don't remember the song, but it was a particularly robust and well recorded timpani drum strike. It is what LFF felt was the perfect test for "natural, powerful bass."

Oh yeah - that track is the very best I know of for natural sounding bass. The track contains good dynamics, highs, mids and head crushing bass.

Speakers worth 20k can't handle it. It is truly an evil little piece. Don't ask if you have upgradaritis.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood I wish I could've heard more headphones with this one. Of all the headphones we listened to. (The R10's, SA5000's, PS-1's, and HD650's), only the HD650's really got it right. The R10's and SA5000's, while nicely detailed and better positioned (imaging wise), did not have the sheer impact the HD650's had. However, it was a bit of a shocker (well, at least to me), that the PS-1's failed miserably. They clipped and distorted, and it was not pretty.

Yes - this is complete true. PS-1's distorted beyond compare and I tried it with different amps and sources with the same track. This is one of the main reasons I think the PS-1's SUCK. Mr. Ray Samuels even agreed with me calling the PS-1's a "waste of 1500 bucks and a load on the head." Grado RS-1's and HD-650's handle this track much better but even these two great 'phones don't handle it the way it should be felt and heard. These are definately the best though. Even Super.fi EB's get muddy with this track.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood I'll have to say, LFF is very very knowledgeable with music. I was very impressed and learned alot.

Thanks Ed. I appreciate the compliment. Makes me feel good.

Anyway, if anyone wants to know what the track is - shoot me a PM with your name.

***disclaimer*** I take no responsability if you decide to spend tons of $$$ on new gear if this track makes your current gear sound like $h*!***end of disclaimer***

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsychoZX Maybe LFF can chime in to tell us where to get this track.

Mwuhahahaha - read the above and shoot me a PM. Beware....

 

[brianknewbie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LFF Yes - this is complete true. PS-1's distorted beyond compare and I tried it with different amps and sources with the same track. This is one of the main reasons I think the PS-1's SUCK. Mr. Ray Samuels even agreed with me calling the PS-1's a "waste of 1500 bucks and a load on the head."

Well to each their own -- the PS-1s are still my favorite phone

. While it didnt handle that one particular part of the track the way the HD650 did, from how you and Edwood were describing it, I was expecting much, much, MUCH worse than what it ended up being. My reaction to it was basically "ah, yeah that doesnt sound lke the 650 at all, *shrug*" and went back to listening to other music on the balanced PS-1. For me, there are just waaaay too many songs that sound better on my PS-1 than anything else I have for me to just say that they "SUCK"

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brianknewbie Well to each their own -- the PS-1s are still my favorite phone . For me, there are just waaaay too many songs that sound better on my PS-1 than anything else I have for me to just say that they "SUCK"

Completely agree with you - to each his own. I agree the PS-1's sound very nice with other songs. I guess I am too picky when it comes to handling that one track. I need a great all-round 'phone.

ALSO!!! YOU GUYS FILLED UP MY PM BOX!!!! LOL!!! In an effort to ease all your curiosity here is the link to the track I use. The whole CD is great but it is track No. 3 that will usually kill 90% of equipment. Have fun.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...sical&n=507846