[elrod-tom]

I thought I'd start this out quickly...I'm at work, so I can't say much.

For starters, thanks to ToddR for organizing the meet. It's a lot of work, and we all appreciate it when someone goes to the trouble of doing so.

Thanks to Tyll Herstens and Ray Samuels for coming...it's always great to see both of you.

I heard some very nice equipment today...I'll post impressions later as time allows (did I mention that I'm at work?

)

 

[Todd R]

Thanks to Elrod-Tom for driving all the way from Detroit. He only got to stay for a very short time, but I really appreciate the effort. That's one dedicated Head-Fi dude

Thank you also to Ty for including the "middle of nowhere meet" in his Midwest tour. I was hoping for more attendees, but we had a nice time anyway.

I'm pretty beat right now, so I'll post some pictures tomorrow AM. after I get some sleep.
TR out.............

 

[Potatoe1313]

Well, that was a realy great meet, unfortunately my current setup seems rather pointless at the moment after going

. Well, here is my quick rundown of my highlights:

-Most desireable portable amp: the Hornet
---for the fun of it, I made a little setup consisting of my Rio Carbon Pearl, a barrowed mini-to-min from Tyll, the Hornet (very pretty without a case), then into my SR80's...dear god those cans have never sung like that before...then Ray handed me this cool looking little mini-to-mini cord to use, and it sounded even better! That thing is amazing, if I had $350 to spend, I would deffinately get one of those little amps (and I mean little, it was tiny!).

-Most desireable non-portable amp: the HeadRoom Max Balanced Amp
---This thing was sexy, I just couldn't get enough of it. I swear I came back to it at least a dozen times to try out different headphones on it. The best headphone I found to go with it was the DT880, which just sounded lovely.

-Amp with the most sex appeal: Todd R's Bottlehead S.E.X. amp
---That thing was gorgeous (didn't sound too shabby either

). Deffinately one of the smoothest amps I heard at the meet.

-Most depressing moment: when I took the Pepsi challenge with the auric illuminator
---TR ran a little experiment on me in which he put in 2 cd's, both of which were identical except for one thing, one of them was treated with the auric illuminator. After playing the same song on both cd's, I picked which one I liked better...long story short, I ended up $35 poorer and I now have a box that says "auric illuminator" on the side...

-Most hillarious moment: the Aural Audio Audition vs. The Hornet
---Ray "more famous than Tyll" Samuels wanted to prove to everyone how wonderful the Hornet realy was. To prove this he ran a blind AB test between the Audition and the Hornet, with Tyll "could you turn on the crossfeed?" Hertsens as the test subject. It was one of those 'you just had to be there' moments, but it was awesome. Some of Ray's reactions were classic, and the fact that Tyll went back and forth between the two amps for which was better was pretty odd (it was a very close battle, but I think the final verdict was that he preffered the Audition, but don't tell Ray, its a touchy subject

).

-Best headphone: PS1
---Grado at it's best, that's all I should have to say.

Tyll gave us his version of the future of headphones and the world surrounding them, and it looks good. (by the way, Tyll, I see where you are coming from with the music safe idea. I have all of my music stored on an external harddrive, and if that thing went south on me, I think I would die. [size=xx-small]knock on wood[/size]).

Good times were had, and a lot of food was eaten. I'm pretty sure there was something else I wanted to say, if I remember, I will add it as an edit.

Oh, all of the above stated stuff is just in my oppinion, so more than likely you have different tastes than me and you disagree...take it all with a grain of salt.

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Hi Guys! What a pleasure to be amongst the freaks again!

Ohh! Sorry, I forgot I'm suposed to be earning a living at this...

Well, I got some good pix, and I'll get them up tomorrow, but thanks for the great time. First thanks goes to Todd who remembered to bring massive amounts of goo for the subwitches, which was groovy. And Ray, of course, who made the conversation lively.

But at the moment I've got to get some Zs, but it's worth knowing that I ended up picking Ray's Hornet the second time around. And Ken and I spent some time comparing notes on the merits of Kimber Silver cable on his Arcam. All of which only goes to show that quick judgements at a meet are all sort of fun, but not the makings of permanent understandings....

Oh geez, I'm not making any sense. Maybe I should just shut up and wait on tomorrows pix for a wizened view on todays festivities.

THanks for a great meet guys!

Cheers!

 

[gordolindsay]

Yeah the meet was awesome, the people are what make meets, meets. I want to first off thank Todd R for organizing it and providing food and drinks. I also want to thank Tyll and Ray for bringing LARGE amounts of gear. It is hard to imagine how much money is in the room at a meet.

Everyone I met was fun to talk to and listening to Tyll and Ray go back and forth about where the future is going was pretty entertaining.

I have to say that there were things there that I was expecting to be better and some things that blew me out of the water.

The Good:

1. The Hornet. My God that thing sounds incredible. I got the chance to do the switchbox test with the Hornet and the Raptor....not a single hint of difference, I'm not joking!!! All of Ray's amps are to be desired. I could happily live with any of his products powering my headphones.

2. Headroom Micro DAC. For the $300 it goes for and all the options it has on it, it is a real bargain. I felt the need for an expensive system go down the drain.

3. Cary 303/200 cd player. I've wanted one of those forever and in person it is absolutely stunning to touch and use and look at. (It didn't sound to shabby either

4. Senn 595's. The first time I heard these (about 4 months ago) I ripped them to shred's. The second time I listened to them (about 14 hours ago) I fell in love with them. They sounded amazing!! (of course they were recabled with the Cardas so I can't tell what the regular ones sound like) I am tempted to sell my 650's for a pair of 595's-

The Bad:

1. Balanced RS-1's. True I realize I may not be a die hard Grado fan but I still expected something more than what I got. But on Grado's side, it had bowl pads and I'm more of a flat/vwap/comfie pad kind of person.

2. Meridian 588 and 508. Again, after tons of praises about Meridian and it's superb sound, I was let down. Don't get me wrong, they do sound awesome, just nothing that I would pay that much money for. The G08 on the other hand....

The Ugly:

1. The build quality of the lower end Grados. I thought I was playing with a toy! Oh well though, the Grados aren't for me so it's not too big a deal.



Overall: The meet was fantastic and alot of fun was had by all. Thanks again to Todd, Tyll and Ray for all that they do to prepare for a meet. It is appreciated!!

After the meet, I think I can say my affordable dream system would consist of:

Senn 595 w/Cardas
Headroom MicroDAC
Ray Samuel's Hornet

Absolutely amazing!!!

 

[Todd R]

OK, I slept in and feel pretty good now so here's some picts:

We had configured a special "Panache" chair just for Billy

View from a listening seat (Middle of Nowhere Meet). Mapquest got lots of people lost. I wonder how many are still driving around looking for the place?

Ty has the best toy box in the whole world.

Ty holding his Headroom 101 class.

Ty and Ray discuss the future of audio.

Todd R's table. L-R, Shunyata Hydra 6, Aural Audio Audition, Cary 303/200, Bottlehead SEX amp, RA-1 clone. Sennheiser 650, Grado HF-1, Cardas Golden Reference cables.

Oldears table.

Babykenny's table.

Ken auditioning the Audition.

The amazing Hornet. I couldn't tell it apart from Ray's other amps, it was quite amazing. He's going to sell a million of these

 

[oldears]

Since I was there, I guess I should say something. So, without further adieu, THANKS TODD! Those of you who didn't show up really missed out. While a larger attendance would have been nice for Ray and Tyll, the smaller number of attendees provided the opportunity for longer listening sessions and more comparisons. No long lines or "Hurry Up!" so the next guy could have a chance. The atmosphere was very relaxed and the munchies were GREAT!

There, I hope I made all of you who didn't attend feel bad

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Todd R The amazing Hornet. I couldn't tell it apart from Ray's other amps, it was quite amazing. He's going to sell a million of these

^
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HOT!!! My pending setup

 

[RaYSaMueLsSoN]

hey u guys just posting some pisc from the meet....i had an awsom time their and the food was good lol.. thanks for everything!

the infamous S.E.X. amp (below)

 

[pjr300]

Darn! I just joined this site and would have enjoyed the road trip to check out all this great gear. anyone considering another such event in the Detroit area?

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

I went to get photos of my camera and realized I don't have a PCMCIA slot on my new laptop so I'll have to wait till I get home to post pix. So I'll get them up when I get home, sometime the week of the 10th.

 

[recstar24]

what were the overall impressions of the aural audition? looks beefy on the inside, just curious about the sonic impressions

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by recstar24 what were the overall impressions of the aural audition? looks beefy on the inside, just curious about the sonic impressions

there was a really nice comparo of that aural audition to the GSP Audio Solo awhile ago, i'll go find it.

I found it!

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin...rahamaural.htm

 

[gordolindsay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by recstar24 what were the overall impressions of the aural audition? looks beefy on the inside, just curious about the sonic impressions

Meh...

No really, the sound was good, not $2200 good but it was good. I had the 595's plugged in it and was messing with the volume knob and inbetween volume settings (stepped attenuater) it would have a channel imbalance. I think the few people that got to do the switchbox test with it and the hornet, chose the hornet more often then not. (don't hold me on that?!?!)

But there were definately more impressive amps there. (Sorry Todd!)

 

[Nik]

Sorry, but how can you do a serious comparison with a imbalanced amp? Was the amp or the cans defective?

Best!
Nicola