[moedawg140]

I would like to thank all of the organizers who put the 2014 L.A. Head-Fi meet together, as I was anxiously waiting to attend and demo everything that I could.  A big thank you to the vendors for donating over $8,000 worth of fine audio goodness for the scavenger hunt/giveaway (even though I didn't win anything, it was great that others did.)  Everyone was very friendly, made a couple of new friends, and I look forward to attending another Head-Fi meet in the immediate southern California area.  
 
Quick shoutouts: Jude, who is an awesome, down to earth guy who knows a lot about wrestling (real), so that was refreshing to say the least.  Wild, for being a great guy and talking IEMs with me, Will from Massdrop (for the nice conversation and letting me demo his CEntrance HiFi-M8 and Beat Audio Silver Sonic MKV cable), Hajime for being super nice, Brannan from Noble for letting me demo his superbly snazzy Chord Hugo, the Astell & Kern tech guy for letting me demo his devices/IEMs for what was probably an extended period of time, the exhibitors and everyone who attended, because you all were and are super cool and accommodating.  
 
Here's my review from what I demoed at the L.A. Head-Fi meet.  This is just my opinion of everything, so please, if you have any issues (especially negative) with what is written, PM me. 

 
Taken from my iPhone notes as I listened to each headphone/earphone (smoothed out for this post):
 
 
Schiit
Mjolnir + Gunnir + AKG K1000 - warm, and deep soundstage.
 
Sennheiser 
HDVA 600 w/ HD800 unbalanced and balanced
HD 800 unbalanced - tinny, not a very wide soundstage.
HD 800 balanced w/ balanced amp - wow, soundstage is more broad, marked difference.
IE800 - soundstage deep, bass not bad but the bass from the SE846 is more prevalent.
Momentum and Momentum on ear - average, small depth of bass (Beats almost sound better).
HD 650 balanced w/ amp - nice. 
 
Grace Design
m920 - nice wide soundstage - bass a little tinny.
 
Apogee
ONE for iPad and Mac (iphone as well) w/ Audeze LCD X - Charges/input via lightning connector - Sounds good and deep soundstage. 
 
Astell & Kern
AK120 II - deep soundstage, analytical.
AK240 - warm sounding, deeper soundstage.
Of the two, the AK120 II would be my pick for sure.  But with my current setup, both are not worth the extra money.  I'll consider purchasing a new dedicated boutique DAP once the highest quality DAPs can also receive phone calls and text. Anyways, the AK tech at the meet said they would fix my iRiver Clix 2 (broken AMOLED screen) for a reasonable price or possibly pro bono! Score.
 
Ultimate Ears
UE UREM - not as good as IE800 or SE846.
UE 18 Pro - deep soundstage, nice deep bass. 
 
JH Audio
Roxanne tuned for AK series - flat setting - doesn't seem as deep in soundstage as UE 18 pro or SE846.
JH 13 Pro - Analytical, reference, wide soundstage. Bass is okay. 
JH 16 Pro - bass is more prevalent. Not too broad though. 

Roxanne (turned up +10 db with screwdriver) - nice, but slighty bloated bass, not bad, but SE846 has more depth and quality to the bass, if that makes sense.
 
Noble
Noble 5 - Not bad, good bass. Soundstage okay, not great.
Noble K10 - good wide soundstage, good bass but not as good as Noble 5. UE 18 Pro is maybe a little better with slightly better bass. 
Noble 8 - Better than 5 but not as crisp as K10. Good IEM though.
 
Chord Electronics
HUGO - connected to my iPhone 5 via silver dragon lightning connection and my HL Silver Litz SE - amazing!!! Warm soundstage, but not too warm, vibrant, brings a constant smile to your face. So much more depth than anything else portable-wise, including any of the AKs or other portable amps.  Worth it price-wise?  That is for you to decide.
 
plusSound
OCC copper cable sounds good/alright (different sound signature than the silver cables I've tried).
Cloud Nine amp sounds good as well. 
 
Beat Audio
Beat Audio Silver Sonic MKV cable has better/longer bass rumble than my HL Silver Litz, but HL Silver Litz has great overall presentation.  Both cables are great!
 
CEntrance
HiFi-M8 - Nice boost in power and quality to my SE846.  Comparable to the Cloud Nine sound-wise.
 
Audeze
LCD XC - sounds great. Nice and warm. 
 
warrenpchi
Prototype desktop amp that warrenpchi brought - very wide soundstage.  Hajime and I conversed, and I gave him a few of my marketing suggestions regarding the stellar product.
 
Woo Audio
Woo Audio w/ Stax electrostatic headphones - wide soundstage, analytical, high treble, but I like that. Maybe highest that I've heard. 
Woo Audio WA7 engaging as well - more warm.
 
Oppo
Oppo HA-1 with Oppo headphones - nice soundstage, analytical. Treble high. Better than first Woo Audio amp I demoed in my opinion. 
 
Mad Dog
Mad Dog speakers headphones (all three price/performance range) - Not bad, sounds like there is a veil on the soundstage though. 
 
Stax
SRM-323S - very nice separation of soundstage. Detailed and precise. 
 
LH Labs
Geek Out 450 USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier - Nice wide soundstage for such a small (large thumb drive-like) size.
 
Cavelli Audio
Liquid Glass - transparent, super 3D soundstage, one of my favorites.  The person next to me was so in awe that he went back to his car to get more of his headphones saying "I was looking for an amp, and this is the best I've heard".
 
Darin Fong Audio
Out of Your Head Software - simply amazing, as the soundstage is very, very separated, wide, and VERY 3D like.  I can't wait until they release it for the App Store (iPhone).  I'll be replacing my Neutron App with the iPhone version of the Out of Your Head Software once it releases (the representative said they were working on it).
 
 
 
Conclusion
I wanted to try out as many of the higher end IEMs as I could, and am happy I was able to do so.  I compared them all to my SE846, and let's just say that I (and anyone who has the SE846 and likes quality bass) would more than likely say that the SE846 is the best for the price we paid, guaranteed.  Nothing I demoed had the quality and depth of the SE846's bass. The UE 18 Pro had the quality bass-wise and the JH Audio Roxanne (tuned +10 db) had the depth bass-wise.  IF any IEMs I tried are 'better', they are not worth the 500 to 800 dollar price increase they command.  I did demo the universals, compared to my SE846 with Sensaphonics Custom Sleeves, so it may not be the fairest of comparisons, but hey, the universals have ~95% of what the custom equivalents embody.  Plus I pushed the universals in as far as I could into my ear canals to have as optimal of isolation as I could hope for.  However, if I had zero earphones and had to choose which CIEM I would pick from what I have heard at the meet, I would choose the UE 18 Pro.
 
I got so caught up with the meet that I only took a few pictures.  Enjoy...
 
Disclaimer: the song below (with accompanied album art) came from my mini SD card:

 

 

 

 

 
The faceplate glows-in-the-dark:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Fin.

 

[donaldj68]

Well.. first off.. Let me thank Warren and Ethan for trusting a "newbie" with the important task of greeting all you folks and trying to get  everyone thru the front desk and sign in process so that the fun could begin for each and every attendee.. (what were those two thinking???)  Anyway... I am here to tell all you folks that are reading this thread..NEXT TIME... don't miss out..put a head-fi meet on your bucket list if you must.. but go.. as a newbie.. I was so overwhelmed by both the welcome by other users and the graciousness of all the vendors in attendance... OH.. and did I mention that those same vendors were fantastic in their donations for the scavenger hunt.. I have never seen such a fun time had by all ( yes,, even us losers) and the credit goes to the vendors for making the end of the day something to look forward to , not something to just race out of the room for..
 
My impressions were minimal since I was trying to be diligent in my assignment of volunteering, but the things that I did see and hear made me think I might have retired too early ( need a better cash flow so I can afford more of these "goodies" for my hobby addiction).. but I must single out one product that just blew me away ( and had me reaching for my credit card within a minute of the demo starting) and that was the "Out of your Head" software.. Darin Fong has a real winner on his hands and I would encourage anyone who has the requirements at home to give this a try..( by that I mean a Windows PC , some music , a software player and a pair of headphones).  All I can say is WOW.. and the smile on my face continues as I am writing this.. can't wait to install it and sit back to be amazed..(after all , this is a wonderful hobby where we all get the satisfaction of playing our favorites without bothering anyone else around us)
 
The other fun thing you will experience in  your next meet is to see and hear from lots of fellow head-fi folks who all have that basic same thought.. how the heck do I get that music I love so much to sound the best it can be ( or at least the best I can afford).  That singular thought brought together over two hundred individuals to meet inside ( on a weekend no less when lots of other chores/errands/other places to be) could have kept them elsewhere.. 
 
 
So I ask you.. when the next meet is scheduled in your area.. what are you gonna do?... Make your day.. plan ahead.. and go have fun
 
Thanks again to Ethan and Warren , all the vendors  and all the other attendees for making this "older" gentleman realize you could have a fun time.. even if you had to drive 6 hours each way to get to the event
 
Don J

 

[CrocCap]

deleted

 

[ohhgourami]

   
Dude I know GREED was in that room ..... I think so much great gear.

 
I was also in that room right across from Greed

We were running 2 differently modded HE-6's on two different speaker amps. Mine was hiding under the table

 

[ccash]

I only had 2 1/2 hours to spend at the meet (turned into 3). As a first timer I thought it would be plenty of time. Man was I wrong. My wife is getting tired of hearing me say, "Man I wish I could've spent more time there."

I'm realizing how much I missed. I didn't hear any of the member setups, which I knew would probably be the best part. I got sidetracked by some of the vendors, like spending waaaaay too much time at Darin Fong's table (how could you walk away from that?).

As a relativity new head-fier, I had an eye-opening experience at the Sennheiser table listening to a balanced hd 650 through their HDVA-600 amp. No veil and sounded great, which was not my previous experience with those headphones.

I brought my buddy who, while he does location sound for a living and wears headphones all day, is very green to head-fi. He loved the meet and wished he had more time too. He's ready to ditch his Beats now. We had a funny conversation about 10 minutes in, over by the Audeze table. He looked around and said:

"I never saw tubes in a headphone amp until you got yours, and now they're everywhere!"

Me: "Well, you are at a headphone convention you know."

Him: "Sometimes you test our friendship".

I also wish I'd had more time to meet more of you. If it happens again next year, we will be there! Thanks!

 

[bmichels]

   

 
 

 
Nice tubes !!

 

[mrbig]

 

 
 

Is Jude getting ear molds for the K10?

 

[audiofrk]

I was also VERY impressed with the Geek out stuff. It gets you very close to Chord Hugo level sound for a very low price. I think that when the Geek Out Pulse comes out, that will be my next headphone amp/dac.

Interesting I actually didn't listen to it at the meet

 

[bmichels]

  I had a chance to try the secret prototype amp and it sounded very good to me. ...
 

 
What prototype ?  from which Brand ?? 

 

[The Fed]

I just wanted to chime in and say thanks to Warren and Ethan for putting this thing together. For most of us it was just a killer meet, and it went off without a hitch. But the effort they must've put into this to get commitments from all these vendors (and be told "NO" by who knows how many others), book the hotel, coordinate 200+ attendees, coordinate the vendors, print name tags, signs maps, get the place set up etc..... and secure such an amazing list of donations for the scavenger hunt. I am sure I have no idea what kind of effort they put into this for it to go off so smoothly. So thank you guys for leading the charge. 
 
Also thank you for making a noob feel completely welcome the minute he walked  in the door.
 
Listening to all the cool gear was awesome. That Abyss/ Eddie Current/ Audio GD rig in the back room is off the mother effin chain Anaxillus!. Getting to hear the HD800 in a dozen different set ups removed any and all doubt for me, and getting to here ALL the Woo Models as well as meet Mike and realize that he is just as passionate about this hobby, Michael Grace, Dan Clark, Donald North.... all just really solid, good people. And I think that was what made it for me.... Getting to meet so many people who share the same interest was just cool. 
 
At work if someone dares to make the mistake of asking me "What is that box over in the corner? What kind of crazy headphones are these".... 10 minutes later as I am explaining how "They use a resistor ladder for volume attenuation WAY BETTER than some off the shelf pot and discrete transistors in dual mono...." my poor co-workers are desperately looking for an out while I am removing the lid with an allen wrench "See those? Nichicon fine gold caps! It's crazy to find parts quality like this at this price point!" ...  
 
But meeting people who hear exactly what you are saying and speak it back to you.... "I know right? And two transformers! E Core transformers that are custom wound!... BOOOSH! Mind Blower!" 
 
It was just a really cool way to spend my Saturday. 
 
So thank you Warren and Ethan for putting it on... Thank you Jude for flying all the way out to show your support. And thank you to all the other guys at the front desk for just being cool as hell... It was like catching up with old friends.... whom I've never met. 
 
Cheers

 

[dsound]

What a great-meet.  I was the guy who ended up taking home the unloved Japanese-jazz import CD's from the raffle and they are really great (Jazz is my genre of choice). 
 
Thanks to Ethan and Warren for putting together an amazing event and to all the hands that helped in it's running & setup.  
 
This year I spent quite a bit of time demoing the Headamp GS-X and loved it's presentation with all of the headphones they had on display.  I was particularly taken with the TH900/GS-X pairing as well as the pairing with my T5p's.  
 
Thanks to Amish for letting me listen to his Garage1217 amps and his LCD-2's, they sounded great!  Also, thanks for letting me try his LCD-2 on my own Budgie-SE rig, I was pleasantly surprised at how the little amp was able to drive them with such authority.  
 
Thanks to Frank Cooter and his awesome wife (who shares his love of headphones!).  Frank was so generous with his time and explained his amplifier as well as some of the intricacies of DIY in general to me.  His wife also introduced me to the highlight of the show, Billy Bragg's Tooth and Nail album!  The album was fantastic and highlighted Frank's SR-007 rig beautifully.  It's also great to meet some fellow Gauchos in the wild 

.
 
Thanks to Jude for humoring me and demoing my modded T5p's, I'm glad you liked them!  (I PM'ed you with the mod-steps)
 
Thanks to Netforce for being my Table-neighbor and for helping me hold down the fort in the unloved Warner Center room.  Those Onkyo's sounded fantastic!
 
Thanks to Fritz of Fritz-speakers for the awesome recounting of his history building speakers and his design-philosophy.  That was truly an awesome treat.
 
Thanks to all who demoed my Budgie SE/T5p rig and my Bottlehead/HD600 rig.  It was awesome to hear all the positive feedback on my setup.  

 

[LemSkee]

  It was fun meeting everybody and to share our passion for the hobby.  Look forward to doing it again soon.
 

 
Glad I finally got a chance to meet you Mike!  Thanks for your input on the Woo DAC (there goes my next purchase).  Wish someone didn't beat me to that aluminum headphone stand purchase though LOL!
 
Lem

 

[M3NTAL]

Those Black & White K1000's look great! Bravo to whoever those belong to and did the work! 

 

[Mr.Sneis]

  Those Black & White K1000's look great! Bravo to whoever those belong to and did the work! 

 
Pretty easy mod!  White shrink wrap over the steel bands which come off with screws.  I once had a orange pair that I just had to re-store to the original red.

 

[Mr.Sneis]

Glad to see Apogee bring in some toys.  Big fan of the company even though they have not been involved in our hobby much until now.  Didn't realize their Symphony IO uses ESS Sabre DAC.  I recently re-acquired a Mini-Dac having come to the realization that it hits a price/performance sweet spot for me that still holds true today.  They have some competition from Lynx though!