The Second Offical Sydney "mini" meet :) Grado fanboys enter! [56k] | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

Kenny12 · Sep 18, 2005 at 11:30 AM

EDITED:

heres the photos

for full sized photos check out the links below

Enverxis · Sep 18, 2005 at 11:52 AM

Someone post impressions!!!!

Kenny12 · Sep 18, 2005 at 12:15 PM

u'll prob get some tmr, we are all too tired atm...... listing to headphone is a tireing job

Jazper · Sep 18, 2005 at 1:05 PM

kenny: there were LOTS more pictures taken... please post them all
Impressions coming .. after I recover from the flight

blackreplica · Sep 18, 2005 at 1:27 PM

I guess i could post mine to wet your appetite!

As before, it was an excellent meet, was a great chance to meet more new headphone nuts (kenny, arcadian soul, jazper, taoster) and listen to some cool equipment! Special thanks of course are due to kenny & chungsoi for booking the room and getting the meet going

Brief summary of my thoughts (again, personal preference is the only thing i am going on here so YMMV!)

SA5Ks> I did not have such a good impression of them from the first meet. After trying different types of music on it, i have to say that they really are the best of the bunch when it comes to live music, none of the other cans came close. My original comments about unmatched treble detail still hold too. Bass is very good as well in terms of quality, but unfortunately it does fall a little short in the quantity department. Listening to them again also reinforced my belief that these cans are VERY picky when it comes to the kind of music you listen to, and the hardware you use (source and amps)

MS-Pros> I think i was the only guy who liked these aside from the owner, heh. I thought that they were a lot like my PS-1, only with less bass and somewhat less low-level detail overall. I like them just as much as the RS-1 (which i also like a lot), i consider them equals in sound, only the RS-1 paints a more coloured (albeit fun) picture, whereas the allessandro leans towards being neutral. In fact, i thought it was very neutral

AT W10 Woody> Personally i did not like these very much. They had a smooth sound, but lacked quite a bit in terms of treble detail, to my ears. Bass was ok, as was the midrange. Build quality & comfort though, were top notch. I personally think that the CD3000 from the first meet shares the same sound signature (& comfort too) but with better sound overall.

Grado SR-325> I was shocked to find i did not like these at all. I thought they sounded way too flat and lifeless, but we all think that the pads being used on them (custom yellow pads, not senn 414 pads i think) were covering the driver and muddied up the sound a lot so it wasnt a good comparison. Didnt get a chance to try other pads on it.

Beyer DJX> These belonged to arcadian soul. I never knew about their existence until i saw them at the meet. These cans are really bassy, i mean reallllyyy bassy, more so than the 770, but the 770 has more extension and the bass on the 770 just sounds better to my ears. I think it's a balance issue compared to the mids and treble that might be the problem. Overall i think they would probably be really fun to listen to for electronica but would probably fall short with any other kind of music

For amps, I think i listened a reasonable amount to the Melos and M3 amps and can say that Melos + Grados = Match made in HEAVEN!! The way grados sound on them, its almost unbelievable the difference that you hear. Too bad they are still not in production. They make the PS-1 sound too good for mere mortals, it's just ridiculous. If i could still get my hands on one, i would buy one in a flash even though i am not in the market for a desk-bound amp.

The M3 was a bit mixed for me. With the original opamps from the first listening (jazper can tell you which ones they are, i forget) i though that the amp sounded a little dull and washed out. With the opamp change (to OPA627s i think) they sounded much better, although the melos was still my favourite amp for the grados by far.

There was also this little tube amp which taoster brought (there is a pic of it in the first post somewhere i think). It sounded very euphonic, there was no doubt in my mind that i was listening to a tube amp. Dynamics were a little lacking, but it's warm and tubey presentation i think some people would really like. It's really really small size i think, gives it a real cutesy factor. I also tripped on it's power cable (one of many who tripped on it for some reason, LOL) and ended up bending the pins on one of the tubes

i'm sooooo sorry about that taoster i hope you managed to work it out

I didnt get much of a chance to use the amps with other cans so my comments refer more to the way they synergise with grados as opposed to in-general

It was a real Grado fest, great for grado fans....I had so much fun, too bad i had to leave early to study.....

I'll let the other guys take over now

Jazper · Sep 18, 2005 at 1:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackreplica
The M3 was a bit mixed for me. With the original opamps from the first listening (jazper can tell you which ones they are, i forget) i though that the amp sounded a little dull and washed out. With the opamp change (to OPA627s i think) they sounded much better, although the melos was still my favourite amp for the grados by far.

ths4631..

However, what was interesting was that the synergy was much better(as Covenant will tell you) with the ths chips and the sa5ks, whereas the 627s paired better with the other phones overall. The 627s on the sa5ks were dull and boring imho.

blackreplica · Sep 18, 2005 at 1:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazper
ths4631..

However, what was interesting was that the synergy was much better(as Covenant will tell you) with the ths chips and the sa5ks, whereas the 627s paired better with the other phones overall. The 627s on the sa5ks were dull and boring imho.

Thats synergy for you

i wonder how other opamps would turn out. Would be fun to try them out if i had the time!

Pics resized and posted below for easier viewing

Melos, Arcam CD player, and a PIMETA (i think)

From left: MS-Pro, PS-1, RS-1. There is an SR-80 lurking in the background. Supermacro V3 with blue LED sitting on top of the melos in the front

The gang

Taoster's little tube amp on top of the melos. Headphones organised (reasonably neatly) in the background

Litte tube amp again...so cute!

Lots and LOTS of headphones...grados front row SA5Ks towards the left of front row. Back row: Beyer 770s (80 ohm with straight cord, 250 ohm with coiled cord), AT W10 Furthest back: Beyer DJX, Grado SR-80. Plenty of Irivers and ipods, and little amps too.

Someone has his woody in his hands (ROFL!!!)

PPA on top, M3 below, NAD CD Player at the bottom

Jazper · Sep 18, 2005 at 1:51 PM

names to faces
Left to right

Rear four: covenant, me, kenny, taoster
Front three: Blackreplica, chungsoi, arcadian soul

Jazper · Sep 18, 2005 at 1:56 PM

you got some of the amps wrong black:
final picture, top down: M3, PPA, NAD

first pic, top is a dtpakiller amp

the tiny tube amp was an earmax something or other..

Enverxis · Sep 18, 2005 at 4:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackreplica
MS-Pros> I think i was the only guy who liked these aside from the owner

The Owner (me), was not there

I lent them to the meet.

MrSlacker · Sep 18, 2005 at 6:21 PM

i see Team iRiver was there in full force!

overlunge · Sep 18, 2005 at 7:11 PM

Hi guys,

It sounds/looks like you guys had a jolly good time! Fantastic effort for all that arranged and attended the meet!

The dinky tube amp is Earmax Pro, and with tube dampers

Can Taoster clarify what tubes did he put on the EMP? I wonder about the 'euphoric' sound blackreplica was talking about...

Glad the LTD made it to the meet and although probably didn't stand up well with its Grado woodie counterparts, but more the merrier.

Also facinated to see chungsoi's Melos in its full glory, and i am glad it is finally up and running. I must have a listen to it when I get my 'seat' over to Sydney for the meet next time (!?)

Did someone attempt to do a RS-1/MS-Pro comparision out of the Melos?

Keep it up guys, you are making this Kiwi wish he lives in Oz...

Overlunge

Kenny12 · Sep 18, 2005 at 8:16 PM

i think the earmax was clearly the best tubeamp i've heard ever! its just so dam smooth, out of all the amps there, i think this dam small amp is the best all rounder

Covenant · Sep 18, 2005 at 10:51 PM

Okay, i've recovered enough for some impressions now

Firstly, the amps. All up, we had:

Earmax Pro
I was really quite impressed with this little tube amp. Less dynamic than my old Raptor, but possessed of more weight in the lower registers and a more euphonic sound signature that made listening to it very pleasant. Were I a Grado man, this would be a very tempting amp to invest in, particularly factoring in its looks and size. We had some problems with distortion/interferance at the meet, but i suspect that was due to all the other power-hungry amps it was surrounded with.

Melos SHA-1
*Very* impressive with Grados, perfect synergy there. Absolutely did not work with the SA5Ks though - music sounded slow and syrupy though them. PS-1 out of the Melos was a real eye-opener, though.

PPA w/opa627's
Boring as all hell (sorry dan). Incidentally, the remark i posted earlier in the mini-meet thread about the M^3 being terribly laid-back and the PPA dynamic was a bit of a joke on my and Jazper's behalf - we were both damn impressed by the former and very underwhelmed by the latter when we compared them before the meet, so we decided to stir a little mischief

M^3 w/ths4631's, later rolled to opa627's
The M3 with the ths chips were the most synergistic match with my Sony's that i've heard so far. Very fast, good extension into the frequency extremes, great imaging, and just that slight hint of warmth that the SA5K needs to become musical. When rolled to the opa627's it became a great deal more laid-back and lifeless, at least on the Sony's - apparently the opa's worked better on the Grados, i didn't get a chance to test that out.

dtpakiller
Unfortunately i didn't get a chance to hear this amp, so Kenny'll have to bring it along to the next one and give me a listen

meta43
This was another amp that not many at the meet demo'ed, but i got a chance to listen to it before the meet. Surprisingly i rather liked this little amp - its rather cold and harsh, but nicely dynamic, with sharp attacks, which as a SA5K lover i tend to crave

Somewhat treble-peaky though.

Next, the Headphones.

PS-1
As soon as Kevin walked in the door, we all started cheering. Right after i shook his hand, i was reaching over for the PS-1's and plugging them in

I think the best way to summarise these cans are "OMG TEH BASS!!!1!!!!!111!!"

Its like there's a little oompa-loompa with a steel mallet in each of the driver compartments, hammering at you with every beat. That said, the PS-1 didn't create bass where there was none on the recording, and bass recorded as understated remained that way - but throw some Metallica at it, and you're in for a ride. In a way, these seemed the polar opposite of the SA5K - about the same level of technical ability (though slightly lacking in detail in comparison), but possessed of awesome bass quantity and quality wheras the Sony's are possessed of awesome treble quantity and quality. Which isn't to say that the PS-1 can't do treble and the SA5K can't do bass - its just a shift of emphasis.

RS-1
I remain thoroughly impressed with these. If i couldn't have my Sony's and had to choose a replacement home-can, it'd be these in a heartbeat. Wonderfully balanced sound.

MS-Pro
Surprisingly, i didn't like these at all. Very in-your-face, soundstageless sound, muddied imaging, lack of detail, they just didn't work for me. I was surprised i found such a large difference between these and the RS-1's, considering everyone says the differences are supposed to be subtle.

AT Woodies
Very smooth, like a rich dark coffee on a warm summer's night

But on the same coin, somewhat lacking in detail and dynamics, as well as slightly rolled-off in the frequency extremes. Wonderful for some music, like Diana Krall for instance, but not great for more upbeat stuff.

Metallica - The Black Album
Worth a mention on its own. Incidentally, chungsoi, it seems i stole your black album cd - i got home and discovered it'd found its way into my cd wallet somehow. Which i suppose looks highly suspicious of me, considering how much i liked it

I'll give it back next meet, or whenever i see you next. Well... maybe

overlunge · Sep 18, 2005 at 11:37 PM

Hi Covenant,

Your impression of the EMP is quite intriguing... EMP is a very versatile dinky thing, and its sound changes dramatically with whatever tube you roll into it. At the moment, I prefer the colouration the Earmax over my SS (Grace m902) gives to my Qualia, which makes the treble smoother and the bass pounce and slam!

If you think SA5000 is lacking in the bass department, the 010 is your next logical step.

Glad you pinpoint the sound of the woodie, but comparing them to the rest of the line up, LTD has a bit more resolution and treble extension. But when you compare them to the Sony's... I can see why you see them lacking...

Overlunge

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