[greyhorse]

Since no one else is going I guess I post first.
First a big thank you to ambchang for hosting! It was great meeting everyone again. Hopefully we can meet again more regularly. One request though. Can everyone chip in whatever they can when showing up? ambchang wants to host more of these, and it doesn't make sense for him (or whoever hosts) to pay out of pocket on top of doing the work to arrange for these. Once we break even we could even set aside money for nametags and stuff so people (especially newer attendees) can see forum handles and/or real names. I'd also love to see placards showing everyone's gear so we know what we're listening to.

I came thinking I'd be more of a photog, but maybe I was a bit out of it coming off of midnight shift the previous day. I missed a lot of gear, but here's what I have.


Thomasr with his SMSL stack.


PrimeNexus' rig. Featuring a gold brick and other goodies.

Gozzer(2?) frantically trying to download drivers for his DAC while his daughter enjoys some Doug Adams.

The hot (literally) side of the room.


Someone brought a DAT! I remember lusting after these when they first came out. The tape insertion mechanism on these was just so cool! This was hooked up to an Enleum AMP-23R.


Clsmooth391 and Kenny.


Just a bunch of people enjoying headphones.


Setting up his gear.


Hunkeh sampling my horrible sounding combo.


Our host trying to get in a listen.


PrimeNexus' Leica... You so better post some pictures showing off that amazing Leica colour and the superior bokeh from that full frame sensor! Like who brings a camera that good and doesn't take pictures? *ducks*


Same with you monoglycer! You gotta show off how good that 56 1.2 is!

 

[Thomasr]

Interesting meet for sure, and a big thanks to everyone for bringing some awesome gear. The highlights for me were:

• Listening to my existing Beyer DT-880/600 headphones through ambchang's big Dynaco amp. The increase in upper end attack and overall snap was honestly kinda crazy
• Primenexus' Stax electrostatic setup (SR 007 I think?) Holly Cole's I Can See Clearly Now might as well have been renamed I Can Hear Clearly Now. The sound is just astonishing
• Discovering that my SMSL stack could just power the Hifiman HE6. Like literally just - the high gain setting on my amp with the volume turned to five o'clock produced a comfortable listening level

The only thing I found a bit challenging was that the space we rented is a bit echo-ey (lots of acoustically-reflective surfaces like glass and painted brick) and that, combined with the children's party next door and the general conversation in our own room, made it tough at times to do any kind of critical listening. I've never been to a show/meet before and I'm sure this observation is hardly unique. I still enjoyed myself thoroughly and look forward to the next meetup - I should have at least one more piece of nifty gear to share by then.