[damitamit]

hey guys,

firstly thanks everyone for a great first meet (for me). Especially Jatinder for being a terrific host.

Got to hear alot of equipment that day. My brain hurt afterwards just thinking about it all.

As others have said, the Orpheus was definately out there, being the best i heard that day (and probably will hear for the distant future). It was very musical and felt just right.

I had a brief listen to the R10 through the Angstrom. I could hear the great detail thou I wasnt amazed (which was what i was excepting). I think they would need an extended listen to make a proper judgement.

I got to try my SR125s through the Anstrom (amped by the best they ever will be by) and then got to finally try Duncan's RS1s. Noticed how shrill the highs on the 125s are compared to the RS1s. Then got to try Robs HP1000s, which were similar to the RS1s in impact, but a cleaner sound.

The HD650s sounded very 'just enjoyable and listenable' through Wordsworth's Aos made dac/headphone amp and moreso through his Chiarra. If this is the standard sennheiser sound, its definately something I want to investigate further, looking to buy some HD600s probably.

Bangraman's Shure E5s using a IHP-140 and Aos dac/headamp had everything my E2s dont, a very balanced sound and could make a very good, albeit expensive, portable setup. I preferred these to the ultra detailed Etys I tried, which I liked but feel I wouldnt get along with in the long run.

Other impressive equipment: the super small size of the ipod mini, the super big size of Jatinders power cords!, SetMenus Pimeta Case with machined (aluminium?) feet, the great sound of bangramans D-E555 pcdp ( is that right? the U shaped one) compared to the ipod, and Wordsworth's 40gig of portable music in a small feature packed remote controlled unit, namely the IHP-140.

Amit

 

[jatinder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by damitamit I had a brief listen to the R10 through the Angstrom. I could hear the great detail thou I wasnt amazed (which was what i was excepting). I think they would need an extended listen to make a proper judgement.

Hi Amit,

Yes you're right -- I too am not amazed by the R10/Angstrom nor by the Orpheus. I have been amazed in the past by the CD3000, W2002 and the Omega II/007t.

I think that this comes down to naturalness and that many people don't understand the value of it.

The more natural and the more distortion free the sound becomes - the less one is "amazed" by the experience - it just begins to sound like music. You stop "analyzing" and start "listening".

My wife & I auditioned an Audio Note M5 pre-amp a few weeks ago -- and believe me, this thing does not "amaze"! But from the first few minutes of listening, my wife was convinced that we would be buying one as the sound coming out of the speakers was easily more natural than our other pre-amp.

But yes, you're right, you would need a few days/weeks of heavy listening to really understand a component.

--Jatinder

 

[Rob N]

Hi Jatinder,what did you make of the HP-1's in the brief time you listened to them?

I was actually going to sell the EMP but decided to keep it,I don't think many listened to it at the meet because it's so small an got rather lost behind the Angstrom and Orpheus.

It's also a little difficult to make judgements when you're listening to un familiar music

 

[jatinder]

Hi Rob,

I listened to the HP1 on the Angstrom (I don't remember listening to it via the Singlepower amp) only for a few minutes - so my thoughts are probably useless. The HP1 is definitely something that I want to spend more time with.

The HP1 sounds more like the Orpheus than the R10 sounds like the Orpheus. By this I mean that the HP1 & Orpheus appear to have a similar tonal balance - which is leaner and drier than the R10.

I felt that the HP1 didn't really engage me with the music. The R10 is lush and almost surround-sound like and immerses you in music. The Orpheus has great speed, delicacy and a greatly extended treble and is very very different to the R10, yet the Orpheus still engages me in music.

Having only spent a few minutes with the HP1 - I'm note sure I'm qualified to say anything useful about it.

I don't suppose you'd consider loaning it to me?

How do you find the HP1 compared to the R10 via your amps?

--Jatinder

 

[Rob N]

I don't find the HP-1's lean,I think they sound quite full.It's difficult to compare the R10's to the HP-1's because the sound is so different.The HP-1's have a flatter sound with much less of a soundstage compared to R10's,but there's probably a little more treble with the HP-1's.The R10's are a little easier to power and to me they seem more detailed.The HP-1's have a little more bass and I find they are easier to listen to with 'bright' recordings.

 

[jatinder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob N I don't find the HP-1's lean,I think they sound quite full.It's difficult to compare the R10's to the HP-1's because the sound is so different.The HP-1's have a flatter sound with much less of a soundstage compared to R10's,but there's probably a little more treble with the HP-1's.The R10's are a little easier to power and to me they seem more detailed.The HP-1's have a little more bass and I find they are easier to listen to with 'bright' recordings.

Hi Rob,

When I said that the HP1s were leaner and drier -- this is only in relation to the R10. They probably do have a very full sound - only not so full as the R10. Also, I had probably just stopped listening to the R10 when I tried the HP1s and I find that it takes a few minutes to normalize my brain/ears before listening to other phones.

I agree with you that the R10 and HP1 are very very different.

--Jatinder

 

[setmenu]

Well, firstly a very big thankyou to Jatinder for hosting such a fine meeting.
It was also a huge pleasure to meet such a great bunch of enthusiasts in the 'real' world.
A quality hobby for quality people

I would agree with Jatinder about the remarkable being the unremarkable.
This can make quick assessment very difficult.
The fact being, all the equipment on demonstration was of high quality.

For me to give any hard and fast opinions about the big hitters would be difficult without an extended audition.
I am a long time electro-stat user so I am naturally drawn to the stat sound.
This being the case the tonal balance of the Orpheus was closest to my
'sound' and kept drawing me back for more.
But I am in agreement with bangraman regarding his amp comments.
It is difficult to know what one is actually hearing without doing comparisons
between different amp/source setups, to gain a true measure of the transducers actual sound.
All in all though, still a yummy experience!

The phones I did manage to form a more solid opinion of, were the canal phones that were available to audition.
The ETY 4 and Shure E5 .
As I am at present , on a renewed portable audio quest, so these were of a very special interest to me, thanks folks

I auditioned these phones using a HA5002 equipped Pimeta amping a DEJ2000 and also an AOS integrated amp dac combo fed from the Sony digital out.

Well firstly, both these phones are little jewels of miniature engineering!
I found each one could be quickly installed in the ear and provided a high degree of isolation from external sound.[very handy when surrounded by a group of fervent audio enthusiasts

]

As for the sound, very different animals indeed!
The shures certainly had plenty of bass and an easy comfortable sound that
was very appealing.
But I wish they had more HF energy.
On the other hand the ETYs had plenty of HF energy, but seemed a little light in the lows [but fast detailed lows mind].
This generally seemed to confirm the views of others.

Personally if I had to choose one of these to use box standard, no mods allowed, the choice would probably have to go the the ETY.

But I do, just love to modify things

So this sparked some further interest in the Shures.
The shures have TWO drivers per ear piece.....
Which I would guess are dedicated to separate HF and LF reproduction.
This being the case, some sort of cross over filter would probably be used.
I did recollect seeing an in line module on the shures,and later discussed the
matter with bangraman.
The long and short of it was, perhaps a custom filter could effectively be used to tune these phones in such a way as to produce a less rolled off sound.
I have even mused about Bi Amping them..

As for the ETYs I have read that people do indulge in a bit of EQ with these
at times.
This is likely to be the most economic and safe route to portable nirvana as [at first glance] no physical mods are needed on the phones themselves.


So for now, it seems there is no 'perfect' out of the box canal phone for me

I guess the only solution would be to obtain both types of phone and experiment

.
Anyone want to donate some Shures in the name of science..bangraman?

...hehe

Oh, and thanks to Duncan for his kind words about my diy phones, it was
somewhat stress inducing to demonstrate these with such exulted company!



Cheers

Setmenu

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by setmenu Oh, and thanks to Duncan for his kind words about my diy phones, it was somewhat stress inducing to demonstrate these with such exulted company!

No need to thank me, I really did think they were that good

What you should do, if only for personal gratification, is to try and do a headroom style frequency sweep on them, see how it looks... thats something i'd be interested in seeing.

Cheers!

Duncan

 

[setmenu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan No need to thank me, I really did think they were that good What you should do, if only for personal gratification, is to try and do a headroom style frequency sweep on them, see how it looks... thats something i'd be interested in seeing. Cheers! Duncan

Hi Duncan
Being able to see the results of changes would be nice.
Thus far the whole project has been assessed by ears alone.
I have really got to get myself some test gear...

I am about half way through doing the drawings for the next
versions of these, but getting the parts made is going to
cost some £1000.
This will have to wait a while.

Cheers

Setmenu

 

[KR...]

What is it with you British and pics?

Everythings sounds cool, but I would like to see what it is that you are all talking about.

I won't ask again, promise

 

[Calanctus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jatinder I think that this comes down to naturalness and that many people don't understand the value of it. The more natural and the more distortion free the sound becomes - the less one is "amazed" by the experience - it just begins to sound like music. You stop "analyzing" and start "listening".

Great comment--I fully agree. A sound system that is really natural is a difficult achievement. Some time ago I auditioned a pair of Sound Labs U1 speakers on Pass X1000 monoblocks--these were supremely natural. I listened all afternoon long to various types of music, and there was really not much else EXCEPT the music to listen to. Possibly the best sound I've ever heard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jatinder My wife & I auditioned an Audio Note M5 pre-amp a few weeks ago -- and believe me, this thing does not "amaze"! But from the first few minutes of listening, my wife was convinced that we would be buying one as the sound coming out of the speakers was easily more natural than our other pre-amp.

Please post more about the Audio Note M5 if you can; I'm quite interested in their products.

 

[Hajime]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jatinder Does anyone know how to attach pictures or where I can upload them to?

Hello there,

If you send a message or email my way I can tell host any pictures for you guys.

 

[bangraman]

Perhaps some of us just need to re-take some of these pics of the gear that was there as they aren't that great. Or good. Or even not good. There will be a different picture of the Angstrom later. Unfortunately the picture of it was completely blurred.

The Mighty Orpheus. I loved the fact that it's central 'column' is the volume control. R10 nestles somewhat self-consciously beside it. The Fidaudio switch is behind the Orpheus amp.

The Chiarra with an off-shot HD650. Clearly from the DIY British Tradition of things that work great but look... well

The Marantz SA-1 with an ATH-D1000 on top of it along with some suitably humbled PCDP's. Jatinder tried the D1000 from the SA-1 and looked pretty pleased. A surprisingly good for audio playback Denon DV3300 (?) is towards the rear.

Guess. It has been shown in tests that the proximity of comfort food to a DAC/Amp and the power source controls the treble, firms up the bass and widens the soundstage, with chocolate chips making for an inkier background.

The SR-007. After meeting the Orpheus it kind of sulked in the corner. I think it was probably just nervous being closest to the kitchen sink.

 

[Spent&Bent]

Nice pics even if they are a bit blurred.
Poor Omega II was the big bad Orpheus mean to you? lol.
I can barely make out a covert EMP behind the orpheus amp, I see the grille and a few tubes.

 

[Rob N]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spent&Bent Nice pics even if they are a bit blurred. Poor Omega II was the big bad Orpheus mean to you? lol. I can barely make out a covert EMP behind the orpheus amp, I see the grille and a few tubes.

I don't think many people noticed the EMP was even there