Well it's been a busy week so I've only just got round to writing up my impressions. I'd like to echo everyone's sentiments and thank those who took the time and effort to organise the event. It's much appreciated and hopefully we have the momentum to repeat it next year.
To start at the end, unfortunately I did make it back in time for X Factor, despite the efforts of the idiot trying to replace the passenger door with his front wing. I'd also like to not thank idiot number 2, who could see the M6 lanes were populated but nevertheless decided to undertake at the end of the slip road, nearly taking my front wing with him. You're supposed to give way to the traffic already there you moron!
Back to the meet, then.
I went mostly with the following aims:
a) listen to headphones on my want to hear list;
b) compare sub-£300 DACs;
c) compare DACs and CD players;
d) hear a tube amp;
e) demonstrate anything of interest in my Compass-Moon setup (USB, coax, amp-only).
Almost everything constitutes initial impressions. I never did get to compare CD players.
Headphones
AKG K701
Firstly, I finally got to hear the AKG K701. I was really surprised. I was expecting them to sound light, treble-orientated, a bit thin. This just wasn't the case (on Compass-Moon). Using a scale of HD600 to DT931, I expected them to be close to DT931, whereas they were much closer to HD600. My first reaction was, nice overall balance. I wasn't thinking, 'where's the bass?' However, I can understand the comments that are made, illustrated by three tracks:
1) I'm Ready, Jools Holland and Steve Winwood. This opens with a fast piano scale. It was fine.
2) Another One Bites The Dust, Queen. The opening sequence has the extension but not the impact.
3) Spider's Web, Katie Melua. Not the most fluid I've heard, I understand the 'dry' comments.
Overall, in direct comparison to the HD600, the HD600 are more full and fluid. I can see that they'd be complementary headphones.
HD800
This was Pedalhead's setup. I used the Little Dot transport into (I think) the Woo Audio 22. I listened to snippets of maybe 5 different genres. What struck me most was that everything I listened to had its own sound, if that doesn't sound too stupid. To steal a cliche, I've never heard the equipment just get out of the way like that before. These headphones are remarkable for being unremarkable. I'm unable to ascribe how much is due to the headphones themselves and how much to the rest of the equipment.
Mark did ask for my views on the bass. For me, the fact that it hadn't caught my attention suggested there wasn't much wrong. As a comparison, not soon after I listened to some HD650, and, just too much for me.
Duggeh's Stax
I've been keen to hear electrostatics for a while now. The reduced impact is noticeable but not necessarily troublesome because the rest of the SQ and detail grabbed my attention. They're clearly in another league, just as the HD800 are. For me, I think in the long term I'd prefer the HD800 but, the bad news is, I think they're complementary headphones. What the Stax do well, they do very well and offer a different presentation, which may suit mood or genre. At one point I connected my portable CD player to the system and was still impressed with the SQ/clarity and details. This now makes me wonder just how important the source is. More on that later.
SoundMagic earphones
Shaun and Kristina of HiFi Headphones brought along a fair bit of kit and provided the opportunity that everyone really wants: to be able to spend a decent amount of time making a direct comparison with gear they know. Personally, I don't favour earphones but I'd just bought some for my mum so thought we may as well do a comparison. For value, the PL11 were impressive. I thought the Goldring GX200 sounded pretty good but the SoundMagic were clearer. Unfortunately I just couldn't get a stable fit with them. Same applied to the PL30. I can't really comment on the SQ because, despite the myriad of tips, the over-ear fit just didn't work for me.
DACs
I was hoping there would be another Audio-gd Compass at the meet, so I just fixed in the Moon HDAM and brought that. There wasn't an Earth present, so although my comparisons are direct, the impressions are sort of 'once removed', as I'm more familiar with the Earth. Unless noted, I didn't find a great deal of differences between the DACs, so the impressions are short. However, note that there wasn't volume matching or particularly long listening periods, as there was a lot to get through.
Beresford 7510
First up was the modded Beresford 7510. I listened to this 'standalone' as it were, and just compared it on it's own and with the Graham Slee headphone amp (SRG-II). A clear improvement with Graham Slee, using HD650. The impression I got was that the amp in the Beresford isn't that strong but it may just be that the Graham Slee is much stronger. Either way, the Beresford amp doesn't drive the HD650 to their potential.
Gamma 1
Next up, the gamma 1. I compared this directly against the Compass, both running through USB. Despite being very slightly darker, I still felt the Compass was a bit clearer. They are still close in SQ overall with the gamma 1 maybe having a stronger lower bass. My conclusion is that the gamma 1 is not as neutral as the Compass w/ Earth. I am undecided as to whether the bass is too much in the gamma 1.
Cambridge Audio DACMagic
One of the biggie's for me as far as comparisons with the Compass go. I used HD600 for the comparison. The Compass was run out of USB and optical and I didn't notice a difference.
I have previously heard a DACMagic but I must have caught Richer Sounds on a bad day as they wouldn't let me connect a laptop and didn't have headphones or even a spare adapter I could try. So my impressions from a speaker system with which I was totally unfamiliar were that the DACMagic is clean and polite.
In direct comparison with the Compass, I found it no cleaner or significantly better. If anything, it was slightly muddier at the low end. This was listening to the piano sections of Alicia Keys.
The only reason I would buy the DACMagic now is for balanced outputs.
Beresford 7520
Next up was the Beresford 7520. I didn't spend too much time with it, I was just curious as to how it compared with the Compass as they are very close in features and price. I wouldn't say it bested the Compass.
iBasso D2 & D4
I hadn't anticipated listening to the iBasso DACs but HiFi Headphones had them there and I was interested to hear what such a small form factor could do. Ultimately I am still sceptical that 5V can drive full size headphones.
To summarise the line up: D2 is USB-only; D4 is USB-only with a newer DAC; D10 is USB/coax/optical but has the older DAC. I compared the D2 and the D4, although I'd really want a D10 with the upgraded DAC if I were to buy one.
The newer DAC is better, though it is close. I felt the D4 had a bigger soundstage and better attack.
As for the D4 vs the Compass, initially I thought the D4 was a bit V-shaped, with both the treble and bass prominent. Then I thought, the Compass has the Moon in it, so it's a bit rolled-off, is the iBasso treble okay and only the bass emphasised? Throw in the PX100 I was using (not hugely clear, bit dark themselves) and I'm not sure what I think now!
I did some specific listening: bass and cymbals at the start of Witchy Woman (The Eagles) and the strings about 6 minutes in to Fingal's Cave/Hebrides' Overture (Mendelssohn). I started to wonder whether there is some impressive clarity to the iBasso and whether its treble is in fact accurate. However, I think the Compass has stronger deep bass.
This one's left open for me; it requires more listening with better headphones. I also failed to put the iBasso DACs through the Compass amp (not sure that's possible).
DACs Clarity
Finally on DACs I listened to the DACS Clarity. I'm afraid I wasn't in comparison mode here. I just enjoyed a couple of tracks with the HD800 and the PX100 (probably the widest spread, excluding earphones, there!).
Lessons Learnt
None of the DACs I went for stood out as being significantly different from each other. With more time and volume matching, maybe I'd reach a different conclusion.
Maybe it's due to the noisier listening environment, or maybe short A/B comparisons don't tell the whole story.
It's interesting as the Compass-Earth is noticeably different to the Moon, which suggests most of the DACs are on the warm side. I'm also starting to wonder whether the main improvements are mostly spatial and show up better with speakers. The HD600 are good 'phones but they're not pulling out the differences. Combine this with the clarity achieved by the Stax even with my portable CD player and I'm beginning to believe that the amplifier is more important than the DAC.
Given the similarity of the DACs, I have to give praise to the Compass for its value. I believe it has a good amplifier and the i/o versatility puts it ahead of the competition. Knowing that, next time I'd spend more time with the higher-end gear.
I've confirmed the HD650 are a bit too dark for my taste (at least out of anything other than high-end amps).
I'm glad I listened to a tube amp and should have listened to more but at the moment I'm happy with solid state. The Compass-Moon gives me that taste of warmth and smoothness when I want it, for now.
What I'd Like To See
As a newbie, while it's great to listen to other equipment, I'm not always sure what I should be listening out for. Additionally, I'm sure most people go along with the aim of comparing gear. I think it would be good to group the comparisons people would like and set them up at various times of the day. That way we'd get more shootouts and pooling of impressions on the same equipment.
Questions
There are a few things I didn't get the time/opportunity to compare. Any thoughts on these would be appreciated.
a) balanced HD600 vs single-ended.
b) DAC vs CDP.
c) V-DAC vs DACMagic / general V-DAC impressions.
d) Benchmark DAC1. I listened to this briefly with a very different setup.
Nothing stood out for me that I hadn't heard before but everything was different. Did anyone listen more extensively and can offer an opinion against any of the DACs I had been listening to?
I'd also be interested if anyone came away with different impressions/conclusions.
Thanks
Last but not least, thanks to everyone for turning out, making it a fun and friendly atmosphere and letting me listen to all your great gear. Looking forward to doing it again!
