[jr41]

Thanks Stef

 
Everyone, check out AmpCity's facebook page for more photos from the meet:
 
http://www.facebook.com/pages/AmpCity-UK/174836835899601?sk=info
 
(a damn site better than my photos too I might add!)
 
Cheers.

 

[EddieE]

Hey don't be hard on your photos, I thought some were very pro, but I agree there are some great ones in there, including a textbook example of the phenomena known only as "LCD-2 Face":
 
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=174884852561466&set=a.174882962561655.36485.174836835899601&theater
 

 

[jr41]

Ha ha, Sonice bliss is very immersive

 

[Bizzel]

I've decided to purchase a pair of LCD-2s once my monetary situation looks up. I'm a final year student until June, employed come September, so now I have something to look forward to. I came away with a much clearer picture of what I want to turn my rig into so the day was very valuable in that sense as well.

 

[yais29]

Reading all of your impressions sure has given food for thought. It is great to get a variety of opinions from fellow audiophiles and its meets such as these which gives us those rare opportunities.
 
I'd like to personally say a big thanks to the organising committee for their professionalism and foresight and most of all to everybody who attended! I was taken aback by how friendly everybody was.
 
Here's to the Annual UK Head-Fi Meet!
 
Yusuf
AmpCity UK

 

[MrQ]

Quote:

Great impressions John!
 
 
Make you sick doesn't it? 

 Not only the best dynamic phones and best orthos for my tastes but also my favourite Amp/DAC too in the NFB-10ES! It's got to be Stax next right Mr Q? 

 

Or this...

 

Well thanks must go to all those involved who arranged the meet. You really pulled-off something special.
 
The meet had the right balance between commercial and diy gear. Novices (including myself) were made to feel at ease. The atmosphere was relaxed but respectful in regards to each other’s equipment. At no time did I feel uneasy about leaving my gear with anyone. Even with AmpCity, I could walk up tell them I was borrowing their Denon D7000’s, they would say ‘yeah no problem’ and off I went.
 
My intention was to audition the HE6 and some top range close-back headphones. My wish was granted on all accounts.
 
My rig is in my profile. As to music used I brought my entire music file over 700GB. What I did do was to put together some playlists of tunes I knew back to front to audition the cans.
 
For example I would use Dead Can Dance – Host Of The Seraphim to test female vocal and soundstage. Alice In Chains – Nutshell MTV Unplugged to test acoustic instruments and live soundstage and A Perfect Circle – The Noose to test male vocal and studio drumkit.
 
Firstly with the HE6. As I already have the T1 and LCD-2, I wanted to see what they could offer. Even using them balanced from my NFB-10, my amp ran out of puff to drive them sufficiently and as already stated even the Lyr had to be turned to about 4-5 o’clock before they had any presence. I can see why our American cousins are matching them with what I can only describe as ‘Muscle Amps’ and 60lbs vintage behemoths.
 
I found their sound similar to the T1. So until I hear them out of something that will really make them sing, I couldn’t see the point of buying anything which duplicated what I already had.
 
At this point I suppose it’s worth mentioning the prototype HE500. That I liked. It’s was far easier to drive than the HE6. It had a nice smooth presentation. Nothing seemed out of place. If it is sold at a lower price point than the LCD-2 and T1, it might be an option for someone who wants the best of both dynamic and ortho worlds without spending a fortune to amp them sufficiently.
I also hear that there is a HE600 in the pipeline so I will wait to see what transpires.
 
Back to the closed-backs. My aim was to get a pair for late night listening without compromising on sound quality. I was able to listen to the Ed-8’s, JVC DX1000 and the Denon D7000 all in the same session through my rig.
 
The D7000 had an immediate engaging sound, a decent soundstage, lovely low end, good mids, and a ‘sparkly’ top end. This gave a nice sheen to the sounds presented, but I also feel it would be fatiguing after long periods. I suspect my ES chip was too revealing for them.
 
The DX1000 had a more neutral presentation in the treble, without sacrificing the low-end punch. It’s a can I could see myself buying at some point as I could imagine myself listening to them for long periods.
 
Finally the Ultrasone Edition 8. I  had high hope for these, as they have garnered praise from many Headfiers. They were smaller than I expected, fitting on top of my ears. The fit was to say the least… peculiar. They fitted on my head leaving gaps at the top of my ears?! Reducing the headband straightened them, but left them sitting high on my ears.
Then the sound, waaay to much treble. The bass was present, although I was too distracted by the treble to notice. I sat there in disbelief. Could these be the famed Ed8’s? So I cycled back through the other headphones, coming back to the 8’s. No change. They were not for me. Thank god I hadn’t forked out over grand for them before listening frist.
 
That would be my message. Whenever you can, listen first. The Meet saved me a lot of pain, which If you are like me one can’t afford.
 
My feeling on the HD800’s are much like the others here, “Tssss, Tssss Tssss”. How much time and money would one would had to spend to match these to a good source and amp? Life is too short. Although that ‘out of head’ trick sound is fun.
 
Don’t think because I have LCD-2 that they’re getting off easy. The LCD-2’s are like a great 2.1 stereo system. It will present a great stereo image with a killer bass/sub end, but you always know your listening to a stereo.
With the T1 it feels like a 5.1 system with a little sub. They are very neutral in comparison to the LCD-2’s. The T1 will change with the music it’s given. The LCD-2’s steam-roller over the source in the most beautiful way possible.
IMO it leaves a definite imprint on the sound it presents.
 
If the LCD-2 had a voice it would be like…
“I AM THE LCD-2, YOU WILL BOW BEFORE MY SOUND!”
 
Good thing it didn’t say “soundstage”, people might laugh.
 
“WHAT?”
 
Oh nothing.
 
Ps
 
I do have one complaint about the meet. Alvin Sawdust and I had too much table space. He had a table and a half all to him self. What’s all that about?

 

[jr41]

 
Quote:

Or this...

If you get a top of the line Woo to go with your T1 then you really could colour me jealous!
 
Did you listen to your T1s driven by Alvin Sawdust's Darkvoice? What did you think in comparison to how they sound out of your Audio-GD?
 
I agree with EddieE that your NFB-10 was a great amp - one of the ultimate all-in-one packages.

 

[sjgriffin66]

Hi All
 
Well here I am losing my Head-Fi virginity...
 
I'd like to add my thanks to all the organisers and contributors for making Saturday so enjoyable - especially important after the long trip from Teesside!
 
I'm obviously not going to discuss specific product here but actually for me the highlights were rather different anyway:
 
1. Being introduced to a world of tiny portable amps I had only scratched the surface of before - mindboggling!
2. Seeing so many people much younger than me there (very refreshing when compared with my typical HiFi Show experiences!)
 
I'm glad so many of you smiled at me from between a pair of LCD2s, that just topped off a great day.
 
If anyone wants to contact me either via Head-Fi or directly, please feel free. I would post my info on here but I'm still familiarising myself with the rules n regs, so I'll leave it there for now. 
 
Once again, thanks to you all for making me feel so welcome...
 
Regards
 
Simon
decent audio
 

 

[hawkhead]

Not just America
 
I am driving the HE6 out of a Primare 30.1 (dual mono 100w) balanced
 
I cannot stress the importance of giving these cans enough juice - the difference it makes is staggering.
 
I had the LCD-2 and sold it
 
Quote:

I can see why our American cousins are matching them with what I can only describe as ‘Muscle Amps’ and 60lbs vintage behemoths.

 

[MrQ]

Quote:

 
Did you listen to your T1s driven by Alvin Sawdust's Darkvoice? What did you think in comparison to how they sound out of your Audio-GD?

 
Alvin's Darkvoice was a beauty.
 
The Darkvoice gave the T1 some real bottom end authority from the bass through the mids and it smoothed off that occasional high end bite.
 
The deal-breaker was the two independent L&R volumes. If they could have been some 24 point affair, so you could set them evenly as I do with my active studio monitors then Alvin would have been going home with a lighter suitcase.
 
Why do you think I've been looking at the Woo (to be honest I've always been looking at the Woo 

). Seriously, It's Woo, Leben or Luxman if Mark doesn't tempt me away with some Stax magic.
 

 

[Nuwidol]

Quote:

I do have one complaint about the meet. Alvin Sawdust and I had too much table space. He had a table and a half all to him self. What’s all that about?
 
 

Sorry about that Theo! When I set the tables up, I was under the impression, that at least one more person was coming, & they'd be bringing a shed load of gear with them...

 

[tranhieu]

Quote:

Hey don't be hard on your photos, I thought some were very pro, but I agree there are some great ones in there, including a textbook example of the phenomena known only as "LCD-2 Face":
 
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=174884852561466&set=a.174882962561655.36485.174836835899601&theater
 

Lol, that was me auditioning the LCD2, and I have to warn you guys don't ever test them with any mid centric, especially female vocal songs. I got hit hard that time!
Honestly the LCD2 + M3 beats my B22 + K1000 hands down in terms of mid. It was just so lush, rich while not being colored at all, so emotional that it brought tears to my eyes, and goosebump was inevitable. Even though the Omega2 was the best of the meet, I still prefer the LCD2. I can even live with their mid alone, bass and treble are expendable!
That said, I now can either go for a better amp for the K1000 or settle down with the LCD2. The latter seems to be a cheaper option.
About the meet, it exceeded my expectation! Everyone was so friendly and helpful that I felt like finding my 2nd family there! The only downside was that it was too short I couldn't audition all the equipments there, especially those gears from AmpCity.
 

 

[Type35]

First, the bad part of the meet

There were so many rigs to try that I actually managed to miss a few.
OK, that's not really a downside. Just eagerly waiting for the next meet to catch-up!
 
Highlights:
Alvin's setup (Darkvoice amp and Tranquility DAC): just the right balance to keep listening to music for a very long time. Immersive and non-fatiguing to say the least.
Simon's rig (Onkyo preamp and Audeze LCD-2): the Audeze have a good blend of bass punch, lush mids, and clear highs. Just wish soundstage was bigger.
 
Even though these combos were mightily impressive, I was actually looking for more economical solutions.
In my opinion, producing good music at an affordable price is a much greater engineering feat.
On that note, the best bang for the buck I can think of is a Sansa Clip+ with Sennheiser PX100-II.
For less than $100, you get a very fun sonic experience (not high-end but enjoyable).
 
Along the same line, I spent a long time learning and comparing three things:
1) Schiit Audio amps line-up
2) IEMs and portable amps
3) Full-size cans
 
Schiit audio amps:
Asgard: decent but dry. For the price, the Matrix M-Stage is a better option with a little more bloom on the bass and more extension with treble.
Valhalla: sweet mids but rolled off at both ends. Again for a similar price, I was more satisfied with the output of the Audiotailor Jade that the Ampcity boys were showing.
Lyr: That's the one that really impressed me. I heard more bass rumble from the AKG Q/K701/2 than I ever heard before and it was still properly layered. I also heard better mids and treble than all the other economical amps I just mentioned before. And there's is also the option of improve the tubes used without breaking the bank.
I spent a fair amount of time with the Lyr to compare the AKG K702 and the Q701 with both with stock and the improved cable brought by Mark from High-End Workshop.
My ears couldn't detect any differences between both AKG models. Same story between the stock and "expensive" cables. So go cheap and be happy.
 
IEMs and portable amps:
I am rather new to IEMs so I was really happy to see and try so many models at the meet.
The best bang for the buck that I tried was the Sunrise Xcape V3 beta model (assuming the pricing stays in line with the V1 and V2 models).
I also really like the RE262 for its balance, detail and overall sound presentation.
However, after having tried about twenty different models, I came away with one major lesson: IEMs = little soundstage (let's put my flame suit on).
Let me explain, I am coming from speakers and AKG K702 so an expansive soundstage is very important to me. I like to feel music around me as opposed to in my head.
Now there are IEM that have a wide soundstage. The Unique Melody models from Ampcity were quite good for that but you get into the $1000 price range when you can do better with full-size cans for a fraction of the price. Granted IEMs are much more discrete when you go grocery shopping.
Anyway, I was having more fun with the PX100-II than with any of the affordable IEMs that I tried even though the sound reproduction was technically inferior.
As far as portable amps go, I really liked the Headstage Arrow with its impressive combination of sound, features and reasonable price.
In terms of quality and power, I came away impressed by the Corda Stepdance although it was powered by a big battery pack so I can't say how it would fare on its own battery.
 
Full-size cans:
A while back I had the opportunity to try both the HD600 and HD650. I felt there was a veil on the music which really spoiled the experience for me.
However, reading reviews, there are so many people that like these models that I decided to spend some serious time with the high-end Senn models at the meet.
I am glad I did because it reconciled me with the HD650. It's not as detailed as the AKG K702, the soundstage is not as wide but the overall presentation is very pleasing.
I especially like the way the bass sounds on the HD650: it's not the fastest but there is decent definition and much more energy than with the AKGs.
I still dicerned a slight veil but I think the amps I was using this time around were much more suited to the Senn than the ones I previously tested.
All in all, I now understand better why people like the HD 650 so much. It's not perfect but paired with the AKG K702, it's a combo that'll allow you to enjoy any kind of music.
I also discovered the Stax sound and no it wasn't the revelation some folks make it to be but if I could describe what I heard in one word I would say "clear" but not bright like say a grado.
So what about all the HE models that were there. I know there are a lot of praises about them but they didn't do it for me (and that's not for a lag of beafy amplifiers - we had plenty of those).
 
All in all, I really enjoyed meeting all the attendees. Thanks for the organizing comittee and sponsor(s) for putting up such a great event. Thanks Theo for the banana cake

Eddie, I missed your E16 combo with the moded orthos so next meet, you're on!
 
 
 
 

 

[Type35]

First, the bad part of the meet

There were so many rigs to try that I actually managed to miss a few.
OK, that's not really a downside. Just eagerly waiting for the next meet to catch-up!
 
Highlights:
Alvin's setup (Darkvoice amp and Tranquility DAC): just the right balance to keep listening to music for a very long time. Immersive and non-fatiguing to say the least.
Simon's rig (Onkyo preamp and Audeze LCD-2): the Audeze have a good blend of bass punch, lush mids, and clear highs. Just wish soundstage was bigger.
 
Even though these combos were mightily impressive, I was actually looking for more economical solutions.
In my opinion, producing good music at an affordable price is a much greater engineering feat.
On that note, the best bang for the buck I can think of is a Sansa Clip+ with Sennheiser PX100-II.
For less than $100, you get a very fun sonic experience (not high-end but enjoyable).
 
Along the same line, I spent a long time learning and comparing three things:
1) Schiit Audio amps line-up
2) IEMs and portable amps
3) Full-size cans
 
Schiit audio amps:
Asgard: decent but dry. For the price, the Matrix M-Stage is a better option with a little more bloom on the bass and more extension with treble.
Valhalla: sweet mids but rolled off at both ends. Again for a similar price, I was more satisfied with the output of the Audiotailor Jade that the Ampcity boys were showing.
Lyr: That's the one that really impressed me. I heard more bass rumble from the AKG Q/K701/2 than I ever heard before and it was still properly layered. I also heard better mids and treble than all the other economical amps I just mentioned before. And there's is also the option of improve the tubes used without breaking the bank.
I spent a fair amount of time with the Lyr to compare the AKG K702 and the Q701 with both with stock and the improved cable brought by Mark from High-End Workshop.
My ears couldn't detect any differences between both AKG models. Same story between the stock and "expensive" cables. So go cheap and be happy.
 
IEMs and portable amps:
I am rather new to IEMs so I was really glad to see and try so many models at the meet.
The best bang for the buck that I tried was the Sunrise Xcape V3 beta model (assuming the pricing stays in line with the V1 and V2 models).
I also really like the RE262 for its balance, detail and overall sound presentation.
However, after having tried about twenty different models, I came away with one major lesson: IEMs = little soundstage (let's put my flame suit on).
Let me explain, I am coming from speakers and AKG K702 so an expansive soundstage is very important to me. I like to feel music around me as opposed to in my head.
Now there are IEMs that have a wide soundstage. The Unique Melody models were quite good for that but you get into the $1000 price range when you can do better with full-size cans for a fraction of the price. Granted IEMs are much more discrete when you go grocery shopping.
Anyway, I was having more fun with the PX100-II than with any of the affordable IEMs that I tried even though the sound reproduction was technically inferior.
As far as portable amps go, I really liked the Headstage Arrow with its good combination of sound, features and reasonable price.
In terms of quality and power, I came away impressed by the Corda Stepdance although it was powered by a big battery pack so I can't say how it would fare on its own.
 
Full-size cans:
A while back I had the opportunity to try both the HD600 and HD650. I felt there was a veil on the music which really spoiled the experience for me.
However, reading reviews, there are so many people that like these models that I decided to spend some serious time with the high-end Senn models at the meet.
I am glad I did because it reconciled me with the HD650. It's not as detailed as the AKG K702, the soundstage is not as wide but the overall presentation is very pleasing.
I especially like the way the bass sounds on the HD650: it's not the fastest but there is decent definition and much more energy than with the AKGs.
I still dicerned a slight veil but I think the amps I was using this time around were much more suited to the Senn than the ones I previously tested.
I now understand better why people like the HD 650 so much. It's not perfect but paired with the AKG K702, it's a combo that'll allow you to enjoy any kind of music.
I also discovered the Stax sound and no it wasn't the revelation some folks make it to be but if I could describe what I heard in one word I would say "clear" but not bright like say a grado.
So what about all the HE models that were there? I know there are a lot of praises about them but they didn't do it for me (and that's not for a lack of beafy amps - we had plenty of those).
 
All in all, I really enjoyed meeting all of guys. Thanks for the organizing comittee and sponsor(s) for putting up such a great event. Thanks Theo for the banana cake

Eddie, I missed your E16 combo with the custom orthos so next meet, you're on!

 

[Windsor]

Hey guys, 
 
I didn't manage to attend the UK meet just past, but I am interested in the Aude'ze LCD-2 and the Burson HA 160-D (which I don't think was featured at the meet).
Does anyone in the Surrey/London area have either of these items and would be willing to let me try them? (I'm a nice guy - maybe we could have our own mini-meet of you do have them ).
 
Many thanks,
Windsor