Vancouver Meet Impressions and Pics : May 14th, 2005

[rmx]

Well, I had a lot of fun meeting everyone and getting to listen to so much high end gear. I really enjoyed the feeling of community this hobby gives the meets - comparing to other non-hifi meets I've attended, I got the feeling everyone there was very passionate about the hobby and had lots to share, and lots of questions to ask. Great turnout - I forgot the exact headcount, but I think it was close to 15 people. Lots of great equipment - the pics will tell all. Enjoyed all of it!

I'm working on resizing all my very large pics and videos right now, I'll have them up tommorow. SonicK's pics are already up though

My equipment impressions:

fav cans of the meet: Zoboomofo's CD3000's, Anarchris' RS-1's and Carbonman's DT-880's. I really like my MS2i's and DT-770's even more now after comparing to all the other cans. The CD3K's are very punchy, but detailed - comfy too. Very relaxing to listen to. Carbonman's DT-880's on his maxed out PPA were simply amazing. Comfy and very easy to listen to. Definitley something I'll keep my eye out for. The RS-1's are classics, of course. Lush, warm and very fun for stringed instruments.

fav amp: Phobus' PPA in a cigar box and the Xin Supermacro V3. Phobus' PPA was cool to look at, sounded great, and inspired me to build one. I still have it here with me, and I'm listening to it right now

. The xin supermacro is amazing for such a small amp. Hats off to xin for creating something so amazingly feature rich in such a small, user friendly package.

Too bad I couldnt hear the headcode or the M3 at the meet though...although it may as well be for the best - having resolved to build a PPA, I think it'll save me money in the long run.

Anyway, I'll add more comments as I post pics ... What did everyone else think?

 

[rmx]

Couldnt sleep... some selected pics....

Mmmm.... Tubes! Natsuiro's custom tube amp

yummy.... tubes

Sonick w/RS-1's driven off Phobus' PPA in a wooden cigar box, and other headphones on the table. The pro looking amp is Carbonman's maxed out PPA. Entertainment room pepsi machine, pool table and foosball table in background

Carbonman checking out the PPA

J3MO with Carbonman's DT-880's driven straight out of his ipod mini

Anarchris, Natsuiro, and Natsuiro's friend watching Zoboomofo vigourously shake his finger at SA-5000's

SonicK, mahogany, cigar box wood... sweet....

glorioso indeed!

hecho en vancouver!

Ipod -> starquad cable -> supermacro v3 -> MS2i's

mmm.... MS2i's

Natsuiro w/ SA5k's and friend with AKG 501's playing Rock, Paper, Scissors

Color coordinated? Ooooh yeahhhh... (powerbook, MS2i's, Bada PH1 tube hybrid, RS-1's...

A cup ? B cup?

MS2i fatboy vs. MS2 skinnygirl

my MS2i Case

And finally, a little video capturing the meet venue and all the people who attended

Right click, save as...


All pics I took here...

Enjoy! Post up your pics, whoever took them

 

[Mevunky]

Looks like portables were very popular....not many full sized sources around.

CompactFi!

 

[WK446]

Thanks again for setting up the meet RMX. You were such a gracious host. Kudos to everyone else I met as well - really nice folks and nice gear!

Cheers,
Dennis

 

[zoboomofo]

Yes, I'm satisfied with the meet too. I'm pretty sure I impressed everyone with my vigorous finger shaking and Kim Il Jung-inspired hairdo

I've got to give a big thanks to rmx for hosting this event - the place was ideal really. Lots of space, secure building, a pool table, and a scantily clad girl using it.

Seriously though, there were real goodies to ogle and snuggle your head between. I liked the McAllister tube amp a lot with the Beyer 880s, Sony SA5000s, and I believe the Sennheiser 525s. The upper registers were dazzling, and full. If George Harrison was there, he'd say "Something in the way tubes move me attracts me like no solid state gear." I think the super slim Panasonic pcdp that drove the setup was pretty special too.

For portable driven ppas, I think I'd prefer the sound of ms-2s over the rs-1. There's more thump in the ms-2s if less silky refinement.That's the kind of sound I like - lots of punch and with lots of sharp detail. And the ms-2s were a good match for the Devil's Playground cd I heard them with(insert Billy Idol sneer smiley here).

I was happy to meet everyone. A very enthusiastic bunch we had here yesterday. Next time hopefully we'll have some Benchmark DACs to play with.

 

[rmx]

Oh, I have a foam pad that was left behind, probably from someone's sennheiser box. Also, Anarchris is missing a Grado 1/4th plug -> mini adapter, so if you've ended up with it accidentally, please message him.

 

[Gremlin255]

Rmx, the foam pad would be mine. You can keep it.
Thanks for hosting a great meet. I got to try out alot of cool gear I always wanted to hear. I enjoyed the home amps like the Bada, G&W, PPA. Some headphones I tried out for the first time were Grado RS-1, MS2i, Beyers 770, 880, Sony CD3000, SA5000, HD600. All great phones and pricey

I didnt spend too much time with each phone to get a solid feel for them.

I compared my AKG240s with the Beyer 770-80. They both can groove. The beyers I would say had more treble and the bass was a bit more tighter and punchier, but the mids were more recessed compared to the 240s.

I'm glad people were impressed with the Supermacro v3, it really can hold its own against the full sized home amps and so versatile with the 4 switches. WK446 and I both had a supermacro v3 with opa627. His had only a few hours on it but mine has been burned in for over 100 hours. We easily noticed the difference. The highs to lows were better extended, wider soundstage and depth.
I like to thank everyone who came and brought their great gear.

 

[CameraBoy]

Excellent meet! Glad to have met everyone. Next time I'll bring along a few more items (would have had a DAC-1 there, but courier delivered it to the wrong location).

 

[skitlets]

So how did the ms-2i compare to the ms-2, and those against the rs-1?

 

[Anarchris]

Once again, thanks to RMX for hooking up such a great place to meet. I had a blast! It is great to meet other people who care about their gear and music as much as I do!
Here are some random observations as I really haven't had time to digest everything.

I really loved the custom built amps. If I had any skills with a soldering iron, I would attempt to build something like these. However, I would probably just wind up with a few second degree burns. I was very impressed with the build quality and sound from the Supermacro. It kind of puts my Porta Corda to shame, so I can sense an upgrade in the near future.

I tested my ms-2 against RMX's ms-2i and to be quite honest, I could not hear any differences. The ms-2 has roughly 100 hours of burn in and the ms-2i had only 10. So maybe, the ms-2i will eventually pull ahead with more burn in..? maybe I just have amateur ears. But it doesn't matter, because I still think my rs-1 blows both of them out of the water anyway

I also confirmed that I am indeed not a Sennheiser fan. I like my music right in my face. Though, the Sennheiser 525? sounded amazing when paired with Natsuiro's tube amp.

The Beyer DT-770's are just plain crazy!!!

I really enjoyed the AKG 501's. The build quality is pretty nice, and the sound is very clean.

The CD3000's were amazingly comfortable, but the sound didn't blow me out of the water.

The SA5000 is very overhyped imho. Not to say it sounds bad, because it doesn't. But I guess it is just not my kind of sound.

I really enjoyed the modded Eggo. (I think they were Sonicks)
They are now my top recommendation for best cheap headphone on the market. Though I think the Portapro's are a close second.

I also enjoyed the Shure e2c's (is that the right one?) very comfortable for a canalphone seeing as I am not a fan of the comfort level of Etymotics. I found that the music was less involving, meaning it is for more relaxed listening.

I think I have rambled on too long now. And I should probably get some sleep.

 

[rmx]

I concur with Anarchris' sentiments about the MS2 vs. MS2i - I listened to a track a know very well over and over again trying to find something different about each headphone, but I just couldnt. I really wish my MS2i's were burned in though - I've got a feeling they'll change quite a bit, if my burn in experience with my beyers is anything similar. RS-1's are sweet and mellow, and coloured. The MS2 line is more clean sounding, but lacks the warmth of the RS-1's... the RS1 mids were so much more inviting and mellow, and blended into the rest of the frequency ranges so smoothly.

Gremlin225: I'll hang on to the pad and you can grab it from me anytime you want, or at the next meet for sure

.

Any word on Anarchris' grado adapter?

 

[Xanadu777]

Sounds like you guys had fun

Was there a person named "Kam Lee" from BC at this meet? (contact me Kam).

 

[rmx]

Yeah, We had tons of fun! I hope to see you at the Seattle meet then, eh Larry?

I forgot a lot of names, so I can't remember if there was a Kam Lee at the meet.

More pictures from CarbonMan:

http://www.nallapothola.com/headfi/carbonman/

 

[Carbonman]

I thought I'd post some of my impressions of the meet and the goodies that I was lucky enough to listen to.
The amps were all impressive. The little portables were unbelievable - I couldn't believe that they sounded so smooth and muscular. I could have sworn that I was listening to a home amp. The bass boost and crossfeed don't account for the great sound, it's the amps themselves. The cigar case PPA was very interesting. Compared to my maxed-out home PPA, it wasn't quite as refined, but the continuously variable bass boost was amazing. It was very well built and beautifully finished, inside and out. I think I may have found the man to do a couple of mods to my own amp!
The HD650s were really nice to listen to. The bass was very realistic, though it had me wondering about how I'd like that must bottom end over the long term. The treble was much more pronounced than with the HD600s, a little too prominent for me (and I love my DT880s for their bass and extended top end).
The Sonys (SA5000 ?) were undoubtedly good cans, but seemed a little harsh in the treble. I seem to be really sensitive to this, don't know why.
The Grados were very educational. I was somewhat familiar with the comfort issues and found the sound OK. The wood RS-1s were an awesome sounding can and were more comfortable than any of the other Grados.
Next meet I'm going to beg or borrow a home CD player to check out the sound from a disc player with a big power supply. I was shocked at how many of my fellow Head-Fiers use Ipods and the like. Guess it really shows my age!
J2mo, I picked up that Sekoya CD. It's going to be fun to have in my collection.
Thanks everyone for letting me play with your toys and hear your music. Raj, you did a great job of organizing the meet and picked a superb venue.

 

[nsjong]

RMX, any plans on another meeting soon? Possibly in the summer? I missed this get-together cause I kinda read the board a bit late. Hahaha. =)

If you are gunna have another get-together, how bout the summer? COming in 2 months and most people will probably available. Haha. =P