[geom_tol]

I was the other volunteer for the show, it was fun unpacking the stuff and handling all the gear. *drool*

During the tour Tyll gets the title "Hardest working man in the headphone business", he was sweating pretty good after we had everything unpacked, it was a fairly hot/humid afternoon in DC.

For me the Blockhead ruled supreme in the high end case.
The Orpheus (and the other tubed amps to a lesser extent) does not handle dynamic/punchy/fast music well. You loose the feel of the music. It sounds great, no doubt about it, but it is missing the energy, the speed.
For vocals and music with few instruments/players the Oprheus and other tubed amp are awesome!!! They sound soooo good.

In the headphone case the headphones were driven by maxed out home amps and a Marantz cd67se.
The hd600 and rs1 sounded suprisingly similar in this setup. My current can the k501 did well in comparison, it's sound was different, not worse, just different.
The four best cans were, hd600, rs1, k501, dt931. No surprises.

In the cable comparison setup I draw no conclusions. I think the test is flawed, because of the varying age of the hd600's used.
The hd600 with stock cable seems brand new, the pads are very hard, so the drivers are held away from your ears by the pads.
The hd600's used for the clou and cardas cable have very soft pads, so the drivers are alot closer to your ears.
This changes the sound dramatically, so I'm not saying anything about the cables. Except that the Clou cable is very heavy and thick, I did not like the feel of it.

In the case with misc. amps I really liked the ASL MG Head OTL, and also the McCormack amp. The MG Head is especially impressive considering what it costs.
I listened to a Corda HA1, it has a 'brighter' or 'lighter' sound than most of the other amps there. Very good amp for the money.
I listened to the RA1. It was as bad there as I knew it would be (btw. I own this amp, I have listened to it alot). Tyll also expressed his 'dislike' of this amp and proceeded to open one up to show the insides.

I also let Tyll listen to my newly built meta42 amp. We compared it to a Headroom Cosmic. the source was a panasonic portable cd.
Tyll liked the sound alot, he thought the Cosmic had better bass and highs. I agree with the Cosmics better highs, but I thought the meta42 had better bass. The sound was very similar, the amps simply dissapear when listening.
I was very happy with this. the Headroom amps are extremely well built and engineered. They had a display showing the insides of all the Headroom amps. Amazing stuff. All connections are soldered onto the board.
My meta42 has a lot of wiring, and some doubtful soldering, as well as only about 3 hours of running time. Tonight I will finally have a chance to do some long listening to it with a good source.

 

[andrzejpw]

lol, yeah. The hd600s are done as soon as they become about $2000 more expensive.

 

[kelly]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch The real asses are Sony. Their corporate structure makes it difficult for Headroom to sell their products. Sad, because IMO if Headroom continues on its present course, they'll have the market to support new production of the R10, but until Sony figures out that it would be good idea to sell through Headroom, that market will remain untapped.

The R10 was never sold in the US and it's no longer sold in Japan, right?

IMHFO, the CD3000 at $700 isn't much of a loss to miss out on. I don't think the CD1700 is good competition to the Beyers and Senns they carry either.

I do think a lot of HeadRoom's customers would like/do like the V6/7506 and that's a real loss to them. Sounds like some of the verticles are too. That's all, though, I think.

 

[RMSzero]

I kind of want to only listen to the stuff I might be able to afford! I'm worried about my non existant wallet . . . .

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelly The R10 was never sold in the US and it's no longer sold in Japan, right?

The R10 was sold in the US by Audio Advancements. It's still listed on theme-gifts.com. I have no idea if there are still units for sale or not.

Never heard of either of them? That's basically my point.

Quote:

IMHFO, the CD3000 at $700 isn't much of a loss to miss out on. I don't think the CD1700 is good competition to the Beyers and Senns they carry either.

At $700 I'd agree. The HD-600 can do most of what the CD3000 can do.

Quote:

I do think a lot of HeadRoom's customers would like/do like the V6/7506 and that's a real loss to them. Sounds like some of the verticles are too. That's all, though, I think.

Some of Headrooms customers would buy high-end equipment as available. While Headroom tends to think of itself as producing the best units at each price point, that can be argued, as personal taste plays a big role. However, I really wouldn't mind if Headroom carried units such as the RKV or Sugden. Getting products like this into the hands of a dealer that is responsive to customers is every bit as important as Headroom's own products, IMO.

 

[kelly]

Couldn't agree with you more, Hirsch. I know the RKV isn't for everyone and in no way would I call it a perfect product but it's gotta be in the same caliber as the other stuff at its price point. It's a real shame to not see it there or see more people who have one. It's still in production too, so it's not one of those uber rare things--it's just not carried by anyone for some reason.

The Sugden issue will be remedied soon, I think. From what I gather, my delay in receiving mine is the result of a manufacturer backup because they got totally slammed when the What HiFi article came out. Looks like a hit one way or another.

I see your point about them carrying the CD3000 as a matter of its value being personal taste, but I just don't think they could move very many at full retail. Their popularity amongst HeadFiers seems to be based on finding them used for under $400.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Sorry for my delay in posting to this thread, but I've been "out of it" since the show. Don't really know what's wrong, but I suspect it's because I'm depressed that I will never own an Orpheus.

My reactions here will be a little bit more "honest" than on Headroom's site.

In order of strength of reaction:

You guys listen way too loud. Considering that most of the phones were open, it was very distracting to be able to clearly hear what someone else was listening to across the room. And then you leave it running. Just plain rude. Impossible to make any sorts of serious reactions based on this show, it's only a taste to know if an item is worth pursuing more. I definitely could not get a feel for the Stephan Arts Equinox cable.

Tyll is one opinionated motherf...(girls: shut your mouth!) But I'm talking about Tyll?!? (girls: we can dig it.) PS Wouldn't want him any other way.

I have to agree with geom_tol -- the Orpheus is not the be-all and end-all of headphones, it definitely smooshes things together, loses the attack, etc. I still want one. It may compress the snuff out of stuff, but it still sounds glorious.

Warm-up is pretty friggin' serious -- the EAR and the Wilson-Powell sounded pretty bad at the start. The Wilson-Powell bass was boomy and bloated and completely overwhelming -- unlistenable. After some warm-up happened, it got tighter and more in control, although it was still bloated -- listenable. At the beginning, the Wheatfield 2 was far and away the best amp, by the end it was only competing (although I still liked it a whole lot -- I still thought most highly of it -- of the tubed amps -- on the high end table). The EAR just got better (sorry, don't remember exactly how, other than with the R10 the bass went from nonexistant to just right).

I definitely want to check out the EAR and the Wheatfield. Too bad I can't afford everything I want.

I will definitely be auditioning the Blockhead at some point in the future.

Too bad the RKV and EMP weren't there, but I have both, so no bother to me...

 

[Driftwood]

Dusty,
I have to agree with your assesment about listening levels. I found myself routinely turning down the volume from the places I found them. However, I found that you listened at a level that was even more quiet than I listened. I would perhaps listen at the level that you perscribe except that I had to deal with exactly the problem you mentioned, and thus, contributed to it myself.

And indeed, your comments about cover it as far as the orpheus is concerned. However, now, almost a week later, I am beginning the process of coming to grasp the fact that I will never own one.

Also, warm up does seem to be a real thing. Hirsch and Dusty noticed and commented on it, and while I am not sure that my opinions changed so drastically as theirs, my opinion of the some of the amps was strengthened as they warmed up.

And man, Dusty, I am going to have to talk to you about music... what was that purplish cd in the digipak that was on the nettwerk label that you were listening to on the BAT cd player? I need to buy it, but I forget now the name...

I also have to agree with geom_tol about the cable comparisons. The pads also made me wonder if the headphones were in various states of burn-in. I suppose an in-home audition is the only possible solution, and that isn't quite so easily done. I think I heard enough of the Equinox and The 212 Red Jaspis in order to say though that I don't regret my purchase of the cardas.

Sigh, it pains me, but I will have to say again that the R-10 is a fine headphone. I don't know if I could bring myself to trade in my HD-600 for it though, for comfort, price, and other reasons, but sonically, it was a joy. Also, the cable was really really nice. Oh the joys of cloth covered cables.

All in all, it was one experience that I am glad I didn't miss. Us DC attendees will have to arrange another meet soon so we can do some more in-depth comparisons, and just to shoot the ****. The one regret that I have about the meet is that we didn't have more time to talk with the furious panicked running around between headphones and amps.

Driftwood

 

[Blighty]

How is the bass response and extension of the R10 compared with other dynamic headphones like the HD600 and AKG501?

 

[BDA_ABAT]

Blighty: Bass response & extension was WONDERFUL on R10! Great warmth and fullness to the music... more realistic than the Orpheus or HD600 or AKG 501. It's a totally different sound than any of the above.

That said, they are all magnificent sounding headphones that I would LOVE to own! My impression of the AKG was that it had lovely highs and mids and a good bass, just not a lot of depth to the bass (driven by Maxed Out Home amps). The HD 600 seemed to be a very well balanced can but without a lot of punch... that famous laid back sound. That sound was improved by changing cables and getting hooked up to different amps, but it still did not provide the same fullness/richness of sound that the R10 had. The Orpheus to my ears was like the HD 600 but MORE. Not nearly as laid back but still exquisitely polite. Very nice musicality but it did not have the same roundness of sound and fullness of sound that the R10 had.... probably in large part because it's a closed design. I didn't like any of the other closed can on display, but the R10 was special.

Just a newbs opinions of some wonderful equipment.

Bruce

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Driftwood Also, the cable was really really nice. Oh the joys of cloth covered cables.

Cloth??? Those cables are covered in Silk!

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Blighty How is the bass response and extension of the R10 compared with other dynamic headphones like the HD600 and AKG501?

Bass extension is actually very good, but it takes a good amp to bring it out. My initial impressions on owning the R10 was that the low end was light...but I was seriously wrong.

 

[dhwilkin]

Out of curiosity, how is the bass impact of the R10?

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by dhwilkin Out of curiosity, how is the bass impact of the R10?

At the Headroom show, I thought bass impact was excellent with the HP-4, and also the Max.

With the ZOTL at home, impact was lean, but got a whole lot better with a different 6SN7 (that seems to be the tube that determines the low end).

Bass was a bit better with the SHA-1, but there was a trade-off of high-end air that I didn't like.

My suspicion is that the R10, although an efficient headphone, really likes a lot more power than it lets on before it will really let loose with its full bass capability.

 

[kelly]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch My suspicion is that the R10, although an efficient headphone, really likes a lot more power than it lets on before it will really let loose with its full bass capability.

I nearly launched a war when I theorized this about the HD600.