Late on the draw with this, as I was too much of a zombie after getting back home last night to write anything even semi-coherent. Cool to meet some of you.
Yggy: I listened to Yggy quite a bit over the two day duration of the event, as I needed to decide if I was going to purchase one. It sounded pretty rough Saturday morning: thinnish, kinda dry and grainy...off. By Saturday 5pm it was much improved. Fast forward to late Sunday afternoon and I was back again with Schiit’s Rag/Yggy setup (I own a Rag, thus I wanted to reference this setup vs. Marv really yummy EC 2A3). Conclusion: Jaw dropping - loads of staging cues that I’ve never heard before, low level detail that I’ve never heard before, incredible impact, dimensionality, texture, growl...and this was with show noise going on around me. Insane. Returning back home to Gungnir has been tough.
HE-1000: After Yggy, this was my most anticipated new release of the show. Ultimately I was disappointed, especially after referencing Ohhgourami’s modded HE-6 back to back with the HE-1K (thanks man). The HE-1K sounded marginally faster and more transparent to me (edging a bit closer to stats territory), but the soundstage lacked depth and there seemed to be a bit of microetch in the definition region (not sure if this was a source issue). Bass quality wasn’t better to my ear than the HE-6 off of the EF-1000 demo amp. No balls with the demo setup. The HE-1K’s tonality was definitely a step up in the right direction from the stock HE-6, but not nearly enough of an upgrade over a modded HE-6 to justify the real problem - the $3000 price. HFM’s amp/source probably wasn’t helping the situation, and I didn’t get a chance to hear it off of any other amps. I’ll have wait for further evaluation from the pyrates on this one. Mods and proper power/sourcing could probably address some of my gripes.
Audioquest Nighthawk: Almost unlistenable through AQ’s demo setup (WA7/Dragonfly 1.2). Colored and muddy, with a upper/mid bass boost and a significant upper-mid/low treble dip, pulling back up to the definition region. I felt like I was wading through a swamp. Trustworthy pyrates seemed to think well of it off of Marv’s reference rig, so I’m willing to give it another try. Great design, but damn...really poor showing with what I heard it on. Sidenote: some fool was informing Skylar that it needed more bass right before I jumped in for a listen.
EnigmaAcoustics Dharma: I enjoyed this quite a bit, overall presentation was very much to my taste: spacious, clarity/separation on the top end. Fit needed work, as it wouldn’t seal above my ears, which they claimed they’re going to address. I demo’d it twice, once on Saturday, and again on Sunday when there were less people. As with the HE-1000, the upstream gear was an issue, making it tough to meaningfully get a sense of what the headphone was capable of. They had a stock HD800 to compare with on Sunday, and the HD800 sounded like shit off of their amp/dac (thin, no bass body). I tend to listen to slow/pretty music, so I didn’t hear much in terms of speed issues in regards to the low end of the FR that some of the lvl 40 pyrates picked up on. Crossover is at 10K apparently, and seemed well integrated.
Mr. Speakers Ether: These were better than I anticipated. I listened to them on a variety of setups (Dan got them on a lot of other tables); they always sounded at least decent. I thought Dan did a great job with the tonality, neutralish and slightly warm. Good stage size for a planar. Sub bass extension seemed to be a weak point, especially when compared with the LCD’s. Comfort and weight were great. All this said, I’d feel much better if they were priced at 1k, vs. 1.5k.
Bill P’s Modded LCD-
2.2: Really nice job with this mod, more linear than any LCD-2 I’ve heard thus far. It made me tempted to go buy one (again) just to mess with it. Hermetic seal those pads Bill!
Anax 3.0 mod: Look mom! I can listen to the HD800 at high volume off of the Mojo without my ears bleeding! Want.
Vinnie Rossi LIO amp: Modular ultracapacitor SS/Tube hybrid. Spacious staging and some tube wetness, without striking me as mushy or too soft. Nice balance between romance/directness, good impact. Not sure how it compares to other amps in this price range (it’s not cheap), but I really enjoyed my time with it.
ALO Audio Studio Six: I don’t know why this amp garners as much praise as it does. Sounded harsh with the HD800, price struck me as a huge problem.
Cavalli Liquid Silicon: A fitting new product name for a show introduction in LA. I didn’t spend a lot of time with it (I’m more of a desktop gear guy), but it had enough balls to drive Bill’s LCD-2 with satisfying bass impact. Smooth, slightly laid back and effortless sound with the LCD-2. Not sure how it stacks up with sensitive IEM’s but it struck me as nice for a portable amp for full size cans.
Audeze EL8: Listened to both versions...didn’t care for either one. The closed version had hardness in the lower treble that I couldn’t get passed. Bass seemed less mushy than the open version, but didn’t have as much body. The open version reminded me a bit of the LCD-2 when driven off of a craptastic amp: kinda sloppy/loose, slightly grainy and too dark. No dice.
LFF’s headphones: I was able to finally get up to speed on a number of models that I hadn’t heard. Really nice, excellent value. Screw the EL8, buy a Paradox. Probably not much reason to reiterate what’s already been said elsewhere on the forum, but they’re an easy recommendation if looking for closed headphones. The Code-X was also badass...didn’t anticipate hearing it at the show, but boy I’m glad I did.
Modded Abyss: This headphone did a lot of things right, not perfection, but about as good as it gets in certain area’s (dat bass) - goofy design, way too expensive, but a very memorable listening experience. Thanks to Bill for showing me how to get the fit right - made a significant difference.
Frank Cooters Tube Amp W/009: A very interesting counterpoint to the HA Blue Hawaii, more romanticized to my ear, but also more body, which I personally preferred. Beautiful works of audio art.
Dragon Inspire IHA-1 (Moon Audio booth): Not sure wtf was going on at the Moon Audio booth, but all was not well. When I first listened, Drew had the gain turned up on the Chord Hugo, resulting in all kinds of crazy distortion. After I addressed him and got him to turn the DAC gain down, the amp had zero headroom. With maxed volume, the LCD-3 was way too quiet for my normal listening level. First amp I’ve ever had that issue with, really weird experience. Sounded flat and lifeless to me with the Hugo...still not sure if the problem was with Drew, with the amp, or both.
Wells Audio Headphone Amp (don’t remember the model name):Sounded excellent with the LCD-3, but at $7000, they can blow it out their rear end.
