CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => The Meeting Place => Topic started by: Marvey on March 23, 2014, 04:38:11 PM
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Great job to the organizers. Lots of vendors and stuff there to play with!
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Big thanks to everyone. Was great to meet all the folks old and new!
Some thoughts:
The EAR stuff was pretty awful to me. AK240 still sounds mediocre, worse than the 120. It did sound a bit better via balanced but not enough to change anything versus the 120. Hugo has issues. GSXmk2 is pretty bad tbh, I keep trying to give it a shot but it's always the same story with that thing. Phonitor2 is slightly better than the 1 but still uderperforming for the price if taking the amp on its own merits without the knobs. If you like the knobs its a diffrent story. The new motorized pot and red LED effect was cool and pretty. AGD S2 or A2 or whatever is noticeable step down from M7, even perhaps more so than the Sabre version. X5 as a AIO DAP was mediocre, sounded better to me as a source into the Leck. New 2A3mk2 had a very synergistic pairing w/ the HD800 like the original S7 prototype but better in everyway. For those looking to tune the 800 with a rich 2A3 sound that might be an option if one doesn't want to commit higher up the food chain.
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Audio-GD M7 vs. SA-2
Had a DAC-off here on my rig (4-45 / HD800 on Abyss). The M7 was fed from the OR5 with HDMI i2s (I'll explain later). The SA-2 (musical series) was fed with the BNC from the OR5. The M7 could have had an advantage here because of the i2s; but it shouldn't have been that much, or maybe there really is that much of a difference?
The M7 was warmer sounding despite it being a "reference series" DAC. However, the M7 did have slightly better or sharper delineated attacks. So maybe the "musical" series equipment is just a tad softer. The M7 had a wider and much deeper presentation. M7 also extracted more plankton - was able to hear ambient cues, noise grain, etc. better.
The differences were shockingly notable at the turn of the input dial on the 4-45. Whoever thinks all DACs sound the same or are indistinguishable should have tried this (or used more resolving / better downstream gear.)
AK120 vs. AK240
The AK240 has all sorts of new functionality, mainly the ability to stream wirelessly (cool), and native DSD playback (don't give a sh1t). Streaming DSD will suck up battery power faster. Still the unit is expected to last for many many hours. However, it my understanding the DSD bit patterns transmitted through the air may fry testicles or cause insanity.
The AK240 is slightly more powerful than the AK120 (spec-wise), but honestly, I think it's a tiny step back in sound quality. The Cirrus DAC chips I've heard have never sounded nasty, but they have a tendency of sounding a bit on the boring side. This seems to be the case here. They should have stuck to Wolfson of the AK120, but maybe the Cirrus stuff gave them the DSD functionality that they needed?
BTW, I love the futuristic design and charging dock.
HDVD800
I was rather surprised because this sleek rectangular box exceeded my expectations. I tend to shun products which receive a lot of hype from the usual sources, but this DAC/headamp combo unit seemed to be a really good match with the Sennheiser headphones (HD700 excepted, mainly because the HD700 sounds bad despite whatever is feeding it.)
The SE output wasn't all that great, kind of murky sounding. The balanced out was pretty darn good. Really nice clarity, separation, blackground, and best of all fairly smooth sounding. Uncanny refined for solid-state. I didn't get a chance to try this amp with my set of "marginal" recordings, but given that the HD800s I tried used were in 100% stock form, I'm tending to believe it would be a good match. I mean, the HD800s were still bright, but at least they weren't difficult with glare, hardness, etc. Probably still a tiny of grain.
No, this is not the last word in maximizing the HD800's potential, but I felt it was pretty darn good in synergizing with the HD800. But then again, it would have been pretty darn embarrassing for Sennheiser to make a DAC/amp that sounded like sh1t with their headphones. I recognized some of the same reps, and I'm sure Sennheiser has seen it's share of embarrassing moments, i.e. when people told them their HD800 sounded like sh1t out of their amps or when people pointed out to them their Anax mods.
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Eagles Hotel California (Live) and Daft Punk Get Lucky
LOL, it would seem the universe is catching on to the DAC-Off pirate's use of one particular track (Hotel California). One we've been using since at least the last two SHOWs in Irvine. (Contrary to popular belief, the SHOW is NOT in Newport Beach, it's actually in Irvine where a lot of chinks or gooks like me reside. But you know, saying Irvine might scare away people because of this.)
But the use of Hotel CA (Live) is a good thing. It's a much better differentiator of gear than any of the Patricia Barber or Diana Krall recordings.
I swear, every time I walked into a room, I heard at least one person listening to Hotel California to evaluate gear. Also heard a LOT OF Get Lucky by Daft Punk. My favorite tracks on that album are Giorgio By Morodor (in which is tells his story - very cool), and Beyond. I try to avoid Get Lucky now after many many repeated front to back hearings of that album. This is why I like vinyl. It forces us to listen to the album in it's entirety (or buy 45s for singles).
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Chord Hugo
No. Just no. And no. Volume control is stupid. Inset phono sockets are retarded. If Steve Jobs saw this design, he would have strangled the designer like how Vader strangled his admirals. Seriously, we are talking about Fisher-Price school of design here. Sound is at least is not horrible; but lots of better sounding choices (Geek, Dragonfly, Dacport LX, etc) for much less money.
Questyle Amp and DAC
I don't know which was to blame, but this combo sucked ass. Definitely one of the worse things I've hear at the meet. If some solid-state equipment sounds etched and nasty, this takes it in the other direction. The bass wasn't gooey or anything, but, smooth, dark, dull, overly overly polite and forgiving. Almost as bad the RSA Darkstar (yes, the Darkstar really is that horrible.) I used Paradox Slants and Enigma (and known tracks) for this evaluation.
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I try to look for combinations which just tend to work well at these meets (regardless of price, which means some $$$$ and some $ Let me mention a few of them. Synergy is everything.
LFF's Enigma and Cavalli Liquid Colbalt
Wow oh wow! I really really Alex's new LC amp. Paired with the Enigma, this was one which really surprised me at the meet. There was an LCD-2 right next to the Enigma. Guess what? The Enigma spanked the LCD-2 in every way, including bass performance. Yup. I couldn't believe it either.
OJ's CKKIII and AMB Gamma 2 + any headphone
This Gamma 2 build bypassed the ASRC and took the USB i2s directly to the chip. As I've said, the Gamma 2 is a really really good DAC worthy of being compared to many bigger desktop units. The CKKIII has an excellent reputation among DIY'ers.
Bottlehead Crack w/ speedball + HD600
The crack is well known to have excellent synergy with the HD650/600. But holy sh1t, the speedball upgrade really does bring some extra speed to those HD600s. Best I've heard the HD600s sound short of plugging them directly into leviathan, god, or titan amps.
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Chord Hugo
No. Just no. And no. Volume control is stupid. Inset phono sockets are retarded. If Steve Jobs saw this design, he would have strangled the designer like how Vader strangled his admirals. Seriously, we are talking about Fisher-Price school of design here. Sound is at least is not horrible; but lots of better sounding choices (Geek, Dragonfly, Dacport LX, etc) for much less money.
+1
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Awesome meet! I had a lot of fun. Thank you specifically to Marvey and Anax and Ultra for being super cool. It was great to meet everyone else too. I think we might have recruited a few new swabbies out there so ahoy to all
Got to listen to a lot of stuff. These would be my favorite systems (that I heard) in rough descending order. This is out of what I listened to, which was not everything. Also, I didn't keep track (or take much account) of DACs:
- 445 -> HD800 (the magic one Anax had on-hand)
- Liquid Gold -> Abyss
- 445 -> Abyss
- 445 -> HD600
- BH Crack -> HD600
- Liquid Lightning -> SR009
- EC 2A3MkII -> LCD2
- CKK -> HD600
- CKK -> HE500 (Jerg modded)
- BH Crack -> DT880
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Phonitor 2
A solid amp which sounded good with the stock HD800s (I was unable to use my suite of test tracks). Based on long ago memories, seems to better than the 1 - smoother presentation. Nothing special amp-wise, but very competent by itself. Actually very good depth even without the knobs activated. The reason to get the Phonitor are the dials. Probably the best headphone crossfeed in the business I've heard. If you are into that kind of stuff. The adjustments are subtle; and that's a good thing.
EAR
EAR combination of DAC, headphone amp, etc. All in chrome. We affectionately called it the "cylon" equipment. This stuff just sounded weird. Seemed to have a strong emphasis on the middle-midrange and a de-emphasis on the bass and treble. Other aspects sounded good though. A slight tubey touch with inner warmth and wetness reminiscent of the DNA Stratus, however without the clarity, separation, microdynamics, microdetail, etc.
I couldn't figure this out, especially the odd tonal balance thing... until I realized how well the EAR stuff matched with Grado headphones. Makes perfect sense now. Unfortunately, the Grado thing was almost 10 years ago.
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Hrm, the HFO version of Hotel California has been an audiophile staple for as long as I've been in the hobby. I've heard it at pretty much every meet I've been to, starting with CanJam in LA back in like 2009. That album would be on my "hear nonstop at meets" wall of fame along with:
Dark Side of the Moon
Wish You Were Here
Clapton Unplugged
Diana Krall Live in Paris
Pet Sounds
In fact, I have most of those in my stack of CDs I bring just because I know people always listen to them.
As for impressions, I didn't listen to anything. I was only there like 4 hours and spent 3Hr 55min at my table. Missed out on seeing Luis and a couple other people. My room didn't get too packed which was nice.
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The only time I've heard it at headphone meets was several years ago at Frank Cooter's stat amp setup with the blue glowies. He happened to have the CD in there. Since then, I've never heard it used at any meet. Just surprised so many people were suddenly using it at this meet. I've also never heard it at the speaker shows, because this track would seriously fvck up many of the speaker setups, or at least reveal the setups with the overbloated bass or serious treble issues or bad rooms, which would be 85% of the speakers at these shows.
Anax is using the xrd version which is mastered better. I've stopped using it because I'm so sick of it.
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On the AGD DACs:
When Clem (you here brotha?) lugged that other monster up and everyone started listening, I was very skeptical I would be able to pick apart any differences. I had just got through comparing all those loaner DACs and I felt the differences were small then. But by golly, you guys weren't kidding when you were saying one sounded better than the other. Not sidegrade-y, plain better. I went in not knowing which was which, but I knew what to listen for and that made a lot of difference I think. To my ears, it seemed #1 (which turned out to be the M7) was better at representing the recording's spatial properties. More reverberant is what I told Marv on my first listen. And once you hear it, #2 seems kinda lacking in comparison. It was also interesting to me that the differences were concrete on both the HD800 and the Abyss. It still kinda hurts my brain thinking about how different the two DACs sounded.
Also interesting to note that most folks who walked by seemed to prefer #1. Although there were a few who liked #2 more.
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This infamous Eagles track, is it on Hell Freezes Over or Eagles Live?
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Hell Freezes Over. The original CD has overbloated bass and Glenn Fry's vocals are sibilant. Brings non-neutralish systems over the edge. So a good recording for such uses.
The xrcd version Anax currently uses is for resolution / plankton evaluation.
Another good one is Talking Heads This Must Be The Place / Naive Melody. The original CD version is really really really out of whack. The remaster is what I currently use. It's better balanced, but still remains a good test for bloated bass (higher up than HFO Hotel CA), and treble issues (snare drums, percussion, vocal sibilance). The AKG K812 failed the Naive Melody / Remastered test.
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Any chance of getting a copy of that track? I've used that song forever, but would enjoy taking an 'improved' copy for a spin.
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On the AGD DACs:
When Clem (you here brotha?) lugged that other monster up and everyone started listening, I was very skeptical I would be able to pick apart any differences. I had just got through comparing all those loaner DACs and I felt the differences were small then. But by golly, you guys weren't kidding when you were saying one sounded better than the other. Not sidegrade-y, plain better. I went in not knowing which was which, but I knew what to listen for and that made a lot of difference I think. To my ears, it seemed #1 (which turned out to be the M7) was better at representing the recording's spatial properties. More reverberant is what I told Marv on my first listen. And once you hear it, #2 seems kinda lacking in comparison. It was also interesting to me that the differences were concrete on both the HD800 and the Abyss. It still kinda hurts my brain thinking about how different the two DACs sounded.
Also interesting to note that most folks who walked by seemed to prefer #1. Although there were a few who liked #2 more.
Yes, and the funny thing is that I would consider the SA-2 and M7 to be much more similar than different, at least compared to the other DACs in the comparo.
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Other notes:
- uzi (from Head-Fi) was kind enough to drop his BH Crack (w/ Speedball) at my table. Pretty much everyone who came by wanted a listen. And yes, probably 80% of them were listening to Get Lucky. I also noted that more than a few people preferred the DT880 over the HD600 on the Crack, although I feel the HD600 is a clear cut above, especially on the Crack. I need to build a Crack soon
- All the Cavalli amps sounded good
- JH13 was meh, unfortunately. I was expecting better I suppose. And the UE booth was packed every time I walked into that room, so I didn't get to listen to any of theirs.
- LCD-X and LCD-XC were surprisingly good. I need to do a direct comparison between them and the LCD-2/3
- Many laughs were had listening to the Rag and talking to the Schiit guys. Not sure if Marv wants to divulge but I was amused
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Could anyone comment on that new demoing thing that UE has? Could the UE18 possibly emulate how their other IEMs sound?
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JH13FP
Downsides were overly smoothed bass, although the slight bass emphasis / warmth compared to the UERM was a nice tough. Treble too hot. That is too strident, even with decent recordings. I know some people think the UERM is too hot in the treble, and I can agree somewhat that the upper mids are a bit pronounced. In comparison, the JH13 behavior has ringy/peaky treble in the siblance region, otherwise known as "no-no land" to me. Possibly the most resolving IEM out there, but Anax told to me take another listen if I get chance to make doubly sure. Perhaps the emphasized treble is making me think it sounds more detailed.
I didn't have a problem with treble of the JH13FP out of their AK120 loaded with BS audiophile music, but once I got my iPhone using my own test recordings, it was not listenable. Granted the iPhone does sound on the brittle side. I should have brought my other players, i.e. Sony X, Leckerton, etc. but I'm pretty sure the stridency issue is still going to be there with the other sources.
Mad Dog Pros
A fun listen with bass characteristics of the Audeze, but also with a little treble emphasis resulting in a "fun" u-curve, but still very well with my tolerance levels (I even tried some marginal recordings). My favorite so far from Dan. I had a laugh when Dan said I had extraordinary high standards. I came away very surprised by this headphone powered by the Mjolnir. From the Burson HA160... ugh, no.
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Any other must-have recordings or tracks for using to see how audio gear performs?
What recordings do you use to gauge upper treble? Thinking more about extension.
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Anyone heard Ragnarok prototype? Being one with both speakers and headphones, this is the one I am very interested in.
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Oh, also, how was the JH Roxanne?
and what did you think of the Noble ciems?
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Didn't hear the Nobles unfortunately.
I had a chance with the Roxanne's though; I heard them as off-sounding, and not in a subtle way. Vocals seemed weird, bass seemed weird. I'll let Anax comment more as he's much better at describing this shit than myself.
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After my experience with the JH13, I looked over at the Roxannes and said to myself "fvck it, I'm done." There was too much other stuff to listen to, and I'm much less curious these days.
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Marvey, did the Mad Dog Pro have as much bass slam as the LCD-2? I always thought my Mad Dogs were lacking some bass impact compared to the higher end orthos.
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I can't say without a direct comparison. I did feel however that Dan improved the bass performance or somehow took some lessons learned from the Alpha to make the MadDog Pro's bass less spongy/dead (T50RP bass has this tendency) than the regular MadDogs. Or it could have been the Mjolnir just gripping the drivers better.
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First of all, It was nice to meet all the pirates. It is nice to put a face to the name. Everyone was very nice and I'm really glad I made the trip. I wish I would have been able to stay those last few hours as it looked like a fun time with the small A/B! On the other hand, it doesn't look like I missed much and I'm not surprised the SA-2 was inferior.
Few notable rigs and gear that had me toe-tappin -
EC 4-45 The "God" Amp - If this is any bit how good the Levi is going to perform, I will be smitten. This thing was no holds barred good. I'll admit it was a tad "bright" for my tastes, but I would chalk that up to my music preference (i.e a lot of rock, electronic, and Jazz with horns). It still was ultra detailed and a serious step up in clarity to anything else I heard at the meet and maybe even ever. I also want to note that the casework on the amp is spectacular. It is also a monster amp, especially if you if you plan to mount the amp and PS side-by-side.
EC 2A3x2 -This amp was just musical as fvck. Paired with the LCD-2, the sound was just inviting. Definitely not as detailed or as precise as the 4-45 but I feel it has enough to satisfy most casual listeners. I only wish I would have spent more time and brought my HD800 to try but there were others waiting to try it so I felt a bit rushed.
Cavalli Liquid Cobalt - I actually haven't read into this amp but I was impressed with the 5-8 min demo. I was able to try my new Paradox Slants with it and the combination was very nice. Sound was open and smooth. Nothing jumped out as alarming, just a classic Alex amp sound. I would have to have both side-by-side but I may like the sound better than the Liquid Glass.
Noble K-10 - I came away from the last San Diego meet being slightly disappointed. I found the K-10 to be overly bassy and just too mushy. I felt like there were some coherency issues as well, bass bleed etc. I now wonder if my fit was bad or if Noble did tried something new this time around. At the SoCal meet, my impressions have changed. I now feel this would be my go-to choice for a top-tier CIEM if I wanted something that was tuned to be warm and musical. I feel the sound is balanced and full enough to handle everything from classical to rap. It will never be the best in any one area, but it just has a really nice all-around tone.
Other thoughts:
There were a few pieces of gear that I was particularly interested in listening to: Chord Hugo, AK240, HiFiMan HE-560, and JH Rox.
Sad to say none of them impressed me.
Hugo - First of all, the construction is absolutely a mess. This thing looks like a toy. Build quality is poor for such a luxurious product and don't even get me started on the recessed jacks. Also, the volume nipple... er I mean "knob" is just tacky. This product has marketing and hype written all over it. I won't lie, I thought the sound was decent but nothing special. For $2K or whatever - I'm expecting greatness and this thing didn't deliver. Note: I thought the Geek Out was much better sounding for what it is worth.
AK240 - Build quality is really nice. I actually like the anodized colour and the knob actually doesn't feel cheap. The UI was decently fast, no major hiccups. But that is where the compliments end. The sound out of this was.. well terrible. Take your pick - sterile, bland, flat, virgin, w/e this thing was boring as hell. Paired with my Spiral Ear SE5 CIEMs, the sound was flat and lifeless which is not what I was expecting. Overall I prefer the 120 and even more so my Sony ZX1.
HFM HE-560 - No comment, didn't make an appearance unfortunately.
JH Rox - This is by far the most overrated product this year. I'm glad I didn't drop $1600 on a whim during the BF sale. Actually, I probably wouldn't have heard the Rox until this show anyway... LOL. The amount of issues JH has had with this particular CIEM has been a joke. Can't get something as simple as a connector nut right... give me a break. Sound was actually warmer than I expected. I was expecting something similar to the JH13's with more detail and better bass. Well, I actually prefer the JH13FP for what that is worth. Sound is plasticky and artificial. Nothing about the sound impressed me other than the staging which I felt was decent. A big NO THANK YOU from me. I'll pass.. walk the plank2
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I did feel however that Dan improved the bass performance or somehow took some lessons learned from the Alpha
We use the Alpha's complete baffle assembly. It's almost the same frequency response, but better time domain, especially in the bass.
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Mad Dog Pros
A fun listen with bass characteristics of the Audeze, but also with a little treble emphasis resulting in a "fun" u-curve, but still very well with my tolerance levels (I even tried some marginal recordings). My favorite so far from Dan. I had a laugh when Dan said I had extraordinary high standards. I came away very surprised by this headphone powered by the Mjolnir. From the Burson HA160... ugh, no.
HAHAHA I met Dan back in 2011 in the SD meet when the LCD-2 was riding the hype train HARD. He had that LCD-2 in a Burson 160D which I found absolutely disgusting. The best way I can describe it was trying to listen to music while submerged in molasses.
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LOL, I've been giving Dan a really hard time about his HA160 for over 8 meets now: "Um, Dan... you sure about that?", "That amp sucks, why are you showing your headphones with it?", "That's not good", etc. I think Dan's finally got it all covered now with the Mjolnir and LG at the meets.
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I had a chance with the Roxanne's though; I heard them as off-sounding, and not in a subtle way. Vocals seemed weird, bass seemed weird. I'll let Anax comment more as he's much better at describing this sh1t than myself.
JH Rox - This is by far the most overrated product this year. I'm glad I didn't drop $1600 on a whim during the BF sale. Actually, I probably wouldn't have heard the Rox until this show anyway... LOL. The amount of issues JH has had with this particular CIEM has been a joke. Can't get something as simple as a connector nut right... give me a break. Sound was actually warmer than I expected. I was expecting something similar to the JH13's with more detail and better bass. Well, I actually prefer the JH13FP for what that is worth. Sound is plasticky and artificial. Nothing about the sound impressed me other than the staging which I felt was decent. A big NO THANK YOU from me. I'll pass.. walk the plank2
Huh, that's very interesting, given the hype train on HF. Well, tupac over there (is he ever over here?) mentioned something similar.
Greed I hear my K10s about how you heard the demos this time around, so I think you got a good sense of them.
Murrin, it sounds like you found the jh13fp to be deafness-inducing-machines.
I basically have to choose between the jh13fp, jh16fp and Roxannes (which I'll hear all in demo form before making a final decision). Anyone who has an opinion is welcome to chime in, thanks!
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- 445 -> HD800 (the magic one Anax had on-hand)
- Liquid Gold -> Abyss
- 445 -> Abyss
- 445 -> HD600
To put things into perspective, I did not love the Abyss with the BA. Too soft. The 4-45 (more current delivery, different power supply) helps quite a bit, but I think I may still prefer good powerful solid state with the Abyss just to get that last bit of driver control. (Also the Abyss cannot make full use of the 4-45's resolving capabilities). Depends upon what mood I am in. You want to have everything in one single amp, but you really can't.
The Sennheisers HD600/650/800 are amazing with the 4-45. No question about that. You were there and heard how well the "lowly" HD600s kept scaling...
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I would argue HD600 + 445 is endgame tier. You could live with it and be happy despite all the other stuff out there, which has got to count for something.
And I did feel the Abyss lacked a bit of mojo on the 445, compared to the Cavalli. Hence my ranking.
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"Um, Dan... you sure about that?", "That amp sucks, why are you showing your headphones with it?", "That's not good", etc. I think Dan's finally got it all covered now with the Mjolnir and LG at the meets.
I was at a meet where two big name reviewers listened switched one phone between the M/G stack and Conductor (sold the 160D over a year ago). One declared "The Schiit is better" and walked off. The other guy winked and said, "He's wrong. The Conductor is better." I hear that a lot, actually.
I tried to make three nice setups with unique takes on sound at different price points because people's preferences vary so widely.
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OMG! That was the Conductor? Horrible. The horror! The horror!
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When that was Dan's setup, I think I liked the Conductor better with the just released Alphas. Probably the Gungnir giving me fits on the other rig. I don't remember what DAC Dan is using with his Liquid Glass, but that setup trounces both the Conductor and the G/M stack. On another level, still, though is Alex's Cantata + Liquid Cobalt with Dan's Alphas.
Looking forward to hearing the MD Pros at some point, Dan. You've got to fix that stand, though. I never thought you'd keep using the same design for it this long, LOL. That was literally the first thing I noticed when you unveiled the Alphas and commented on it. Make it two pieces that snap together or something so it fits the box but has usable height.
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Purrin, so, then I can safely leave it in your care at a meet?
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I'm guessing you are talking to me, but I'm not sure I follow. Wanting to save some airfare/time and send me a pair for demo at the Dallas meet?
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You've got to fix that stand, though. I never thought you'd keep using the same design for it this long, LOL. That was literally the first thing I noticed when you unveiled the Alphas and commented on it. Make it two pieces that snap together or something so it fits the box but has usable height.
I'd like the stand to be taller but I haven't found a way to do it without increasing production cost, then we couldn't include it for free, and bigger = increased shipping costs. Most people use it by putting near an edge so the cable can hang freely, a few attach a riser of some sort on the top. Imperfect solution, but hopefully better than a cutlass in the eye...
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I'm guessing you are talking to me, but I'm not sure I follow. Wanting to save some airfare/time and send me a pair for demo at the Dallas meet?
I was a bad dog and didn't quote Purrin. Thanks for the offer, but I really like going to the meets and meeting people. It's the best part of my job...
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Some impressions here...
LFF's Enigma
Heard them out of Luis's pimped amp and CA Cobalt, and thought they were Awesome. Really great with pop, classical, rock... you name it. Fantastic bass presence and overall performance!
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7039/13373347895_e72ee0fd98.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7076/13373729354_4f1fa31bf6.jpg)
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2847/13373351515_ca50ef8c3e.jpg)
EC 2A3x2 + LCD2
I really love this particular combo. Very involving and with lots of resolution... and same CD :D (wasn't Hotel California though). I really like this rig.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3669/13373493893_b321611f1f.jpg)
Cavalli LG + LCD?
Yup. Liked this one too.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3799/13373352135_3985e75611.jpg)
Cavalli's Stat + 009s
Like the combo quite a bit. This particular combo sounded a little different from what I remember the Lighting MK1 sounded though. I still think it has some of the bass qualities the Lighting had (good impact, as opposed to some claims about rolling of around some random frequency). However, it seemed to have a little better resolution.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3820/13373500763_ec63cc7f2d.jpg)
Frank Cooter's Amp + LCD2 (dBel84's)
These look like they came from another age where things were made to last and match some king's palace furniture. They sound pretty awesome, and I think one was for sale indeed... Picture came out horrible though.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7411/13373729994_f6bb845da2.jpg)
The Russian Amp
It was OK. I spent more time monkeying around w Darin's SW, which I thought was pretty awesome.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7041/13373353145_834e25e76f.jpg)
Stax Sigma Rig
Maybe I had them backwards or something. Felt a bit too bass lite, lean... weird. Not necessarily bright though. Maybe it was the song or something. Dunno.
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2809/13373735964_dd9b62cdaa.jpg)
DNA's + HD800
Felt this was a great combo. Good dynamics and detail. I though the combo exploited the strengths of the 800s fairly well.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3692/13373735624_d7d34ef000.jpg)
Pendulumic Cans
Hard to pronounce the name, but I though the volume know on this wireless cans was a pretty cool idea. I thought they had good low to mids presence. Not bad.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3751/13373729404_b3014cdc57.jpg)
Schiit Gungnir + Mjolnir + HD800
Great lower note control and detail. Quite enjoyable.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7380/13373498103_51a991a5b9.jpg)
Blue Hawaii + 009
Great combo. Remarkable workmanship and presentation. I like the colour too.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3833/13373354705_d263144a50.jpg)
Woo stuff
Wooee, but pleasant.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3803/13373734854_65086d6bb8.jpg)
OJNeg's CKKIII and AMB Gamma 2
Tried it with the HD600s and I thought it sounded pretty awesome.
Bottlehead Crack + HD600
Pretty awesome as well.
HDVD800 + HD800 & HD650 & HD700
Did OK with the HD800 and HD650. First time I hear the HD700. IMO, it really does suck.
Also, very nice to hang around with Insidious Meme, OJ, Luis, Marv, Mike, Burns, and the rest of the crew. Cool to have talked to Warren, Amos, and Jude.
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I'm guessing you are talking to me, but I'm not sure I follow. Wanting to save some airfare/time and send me a pair for demo at the Dallas meet?
I was a bad dog and didn't quote Purrin. Thanks for the offer, but I really like going to the meets and meeting people. It's the best part of my job...
Ah! Well if you are up for it we'd be glad to have you back for the June 4th meet.
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Forgot to add the 445 w the HD800 and Abyss. The 445 made the Abyss more visceral IMO. The HD800 seems indeed like a good can for this amp.
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Purrin, so, then I can safely leave it in your care at a meet?
When you take a potty break, I'm going to rip its innards out and put the $119 Vali inside it. That way no one will ever know.
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What tubes were in the 2A3mk2?
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What tubes were in the 2A3mk2?
Shuguang
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JH13FP
Downsides were overly smoothed bass, although the slight bass emphasis / warmth compared to the UERM was a nice tough. Treble too hot. That is too strident, even with decent recordings. I know some people think the UERM is too hot in the treble, and I can agree somewhat that the upper mids are a bit pronounced. In comparison, the JH13 behavior has ringy/peaky treble in the siblance region, otherwise known as "no-no land" to me. Possibly the most resolving IEM out there, but Anax told to me take another listen if I get chance to make doubly sure. Perhaps the emphasized treble is making me think it sounds more detailed.
I didn't have a problem with treble of the JH13FP out of their AK120 loaded with BS audiophile music, but once I got my iPhone using my own test recordings, it was not listenable. Granted the iPhone does sound on the brittle side. I should have brought my other players, i.e. Sony X, Leckerton, etc. but I'm pretty sure the stridency issue is still going to be there with the other sources.
As a former JH13fp owner I can corroborate the treble issue. Unfortunately it wasn't something I picked up on during audition at Canlanta and was after purchasing the full custom did the issue come to light for me.
It wasn't painful or piercing to me but was very annoying and negatviely affected treble timbre. I'd call it a ringing because it cannot be eq'd out and is present on all sources. All eq does is make the effect quieter but it still remains. During busy and complex drumming, cymbals would blur together for a maddening ringing sound. It was all I came to focus on, completely ruining enjoyment for me, so I sold them.
Such a shame because I otherwise loved everything else about the JH13, especially the fun bass, as well as resolution and imaging. I was hoping the Roxanne would have 'fixed' this treble issue, as I was interested in the universal version but it doesn't sound like it's been addressed and there are possibly additional concerns. Oh well, will joining the UERM crowd very soon.
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What tubes were in the 2A3mk2?
Shuguang
The Treasure Zs, not the cheap stuff.
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Did you think the mk2 was good with the Shuguangs or in spite of them?
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LFF's Enigma and Cavalli Liquid Colbalt
Wow oh wow! I really really Alex's new LC amp. Paired with the Enigma, this was one which really surprised me at the meet. There was an LCD-2 right next to the Enigma. Guess what? The Enigma spanked the LCD-2 in every way, including bass performance. Yup. I couldn't believe it either.
i had the LC here chez fishski for a week. awesome amp, especially with my Don modded T50RP.
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LFF's Enigma and Cavalli Liquid Colbalt
Wow oh wow! I really really Alex's new LC amp. Paired with the Enigma, this was one which really surprised me at the meet. There was an LCD-2 right next to the Enigma. Guess what? The Enigma spanked the LCD-2 in every way, including bass performance. Yup. I couldn't believe it either.
i had the LC here chez fishski for a week. awesome amp, especially with my Don modded T50RP.
I forgot to ask.. er maybe I was too scared to ask knowing I would have to put down, but did anyone catch how much the LC is going to be?
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Did you think the mk2 was good with the Shuguangs or in spite of them?
Hmm, that's tough to say. Can't know without rolling in person. There is also a big caveat I've run into before with Craig's setup that I forgot to mention earlier. His CD transport and Moth DAC have a very specific signature so it's difficult to say other than it seems like the amp was letting the source qualities through as well as I remember them during the Super7's prototype development. So I think that speaks favorable of what the amp can do. This is the first time in years he's used that source setup at a meet.
I'd say it struck me as an interesting combination of qualities that combined technical elements of BA and tonal balance of the Stratus. I'd consider taking it over a BA, 2A3mk4 is still better and 445 to Levi are another league.
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LFF's Enigma and Cavalli Liquid Colbalt
Wow oh wow! I really really Alex's new LC amp. Paired with the Enigma, this was one which really surprised me at the meet. There was an LCD-2 right next to the Enigma. Guess what? The Enigma spanked the LCD-2 in every way, including bass performance. Yup. I couldn't believe it either.
i had the LC here chez fishski for a week. awesome amp, especially with my Don modded T50RP.
I forgot to ask.. er maybe I was too scared to ask knowing I would have to put down, but did anyone catch how much the LC is going to be?
About $3200
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Did you think the mk2 was good with the Shuguangs or in spite of them?
I'm pretty sure Craig put them in there for intentional tonal coloring to match the LCD2 he had on hand. I've heard a vintage set on the mk2, and it makes it warmer sounding a bit, but with more harmonic complexity.
You get two options too with the drivers.
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I basically have to choose between the jh13fp, jh16fp and Roxannes (which I'll hear all in demo form before making a final decision). Anyone who has an opinion is welcome to chime in, thanks!
Why not consider the UERM?
I haven't honestly been impressed with much of JHA's products since the original JH13. The original JH13 was very SR-007Mk1-like (speaking generally with regards to tonal balance). The JH13FP comes off as a bit more SR-009ish with considerably hotter treble funk.
The UERM and even ES5 still look pretty good today.
Unfortunately I was not able to come down from NorCal for this event. Looks like it was fun.
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The Russian Amp
It was OK. I spent more time monkeying around w Daryl's SW, which I thought was pretty awesome.
Thanks for posting the pic and stopping by my table. (It's Darin, BTW. No big deal.) Glad you liked my software.
I was SO busy that I never even had a chance to see anything! At least some people got to come by my table. Anax had time to come by to tell me how bad the Vostok amp sucked. ;-)
Awesome meet though.
I am thinking about arranging a "tour" with the Vostok amp. Let me know if anyone is interested in demoing it. The main issue is that you have to have a pair of electrostatic headphones to do a proper evaluation of the amp. The dynamic amp is not full power on the model I have.
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Sorry about the name Darin, just corrected my post :-[ ... I thought the software was pretty cool indeed.
I did use the SW in bypass mode to check out the Vostok. I thought it might have been a little laid back, but I didn't try it with my own music and such.
Unfortunately, I don't have electrostat cans or a baseline amp.
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Darin's software..... headbang
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If any of you guys want to write a front page thing on his software... I was going to do it, but I'm behind on work and some measurements.
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I'll write a small blurb.... ;)
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I basically have to choose between the jh13fp, jh16fp and Roxannes (which I'll hear all in demo form before making a final decision). Anyone who has an opinion is welcome to chime in, thanks!
Why not consider the UERM?
I haven't honestly been impressed with much of JHA's products since the original JH13. The original JH13 was very SR-007Mk1-like (speaking generally with regards to tonal balance). The JH13FP comes off as a bit more SR-009ish with considerably hotter treble funk.
The UERM and even ES5 still look pretty good today.
Unfortunately I was not able to come down from NorCal for this event. Looks like it was fun.
Thanks N! Yes, the UERM was great when I heard it thanks to Anax. Truthfully, I got a pair of jh16s for a girlfriend (after she listened to many top-tier iems and ciem demos, which was part of the fun, the jh16fp was the best sound for her) and figured I'd get something similar for solidarity.
I will say that with the Apex Glacier, the jh13fp and jh16fp demos I spent 90+ minutes with were not a problem in terms of treble ear-stabbing.
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I have JH16 FPs and UERM. UERM pairs better with my Leckerton and the JH16 pairs better with my Glacier. I think I'm going to sell both the Glacier and the JH16 as the JH16 is unlistenable now, though. Esp with something more fun like the Kaiser/noble 10, I'd want something more along the lines of the UERM rather than the JH16 which is in the opposite direction.
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I have JH16 FPs and UERM. UERM pairs better with my Leckerton and the JH16 pairs better with my Glacier. I think I'm going to sell both the Glacier and the JH16 as the JH16 is unlistenable now, though. Esp with something more fun like the Kaiser/noble 10, I'd want something more along the lines of the UERM rather than the JH16 which is in the opposite direction.
Thanks! Yeah, totally agreed. I have the Noble 4C as my flat, analytical earphone. I'm thinking the idea of giving JH a chance might have been a fool's errand. I'll listen to the rox and may end up with a jh13fp paired with my glacier. Jerry's coming out with a new ciem line to screw over everyone who just bought one of his ciems. Part of the JH experience.
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Jerry's coming out with a new ciem line to screw over everyone who just bought one of his ciems. Part of the JH experience.
I don't really know what you're getting at here. Are you suggesting anyone that comes out with new products is screwing over their customers?
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I guess I'm thinking specifically how he waited until after one of his dealers bought a jh16 to tell her the rox was coming out...
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I am thinking about arranging a "tour" with the Vostok amp. Let me know if anyone is interested in demoing it. The main issue is that you have to have a pair of electrostatic headphones to do a proper evaluation of the amp. The dynamic amp is not full power on the model I have.
Sounds awesome. I'd fit the bill but I tend to be more objective than most (e.g. holding +-0.2dB level-matching as something of utmost importance). And with my gear being relatively uncommon to downright rare I don't think my findings would be relevant for most people. But I should hope it can at least match such a reference point, costs considered.
I guess I'm thinking specifically how he waited until after one of his dealers bought a jh16 to tell her the rox was coming out...
Besides the circle-jerk thread in HF, impressions on the Roxanne seem to be mostly middling-to-negative, so I'm not too worried. Hated the original JH16 and didn't find the JH13FP to be compelling enough so I'm alright with sitting pretty with their oldest flagship.
All this new technology hasn't really diminished the merits of some older/simpler favorites be it JH, the UERM, or ES5. Then again I stopped upgrading my phone/computer every year and I'm sitting on a twenty-year-old headphone so I guess I err towards practicality rather than novelty.
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Thanks for posting the pic and stopping by my table. (It's Darin, BTW. No big deal.) Glad you liked my software.
I was SO busy that I never even had a chance to see anything! At least some people got to come by my table. Anax had time to come by to tell me how bad the Vostok amp sucked. ;-)
Awesome meet though.
I am thinking about arranging a "tour" with the Vostok amp. Let me know if anyone is interested in demoing it. The main issue is that you have to have a pair of electrostatic headphones to do a proper evaluation of the amp. The dynamic amp is not full power on the model I have.
I would be interested in demoing it, assuming you're willing to ship it up the west coast a couple states. The only amp I have for my STAX currently is the SRM-212. :D
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Thanks for posting the pic and stopping by my table. (It's Darin, BTW. No big deal.) Glad you liked my software.
I was SO busy that I never even had a chance to see anything! At least some people got to come by my table. Anax had time to come by to tell me how bad the Vostok amp sucked. ;-)
Awesome meet though.
I am thinking about arranging a "tour" with the Vostok amp. Let me know if anyone is interested in demoing it. The main issue is that you have to have a pair of electrostatic headphones to do a proper evaluation of the amp. The dynamic amp is not full power on the model I have.
I would be interested in demoing it, assuming you're willing to ship it up the west coast a couple states. The only amp I have for my STAX currently is the SRM-212. :D
I started a thread in the loaner/sharing section of the forum. Head over there and post so I can start compiling a list of people and locations:
http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,1516.msg40109.html#msg40109
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So Wtf actually happened with the TekFX booth at the meet? Their owner (?) just posted an apology on the HF thread.
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So Wtf actually happened with the TekFX booth at the meet? Their owner (?) just posted an apology on the HF thread.
IIRC, it was staffed by people who didn't fully understand the products they were supposed to be demonstrating. Did anybody ever get a useful explanation of the Fiio X5 UI?
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Any other must-have recordings or tracks for using to see how audio gear performs?
What recordings do you use to gauge upper treble? Thinking more about extension.
For treble extension, nothing I know of beats the Barber "Adagio for Strings." I use the Bergen Philharmonic recording. If you can find the old Philadelphia Orchestra/Ormandy recording, that might be an even better test; I remember it sounding really shrill on my 1970s HK receiver and Senn HD 414s.
For treble extension and transient response, I usually go to bluegrass. One of my go-to evaluation tracks is a 96/24 vinyl rip of "Macedonia," from the Strength in Numbers album "The Telluride Sessions." Fiddle and mandolin in unison, way up the fingerboard.
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Burns, did that Mozart Requiem from that Scottish troupe come out yet?
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So Wtf actually happened with the TekFX booth at the meet? Their owner (?) just posted an apology on the HF thread.
I did not leave my table, so all this is hearsay...
But Warren told me that the guy they had at the TechFX table was smoking weed all day and he could not handle his weed. Apparently he was yelling at people and generally being crazy. They ended up telling people not to worry about the TechFX table for the raffle since the guy was being such a dick.
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So Wtf actually happened with the TekFX booth at the meet? Their owner (?) just posted an apology on the HF thread.
I did not leave my table, so all this is hearsay...
But Warren told me that the guy they had at the TechFX table was smoking weed all day and he could not handle his weed. Apparently he was yelling at people and generally being crazy. They ended up telling people not to worry about the TechFX table for the raffle since the guy was being such a dick.
Holy shit was that it? I thought he was actually mentally handicapped! I guess he was in a way. I said to myself, that's cool someone had enough faith in this guy to let him handle all this gear.
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i got a pic. it must be the same guy.
(http://i.imgur.com/OUmlpZv.jpg)
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That's him!
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Who wouldn't want to try the Blue Hawaii + SR009 when baked?
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Burns, did that Mozart Requiem from that Scottish troupe come out yet?
Yes it did. I bought the 192/24 ALAC file from Linn Records (same price as 96/24--go figure). I've only had time to listen to it once, but on first hearing I really liked it.
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i got a pic. it must be the same guy.
I even asked the dude if he was alright. He answered something like he'd been doing this for 2 days or something. I almost offered him the bag of chips I was carrying around from lunch since it looked like he needed it more than I did.