CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => The Meeting Place => Topic started by: Marvey on August 11, 2014, 02:57:28 AM
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Mithra, the sun god, shines upon this lucky fellow.
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One should not have any attachments!
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Cavalli LG with some uber tubes. Code-X, Slants, and HD-800. The headphone in the middle was the best sounding with this setup. LG was fed by the Bricasti M1.
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Alex showed me his modified PM-1 from through his custom DSP box and Carver amp. Not sure exactly what DSP processing is in place, I assuming phase, FR, etc. The system is tuned darker than my preference, but I really liked it. The stage was really nailed down with good depth and without excessive width. The low bass was powerful and well controlled. I still think there are limitations with the PM-1 driver though.
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What impressed me most at the meet. Frank Cooter's single ended stat amp based on 845 tubes. The filaments glow like crazy.
Unfortunately, I don't think many people heard it.
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On HDVD600/800. Very interesting...
Still think the Senn lines of amps meshes really well with HD800. Still bright, but has smooth refined quality and great staging with the balanced outputs (esp. using the HDVD800 built-in DAC or suitable DAC.)
Used iPhone out to HDVD600 and it was still rather good. Tells me something. I kind of think the HDVD600 isn't all that sensitive to DACs. The amp has a characteristic which is suited for the HD800. The iPhone 4 tends to be nasty and brittle sounding with the UERM (or being used as a source to other amps.) I sort of expected this, but not so much in the case. HD800 was still listenable via HDVD600 with iPhone 4 as source. The only major thing it lost in a major way against the built-in balanced DAC of the HDVD800 was the the imaging and depth of the stage.
This is both good and bad. Good is that whatever one throws as the source to HDVD600, it's going to sound more similar than different. Bad in that the amp doesn't scale as well as it should. Personally, I think it's a good thing given the price level. HD800 can be very difficult to build a system around, especially as we scale up.
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On HDVD600/800. Very interesting...
Still think the Senn lines of amps meshes really well with HD800. Still bright, but has smooth refined quality and great staging with the balanced outputs (esp. using the HDVD800 built-in DAC or suitable DAC.)
Used iPhone out to HDVD600 and it was still rather good. Tells me something. I kind of think the HDVD600 isn't all that sensitive to DACs. The amp has a characteristic which is suited for the HD800. The iPhone 4 tends to be nasty and brittle sounding with the UERM (or being used as a source to other amps.) I sort of expected this, but not so much in the case. HD800 was still listenable via HDVD600 with iPhone 4 as source. The only major thing it lost in a major way against the built-in balanced DAC of the HDVD800 was the the imaging and depth of the stage.
This is both good and bad. Good is that whatever one throws as the source to HDVD600, it's going to sound more similar than different. Bad in that the amp doesn't scale as well as it should. Personally, I think it's a good thing given the price level. HD800 can be very difficult to build a system around, especially as we scale up.
Care to share the story of Frank Cooter's wife hearing the HD800 on the HDVD600 and her response to Sennheiser about the Eagles then later on the Levi?
Frank's 845 amp is one of the best tonal matches with the 009 but I still hear the 009's limitations everytime and this was no exception. Still sounded flat and ethereal but tonal balance was more natural. I always love Cooter's amps but there was a warmth and a slight compression in SS hurting air and overall clarity and vibrancy (call it timbral contrast if you like). I suspect something upstream of the amp as his amps are always wonderful.
Bricasti is a difficult one to wrap one's head around. On the one hand, it's probably one of the best DACs I've ever heard. Great macro dynamic swings and impact, nice treble and bass timbre, good resolution, good air, no real strange tonal artifacts like peaks of death, etch, wooly bass bloom, sterile limp dick bass, etc. Very clean and precise. However, there were a few issues that stood out to me. The two most obvious were the obvious sigma delta signature grain or lack of ladder/analog smoothness, and then the less than engaging mids that a re a bit pushed back relative to the extremes in FR. The treble and bass had this big dynamic punch similar to the Mjolnir that some would be engaged by or others perhaps fatigued by depending on listener preferences. So in the end, one of the best DACs I've ever heard, but not perfect. I think MSB nails overall tonal balance and signature better but Bricasti gets more resolution and perhaps better air and imaging depending on the level of your MSB upgrades. Note- I used Greed's preferred Minimum Apodizing filter 2 which I agreed with cycling through for brief impressions. Linear 1 made the treble and ringing worse than anything I've ever heard on a PWD of any sort or firmware.
Sadly, it seems many folk didn't make it past the vendors down to our room or Cooter's unless they had to use the restroom. Their loss.
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Did anyone else listen to that cute little Carot One amp, the Fabriziolo? About the size of a Ray Samuels SR-71, with a 12AU7 sticking out of the top. At $319, there's a value proposition there. Can easily imagine pairing it with a GO 450 in an office rig.
Violectric 281? Snore. Literally: I think I actually nodded off for a couple of minutes while listening to a Schubert piano sonata.
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Mithra, the sun god, shines upon this lucky fellow.
:)p13 :)p13 :)p13
So Marv, what did you really think of the Sonett next to the Stratus? Your Sith powers were clouding my vision through the force.
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http://www.head-fi.org/t/650510/the-new-hd800-impressions-thread/12915#post_10786922
I think you were trying too hard to listen for differences.
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Ok. Anyway, Donald North is a super chill; great to talk to someone who knows their shit like that.
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Violectric 281? Snore. Literally: I think I actually nodded off for a couple of minutes while listening to a Schubert piano sonata.
That's Violectric for ya. At least not overly bright or warm like some their past snores. Maybe you don't like the sound of 'neutral' and 'transparent'. LOL!!!
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Luv Donald, great guy and amp/speaker builder. So different talking about amps and audio gear with someone from Caltech with lots of hands on experience rather than self proclaimed experts that have only heard of Caltech or do occasional maintenance there.
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Sadly, it seems many folk didn't make it past the vendors down to our room or Cooter's unless they had to use the restroom. Their loss.
I feel the same way. I guess the layout worked as planned to isolate us too.
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We'll see how long the existing meet model is able to last. It's not just attendees, but also vendors who are getting sick of things. It seems to me that a few major players were starting to reel back their intentiveness.
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One of these days we definitely need to do a comparison between the MSB and the Bricasti side by side. I'm still not convinced one is "better" than the other. At this point I'm comfortable saying:
1) Filters actually do work and contribute significantly to the overall sound.
2) Minimal Filters > Linear Filters
3) SE Outs = Balanced Outs.. (compared to the MSB where the SE is clearly cleaner sounding)
4) USB is actually pretty good.
As I said sound significantly changes depending on your upstream gear, specifically source. I do agree that the sound can be slightly sigma-deltaish. I wish that we were able to test with your source material and source. At times I feel the MBP with Audirvana can have a grainy/edgy sound with an artificial sense of clarity.
I believe with more time and a side-by-side comparison, you guys will find that both DACs play in the same league with the MSB being more laid-back, expansive, and more liquid whereas the Bricasti is faster, cleaner, slightly more resolving (we may disagree here as I feel the MSB isn't too far behind but the presentation somewhat masks the details micro and macro), and maybe more dynamic.
More thoughts to come..
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Sadly, it seems many folk didn't make it past the vendors down to our room or Cooter's unless they had to use the restroom. Their loss.
I feel the same way. I guess the layout worked as planned to isolate us too.
Just to be clear, are you suggesting that members and exhibitors should be placed together? Or alternatively that exhibitors should have been placed in those rooms instead? :-S Please let me know as it would help us to improve and refine things over time. Here's a specific question that you guys could help with... would you say that it would have been better if we put all member tables together in the Ventura (big) room?
As far as groupings go, that wasn't really our call. I mean, it was if we wanted to be arbitrarily dictatorial about it. But there were multiple requests made in other threads and via PMs for people to be situated next to each other. In trying to facilitate that, it became what it was.
Actually, at one point, there were multiple requests to be near a specific piece of gear (a Master 7 I believe), which had me thinking about organizing tables in a star pattern instead of linearly around the room. Ultimately, we realized that while that would have been logistically clever, it would have been practically stupid. :))
We'll see how long the existing meet model is able to last. It's not just attendees, but also vendors who are getting sick of things. It seems to me that a few major players were starting to reel back their intentiveness.
Really? Who? If you're able to share (privately if need be), I'm always willing to listen. :)
Despite appearances, there were some very concrete reasons for why certain exhibitors could not make it, or alternatively did not have as sizable a presence this time around. We knew this far in advance, and completely understand.
That said, I know that having so many events spaced so closely together taxed some exhibitors far more than in previous years. Starting with the next event, there will be a much more reasonable schedule moving forward, with adequate time to focus more on quality than quantity.
Again, suggestions would be helpful, appreciated, and most definitely considered. Thanks!
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Again, suggestions would be helpful, appreciated, and most definitely considered. Thanks!
I think the big room is a good idea as it was right next to registration.
For me, I can only attribute the foot traffic to location, location, location! Stuff located at the very end of any meet always gets the least flow. Same thing happened each year when we did the Bay area meets which I think you were in the far room yourself of our first one in '13? Hell, I didn't even get down to those rooms till I eventually had to use the restroom myself and passed by them lol.
There is never a perfect answer though.
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Warren, I had a great time myself. Really. It's just kind of a feeling I got from walking around I guess. Makes me yearn for the mini-meet atmosphere. It all could have very well been Darth Anax clouding my mind with visions of hate and PWD treble greyness.
I heard there isn't going to be another big meet until next spring, so maybe Head-Fi can put together a non-vendor meet sometime between now and then? Y'know enough people to fill a big room. Just throwing it out there, I know you guys have to spend a lot of time organizing. I appreciate any sort of opportunity to get together with people and listen to all the gear out there. Don't mean to come off as ungrateful or bitchy.
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I didn't spend much time in them, but that really big room and the first small room (where Woo was) were both really loud. I'm surprised people could get decent impressions in there. It was pretty crazy how few people came into the two member rooms at the end...I was in Frank's room for an hour or two and there were probably between 0-5 people visiting that room at a time while I was there. I didn't really mind our room not getting many visitors though since that seemed to make it easier for everybody with a rig there to talk to each other.
For my tastes there are just too many vendors now. I like the past approach more: invite the local vendors (ie. Audeze, Donald, Luis, Schiit, Darin, MrSpeakers, etc.) and the HF-grown vendors (ie. Headamp, RSA, Cavalli, etc.) more than having tons of vendors. I guess it's just kind of different for me to see reps and salesmen for largish companies and some seemingly random or not headphone specific vendors at a meet. I'm not even suggesting you change things because I think you guys should do it however you want to since you put this big event together. Just being honest about the way I've seen things the last 2 times since you're interested in hearing our opinions. :)p5
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At this point I'm comfortable saying:
1) Filters actually do work and contribute significantly to the overall sound.
2) Minimal Filters > Linear Filters
I feel comfortable saying the same, though I've found I go even further and prefer the NOS + R2R (or close to that) sound. It's something about the way the NOS DACs I've tried produce bass, especially bass guitar, and vocals. And these aspects similarly change when going from filters with lots of ringing to filters that try to minimize ringing as much as possible, at least based on my potentially flawed subjective tests (testing DACs with selectable filters, experimenting with upsampling filters on NOS DACs, etc.), so I have to assume filtering plays a noticeable role in what we hear. I think minimum phase, especially with low amounts of post-ringing, is the way to go otherwise.
I've read many sources claiming filters, ringing (mostly this), etc. shouldn't be audible, but I do hear a clear difference with different filter implementations. Not sure what it is that ultimately causes the differences I hear, but it is what it is.
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Always fun seeing you guys.
Warren, I don't know if it was you who texted me about the location, but my phone died during the meet and I didn't get any texts until this morning. :(
Sorry to the rest of you who texted me as well. I didn't mean to ignore anyone. :-[
I also didn't get a chance to say my good-byes to a lot you folks but as you all know...I love you all. :)p2
EDIT: Did any of you guys get a chance to visit Gizzard's room and listen to the TranSIT proto?
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Just to be clear, are you suggesting that members and exhibitors should be placed together? Or alternatively that exhibitors should have been placed in those rooms instead? :-S Please let me know as it would help us to improve and refine things over time. Here's a specific question that you guys could help with... would you say that it would have been better if we put all member tables together in the Ventura (big) room?
As far as groupings go, that wasn't really our call. I mean, it was if we wanted to be arbitrarily dictatorial about it. But there were multiple requests made in other threads and via PMs for people to be situated next to each other. In trying to facilitate that, it became what it was.
Actually, at one point, there were multiple requests to be near a specific piece of gear (a Master 7 I believe), which had me thinking about organizing tables in a star pattern instead of linearly around the room. Ultimately, we realized that while that would have been logistically clever, it would have been practically stupid. :))
I think you did a great job of organizing the meet! When we shove everyone into one big room, it gets really LOUD. I like having multiple small rooms for meets as we get certain groups together and isolate others out.
I think the reason people did not bother walking down the hallway is because it didn't seem like it was part of the meet. Notice the registration area had floor banners while our part of the hallway had nothing?
We much as we like staying together as a group, we are also there to share (and flaunt).
Overall, great job Warren! We really appreciate the effort you put in to organize something like this. And happy belated birthday!
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Since no one has brought it up, here's my 2 cents on the Levi and Anax's system:
Very controlled was the first thing I noted. Has the transformer-coupled iron grip thing going on. More controlled than I remember the 4-45 being with the HD800 for whatever reason. I also feel comfortable saying it was VERY revealing of different DACs.
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The Levi is amazeballs isn't it? :)p1
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Not multi-quoting the following in case shipsupt comes by...
@Anax, yeah I hear ya. I've actually been thinking about a huge member cave myself, hence the question, and I'm totally willing to give it a try. Of course, this depends on the location of the meet itself. If the next hotel doesn't have a large-enough contiguous space (the South Coast Westin didn't), then we might have to rework that plan as best we can. Maybe a desktop room and a portable room, or some other meaningful distinction.
And yeah, I was way back in room no. 6 in '13, but hey we had fun anyway. The only thing I wasn't crazy about at that meet was that Brian (BTG) couldn't make it. I had wanted to talk to him about some recabling or light modding (because can you believe that replacement D600 cables are $350 each???). Not only could he not make it, but I had to stare at his empty ass table all day long as a constant reminder. ::) Whatevs, not bitter, just sayin'.
Still, you did make it over to our room before the day was out - because bladder control trumps location - where you discovered that the SE-A1000 wasn't poo. ;) I haven't trotted that thing out to a meet lately... wondering if maybe I should because it's still street-pricing around the $50 mark and has lots of modding possibility.
I can tell you one thing... I'm not keen mixing members and exhibitors to a large degree. Exhibitors' tables tend to have a lot more chatter. It has to do with the nature of the desired transaction. I'm not saying that us members don't have some big ass mouths, but we aren't as driven or intent on exercising them in general. That's not to say that I'm unyielding there, just that I'm definitely not inclined to pursue that kind of a layout.
@OJNeg, glad you had fun man! Still, if you've got ideas or suggestions, I'm happy to hear them. :)
If there is going to be another large exhibitor-laden meet this year, it won't be by us. I just don't think we can sustain another meet like that this year. There is too much of a good thing after all. Plus, the fact is, things aren't what they used to be where meets were the only game in town. Audio shows are starting to add personal audio components left and right, which is both a boon and a curse (particularly in terms of timing). All these events put a lot of pressure on manufacturers, some of which are doing there best to finalize and release product that we have been clamoring for. Anyway, that's a long-winded way of saying that, yes, doing another meet this year would necessitate it being very exhibitor-light.
That said, there has been interest on the part of a very few exhibitors to get together and do a smaller, member-oriented, invitation-only meet. That's certainly very possible, and would probably take place during the winter if we decided to do it.
Lol, no worries, I didn't take it in a bad way. Plus, I'm pretty open to making changes, adjustments and tweaks to improve over time. It's all good. :)
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I actually think that large room at the LA meet purrin organized was quite well done. It was massive and very well spaced, the noise was surprisingly low as a result compared to normal expectations.
On the plus side, pretty much everyone at the far end in both rooms knew each other from multiple meets and it was GREAT having a nice intimate space for everyone to relax, critically listen in peace, shoot the BS and knock back a couple of shots of scotch or whiskey. This is the type of atmosphere we usually like to have at meets in the past so that was a plus in that respect.
From a community member perspective, the far two rooms were fantastic in my view. From a consumer viewpoint, not good at all. Which is good or bad depending on how you look at it.
Like I said, never a perfect answer for such things. Good job Warren. :)p5
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I can tell you one thing... I'm not keen mixing members and exhibitors to a large degree.
Agreed. Never a good idea.
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I'll bite..
Levi - HD800 - M7/Wyrd/OR5
Listened to a few songs, mainly Dreams, Hotel Cali, and Touch (RAM Album)
First of all, Anax's mods > SAA mods. The difference is uncanny and this was just another reminder for me to stop being lazy and cut the damn mod. Who knows? Maybe the SAA mods + Anax's mods will spawn some magical unicorn shit. I say this because immediately when I pressed play listening to my HD800, the sound was too glaring. Not as bad as an O2 or GS-X mk2 but the sound was definitely somewhat bright and fatiguing. Enough with that nonsense. With Anax's HD800, the sound was killer.
The Levi is the real deal. First impressions were this thing kicked hard. Dynamics were in full effect. I want to say the Levi is the best 2A3 amp I've heard. Extremely resolving but with the right amount of body to give you a natural presentation. The Stratus was a good 2A3 amp, but still suffered from a rosey, sometimes overly smooth characteristic that glossed over details. Compared to the 445 that I heard at the OC meet, this thing is on another level in terms of technicalities but more importantly more natural in terms of tone and timbre. When I heard the 445 it was somewhat bright and I want to say too edgy. Marv and Mike both said this is the 45 tubes in the flesh, which I can only take as the truth as I hadn't heard the 45 tubes before than.
Few things that I wish would be improved:
1) A more ergonomic chassis design. It just looks awkward. Talking with Anax, it seems Craig has a tendency to forget that [enter creation here] needs to be suitable for a multitude of rack/mounting options.
2) Regarding sound, maybe a slightly more resolving top end. I'd much rather have it sound as is than like the 445 but something in between would be even more amazing. This could be the result of tube options though.
I agree that with this amp, the sky is the limit in terms of DAC choice. At this point, if it sounds like shit.. it isn't the amp's fault. This amp will definitely keep up those that are hungry for the "best" because it seems that every tweak, no matter how small will be revealed.
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I definitely agree with Greed. I'll let Anax explain the input valve troubles. That might be the culprit behind the slightly off treble quality.
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When I heard the 445 it was somewhat bright and I want to say too edgy. Marv and Mike both said this is the 45 tubes in the flesh, which I can only take as the truth as I hadn't heard the 45 tubes before than.
Also 6C45pi driver tubes you heard w/ 4-45 I had. Those are echy with poor timbre. Think GSX2 - not nearly has bad, but in that direction. You get the idea. There's a reason why new 4-45s will be using the WE417/5482 tube instead.
maybe a slightly more resolving top end. I'd much rather have it sound as is than like the 445 but something in between would be even more amazing.
I can't say more, but you are in the right track - at least the track that is currently being pursued with the transformers / candidates.
Don't expect it soon. Levi will not go out until everything is as perfect as possible.
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Yup, at this point the potential of the Levi will be the quality and performance of the available tubes and transformers available. I even had an idea for a new super duper PS that Mike Moffat thought was a good idea that he feels has yielded proven results, but I think Craig would crush my skull in with a Levi when I wasn't looking.
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@nerdling, I understand about the number of exhibitors thing. I'll be honest though, I'm going to have to think that one through. The reason for this is because I actually like having a lot of them there, for what I assure you are some very well-thought out reasons. I've got a pretty big day tomorrow, so we should probably save that discussion for another time.
But yes, I definitely want and appreciate any/all suggestions. :)
@LFF, aww man, that sucks. I don't remember if it was me, but towards the end of the day all I cared about was keeping track of gear. I wanted to make sure Cavalli's gear and Schiit's gear was all taken care of, plus I had piece mealed out my rig to various people that were missing stuff, and we had the reg table to clean up. After that began the tequila shots at which point time and space lost some meaning. :P
@ohhgourami, thanks! I was hoping the meet maps we laid out would help people realize there was more to the meet, but I guess it wasn't as effective as we'd hoped. Let's see if a location change helps the next time around. :)
@Anax, thanks man. BTW, that LAX meet was my very first meet.
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Had an awesome time! At the beginning I was doing my rounds to see what gear was out there to sample, and ran into Che Guevara. He had this awesome set of enigmatic cans from some guy that goes by LFF:
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3868/14697064039_ce6ed9b4b8_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ooJi6R)
The black one was warm sounding and the grey one was detailed sounding. Pads where different. Che was driving LFF cans with a Cavalli Liquid Glass amp which did a fantastic job.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3865/14697170657_2cc0b3399a_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ooJQN6)
Che also had pretty awesome songs in his laptop.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5569/14697170357_a67703ea18_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ooJQGV)
Some dude to his left was selling doggie treats for some reason. His cans were OK.
Another highlight of the event was the uber-awesome Cooter electrostat. With it the Stax cans recovered their ballz. It could have been the CDs in the transport or maybe Frank had some equalizer hidden below the table, but IMO the best electrostat in the show IMO, YMMV. Additionally, the toobs will light up the room like a boss. Not many got to hear this amp cuz of location. Selfishly that was fine by me cuz I got to hear quite a few songs out of it w a minimum of fuss.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3850/14883365412_34e43676ed_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oFc91u)
Now, this is also the first time a hear the AKG K1000s. Saw them and thought these wouldn't have what it takes... WRONG. Loved these weirdo-phones a lot. Out the Mjolnir these delivered the goods and then some. I was told these were the "bassy ones"... maybe, but liked very much what I heard.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5579/14883698765_7ebb90fd5b_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oFdR6X)
Another setup that I liked a lot was the one with the DNA Stratus. I liked it way more this time around than when I heard it at a previous LA meet... Perhaps it was the cans. I also got to talk with Donald about the Aurasound mini-full range speakers. Got good pointers about them. Dude knows his stuff.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3884/14697166647_dcb54df4ae_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ooJPAX)
Went over to the HeadAmp table and saw a beautiful BHSE and a black GSX2 with a bunch of cans. This time I tried the GSX2 with the HD800s, HE6s, and LCD-3... Think I tried some modern jazz. Yup HD800 and HE6 don't mix with GSX2, but LCD-3 was OK. With classical music, which I also heard through this setup, things might be also OK.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3853/14881248774_2c9a959acd_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oF1hNJ)
N3rds had his HeadAmp Aristaeus around. I thought it was pretty nice! In fact, I think I personally prefer that one to the BHSE. It was a short listen though. Meet conditions. Whatever. Very nice and enjoyable setup though. Always wanted to try it, and sure delivered the goods.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5579/14860713416_bf94972d95_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oDc3mQ)
OJ brought his Torpedo as well. Liked it better than the Crack going by memory. Paired very well with his HD600s.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5589/14697025320_bf0ca99f2c_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ooJ6Ah)
Got a chance to hear the Levi too with Anaxes HD800ses. Really nice setup with huge transformers to fondle. Huge toobs too. One does need a proper place to put it though. I think the table started to bend. Very detailed combo there with a great microdynamics.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3895/14697161717_d6afe57e14_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ooJN8X)
Heard the Woo electrostat setup too. I was expecting a bit of warmth, but I felt it was a bit glaring actually. Maybe it was the cans.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3851/14880655941_70a00c754b_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oEXfzt)
Ohhgourami brought in his modded HE-6s along with a ridiculously sized Krell amp... And liked what I heard. I think he did a great job in the mod. Got to measure them (before and after)... dude is obsessive ;D
(http://www.changstar.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1717.0;attach=7256;image)
The guy that was from Light Harmonics (no more with them) brought in some pretty cool gear. Got to hear the Carrot One he brought and thought it was pretty good with the LCDs in his table. He also had a pretty nice set of mini hi-fi speaker setup there. I did not hear the speaker setup though, but he was in proly the most busy room along with Sennheiser, Apogee, and so on, so it would have been hard to appreciate them.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3909/14881251164_d4614b09c0_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oF1ivW)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3859/14697029270_295d7e4f80_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ooJ7Lo)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3923/14883371212_2563e4fed3_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oFcaJu)
Jude making the rounds... proly making sure business is taken care off, and things are running smoothly.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5575/14697054769_e687144de5_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ooJfm2)
Heard the Oppos too, but who know what pads this time. They were OK. Heard the setup that Alex had with some correction going on and felt it was very nice indeed.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3841/14880657101_cff93ebf55_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oEXfVt)
And here are the guyses! An honor sitting next to Che!
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3912/14697020440_10a7fa4c3d_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/ooJ599)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3867/14883689755_bb0403eaf9_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oFdNqB)
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Looks like an incredible meet! Frank Cooter's electrostatic amp is a thing of beauty, I would love it hear it one day. I'm also interested in Ohhgourami's HE-6 rig, anyone else spend some time with it? I feel humbled by the Levi, it's like an audio metropolis!
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Og finally got a "real" Krell. His new 100lbs Krell makes his old "fake" Krell sound like a piece of shit. I have a picture of it somewhere and I forgot to post / mention it here. I really liked that big Krell. It's similar sounding to the Krell Klone that I heard a few meets back. Bass is neutral and not overbearing. Clear, refined, and very microdynamically adept. Actually has some tubish qualities in that way.
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Maybe it's time to think outside the hotel box in terms of space planning.
Don't know whether it would be feasible from a cost standpoint, but level three at the Anaheim Convention Center has a 38,000 square foot ballroom (divisible into up to five smaller rooms), flanked by eight 66' by 30' meeting rooms. And no shortage of amenities within easy walking distance. And a metric fuck-ton of parking. And reasonably easy freeway access from the 5 and 22.
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Family member passed so I've been busy elsewhere.
@n3rdling: The reason why I like having a lot of gear there - especially from manufacturers - is because nothing beats an audition. Ultimately, auditions shed the light of (personal) truth more than any number of reviews, impressions, recommendations, etc. For example, I feel a very specific way about certain A-T cans - the ATH-M50 in particular - that runs counter to popular opinion. I can post myself blue in the face, running a gauntlet of fanboys, or I can just have A-T come and bring their gear so people can try it out themselves. This also lessens the burden on us bringing all of that gear. Because we can't all be heroes and bring out our entire collections (lookin' at you CEE TEE). Having manufacturers, and sometimes distributors, helps a lot.
Also, it's important to keep in mind that there are noobs coming into this hobby all the time, and having a ton of gear there makes for a very valuable experience for them. A lot of us have done this, and done that, so it does nothing for us. But for the new people, it could make a world of difference in terms of how they progress through the hobby.
And finally, I am seeing a ton of personal audio events pop up around the country and around the world... many at established audio shows. This is generally a good thing, because as the industry grows, events need to keep pace. However, I personally believe that manufacturers should be kept, both close to, and accountable to, the community. Many of them began their journeys and/or their recent surge in popularity with us - and I think it should always be that way. So, for as long as possible, I'd like to see them prioritize us over a rank-and-file consumer. Maybe I'm being possessive about that, but that's how I feel.
@burnspbesq: that might be kind of tough, not so much from a monetary standpoint, but from a logistical standpoint. Let's consider someone like Brannan or Dan, who will drive in for a meet. I doubt that they will want to leave home butt ass early to drive over, so they will probably do what they always do, which is come in the night before. At a hotel, they can set up some basic banners and such the night before, crash out, then have a bellhop cart stuff down the morning of.
At the convention center, it would be a different story. They would have to get to their hotel, and unload all of the stuff into their hotel rooms (because they don't want to have all of that sit in the car overnight). Then, they'd have to re-pack the car in the morning, get over to the convention center, unpack again (possibly at the hands of union-priced unloaders) and then set up.
Why don't they set up in the convention center the night before? Because then we'd have to purchase insurance for them (or they would have to purchase insurance themselves) to leave the gear there overnight. Or they can go uninsured, but that's a pretty stupid thing to do. And even with insurance, that doesn't prevent catastrophe. Gear can still be stolen or damaged, and although they would be reimbursed monetarily, their meet is now shot and a complete waste of time.
Or they can just get up butt ass early and drive down - which I'm sure they would love (not). And that's just for the locals. Any exhibitor flying in from out of town will have a much harder time than that.
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One request: Two days next time! Woohoo!
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And preferably closer to downtown!
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One request: Two days next time! Woohoo!
Definitely! :) We've learned the error of our ways in trying to have such a dense event in so short a span of time. The trick here is getting a good venue to not rape us in rates. For those of you who don't know, hotels do not consider "one day" to be a 24 hour period. For them, there are days and nights. So a two-day event winds up costing three times as much (day+night+day).
BTW, here's an idea I've been mulling over with regard to two day meets. What do you all think of having it run from 9-to-5 on Saturday and Sunday for general admission... but also have a 7-to-midnight members-only session on Saturday night? Just a thought.
And preferably closer to downtown!
That will be tougher, but we'll try. The closer we get to downtown, the worse that traffic and parking will be. Sad but true.
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If we have a 2 day meet, then a more central location would be nice. But if I don't bring my big ass amp, it doesn't really matter! :)p13
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Or alternatively, we could book a whole section of adjoining rooms in the hotel at a discount... PARTAY! headbang Between a group discount and splitting double rooms, it might be well worth it to stay at the hotel.
BTW, the best part of two-day meet for me is that I'd finally get to meet some people that can't make Saturday events, like Tzvi.
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One recommendation I have is to try to nail down who your target consumer base is with these events. Is it the person online who will read reviews later? Is it local people who don't have access to tons of gear who want to try things to make a new purchase? Is it enthusiasts who want to try our exotic gear? Is it large vendors who are using this as a marketing engine for a niche population? Is it small vendors who do 10-25% of their annual business at or around these meets/shows? Is it the members who want to show off their own rigs?
I have noticed that these events have a "TARGET EVERYBODY" approach and it makes it incredibly difficult to segment the population and collect data. If you want to continue to see forward momentum, you're going to have to spend some time understanding your customer here :). Straddling the line between show and meet adds a ton more complexity here, too so I don't really envy your situation.
I'm unsure of what data you guys can pull out of Huddler for HF. I hope you have full analytics access and can take a look at the population in the areas where you run the meet and see their ads activity and site behavior for both members and guests on HF. That will give you a good starting point when beginning to craft a meet strategy for a particular geography.
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Is it the person online who will read reviews later? Is it local people who don't have access to tons of gear who want to try things to make a new purchase? Is it enthusiasts who want to try our exotic gear? Is it large vendors who are using this as a marketing engine for a niche population? Is it small vendors who do 10-25% of their annual business at or around these meets/shows? Is it the members who want to show off their own rigs?
Yes.
I have noticed that these events have a "TARGET EVERYBODY" approach and it makes it incredibly difficult to segment the population and collect data. If you want to continue to see forward momentum, you're going to have to spend some time understanding your customer here :). Straddling the line between show and meet adds a ton more complexity here, too so I don't really envy your situation.
That's been the most difficult part of it, trying to accommodate a multitude of audiences with specific needs, while not excluding any one audience. I admit that it hasn't been perfect, but know that I am generally very determined and am unlikely to give up. If there is an optimal way to do this, we're gonna go at it until we find it.
I'm unsure of what data you guys can pull out of Huddler for HF. I hope you have full analytics access and can take a look at the population in the areas where you run the meet and see their ads activity and site behavior for both members and guests on HF.
Unfortunately, we have zero access to HF stats. All the info we have is gathered and gleaned from past meet history. We're starting to see a distinct pattern whereby 40%-50% are first-time meet goers (many of whom created an account and posted just to say they were coming to the meet). Another 40%-50% are veteran members (though not all are recently active). And apparently up to 20% hear about it through other means and just wander in.
I guess my point is, there's going to be more trial and error moving forward before we hit Nirvana.
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Unfortunately, we have zero access to HF stats. All the info we have is gathered and gleaned from past meet history. We're starting to see a distinct pattern whereby 40%-50% are first-time meet goers (many of whom created an account and posted just to say they were coming to the meet). Another 40%-50% are veteran members (though not all are recently active). And apparently up to 20% hear about it through other means and just wander in.
I guess my point is, there's going to be more trial and error moving forward before we hit Nirvana.
I have some ideas on better in person data collection so it's not just intuition and I'll think about them more. I might reach out with some recommendations later on once I have some breathing room at work.
edit: deleted some stuff from my post and the next that might look bad when viewed in a vacuum :)
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But all of these meets have literally just been Ethan and I having at them, that's it.
I have some ideas on better in person data collection so it's not just intuition and I'll think about them more. I might reach out with some recommendations later on once I have some breathing room at work.
That'd be awesome! Thanks! :)
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deleted some stuff from my post and the next that might look bad when viewed in a vacuum
You could just warn us to let some air into the room before reading :)
Seriously... I wish this stuff happened in my home town. We do have local-city meets through our India-based HiFiVision forum, but I have yet to see a headphone at any of them. However, there is a maybe-next-time in the pipeline.