AZ Meet February 10th, 2018

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/arizona-head-fi-minicon-february-10th-2018.863672/

 

Yay. Unless there are extraneous circumstances you know I'll be there.

 

Looks like I might be able to make it. If I do, I'll bring the BW2, Gungnir Multibit, and a bunch of phones.

Will combine with a trip to Yuma to see the in-laws.

 

Sweet man! Look forward to seeing you again.

 

Dang! This "meet" is turning into a mini show! I fear my Utopia will be low and gear there.

In addition to the beast and skippy, HeadAmp, Schiit, Audeze, and AmpsAndSound will be there.

This is looking like it will be a blast.

Plus, the Scottsdale Mall Tesla store has the Model 3 in the showroom. I'm stoked to be able to at least sit in it and check it out. I put in my order 4/1/17, so I should be getting my "config your options" request soon. I'm just not sure I want to spend $49000 on a moderately fancy Honda Civic sized car.

 

I got home a bit ago from a visit to Justin @ampsandsound and he said he's heading out there this weekend. And for those of you who are there, he'll be giving a meet discount on the amps he's bringing.

While you have your awesome meet, I have his personal Mogwai Special Edition for a few days, and this thing sure is a beauty.

 

Arrgh, was trying to make it out but looks like something has come up and I can't make it out.

 

LOL! Don't lie.

 

Dang it! I did so well avoiding this amp on the tour, now I may have to listen to it.

 

This meet was amazing! So many awesome rigs. I spent most of my time listening to and measuring headphones (f'ing nerd, I know). Next time I'll probably not bring anything and just listen to other rigs.

Here are measurements of headphones from the meet. Keep in mind ambient noise was WAY high so I had to apply 1/12 smoothing. Measurements were done relatively quickly so matching is likely better than shown but they should be relatively accurate.

JPS Labs Abyss Phi - I was disappointed by the bass with all the hype around these, although I've heard the Phi is the more neutral headphone compared to the original.



AKG K812 - Hard to get a good assessment with meet conditions but these were not bad. I think the treble would get to me with extended use but everything up to ~2kHz looks great.



LCD 3F - One of the best LCDs I've heard. I'm not much of an Audeze fan due to weight and tuning but these were nice.



LCD 4 - Not quite as good as the above LCD 3F but not bad either. A little too relaxed for my tastes.



LCD MX4 - Really light. Meh. (You get the idea)



HD660S - Didn't get much head time with these but they were aight, nothing to write home about. HD6XX seems like the much better buy.



HD800 - Not sure what mods if any were on these but @gbeast had these on extended loaner.



Hifiman Sundara - Meh, typical lower Hifiman treble peakage but wants to be like Susvara.



Hifiman Susvara - Like a super HE-5 rerelease. Almost e stat like in presentation but not strictly neutral.



AudioZenith PMx2 rev1 - Extremely close to neutral, splitting hairs and for most people it's perfect.



ZMF Auteur Wenge w perforated Eikon pads - My review pair and loaner. I love the seductive presentation that stays very close to neutral. They are semi open sounding not open back IMO.



Focal Utopia - (biased) Amazeballs. Sounds like good speakers in a live room. Head stage is small but Aficionado helps.



As luck would have it, a Head-Fier had a Yggdrasil Analog 2 that I was able to hook up to Aficionado/Utopia. Wow! I compared it to RME ADI-2 DAC and it's not a contest. There was a clear distinction of placement with proper depth and layering on Yggdrasil 2 that the RME could not reproduce. Yggdrasil 2 also had better treble extension but was not harsh. It worked VERY well with my system. I will be buying one when black is available.

 

Aside from the cable, the HD800 that @gbeast has on loan is completely stock.

 

Meet Conditions mind you... and also I didn't sit down to listen super long on anything except for the Voce.

• My favorite sound of the show was the MR. Speakers Voce without any felt in them. At first the felt made them sound overdampened and too dark...like they were a little stuffy and not impressive. Once removed I really liked them. On the Blue Hawaii they had good imaging, ultra black background, and the best mids I have ever heard. On the same set up I would take them over Stax. Not digging that Stat bass rumble for my EDM etc though. It was particularly crisp sounding and very controlled in the transients but the tonal balance was best of show. It sounded like a PMX2 in tonality but a little more airy and much more open obviously. It made the 009 sound thin and unengaging. The 009 was a little more clear but didn't sound much more clean. I and others feel they are copying the 009 color scheme and look but adding cheesy spider web design. They should ditch that spider looking crap and put em out in black or red or something else to make them unique...that was a pretty unanimous opinion

• The LCD4 sounded good but a bit thick on male vocals. Else wise I liked it a lot but I wouldn't buy one. I'd just stick with an Auteur and get better balance or the Utopia and hear better technicalities. I did appreciate the smoother treble on the LCD4 though. It made the Utopia sound a bit unnatural and thin.
• The MX4 didn't have the same thickness and sounded more clear but lacked the same impact on drums
• The Utopia sounded sharp in the treble this time around... kinda prickly but still held it down as one of the best, actually had I not been used to its sound I would have said it was my second favorite of the show. Still not as natural sounding as I like and I won't be buying another one...for a long time at least.
• The Apex Pinnacle 2 may have needed a better DAC to get the best out of it but the midrange was very warm and full with tubes etc...It made my Mogwai SE sound almost thin in the mids which says a lot. It lacked a little slam in the low end but those mids were super full without sounding shouty, boxy etc
• Susvara was a huge disappointment for me. Probably worst of show for me among the big headphones. It sounded thin, hollow, the bass was not nearly as good as the Abyss Phi. The soundstage was nice and open but the treble was sharp and female vocals lacked body and warmth. Kinda cold sounding. It sounded like an unmodded HE-6 but without the midrange magic and slam. I was the only one that felt it looked cheap as well.
• Abyss Phi similar coldness in the midrange to the Susvara but the tonality was held up but very solid and hard bass and dense timbre. Treble had good texture and weight to it. This was my second favorite of the big boys because it was impressive technically. It was more tangible than the Susvara. I think the LCD4 sounds more natural and full but it can't touch the imaging and bass solidity of the PHI. Also when I plugged the PHI into the Apex Pinnacle 2 those mids were brought to practically neutral/full. It responded very well to the system changes and didn't feel underpowered by moderate power.
• AKG K812 I thought would have had a bigger soundstage. It sounded open and the bass was aiight but the treble only lasted 2 minutes on my head. Could have been the song but they sounded like metal rain drops in the treble...not for

 

I wasn’t impressed with the build sturdiness, and at first I thought all the same things you did. Then, to my horror, I realized I was wearing them backwards. Yep, I was an idiot. Once on correctly, the bass was much tighter, but not punchy, fun, or impactful. Polite and more like an electrostatic. Maybe hifiman was a attempting to replicate the Shangra-bla with a planar.y

 

makes sense. Nice meeting you bro. Really down to earth dude!