FRANADA - Friends in Canada

Discussion in 'The Meeting Place' started by barelyincollege, Nov 23, 2016.

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Which gear would you like to try first?

Poll closed Jan 24, 2017.
  1. Wolf Ear Audio - Makoyi amp

    4 vote(s)
    40.0%
  2. Campfire Audio - Orion IEM

    1 vote(s)
    10.0%
  3. Feliks Audio - Espressivo amp

    1 vote(s)
    10.0%
  4. Oppo - PM-3 headphones

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  5. ZMF headphones (Eikon, Atticus, etc.)

    4 vote(s)
    40.0%
  6. Other (please list in reply - will add to poll)

    1 vote(s)
    10.0%
  7. Schiit Jotunheim

    2 vote(s)
    20.0%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. barelyincollege

    barelyincollege Nice Pit Bull

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    Friends in Canada
    This thread is designed to serve as a meeting point for SBAF members up in the Great White North. Say hello, see if there are friends in your area for potential meets, and perhaps we can organize some Canada-specific loaner programs in the future.

    Current List of Friends

    BC
    @Griffon (Burnaby)
    @Pilsnerpunk (Kamloops)
    @Flatfi$h (Richmond)
    @Panohm (Richmond)
    @barelyincollege (Vancouver)
    @FallingObjects (Vancouver)
    @GoodSchiit (Vancouver)
    @Highfilter (Vancouver)
    @kapanak (Vancouver)
    @munch (Vancouver)
    @Resolve (Vancouver)
    @samuelngsh (Vancouver)
    @ufospls2 (Vancouver / Scotland)

    AB
    @Biodegraded (Calgary)
    @d.b (Calgary / South Korea)
    @daniellistens (Calgary)
    @Mban (Edmonton)
    @msommers (Edmonton / Calgary)
    @porako (Edmonton - Edmonton Headphone Enthusiasts)
    @slankoe (Edmonton)

    SK
    @bxh

    MB
    @Armaegis (Winnipeg)
    @Velomane (Winnipeg)

    ON
    @BillOhio (Brampton)
    @BrettMatthews (Cornwall)
    @Chris F (Ottawa)
    @bigfatpaulie (Toronto)
    @ilcg1 (Toronto)
    @k4rstar (Toronto)
    @Mikoss (Toronto)
    @natemact (Toronto)
    @peterpangea (Toronto)
    @Rockin_Zombie (Toronto)
    @shanchandi (Toronto)
    @wormcycle (Toronto)
    @Limblifter (Waterloo)

    QC

    @murphythecat (Montréal)

    NB

    NL

    @FourOpposums (St. John's)

    PE

    NS

    YT

    NT

    NU


    Domestic Manufacturers / Builders
    Neurochrome Audio (Tom // @tomchr) - Located in Alberta. Designs, builds and sells hand-made, high precision audio circuits.
    Wolf Ear Audio (Andrew // @WolfEarAudio) - Aboriginal business located in Alberta that designs, builds and sells high value tube stereo and headphone amplifiers.

    Gear Loaners
    No active loaners at this time.

    Previous
    Campfire Audio Orion (Jan-Feb 2017)
    Wolf Ear Audio Makoyi (Jan-Mar 2017)

    Community Equipment
    @barelyincollege - HD800 (stock), HD650M, B&O H6 // Jot w/ DAC
    @bigfatpaulie - ER4-S, HD600, HD800SD, Utopia // Chord DAVE, DNA Stellaris
    @bxh - Current stable gear: HD800, K10 CIEM, HD6XX // Jot, Vali2 w/NOS Tesla E88CC, EH 6922
    @Flatfi$h - HD600 (modded, balanced), MDR-1R (modded), GR-07, RE-00 // GOV2
    @Griffon - HD650M, Elear, Andromeda, EX1000, Onkyo DP-X1 // Sonett
    @msommers - 6XX, K7XX, Momentum 2, HD598C, HD800S // Dragonfly 1.2, Regen Amber, Gungnir Multibit, Mjo2, Fulla 2

    Meets


    Previous
    Toronto, ON -- @bigfatpaulie held a GTA meet in January 2017.
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2018
  2. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    I'm from MB and the local meet organizer in Winnipeg.
     
  3. Panohm

    Panohm Friend

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    I'm from Richmond, BC but currently studying in Cali.
     
  4. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    Toronto, ON. Winter is coming.
     
  5. Griffon

    Griffon 2nd biggest asshole on SBAF

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    Location:
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    Burnaby, BC. Stable desktop gear: Black Diamond, Sonett, Modi Multibit, HD650 mod. Stable portable gear: Andromeda, EX1000, Onkyo DP-X1. The rest of my gear are pretty fluid and may change at any time.
     
  6. munch

    munch Friend

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    Vancouver BC here as well :p
     
  7. Flatfi$h

    Flatfi$h New

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    I'm from Richmond BC, Have been waiting for any kind of audio meetup events for the longest time, thanks for this thread!
    My stable of gear: Modded HD600 (Waiting on connectors for balanced connection), the superior pair of MDR-1Rs (modded ofc lol), Geek Out V2, VSonic GR-07, Hifiman RE-00s
     
  8. FallingObjects

    FallingObjects Pay It Forward

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    Vancouver BC, hometown Calgary AB. In Vancouver for my masters degree! (And maybe afterwards, depending on job situation)
     
  9. bxh

    bxh Friend

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    First and I'd imagine only from Saskatchewan here.

    Current stable gear: HD800, K10 CIEM, HD6XX
    Amps: Jot, Vali2 w/NOS Tesla E88CC, EH 6922
     
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2016
  10. Pilsnerpunk

    Pilsnerpunk Friend

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    New member here from Kamloops, BC. Not really any notable gear at this point. Looking for a reasonably priced HD650.

    Not much opportunity for auditioning headphones here, but my sister lives less than a block from Headphone Bar, so a few times a year when I visit I can audition some better gear.
     
  11. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Home Page:
    Temporarily residing in Edmonton, back to Calgary often.

    Current inventory or in-transit:

    Dragonfly 1.2
    Uptone Regen Amber
    Schiit Gungnir Multibit
    Schiit Mjolnir 2
    Schiit Fulla 2
    Massdrop 6XX
    Massdrop K7XX (trying to sell)
    Sennheiser Momentum 2 (trying to sell)
    Sennheiser HD598Cs
    Sennheiser HD800 S


    -----

    Much smaller now
    Fostex TH600
    Jotunheim w/ dac
    PS Audio DirectStream Jr. dac
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2017
  12. bigfatpaulie

    bigfatpaulie Tried to screw other friends while playing victim

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    Born and raised in Montreal, moved to Kelowna BC then Vancouver, then Edmonton and finally winding up in Toronto.

    Current gear:
    -ER4-S
    -HD600
    -HD800SD
    -Focal Utopia
    -Chord DAVE
    -DNA Stellaris (Feb 2017!!!)

    Past gear for...

    Headphones:
    -HiFiMan HE-5 LFF Code-X
    -Audeze LCD3f
    -Audeze LCD4 (200ohm)
    -Abyss AB-1266

    Amps:
    -GS-X MKII
    -SWA SuSy Dynahi
    -Bottlehead Mainline with Auricap XO's
    -Pass Labs INT-30A
    -DNA Stratus
    -Bottlehead Crack with Speedball, Mundorf caps, Blue Velvet Pot

    DAC's:
    -Lampizator Level 4, Generation 4
    -MSB Analog, power base, USB, volume control
    -Bricasti M1
    -ANK AudioNote 5.1

    I am actually holding a local meet on January 29th 2017. See this page.

    If anyone here is interested in attending, let me know!

    -Paul
     
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2016
  13. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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  14. bxh

    bxh Friend

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    It's cool to see this thread revived, I was quite unaware there were as many of us Canucks as there seems to be.
     
  15. Mban

    Mban Facebook Friend

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    Edmonton, AB

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  16. barelyincollege

    barelyincollege Nice Pit Bull

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    @Griffon @Pilsnerpunk @Flatfi$h @Panohm @FallingObjects @munch @Mban @msommers @bxh @Armaegis @bigfatpaulie @k4rstar @murphythecat

    Since it looks like we have a good number of people available for loaners, does anyone have suggestions for equipment to kick off a loaner program in 2017?

    I'd like to suggest Feliks Audio's Espressivo OTL tube amp, for starters.

    Pros:

    - Relatively compact and inexpensive ($349 USD) as far as tube amps are concerned, which should help save on shipping costs.
    - Feliks Audio products are unobtanium in Canada, and the Espressivo itself is lacking in reviews compared to the more expensive Elise.
    - Several people here own or have access to similarly priced gear for comparisons (Jotunheim, etc.)
    - It would be easy to hand off to SBAF'ers in the US to continue loaner rounds, as it's relatively unknown there as well.
    - Personally, I'd like to try equipment that is difficult to test in Canada, as opposed to budget items like the Schiit Fulla 2, which isn't all that hard to acquire on your own.

    Cons:

    - Some of you might not be interested in reviewing a budget-minded OTL tube amp.

    Thoughts? Any suggestions for other gear?
     
  17. FallingObjects

    FallingObjects Pay It Forward

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    I feel like Schiit stuff would be probably be the easiest stuff in general to do for loaners in Canada, since it's not taxed under NAFTA (for now..).

    Felik's stuff is pretty to look at, and probably sound just as nice.

    How would this work, as an extension of the current loaner program, or would it be funded under its own pool and such?
     
  18. barelyincollege

    barelyincollege Nice Pit Bull

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    I think we can cross the logistics / finance bridge when we get there, it's still early days.

    Schiit gear would be the easiest to work with from a financial standpoint, but based on everyone's equipment lists, many people already own and have offered their extensive impressions about said gear on SBAF. Unless we pitched in for one of Schiit's higher-end offerings, which I think would be too ambitious for a first round of loaners, I'm not sure that there would be much interest.

    That said, I'd have no problems pitching in for Schiit loaners if that's what people are interested in most.
     
  19. Mikoss

    Mikoss Friend

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    I'm just west of Toronto... I use the 650's with the Geek Out v2A away from home. At home, Gungnir Multibit - Zana Deux, or VPI Classic 2 - Nighthawk - PMC Speakers.

    As for loaners, it would be nice for someone to get in touch with some Canadian retailers who are willing to loan gear. Shipping within Canada can be pricey if it's insured. Shipping into Canada from elsewhere is always pricey because of taxes. They are normally charged on the declared value, which usually has to match the insured value, along with CBSA's $9.99 assessment fee. Typically, if the taxes are less than $10, they won't be charged. So a $150 item may be ok to enter Alberta without taxes (since the tax of $7.50 would be less than the $9.99 CBSA fee), whereas, it would most likely be charged if it entered BC (at 12% which is $18, plus the CBSA fee = $28).

    So, I recommend that if we are doing loaners from outside Canada, the first person should reside in Alberta. Shipping within Canada, we will not be charged taxes, however, we would need to sort out insurance. Also, for what it's worth, I have never been charged customs/duty fees, unless I'm using a terrible shipper such as UPS, who typically uses a third party broker at the border who gouges the price, for absolutely no reason.

    I wouldn't mind loaning out Gungnir Multibit, or the Nighthawk phono stage, so long as we had a vetted list, and pre-determined rules of engagement. I'm not terribly interested in hearing any gear myself, aside from maybe spending some more time with the Utopia or Andromedas.
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2016
  20. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    I have four comments:

    1. I agree with Mikoss
    2. Schiit gear is mostly a waste of time for us to loan
    3. Feliks looks cool, I wouldn't mind trying it
    4. I would prefer trying headphones to source gear, at least for the first loaner
     

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