So-Cal Meet and Chill this Sat October 1st from 12-6pm

Discussion in 'The Meeting Place' started by Rosson, Sep 26, 2022.

  1. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    I will bring my Atrium with the Bakoon stack, at least.
     
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  2. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    Feel fine but technically should stay home at this point. Have fun listening and drinking.
     
  3. schiit

    schiit SchiitHead

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    Just confirming, I'll be there. Planning on bringing an Urd if anyone wants to try it out (spin some CDs or use it as a USB-SPDIF or USB-USB bridge).

    Oh, and yes, also wine, TX and CA.
     
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  4. Gazny

    Gazny MOT: ETA Audio

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    Gonna have to miss this one.
    Hurricane Kay did some damage to the railway and it is down for me.
     
  5. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    I would like to thank @Rosson and crew at Rosson Audio Design for being gracious hosts for the meet, Head Space So-Cal. Alex wants to genuinely have these types of meets that aren't necessarily like a trade show vibe, and more a chill community feel alot like our own meets. No overbearing vendor prescence. He was also excited by the turnout on short notice.

    Also, thanks to those on here that attended @schiit, @tommytakis, @elwappo99, @Clemmaster, @Jh4db536, @netforce and others whose handles I don't know. Yes, thanks for bringing gear as well for others to check out. Alot of times I was chatting with people from there, mostly from just keeping the vibe, but at times because the more popular rigs were locked up and I couldn't get in to listen.

    I'll also like to say hello to those there reading this but aren't regulars on here. A community like this isn't just one board/social media area/etc. It's diverse opinions with a love of audio getting together.

    Pics from the meet here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/pos...t-by-rosson-audio.964964/page-3#post-17173391

    One big observation from the pics is you can tell those table areas with sbaf people and those that weren't.

    According to @Rosson, this will not be a one off as he wants to do this somewhat regularly, and with more lead time. He'll announce the next one at some point, but it will be in a bigger location. I did casually suggest to have the next one after the holidays, but we'll see. I know talking with others before this about wanting to have another SBAF meet like the old days. Personally, even though there will be some sharing with other areas that will be invited, I think what @Rosson is doing here can fill that void.

    Edit: Added name of the meet Head Space So-Cal.
     
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    Last edited: Oct 2, 2022
  6. elwappo99

    elwappo99 Friend

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    Definitely big shout out and appreciation to @Rosson and his crew for being very gracious hosts to us!

    Always fun to see so many familiar faces and meet new people in the hobby and see what weird stuff people have been up to.

    A few standout items I remember:
    1. Piety - Can't wait to compare it to the liquid spark for the work desk set-up. It's not as warm and there's a little Magni shining through, but I think a Piety+modi multibit is going to be a real winning combo

    2. ETA Mini C/S - Might be the best out of the box headphone tuning I've heard on a headphone.

    3. Modded LCD-4 - I don't think this person has much of an online presence but really enjoyed clarity / unmuddying of the bass on this mod. The treble sounded much more even. In many ways this sounded like a different headphone that just shared technical performance with the stock LCD-4. I started to see the LCD-4's driver potential here

    4. Atrium / Bakoon Stack - It's always fun to listen to the Bakoon gear, it just rarely shows up anymore. Atrium was really pleasant. First time I heard a ZMF headphone get to the technical performance I would want to hear to start to consider it.

    5. RAD-0 - I was really impressed with this headphone. This headphone breaks the prevalent winds of planars having thinner and thinner drivers and sounding more like Stax with light fluffy bass. It's bass has heft and weight, but the driver also scales really well and still pulls low level detail. It's reminiscent of the older Audeze and older Hifiman headphones, but with more refinement. Build is quite excellent and also nails comfort, but clamp was a bit strong for me.
     
  7. tommytakis

    tommytakis MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    Oh shoot I made it on head-fi!

    I am embarrassed to say (well...not really heh), I did barely any listening at the meet yesterday, mainly drinking wine with @schiit

    Always good seeing old friends (not going to bother tagging you all haha)and making new friends. Met a couple of headphones.com folks along with other headfiers and long-time lurkers who came out for this meet. I thought the overall vibe was much more chill than what I felt at the recent CanJam. Conversations felt genuine with no intent on trying to sell you their latest product. People discussed how they felt about gears without getting defensive or being overly critical.

    This was a really fun meet despite being super last-minute, thank you again @Rosson for hosting! I can't wait for the next one
     
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  8. wbass

    wbass Friend

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    Curious about the Bakoon stuff. Seems like they've got one unit that's possibly convincing as an integrated/headphone amp.
     
  9. netforce

    netforce MOT: Headphones.com

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    Had a great time, glad we were able to have this meet as it really has been many years since we had meets and it was nice to see the familiar faces. But it was also equally as nice meeting new folks experiencing meets for the first time. Surprised how good the turnout was but at the same seemed like we just had enough space to fit all the gear!

    Props to Alex Rosson for lending his space and also Sebastien Chiu for organizing things behinds the scenes. For a meet with a bit of a short notice happy that everything went so smoothly.

    It was nice to see the rarer gear like the AKG K1000/Bakoon/Headroom/Abbas/Cavalli stuff make an appearance. Thought it was more than a little funny that most folks when we signed the white board asked "Wait, is this a Sharpie?"

    I know Alex at the end of the event said he would love to host another one so hope to see what the future brings ahead!
     
  10. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    It was my Bakoon DAC-21 / HPA-21 stack.
    I find it very convenient for meets, thanks to the small footprint and the battery operation. Surprisingly my HPA-21 lasted the whole afternoon, I wasn't sure it would since it's only rated for 6.5 hours when new.

    People seemed confused about the technology used by the HPA-21: both the voltage and current outputs use bipolar transistors. The newer Bakoon/Enleum amps (series -3: AMP-13R / AMP-23R / HPA-23RM) use MOSFET transistors for the voltage output. The upcoming Enleum HPA-23RM will use an updated current output from the HPA-21, still using bipolar transistors.

    I was surprised the find the Atrium actually worked very well on the current output. Dynamic HPs are hit or miss on the current output due to their non-flat impedance. One can definitely hear a difference between both outputs with the Atrium, which is cool.

    As always, it was really fun to see old friends and meet new friends for the first time! The “peeps from other forums” were really cool to hang with, as well.
    I had a long chat with Grover Neville (the guy who brought the modded LCD-4 which sounded fantastic). Sounds like he’s been a player in the industry for a very long time and has had very interesting experiences along the way. He’s a cool dude!

    I might find the time to comment on gear later, but the highlight for me was the ETA flagship prototype! During my first listen I thought I heard a slight disconnect in the lower mid / bass region, but it turns out it was in the song itself. I spent quite a lot of time with them, both on “@tommytakis and the domino trio”’s setup (Abbas junkyard DAC + modded EC 2A3) as well as my own Bakoon stack and they showed great promise!
    I also really liked the Mini C. Such a good tuning for a closed back headphone. Focal could learn a thing or two for their next Stellia MG/2022 :p
     
  11. Rosson

    Rosson MOT: Rosson Audio Design

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    Events like this are nothing without the community. You guys are amazing and have reminded me what this community is all about. Just wanted to say thank you again for bringing your rigs, expert knowledge, enthusiasm, and most important, great vibes. I am already looking forward to the next one.
     
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  12. netforce

    netforce MOT: Headphones.com

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    Yeah Grover is dope, awesome guy and lots of industry experience as well. Got a million stories to tell about this hobby without a doubt!

    He had his "cursed" HD 800 that he brought to the meet. Interesting to give it a listen but had to wash my hands after handling them lol. Little bits of glue got on my hands: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/the-fugly-mods-an-hd800-adventure.5893/
     
  13. Rosson

    Rosson MOT: Rosson Audio Design

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  14. elwappo99

    elwappo99 Friend

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    Grover was a blast! We want more Grover posts on SBAF!

    please
     
  15. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    ^ This.

    Is what makes the hobby, not CanJams.
     
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  16. schiit

    schiit SchiitHead

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    Coming in late, but today was firmware hell day...

    Thanks again to Alex Rosson for the invite! It was great to meet everyone, and I'm looking torward to future events. These are the kind of meets I love to go to...small, fun, and not suuuuuuper serious!
     
  17. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    It says alot when you look to see who's posting on this thread, and who's posting on the equivalent thread on head fi.
     
  18. ThePianoMan

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    Wow! I'm impressed you remember this Alan. You really do know everything and sorry about the 800s... I should probably redo them but not even sure its worth the effort. They're so old the dynamat has started to get kinda melty.

    I was surprised folks enjoyed the LCD-4s so much. I almost didnt bring them, but I'm glad I grabbed them last second.

    It was really nice of Alex to host us, and for Seb to help put things together. I didn't listen to a ton of things, but heard a little. Standouts in no particular order:

    - Eta Headphones. Man, these have such a great tuning but are also lively with good dynamics. Probably the most enjoyable 'stock' experience I've had in a long time. Truly tubes by enthusiasts with good ears. Tommy was also really sweet.

    - Abbas DAC. This was just cool to see. I've dug on the sw1x dacs and the Abbas stuff is mega obscure. It's been a long time since I've heard an Eddie Current amp too, so that was fun.

    - Piety. Didn't hear it, but love the idea. The spirit of the hobby lives on...

    - RSA Darkstar. Talj about blast from the past. First meet I ever went to Ray Samuels was giving people rides in his Lamborginis, and I think Alex Rosson and Sankar were there... and I was like 13. The room we were in flooded and almost took out some amps. Crazy times. Fun times.

    Was nice to catch up with Jason, we haven't chatted in ages, but sounds like things are cool.
    Seeing Insidious and speaking with Clem and several others was nice too. Now that I'm officially divested of all full-time jobs in Hi-Fi, I've been lurking a little more here and on the discords. Hopefully the hobby will become fun again, now that it isn't work : )
     
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  19. netforce

    netforce MOT: Headphones.com

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    Haha, yeah I remember you talking about the modded HD 800 and then seeing the pair in person was a lightbulb moment for me.

    And glad to hear you are enjoying the hobby again. 2020 was super draining for me in the industry due to Covid and just the lack of shows. Felt like back then the battery was drained and I got into many different hobbies since audio was less fun.

    This past year is the most fun I have had in the industry in years. New products, events happening again, but most importantly seeing old friends and meeting new people. Hope you are enjoying things by making audio more of a hobby now than a job :)
     
  20. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    Are those your LCD-R @elwappo99 ? Sounds & looks like a bunch of really cool gear was brought out and more inline with how I remember early meets here in AZ. More focused on the community and bringing your own gear. We've got a small group here that still tries to do the same thing. Beers, BBQ, B*ngs, Bad-ass gear.

    That is a beautiful looking K1000 - still one of my favorite wow moments in headphones, along with the RAAL and a select few electrostats.

    I look forward to getting my grubby hands on a Piety!

    Way to go So-Cal, glad you guys are still bringing the jam to the West Coast.
     

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