January 16th Orange County Meet Impressions

Discussion in 'The Meeting Place' started by Luckbad, Jan 16, 2016.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I say we make the next event a Burning Man kind of thing in the middle of California that lasts a few days. At the end, we will have to make a big pyrate skeleton and burn the thing down down. I bet Ravi will photoshop someone on the skellie.
     
  2. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    prob marv just to be ironic. I'll work out from now til then til I fit in my APC hipsters again just to make it just like real burning man these days.
     
  3. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    EC Studio and DNA Solaris in one room? Damn, this what I envy about you SoCal-ers...
     
  4. Audio Zenith

    Audio Zenith Custom Title KGB

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    This was the best audio meet I have ever been to and it felt this way right from the start. Huge thank you to both shaizada and audiofrk for setting it all up. Gaurav, please tell your family we all hugely appreciated how they sacrificed personal space and time on the holiday weekend for a bunch of crazy audiophiles. I wish all families were as supportive, letting us have that much gear of such caliber and allowing to enjoy it as intended (reasonably often and loud ;-).

    This was also the loudest audio meet I have ever been to and that was why I finally noticed how different Jason is from the rest of the crowd. He talks like he has nothing to prove, similar to how one must feel driving a Ferrari. Assuming someone still isn't convinced take it as another proof that "Schiit" has a bright future.

    Standout of the meet: Orpheus clone from n3rdling. The ambient noise was crazy loud, channels were a bit misbalanced and there was a slight buzzing in one of the channels but I felt this was probably the most balanced electrostatic headphone I have ever heard. There was still a few issues but Milos said he has an idea on how they could be fixed. Good luck man, this was a great job and I hope you can make another miracle.

    K1000 bass, below 150Hz it was just unreal! The thing still had a ton of issues and is physically impossible to be made to sound right but that bass was somehow defying physics.

    DNA prototype I think should be popular with audiophiles, all the ingredients are properly mixed to win their hearts.

    Studio....., listened to it a few times at different meets. Not sure if some more work is being done or my memory is playing games but it's getting closer to perfection. Hate to even think about it (5k for a full headphone setup is probably maximum anyone should pay) but if one little issue is taken care of I will have to start saving money, because true perfection is actually priceless.

    Same thing with the Orpheus 2, if it's perfection, there will be no other way but purchase it sooner or later. I actually wish it is perfect and unlike Orpheus 1 could be displayed at the shows and by dealers freely so people would finally be able to realize which way to go and hopefully dethrone the pos currently wearing a crown.

    Darin, as always great pictures. I know you are good at it but man, every time there is something new you catch that will surely be grabbing me even 50 years from now.

    It was great meeting new people, aligning faces with avatars. Great to see all the "old" buddies are doing so well and hope to see the same company again soon.
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2016
  5. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Huge thanks to @shaizada for hosting this great meet and @audiofrk for the organization!

    Highlights for me were:
    - @n3rdling's DIY electrostat: this is some outstanding work, man! Keep at it!
    - @shaizada's speaker room: while a bit too bright for my tastes - and some reflections in the upper mids that make busy passages a bit shouty - the dynamics and overall sense of scale were surreal! Like being there.
    Thanks for the very cool intro to turn-tables and the demo of 4 (or 5) different sound flavors. Your TT/records collection is superb!
    - @schiit's mini stack: soooo spacious and simply fun to listen to with the HE-X! Thanks for bringing the cool stuff, per usual ;)

    We couldn't setup the F6 vs Krell setups as we intended, which made a direct comparison impossible.
    I found the F6 + Master 11 too bright and lean from the mids up - which was quite suprising given both are of a warmer sound flavor - but the bass was full and addictive. I presonally preferred the Yggdrasil + Krell setup for its smoother treble.
    @Luckbad confirmed the M11 doesn't sound that great with the BNC input, which could explain the brightness.

    We later tried the Yggdrasil + Master 1 + F6: it was clearly better overall. Oh well...
     
  6. audiofrk

    audiofrk Guest

    Your welcome!!!

    In truth it wasn't so much that it was a lot of work, as much us it was that it was all so time sensitive. I was always playing catch up. Towards the end I gave up the idea of this being a small meet and tried to make sure that everyone that should be there was there. This meant locating LFF and Donald North. Luckly they were good sports and brought their Liquid Glass and Super Stratus respectively.

    Please thank your wife and mother for helping put out the food and your brother for putting away stuff. Special thanks to Out Of Your Head who help me move everything aroung and set up tables and Velvetx for bringing your "meet kit". And a thank you to all the members that brought stuff, the best planned meet wouldn't be any good without you guys. I don't know how we could have packed more awesome into this meet.

    funniest moment: a week before the meet I go over to shaizada's house and he tell's me that everyone's rigs should fit on three tables. (crickets, "chirp chirp") I immediately started looking for a local party company.

    best moment: after the meet was over finally catching my breath and listening to frank Sinatra's SUMMER WIND on the enigmas + liquid glass. Though I still think Martin Prince version was better: sweeter, more innocent, plus I really like that piano.

     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 18, 2016
  7. BioniclePhile

    BioniclePhile The Terminal Man - Friend

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    Definitely give us a little earlier warning for the next meet. If it isn't during school, I'll fly up from Kansas with my HE-500 and a pile of musics.
     
  8. velvetx

    velvetx Gear Master West/Vendor Spotlight Moderator

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    Alright I guess people been yelling at me about impressions and I am now four vodka rocks in (business dinner) and feel like I am in kind of a creative mood so here we go.

    First and foremost thank you so much @shaizada for opening your home to us. You have a lovely family and setup and I can't say enough of the generosity you and your family showed us while we were having a good time. Meeting your wife and daughter was a pleasure and I hope the next time I come to visit she enjoys school. Another big shout out to @audiofrk for helping with setup and getting everything organized. It was an honor personally delivering a burrito to you as you were a huge help to getting this organized.

    When @insidious meme said this was a real meet. It was honestly the truth. Jason from Schiit, Donald from DNA, Darin from Out of Your Head, Alex from Audio Zenith, and Luis from Enigmatic Audio showed up and it was a f'ing awesome meet. It wasn't about their products, it wasn't about what they were doing as a company, and it wasn't about selling their products. Instead it was about community, it was about the members, and it was truly about audio. Guys I can't thank you enough for being people rather than vendors. These types of values are what we at SBAF truly strive for and thank you making this meet special for us.

    @n3rdling : The clones were absolutely amazing. The tone was accurate the highs and mids were excellently represented. I could have listened all day as it was just one of those headphones that you could enjoy with anything. It wasn't as bass focused as I like but man the sound, tonal accuracy, and sound stage was amazing. Thank you for bringing these out and dazzling the hell out of us. Easily one of my favorites at the meet.

    @Bill-P : Many people know Bill-P as the mad wizard and at this meet he doesn't disappoint. Bill probably brought the best iteration of his latest creation the modded HD580 I have heard to date. The bass was a little light for me but the mid accuracy was amazing. Bill loves his vocals and this headphone represented them pretty damn well.

    @ohhgourami : I don't know how this guy that weighs less than his amp does it but two people are required to carry his most prized possession; the KRELL. No one talks more about the HE-6 than Jason and his claim to fame is his setup with his beloved Krell amp. At this meet it definitely didn't disappoint. One of my favorite setups with the HE-6 to date. The bass is tight and impactful. Though I didn't find the details to be as good as say the Clones the music had body and energy which I felt put this setup as another of my favorite.

    @LFF : The Code-X holds a special sound in my heart and had the best bass representation out of a headphone I have heard beside the Orpheus 2. The notes out of the Liquid Glass with the Code-X were amazing. This thing picks up extremely low bass notes and gives it light. Listening to tracks like "Kush" by Dr Dre and "Gin and Juice" by Snoop Doggy Dogg was just eye opening. Luis I hope you get some time to relax and hang out with us as we would love to see you at some capacity even if you can stay just for a little while.

    @schiit : Thought I can't talk too much about what it is I heard I will say this: Don't judge something just by it's price point as when Schiit creates something you may be genuinely shocked. Jason this is the first meet where we have spent time talking about the industry, Schiit, and basically anything and everything audio. Thank you for being such an awesome vendor and of course coming to the meet.

    I am sorry if I missed anyone as it was quite the meet and I was too busy enjoying the conversation. I am looking to spend a few extra days around CanJam SoCal to visit the SoCal crew and hopefully Eddie Current and Donald North Audio. I can't say enough about how awesome the SBAF community is as every meet I go to as it inspires me to try harder, do more, and do a better job at connecting with members and helping with whatever I can. I guess I am just hooked on the people here and I hope to eventually meet everyone.

    Thank you to everyone at SBAF and may 2016 bring all of our members great joy and fortune.
     
  9. sphinxvc

    sphinxvc Gear Master (retired)

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    Nice write up, Velvetx.
     
  10. leonardodrummond

    leonardodrummond Village idiot

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    WtH! This is winter! You guys wear T-shirt!
     
  11. Koth Ganesh

    Koth Ganesh Friend

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    El Nino, leonardo :p
     
  12. leonardodrummond

    leonardodrummond Village idiot

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    @purrin @everyone is HE6 + Krell the most amazing couple (well, combo) at this meeting?
     
  13. audiofrk

    audiofrk Guest

    Ortho Heights
    This area was my main target for the meet I really wanted to get a good handle on a proper HE-6 rig. Also I wanted to hear the HEX out of clems rig with his after market cables. Plus wanted to see if papa pass has earned his reputation.

    HE-6

    • The he-6 with the mods Jason made has slam and good detail retrieval. Mids are inline with the bass so they don't pop out at you. Detail is great but transients in the tremble area are too quick. The presentation is also on the cooler side of things. Sound is spacious and separation is excellent.

    • With the first watt things were slightly warmer without missing power.

    • With the krell things were colder and faster.

    • Still with either amp the tonal density (body) wasn't as great as I'd like and the depth of stage was good but not great (I.e. still on the two dimensional side).Don't know now what contributed to this

    • The super status was actually able to drive this without struggling. Can't say the same for the lyr2 (I maxed out the volume I never do that!!) DHT soundstage expanded the depth yay!!
    overall easy to recommend this headphone as one of the few good end game headphones.


    HEX

    Tried this insidious meme’s carbon+ Gungnir Multibit (also hd650, he560, and paradox). Was glad to see that this dac/amp stack lived up to to the hype: spacious, dynamic and precise. The setup was on the cool side (schiit cool, that cavalli is truly neutral).

    • soundstage isn’t bad and the dynamics was ok. despite the tallness of the driver the height of the stage didn’t really stand out to me.

    • the music produced with this was odd. it felt bloated. Kind of like vaseline over the lens trick. It didn’t really sound bad but just out of focus.

    • though thanks to the above the headphone sounded really smooth I think post-rock would be good. Industrial and dubstep would be interesting. Pretty much any genre that holds a note for a 2 count or more. Stay away from acoustic!!
    These aren’t really bad but they’re just not great (i.e. not $1700 worth) maybe a good specialty headphone for $400. But this isn’t a main rig headphone.


    HE-560

    I didn’t love this headphone with the rag/Yggdrasil (stock pleather). I also didn’t like the degrilled+velour with the crimson/audio-gd 19th anniversary. The first wasn’t bad but every six count there was this horrible tremble peak. Out of the second is was to wafty and turbulent in the tremble. using the Gungnir Multibit/carbon stack:

    • Hey this isn’t bad!!! good dynamics for an ortho.

    • The soundstage wasn’t bad either.

    • Detail was ok.

    • The tremble wasn’t bugging me.
    Overall a good ortho but not as good as the he-6 (though I kind of like the dynamics better)


    Nighthawk

    Last SoCal canjam I lamented how much I didn’t like these. Bass was overblown and dominated everything (kind of like the fostex th-x00), every now and again that sweet biocellulose tremble peaked thru (unlike that sharp tremble from the th-x00). At the show I thought it was better but still too much bass and that bass was too distorted. Here I used the Gungnir Multibit/carbon stack and the super stratus.

    • f**k I owe some head-fiers an apology these do need a lot of breaking in.

    • these seem very mid-centric now. Bass is almost completely ambiance, not really defined (bass lite?) Tremble is still quieter than the mids. Though due to the biocellulose driver the mids and treble are sweet.

    • soundstage wise the depth isn’t any better than hd650. height and width are about the same.

    • with the S-stratus holly shit. I likeee. f**k why are dht’s so good. better soundstage, tremble more present but just as sweet, bass slightly more present and lush.
    Overall I would splurge on these if I had a good tube amp …...and they were $400 not $600 not for detail freaks but that’s ok with me. Cross your fingers that they improve the next version.
     
  14. audiofrk

    audiofrk Guest

    Few Thoughts on the Super Stratus vs The Studio
    This was a treat. Marv showed up first. the setup was a vpi classic+ studio. I listen with a modded hd800 + marvs hd650. When Don showed up with his sonic frontiers cd player and Super stratus I used the nighthawk, he-6, grado ps1000e, and paradox. After a while I was able to to use a/b the two using my paradox and the sonic frontiers cd player as a source. All other headphones were taken by their owners.


    THE STUDIO

    • Swear to god everytime I looked at this thing, it and the VPI were in a dick waving contest to see which is the more imposing hifi. The studio won by the way.

    • the volume knob, built for titans, super sturdy and regal (if thats possible)

    • to bad that the darkstar is already taken because this thing has a pitch black background*

    • the soundstage is huge and when you combine this black background the music just appears out of nowhere.

    • you can pinpoint where every note begins in the soundstage and tell that it’s different from the one before it.

    • if I didn’t see the tubes I wouldn’t think it was a tube amp.
    *this was a little odd as the vinyl isn’t this silent. I heard better tables that portrayed the tape hiss but this didn’t. I am hoping that it was because those were MC not because of anything else.

    THE AMPLIFIER FORMALY KNOWN AS THE SOLARIS

    • I always dug the aesthetics of the DNA line, it’s very california dreaming as opposed to most of its competitors that play the “this is the amp that Johnny Ives would make!!!” or the “hey remember the old days” amps (though I do like some of those designs there’s just too many of them). It conveys that it’s special without taking itself too seriously.

    • The music just flows.

    • Clear highs that I liked from the leviathan without the analytical-ness of the studio.

    • Body. The sound has body.


    VS.

    I was expecting there to be more differences between the two due to their different topology:

    parallel output tubes vs not

    interstage transformer vs cap-coupled.

    No feedback vs feedback and regulated power supply.

    But the only thing I could really tell was different was the presentation. The studio has this trait where the notes don’t decay. They’re just there. They come and go. With the Super Stratus the notes flow into one another and decay into the background filling the stage. As soon as the song starts playing the stage is filled with music. With the studio the notes hit fast and leave, giving this dark background allowing you to pinpoint the next sound. Overall the studio lives up to its name if I had to monitor a cut or mix I’d get the Studio, but for my preference it was the Super stratus. Here is the analogy I gave to some people at the meet:

    Imagine you’re taking your best gal (or guy, no judgement) to a sunset picnic in a grassy field next to an oak tree. You’re watching the the fireflies light up. With the Studio the the fireflies are floating equidistant lattice never overlapping. With the Super Stratus they are just moving around as they please. With the studio it’s easy to tell how many flies there are and where each one is, but with the Super stratus they just seem more natural. Same hill, same sunset, same tree, same food, same girl.
     
  15. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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  16. drfindley

    drfindley Secretly lives in the Analog Room - Friend

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    So I didn't get nearly enough sleep before the meet and so I didn't get many great impressions:

    Schiit Vali 2 + some small DAC
    This was incredible. Marv remarked that there isn't a low-cost thing I like and sadly for the most part he's right. Except for this. Sadly, I don't remember too much about it except that I liked it. Though for me, having an emotionally positive response usually means it's good.

    HE-6 + EAR 834
    I've heard the HE-6 out of many things, the Rag, the Studio, many amps that have limped along and tried. I've even heard @Clemmaster's and @ohhgourami's rigs at the meet and while they did an excellent job driving the HE-6, I've never heard it better or even close to as good as I heard out of the EAR 834. Such great full body and sparkle. This was a solid match and very musical.

    @LFF's mixes
    Luis has such a great talent at extracting the best out of a recording. It was quite privilege to hear these.

    Sadly I didn't give the DNA Super Stratus or the DIY-orpheus a solid listen, but I was glad to see them there.
     
  17. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I really need to hear this new Schiit piece.
     
  18. hifi01170

    hifi01170 Acquaintance

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    some small DAC............... haha
     
  19. drfindley

    drfindley Secretly lives in the Analog Room - Friend

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    Later that weekend, @shaizada and I had ourselves a mini meet and went and did a deep comparison with all the headphones and amps we had on hand, which just happened to be some seriously heavy hitters.

    IMG_9444.jpg

    Headphones: HD800 (SBAF mod), HD650 (unmodded), HD580 (@Bill-P modded), HE-X, HE-6, AK1000, PS1000e, TH-X00, and ATH-W1000.
    Amps: EAR 834, EAR HP4, EC Studio, Torpedo III and RSA B-52.

    I'll just comment on pairings.

    EAR 834 + HE-6
    See my post above. Seriously the best it's sounded.

    EAR 834 + AK1000
    This is also another excellent pairing. The AK1000s are really weird "ear speakers". They take a bit of adjustment, but when they are all aligned properly, they have a fantastic realism to the sound. And these were bass-light AK1000s with bass. These had a really great presentation, but unfortunately, the whole time I couldn't help but think "why am I not listening to real speakers?"

    EAR 834 + Any headphone that had a balanced cable readily available
    A bit too thick compared to the HP4 which had a similar sound.

    EAR HP4 + HD800/HD580/HD650
    This headphone amp is just such a magical amp. It's really sad that it hasn't gotten more attention than it deserves. A rich, full-bodied and musical sound with detail and great soundstage. Everything sounded good plugged into this. Even unmodded HD800s didn't kill your ears. If you wanted to own one amp for all of your non-HE-6 headphones, this would be a champ. One of the best amps I've ever heard anywhere.

    EC Studio + HD800/HD580/HD650
    This amp remains the absolute resolution king. I've still yet to hear an amp with the delicateness and resolution this puts out. The HD580/600/650s are probably my favorite pairing with this amp, but the HD800s are the better resolvers. There is something about hearing the sound of the next word forming in the singers mouth that is just beautiful.

    RSA B52 + HD800 (unmodded) and HD580 (modded)
    I've never heard an amp take complete control over the HD800s like this amp did. Holy crap. Rich and full-bodied sound out of the HD800s. As the B52 gripped the HD800s, they produced a visceral and emotional impact. We listened to Free's Free Me, a bass heavy song and not once was I lacking for bass out of the HD800. Also, I didn't hear that nasty treble peak. I was really surprised. This has become one of my favorite headphone amps.

    Torpedo III + HD800 (modded) and HD580 (modded) + ATH-W1000
    This was the sleeper hit. I expected this amp to struggle to stand toe-to-toe with the giants listed above and I was shocked when I heard it in comparison to the other amps. Was it as resolving as the Studio? No. Did it take control of the HD800s like the B52? No. Did it hit the magic of the HP4? No. But it was shockingly close. I'd say this is most similar to the HP4. It's a bit mid-forward and it's soundstage and detail weren't quite as good, but for a $700 DIY project, it's one of my all-time favorite amps. While I haven't modded this with the CCS mod yet, I found that the Amperex 7062 tubes were what took this amp from alright to great. I'm not a fan of the stock tubes. The ATH-W1000s sounded fantastic out of this amp as well, which is no small feate.

    The rest of the headphones were either boring or just not really well matched to the amps.
     
  20. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    I should have sent the damn dbel modded HP1000s with you. The more I know about Gaurav's gear the more I suspect he might find them an interesting listen.
     

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