SuperBAF Can'tJam (Not CanJam / Changfest) 2016 Meet Impressions

Discussion in 'The Meeting Place' started by Draxcer, Nov 5, 2016.

  1. Draxcer

    Draxcer New

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  2. Case

    Case Anxious Head (Formerly Wilson)

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    Thank you!

    I want to go to there
     
  3. Rthomas

    Rthomas Friend

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    Guys,

    What has Audio Zenith brought to the table? A revision to the PMX2?

    Please give me an update as long as it does not break any embargoes.

    Cheers!
     
  4. MrButchi

    MrButchi Gear Master Europe

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    Boy do I wish I could've made it...
     
  5. neogeosnk

    neogeosnk Friend

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  6. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    Pretty wonderful looking stuff from Eddie current, Donald and doug, including some newish looking stuff! Looking forward to impressions for all us sorry fools and new dads that couldn't make it.
     
  7. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    Do you know what the black chassis next to the white Studio is?
     
  8. Peti

    Peti Facebook Friend

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    Had tons of fun, nice folks, nice event, thank you guys for putting it together! Finally got to hear the Hifiman HE-6, what a beast! :)
     
  9. bozebuttons

    bozebuttons Friend

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    That ia a Dac that craig built
     
  10. Mr.Sneis

    Mr.Sneis Friend

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    I like the studio volume knob.
     
  11. Mikoss

    Mikoss Friend

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    Pizza tonight in 1678. 30-45 mins.
     
  12. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    It's a 16 year old Moth DAC.
     
  13. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    @zerodeefex on the Larry Ho table, what was the "standard" size red rectangle/box that appeared to be the same size as Revive and GOV2+Infinity (gold)?
     
  14. boynamedsue

    boynamedsue New

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    Kudos to Marv and company at SBAF for putting together this amazing event. I haven't had this much fun at a meet since the first time I attended ChiUniFi, a member run headfi meet. I've been to the last few SoCal Canjam's and they felt more like trade shows for vendors to market their gear. However, this event brought back the spirit of the community. I'm much more interested in hearing member systems, and picking their brains about their setup. Everyone I met today were very grounded, well-informed, and passionate about the hobby as opposed to be there to try to sell something.

    Here were my three favorite rigs (Caveat: these are meet impressions and not to be taken seriously):

    1. Milos' Orpheus Clone, amped by Headamp's BHSE.
    I'm partial to electrostatic sound, and even at a meet setting, this setup clearly beat my current setup consisting of stax 007 and 009 off a Woo WES, as well as beating the KGSSHV Carbon which I previously owned. The Orpheus clone was a perfect blend of the 007 and 009, retaining the strengths of both stax flagships. The sound was so natural, musical, transparent, with great detail, separation, and large soundstage, and bass that was tight and impactful. Listening to Diana Krall's Case of You and IZ's Starting Over Again nearly brought tears to my eyes. I heard nauances in Diana Krall's vocals that I hadn't before and I've heard this track countless times. The nuances created a feeling of intimate connection with the singer. The Orpheus clone had a similar ethereal quality like most Stax phones. There was a slight see-through quality to the images (as opposed to being rock solid) and a slight glow around the sounds, which some may consider coloration and non-preferable, but I find quite magical. The crazy thing about the sound coming out of the Orpheus Clone and BHSE was that it was fed by a dingky USB stick DAC out of a laptop. I can't even imagine the sound improving with a better DAC.

    [​IMG]

    2. Schitt Yggdrasil, Schitt Ragnorak, and Focal Utopia.
    Surprisingly, this was second favorite rig at the event. I've heard Yggdrasil/Rag combo with the HE1000's numerous times, and didn't like it. However, the combo had great synergy with the Utopia's. The sound had a really black background, "meat-to-bones" solid images, stable images properly positioned on a sound stage, no boundaries to sound stage, nice separation, 3-dimensional, and instruments sounded realistic. These observations were mainly based on the track, "Beat Hotel" by Allan Taylor off the Dynaudio Feeling Music album. A few downside was that female vocals on another track had a slight sibilance and the sound across the board was a bit dry/not lush. Lastly, build quality of the Utopia is worth mention - it's very nice.

    [​IMG]

    3. Focal Utopia and Sennheiser HD650 off a Eddie Current Studio, fed by a Moth Analog Devices DAC.
    I really wish a Yggrasil was used to feed the Studio to have a common reference point of comparison. My very first impression of this setup was that it had that great "toe-tapping" effect where I just wanted to listen to music rather than analyze. However, I eventually got around to analyzing the sound and was struck by how large the sound stage was and that the treble extended very high. However, I found the resolution not as detailed and images did not sound crisp or fleshed out. The Utopia sounded more clean and transparent compared to the HD650's, but the highs were a bit piercing and fatiguing. On the other hand, the bass on the HD650's sounded a bit muddy and not as tight compared to the Utopia. What shocked me was when I compared the mids between the much more expensive Utopia compared to the modestly priced HD650's, the mids on the HD650's came out on top for me. Vocals sounded much better and natural on the HD650's, whereas vocals sounded a bit grainy and unnatural off the Utopias. Instruments sounded better on the Utopia's though.

    [​IMG]

    Special Mention:

    Out of Your Head.
    This software is the real deal. The music circled my head and the movie demo sounded like a high end surround, speaker system. I'm not too picky about SQ when it comes to movies, as I'm more interested in the story rather than the audio, or visual quality for that matter. However, if I were to invest in a "surround" system, OOYH is a serious consideration for me given that my current living situation prohibits me from listening to speakers loudly.

    Horn Speakers:
    Eyes closed, I felt transported to a live performance of Hotel California. Thanks for the free concert!

    [​IMG]

    Long live SBAF!
     
  15. Chris F

    Chris F Boyz 4 Now Fanatic - Friend

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    [​IMG]

    Pizza in 1678. Come get some. :)
     
  16. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Getting together with folks was awesome. CHEERS! \/

    As far as cans goes...

    Milos' Orpheus Clone is awesome. No longer are there any imbalanced channels. Tone is right on. There were in the table a set of HE-60s that I belive @sorrodje brought. The HE-60s are really good, but I believe Milos cans top them. They were crazy good. Will post measurements later.

    I don't know if @n3rdling is going to sell these in the future, but IMO there is not a single stat, ortho and dynamic that can touch these sound quality wise. This shit is real. Value wise, we'll see where Milos want's to take it, but like I said, these are the real deal. He might need to paint them shinny black, coat them with gold, and have Snooki decorate them though.

    I'll post some more impressions later. But these cans were the highlight of the meet can wise.
     
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2016
  17. miceblue

    miceblue Friend

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    Last edited: Nov 5, 2016
  18. Mikoss

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    image.jpeg
    ;)
     
  19. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Where are the Audezes?
     
  20. JK47

    JK47 Guest

    Thanks SBAF crew for putting together a great day for all. Hope many more are in all our futures. Drink up boys!!!
     

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