2016 Fall NY meet impressions

Discussion in 'The Meeting Place' started by thegunner100, Nov 26, 2016.

  1. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    Post away! I don't have much gear impressions because I was always running around helping people, letting people in, and talking. I will have pictures though!

    DSC_8910.JPG
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2016
  2. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    Pad-fi: Elear pads on the Utopia

    Sphinxvc: Strategy Ramen
    Possibly defined as: Food with poor extension* on the back end

    Listening to Beethoven:
    Dr.Higgs: "So, are we like audiophiles now?"



    *or too much, as it turns out
     
  3. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    I wanted to extend a massive thanks to @thegunner100 and @Josh for arranging and hosting such a great event! I am tired after the drive up to NYC and back, but it was worth meeting such great people and hearing all the gear that I have read so much about!
     
  4. AdvanTech

    AdvanTech Friend

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    I got to listen to an array of incredible headphones, IEMs, and chains that gave me a little bit of perspective about where my own setup sits between all of this. I wouldn't have been able to do something like this anywhere else. Thanks to everyone involved!
     
  5. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    Huge thanks to @Josh for hosting us and to everyone else for coming to the meet. It wouldn't be much of a meet without you guys bringing your gear and insights.

    This meet has been the biggest meet that we've had thus far, with 25 people showing up. It was also our biggest meet space as well! I think this is probably the max amount of people I'd want to have in a mini meet, otherwise it can get pretty overwhelming with the amount of gear and people talking. But that's just me, as I prefer more intimate settings lol.

    It was nice having separate rooms for headphones, iems, and speakers. The big lounge area was really sweet for hanging out and listening to speakers. It was clear that the room was too big for our speakers though, and placement was not ideal. At the same time, the small room dedicated for speakers had its own problems as well unfortunately. Despite that, I think everyone got a decent idea of how each pair of speakers sounded. It was really awesome to see how much interest that people had in 2ch setups!

    Here are some of the impressions I managed to get:
    • @HitmanFluffy called my setup warmfag :(.
    • I barely listened to headphones at all but @Dr. Higgs lent me his HD800s and @Maxx134 + @HitmanFluffy gave me some modding materials.
      • I'm listening to the HD800 with SDR + SBAF mod while I'm typing this up and I'm impressed by the HD800s once again. The HD800 mods and my set up have come a long way since 2 years ago when I had the HD800s with the Anax 2.0 mods and a Audio-GD NFB-ES2 / Gungnir + Vali 1.
      • The treble is no longer an issue with my setup and I'm able to hear and understand how much more resolving the hd800 drivers are compared to the hd650s. The treble is much more extended, clean, clear, and grain free.
      • Mids are smooth and not recessed at all. Bass is tight and well textured. While it doesn't have as much bass quantity as the hd650s, the quality is certainly better. It is certainly something I can get used after some time.
      • Soundstaging with the SBAF mod is less diffuse sounding than the stock hd800s and sound closer to a well modded HD650. Of course, the soundstage is still more 3d and the imaging is more precise.
      • I'm using the stock HD800 cable with the 1/4 output on the Sonett 2 because the balanced Cardas cable cuts off on the left channel and the ZY cable sounds really off. The ZY cable somehow collapsed the soundstage and made the mids more thick. Wtf? FeelsBadMan
      • Edit (11/30/2015) - Okay, the ZY cable seems fine now?
      • Will I be able to live with the HD800s? I'll be listening to it this whole week without switching to the HD650s.
    • I know that a few of you guys really enjoyed the Katana and I can understand why. While I really like the Katana, the Andromedas win easily for me due to it have a more balanced airy signature, and larger soundstaging.
      • The Andromedas definitely paired amazingly well with the ZX2 whereas the Katana would pair better with a low OI impedance and brighter source like the Yggdrasil + Jotun.
    • I've already written about the new CA IEMs in the LA meet but again, my preference between the 3 new IEMs would be Lyra II > Dorado > Vega.
    • As for speakers, the OSMTs were the most immune to room interactions and sounded great with the various amps.
      • I've managed to get another person to build the OSMTs: @Gaspasser ;D
    • The LS50s were surprisingly decent with the FW F3 but of course, ran into volume issues.
    • The Omegas sounded the best I've ever heard it with the Studio but still exhibited hollow mids.
    • The Devores were impressive but I'll wait to hear it at @sphinxvc's home to judge it more.
    • The BMRs really showcased its great treble and bass quality but the mids were lacking in comparison. In addition while I was able to hear its bass quality and potential, the room was definitely a limiting factor due to poor placement and lack of acoustic treatments.
    • Strategy Ramen!
    I'm looking forward to reading everyone's impressions! Please let me know if there are things that we can do to improve the meets as well :D. Pictures coming soon!

    Oh and... RIP 3 cold yggys.
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2016
  6. Cakecake

    Cakecake Guest

    Thanks to @Josh for hosting. There was no way everyone could have fit at my place. (I'm picturing Dante's Inferno, people getting burned by tubes)
    I mainly listened to speakers.

    Headphones
    • Briefly listened to HD800 (modded?) / EC Studio
      • So Fresh, So Clean.
    IEM
    • Andromeda + ZX2
      • Maybe I like BA bass, made it seem like one bass note is composed of two or more notes.
    2-Channel
    • In retrospect, maybe our speaker placement could have been better. The small square room didn't workout so well, so we moved the speaker setup to outside as shown.
      [​IMG]
    • Devore Fidelity Gibbon 8 Line (previous 2nd gen) ?
      • This is my first time listening to this pair.
      • It sounded very nice and neutral, couldn't quite pinpoint the characteristics of this speakers. Seemed to do everything pretty well. Imaging was good, bass extended to maybe 40 Hz, nothing harsh.
    • OSMT
      • I own this pair and am familiar with the sound.
      • Compared to the Devores, has less detail, a bit more mid-bass hump. Imagine though Devores's $400 tweeter vs OS's $15.
      • Extends to maybe 45 Hz.
      • Still musical and enjoyeable. The OS seems to have minimal room interaction for some reason (smaller driver size?). Sounds good in my living room, @thegunner100 's small bedroom, living room and it sounded good yesterday out in the open space as well.
    • BMR-Phil
      • I used to own this pair until I sold them to steelcannon.
      • I anticipated listening to this pair the most because when I sold the pair at the time I had much trouble with the bass and some disappointment with the midrange. I attributed them to my echoy, small livingroom and was expecting greater things yesterday...but
      • Bass - The bass is there, extends very low 30-35 Hz, but it's a bit boomy. Half the time it's too much bass which overwhelms the rest of the music. The subbass(?) seemed to dominate over the midbass where alot of musical enjoyment happens for me. The midbass seems less articulate as well. (EDIT* In retrospect maybe since we had a rear wall and the speaker was pretty close to us, this may have accentuated the subbass response?)
      • Midrange - A bit recessed. The imaging is not as precise compared to the Devores.
      • Rest of the midrange and up seemed pretty good.
      • The FR reminds me of someone sitting in the middle of a large trampoline. Gentle curve but more flat on higher end.
      • One thing it does fantastically I think is orchestral type music. It's pretty damn amazing.
    • Omega 3U
      • I own this pair.
      • FR is like a symmetric mountain with bottom half sub-100 Hz chopped off and bit less maybe 12kHz chopped off on the top half.
      • This + EC Studio was the most shocking experience for me the entire meet. The mountain peak seemed to have become flatter and there was more bass (sorry they are still incomplete speakers). The midrange spectrum it produced; however, had so much stuff going on, it was like magic. It had much dynamics, pint point imaging, and magic stuff I don't know how to describe, like a calm lake shimmering under sunlight early morning. Although tonally inaccurate, maybe I could have overlooked all the glaring shortcoming. I thought for a moment maybe I should convince @jmcmasterj to sell me his Studio. Maybe not.
      • These, "full-range" drivers definitely need t00bs.
      • Did a half-assed job pairing them with a subwoofer. Sounded ok, I suppose depends on quality of the sub and fine-tuning the xo point.
    • Kef LS50
      • Second time listening.
      • I didn't get too much time with this pair. Sounded pretty gud.
    After-meet
    • We went to a ramen place for dinner which was decent.
    • Ordered like 16 pork buns. @SteelCannon - "can never have too many pork buns"
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 27, 2016
  7. Dr. Higgs

    Dr. Higgs Boson - Member

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    Many thanks to @Josh and @thegunner100 for hosting and organizing! I spent most of my time talking to @bozebuttons about cars and asking @Josh about room treatments, but I did get some time with some new gear:

    Utopia/Elear: As a reluctant Elear owner I was really interested to see if the Utopia could live up to the frequently repeated status of "worlds best headphone," but IMO it really didn't. The technicalities were impressive out of the Studio and Lampi HeadDac, but something sounded a bit off with the bass (i.e. Mid bass seemed a bit recessed, but then the subbass on some tracks would unnaturally come out of nowhere and slap you in the face). I was expecting the worlds best headphone would have smoother treble, but I can still hear some sibilance just like the Elear (which I'm not particularly sensitive to with most HPs). The biggest omission to me was the soundstage. The one thing I appreciate most about the HD800 is the clear center image that makes me feel like I'm actually standing front and center at a concert. The Utopia wasn't even close, and although I didn't get a chance to extensively A/B with the Elear, I felt like the Elear may have had better depth (but the center image wasn't any better/worse). Wish I got to listen to the Utopia with Elear pads as some people reported that it fixes some of these complaints I mentioned. Still, I'm really not hearing anything that's pulling me away from my HD650 even if I have an Elear sitting a few feet away from me (which I do) and the Utopia was no different.

    Sonnett 2: Not really my cup of tea, but totally nails the tonality that it's aiming for. Really lush sound with good macro/microdetail. Also very blue.

    Omega 3U: I was negatively biased coming in from hearing the reactions from the rest of the NY crew, but even still I was expecting them to nail the mids. IMO, they didn't nail anything other than imaging. They sounded the best fed by the Studio by a large margin, but vocals still came across as hollow sounding, there was no real bass to speak of under 100hz, and the treble was hazy/rolled off. I can't hear any real advantage over a well executed two/three way design.

    Philharmonic BMR: These were the attack dogs at the meet. Their delicate & smooth treble lures you in before the Scanspeak monster woofer punches you in the gut and steals your wallet. The mids are a bit too recessed for my personal taste, but the treble is super smooth with just the right amount of sparkle and the bass can dig extraordinarily deep for the size.

    LS50s: These were mine so I knew what to expect. What I didn't expect however, was how great they sounded with @sphinxvc 's firstwatt F3 despite the limited power. I've heard them with the firstwatt J2 before and wasn't a fan, but the F3 tamed some of the bite in the highs and delivered super smooth mids with a smooth transition to bass before gently rolling off. It almost made me regret ordering their upcoming replacement (but not really ;)).

    Devore Gibbon Super 8: I've heard these before at @sphinxvc 's old place (where they sounded better), but the great mids and respectable bass were still notable. The only thing I'd like to see in them is a tiny bit more treble extension and sparkle (but I might just be too used to my Adam F5s or LS50s).

    CA Dorado/Lyra II: Since I've spent a lot of time with the Andromeda & Vega I came in expecting the Lyra to have a similar tonality to the Vega with a couple steps back in micro/macrodetail. This was mostly accurate, if you like some low reaching bass the Lyra seems like a good buy. As for the Dorado, I was expecting the bass quality/quantity of the Lyra with some of the treble sparkle of the Andromeda, and once again this was also pretty close to what I heard. The thing that threw me off with the Dorado was that the Bass/Mids seemed a bit hazier than the Lyra. Overall I would rank the CA lineup I've heard as follows from fav to least fav Andromeda->Vega->Lyra II->Dorado. With price considered I would 100% put the Lyra II above the Vega (but still behind Andromeda). All impressions based on direct comparison with my AK Jr. and familiar tracks.

    Other notes: I really wish we had a ZMF Eikon and Atticus at the meet to see if it's worth preordering. I have high hopes, but haven't really seen any consistent impressions that would lead me to blind purchase and I'm wary of tuning changes between pre-release and release units.

    Overall, I've already gotten one foot (and maybe half of my other one) out of the full sized headphone world. My Andromeda and Vega are more pleasant than most of my full sized lineup (though my 650 and THx00s aren't going anywhere), and since I travel a ton for work they get most of my attention nowadays. If the $4000 Utopia can't provide as much enjoyment to me as the $120 Overnight Sensations then I'm really not inclined to keep supporting the price creep in the headphone industry.

    Biases: Schiit, Campfire Audio, and Massdrop fanboi 4 lyfe.
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2016
  8. fierce_freak

    fierce_freak Friend

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    Awesome impressions...I'm eating up the 2 channel stuff, so please keep those coming or elaborate, particularly on ls50 with fw f3 vs osmt.
     
  9. Dr. Higgs

    Dr. Higgs Boson - Member

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    Regarding OSMT vs LS50, I'd say the OSMT wins in terms of smoothness/coherence across mids-treble and LS50 wins in terms of microdetail/imaging. Bass might be a few hz further extended with the LS50 (with no plugs in the port) but the OSMT has a surprising amount of bass for the size. With some amps the LS50 seems to have a bit too much upper mid/treble emphasis and unevenness which can be annoying but the F3 imparted some almost tubey qualities to the mids that smoothed everything out. Word of warning though, we had to crank the F3 to full volume (using the Saga as a pre) in the big room we had the speakers in, so I wouldn't advise the combo unless you have a smaller room and listen at lower volumes.

    I don't think I can say anything about the OSMT that @thegunner100 or @Hooncake hasnt said before, so they would be the best to ask for more OSMT details. Go build one and tell us what you think :p
     
  10. bozebuttons

    bozebuttons Friend

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    First off Thanks to @Josh & @thegunner100 for hosting & organizing the meet .

    I had a few things I was looking to hear. The studio ,The utopia, The Lampi Headac

    The utopia was a disappointment I don't see what all the hoopla is about with this headphone,First off reading reviews people where complaining
    about a lack of bass,I felt it had too much subass and lack of mid bass ,like if you had a subwoofer crossed over to high & was getting the sub bass
    all the time. I am on the tour list & will give it more listening time with my own gear at home
    Initial impressions get a HD800 & mod it for a lot less money & be done with it.

    The Studio Very Clean sounding,deep stage,seemed to work well with My HEKV2,Grado HP1,HD650
    But may sound thin on the hd800, careful system matching with this amp is needed otherwise very true to the source.

    The lamp Headdac showed up late I only got to hear 2 songs with it ,not really warmed up first with Cradons Modded Hd800
    seemed Like it could have had a little more power to drive the Phone,The Hekv2 which is easier to drive the the HEKv1 was actually harder to drive.
    Need to spend more time with the Lampi,Cradon Had to work late so he came at the end of the meet.

    Got to hear the New Sony ,better then the older mdr7 but this is no R!0 replacement

    One thing I think needs to be addressed in future meets,Members need to bring headphone stands to the meets ,Lack of table space caused headphones to be stacked on top of each other,causing wires to be tangled up & also possible damage to the phones no mater what the cost or rarity of the phones.

    All in all a great day hanging with everyone.
     
  11. Mikoss

    Mikoss Friend

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    Great impressions guys. Sounds like the NYC crew knows how to throw a meet with some seriously nice setups. Envious of all who made it!

    |\/|
     
  12. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    Who was talking to me about the Noble Katana in ciem form? @take?

    They're very possible!
    Nobleaudio.com has them and I confirmed with John Moulton.
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2016
  13. WhimsicalStranger

    WhimsicalStranger New

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    Huge thanks to @Josh and @thegunner100 for organizing the event and to everyone who brought their gear!

    I wasn't able to go to many events this year due to school and family problems so I'm glad I made it to this one. I started getting bored of my good old headpad-less, modded HD580s with Vali 2/Modi Multibit setup and listening to new gear was great.

    I'm pretty terrible at describing what I hear so I'll spare myself the embarrassment and just say this:

    - I liked the Krell with the Slants, Grados.
    - The Studio was great with the HE1000s V2 (definitely enjoyed it more than the V1 I listened to ages ago, as the sibilance was a little harsh with the A-GD master 7)
    - Andromeda IEM. Used them with the ZX2 and it was great. If I ever do decide to change from the UERM, the Andromeda would be a good candidate.
    - The Utopia. I was a little in-between about. For me personally, I don't think I'd be willing to drop 4000 beans for it.

    Also, thanks to @Gaspasser for suggesting some new tubes for the Vali 2. I just ordered them and am looking forward to using them!

    Thanks again to everyone! I look forward to attending more events and posting more (fair warning, my posts will probably be pretty meh). :headbang:
     
  14. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    Picture time! I've picked some select pictures to upload here, but you guys can check out the rest of the pictures that I took on my onedrive.

    The table before everyone else got here, featuring my Sonett 2, @The Life's ZD Micro, and @bozebuttons' original Krell KSA-5.
    DSC_8829.JPG

    @jmcmasterj's EC Studio
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    More setups and a huge tripplite!
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    The Devores with their ghetto grills
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    Our IEM table
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    I just realized I should have taken the picture when he was wearing the Utopias!
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    Our grandpappy of NY meets :)
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    @sphinxvc was not impressed by how his Devores sounded in the small square room
    DSC_8864.JPG
    DSC_8874.JPG

    Part 2 coming in just a moment...
     
  15. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    Part 2 of pictures

    El Crack, surrounded by headphones in true NYC fashion!
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    Omegas and Kefs
    DSC_8880.JPG

    OSMTs, the official NYC crew mascot?!
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    The real speaker setup in the open area
    DSC_8887.JPG

    @sphinxvc, still not quite satisfied with how his Devores sound in the room...
    DSC_8886.JPG

    Good stuff?!
    DSC_8893.JPG

    The studio makes its debut as a speaker amp
    DSC_8898.JPG

    NY Meet Group photo! We're missing a few people here as they came later on. Gotta say... the remote shutter works pretty well ;D
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    BMRs in action
    DSC_8914.JPG

    It wouldn't be an SBAF meet without a bunch of HD650s
    DSC_8916.JPG

    Part 3 incoming...
     
  16. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    Part 3 of pictures

    The Grado HP1000
    DSC_8917.JPG

    A website worthy photo of the He-1000s?
    DSC_8919.JPG

    Focal earpad swapping testing
    DSC_8921.JPG

    And the results...
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    The Lampi Head Dac makes its debut in NYC
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    Speakers galore! @ohhgourami
    DSC_8932.JPG

    Our host hanging out near the end of the meet
    DSC_8934.JPG

    @thedemonstriker's work of art
    Stategy pork.jpg

    And that's all!
     
  17. sphinxvc

    sphinxvc Gear Master (retired)

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  18. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    What a great looking meet. Would love to hear that Lampizator DAC myself. And all the speakers. This was a serious meet so soon after the LA meet! Impressive stuff!
     
  19. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    BTW, how many of the Utopia impressions were formed while wearing the headphones backward? I count at least one in the pics.
     
  20. Maxx134

    Maxx134 Dunning–Kruger effect poster boy

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    Hi guys, first off, Gotta say I was shockingly impressed at the superb multi-room meet place with glass doors/walls to see what is in every location. wow, just wow..
    Great sound isolation between rooms as well.

    So hats off and big thanks to @Josh & @thegunner100 for hosting & organizing the amazing meet...
    It's really great to have these meets and see familiar faces, but this one was great.

    Impressions:
    There were lots of nice setups but
    Two headphone amps I like stood out.
    * EC Studio =
    reminded me much of the EC2a3 I heard from Craig in past. Nice combination of powerful, very clean, and very large stage.
    Very Neutral and less colored than an EC2a3.

    * @thegunner100 DNA Sonett 2 =
    This amp had great stage and simply same top league sound. Maybe more delicacy with less power.
    Surprisingly zero strain with volume at max using the HEK V2, driving the cans to acceptably high levels, but probably not high enough for those that like real power.


    * HEK V2 = this is the real winner of new top cans for me.
    Presentation seemed more grand and realisticly assuring over others like HD800, 650, LCD3, Elears...

    *Utopia= I actually didn't hear them there as already heard them before so I let others listen, as that headphone was always busy with someone.

    Speaker setups there were great and made me think about my own speaker system.


    It was great to see everyone and thanks again for a great meet.
     

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