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Bay Area 3/26 SBAF Meet Impressions Thread

Discussion in 'The Meeting Place' started by velvetx, Mar 26, 2016.

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  1. velvetx

    velvetx Gear Master West/Vendor Spotlight Moderator

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    Impressions later but here is some pics you can all enjoy in the mean time :)

    Tube Room

    [​IMG]

    Stax Room

    [​IMG]

    Measurement Area

    [​IMG]

    High End Room

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2016
    velvetx, Mar 26, 2016
    #1
  2. shaizada

    shaizada Friend

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    Good on you for taking that vinyl setup Adam...probably one of the few ways people will get to hear such a high quality source! Kudos!
     
    shaizada, Mar 26, 2016
    #2
  3. philipmorgan

    philipmorgan Member of the month

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    philipmorgan, Mar 26, 2016
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  4. Smitty

    Smitty Too good for bad vodka - Friend

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    How was the ECP Audio headphone power amp? It looks really beautiful, but I need details guys |\/|

    I also had to laugh at the two 009's just casually shoved onto the same headphone stand, like they were an after thought and weren't being used.
     
    Smitty, Mar 26, 2016
    #4
  5. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    Why would you post this?
     
    zerodeefex, Mar 26, 2016
    #5
  6. TMoney

    TMoney Shits on SBAF over at Head-Case to be cool

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    Was this the best mini-meet I've ever been to? I think it was.

    Amazing gear and amazing people. The Stax room, the Tube room and the Vinyl room were all epic.

    Thanks to everyone for coming and special thanks to @velvetx for being such an amazing host.

    Full impressions tomorrow.
     
    TMoney, Mar 26, 2016
    #6
  7. No_One411

    No_One411 Fired by Jude

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    After @velvetx bitching at me daily to bring my Stratus, it seemed like it was one of the least liked amps at the meet. :( I guess I'll leave it at home and enjoy it there.

    Rebuilt Singlepower Extreme surprisingly got positive feedback. Pretty good for an amp that cost around $100 to rebuild.

    @Bill-P's modded HD-580 were extremely disappointing... Pads were disgusting, headband was flaking everywhere. Oh, and they were also stock. Hardly the be all end all he promised.

    Other than that, pretty good meet. I like talking with people and don't really listen to stuff anymore.
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2016
    No_One411, Mar 26, 2016
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  8. Noodlz

    Noodlz Almost "Made"

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    great meeting all you guys and chatting + listening to awesome gear that everyone had~ Just epic all around~
     
    Noodlz, Mar 26, 2016
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  9. jdhore

    jdhore New

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    Awesome meet! I left a bit early, but everything was incredible...Loved hearing @finley 's Vinyl rig and the stuff in the Stax room.

    The real amazing thing of the meet to me was...The Sennheiser HD540's...They were AMAZING for the price...I forgot the dude's name that had them...Sorry...I suck at names. :(

    Thanks to @velvetx for being a great host...I really enjoyed this meet...See you guys at the next one!
     
    jdhore, Mar 26, 2016
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  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I knew this was going to be epic.

    Knowing the crowd, they would have preferred it with the EML Mesh. I can't quite see what tubes you were running.
     
    purr1n, Mar 26, 2016
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  11. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    Do we have an intro to vinyl thread of sorts? Turntables, cartridges, phono stages, etc, where to start.
     
    bazelio, Mar 26, 2016
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  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    purr1n, Mar 26, 2016
    #12
  13. No_One411

    No_One411 Fired by Jude

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    I only have stock tubes (Shuguang black-base 2A3, 6N1P driver, Sovtek 5U4G rectifier) at the moment. I've listened to the Stratus with Sophia Princess 2A3s and did not like it at all...

    Main complaint was it was soft.
     
    No_One411, Mar 26, 2016
    #13
  14. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    I've always heard good things. What was the feedback?
     
    bazelio, Mar 26, 2016
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  15. Noodlz

    Noodlz Almost "Made"

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    @jdhore that would be me who had the senn 540 ref II's lol. its now in the hands of Bill-P to see if he can work some magik into it~ lol
     
    Noodlz, Mar 26, 2016
    #15
  16. velvetx

    velvetx Gear Master West/Vendor Spotlight Moderator

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    By magic he means potentially destroying it so beware of the wild bill :)
     
    velvetx, Mar 26, 2016
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  17. steve

    steve New

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    Really? I like the Stratus very much, even leaning towards it over ZD. I'll be searching for one if the price is right.;)
     
    steve, Mar 26, 2016
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  18. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    How prevalent was the Stratus hum? I seem to recall potentiometers being designed in to remedy the hum (?) Seems like that could be tedious, but I guess good to have an option available to address it, if it can't be designed out.
     
    bazelio, Mar 26, 2016
    #18
  19. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    Extremely fun meet! The highlight was DEFINITELY finally meeting all you fine folks! What a great community.

    In terms of some brief impressions, I'll say that @drfindley 's vinyl rig was amazing, and made any and all amps plugged into it sound amazeballs. So, yeah, vinyl really elevates pretty much everything to a new level. Made me even more excited for the (slightly less frightening) journey i've embarked on.

    as far as solid state amps go, i'll say @TMoney 's ECP amp is... Money. I didn't get to hear the BW, the volume knob took a crap before I got to it, but otherwise I'll say that the ECP amp - paired with the 800S - was the most clear and musical solid state amp i've ever heard. the HEK was also very nice from the ECP, but for half the price, I'd take the 800S (or modded 800) and call it a day.

    for tube amps, it seems like the Stratus was on the more warm and intimate side, the EC ZDS was on the more aggressive side, and the Torp3do was somewhere in the middle. I suppose the biggest eye-opener was that the T3 didn't fall behind the other big boys at all, and seems like a no-brainer for a killer tube amp at half the price. The EC ZDS has the looks, and seems like end-game material for sennheisers, but the T3 doesn't fall too far behind (if at all)...

    @No_One411 i really really enjoyed the Code-X on the Stratus. Should've tested it on Adam's ECP amp, or the injured BW, so maybe next time :)

    p.s., @Bill-P 's modded 580 kind of destroyed the 650s for me, at least temporarily. really awesome tonal balance, with a bit less of that 650 darkness.
     
    brencho, Mar 26, 2016
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  20. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    oh yeah, @MoatsArt inquiring to see pictures of humans (gasp) -- drfindley's wearing a Yankees cap, Bill_p's the guy in the Banff Canada t-shirt and glasses, Justin is the ripped incredible hulk of audio who's sbaf nickname i don't recall, velvetx is the red head, Jeff (no_one411) in the black polo shirt, and I wore the grey button up. Sorry for outing you guys, but you know, faces to names. gentlemen and scholars all.
     
    brencho, Mar 26, 2016
    #20
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