2022 Texas Audio Roundup

Discussion in 'The Meeting Place' started by purr1n, Jul 21, 2022.

  1. Erroneous

    Erroneous Friend

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    We have much smaller meets every few months. PM me if you'd like to join in.
     
  2. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    It's sad reading about those who couldn't make it at the last minute, whether covid, other health, or entirely different problems.

    It's one thing to be an always-unrealistic air ticket away; quite another being on the point of leaving and having to change plans. Especially for those that were involved with the gear.

    Whoa! I now know how to pronounce Emotiva, after saying it wrong for so many years! All I have to do now is remember. Not hard? Confession: typical Englishman here :rolleyes::oops:.

    I guess I never had a problem with saying schitt :D.

    As to Jude and co... Don't give a f**k about them or their site, but thought they just might have grown out of this 11-yr-old dick-head stuff by now. No. So probably never will.
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2022
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    These are the ETA semi-open Mini headphones. @tommytakis said that Evan said I would love the tuning on these. Hmmm, I don't know how you guys know what I would like. o_O I love the tuning on them.

    DSCF0280.JPG

    They sounded so good that I thought they were the double-magnet version. Until I was told these weren't. Now if there were double-magnet version of them...
     
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  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Been trying to sneak in listens (trying as much as possible from taking seat time away from others). Here is the @rhythmdevils audio modded Audezes. The LCD-4 is on the left. The LCD-X is on the right. Given the price differential, I would recommend the LCD-X. There's seems slight retuning for the better from the prior unit that I reviewed. It's not a huge change, but namely moar sub-bass and 20% movement from a HD580 kind of voicing more toward the standard Audeze sound.

    DSCF0287.JPG
     
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  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    PXL_20220723_173056664.jpg

    Didn't care for the black, although @penguins preferred these the most because they remain the truest to the HD800. I get that.

    The blue and orange were more palatable. Not sure if orange was the most laid back (in HD800 terms). Seemed like it was matter of different between the orange and blue. HD800s are tough.
     
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    Last edited: Jul 23, 2022
  6. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    thanks for posting all the pics and info. so wish I could be there. Piety and mini C for me please. Would love to meet some of you rockstars someday.
     
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  7. nishan99

    nishan99 Friend

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    Any impressions on the new Bifrost board?
     
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    Last edited: Jul 23, 2022
  8. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    Hey...c'mon - just got the Vali 2+ for my IE 600 :D

    Awesome looking collaborations @CEE TEE - I'll have to add another little S*hiit to my collection.

    I really wished I was in condition to travel right now, really wanted to come out and hang with you all. It looks like you guys had a great time. Any good Texas BBQ photos from the event? Where is the booze?
     
  9. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    Glad you like em!

    There is a double mag semi open variant still in the works at my home lab... Along with an AlNiCo V driver in the pipeline too (worlds first commercial AlNiCo headphone driver AFAIK). Genesis was a rocky start in some ways but most of that money dumped straight into driver R&D and tightening up build quality, cheers to it gradually paying off :piratemug:
     
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    Last edited: Jul 24, 2022
  10. Climber

    Climber Facebook Friend

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    As a guitarist, the first thing I would do with nearly any new amp or cab was dump the ceramic-mag drivers for AlNiCos -- and I can't even count the number of AlNiCo neck and humbucker PU upgrades I made. You have my full attention, @E_Schaaf ...
     
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  11. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    How much bass drop off and detail gain does the double magnet mini closed have compared to original mini. Haven't heard either, but was going to pull the trigger on the mini c. I like detail, but I don't like bass light stuff. Any more details on the double magnet availability and pricing?
     
  12. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    This is probably a conversation best had in a different thread or over DM. If you go to our website you'll see no double mag variants are presently for sale.

    The double mag closed version there is not remotely a finalized tuning nor design unlike the single mag versions represented which are done and sale ready. The unit there was a quick effort to port over the drivers to an existing style of shell and gently tease whats in RnD now, but they really need more room to breathe and the technical gap becomes more obvious the more you ask of the driver in terms of airflow and cavity space. I actually told @tommytakis not to share too much or encourage public posting about that proto for these reasons... But I'm glad they've been enjoyed regardless!

    I'd say if you want to maximise price vs performance, single mag as is now is the best way forward. Double mag was a pricey endeavor to develop and befits a different design, or at least something a bit more like the semi-open arrangement :)
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2022
  13. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Thanks Marv! If you get a chance, try my modded LCD-4 out of that Studio B, an amp you know very well. From my experience and all the feedback I've gotten, my LCD-4 is like 3-4 times as resolving as my LCD-X with better technicalities across the board.

    They're also not a $4000 headphone anymore since they are all over the used market for under $2500. This is one of the rare times when I think the performance difference is bigger than the price difference. But YMMV of course. And no worries if you don't have time. :)
     
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  14. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

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    Your LCD-4 (out of the 3F) might be the best headphone I've ever heard. Granted I've not heard all the heavy hitters, but I've heard most.
     
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  15. ext1

    ext1 MOT: Jupiter Audio Research

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    Thank you Marv for squeezing out the time to try them out! I'm very honored to have you listen to them.

    Looks like I might have been in for trouble if I sent only one, then..! It's very interesting to see that people are each preferring something different over the other.

    I have no doubt they sounded great out of the Stellaris- I did hear it thanks to a buddy here in Korea and it's an amp that I would love to own someday (amazing work @Donald North !!), but I hope that they would sound more promising out of the system you're familiar with after the show.

    Thank you again for putting so much valuable time and hard work to organize this complex, sophisticated show! I really appreciate that so many folks are willing to go this far and organize such an amazing show.
     
  16. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Where does the LCD-R fit in this?
     
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    TBH, I've been super busy attending to the guests. I actually feel these would be better from the Studio B with the full Western Electric complement.

    PXL_20220723_203325942.jpg

    To be continued.
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Holy shit. LCD-4 is on a whole 'nother level. It scales like mad. I was so excited that I dragged @Vansen into the room, who in turn dragged @CEE TEE into the room.

    PXL_20220723_203458758.jpg

    FYI, we have running joke that your modded Audezes are the orthos for people who hate orthos.
     
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  19. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I'm not a fan of the stock LCD-R so I'm not sure how to answer this without kind of self reviewing my modded Audezes which I try not to do. I'm still trying to find the right line when it comes to this. I'll send you a pm. My modded LCD-R is my favorite headphone I've ever heard, I'll just say that. :)
     
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  20. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Thanks Marv, I love it! So happy to see :heartemoji:
     
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