2022 Texas Audio Roundup

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

  1. Erroneous

    Erroneous Friend

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    It does play well. I'm not really sure why that happened. Maybe something happened in shipping?
     
  2. Abhishek Chowdhary

    Abhishek Chowdhary Friend

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    It's an early Folkvanger prototype
     
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  3. Gazny

    Gazny MOT: ETA Audio

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    It looks amazing in person
    its really good, grado, sennhiser Other things, I loved it.
    the special mode has a really cool effect on the sound. Wonder how high it can be up sampled…
    thanks picking that up!
     
  4. Beefy

    Beefy Friend

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    Could have a faster switch on for higher inrush current?
     
  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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  6. nojwe

    nojwe Acquaintance

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    Any impressions of the Lyr+? I’m hoping it will be available in silver…
     
  7. Gazny

    Gazny MOT: ETA Audio

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    I will quickly say, it was everything I wanted from saga and lyr. I also ran my saga in passive mode but wish it had gain this does it.
     
  8. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    @schiit The Magni Piety seems to be gaining a lot of community love. All the info I can get from the Nitsch site doesn't make it out to be all that different from Asgard 3 (from what I remember Asgard 3 also has modified Continuity for triode-like distortion). Is the design much different? I assume it must be to not cause a meltdown in that chassis.
     
  9. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

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    I want a balanced Lyr+ with remote. Mjolnir 3? @schiit pretty please, we have nice cheese here i can send you some.
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I can put in on the Amplitrex and find out.

    It does sound different from the Asgard 3. Some similarities but also some differences. The Piety has this tube-like bloom and wetness (even more than other organic sounding solid-state amps as ECBW, Asgard 3, Luxman etc.). I'll see if I can do some measurements and invent some stories / craft legends about the Piety in another post. It doesn't measure badly. It just not an AmirNAD amp, but rather one that I selected from the pile of protos, cast-offs, that never made it to production.
     
  11. tommytakis

    tommytakis MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    Finally have some time after flying back from Austin.

    This was honestly one of the most fun I've had at an audio meet. It was a bit nerve-wrecking at first because it was my first time going as a MOT representing ETA Headphones, but I think with all things considered, I had a blast from start to finish exploring parts of Austin's food and culture w/ the SBAF crew, interacting with new customers, seeing new/old friends, and receiving sage advice from the audio gurus.

    First of all, Austin is an amazing city. Did not have a single bad meal here, from tacos, bbq, pizza, and chili. tacos and bbq especially were all 10/10. Overall vibes don't feel too different from California cities, which was great :)

    @famish99 and his family were also wonderful hosts that made me feel at home, even though we've never met in person before. Super grateful for his hospitality and for teaching me about the nuances of whiskey and coffee.

    @E_Schaaf also gets a big shoutout because he stayed up late at night preparing all the mini Cs and mini S to showcase at the meet.

    @animus flew w me for the trip and made the experience less daunting venturing into new territories. He also helped me proofread some emails for companies when I was running on 1 hr of sleep at the airport haha

    @Gazny also carried the ETA booth hard by creating QR codes that directly linked people to the website, printed product description pages to showcase each model, helping me set up the table. He's a great friend and could not have done it without his help.

    @ColtMrFire @SoupRKnowva @gridmaster @Vansen It was great to finally put a face to your names, not your SBAF avatars :)

    @CEE TEE 's booth was awesome and I need to be at his level for my next show. Also, Piety was legit, I want one for myself and Ev for ETA.

    Folkvangr? Folkbanger? idk but this amp was very cool, basically Valhalla 2 without the dryness and b@lls w/ monster slam

    @purr1n Thank you for taking the time to make this meet happen for everyone here, Thank you for making sure ETA had everything it needed to succeed, and thank you for the heart-to-heart talk with us at the end of the show, we plan on implementing all the feedback you gave me.

    upload_2022-7-25_6-13-14.png
    Look at me fangirling over @schiit listening to Mini-S and actually enjoying it :) mama we made it. Got my schiit t shirt and Fulla E signed so now you know my fulla E will have 15% more plankton than all y'alls

    Also thank you, Jason, Alex, and the rest of the Schiit team that gave me a lot of great advice on how to run a business, deal with mfg, and how to budget and price accordingly so all of the employees are properly taken care of. I have nothing but respect and love for Schiit.

    The event felt like the first right step for ETA, getting its first public exposure, networking with big companies that knew nothing about us before, and expanding the customer base outside of friends of SBAF. We sold out of all mini C and S at the show (folks from Schiit bought 2 hehe) and 90% of our customers were total strangers we got to converse with at the meet. It was an amazing feeling seeing random people raving about our product to other people and companies, I never expected we would get this much attention and love so thank you everyone for your support.

    More photos from the meet:
    https://imgur.com/a/gdb2Viw

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    OK unfortunately, I didn't have much time to listen to gears, but some stuff I heard at the meet:
    - piety = legit, everyone loved it
    - folkvangr = legit
    - ZMF Atrium = easily the best ZMF so far, congrats @zach915m ! (was hoping to finally meet you in person but maybe CanJam LA?)
    - @Bill-P 's HD800 mod = So good!
    - @rhythmdevils I didn't get to hear your stuff but a lot of folks adored it, so great job!
    - @ext1 I didn't get to hear your mods either, but awesome design! I'll have to get my hands on them eventually to try
     
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    Last edited: Jul 25, 2022
  12. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    If you look at the specs right quick you will see they are not the same.
    • 3.5W RMS for Asgard 3, 1W RMS for Piety (@32 ohms)
    • SNR is 115db for A3, 104db for Piety (low gain)
    • Crosstalk is -82db for A3, -90db for Piety
    • Input impedance: 22K for A3, 50K for Piety
    • IMD: 0.002% for A3, 0.0012% for Piety (high gain)
    • Power consumption: 30W for A3, 6W for Piety
    IMD and crosstalk the Piety is actually better. Very nice. However, you see, less power output, and it was Jason playing around with the Continuity circuit. So really two different amps.
     
  13. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    The big spec differentiator seems to be power, which is higher on the Asgard 3. But I wanted more detail into the topology and resultant sound differences since @schiit mentioned the Asgard 3 already needing heatpads and such for thermals, and the community response almost makes the Piety seem better than Asgard 3.
     
  14. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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    800 SMACKDOWN - 2022 EDITION

    SITUATION: For personal listening, lately I have been using HD600 more than HD800.
    -My 800 mods are pretty linear (and absorb the 6k/8k ringing) but…are still upward-sloping. (Turn up the volume to fill in the low end and things get too hot in the upper mids.)
    -Maybe it is listening to my friend’s studio monitors or Rhythmdevils’ modded Audezes, but I am wanting the overall frequency range tilt to more low-end & balance.

    MISSION: Mods direction for my 800 after the show.
    1. Thermo-nuclear option is to use the drivers only and completely transplant them into donor headband + 3D printed Bill-P LARGE cups with HE90 pads and all Bill-P metal mesh and damping.
    2. JAR800 mods from @ext1. @ext1 is known for THE best HD600 and HD650 mods. This is the first time he has publicly shown how he is tackling the 800. I’m excited. He’s going to try and make the “definitive version” out of O.G. 800 (as he has done for 600 and 650).

    THE CHALLENGE: My modded HD800 vs. JAR800 vs. Bill-P-Uber-One-Off-Big Cup-Just-For-Himself800
    1. My modded 800 are fairly low serial number, SDR-modded, SBAF lasercut rug liner, Dekoni Sheepskin (good comfort and seal with my smaller jaw).
    vs.
    2. JAR800…WAIT not just ONE pair, but THREE pairs actually. I didn’t get the memo until nearly the end of the show. There were 3 variants! These are still getting feedback from the community. :) The best one, I can put against the Bill-P-BIG800.
    vs.
    3. Bill-P HE800? (HD800 drivers in an HE90 cup with HE90 pads + all Bill-P tuning materials).

    NOT-SO-TEST PROTOCOL: Too busy…just seat-of-the-pants exploratory/ad hoc/rushed listening hot takes. So take with a grain of salt.
    -Blind testing of JAR800 to pick my favorite fast (they were color-coded, but I had zero clue how each one differed).
    -I quickly listened through them each for about 20 seconds with my mids/sibilance test track of Lyle Lovett’s Flyin’ Shoes (covering Towne Van Zandt). Mids first.
    -Then I went back and through them again to listen for relative differences.
    ORANGE: something hot/peakier in the upper mids/low treble. Set them aside, sorting to BLUE/BLACK showdown.
    BLUE: something slightly muted in the mids, sounded a little “cupped” in a spot for me.
    BLACK: these had least errors of commission for me and had the stuff I like about the 800.

    VERDICT: I think @SoupRKnowva watched me think out loud through this process (as fast as possible so I could pack and eat with the guys)…
    -BLACK JAR800 mods are probably reversible, and retain 800-ness. A little clearer in the low to mid mids than my pair. Not sure if they satisfy more in the bass than my mods but I want to try them @ext1 !
    - @Bill-P BIG HE800 is a different animal and really needs just the drivers ($320), HE90 pads ($150), donor headband, and cable. I should just buy parts separately and build from the ground up. (Several people that tried them at the meet also really liked these.)

    Kinda cheating, I know. Figured out how to do both! :rolleyes:

    EDIT: I'll post some pics on Wednesday after I am back to California.
     
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  15. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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    BAD NEWS BEARS: By the time you read reviews on Folkvangr, it may already be sold out and Folklegend.

    HAPPY DAYS: Quick listen with HD600 on Lyr+ really surprised me! First of all…whut? This amp is so versatile. Headphone amp or pre-amp with remote. Tube OR solid state, so many bells and whistles and control programming to manage it. Size/price. Nobody is doing this! It was a quick listen but I am going to recommend this amp and want to spend time with a loaner to flesh out more impressions.
     
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  16. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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    I'd like to thank @zach915m for lending an Atrium to the NITSCH room...added some class/beauty and many people loved the looks, comfort, and sound! Another winner.
    :punk:
     
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  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Did anyone get a chance to hear the Maggies? It seemed like they had some sort of gating system / scheduled showings a la amusement park tram rides. I wanted to hear the LRS+, but it seemed too difficult to get in. Too much "friction".
     
  18. famish99

    famish99 Friend

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    @gridmaster and I heard it separately. He was desperately hanging onto the past with the dog and pony show but their new wideband subwoofer was admittedly pretty cool. I thought the LRS was a bit cleaner than the bigger brothers but had the usual issues of no attack or microdyna and no plankton with somewhat hazy imaging.
     
  19. HeyWaj10

    HeyWaj10 Facebook Friend

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    My main question is whether there will be a performance/sound difference between a Lyr 3 w/ LISST and the Lyr+ in SS mode? I am digging the new Lyr+ design like crazy, but if there is little-to-no performance difference there, then I'll be happy to stay with my Lyr 3 and just get a LISST tube when feeling a SS vibe.

    On the other hand, now I'm truly stoked to pull the trigger on the BF2/64 in the near future!
     
  20. Gazny

    Gazny MOT: ETA Audio

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    I really wanna see what hqp or roon can do with the new BF 2/64.
    I wasn't too interested with other dacs, but this one really has my attention
     

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