Austin mini meet impressions

Thanks to @famish99 for hosting @Joshvar and I at his place of work for what turned out to be a very fun, eye opening meet. I'll be posting my impressions of all the new gear I got to try tomorrow, but wanted to throw these pictures up to prove it actually went down.

Spoiler alert: I was so impressed by the HD650 out of my Torpedo 3 that I bought the headphone from famish on the spot (he was selling for a friend).

 

Great one guys. I wish I was still in Austin. @ColtMrFire , I am glad my 650 has found a new and safe home. Thanks to @famish99 . Looking forward to reading the impressions.

 

It's always fun getting to hear new things. I think the only thing we were missing was a TOTL DAC, but I sold my GMBY, and its absence was really felt during the meet. But I do plan on getting another one in the next month or two, so the next meet should be good.

Remember these are meet conditions, so YMMV, grain of salt, etc.

HD650

The biggest surprise for me was the HD650. I'd previously bought it a while back to pair with my Jot after hearing all the praise, and I was pretty disappointed. It's on the darker side, and I felt the Jot didn't really bring it to life like I would've liked, despite the very good technicalities. And that was confirmed last night... again paired with the Jot I just didn't like the 650 that much.

It was a completely different story out of famish's Aficionado and my Torpedo 3. They just came alive. I think it was partly the tubes, and partly the TOTL pairing. But to say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. What a wonderful headphone! Incredibly smooth, organic and euphonic, it just felt like putting on a warm blanket on a cold day. And the amount of scaling it did when bumped up to those TOTL amps was astounding. Especially with the AF.

I only had to listen to maybe a couple songs out of the AF and T3 before deciding they were coming home with me. An early Christmas gift.

HD650M

Famish's modded 650 was very different sounding. I actually preferred the stock configuration. I felt the modded was a little too shouty for me. It lost a bit of that smoothness that grabbed me initially. But the dynamics and clarity were improved. I can see why he liked it. I think it was just a little too much too soon for me after hearing the OG 650 properly. He offered to mod my pair but I'm going to spent quite a while with them stock before doing anything. A cable upgrade I feel is a necessity though and I'll do that soon.

HD800S

I'd heard this previously and really liked it. This was before I bought my vanilla 800. Hearing it again it sounded a bit different and I realized famish had some sort of liner material in it. Soundstage was a bit compromised. But it sounded great out of the AF, which is the only amp I tried it with. Very smooth. But I still prefer my vanilla 800, which IMO has better imaging, separation and micro detail. I don't mind the stock 800 and my T3 does alot to reign it in without compromising it at all. I tend toward a brighter sound anyway.

HD600 (Velour sheepskin pads)

Josh may need to correct me on the pads, but 600 sounded very good. I'd owned these years ago for quite some time and they were my first audiophile headphones. But they were a bit like the old girlfriend who just didn't captivate you anymore. The 650 hogged all my attention and I feel it's a better headphone. Smoother, more resolution, better plankton. There were certain points I felt the differences weren't subtle, but the pads may or may not have been a detriment and they sounded slightly shouty in comparison to the 650. I neglected to switch the pads out for the normal set. I really wanna hear the normal pads with the T3 to give them a proper demo.

Aficionado

This was the first Eddie Current tube amp I've heard, having previously demoed the Black Widow, which I thought was fantastic (especially for being SS). I was initially a little surprised that the AF didn't sound all that different from my T3 (besides the obviously bigger soundstage). But after extended listening the AF pulled slightly ahead. Slightly more extended, a bit more plankton, a bit less grainy, slightly better separation. The stage was magnificent. Big and life sized. It was an amp that you could sit there and listen to all day without even trying. Especially with the 650. That pairing was f'ing great. Total end game if one wished. The only bottleneck was probably the DAC, which I believe was the NAD C510 (famish correct me if I'm wrong), which I'd never heard. I really feel like this amp needed the GMBY or Yggdrasil. Famish has never heard the schiit multibit DACs beside the Modi Multibit and I kept torturing him by hyping them. I'm sure he'll get to hear my GMBY when I get it back.

Mjolnir 2 (SE inputs, balanced HP out)

Hmmm... Famish didn't have nice things to say about this amp leading up to my first listen. And he was right that after being used to my T3 and hearing his AF, that I would be disappointed. Initially I really liked it... it has a way of grabbing your attention. But after extended listening it became clear that it was a noisy brute lacking finesse. Alot of slam (and boy does it slam hard) but hardly anything else to write home about. Quite warm sounding with a big stage and pretty bright. I felt the Modi multibit was a good pairing, as it helped tame the brightness. It is a bit of a one-note amp, and I feel like there are better (used) options at this price point. For not much more there are used T3s and BWs to be had if you can find them. I will concede it's possible the MJ2 is a better amp than I'm giving it credit for, and may need TOTL DACs to sound its best.

Jotunheim (SE inputs, balanced HP out)

I've owned this amp before. I listened immediately after listening to MJ2 and I could immediately tell it was a better amp. Didn't slam as hard, but had much more finesse and was more composed. Not as bright, but still a bit bright... colder sounding. And it did have that solid state flatness and glare that I've come to dislike, especially after hearing great tube amps. It's just not something I would ever consider again.

CTH

This was my first Cavalli experience and I was quite impressed. But I feel like the experience was considerably hampered by the subpar PC audio source. Which was plugged into Soekris 1421 which I'd also never heard. The source and DAC were just too new for me to properly judge this amp on its own... I should've tried it with my CD player DAC, or Modi Multibit because I know those well. Anyway, it was very competent sounding, good sense of layering and separation with that tube realism. Quite soft though, but that could've been the source. I'd like to listen to this again using better upstream components.

Modi Multibit

Another piece of gear I've previously owned before upgrading to GMBY. Famish and I were in agreement that Modi Multibit is detrimentally veiled. The only thing it did better than the other DACs was stage/layering with nice euphonics. But it's dark nature really hurt it. Every time I'd listen to it with different amps I kept wanting to switch DACs, because Modi Multibit just doesn't have the clarity or dynamics these amps needed. About the only thing I think it paired well with was the MJ2, because it tamed its overly bright/forward nature. Modi Multibit is a great buy if you're wanting to get a taste of the Schiit multibit sound without spending alot, but that's basically it. Granted I have not heard the newer MIMBYs (this was one of the first models), so all this could be irrelevant for new buyers. Makes me curious about what has changed. I am seriously considering buying a new one to hear the differences.

Soekris 1421 DAC

I am hesitant to comment on this because the conditions weren't ideal. It was connected to an amp I'd never heard and a PC source I wasn't familiar with. So it's almost pointless, but I will say it sounded competent, but didn't stand out in any way. It's something I would need to hear again with gear I'm familiar with.

Anyway, this was alot of fun, great to meet new fellow enthusiasts, and can't wait to have another go round.

 

It was definitely a fun event, who knew 3 guys could have so much stuff? To clarify on mods, I have performed the KISS + coin mod to my 6xx, the latter mod definitely explains the aggression that @ColtMrFire heard; I also have SBAFaux mod (same shape but different liner) on my 800S.

Standouts

The surprise standouts for me were Colt's ECP T3 and his Onkyo C-7030.

Onkyo C-7030

It seems to have one of the old Wolfson DACs, but this thing sounded pretty damn good from the line out. It's not the last word in plankton and layering, but the transients, microdynamics, and the texture and quantity of the bass was pretty spot on. Drums sound great out of it and I really enjoyed listening to music of it. The C-7030 made my NAD C510 sound a bit dry by comparison. Line out clarity beats most USB-connected DACs, and it's about par for the CD player course as a transport, which means it's still better than most PC based solutions.

ECP T3

This was also another surprise to me. I think most of what I read still didn't quite prepare me for how technically proficient it is from a micro/macrodynamics, layering, and bass extension/control perspective. It really didn't lose too much compared to the Af; I'd say the only differences compared to the Af were that the bass was better as it went deeper and tighter, but the upper bass/lower mids were a bit recessed and the headstage is smaller, probably smaller than the EC BW2 as well. I loved it for the same reasons I love the Af, it pulls you into the music; even if you try to analyze the sound, the music makes you sit back and enjoy.

Sources

As Colt alluded to earlier, I have the feeling that my NAD C510 DAC is holding me back and I hadn't heard any multibit DACs yet, so the primary focus for me was to try the various sources through my Aficionado to get a feel of what the bigger siblings would be like. I own or heard most of the headphones present as well.

I will preface this with, obviously it was brought to a meet and not powered on for very long, so take DAC impressions with a grain of salt. I would be interested to hear differences in what I heard vs the long-term as well as higher models.

Modi Multibit

I would say I felt like this was a bit overhyped. It's a technically proficient DAC, definitely better than the C510 at layering, plankton and especially microdynamics, but I could never get over how dark and thin the tonality is and it doesn't slam nearly as well as the C510. I recall enjoying the Modi 3 more than the Modi Multibit purely due to the tonality. The technicalities does make me interested in the bigger brothers that probably have a tonality that I'd like more (probably Yggdrasil A2 or Gungnir Multibit A1).

Soekris dac1421

I tried this with both the linear (brickwall) and min phase (butterworth) filters, had a hard time making out the difference but ended up leaving it in min phase at the suggestion of @Joshvar. Either way I can't say I super enjoyed the dac1421, I found it too "polite". It doesn't renders the drum attacks well and left me feeling a bit flat. The softness also seems to prevent it from doing microdynamics well. Josh seems to prefers 1321/1421 because he mostly listens with HD600, which did make some sense as it tames the brightness a bit. These are somewhat rough impressions and I still would like to hear them again in a more extended session just to see if warmup changes anything and also see if I prefer its lack of fatigue over long listening sessions.

Other impressions

• Schiit Jotunheim: I was somewhat underwhelmed with this amp. I found it a bit too clinical sounding and lacked plankton with the 6xx, kinda reminded me of the headphone output of my LG V30. It does sound pretty good with the X00 though, helps accentuate the V-shaped tonality and the slam mates well.
• E-Mu Teak: Sounded like a more V-shaped X00, had a hard time listening for awhile before tiring.
• Sennheiser HD600 w/Dekoni Fenestrated: I liked it. If I could have heard this and the 6xx side by side before buying, I probably would have done the 600. The pads seem to help elevate the bass closer to the 6xx and scaled well to the Af.
• SBAFaux-modded 800S: I kinda forgot how much the mod closed in the 800S vs stock since I ended up taking it out for Josh to compare it vs the vanilla 800.

 

I spent way too much time throwing headphones at my setup to see sort of where its drop-off point is so that I'd be calibrated with various headphones for the other gear, and fatigued myself. That, and I was underprepared for sampling the other stuff. CDs next time! My drivel is going to be much more naive and brief...

The Dudes: Trusting total strangers with beloved/rare/expensive gear is a big ask, and I'm honored to have been included! Plus, I got to meet two great guys who obviously plain love music above the gear - the gear is just there to elevate the music.

NAD C510 + Eddie Current Aficionado: I nearly freaked out when I heard this drive my HD600. I went with the most familiar CD I could out of The @ColtMrFire Collection (OK Computer, original master) and my reaction was "I could hear stuff that sounded like it was 60 feet away" and probably left out "around a corner, with a door slightly open in a structure made of wood and stone, not drywall" because it would have sounded insane. But it's true. The first encounter with gear at this level was immensely positive; it took something familiar (HD600 + Radiohead) and transformed it into something new - which was mindblowing. The phrase "scaling" with the HD6** series is no joke.

ECP Torpedo 3: I literally looked for one while I was listening. This was before the C510/Af, but it wowed me. It sounded to me like the MCTH but a straight across the board upgrade - more layering, separation, staging, space, detail, and macrodynamics in particular.

Schiit Mjolnir: I think my comment was along the lines of "If this had a bigger macrodynamic gradient, this would be something I'd want" but alas, it doesn't. That said, for the price I think it does way more right than wrong and understand the appeal.

Onkyo C-7030: Surprisingly good. Going to bust out whatever transports I can and see how they hold up...I'm a believer.

HD800/HD800S: Almost like I remembered, and more similar than the HD600/HD650. I remembered more bass, but that was compared to the HD600 with fresh stock pads at the time. Kinda love them, but I'd need to gear up to get enough more out of them to justify upgrading. And there really was a strong similarity to the HD800S with the "SBAFaux-mod" and the HD600 that made me wonder if I had lost my damn ears.

Details: My HD600 has the Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin pads. I brought the Soekris dac1421 loaner and it was parked by the Aficionado most of the evening, and the Soekris dac1321 was with my MCTH + stock tube. I'll give my full impressions in the appropriate thread, but WRT the dac1321/dac1421 as pure soruces I either can't hear a difference, the MCTH isn't sufficient to tell a difference, or there isn't a real difference.

Revelations: If I read what I just wrote 3 years ago, I would have printed it out just to wipe my ass with it. Hearing is believing, though - and I think the price/performance ratio has improved in midfi purgatory to a point where it's easier to get clear guidance and not screw yourself too badly. I think now I have a renewed interest in headphones and transports rather than the middle gear. There was unquestionable improvement in many cases, but really midfi purgatory isn't too bad of a place to spend a lot of time as long as you don't chase the demons.

 

PostScript:

I feel I wasn't entirely fair to modi multibit. Having just bought Josh's unit and letting it warm up for a couple hours, it sounds way better than it did at the meet. Much less muddy and veiled. It is still veiled relative to gungnir multibit, but it is a much better dac than I described.