RMAF 2016

a great idea for those there, but I've decided to pass on RMAF this year and have a family weekend instead.
enjoy the tent, and certainly post highlights and findings!

 

The Holo Spring is good. I have one. I just need to get a Menuet or Pavane and Yggdrasil in for back to back to really see where the Spring sits. That's why I have yet to say much. Lack of comparison data.

I'll try to post some stuff about RMAF as I have time. Parents are visiting. I was only there for a few hours.

 

Well, non-oversampling and oversampling have their own sounds. More of a preference thing than a better or worse thing. So comparing Yggdrasil with a NOS DAC isn't exactly apples to apples, nor is it apples to oranges. And while the Spring has OS modes, they ain't no megacomboburrito filters.

Level 3 edition on my end.

 

Yeah but a non USB, I2S source leaves minimal options, and supposedly you need very sorry cable runs even then. AES is fine for now!

 

Some thoughts on the products I was able to check out with the limited time I could spend at RMAF (as usual, disclaimers apply about environment, power quality in tent, sometimes unfamiliar music, blah blah):

HiFiMan Shangri-La - Bright and lean sounding, but clean and clear. Lacked slam, power, body. Bass was tight but wimpy. Upper end may have sounded less rough than HE1000 but was overall noticeably brighter. At least the gigantic tube amp looked cool?

Fostex TR-70, 80, and 90 (250ohm dynamics) - I thought the closed version sounded fairly good, if not a tiny bit U-shaped. The open and semi-open versions sounded less tonally correct and coherent. Clamp was a bit too light. I noticed they sounded better with some pressure. They felt sturdy if not a bit cheap. Probably robust, just them being so light made them seem cheap. Could have mod potential.

TH900 Mk2 and TH610 - The former sounded much like the original TH900. Bassy and bright. The 610 seemed better balanced but still had some brightness and general wonkiness to the sound. I think the THX00 and E-Mu lines sound much more balanced and coherent.

Sony MDR-Z1R - Seemed pretty bassy, but not in the same weird ways as the MDR-Z7 or MDR-1R. Treble was a bit splashy. Think a tasteful U-shaped sound that somehow still comes across as coherent and pleasing. That said, I'd have to have this at home to really dig into it. It's a gorgeous headphone in person and is extremely comfortable, but even though I enjoyed listening to it, I'm not sure it was reference quality or worth the asking price.

MrSpeakers Electrostat - Eh, I guess better than the Shangri-La? A little more full bodied than the HFM but still kind of lean and wimpy sounding. Midrange sounded very odd, like it had some sort of weird DSP phase crap applied (actually, not unlike the weird sound from the Alpha Prime I heard). Treble was somewhat too bright and rough. Was not impressed. Supposedly this was the final tuning. I'm not sure this product really needs to exist except to check off a list of buzzwords that catch people's eyes. C'mon, where's the dynamic MrSpeakers headphone at?

MrSpeakers Ether Flow Round 2 - This pair seemingly was noticeably less bright and more full-bodied sounding than the pair I tried at home (note that my pair sounded somewhat soft and anemic in bass despite measurements). This had the sort of mild U-shape that I expected based on Tyll's review. Honestly, I thought this pair sounded pretty good.

Warwick + Sonoma Electrostat + Amp/DAC/DSP unit - This is an all in one setup, minus digital source, priced around $5K. The amp/DAC unit applies DSP frequency response correction to the headphone, which the representative told me is not based on FF or DF, nor is it based on the Olive/Welti curve (which he felt, like me, is too bassy). If you use the analog input, it runs it through an ADC, does all that DSP/DAC junk, and passes that along to the built-in amp. I have to say, I actually feel their targeted response was...really spot on, at least compared to most other stuff out there. Bass was tight yet strong and present. Midrange seemed in order. Treble was clear and smooth. Still, it's $5K, and I am inherently concerned about all the digital processing going on, how that will get in the way of a pure sound (possibly), and a lack of being able to pick my own DAC/amp options. Regardless, it's a breath of fresh air to hear a competently tuned, neutral sounding headphone, so I'll keep an eye on their future products regardless. (The representatives were super cool, and we had a brief chat about how good the HD600/650 line can sound with a good tube amp.)

Ampsandsound tube amps - I can't remember which tube amp of theirs I tried. They had a few sitting out. The designer behind them seemed really cool and passionate. The amps seemed to do well with both the HD650 and Utopia. Some amps are more colored than others by intention. I would have no qualms recommending someone consider these amps. Can someone get me a loaner for full review?

ZMF Eikon and Atticus - These are still prototypes and not at their final tuning. Zach is working incredibly hard with the driver manufacturer and with his own enclosures/tuning methods to get the sound just right. We might be looking at a good closed, dynamic alternative to the HD650 (slightly bassy, good mids, smooth yet detailed treble, etc.). The Atticus, I believe it was, uses a polyethylene driver (aka fancy plastic), and the Eikon uses a biocellulose driver, both 300 ohm. I had a lengthy chat with him about what issues he's trying to overcome and where he wants these to sound when they go into production, and I think he's on the right track. I won't comment much on the sound beyond saying they do have his trademark, lush sound that should please those into the HD650 or Elear (well, Elear without the treble nastiness). Neither had some of the hot treble spots like the Blackwood or Omni. I'm really excited to see how these turn out, because they could be great.

Audioquest Nightowl - Seems it might be a bit more balanced sounded (i.e. actually has mids) compared to Nighthawk. But maybe not. Hard to tell due to not having my own music to pick from. I'm still not sure either are all that great tonally.

Holo Audio Spring DAC (w/ all upgrades) - Well, not exactly RMAF impressions, but I heard enough people talking or asking about it. I do have one and think it is a very competent non-oversampling DAC. You can scour the internet to get all the nitty gritty details you want on its design. I'm just waiting to hear it against the Yggdrasil and Pavane/Menuet to see if it actually does stack up well. All I know is that it resolves more than the ~15 to 15.5-bit effective TDA1541A DAC I have and based on memory should be competitive with the high end Metrum and Schiit DACs.

@Tyll Hertsens Beard - Beautiful.

 

in kind, Tyll name drops @Hands today on Innerfidelity.com RMAF Day 2 report!
#BROMANCE !