This is my 3rd attendance at a Can Con Sydney meet and I've gotten to know the small group well by now. A great bunch of guys that have great love for this very engaging hobby. The gear on display were quite outstanding for such a small group and as usual I didn't have time to sample everything. The day went by too quickly !
Some of the gear that impressed me:-
Woo Audio Wa5 - stunning tube amp in both looks and sound. This is what I call end game or close to it. Texture laden with the clarity of a bright spring day and a euphonic tone that only good tube amps can produce. This makes me all the more want to listen to a EC Studio, DNA Stratus, Glenn 300b, EL3N and OTL amps just for comparisons.
Abyss headphone - a very unusual looking headphone that won't win any beauty contest but one of the best sounding headphones I've heard to date. Articulate, great soundstage and did almost everything right but the mids seems more recessed compared to Utopia.
Focal Utopia - 2nd time I've heard this headphone. I spend considerable time with it on my Yggy and Rag setup and then on Yggy and Wa5. I much prefer it on the latter. Great sounding headphone. My favourite of all the headphones I've heard so far. A narrower soundstage but it's not a detriment for me. Great on vocals and a good selection of music, from classical, jazz to classic rock. A sweet sounding headphone that almost had a bounce in the tone. Lively and spirited with a clarity that is second to none. I would love to own one.
Bottlehead Crack / with Speedball and Chord Mojo as DAC - I thought this sounded lovely with Atticus and Eikon. Shows you don't need to spend big to get a very enjoyable system.
Lastly, opinions varied on Eikon and Atticus. Some prefer Eikon whilst others prefer Atticus.
Great to see
@wink again. So generous of him to donate some great headphones (including a T1) as lucky draw door prizes.
So to everyone, thanks for a great day of listening to music and sampling gear. Special thanks to Paul. We will miss you when you move to Melbourne.
Till we meet again, UT.