[Sifo]

Time for another birthday weekend at CanJam then

 

[NovaFlyer]

Save the Dates! CanJam NYC 2023 will be held on February 25-26, 2023 at the NY Marriott Marquis!

Looking forward to another great CanJam. @Zachik and @buke9 another opportunity for great audio and food.

BTW, reservations are open now and I got my room before the rest of the audiophile savages take them all.

 

[Zachik]

Looking forward to another great CanJam. @Zachik and @buke9 another opportunity for great audio and food.

Let me deal with CanJam Chicago and/or SoCal 2022, before I start thinking about CanJam in 2023...

 

[AxelCloris]

It's never too early to start planning.

 

[Makiah S]

Well first I heard several people talking about the amazing 109 prototype at the Meze booth and then I went and heard the 109 prototype for myself and finally I find myself being one of the people telling everyone about the amazing 109 prototype at the Meze booth. Yes it's that kind of headphone. There was no hype, at least not from Meze since they only decided at the last minute to bring the 109, there was just a buzz coming from those who had a chance to listen to the 109. Hopefully the finished production model will sound even better than the prototype. Can't wait to hear what the reviewers have to say once the 109 is released.

RIGHT, I finally got a chance to hear it myself and I'll add my thoughts here


So I managed to sneak in a little early this morning with the blessings of Meze and the AXPONA team to sit down and have a serious listen of this new open back from Meze, TLDR:

• Tonality sits in-between OG Empy and Elite
  • More thump in its low end than Elite with excellent extension
  • Upper-Mids and top end a little more forward than OG Empy but not as energetic as Elite
• Sound-stage is a bit more intimate
  • While not quite as expansive as its older siblings it maintains the cohesion of both Elite and OG Empy
• Detail isn't quite on par with OG Empy and Elite, tho it's not immediately apparent
• Comfort and build quality is just as equiste
  • It's a little bit lighter and I LOVE the floating head-band!

Compared to LCD 2 Classic with OG Vegan Pads,

• 2Classic Vegan has more slam while maintaining just as much texture and detail
• Vocals on 109 are a bit more forward and present
• 2Classic Vegan's presentation is noticeably more relaxed
• Both share a nice tone and weight through the mid-range
• 2Classic Vegan has a wider soundstage
• Neither is more detailed than the other

I would say the sound-quality is comparable between them both, however build quality and comfort are where the 109 wins by a landslide. I would say owners of LCD 2 Classic using their new leather free suede pads won't really find 109 to be much of an upgrade. I would encourage anyone considering upgrading to LCD 2 Classic to wait a bit and consider the 109 instead once it's on the market. At this time the price is rumoured to be around 800 and frankly, as much as I love my 2Classic Vegan, I think the 109 will be the better buy.

 

[dan3952]

Uhm, I don’t particularly care if a manufacturer of a piece of gear would feel insulted by the fact that it sounds bad. The whole point of earnest criticism and review is not to blindly defer to manufacturers.

I heard a variety of headphones on the Gilmore lite, and also heard those same headphones on quite different gear, such as iFi, amps and sound, and ferrum. On none of that other gear did these headphones exhibit noticeable sibilance in the top end. Moreover, although amplifiers do in general exhibit very similar frequencies responses, this does not equate to identically sounding amplifiers, likely due to ringing, transient emphasis, and various timbral qualities of the presentation. The fact that you have a differing opinion is perfectly fine, but the vehemence with which you express it belies an underlying insecurity.

I've tried ten different headphones with the Gilmore Lite mk2, and four different headphones with the THX AAA. You had described your perceptions of Kevin's excellent time proven Dynalo amplifier product. You won't find a better amplifier for under $600. Whether or not you believe it had introduced sibilance to your favorite headphones, is secondary. Both the Gilmore Lite and the THX AAA are very neutral. If you find your favorite headphones sound bright with it, then you don't happen to care for the sound that the person who had engineered the headphones had intended. To me, people would be better off selecting a different pair of headphones, in that situation, rather than spend time mistakenly trying to find their "holy grail" amplifier that will fix all the perceived flaws in their favorite headphones. Neither the Gilmore Lite nor the THX are designed to impart a warm, lush quality to the music. The Headamp GS-X Mini or most tube amps, are better choices, if you want that quality. The Focal headphones I've tried, have sounded lively with every amplifier I had used with them. The Audeze headphones I've tried, have sounded dark with every amplifier I had used with them.

- your ringing sentence hadn't made any sense: amplifiers don't cause ringing, it's all about the transducers: you could try five or more amplifiers, and all of them will make your driver ring, once brought up to a certain level
- you had presented an odd juxtaposition of amplifier choices:
- iFi amps are low end except for the Pro iDSD all in one: I wouldn't use any iFi amp with any pair of headphones that's over $1000 (and I have had, and could afford, several)
- the Ferrum OOR is a waste of money to me, especially at four times the price of the Gilmore, though your common complaint about the Gilmore and the Ferrum hadn't surprised me, and had only served to remind me how good the Gilmore really is at its price point
- I would never use a substandard amplifier to "cut the sibilance", as it's impossible to do so without at the same time deliberately masking extra resolution (which is typically what you get once moving to more expensive headphones and amplifiers)
- if someone had told me that they had preferred the sound of a tube amp over the Dynalo circuit with Focal's Utopias, that would nonetheless, make perfect sense to me: those are "technical" headphones and don't sound "organic" like Audeze's (much less resolving) LCD-3s
- I can use DSP to modify the sound of any amplifier: mostly EQ, but also tube amp simulators; I prefer this to changing amplifiers all the time

​

 

[Makiah S]

Some things that were good:

-The best thing I heard was the Raal PDT-1a. This blew the socks off the Ampsandsound stuff that cost 5 times as much. And it actually was priced reasonably at 2k. Definitely a winner.

Happy to hear yo enjoyed it! We do our best to have a variety of options to suite every one's wants and taste's. I also quite like the PDT-1A as well! Great Unit and, yes I agree that it's priced well compared to competitors haha

what headphones did you wind up enjoying most on PDT-1A

 

[buke9]

Happy to hear yo enjoyed it! We do our best to have a variety of options to suite every one's wants and taste's. I also quite like the PDT-1A as well! Great Unit and, yes I agree that it's priced well compared to competitors haha

what headphones did you wind up enjoying most on PDT-1A

Have you seen the new RAAL headphone?

 

[Makiah S]

Have you seen the new RAAL headphone?

The new Circumaural, very little of it. It should have be showcasing at Munich Highend this weekend