DC Area Head-Fi Meet and End-of-Summer SchiitStorm! - August 12, 2017 - Gaithersburg, Maryland! - IMPRESSIONS | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

PJABBER · May 15, 2019

A big thanks to Ken and Yaling for helping to get this event organized and then managing the festivities!

A HUGE amount of appreciation to Schiit Audio for sponsoring us in the new venue and providing a ton of their product line to demo! Man, that Schiit Kit was a great way to compare and contrast some unique electronics!

A special thanks to IFi Audio and AGPtek for sending some of their extensive product lines, you guys are great!

Thanks to Head-Fi.org for being such a great forum for our passions and our interests! And thanks for putting this event on the Head-Fi headline page! Quite a few people mentioned that they weren't sure they would make the trek but that was their little nudge to come out and share their afternoon with us!

And, of course, thanks to everyone who came out for the great meet today in Maryland!

We had a large attendance, some terrific equipment to demo and discuss and the chance to meet a LOT of new Head-Fiers as well as our reliable regulars.

I think this was one of the best events I have been to and I look forward to seeing everyone again soon!

As always, this thread is for attendees to post their comments and critiques about the venue, the event organizing and the equipment that everyone brought. We need to know what went well and what we can do better the next time, so please comment on that!

Link to original event announcement and discussion (but please do not post there now that the event has been held) - https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dc-...-august-12-2017-gaithersburg-maryland.855135/

This will not be our last Meet, where do we go next? Baltimore, Silver Spring, Tysons Corner, Reston, DC? Your thought and suggestions will be the driving force for where we hold our next Meet!

PJABBER · Aug 12, 2017

Mav. · Aug 12, 2017 at 9:32 PM

Thanks to everyone who set up the meet. It was my first one, and I really enjoyed it.
Got to cross off a ton of headphones from my list of ones I wanted to get to try.
I also think I found the next pair of headphones I want to buy, E-MU Teaks. I have been looking for headphones for bass heavy music like hip-hop, and EDM, and they definitely fit the bill.
As for the location of the next meet Tysons Corner or Reston are closest to where I live.

GrindingThud · Aug 12, 2017

Really good meet / venue. I was impressed with the large number of high quality setups. I was also suprised to see quite a large array of tube offerings. Loved the sound of both the Eddie Current amps and the ZOTLs, as well at the Audio GD. It's always fun to see new DIY amps too....I've got to get some of my newer projects cased for next time. Thanks to PJABBER for the outstanding job setting this one up and to the vendors for all their support for this one. Some photos here: https://goo.gl/photos/mAQzmhcxrTjbJKDs5

PropelledWolf · Aug 12, 2017 at 11:09 PM

Posted on the wrong thread, but here it is!

So, I snagged the AGPTEK Rocker, and I must say I am really digging it! So this is my first impression comment/post or whatever this is ever, so I am gonna go over the physical attributes and then the aural.

Physical features:
Very solid made metal body, definitely sturdy and a cool black color scheme. The interface comes with 4 buttons assembled in a ring, and a large selection button in the middle of those four. Utilizes a micro-usb 2.0 and a 3.5mm audio jack and it can support an external dac/amp, so it is well featured that way and can also support up to a 256 gigabyte SD card, I am using a 64gig one though, full of FLAC.

Sound wise:
I am surprised! I usually use my galaxy s5 with blackplayer and sometimes combine my e10k with otg, but I was surprised how this player sounds. Using my t50rps with ZMF's cowhide pads on high gain, I heard and felt an audible boost to the low end while still retaining clarity. I was surprised that it could even power a headphone such as the t50rps due to their higher impedence. I then tested them out with my SHP9500, and while I observed an audible bass boost again, I hear more clarity and detailing in the music than I had expected. Then I move on to my se-215, and I only noticed a good amount of clarity and detailing as well. Across the board I felt like it adds some warmth to the sound without sacrificing details and clarity which is something I have been astounded by. I also hooked them up to my car on the drive back, just to play with them, and while they're not amazing speakers, they're decent, and maybe it was just placebo effect, but I really did enjoy the result on the drive back.

The songs I used were:
Beautiful World-Tennyson
Who am I-Esta Tonne
Hurt-Johnny Cash
Largo, From the New World- Antonin Dvorak
Seinen-Miyuki
Redbone-Childish Gambino
And a bunch more I forgot to list

So overall, I really am enjoying this DAP and I can't wait to use it around campus and see what else it is potential of. I think it's a fantastic DAP solution for any budget audiophiles and anyone in college who needs something with form factor and ease of use. Thanks @PJABBER ! You're the best!

willsw · Aug 13, 2017 at 1:09 AM

Enjoyed meeting some new people at this meet, and the venue was great. Thanks to @PJABBER and @kendavis again. We forgot to give away the t-shirts we brought to give away, so we'll have to find some other time to do that. Thanks to @schneller for helping Ken rescue the lost Mjolnir tube. Some great gear built by the people who brought it, and I enjoyed XRK Audio's solid-state amps and Dillon's big table of tube stuff.

kendavis · Aug 13, 2017 at 9:10 AM

Here's another picture:

caecillius · Aug 13, 2017 at 10:26 AM

Thanks to @PJABBER and @kendavis for making my first meet a blast. It was amazing seeing so many different takes on equipment.

schneller · Aug 13, 2017 at 5:20 PM

willsw said:
Enjoyed meeting some new people at this meet, and the venue was great. Thanks to @PJABBER and @kendavis again. We forgot to give away the t-shirts we brought to give away, so we'll have to find some other time to do that. Thanks to @schneller for helping Ken rescue the lost Mjolnir tube. Some great gear built by the people who brought it, and I enjoyed XRK Audio's solid-state amps and Dillon's big table of tube stuff.

Some great shots there, @willsw. Thanks. And thanks for everyone for their hard work and contributions to make it happen.

Of course a massive shoutout to Schiit for sponsoring the event. You all are a class act!

kamitaji · Aug 13, 2017 at 5:58 PM

PJABBER said:
<snipped> ..... </snipped>
This will not be out last Meet, where do we go next? Baltimore, Silver Spring, Tysons Corner, Reston, DC? Your thought and suggestions will be the driving force for where we hold our next Meet!

I offer to host the next meeting in Shirlington (Arlington, VA). They have a large room in the public library, which I can easily book. The area has plenty of food options; it has restaurants that offer American, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Mideastern, etc. food. It also has a cafe to keep you awake during your extended listening sessions. I doubt it, but if allowed by the library "police", then I offer to make plenty of food & soft drinks/water available in the room.
Shirlington is easily accessible. It's right off the 395 and the King St. metro stop is about 3 miles away. One could take the metro and then an Uber for the short ride.
Let me know.

sheldaze · Aug 13, 2017 at 7:20 PM

Not sure what impressions to add to those already posted. Most definitely enjoyed the occasion - super thanks go out to Schiit, @PJABBER and @kendavis for hosting duties. Looking forward to the next!

kamitaji said:
I offer to host the next meeting in Shirlington (Arlington, VA). They have a large room in the public library, which I can easily book. The area has plenty of food options; it has restaurants that offer American, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Mideastern, etc. food. It also has a cafe to keep you awake during your extended listening sessions. I doubt it, but if allowed by the library "police", then I offer to make plenty of food & soft drinks/water available in the room.
Shirlington is easily accessible. It's right off the 395 and the King St. metro stop is about 3 miles away. One could take the metro and then an Uber for the short ride.
Let me know.

Love the area - post what dates you can get. Would love to try that library. There's also a thread here if you want to discuss options:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dc-area-head-fi-meet-next.833670/

PJABBER · Aug 13, 2017 at 9:55 PM

kamitaji said:
I offer to host the next meeting in Shirlington (Arlington, VA). They have a large room in the public library, which I can easily book. The area has plenty of food options; it has restaurants that offer American, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Mideastern, etc. food. It also has a cafe to keep you awake during your extended listening sessions. I doubt it, but if allowed by the library "police", then I offer to make plenty of food & soft drinks/water available in the room.
Shirlington is easily accessible. It's right off the 395 and the King St. metro stop is about 3 miles away. One could take the metro and then an Uber for the short ride.
Let me know.

I like this idea, Shirlington Village is a great location! Lots of parking in the area as well as being public transportation accessible. Suggest Samuel Beckett's Irish Gastro Pub or Capital City Brewing for the after event dinner and drinks, both are worthy.

xrk971 · Aug 14, 2017

That was my first HeadFi meet and a great one. Thanks so much to Pjabber, KenDavis and Yaling for hosting. The location was terrific and thanks to Schiit audio for the "Kit" and venue. I met a lot of really nice folks and enjoyed listening to so many very very nice setups. The atmosphere was friendly and everyone is super nice and generous with sharing their equipment. These are very fun! :ksc75smile: