[Mav.]

I should be able to attend if nothing comes up.
I could bring:
Audeze LCD-3's, Sennheiser HD700's, Sennheiser IE80's, and IE800's.
I have a Schiit Bifrost, and Jotunhiem but it seems like other people will already be bringing them, so I'm not sure if I should as well.

 

[sheldaze]

One of the things I enjoyed immensely at my first meet was looking at my setup, and seeing that the guy at the same table had almost the same Schiit stack

Definitely bring what makes your ears happy, and don't worry if it overlaps with what someone else is planning to bring. The two stacks, side by side, also made it very easy to compare headphones.

Looking forward to see you there!

 

[kendavis]

More good news...

Linear Tube Audio (https://www.lineartubeaudio.com/) , makers of MicroZOTL2.0, MZ2, and MZ2-S, will also be attending the meet.

Watch this space for more details

 

[PJABBER]

More good news...

Linear Tube Audio (https://www.lineartubeaudio.com/) , makers of MicroZOTL2.0, MZ2, and MZ2-S, will also be attending the meet.

Watch this space for more details

Outstanding!

 

[GrindingThud]

Looks like a great meet shaping up! I plan to bring the following (my usual pile):
KSA5 Clone
SuSy Dynalo
Franken WA3++
LCD-2.2

 

[Mav.]

More good news...

Linear Tube Audio (https://www.lineartubeaudio.com/) , makers of MicroZOTL2.0, MZ2, and MZ2-S, will also be attending the meet.

Watch this space for more details

Hadn't heard of them before, but I checked out their website and it seems like the make some pretty nice stuff. I'm excited to have more new things to try out. I'm new to high end audio equipment, and I haven't got to try a ton of stuff out yet, so that's great news another company will be bringing gear.

 

[Mav.]

Just finished a conversation with AGPtek and they will again be sending me some of their newest portable digital audio players to demo and then pass on to interested Head-Fiers after the meet!

For sure I will have a couple of the new generation of the Rocker V2 audiophile DAP (Benjie BJ-T6) as well as their B05, M07 DAPs and possibly the IMP DAPs as well.

They will also send some of their Clip Sports MP3 players, including the A12, worth checking out if anyone's SanDisk Clips are reaching end of life.

If you want any of these, please let me know with a PM or at the meet. They will be yours to keep but do post a Head-Fi review after you get a chance to try them out!

I've always just used my phone for portable music, currently an iPhone 7 plus. How do their DAP's compare to a phone? Would you get a noticeable enough difference in audio quality, that makes it worth carrying around 2 devices?

 

[PJABBER]

I've always just used my phone for portable music, currently an iPhone 7 plus. How do their DAP's compare to a phone? Would you get a noticeable enough difference in audio quality, that makes it worth carrying around 2 devices?

I haven't tried the iPhone 7 but I'm sure that it offers decent audio. An inexpensive DAP will have at least the equivalent in audio quality and often significantly better output power to drive a wider variety of earphones and headphones, depending on the model.

But wait, there's more.

1. How much does an iPhone 7+ cost? Decent DAPs like a Benjie S5 cost $30. A better DAP like a Benjie T6/AGPtek Rocker costs $70. A next level up Fiio costs $150. You can buy DAPs that cost as much as an iPhone, but you will probably find that an inexpensive DAP makes more sense for portability and value.

2. I pay $5 a month for phone insurance, just in case I need to replace. I wouldn't buy insurance for an inexpensive DAP.

3. A DAP does not need replacement or upgrading every two years. A firmware update keeps a DAP current but you probably don't even need that for any device that has been on the market for more than a year.

4. I constantly use my phone for work and I need every bit of battery power for use and reserve. DAPs run for 8 to 40+ hours and you don't lose a deal and your job if you inadvertently drain your battery.

5. You get much better sound by using headphones with a corded connection. Does the iPhone still have a physical audio port?

6. DAPs almost all offer FLAC file compatibility and the better ones offer DSD and other lossless formats as well. Apple has some lossless file compatibility but keeps pushing you toward the Apple Store.

7. Large music file collections require lots of storage capacity. I can swap in 256GB microsd cards that cost me $20 in 5 seconds. How much does an iPhone 7 with 256GB of non-swappable memory cost again?

8. As to having to carry two devices, the smallest DAPs really are miniscule and can take a beating. I drop mine in my briefcase or in a jacket pocket and just leave it there for when I need a rock 'n roll break.

AGPtek is sending me five of their DAPs to demo, so try 'em out at the meet and see if they make sense for you!

 

[kendavis]

We've made it to the home page! https://www.head-fi.org/

I've been slammed at work but will be decanting the SchiitKit tonight or tomorrow. I will post pictures.

See you all on Saturday.

 

[PJABBER]

We've made it to the home page! https://www.head-fi.org/

I've been slammed at work but will be decanting the SchiitKit tonight or tomorrow. I will post pictures.

See you all on Saturday.

That's great! I have the gear from iFi Audio and AGPtek in hand, looking forward to seeing everyone in a couple of days!

 

[Mav.]

At this very moment (as I write this), 100 pounds of Schiit is heading our way. I should be picking up the SchiitKit tomorrow.

Tentative contents include:

Fulla 2v
Magni 3/Vali 2 + Modi Multibit
Jotunheim w/DAC
Asgard 2/Valhalla 2/Lyr 2 + Bifrost Multibit
Mjolnir 2 + Gungnir Multibit
plus associated cables, and devices to connect it all together.

There will be also three Surface Pros as sources so you can bring your preferred music on USB thumb drives. I understand that there will be some (finite amount of) Wi-Fi at the venue as well.

There will also be some fine headphones from Audeze, MrSpeakers, and Sennheiser.

Additional details (and pics) will be posted once I receive and decant the kits.

I plan to bring my own stock Yggy and (if I get it back in time) a second Yggy with the Gen 5 upgrade.

You don't have to register (at the first post of this thread) to attend, but it helps us to plan if you can.

We hope to see lots of you there.

Will any of the fine headphones you mentioned be Sennheiser HD800S's? Im very interested in upgrading to them from my HD700's. If I like them they will most likely be the next headphones I buy.

I am also wondering if there will be Audeze LCD-4's, I have LCD-3's, and although the LCD-4's are out of my price range I would love to see, and hear what the extra $2,000 gets you.
The carbon fiber headband on them is especially interesting to me sense you can buy it as a upgrade for the LCD-3's. I really like my LCD-3's, but I find myself using the HD700's more often because the LCD-3's start to get uncomfortable after 1-2 hours, while the HD700' I can wear all day with no discomfort. I heard the carbon fiber headband makes a noticeable difference. At $200 I think it's far overpriced, but if it makes headphones I spent 2 grand on get much more use it would be worth it.

I haven't heard any MrSpeakers headphones before so I look forward to listening to any of them.

The other headphone I am really interested in hearing are Focal Utopia's. At $4k they are out of my price range just like the LCD-4's, but so many people have them ranked up there with the best headphones in the world so they are on my list of headphones I want to have a listen to.

 

[Mav.]

I haven't tried the iPhone 7 but I'm sure that it offers decent audio. An inexpensive DAP will have at least the equivalent in audio quality and often significantly better output power to drive a wider variety of earphones and headphones, depending on the model.

But wait, there's more.

1. How much does an iPhone 7+ cost? Decent DAPs like a Benjie S5 cost $30. A better DAP like a Benjie T6/AGPtek Rocker costs $70. A next level up Fiio costs $150. You can buy DAPs that cost as much as an iPhone, but you will probably find that an inexpensive DAP makes more sense for portability and value.

2. I pay $5 a month for phone insurance, just in case I need to replace. I wouldn't buy insurance for an inexpensive DAP.

3. A DAP does not need replacement or upgrading every two years. A firmware update keeps a DAP current but you probably don't even need that for any device that has been on the market for more than a year.

4. I constantly use my phone for work and I need every bit of battery power for use and reserve. DAPs run for 8 to 40+ hours and you don't lose a deal and your job if you inadvertently drain your battery.

5. You get much better sound by using headphones with a corded connection. Does the iPhone still have a physical audio port?

6. DAPs almost all offer FLAC file compatibility and the better ones offer DSD and other lossless formats as well. Apple has some lossless file compatibility but keeps pushing you toward the Apple Store.

7. Large music file collections require lots of storage capacity. I can swap in 256GB microsd cards that cost me $20 in 5 seconds. How much does an iPhone 7 with 256GB of non-swappable memory cost again?

8. As to having to carry two devices, the smallest DAPs really are miniscule and can take a beating. I drop mine in my briefcase or in a jacket pocket and just leave it there for when I need a rock 'n roll break.

AGPtek is sending me five of their DAPs to demo, so try 'em out at the meet and see if they make sense for you!

I'm definitely willing to give one a try. The iPhone does still have a physical connector, you just have to use a lighting to 3.5mm headphone jack dongle (comes with the phone).

My main concern is I don't have a large collection (or any collection really) of FLAC or other lossless audio files. The songs I do own are all on iTunes, so what ever quality song bought from the iTunes store are. The vast majority of my current music playlist's are from Apple Music, and more recently I switched to Tidal. Are you able to use Tidal on something like the AGPtek Rocker? Having to go and buy 100's of songs is just way to expensive vs the $10 a month I pay for Tidal with my student discount.

I definitely need to like into DAP's vs a small portable amp / DAC.

 

[sheldaze]

Will any of the fine headphones you mentioned be Sennheiser HD800S's? Im very interested in upgrading to them from my HD700's. If I like them they will most likely be the next headphones I buy.

I am also wondering if there will be Audeze LCD-4's, I have LCD-3's, and although the LCD-4's are out of my price range I would love to see, and hear what the extra $2,000 gets you...

The other headphone I am really interested in hearing are Focal Utopia's. At $4k they are out of my price range just like the LCD-4's, but so many people have them ranked up there with the best headphones in the world so they are on my list of headphones I want to have a listen to.

The two headphones I planned to bring were LCD-4 and Utopia. I'll also bring my HD800S so you can listen.

 

[DavidWeinberg]

Just found out about this meet on the Head-Fi home page. I will definitely try to make it. Happy hour sounds nice too! I'll bring my Chord Mojo DAC and my aging Shure SE535 IEMs (I'll try to track down so disposable tips).

 

[michkhol]

Most likely will attend with
Focal Utopia
Focal Spirit Professional, Beyerdynamic DT770 (if anyone is interested)
AudioGD NFB1AMP
Metric Halo ULN2 used as a DAC (no USB input)