[sheldaze]

Just want to catch up on sleep at the moment. But before I do, I also wanted to say - thanks!
Quite the turnout! No space left in that medium-sized room:

Always good to see the new faces as well as the familiar. Let's do this again, perhaps after a few things from MassDrop come in the next couple months. A lot of people expressed interest to compare the sub-$1k stuff. This stack is certainly a start:

Please share your experiences. Hope we can do this again soon!

 

[edgeworth]

Glad to meet so many guys this meeting. I didn't have much time as I had to leave to prep for an overseas trip, but here are some photos from the event.

 

[SuperDuke]

Thanks for organizing Sheldaze. I enjoyed meeting new folks and enjoyed gear I'd not heard before (Stax L700, the Cary DAC, Audio GD and the Torpedo) all great stuff!

Oh that BLue thing with Tubes sticking out sounded pretty good too

 

[sheldaze]

Oh that BLue thing with Tubes sticking out sounded pretty good too

So when you sell your equipment, you know where to drop it off. I'll simply have to live vicariously through you guys and your high end DNA amplifiers.

I'll post more pictures later...

 

[Silverion77]

Thanks again for organizing sheldaze! Was a pleasure meeting everyone.

Spent a decent amount of time (maybe too much) checkout out the HD6__ comparisons. Concluded that I find the 600 a bit too shouty at times and the 660 is pretty lean (especially for me). I'll have to bring a 6xx next time so people can compare the Kiss/M mods directly.
Got to check out the absurd table for a bit. Look forward to sitting with it again.

Also, can confirm that a new fuse and back at home the KGSSHV is functioning thankfully. Unsure what was bothering it so much at that location. Will have to investigate at some point and see if we can get it out to another meet.

 

[yage]

Yeah - I'd definitely like to hear the KGSSHV sometime and my pipe dream would have the L700 and SR-007 / 009 at the same meet.

I also spent a fair amount of time going back and forth between all the different HD 6xx variants and the HD 600 is still my favorite.

Some surprises - I really liked the LCD-2C and I thought the Spirit Labs Grado sounded quite good and not at all like a traditional Grado.

The Kaiju was a nice heater - especially given the cold temps outside - oh, and it sounded great too.

 

[kendavis]

Add my thanks to organizer @sheldaze . I appreciated the tall Schiit stack and the opportunity to compare Vali 2 and Magni 3... I'm quite happy with my Magni 3. @sheldaze... where did you get that switchbox that you showed me?

 

[sunneebear]

Get that pile Schiit off the table.





Someone had to say it.

 

[sheldaze]

Add my thanks to organizer @sheldaze . I appreciated the tall Schiit stack and the opportunity to compare Vali 2 and Magni 3... I'm quite happy with my Magni 3. @sheldaze... where did you get that switchbox that you showed me?

It is called the Switch Box, from Decware: http://www.decware.com/

They seem to have a lot of neat, little boxes - a step up in price from the similarly neat Schiit boxes.
I assume you meant the black box, not the silver SYS we used in the stack.

 

[kamitaji]

Thanks to @sheldaze for organizing the meet and for being such a welcoming host.
And thanks to all the wonderful guys who shared their babies, advice, suggestions and interesting chats. I'm glad a few enjoyed my baby, the Stax L700. BTW, sorry for the Sony vulgarity To add to my embarrassment, a guy setup a Schiit tower right next to my Sony monstrosity. The tower was better, easier to operate and cost the same but probably weighed no more than a double-decker burger. I'll never again schlep a half tom receiver - If they ever drop their anti-DSD religious stance, I'll go Schiit all the way

I am worse than terrible with names! Please forgive me!!! I forgot the name of the guy who brought the Schiit tower and also the name of the nice dude who introduced me to a delectable jazz singer called Esperanza Spalding (his handle is @SuperDuke). He also brought the sexiest piece of audio gear I've seen recently - the Chord DAVE DAC. Wow for its features but many more wows for the design. I'm a bit of a headphones fanboy but a gear skeptic, however that $10,000 DAVE made me rethink my life choices: maybe I should go back to the Middle East and become an oil crook @SuperDuke also had the cutest DAP, I think it's the Fiio X1. If true, then it's an amazing value at $100.

HEADPHONES
Among the familiar stars, I enjoyed the Utopia (of course, who wouldn't!) and the Susvara, which I still find it hard to believe it is not electrostatic! At $6,000, it's probably a bit overpriced compared to the Utopia and the Stax 009. Mind you, Stax prices are artificially lower because it requires an additional brick (energizer) that ranges from $1,000 - $6,000. The Utopia is joy-joy-joy! The word liquid is probably invented for its sound. The Susvara is pure zen bliss.

Among the B-listers, I highly recommend the Audeze LCD-X or the Ether Flow Open from MrSpeakers for those who like reggae and its soft bass. They reproduce just enough bass and just enough airiness to mimic the perfect Caribbean ambiance. Bob Marley never sounded better to my ears.

There were a few headphones that I never heard before (660S, Oppo 3, LCD-2C, Fostex T-X0 and the E-MU Teak). I will buy 2 of these, the 660S and the E-MU Teak. To my amateur ears, the 660S are an upgrade to the 600 and have little in common with the 650; definitely not a compromise between the 600 and 650, as many reviewers suggested. My (crazy) plan is to mod them by adding Bluetooth capability - maybe by looting the electronics from another Bluetooth headphones or by attaching a tiny amp and a tiny Bluetooth receiver to the headband or the cable. Would be nice to walk around untethered listening to jazz and classical on the 660S on Sunday mornings. Sorry if this idea causes indigestion to audiophiles

The E-MU Teak arrested my attention immediately - love at first hearing I'm not a bass-head and rarely listen to bass heavy music, but these cans did something to songs I know by heart. I swear I heard a flem in Van Morrison's voice at the beginning of his song "Into the Mystic". These cans delivered an impactful subwoofer style bass. They would assist old recordings or any that is bass anemic. They also must be great for rap. I was told the E-MU only cost $500 but are hard to get. I did a bit of Internet hunting but was only confused by the history & similarities of Foster, Fostex, Denon, E-MU, Eikon and Atticus. Reviewers were all over the place: my brain hurt!

It was a fun midday event - wish it were monthly. See you at the NYC CanJam.

Oh, Happy MLK


Taj

 

[kendavis]

Thanks to @sheldaze for organizing the meet and for being such a welcoming host.
... I forgot the name of the guy who brought the Schiit tower ...Taj[/SIZE]

I'm the schiithead... My name is Ken Davis and my screen name is (wait for it...) @kendavis

 

[kendavis]

In all fairness, much of the tower was from the collection of the esteemed @sheldaze

 

[Silverion77]

I was told the E-MU only cost $500 but are hard to get. I did a bit of Internet hunting but was only confused by the history & similarities of Foster, Fostex, Denon, E-MU, Eikon and Atticus. Reviewers were all over the place: my brain hurt.

Glad you enjoyed them! I definitely enjoy the color they provide. Its a bit special.
There's definitely many to choose from when you look into that 'line' of headphones (ported, biocell closed headphones) as I'm sure you noticed. They all do a bit something to distinguish themselves just a tad. Eikon/Atticus are a bit more refined to me.
As for acquisition, I mentioned massdrop, but outside of that I believe you can reach out to Chan directly @ enquiry@emu.com. I know people have been able to acquire the headphone outside of Massdrop through this.

Happy listening

 

[sheldaze]

A few pictures of the "absurd table"

Hard to see, but yes - there was a Glass behind the DNA Stratus.

Closeup of the Kaiju.

Further down the table - HeadAmp GS-X mkii.

And at the end, the portable Hugo 2.

Next table over, T3.

And the easiest setup I've ever brought to a meet, Amethyst.

Sorry, but at this point I started getting lost - I missed a few things. Here's just a few more pictures from around the room.

 

[kamitaji]

Glad you enjoyed them! I definitely enjoy the color they provide. Its a bit special.
There's definitely many to choose from when you look into that 'line' of headphones (ported, biocell closed headphones) as I'm sure you noticed. They all do a bit something to distinguish themselves just a tad. Eikon/Atticus are a bit more refined to me.
As for acquisition, I mentioned massdrop, but outside of that I believe you can reach out to Chan directly @ enquiry@emu.com. I know people have been able to acquire the headphone outside of Massdrop through this.

Happy listening

Thanks for the guidance and the link. I'll try it later from home.