[andrzejpw]

So, kerelybonto, why do I get the impression that you hated everything?

I've been trying to get a meeting here in Pittsburgh. . . it just seems like there's not enough interest. Ah well.

 

[taoster]

if only there was a meet in sydney of this calibre. problem is, i dont think anyone in sydney have any worthwhile gear. we'd all end up bringing in our sound card, pc and HP890. the only person with decent gear was ross and he seems to be taking a sabatical.

 

[kerelybonto]

andrezjpw, no I didn't hate everything. I specifically said I only hated the HD600/580/590 and the ATH-A100Ti.

And I did find one set up for the HD600 that I liked well enough, and I only heard the A100Ti for a couple minutes -- I probably could have gotten it to sound better if I'd tried. There was lots of great gear there. My favorite headphone was the RS-1 with flats.

The only parts of antness's site that don't load for me are the 'detailed information' sections. The parts list for the PCB and the ordering pages load fine. I don't think he's gotten around to writing detailed product descriptions yet.

kerely

 

[antness]

I'm working on the pages that don't load right now. Why aren't they up yet? I've been busy building amps

. Also, there's been a lot of talk about the amp, and the project file is available on HeadWize, so those pages will wait till I have a bit of free time. Probably in a week or so.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

I pm'ed you antness..

Biggie.

 

[Matthew-Spaltro]

[...Do you really want to know, Matt? Let's see ... the Blockhead goes for between about $3300-3900 depending on its configuration. The EAR HP4 goes for about $3600. The Cosmic's about $700. The RKV runs about $900. The MicroZOTL is $750. Antness is selling his version of the Kevin Gilmore Dynamic for about $500. That's all of the heavy artillery that you can still buy new, I think. You can get a lot of it for cheaper used, of course.

kerely [/B][/QUOTE]

 

[The Quality Guru]

Quote:

What turned out to be the best amp for the HP-1/2? ZOTL, Melos or RKV? I've heard that they're all excellent for the HP-1/2, but which did all of you prefer that had a chance to compare?

Does anybody happen to have any thoughts on this? Hirsch, did you happen to try the HP-1 on the RKV? If so, how did it compare to the Melos or ZOTL?

Thanks, Luke

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by The Quality Guru Does anybody happen to have any thoughts on this? Hirsch, did you happen to try the HP-1 on the RKV? If so, how did it compare to the Melos or ZOTL?

I didn't get a chance to listen to the Grado's on the RKV this time around. The HP-1 and the SHA-1 go together extremely well. The ZOTL is a bit warmer, with airier highs, but the bass is not as well defined. For long-term listening, I'm happier with the sound of the ZOTL than with the Melos. I don't have all that much listening time with the HP-1/EAR combo. When I turn on the EAR, I instinctively reach for the R10.

 

[Hirsch]

I had beem looking for an upgrade to my office setup, and the Corda HA-1 has been high on my list of amps I want to spend a little time with. I also wanted to play around with crossfeed for a bit. So, when I saw one for sale, I jumped on it. It arrived on Monday. So, less than 24 hours after the meet, I already had a new amp in my hands.

Proprietor,
Hirsch's Headphone and Amp Museum

 

[markl]

kerelybonto said:
Quote:

* The recording is by far the most important link in the sonic chain. Bad recordings will not sound good on any equipment. SACD (versus Redbook) makes a more significant difference than almost any piece of hi-fi gear once you're at a certain (fairly low) threshold.

Obviously, I agree. But be careful, man, it seems them's fightin' words around here in some quarters!

Also, unless I missed it, did anyone pay much attention to the VD Nite cables there? Anyone switch 'em in and out, and if so, what were your impressions?

Mark

 

[kerelybonto]

We didn't switch any interconnects or power cords at all. We didn't even switch sources, and only switched DACs once or twice. Too much of the main stuff to listen to. ...

A couple of the guys compared the HD600 cables, but that's about as far as it went for tweaks.

kerely

 

[antness]

I didn't like the Nite cables, hope Hirsch isn't offended by that statement.

First, I don't think anybody has seen what's actually in the Nite cables. And I don't think anyone will spend $1200 to cut one open to find out. I think there are cables out there that are more proven than the Nites.

Second, the Nites are impossible to work with. Very difficult to bend, and if they're not bent perfectly (which can be extremely difficult to do) the cable will put strain on your connectors, which would lead me to believe that the mechanical connection is not perfect and I think this is something more important to consider than the actual insides of the cable.

Third, while I can hear the difference between a $3 RadioShack cable and a more expensive one, I honestly can't tell the difference between a $100-$200 cable and the Nites.

IMO, the best cable for me is one that has a proven reputation, is extremely flexible, has good shielding, and a good fitting connector.

My favorite cable from the meet was the Cardas Neutral Reference which I believe fits these requirements

 

[markl]

antness,
I'm not picking a fight ( no, really

), but did you swap the Nites in and out of the circuit on an amp/source you know, listen to material you are familiar with when you compared against the cardas? Did you swap the power cable? I realize that a meet like that is hardly the best way to audition any component, let a lone a cable.

And, no one really knows what's in any cable, anyway, VD or otherwise. Everyone agrees the VD cables are a pain in the ass to install, but from what I gather their size, weight and stiffness are a central part of what makes them sound so good.

Mark

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by markl antness, I'm not picking a fight ( no, really ), but did you swap the Nites in and out of the circuit on an amp/source you know, listen to material you are familiar with when you compared against the cardas? Did you swap the power cable? I realize that a meet like that is hardly the best way to audition any component, let a lone a cable.

...and there's the rub. It's just hard to do it in that setting. However, along with the Blockhead, Headroom sent a pair of balanced Cardas Golden Reference cables. In addition to the Blockhead, I ran them to the EAR for a bit, and then switched back to the Nites. Sonically, they are very very close. However, it's really easy to forget just how big a pain the Nites are to work with, once you've got them set up. I was reminded of that when I put my system back together after the meet. They sound great, but they're going to break something, sometime, and I'm not going to be happy about it.

Anyway, the pair of balanced Golden References that I bought off of Audiogon should be here in a day or two. I like options

 

[markl]

Hirsch,
what do those puppies run? Does VD make a balanced cable?

Does your Ear accept balanced cables? Where would they go?

Mark