Oh man was that a joy. Thank you, @pedalhead, for hosting this! There was so much good stuff on hand there! There was the Yggy/Rag stack (my favourite pairing with the HE-1000), the McNeish Special HE-6 and @dill3000's custom beast of an amp, a mostly vanilla HE-6 the HE-1000, HE-560, MrSpeakers Ether, Sennheiser HD600 and HD800 (with mods), the Cary Xciter tube amp beast, Metrum Hex (Non-Oversampling DAC), NVA AP-20 amp, LH Labs Pulse X-Infinity (w/ LPS), and a magical device called the iUSB3.0 (inky blackness, om noms).
This meet was also a bit of a tribute to modding headphones, gear, and general high-level DIY. There were two lightly modded HD800 headphones, a leggings modded HD600, an almost vanilla HE-6 and the heavily modified McNeish Special HE-6, a Cary Xciter amp with upgraded innards done my Moon Audio out of the states, and a custom McNeish Pre-amp and McNeish amplifier. I can't wait to see what he does with the DAC he will be building next.
Highlights: HE-6 vs the McNeish Special HE-6 vs the HE-1000. You are so talented, Mr. McNeish. The McNeish Special HE-6 is the best headphone I have ever heard. It beat the vanilla HE-6 and the HE-1000. I also liked it better than the Stax SR-009 out of the Blue Hawaii Special Edition amp (many folks holy grail setup)--I previously listened to that setup at the Cambridge Head-Fi meet; I've always found the Stax a bit too refined, and lacking that gut punch viscerality on the bottom end.
There was whisky, beer, gear, geeks, and geek talk galore--and a grandma and a baby. They all loved the headphones, especially the McNeish Special HE-6.
The Ether didn't really impress many compared to the other offerings on hand. I personally found it timid and not very engaging; from memory, I prefer the Ether C. I preferred @Takeanidea's modified HD800, which is saying something. I enjoyed it about as much as my HD600 (foam removed and replaced with stretched tights) playing out of the Pulse X-Infinity with a balanced cable (Cable Pro Panorama). The HD600 scales extremely well, it truly is the best bargain in headphones. If it had a little more bass I think it would have an even larger following.
It was an absolute delight to listen to this wonderful headphone out of so many set-ups. It wasn't my favourite headphone of the meet, but it was far and away the best off the shelf headphone to my ears, especially driven out of the Schiit Yggdrasil and Schiit Ragnarok stack. Whatever it was played out of it was a silky listen with amazing details. Listening to the HE-1000 is like spending an afternoon gazing into the fine threadwork of a silk tapestry. The HE-1000 presents sonic layers better than any headphone I can recall listening to, even the McNeish Special HE-6. I listened to the headphone in balanced mode primarily, but did get a listen out of the NVA AP-20 (more on that later) in single-ended mode; it is always intricately detailed and engaging. Some will say that the HE-1000 is too laid-back, and I understand this criticism, but don't empathise with it. The HE-1000 doesn't have much low end slam, but the bass is still of excellent quality, extension, and definition. I could easily listen to the HE-1000 and forget all other cares in the world. It may not be for you if you are a basshead. The HE-6 has more slam, but doesn't give the subtle layering that is so addictive with the HE-1000.
The HE-1000 can be driven by modest power, but it puts more power to excellent use. For good listening volume, It needs some power. Driven out of the LH Labs Pulse X-Infinity DAC and headphone amp (3W) it liked being cranked up to around -20dB (for comparison the HE-6 liked about -7dB). @pedalhead's HE-1000 was with a Forza Audio Works Noir cable (Noir hybrid?). The cable is excellent value for money, and super flexible. It was a joy to wield. I highly recommend their cable. I'd like to hear a silver/gold cable on the HE-1000, as I think this might add a bit of weight to the bass. At the Cambridge Head-Fi meet, I tried several Toxic Cables cables with the HD600. None were labelled, so I wasn't sure what they were while listening to them. I found that I liked the one that looked the cheapest, and was quite pleased for my wallet only to discover that it was actually the most expensive silver/gold cable after looking through the pictures on the website. I can't justify getting a cable that costs more than my HD600, but silver/gold is definitely the way to go with your high end headphones if you have the choice and patience (usually requires a lot of waiting or making your own). The McNeish Special HE-6 was also rocking a custom hard-wired silver/gold cable.
The modifications that were done to the HD800 improved the bass tightness quite a bit. I had listened to the HD800 on a number of set-ups and only really enjoyed it with the Objective/O2, but I liked it out of everything I played it on this time around. The HD800 is still not the headphone for me, at it's price. I'd rather have an OPPO PM-2, an Ether C, or an HE-6 (I'd quickly be on to modding it). It does have some of the best imaging of any headphone out there, and the largest soundstage, but it doesn't have quite the same level of emotion as the HE-1000 or HE-6 for me.
iUSB3.0 improving the sound of the Yggdrasil below. Expert tip, make sure you have your music output cable plugged into the music and power usb out.
I'm not always the brightest and managed to get that hook up wrong a couple times.
That little iFi iUSB3.0 is a magical little device. It can clean up the USB of two DACs simulataneously, which also has the effect of being able to head to head DACs fairly easily. I found that it expanded soundstage in both width and depth and gave notes a fuller more natural decay, especially on drums and bass. This was true on DACs all the way from the Geek Out 1000 to the Ygdrassil. I was also using a LH Labs Lightspeed 2 split usb power and signal cable, which should enhance this effect (still need to do a thorough comparison to the also excellent and super prevalent at the meet Supra USB cable).
While listening to the various set-ups I took notes of what DAC was feeding the amplifiers (or DAC/AMP feeding headphones) and also what tracks were playing most times that I took notes. Particular stars for me on listening were these tracks:
Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (Stevie Nicks has great vocals and the real test is whether the vocals individually layer on the chorus, HE-1000 pulls this off, as did the McNeish Special HE-6, but not quite as well as the HE-1000)
The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses (just a beautiful track)
Katherine O'Bryan - Flute Concerto Alla Marcia (Insanely fast flute playing with great dynamic range and ups and downs to the track)
Pink Floyd - Time (those clocks at the beginning are so 3d on the right set-up)
Massive Attack - Angel (beastly bass, great texture)
And now for some more specific notes and impressions.
One of the first set-ups I listened to was the Pulse X-Infinity (w/ LPS and Lightspeed 2 cable) with the HE-560 and then the HD600 (both balanced and unbalanced). I like the HE-560, but it doesn't fully please me on details or air. Stock, it has a warm sound with a bit of emphasis in the bass. I think I'd modify the headphones if I owned them with the grill mod, and potentially some other mods. The HE-560 is hooked up to the Pulse X-Infinity with a Norne Audio Draug cable.
When I compared my tights modded HD600 with the single ended stock HD650 cable and the balanced Cable Pro Panorama cable, I found that the sound was clearer, had a wider soundstage, and was more vibrant (bass still a bit lacking). I'm definitely getting a balanced cable for when my Pulse XFi comes. My comparison track was Fleetwood Mac - Dreams, but I listened to others also.
My favourite stack of the meet was the Schiit stack, Yggdrasil and Ragnarok really are the beginning and the end for me at this point. I compared the Yggy/Rag to the DX100 feeding the Cary Xciter (Moon Audio upgraded) with both driving the HE-1000, and preferred the the Yggy/Rag by a mile. The Yggy/Rag HE-1000 combo made Katherine O'Bryan's rendition of Flute Concerto Alla Marcia sound absolutely incredible (even someone who isn't a fan of the HE-1000 loved this combo). Katherine O'Bryan plays the flute freak fast, so fast that only the HE-1000 was able to fully define every note she breathed and blew. I've never heard it sound better. I also compared Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love on both setups. The Cary Xciter was too warm for my taste, and didn't have the delicious detail that the Yggy/Rag set-up had. I like warmth so long as detail is preserved; I felt the warmth sacrificed some detail on the DX100/Cary Xciter setup.
I also did a face-off between the Yggdrasil and the Metrum Hex via the Ragnarok and HE-1000. The Yggy was clearer with less bass and a nice ethereal quality. The Metrum Hex had airiness to a lesser degree, but compensated with more bass impact. The Metrum Hex had a more forward presentation. It will be interesting to see what @pedalhead has to say about the Metrum Hex, as he's auditioning it for a bit and it was still pretty virgin when we were listening to it (only a few hours burn-in). The tracks I compared on were Massive Attack - Angel and Massive Attack - Rising Sun.
@Ithilstone was very proud of his HE-6 and NVA AP-20 amp pairing, and he should be. Listening to Pink Floyd - Time, the NVA had plenty of power (I think it was at about 9 o'clock) and had good instrument separation. The upper mids and treble were gorgeous and lush. Stage depth was good. I listened to the NVA AP-20 out of two three set-ups, because at first the bass wasn't sounding good. It was too muddy out of the NuForce Icon HDP DAC, so we tried it with the Yggy and the Geek Out V2. The Yggy cleared up the sound a lot tightening up that bass a bit. Out of the Geek Out V2, bass wasn't quite as tight and the soundstage was smaller in both width and depth than the Yggy. I think the NVA AP-20 has a tendency towards looser bass, so it needs a DAC with very tight bass. I imagine headphone pairing will matter also, but I only listened on the HE-1000, which has tight, precise delivery across the whole sound spectrum. My listening tests were done with the HE-1000, though many others listened out of the NVA with the more vanilla HE-6 on hand and this combo encouraged one attendee to go out and get an HE-6.
I'd be a fool if I didn't present the best set-up of the weekend, by far. The McNeish Suite rocked everyone's world. I watched my mother-in-law go from okay to exclamations of wow and full on side to side seat grooving to Pink Floyd - Time. The track was so ridiculously three dimensional that it felt like you were smack dab in the middle of a creepy cuckoo clock house out of a movie, not watching, but in the movie waiting for the knife to come. It was jaw droppingly good. The setup murdered Massive Attack - Angel. So freaking amazing. I also discovered that the Pulse X-Infinity drives the HE-6 well, but not as well as The McNeish Beast Amp.
The joy of the HE-6 for all ages. Please drive responsibly (minimum 3 watts amplification).
This meet was also a bit of a tribute to modding headphones, gear, and general high-level DIY. There were two lightly modded HD800 headphones, a leggings modded HD600, an almost vanilla HE-6 and the heavily modified McNeish Special HE-6, a Cary Xciter amp with upgraded innards done my Moon Audio out of the states, and a custom McNeish Pre-amp and McNeish amplifier. I can't wait to see what he does with the DAC he will be building next.
Highlights: HE-6 vs the McNeish Special HE-6 vs the HE-1000. You are so talented, Mr. McNeish. The McNeish Special HE-6 is the best headphone I have ever heard. It beat the vanilla HE-6 and the HE-1000. I also liked it better than the Stax SR-009 out of the Blue Hawaii Special Edition amp (many folks holy grail setup)--I previously listened to that setup at the Cambridge Head-Fi meet; I've always found the Stax a bit too refined, and lacking that gut punch viscerality on the bottom end.
There was whisky, beer, gear, geeks, and geek talk galore--and a grandma and a baby. They all loved the headphones, especially the McNeish Special HE-6.
The Ether didn't really impress many compared to the other offerings on hand. I personally found it timid and not very engaging; from memory, I prefer the Ether C. I preferred @Takeanidea's modified HD800, which is saying something. I enjoyed it about as much as my HD600 (foam removed and replaced with stretched tights) playing out of the Pulse X-Infinity with a balanced cable (Cable Pro Panorama). The HD600 scales extremely well, it truly is the best bargain in headphones. If it had a little more bass I think it would have an even larger following.
It was an absolute delight to listen to this wonderful headphone out of so many set-ups. It wasn't my favourite headphone of the meet, but it was far and away the best off the shelf headphone to my ears, especially driven out of the Schiit Yggdrasil and Schiit Ragnarok stack. Whatever it was played out of it was a silky listen with amazing details. Listening to the HE-1000 is like spending an afternoon gazing into the fine threadwork of a silk tapestry. The HE-1000 presents sonic layers better than any headphone I can recall listening to, even the McNeish Special HE-6. I listened to the headphone in balanced mode primarily, but did get a listen out of the NVA AP-20 (more on that later) in single-ended mode; it is always intricately detailed and engaging. Some will say that the HE-1000 is too laid-back, and I understand this criticism, but don't empathise with it. The HE-1000 doesn't have much low end slam, but the bass is still of excellent quality, extension, and definition. I could easily listen to the HE-1000 and forget all other cares in the world. It may not be for you if you are a basshead. The HE-6 has more slam, but doesn't give the subtle layering that is so addictive with the HE-1000.
The HE-1000 can be driven by modest power, but it puts more power to excellent use. For good listening volume, It needs some power. Driven out of the LH Labs Pulse X-Infinity DAC and headphone amp (3W) it liked being cranked up to around -20dB (for comparison the HE-6 liked about -7dB). @pedalhead's HE-1000 was with a Forza Audio Works Noir cable (Noir hybrid?). The cable is excellent value for money, and super flexible. It was a joy to wield. I highly recommend their cable. I'd like to hear a silver/gold cable on the HE-1000, as I think this might add a bit of weight to the bass. At the Cambridge Head-Fi meet, I tried several Toxic Cables cables with the HD600. None were labelled, so I wasn't sure what they were while listening to them. I found that I liked the one that looked the cheapest, and was quite pleased for my wallet only to discover that it was actually the most expensive silver/gold cable after looking through the pictures on the website. I can't justify getting a cable that costs more than my HD600, but silver/gold is definitely the way to go with your high end headphones if you have the choice and patience (usually requires a lot of waiting or making your own). The McNeish Special HE-6 was also rocking a custom hard-wired silver/gold cable.
The modifications that were done to the HD800 improved the bass tightness quite a bit. I had listened to the HD800 on a number of set-ups and only really enjoyed it with the Objective/O2, but I liked it out of everything I played it on this time around. The HD800 is still not the headphone for me, at it's price. I'd rather have an OPPO PM-2, an Ether C, or an HE-6 (I'd quickly be on to modding it). It does have some of the best imaging of any headphone out there, and the largest soundstage, but it doesn't have quite the same level of emotion as the HE-1000 or HE-6 for me.
iUSB3.0 improving the sound of the Yggdrasil below. Expert tip, make sure you have your music output cable plugged into the music and power usb out.
That little iFi iUSB3.0 is a magical little device. It can clean up the USB of two DACs simulataneously, which also has the effect of being able to head to head DACs fairly easily. I found that it expanded soundstage in both width and depth and gave notes a fuller more natural decay, especially on drums and bass. This was true on DACs all the way from the Geek Out 1000 to the Ygdrassil. I was also using a LH Labs Lightspeed 2 split usb power and signal cable, which should enhance this effect (still need to do a thorough comparison to the also excellent and super prevalent at the meet Supra USB cable).
While listening to the various set-ups I took notes of what DAC was feeding the amplifiers (or DAC/AMP feeding headphones) and also what tracks were playing most times that I took notes. Particular stars for me on listening were these tracks:
Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (Stevie Nicks has great vocals and the real test is whether the vocals individually layer on the chorus, HE-1000 pulls this off, as did the McNeish Special HE-6, but not quite as well as the HE-1000)
The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses (just a beautiful track)
Katherine O'Bryan - Flute Concerto Alla Marcia (Insanely fast flute playing with great dynamic range and ups and downs to the track)
Pink Floyd - Time (those clocks at the beginning are so 3d on the right set-up)
Massive Attack - Angel (beastly bass, great texture)
And now for some more specific notes and impressions.
One of the first set-ups I listened to was the Pulse X-Infinity (w/ LPS and Lightspeed 2 cable) with the HE-560 and then the HD600 (both balanced and unbalanced). I like the HE-560, but it doesn't fully please me on details or air. Stock, it has a warm sound with a bit of emphasis in the bass. I think I'd modify the headphones if I owned them with the grill mod, and potentially some other mods. The HE-560 is hooked up to the Pulse X-Infinity with a Norne Audio Draug cable.
When I compared my tights modded HD600 with the single ended stock HD650 cable and the balanced Cable Pro Panorama cable, I found that the sound was clearer, had a wider soundstage, and was more vibrant (bass still a bit lacking). I'm definitely getting a balanced cable for when my Pulse XFi comes. My comparison track was Fleetwood Mac - Dreams, but I listened to others also.
My favourite stack of the meet was the Schiit stack, Yggdrasil and Ragnarok really are the beginning and the end for me at this point. I compared the Yggy/Rag to the DX100 feeding the Cary Xciter (Moon Audio upgraded) with both driving the HE-1000, and preferred the the Yggy/Rag by a mile. The Yggy/Rag HE-1000 combo made Katherine O'Bryan's rendition of Flute Concerto Alla Marcia sound absolutely incredible (even someone who isn't a fan of the HE-1000 loved this combo). Katherine O'Bryan plays the flute freak fast, so fast that only the HE-1000 was able to fully define every note she breathed and blew. I've never heard it sound better. I also compared Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love on both setups. The Cary Xciter was too warm for my taste, and didn't have the delicious detail that the Yggy/Rag set-up had. I like warmth so long as detail is preserved; I felt the warmth sacrificed some detail on the DX100/Cary Xciter setup.
I also did a face-off between the Yggdrasil and the Metrum Hex via the Ragnarok and HE-1000. The Yggy was clearer with less bass and a nice ethereal quality. The Metrum Hex had airiness to a lesser degree, but compensated with more bass impact. The Metrum Hex had a more forward presentation. It will be interesting to see what @pedalhead has to say about the Metrum Hex, as he's auditioning it for a bit and it was still pretty virgin when we were listening to it (only a few hours burn-in). The tracks I compared on were Massive Attack - Angel and Massive Attack - Rising Sun.
@Ithilstone was very proud of his HE-6 and NVA AP-20 amp pairing, and he should be. Listening to Pink Floyd - Time, the NVA had plenty of power (I think it was at about 9 o'clock) and had good instrument separation. The upper mids and treble were gorgeous and lush. Stage depth was good. I listened to the NVA AP-20 out of two three set-ups, because at first the bass wasn't sounding good. It was too muddy out of the NuForce Icon HDP DAC, so we tried it with the Yggy and the Geek Out V2. The Yggy cleared up the sound a lot tightening up that bass a bit. Out of the Geek Out V2, bass wasn't quite as tight and the soundstage was smaller in both width and depth than the Yggy. I think the NVA AP-20 has a tendency towards looser bass, so it needs a DAC with very tight bass. I imagine headphone pairing will matter also, but I only listened on the HE-1000, which has tight, precise delivery across the whole sound spectrum. My listening tests were done with the HE-1000, though many others listened out of the NVA with the more vanilla HE-6 on hand and this combo encouraged one attendee to go out and get an HE-6.
I'd be a fool if I didn't present the best set-up of the weekend, by far. The McNeish Suite rocked everyone's world. I watched my mother-in-law go from okay to exclamations of wow and full on side to side seat grooving to Pink Floyd - Time. The track was so ridiculously three dimensional that it felt like you were smack dab in the middle of a creepy cuckoo clock house out of a movie, not watching, but in the movie waiting for the knife to come. It was jaw droppingly good. The setup murdered Massive Attack - Angel. So freaking amazing. I also discovered that the Pulse X-Infinity drives the HE-6 well, but not as well as The McNeish Beast Amp.
The joy of the HE-6 for all ages. Please drive responsibly (minimum 3 watts amplification).
