boomana

I hope it works out, Stephen. So other than food, gas, and whatnot, here's my lastest: It's just about the prettiest Senn cable I've seen, courtesy of Nate Vaughn. Can't wait to hear it. Oh and speaking of pretties, I finally took some pictures of swt61's gorgeous stand, but since my camera is crappy and the photographer is crappier, I'm going to wait until daylight to try again and see if I can get some better shots. Maybe someone at CanJam will have a good camera. It definitely needs to be shown off.

Which amp are you ordering?

jinp6301 beat me to the "wow, that's pretty cool," comment, but it is. I'm going to check out the link later.

Happy Birthday!

Yes, I had a lot more talent back then. It's decreased with every passing year, which will give you a good idea of how gawd awful I truly am.

I must be getting old. I actually thought of something like this which did seem odd on a cupcake, but with people, you never know.

GuyMe, the 780s will definitely give you more bass than the 325s. Whether they're a better headphone is an entirely different matter. You'll either like them or not. The good news is that if you don't, they're still the big-time FOTM on head-fi and you should have no trouble selling them for a minimal loss. Don't forget to burn them in for a least 728.32587 hours.

Well, that sounds disgusting, but I like that you like it as I've also ordered one.

Hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Had no Grados to listen with, but I can see that being true. When I had it at home, I used 600s.

That clip reminds me of when I used to have a bad telethon addiction, and also one to Vegas lounge acts. The drummer especially. Ah, memories...

Had a portable mini-meet a few weeks ago with mrarroyo and Vorlon1, and got together again today with mostly the same gear. Though maybe not much to interest folks here, I thought I'd do a quick take on a few things I've now listened to a couple times. Both meets were pretty budget-fi meet, which is kind of nice. Anyway, here goes with mini-impressions: Sources were three imods (4g) and a nano. Portable amps: Graham Slee Voyager - bass and bass and full mids and bass. Not good bass, but BASS. I didn't like it. I do like separation between notes and that was missing. ibasso P2 - yuck. Very congested. ibasso D2 - didn't try out the dac since everyone assumed someone else would bring a computer. Not very impressed, but it didn't suck. Again, had a congested sound, but was clean. The P2 was not. I don't know which opamps were used in either, and miguel kept switching things out. I didn't like any of them. Little Dot portable (I forget its name)- This was the only amp I hadn't heard before, and I actually liked it. It has a lush, smooth feel to it that didn't work well with my ESW9s (it worked well with Rob's, which is a different story), but is good with detail and overall tone. It doesn't really compare that well to my fav portables, but it's a nice little amp. I understand why people like it. SR-71 - back off Ray haters, I still like this amp a lot. I sold mine at MOA, and don't really miss it, but after hearing so many others, it's really so much better than most. MiniBox E+ - I liked this amp so much the first time I heard it, I ended up getting one (it was in my mailbox when I got home from the meet). For $179, it really is one of the better sounding portables I've heard. I like the stock 8610 opamps. Miguel switched out a few (I don't remember which because I didn't like them), but stock, it's clean and airy. It mates perfectly with the ESW9s. Diablo - if any one seriously wants my impressions, or how I felt it compared, feel free to email, or pm me. I will say that I like it. Desktop amp and amp/dac: Octavart The One (amp and dac) and the 01 (amp only) - I've been living with the amp/dac for a few weeks, and I'm really impressed by its sq considering the price (The One is $299, and the 01 is $160). It's very spacious, and with good separation and tone (fairly neutral, slightly forward and bright). It sounds good with the 600s and even with the K340 (volume maxxed). I do wonder how it might do with the 650s and will try that out at CanJam. Since there aren't too many decent budget home amps around, it's nice to find one, and I have no problem recommending it. It is interesting to note that Head-Direct sells it as well as the MiniBox and the Yuin PK1s, which I also like a lot. They all have a similar sound. Headphones: K340 (headphiled) - I brought these to lend to Rob. I keep thinking I should sell them, but then I listen to them and can't. Drop dead gorgeous mids, and just wonderful with female vocals. I was surprised at how good they sounded with the 01 amp. I never bothered to try the combo at home. K501/RAL - okay, but nothing I'd ever buy or recommend. K240DF - same as above, but I liked the smooth treble as I did with the K240S Proline 2500/modded a la Fitz - as I said in another thread, I keep wanting to like these as there is much to like, but what's wrong is so very wrong, I just can't. I've always had trouble with the tinny mids and near shrill and sibilant highs. The mods (whatever they were; I didn't ask) took away the overall metallic sheen and tamed the highs, but what was left was far worse to my ears. It was as if someone shredded the edges of the treble notes to make them jagged and jangly. I don't know if that makes any sense, but since I've never heard anything like it before, that's the best I can do. It really sounded ugly. ESW9 - this is interesting. I've had my pair for a few month and am a fan, even though they have their flaws. They're just the best sounding closed, portable headphone I've heard. Rob bought a pair after hearing my a few weeks ago and says that they have around 100 hours on them. His do not sound like mine. His are lacking the heavier (not too heavy) bass mine have, and have much more treble focus including the upper mids. They sound good, but so drastically different (mine never sounded like his), it was just weird. I prefer mine. HD600/Equinox - if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with. The 600s sound good with even budget sources and amps. The 650s don't. Not surprising, they were my favs at the meet. Oh yea, one more thing: I was happy/not happy to hear a pretty remarkable difference between a RAL mini-to-mini cable and about five others (mini-to-mini and LODs: RnB, two ALO cyros and one cotton, and two unknown to me). The RAL was simply better, and I had no idea what I was listening to when I heard it (just an ugly purple cable). Everything was slightly clearer and more open. I kept switching cables, amps, and headphones to convince myself I couldn't hear a difference, but I did each time and liked it. Rob had a black one that he switched on me without me knowing it, and I heard the same good difference. No one was more surprised than I. Fortunately, Rob's sending me a stray one he has lying around. That's it.

Then what's with the attitude? Since I owned the 2500s, I doubt any meal influenced my opinion, and to suggest that is ridiculous. If you threw a couple mehs and words in all caps in your sentences, I would swear you were oicdn.

Well, I just got back. The 780s weren't there. Miguel had loaned them out and UPS was supposed to deliver them yesterday, but didn't, so I won't know if what he saying is true. I did, however, relisten to the 2500s, on which he had done some version of the Fitz mod, and I still really liked some things about them and wished I could like more, but the highs, though tamed, still had a sound as if the edges of notes had been cut with a corrugated knife. Not nice. The other headphones at the meet pleased me more (modded K340, HD600/Equinox, K501/RAL, K240DF, ESW9), though I didn't like the 501s much either (never really have). Slwiser, I don't think I vilified the 780s, and I've spoken out more against them than anyone here. I really didn't like them at all and said that. Vilification has a connotation of purposeful abuse that isn't true. I don't think I've done that. DogFish, what's up your behind? You're acting as if not liking the 780s is somehow an attack on your integrity or something actually valuable. I don't get it. I agree with you to some extent that you can't really tell what you'll like from others' recommendations (slwiser and I both like the ESW9s and the Yammy, but have very different opinions on the 780s). On the other hand, with most folks I know well, and know their gear and also their opinions on things well, I can often tell whether I'm going to like something or not simply because we have the same tastes or a very different take on things.

I'm going back down to Miami today and meeting up with mrarroyo and vorlon1. Miguel says the 780s now have over 450 hours on them and swears they're sounding better than when I heard them. I'm suspicious, since I kept being told the same about my 2500s needing more and more and more hours and they only changed slightly, but since they'll be sitting right there for me, I'll try them out. I'm going to bring down my Canamp, and since it's pretty colored, but it a way I like, maybe that will help. slwiser, I had no problem with the S logic, it was the timbre and the shrieking highs that bugged me.

Ken, congrats on the HP2s. I could live with that headphone Though I didn't buy it, a box was unexpectedly at my door when I got home, and inside was the damn nicest headphone stand I've ever seen. Thanks, Steve! I have no idea where my camera is, but I'll get pics up later, though I'm sure they won't do it justice.

This thread could go on for a long time . I'm having trouble deciding without posting 30 or so. I'll just toss out a couple for now that haven't been mentioned, had a big influence on me, and I continue to enjoy (as in listened to this week):

Go see your fav, though Ray is (or at least was) an ass in person.

Okay, I ended up buying two pairs of im716s also, but as presents for others. Looks like I got my purchase in right before they ran out of stock. Thanks, grawk.

That's seriously tempting for back up pairs, but I'm not needing iems. Of course, I'm not needing the MiniBox E+ I just got either, but in an effort to consolidate my rigs, I'm adding more things now so I can sell off most things later.

Egad. Just got caught up. Damn, Reks! At least all that extra facial coloring brings out your blue eyes. Feel better.

If you're going to go the portable amp route with the Senns, the 600s fair a bit better than the 650s, but I wouldn't go portable unless really needing portability. For small desktop solutions that are moderately priced, the Rockhopper CKKIII and the 01 (including dac) from Head Direct (I think it has a name now, but I've had the early model for the past few weeks) sound quite good with the 600s. I haven't heard either with the 650s so I can't comment there.

ooops. My bad as well. I've never heard the K181s.

I only heard them once and with the stock pads. All I remember the bass was stupid sloppy and bad. I don't recall anything else at all, which just about says it all. R10s sound nice I think Dusty's suggestion for the 7506s is pretty good for a budget headphone that's also closed and portable. They have a good, clean sound and decent balance. If I honestly needed the isolation and portability on a budget, I'd get iems unless I had a particular aversion to sticking things in my ears. You can get a lot more bang for the buck and more options. The portable, closed, budget headphone category is pretty dismal in terms of quality options. I haven't liked any closed, portable headphones until the ESW9s. They still don't compare well to good home headphones, but they come close to some, and are the best I've heard in that category if you like a warmer, fuller sound that still has decent detail. Although, at $300, I guess they exit the budget category.