I'm slightly late but here are my impressions for CJ 10. The meet was marvelously well run by the CJ team. Big thanks to Jim, Mike, Chris, Ryan, Kevin and Bryan for a job very well done.
I go to meets mostly to meet and socialize with HC members. CJ 10 was a great chance to meet many of the mid-western HCers and they certainly are as much fun as the other HCers I've previously met. It was also great to meet our volcano expert, Thor, and to see Doug and others that I know again. HC people are just a great group.
I didn't listen to much equipment, but here goes:
1. KGT2 - I listened to this after the water incident with SR-404LE headphones (I think). The system sounded wonderful. The people that are building/getting this amp are in for a real treat.
2. Apex Pinacle and Beyerdynamic T1 headphones - I didn't listen long to this setup, but it sounded very nice. This was the best I've heard the T1 sound. I wish that I would have had some HD800 to compare as I know them much better. Great amp but I'm not spending $10K for an amp anytime soon.
3. Apex Peak and DT880 - This was the first time I've heard both the amp and the headphones, so what I heard may be due to either or to both. I didn't like the Peak/DT880 combo. I felt that it was a bit slow and rolled off on the highs.
4. LCD2 with tube and ss versions of a Cavalli amp (forget the name). The LCD2s sounded good with both amps, but the room was way too noisy to make any serious judgments about either the headphones or the amps.
Best sound at CJ 10 - The live performance by the Michael Arnopol Trio. Hearing them live reminds me of how much better that is than listening to recorded music, even with the best equipment.
I was lucky enough to win a pair of Westone ES-5 IEMs on Sunday. I didn't hear them. Can anybody who did listen to them give us your impressions. I'd especially like to know what JH-13/16 owners think of them and how they compare to their JH-13/16s.
Oh yeah, best beer of the meet easily goes to 3 Floyds. Thanks for organizing the Friday trip Mike, it was great. The Sunday trip was great too!