Sherwood

My friend, any time. It was worth it for me just to have you provide independent verification of my heterosexuality here on this forum.

Alas, the F1 and the B22 were not there, but the moth was. The EHHA is better than the Moth at effectively everything with the k1000, and plenty with the Grado. The speed, dynamics, power and tone were dead spot on. If they cost the same amount of money and I was only using the Grados, I'd get the Moth. As it is, the EHHA is $500 of parts to the $1500 Moth, and doesn't require periodic tube replacements to run. It's a no-brainer. From aural memory, I feel comfortable stating that the EHHA is a better match for the K1000s than the F1 will ever be. They both exert a surprising amount of control over the drivers, but the F1 is not really designed for high-impedance headphones. I expect the Moth and the F1 to outperform the EHHA on my cicadas, however. In any case, I should very much like to test that theory. Seriously, though, guys, the EHHA has gobs of power, just stupid amounts. Bill's build is a BJT version, rather than Mosfet, and it's also balanced. I'm sure that accounts for part of the power, but it was really remarkable.

I loved it, Greg. Forget about the rest of them.

x5

The k1000s were better out of the 2a3, as was the Grado. I preferred the stax transformer out of it as well, but I didn't do that head to head. The ZDT might have the edge with the new Audeze LCD-2, but I don't own that. It was very close, in any case, and if they were both through the same source I think the ZDT might have taken it. JP#s also made the claim that the EC2a3 was the ultimate JH13 amp, which seems akin to saying that a SCRamjet is the ultimate mode of commute, but since I foolishly own both now, I shall test it out.

Aight, as promised, JH5 vs. JH13. This comparison was done on Jerry's balanced rig, which is an Electrocompaniet EMP-1 into an RSA apache. The same hacked aviation cable was used for both. Keep in mind, these were both universals, so neither sounds as good as they would in a custom shell, but both are evenly handicapped. Brent, you want the JH13. You'd love to save money and get the JH5, but you won't, because they're not as good. They both share the JH bass boost, which is about +4db at around 60hz according to Jerry (though those figures are divergent in many places) to emphasize kick drum. That is why they are "danceable", or course. You are all likely to know that the JH13 is a three way that doubles every driver, which is why they're so magical (again, according to Jerry). The JH5 is a two-way with singles for low and mid/high. The JH5 is very, very good. If I was in the market for a pair of Westone 3, I would definitely give them a shot. The bass is tight and enjoyable, and the frequency spectrum transitions nicely and seamlessly between drivers, so the crossover is well made. The similar sound signature makes them enjoyable, since the bass sounds great. That being said, they're not JH13s. They're not even "baby" JH13s, they're just well make dual-driver customs. They might be the kings of their price point, but they're not comparable to the 13s, to my ears. What the JH13s have above the 5s is an incredible sense of realism. I don't know if it comes from the frequency extension, the dual drivers, or the pixie dust, but there are many layers of midrange haze missing from the JH13 that are present in the 5. The soundstage felt much bigger, and everything was much more immediate. That immediacy is what set the JH13s apart from every other IEM I've heard, and it's what wrenched $999 out of my pocket.

Rowr

Raw deal, Mike, sorry to hear it.

since I can't functionally wear copper, rose is the best I can do.

Amen, Duggeh. It can, and likely will, mysteriously decide to turn off again some time in the future, so no matter how sweet it sounds it needs to go back to whatever bermuda triangle it came from. Enjoy it while it works, though

I love Rose. Bought it. I love you, watch websites.

I heard them out of the ZDT, my Moth EC2a3, and Aman's SET prototype. All powerful, single-ended tube amps. I should have tried them out of something a little smaller, but I did not. I'd love to hear them balanced out of the Cavalli EHHA. That'd be NoNoNoNoNoNo-rific.

I got solid "Muddy Water Blue". i skipped the artwork for the moment, because I want to wait until it's perfect. The color is the perfect background for my planned art, though: I'm getting the white part in silver sparkles, and the light blue in whatever's closest.

That's an effin cute cat.

The LCD-2 is notably better than the LCD-1 in essentially every way. Fascinating how much the housing affects these things.

You have to calibrate your monitor, salty. They look the same on all my calibrated monitors.

Game changers? There were four, so far as I could tell. 1) Cavalli/Spruce Canyon ExStatA (lol). This is the DIY amp designed by Alex Cavalli, and prototyped by the who's who. The one on display was all transistor, balanced/SE, drove Pro and Normal bias, and had two pots (as two are much less expensive than one). It bested HPA's Woo GES on both o2s and lambdas, to my ears. Very, very powerful and dynamic. I've got mine on order, right effing now. Something like $300 parts cost. 2) Audez'e LCD-2. These are WAAY better than the LCD-1 in both sound and fit-n-finish. The headband is still in Beta, as it was a little goofy and clamped my head tighter than Denver strippers, but WOW what a sound. I've never been a huge ortho devotee, though now I wonder why. Deep, tight, impactful bass, smooth frequency response curve (or sounded that way, at least) and slightly less-than-sparkly top end. I do likes teh sparklez, but these are the best "bass phones" I heard at the show. Loved 'em. 3) JH13. Lots of pixels have been spilled over these, so you all know what's up. Ton (sp?) was there taking impressions, Jaime and Jerry and Brittany and Bree and Brandi and Brady were all charming, and the phones themselves were beyond stunning. I was either directly or indirectly responsible for 6 pairs sold, by my count. One of those was my own pair, and one was a pair of JH5 for my wife, who is excited like a little girl. Brent, I spent time with the JH5 and the JH13 universals side by side for you -- I'll write my impressions in the relevant thread. 4) Cavalli EHHA. This drove my k1000s better than my moth does, for something like $500 in parts. NoNoNoNoNoNo will build you one, if you ask him to. It is stunning -- clear, powerful, articulate, just wonderful. I'm clearly gushing over Cavalli here, but it really wowed me. I can't give terribly substantive comments, as I listened primarily to Bill's music through his source and my k1000s, but it was effing brilliant. If only I wasn't selling all my dynamics for the JH13s.... Lots of other notable stuff. The ultrasone Edition 8s were ghastly, even worse than the 9s. They are my new suck barometer. More than anything, though, this was a phenomenal weekend of spending time with new and old friends, meeting the hifi elite and laughing at their silly floostanding headphones, drinking Colorado beers, and eating great food. I wish I never had to go back to work. Thanks to JP#, Jude, Augsberger, ASR, AmanGeorge,Alex and Shankar, Larry, Drew from Moon, Ray effing Samuels, Jerry Harvey's hottie entourage, and everyone else there for a phenomenal weekend. I almost couldn't find the time to actually listen to anything with all the talking, eating, smoking and drinking. I'd sooner give up the headphones than the meets.

EHHA is a DIY amp designed by Alex Cavalli and built by Bill of Spruce Canyon Labs (WiatroB). It stands for Embedded Hybrid Headphone Amplifier. RMAF is the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, a lovely event taking place now in Colorado.

It has become apparent to me that you are all forming a little club-within a club - within a club. I want in. I paid the nice girl her money and everything. Can I be happy/sad and sell all my old stuff now?

They are tough to DAC properly.

I am so sorry. I am so, so sorry. Yeah, talk to Alex. Apparently she's a big deal in LA. The very ones. The fit is awfully tight at the moment, but the sound is excellent. They've been a hit with everyone here who heard them. Not that I've seen yet, and I would have. Ray Kimber has the JBL Everest there this year, I believe, and he usually springs for the Sound Labs. They are without a doubt on that level. Very comfy, and very like O2 pads, though evidently a bit cheaper. Yeah, lots of news. We had the sand version on display in Larry's rig today, and it was a hit. After some source tinkering, the general opinion was that it bested the Woo GES on the O2s, though it was a little bright on the Lambdas. Bill got some ideas from folks at the show, and he's tinkering tonight the see if the brightness can be tamed without sacrificing any of the excellent detail it showed, or if it was just an odd mismatch in that system. In any case, it was extremely comparable to the Woo, which is a great amp. This thing could be a game changer, and I look forward to hearing more tomorrow.

JH13...

Cool that they covered the forestry service bit, but I was referring to the current administration. The majority of the bureaucratic personnel devoted to the US National Park service are devoted to the construction of logging roads and the lease of logging rights. The National Forests are a very profitable endeavor for the US Government. It seems to be a hot-button issue, so I was wondering what Burns' take was on it.

I was sequstered in headphone-land, but RMAF usually pulls somewhere near 5k people. I'll bet only about 800 of those made it through the CanJam room last night, so we have to step it up. In other news, the Audez'e is a winner. I spent about 5 minutes with it, and was really impressed with the clarity and bass definition. I spent about 20 minutes talking with the Shankar and Alex (Alex?) about the headphones, and why they married rave DJs. Good guys, very good headphones. I vastly prefer them to the LCD-1, in looks and sound. Also, Jerry Harvey is the devil. How could I say no to free impressions on the spot and $100 off JH13s?

Why be shy?