Montreal meet impressions - 17/08/08

[GPH]

Thanks again to Philippe (papomaster) for hosting this excellent meet. I had a great time listening to all of the headphone setups and sharing knowledge and opinions with the other guys. The atmosphere was even friendlier than our last meet and I think we have a good future as a headphone community here in Montreal.

I'm not too good at "speaking audio", but I'll do my best writing some short impressions from the setups with which I had the chance to spend quality time. These were based on short-term listening in a crowded room with people talking so take it with a grain of salt.

Laptop -> Nuforce Icon -> Stax SRD-6 -> Stax SR-Gamma

I thought this was a nice setup and something that I could totally live with if I was on a tight budget. It sounded very musical with an overall balanced presentation. The highs were slightly rolled off and a little bit too aggressive sometimes and the bass was bloomy and not as focused and extended as I'd like. The subpar source surely played a part in that, but I didn't have a chance to swap with anything else to compare. Still, the setup did very little wrong for the price as long as you're not looking for a super-detailed be-all-end-all headphone. At the end of the meet, we plugged briefly the Gammas in my SRM-T1S and there was quite an improvement in dynamics and punch compared to the Nuforce/SRD-6 setup.

Audio Research CD3 -> Singlepower MPX3 Slam -> Sennheiser HD650

This was a killer setup, in fact one of the two best setups I have heard. It handled jazz with such finesse and strength at the same time and there were very little flaws that I could hear. The first thing that striked me is how life-like the bass presentation was. Tight, fast, pitch black between notes. Compared to my short audition with the Apache at the beginning of the meet, the SP amp really bringed the HD650 to another level. There was certainly no veil, muddiness, boominess or any characteristic that people sometime associate with HD650 powered by cheap amplification. Sure, it lacked the last ounce of speed that I get with electrostatics, but at the same time, it brings the slight punch or slam that my OII lacks.

Shanling CD-T100 -> Antique SoundLabs HB1 -> Audio-Technica ATH-AD2000

I enjoyed the short time that I spent with these, but it's not a headphone that I'd like to own myself, at least with the amplification that I heard. The sound was very fast, detailed, quite aggressive, but also quite thin and cold. My ears are probably flawed by the OII warmer presentation, but the AD2000 sounded a little bit too harsh for me, particularly in the treble region. Also, the bass lacked some roundness, it was too "in-your-face" for my tastes. With that said, I think these headphones have a good potential and could be excellent when paired with a very warm amp.

RSA Predator -> Modded Denon D5000

I didn't like this setup at all. First and foremost, I couldn't get past the bass presentation. Call it club bass, car subwoofer bass or whatever you want, but this is definitely not audiophile-quality bass. At the price they sell these phones and considering the fact that some people think they are R10 killers, I was expecting way more. No matter what kind of music I put on them, there was some sort of punchy attack on every bass note even when it's not supposed to be. Also, the treble was a little bit too aggressive and piercing for my tastes and the midrange was nothing special. I also tried plugging the D5000 in the X-Meridian and I thought it sounded better than with the Predator. The bass was tamed a little bit and sounded more natural and everything was smoothed out. Overall, it was much more enjoyable, but it's still not my flavor of headphones. I didn't have time to compare to the non-modded D5000 though, but I think a couple of people did that so maybe they'll share some impressions.

Apogee Duet -> Grado SR-100 w/HP1000 drivers

This setup was surprising to say the least. I don't know how good the amp section is in the Duet because I usually use it only as a DAC, but the results were good with the SR-100. I had tried these during the meet in Julien's SOHA setup with the Shanling source, but I was not happy with what I heard. I decided to plug them in the Duet just for fun and it happened to be a very decent setup. The presentation was balanced with the typical roll-off of the extremes characteristic of the HP1000. One complaint though is that the bass was slightly too thick and blended with the midrange so it lacked some cleanness, but it was really enjoyable.

Audio Research CD3 -> HeadAmp KGSS DX -> Stax Omega II

Holy shit, this is the new sound I'll be seeking in the future. Now I see why people say that the OII scale well with good sources. The Duet, compared to this, makes the OII sound relax, lifeless and almost sloppy. With the CD3, the bass was tight, punchy, and extremely fast. The mids and the highs were very smooth, but with plenty of life and drive. This setup IMO, was the best thing we tried at the meet and the best sound that I've ever heard from headphones. If only I found 6000$ on the street.

[grawk]

Where are pictures of you in your head-case shirt?

[GPH]

Where are pictures of you in your head-case shirt?

I took most of the pictures, but pompon took a few also so we'll have to wait for him to upload them on H-F. I briefed a couple of guys about Head-case though so we'll probably see some new visitors in the next few days.

[jinp6301]

Audio Research CD3 -> Singlepower MPX3 Slam -> Sennheiser HD650

This was a killer setup, in fact one of the two best setups I have heard. It handled jazz with such finesse and strength at the same time and there were very little flaws that I could hear. The first thing that striked me is how life-like the bass presentation was. Tight, fast, pitch black between notes. Compared to my short audition with the Apache at the beginning of the meet, the SP amp really bringed the HD650 to another level. There was certainly no veil, muddiness, boominess or any characteristic that people sometime associate with HD650 powered by cheap amplification. Sure, it lacked the last ounce of speed that I get with electrostatics, but at the same time, it brings the slight punch or slam that my OII lacks.

I heard a similar setup at the last nyc meet (AR transport -> Benchmark -> SP Supra -> 650s) and it just blew me away. The SP amps do something very right with the 650s

[deepak]

Omega 2 plus vinyl = :o

[GPH]

Omega 2 plus vinyl = :o

[GPH]

[Khanate]

Hello,

Sick meet

[Upstateguy]

So, who's who???

USG

[GPH]

So, who's who???

USG

Khanate, Finaxe, pompon, Nicolas2305, papomaster, Mike_TNT:

stiffpeter (guy on vacation from NYC), Khanate:

DanT:

Finaxe, me, Killercrush, Nicolas2305, Khanate

[Khanate]

I brought the Icon/SRD-7/SR-Gamma setup and was blown away by the omega setup, I really like the sound signature and in 2 years time when I get a real job it will probably be the first thing I buy before a house or a real transportation device (read car).