Asr Posted January 24, 2010 Report Posted January 24, 2010 'Twas a smashing good meet. Kudos to [AK]Zip for organizing it and taking care of the gear I sent out. One way to know a meet has been a success is when you go in knowing absolutely no one and by the end of the day you have a new set of friends. It was great to meet everyone, all really nice people. [AK]Zip himself was both something of what I expected and what I didn't expect, in a good way of course. Will post more later including pics. Thanks to all for making it an enjoyable time.
Iron_Dreamer Posted January 24, 2010 Report Posted January 24, 2010 Yeah, the Texas crew is good peeps, no doubt. I shoulda gone, if only as a good excuse for some good BBQ!
shellylh Posted January 24, 2010 Report Posted January 24, 2010 Really wish I could have made it! I am sure it was a great time.
mrarroyo Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 Sure hope you all had a great time, specially making new acquaintances. Cheers.
swt61 Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 Had a fantastic time! Marc brought the Beta22 to life about 11:30 pm Friday, and she sounds glorious again. The gain raise from 10 to 16 (balanced) was just right. Not a big change, but just big enough, and once I have a hotter source it'll have more than enough gain for any occasion. Had a great time meeting some new people. Steve's (ASR) rig sounded fantastic! He, Marc and I had fun at dinner afterwards too! Steve's on a plane today, but he took some awesome pics that I'm sure he'll post later. Shelly you were greatly missed. Another Texas meet is already in the early planning stages, and it may be a real good time had by more than just Texans if all works out.
mypasswordis Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 Sounded like a really great time. I can't wait for Asr's pics and some more impressions. This new meet sounds interesting... hmm....
shellylh Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 Another Texas meet is already in the early planning stages, and it may be a real good time had by more than just Texans if all works out. Excellent!
cetoole Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 Crap, I was thinking this was next week, I was going to send the HE-5. Ah well, hopefully everyone had a good time.
swt61 Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 Alex had two pair there. Single ended and balanced. More layed back than I expected Colin, but I didn't have the right adapter to try them with the Beta22. I used an amp that Alex was sent for evaluation. Some Chinese thing that was nothing special.
cetoole Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 Tower of Power indeed! Holy crap Steve!
swt61 Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 Thanks Guys. ASR took some really good pics. He'll post them here later. What the hell am I gonna do after Naaman builds the BuffaloII? I'll have to seek out projects elsewhere, because I'll be quite happy with my rig!
mypasswordis Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 Super sexy, both internally and externally. You can definitely pick up chicks with that.
Asr Posted January 25, 2010 Author Report Posted January 25, 2010 Head-Fi pics have been posted here: Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio - View Single Post - DFW Meet Jan 23 2010 Impressions And now for HC-exclusive pics. Impressions to come later. inside luvdunhill's custom balanced all-FET amp, 1 of 2 inside luvdunhill's custom balanced all-FET amp, 2 of 2 pabbi1's KGBH which exploded early in the day swt61's B22/o22 & TPA Darwin stack pabbi1's KGBH with the top panel pabbi1-built eXStatA inside pabbi1's Vulcan, 1 of 3 inside pabbi1's Vulcan, 2 of 3 inside pabbi1's Vulcan, 3 of 3 inside another pabbi1-built amp (forgot what it is) pabbi1 checking out the 404LE left to right: unknown #1, unknown #2, luvdunhill, swt61, [AK]Zip, Bazile, Maxvla
Hopstretch Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 "This image or video has been moved or deleted."
swt61 Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 It's a good thing they had a solid slab under foot!
Asr Posted January 25, 2010 Author Report Posted January 25, 2010 People Impressions It was great to meet new people as always, especially when some of the people are long-established folks who you build up in your mind and to meet them in person inevitably shatters the image that was built up - in a good way, of course. With that said, I enjoyed meeting the Texas crew that notably included pabbi1, luvdunhill, [AK]Zip, and swt61. These guys were just really cool and fun to hang out with. Not only that, I think it'd be appropriate to say that these guys are also very skilled at what they do, as they all have a certain craft that was displayed in a "tour de force" way at the meet - the DIY amps built by pabbi1 and luvdunhill, the cables and amps that [AK]Zip had built, and the woodworking by swt61. I came away from each of these guys highly impressed by their work and with even more respect for them than before, which was already high. Equipment Impressions Per the usual inevitability that you never really get to listen to as much equipment as planned at a meet, that was even more the case for me at this meet. I had a bigger tendency at this meet than at any previous one of looking at the gear more than actually listening to it, and there were also plenty of distractions that didn't keep me sitting down too long. :| - Ayre QB-9 > HeadAmp BHSE > Stax OII MKI: This is all equipment that I own of course but this was the first time I assembled this particular configuration of components - I haven't set up the QB-9 at home since I got it several months ago. So this was the first thing I listened to. This system was set up in balanced mode for the BHSE with the QB-9 on the "Listen" setting. It sounded very good indeed, no real complaints about it. But of course there's an inevitable comparison to be made with respect to my Plinius CD-101, and I think the Plinius is a better source. Not that the Plinius is perfect in every way but I think it's probably just a tad "cleaner" sounding and has more edge to the treble. It may also have a more open soundstage and a more "accelerated" feel on either fast or high-energy music. I also think the Plinius may have more dynamic range in the aspect of giving greater intensity on sudden volume changes and a more pronounced effect on subtle modulation of volume levels and holding onto high-intensity/upper-frequency volume. For example, Julia Fischer's violin on Bach Concertos swells in volume extremely well on the Plinius, and the QB-9 didn't seem to be quite as capable. I'm going off memory on this of course with a time gap of several days between the two systems, but I'll add that I've spent lots of time listening to the Plinius/BHSE system over the past several months, as often as possible (usually every day with some exceptions). - Senn HE60 (source: Ayre QB-9 | amp: BHSE): Auditory memory is a funny thing. The last (and only) time I heard an HE60 was just over 3 years ago out of the SP Concerto ES and I distinctly remember being impressed by it back then. This time not so much. Granted a lot has happened between then and now so I'm not sure what to attribute this to. Well ok, it's not a bad headphone per se, but I just didn't enjoy these out of the BHSE. I turned up the volume in an attempt to get more mid-range presence but it was futile, to me these headphones were just missing a chunk of mid-range body that the OII has no problem with. It wouldn't have felt as bad if the treble was up to par but the HE60 disappointed me there also, as it felt like there was an upper-treble roll-off, right above where sibilance peaks out. And I did think the HE60 had a propensity towards sibilance too. So I think I would say the BHSE probably isn't the best amp for the HE60. - pabbi1-built eXStatA w/ Stax OII MKI (source: Cambridge Audio 840C): I would describe my affinity for the OII MKI as something like "it's really damn good and can be absolutely amazing but isn't exactly one of my favorite headphones." This is one of the reasons I've thought about going with a cheaper stat amp - I like how the OII sounds but would like to minimize the associated cost of the amp if possible, since I don't use it for a wide array of music. The eXStatA proved to me that it might be possible to downgrade from the BHSE - I mean, I wasn't sure how much less to expect sonically but this amp was ear-opening. Of course I don't know how much the 840C was affecting the system but the sonic omissions compared to the BHSE weren't many and I certainly didn't have any major complaints. The system did seem to have less overall resolution but the biggest difference that I noticed was that it was quite forward-sounding in the mid-range and also quite punchy in the mid-bass. My system with the BHSE is significantly more laidback. That aside, I think the eXStatA represents substantial value for money and is probably a great option for anyone who wants to get a solid stat amp for cheap. - Balanced B22/o22 w/ K1000 (source: Original CD-2008-MKII): When I was done listening to this system I thought: "aw, crap, do I have to re-invest into a B22 for a K1000?" I've never paid much attention to the K1000 before primarily due to its earspeaker design but this system had me re-considering my ways. I liked the treble and the overall level of detail which seemed to be approximately on par with the Qualia 010. I think if there's a cheaper headphone that could take the Qualia's place in my headphone collection, the K1000 is probably it. At the same time it sucks that the K1000 also has beefy amp requirements. Crap!
Beefy Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 Good read, Asr...... pabbi1-built eXStatA w/ Stax OII MKI (source: Cambridge Audio 840C): I would describe my affinity for the OII MKI as something like "it's really damn good and can be absolutely amazing but isn't exactly one of my favorite headphones." This is one of the reasons I've thought about going with a cheaper stat amp - I like how the OII sounds but would like to minimize the associated cost of the amp if possible, since I don't use it for a wide array of music. The eXStatA proved to me that it might be possible to downgrade from the BHSE - I mean, I wasn't sure how much less to expect sonically but this amp was ear-opening. Of course I don't know how much the 840C was affecting the system but the sonic omissions compared to the BHSE weren't many and I certainly didn't have any major complaints. The system did seem to have less overall resolution but the biggest difference that I noticed was that it was quite forward-sounding in the mid-range and also quite punchy in the mid-bass. My system with the BHSE is significantly more laidback. That aside, I think the eXStatA represents substantial value for money and is probably a great option for anyone who wants to get a solid stat amp for cheap. That is really great to hear, and definitely strengthens the consensus about this amp. I'm stoked that I won't be 'missing out' on too much with this amp if I decide to stick with Stax over the long term
manaox2 Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 Great impressions Steve, I'm also stoked to hear the comparison of the exStata's performance with the mk1.
tkam Posted January 25, 2010 Report Posted January 25, 2010 inside another pabbi1-built amp (forgot what it is) Any additional info on this amp? Looks like lots of nice lundahl iron in there....
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