Head-Fi Meet, Manchester 7 Nov 2009 (56k Warning) - Overclock.net

tUDJ · 1 Week Ago

Wow, what a day!

I went out this morning only ever heard HD555, HD600, Beresford DAC and Millet MiniMAX.

I've heard so much great gear today that it's going to be hard to remember everything (I didn't bother with a notepad ).

I was really keen to listen to some Grados as I'd read so much about them - all in all I think it's fair to say that I fall into the "hate" category for them, they are way too bright for my tastes, I did like the amount of detail in the mid range though. I tried the SR222, RS-1, Alessandro MS-2, GS-1000 and the HF-2 - the only ones I liked were the HF-2 as they were not as bright. I was really dissapointed by the GS-1000's, I expected better from a £900+ headphone.

The next thing I was excited about was the HD800, there were 2 pairs at the meet, one balanced and one single ended. The balanced pair were used with a Woo Audio 22 which had only been bought by the owner last week - the sound wasn't really that great if I'm honest but everyone there was convinced it was because it's so new. I couldn't make my mind up on the HD800 for most of the day, the first thing I noticed was how silky smooth the sound was but there was something that really bugged me - I'm still not 100% sure what it was but I think it may have been the presentation, everything seemed a bit too distant. I prefered the sound of the single ended pair out of my MiniMAX to the sound of the balanced out of the WA22 but when we compared both pairs on the WA22 they sounded pretty much the same (most likely due to lack of hours on the Woo).

A pair of headphones caught me by suprise - the Audio Techina AD2000, they have a really wide soundstage which put my HD600 to shame, they have great instrument seperation, detail and a nice open, airy sound. I think they may have been modded but I'm not sure, I'll try and ask the owner.

I compared a pair of HD650 with my own HD600 and I find the 650's too be too bass heavy although the treble is slightly more refined which I liked. The bass seemed a little bit muddy on the 650's too.

I'd used the 650's with a Darkvoice 337SE which was also a little bass heavy. I think this was because it was paired with a Monarchy Audio Tube DAC. Each component was a little bass heavy which added up to overwhelming bass in the final sound.

I listened to quite a few pairs of closed headphone too, Denon D5000 Markl modded, Denon D7000, Ultrasone HFI-780, Pro 750 and Edition 9's - there were also a pair of DT770 Darth Beyers.

The ultrasone HFI-780 were the worst of the 3 pairs of Ultrasone cans, they had quite muddy bass and really bright treble, the Pro 750 were alot better, the bass was alot tighter but they were still a bit too bright for me - the Edition 9's were great, they had more bass than the 750's but it was also nice and tight, they had a nice refined higher end too.

The DT770 Darth Beyer's were awful - they have obscene amounts of (flappy/farty) bass and not much else really. I didn't get a chance to listen to the stock DT770 though

The Denon D5000 Markl modded cans sounded fantastic with my amp, they had a really great (IMO) warm sound and were very entertaining. They had great dynamics, a really sweet high end - smooth mids and tight, fast bass. They were definatley the best pair of closed cans I heard today. They sounded better on my setup than with the owners rig which was a Benchmark DAC1 with a Heed Canamp, I think it was the amp that didn't provide enough power - they sounded quite flat.

The D7000 were very similar but I found them to have a slightly brighter high end, the rest seemed much the same. I do recall that they had a slightly more open sound, I think this was because of the thicker earpads.

I tried the DT990 and the Shure SRH840, both left me unimpressed - they both had a flat, lifeless sound. Both were new out of the box though which may account for this.

Another headphone that didn't meet my expectations was the STAX Omega 2, they did have really good detail and soundstaging but they didn't really "click" with me, they seemed a little flat sounding and not very dynamic - I actually prefered the HD600 with a Cardas cable with my MiniMAX. Some people said the STAX 02 are alot better with a different amp, the ones today were hooked up to a SRM717.

There was a Clarity Headmaster at the meet too, it was one of the first things I listened to, I used it with my HD600 first and was impressed at the sound, it was really neutral and crisp. I tried it later on with the HD800 and had pretty much the same thoughts - it wasn't the best at the meet but it was quite a good amp. I wanted to try some closed cans with it but didn't get time.

One objective I had in mind while at the meet was to compare my CDP with a DAC to try and decide if I want to split with my money, I did a direct comparison of the DACMagic with my CDP using my headphones and amp and I couldn't really hear much of an improvement, I think that the soundstage was a little bigger when using the DACMAgic but I'm not convinced I could tell the difference in a blind test. I heard a much bigger difference in sound when using a Cardas cable with my HD600, the difference between that cable and my Oehlbach cable really suprised me as I was a cable sceptic. With the Cardas cable the sound was much more energetic and involving - I'm trying to resist upgrading. There were several others who noticed the cable difference immediately too.

My MiniMAX seemed to go down really well, there were plenty of positive comments about it - many were suprised how much power it supplied to headphones, the guy who owns the WA22 had to get his own pair of HD600 to test as he said he'd never heard so much bass in them. There were a good few people who commented on the synergy with some of the closed cans such as the D5000 MarkL mod.

Another headphone I've just remembered about is the AKG K701. I was a little dissapointed with them when I heard them on the Heed Canamp but they transformed when I used them with my MiniMAX, they really opened up and the bass improved dramatically.

That's all I can think of for now - I'll add more if I remember it.

There were a few things that I didnt get a chance to hear that I'm a bit dissapointed about, the B22 amp with balanced HD600 (the left connector broke before I got to listen) and the Millet MAX which I never got chance to listen to as there was always other people at that table.

Sorry if my format seems a little off - I was just writing as I thought!

I really recommend a meet to everyone, it's really good to meet people with all kinds of gear and it's nice to be able to scope out potential future purchases - I've learnt alot about what I don't want to buy aswell as what I'd like to.

I didn't take my camera as I knew there would be plenty of people taking theirs, I'll add links to pics as they appear.

There is one set here

The Head-Fi Meet Impression thread is here

Tudj.

bumsoil · 1 Week Ago

wish i was in Manchester

**Sgtbash** · 1 Week Ago

Wish I bloody knew about it. Damn

woodpigeon4 · 1 Week Ago

Bugger, never knew about that. I'm actually crazy enough to drive all the way up to manchester for that

tUDJ · 1 Week Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sgtbash

Wish I bloody knew about it. Damn

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Originally Posted by woodpigeon4

Bugger, never knew about that. I'm actually crazy enough to drive all the way up to manchester for that

I posted in this section at least a month ago about the meet and bumped it several times

There should be one sometime next year so keep an ear out

woodpigeon4 · 1 Week Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by tUDJ

I posted in this section at least a month ago about the meet and bumped it several times

There should be one sometime next year so keep an ear out

Damn, I never saw that - I don't go on this section much

**soloz2** · 1 Week Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by tUDJ

I was really keen to listen to some Grados as I'd read so much about them - all in all I think it's fair to say that I fall into the "hate" category for them, they are way too bright for my tastes, I did like the amount of detail in the mid range though. I tried the SR222, RS-1, Alessandro MS-2, GS-1000 and the HF-2 - the only ones I liked were the HF-2 as they were not as bright. I was really dissapointed by the GS-1000's, I expected better from a £900+ headphone.

Did you try the Grados on your miniMax? It's actually a pretty decent Grado amp. Won't be able to compete with a MOSFET Max (it can't push as much current through the cans due to the output stage), but still not bad at all!

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The next thing I was excited about was the HD800, there were 2 pairs at the meet, one balanced and one single ended. The balanced pair were used with a Woo Audio 22 which had only been bought by the owner last week - the sound wasn't really that great if I'm honest but everyone there was convinced it was because it's so new. I couldn't make my mind up on the HD800 for most of the day, the first thing I noticed was how silky smooth the sound was but there was something that really bugged me - I'm still not 100% sure what it was but I think it may have been the presentation, everything seemed a bit too distant. I prefered the sound of the single ended pair out of my MiniMAX to the sound of the balanced out of the WA22 but when we compared both pairs on the WA22 they sounded pretty much the same (most likely due to lack of hours on the Woo).

I listened to that combo and found them it to be a pretty good combo, however I was listening to Jack's (from Woo Audio) gear so it had lots of time on it. I was impressed, although honestly not impressed enough to plop down cash I don't have for the combo!

I am curious about two things. First, the source and then second the equipment break-in.

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I tried the DT990 and the Shure SRH840, both left me unimpressed - they both had a flat, lifeless sound. Both were new out of the box though which may account for this.

Try to listen to a pair of DT880, much better than the 770 or 990 IMHO

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My MiniMAX seemed to go down really well, there were plenty of positive comments about it - many were suprised how much power it supplied to headphones, the guy who owns the WA22 had to get his own pair of HD600 to test as he said he'd never heard so much bass in them. There were a good few people who commented on the synergy with some of the closed cans such as the D5000 MarkL mod.

An absolute bargain it is! Glad you still feel that way after listening to amps costing 4-6x as much

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There were a few things that I didnt get a chance to hear that I'm a bit dissapointed about, the B22 amp with balanced HD600 (the left connector broke before I got to listen) and the Millet MAX which I never got chance to listen to as there was always other people at that table.

Depending on the configuration of the Max it would have sounded very similar to your amp and unless it was a maxed out MOSFET version yours would have probably sounded better! IMO. I've built several Maxes, the one I built for myself is by far my favorite, but not many people are willing to put so much $$$ into a 'budget' amp.

tUDJ · 1 Week Ago

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