Boy oh BOY! There's a lot to cover so let's get started!!!!
HD 820
Wowza, this was my VERY first listen today! An it lives up to everything I wanted it to be. Very much a closed back HD 800 NOT 800s, so the sound is a little more lively and bright like the HD 800 without as strong of or as obvious of a peak up top and... better bass than the HD 800 without being as warm/thick the HD 800S
I did cheat a little and use my HM901 into the HDV 820, as I wanted to listen with a source that I own and was familiar with!
But simply put this is *hands down* one of the best closed backs I've heard ever. A CLEAR step above the Mr.Speakers Ether C Flow, which I heard a few times today. I respect the Ether C Flow because it has a very similar tonal presentation and it's also very very detailed [and priced a bit more aggressively]! But at the end of the day it's not quite as refined as the HD820 to my ears!
E-MU Zebra wood prototype
Sounded very much like and improved Purpleheart so;
- nice natural mid-range
- very clean envelope with a beautiful balance of attack/decay/sustain and release, I found it had slight emphasis on the attack and release
- slightly bass heavy with excellent extension
- good heavy low end without any excessive bloat, overall had slightly better texture/resolve than the purpleheart
- slightly dark up top but still spacious
All in all this one is said to be priced around 175ish, if MassDrop distributes this one again at the price point I'm pretty confident they'll do exceptionally well. Chen and I also spoke briefly about a balanced option! So I'm excited to see what becomes of these in the future!
Micro ZOTL
Tube was pretty spacious, good clarity! Overall did a lot of things right, did very few things wrong but also a bit underwhelming in comparison to some other Tube Amps I heard in and around this price point
E-MU Teak & MassDrop CAL
So starting with the CAL, this is my second time hearing it! Overall
- it's sound is clarity over tonality
- Pairs nice with darker Sources/Dacs
- Fairly resolving and spacious, didn't sound closed in or intimate
- Has just a touch of tube warmth and likely won't benefit to much form rolling
Though I will say the CAL was a bit noisy, but this was a show. I imagine at home with a decent power conditioner you could likely get a cleaner output from it! Given the price I certainly feel the CAL worth it's ask especially if you want a no fuss tube.
As for the E-MU Teak, the model I was listening to had a SPC/OCC Copper Hybrid Cable and with the CAL I quite liked it! I in fact enjoyed it more than the hard-wired Ebony Teak which I found to be very underwhelming. Again if you on the fence about it, I can certainly recommend it! I may in fact pick it up at some point to serve as a good reference for a quality mid range wood closed back
E-MU had a number of promising Prototypes including some open back designs based around the Purpleheart which will likely be placed around the same price point!
Very exciting as these were really exceptional,
- Natural like the Purpleheart
- More Open airy sound
- Equivalent detail and resolution but better imaging precison
- Tonally I liked the Purpleheart the best as the Ebony was a little too hard sounding
Schiit Audio Lyr 3
FINALLY! The Schiit Amp I've been waiting for! The return of the Vali Gen 1 sound BUT with a 6SN7
Overall I found it to be;
- More natural tone & timbre than previous designs
- Had NO loss of resolution or texture compared to previous models
- In fact I found the envelope to have slightly more emphasis when presenting the trailing end or release of many instruments in comparison to previous models
- Sound was also fairly spacious and there was little to no noise with my sensitive ES10
- Detail & Texture were good,
- Hard to pin down the technicalities with the noise at the show
But overall, I'm liking this depart from the previous almost "hyper-aggressive" sound I experienced with a lot of their amps! Best of all I have a HUGE collection of well balanced Single 6sn7s So I'll be super excited to do a little tube rolling with this
Sonnare Amps The Emotion
Wow... just wow and more wow. THIS was the BEST tube I've heard to date! Dan the designer, executioner and well builder of this product told me the story of how it came to be! He's using a pair of directly heated soviet tubes along with a single 6sn7 and 9pin. He also discussed how the human ear has 2nd & 3rd order distortion characteristics almost identical to tubes! So in addition to having a High/Low and 4pin XLR Output option he also had a knob to subtly adjust the harmonic content.
Now for my listening impressions I had it turned full counter clock wise, and again this was HANDS DOWN the best Tube Amp I've heard with my Modded ES10. I used my HM901 for source and EVERYTHING was amazing
- Texture was crystal clear
- The envelope was perfectly balanced
- With a slight focus on sustain/release with no loss of aggression or energy in the attack/decay
- Sound was very open, airy and spacious!
- Imaging was very precise
Again overall this was just phenomenal to listen to! Even with the noise it was phenomenal! And as a matter of fact Jose one of the vendor's who was using another Sonnare Amp to power a set of speakers [feel in love with my ES10 from another Sonnare Amp, so it would seem that Dan and I's personal preference for what "natural" a signature overlap quite a bit as this really felt like an amp built just for me!!!!!!
I am very much interested in purchasing this for my own home system! An as much as I need a new DAC I might grab this first as it was so amazing even with my HM901!!!!!!! Seriously if your attending PLEASE give this a listen!!!
Swan Audio
They built a Class A Dac/Amp with Planars in mind, this was also my first time hearing the HE 560 and I enjoyed both quite a bit! The designer/owner also informed me that they are able to push right around 6w into 8ohms, so it seems these are built for both Book Shelf Speakers and Headphones.
As for the HE 560 I'm happy to say SwanAudio's Designer Tony went with a Full Silver Cable! As a silver cable guy my self, I was pretty impressed with the HE 560's presentation with this system overall!
- Nice sense of immediacy
- Good balance of micro/macro dynamics
- Fairly Natural Mid range with a slight emphasis on texture
- Excellent bass quality, plenty of power and resolve
Again, build quality aside, at their current price I can say the HE 560 is a steal!!! Heck even if you purchase a second hand Gimbal/Headband assembly from one of our handy Redditors your still getting an amazing sounding open back at an incredible price!
Audeze Mobius
Really impressed with this one! Loved it with Mad Max, overall sound was
- Fairly clear
- Solid powerful low end! Plenty of texture with NO bloat
- Out of this world imaging
Hoping to spend a little more time with it tomorrow as well! But I can confidently say this is an excellent recommendation for any movie watchers/gamers, I personally would have stayed a little longer had they had more of Mad Max for me to watch!!!
Schiit Magni 3
I can see why there is such a mixed opinion about this one!
With the Modi 2 I really hated how it sounded, very harsh and just bright yuck overall, *how ever* using a slightly darker more resolving source, my HM 901, I was actually really impressed with the Magni 3! Honestly I think I'd seriously like to pick one up for my review system. It would make a great solid state compliment to my Vali Gen 1. An with my Sys I'd have a nice little Schiit stack!
But I would need to hear it with my Berringer UCA 202 before I can start recommending it, again with an equally priced dac it didn't sound to good, the tone was kinda off. Detail was good but the tone wasn't... now granted they DO have a Loki pair'd with it! An the total cost of the Loki with the Modi and Magni 3 is about what'd you pay for what I feel is a worthwhile DAC
SO if you were able/willing to get the Loki with the Magni 3 I think you'd have a real winner! As the Loki is able to correct the Tonal issues that the Magni 3 had to my ears when pair'd with a modi
Chord Dave & HeadAmp GS-X MK2
For starters, EVERYTHING you've read about the Dave is true. It is the MOST resolving DAC I've EVER heard... PERIOD! Detail wise this whole system was hands down out of THIS world! The presentation of microdynamics, imaging, precision within the sound was literally mind altering!
So props to Chord for that! My only regret is that I had to use the Ether C Flow to listen... again I like it's presentation and overall detail, but it's a little metallic when compared to the HD 820 which offers the same super neutral presentation but with far more naturalness and SLIGHTLY better detail. I MIGHT MIGHT MIGHT be able to slide the HD 820 over to this system tommorow... MAYBE
Astell & Kern
For starters... I didn't really love the AK 70MKII, sounded a bit similar to the Fiio X7 but with a MUCH smoother/faster and more responsive UI overall. So much easier to both use and navigate for sure
NOW The Kann on the other hand! That's a special one. It had the same level of detail & naturalness as my HM901 AND had BOTH SE and 2.5mm Balanced dedicated Line out and a Full Sized and Micro SD Card Slots... plus 64Gbs internal memory ON Board. So it's got
- A natural timbre with a slightly energetic tone
- Great dynamics, both micro and macro
- Clear cohesive imaging
- TWO Dedicated hard cable'd Line out Ports!!
- An I can NOT stress how MUCH I value this feature! I hate having a Line out that's shared with the 3.5mm output OR that's shared with the Chagrining port... both are seriously in-convenient as I personally use Lineout DAILY. So I love the reliability and convince of a dedicated line output!
All in all based on what I heard I think this might be my next DAP, it has literally EVERYTHING I could ask for! An it retails for the same was what I paid for my Hm901 back in 2012... seriously A&K
where was the Kann when I needed it lol!
Fiio
I got to hear both the X7 and M7! Honestly I liked each, the X7 had a nice clear sound, slightly forward in the midrange, so energetic with a little emphasis on attack & decay over release & sustain. But overall very enjoyable to hear, I also liked the M7 which embraces the same sort of warm but energetic sound but with a little less detail overall.
Head Amp Gilmore Lite MK2
Very good! Sounds a LOT like my HeadAmp Pico Power but with a tad more naturalness and a slightly more spacious sound overall. Another excellent and easy recommendation, though it's no secret that I after hearing this and the GS-X MK2 many many times here recently, and owning the PicoPower I'm certainly a big fan of Justin's work!
