Headphone Connect Bangalore Meet impressions:
I’ve heard of ABC (Arbor Brewing company), from the moment I stepped into Bangalore, but never had the chance to check it out until this Sunday. The Headphone-zone (see what I did there) was in a temp-walled off area within this beautiful looking, surprisingly open, and bustling pub. Before I share my impressions, I must apologize, because only after I was back home did I realize that I barely took any pictures. I was too engrossed, I guess.
There were products from every brand on the invite list, reps from Klipsh and Beyerdynamic, a myriad of smiling faces and all the gear they brought along. The counter was lined with headphones, the table was littered with IEMs and DAPs and there was a small table off to the side hiding some mystery gear under a black cloth.
There was food on the table, coupons for drinks and a lot of gear to dig into. Pretty awesome evening this was turning out to be.
Straight to my impressions then
- FiiO X5; DAPs and amps: Chinese DAPs aren’t “Chinese DAPs ” anymore. They all do tend to sound great, but leave you wanting in the style, UI, build etc departments. Not the FiiO X series. I got to play around with the X5 2nd gen. The build is excellent; they sound great, was a lot smaller than what I had imagined and joy of joys: the UI was a breeze to get a hold of. The cute little X1 is a great budget DAP too. Didn’t get to play around with it much, but the form factor, size and good UI win quite a few portable points. I can’t comment on the E12K because I didn’t get to A/B it, but it did drive most of the portable HPs on display with authority.
- Klipsch Reference On ear: Pleasantly surprised. These are pretty good. Very good overall sound that deserves a second and third listen (not what I would call reference though), extremely comfortable, light weight. I see the price in India is 18000, which is pricier than their international price. The Klipsch rep(name escapes me)was actively gathering feedback from everyone who did audition them. I did commend them on the Reference one but not so much the X11i, which wasn’t to my personal liking. The X11i with the oval tips is one of the most comfortable IEMs I’ve experienced though.
- Beyerdynamic: Mr. Sheik from BD was there with the beyerdynamic line-up. No, not the T1s. I did manage to audition(after he had packed up) the DT990 250 ohm and Custom One Pro. Wow, the DT990 was one of the highlights of the meet. Fabulous detailed sound. Airy and open with some hard hitting bass. Their office is close to mine, so I’ll definitely pop down for another audition, this time in a quieter setting. The Custom One Pros were good but…..yeah…good. It’s probably the contrast with the DT990 that makes it a bit underwhelming, but my audition time is way way too short to make any conclusions.
- Audeze: With a flourish, Raghav whipped off the black cloth revealing the Audeze headphone line up. And the new Deckard too! The craftsmanship is beautiful, from the sleek metal finish of the Deckard to the wooden finish of the LCDs. I managed to listen to them near the end of the meet when almost everyone had left. It did become significantly noisier as they removed the temporary partitions. But boy, was I in for a treat. This is my first experience with high-end Headphones and I came in not knowing what to expect. The bass hit hard and full, the mids dissolved into my brain and the highs set my hair on end. I tried A/Bing them and was unable to come to a conclusion as to which I liked the most. The LCD-X is probably third(something off in the upper mids) but I didn’t get much head time with it. The LCD2 fazor and LCD X had very similar bass.More rumbly than the LCD-3. The mids on the LCD 3 felt somewhat similar to the LCD-2(just a tad more refined). I kept see-sawing between the LCD-2F and LCD-3 with each track I played. I really need a more relaxed audition. It’s probably not worth mentioning, but the Deckard was much much better than my modest Geek Out at driving them. I feel like I only had a small taste of something so tantalisingly good. I need more time with them!
- HD800 and the Chord Hugo: Sree was there with his AK100II>Chord Hugo>Moon Audio silver dragon>HD800, sitting like a proud father letting his children listen to his prized possession. I finally had a chance to talk to him (extremely polite and pleasant man) and give the HD800s a go. It doesn’t exactly wow you on first listen but then you start to notice the micro-detailing and suddenly you’re aware of it. The detail just keeps pouring through and it’s simply amazing. It’s definitely on the analytical side of things and probably won’t work with all the genres. I felt the Chord Hugo (not really a looker) definitely brought out some magic in them and would be surprised if there’s more headroom with other setups. I hope I get to audition them again in a quieter setting.
- B&H Beoplay H6: In the course of our conversation, while I waited patiently for my chance with the HD800, Sree pulled out this simple yet classy looking HP. Attached to it was a thick mess of cables, his iPhone, a power bank and the CEntrance DACport. With no preamble, he fired up some jazz and handed them to me. Wow, what a powerhouse. Engaging yet smooth, clear and I didn’t feel like changing anything (except maybe wanting a bit more airiness). Extremely comfortable, the pads were like cool pillows of air. B&H definitely know what they're doing and then some.
- Koss Porta-pros: I saw my friend wide-eyed and staring off into space with a lip bite that said he was listening to something awesome. Ten minutes later, I had the same expression. These are seriously good. Extremely comfortable, weighs next to nothing and deliver excellent sound that’s engaging and exciting. A little bassy but hey, these are for those moments. They’ve been available for under 40$(list price 50$) since forever (quite literally) on amazon. This roughly translates to 2600INR. If it wasn’t for Headphonezone’s price (Rs. 4400 = 69$), I would’ve bought three! Must ask Raghav about this.
- V-moda: I tried the XS(couldn’t get a good fit) and the Crossfade (LP2 or M100? I’m not sure). I hurriedly put them back as I just heard muddiness and some midrange recession that really wasn’t to my liking. Look down and I notice the Bass boost on the E11k is switched on (derp). With the bass boost turned off, it sounded much better. I prefer the Porta pros on sound but the V-MODAs are all way easy on the eyes, that’s for sure.
- NuForce Primo 8: Sree again! I asked him if he did listen to IEMs and he pulled out this beautiful metallic blue IEM that was instantly recognizable. Holy wow. I’ve never heard bass decay this quickly. Hit! And one microsecond later there’s nothing. It’s almost unrealistic and takes some getting used to. The midrange and treble was sublime and engaging. These are on my radar.
- Sony MDR Z-1000: Deep inhale……Um….no..these really didn’t it for me. Very short audition. No comments.
- Raghav and Bhavika: The Headphonezone pair handled the event beautifully. Bhavika was on her feet non-stop making sure everything ran smoothly. Raghav was on interact-mode and only stopped talking when he had headphones on. It’s refreshing to see this sort of enthusiasm from an Indian company, for what many of us consider a niche hobby which really hasn’t taken off in India(I mean HPs, IEMs and other portable gear).
- Everyone at the meet: I really don’t have many audio enthusiast friends so, it was exciting to meet equally passionate(probably more) people who really do care about music and more-so about how it is experienced. I hope to meet them all again at the next meet.
- Things I missed that I wish I didn’t:
- RHA T10i: I was too late. They were packed by the time I asked for them. Hopefully I’ll get to listen to the new T20i too.
- Shure SE215: I’ve heard a lot about it and was looking forward to giving it a go. Maybe next time.
- Skullcandy HPs: As a reference point and you know…..for kicks
- FiiO portable amps with my phone(LG G2): I’ve been on the lookout for a portable amp to carry along with my phone.
- The beer: Don’t ask.
I loved the experience. The plethora of gear, great people, great music. I hope to see more meets in the future. We need this kind of exposure and awareness in India if the hobby really has to pick up. Good job HeadphoneZone, that was a Sunday worth remembering.
Some of the very few pictures I took(sorry again):
FiiO X5 2nd Gen alongside my HiFiMAN RE400
IEMs, AMPS, HPs galore. That's the Klipsch Ref One in white
Raghav unveiling the Audeze line-up.
Deckard hiding in the middle LCD-X alongside the LCD-3. That's rajeevrn listening to the LCD 3
The Bliss combo. AK100II>Chord Hugo>HD800
Some of us hung back to soak up some more Audeze magic
