Neko Audio

Neko Audio Bay Area GTG
I will be hosting an audio get-together at my home (San Jose, CA) on Saturday, March 14 starting at 2pm. Mark your calendars!

I'll be providing food and drink. Please RSVP via email or by replying to this thread. Unfortunately I do have to impose an attendance limit as I cannot accommodate a boatload of guests. Bring whatever gear and CDs you'd like to share!

Current Attendance: 8 guests

Equipment
I have two setups. The home theater setup is the better of the two.

Home Theater
Pre-amps: Emotiva DMC-1, Anthem TLP-1
Amps: Emotiva MPS-1, Wyred 4 Sound ST-500
Speakers: Onix Reference 3, Magnepan 1.6, DIY Subwoofer
Other: Neko Audio D100, Behringer EP2500, Behringer DCX2496

2-channel
Pre-amps: Parasound Halo P3
Amps: Parasound Halo A23
Speakers: Strata Mini, UFW-12

Guest Gear
NuForce Reference 9 v2 SE
Classe DAC-1
Slim Devices Transporter
JVC XLZ1010TN
Music Hall mmf 5.1

The get-together is over, and we had a great time. Unfortunately some people who were planning to attend had to back out for one reason or another, but we did get a chance to listen to a few different things. The Music Hall mmf 5.1 turntable proved to be very interesting and not just because it takes 20 minutes to setup and pack up.

With the mmf 5.1, we listened to Norah Jones' Come Away with Me on both vinyl and CD. The mmf 5.1 was connected to a NAD PP-2 phono preamplifier and the CD was played through the Neko Audio D100 DAC. Both fed an Anthem TLP-1 then Wyred 4 Sound ST-500 and Magnepan 1.6 speakers. The reason this comparison was so interesting was because they sounded completely different. Yes, the vinyl had a higher noise floor and pops, but ignoring that part it did not sound like just a difference in vinyl versus CD. It sounded like they were made to sound different on purpose. One person commented that the sound engineer must have consciously added reverb to the CD version of the same song.


We did a quick comparison between the Emotiva DMC-1 and Neko Audio D100 keeping everything else the same, and then quite a few comparisons between the Onix Reference 3 and Magnepan 1.6 speakers keeping everything else the same. Everyone preferred the sound of the Magnepan 1.6, but the Maggies are very sensitive to the room and placement: the difference in sound was immediate when removing the acoustic panels behind the Magnepan speakers. Shifting seats let people hear differences in soundstage and focus.


One person brought the Telarc recording of the live 1812 Overture with canons. For fun we played this back at -0dB through the Emotiva DMC-1 + MPS-1, Onix Reference speakers, and the subwoofers. Although it says -0dB there's quite a bit of gain being applied at this volume setting. The hiss was loud at this level, and after the cannons the MPS-1 right channel module shut down. The Behringer EP2500 that drives the subwoofers was driven to clipping. No damage though, and after power cycling the MPS-1's right channel came back. The house was shaking.


Very enjoyable experience. I wish we'd gotten a chance to listen to more gear but I guess that'll have to happen some other time.