HeAudio 1.3, 1.2B and the new JADE Stat Headphones - Page 163

Sometimes fuzzy peaks are the result dirty contacts. You should go through and clean all the tube pins with a good contact cleaner first and if that doesn't help, clean all the connectors on your cables. Actually, it's a good idea to do that a couple of times a year or more. Some tubes and cable connectors seem to get bad pretty quickly so I clean a couple of tubes every 2 months (or I should!). Once, after cleaning the connectors on my phono stage, I even had an easily noticeable increase in volume. Gee,.. I wonder if that was affecting the sound?!?!
I use a combo of stuff. MG Chemicals makes a very nasty "Super Contact Cleaner" that's great at removing large deposits (careful with that stuff though, it's one of those that the warning says "will cause cancer" instead of may). Then I wipe a little DeOxit D5 on it to inhibit oxidation. If you want to clean inside of the tube sockets, there are some tiny brushes at the drug stores now by GUM called Soft Picks that are kind of a floss alternative. Super cheap and fit right inside miniature 9 pins.

I found the problem. It was the 6BL7's in the mid slots. And it's not just these two tubes, I tried three different pairs of 6BL7's and they all exhibited the same problem. I just tried 6sn7->6sn7->el34, and there is no distortion anymore. But unfortunately, other than no distortion, the sound is not as good as the 6sn7->6bl7->el34 -- there's not enough slam and excitement. I'll have to try some other combinations.

That timer can cause you more problems than it fixes. It could choke your system.
For anyone who believes in a quality AC cable or power conditioning, you could have the best electricity in the world, but you're running it through a $15 timer.

Besides that, it should be a 15amp dedicated high voltage air conditioner timer at the least. Think of the current draw. You could overheat that sucker in a short time and cause a hazardous situation.

Yeah, it's a nicer 15amp timer ~ 1800W.
I will try putting it on the other side of my power regenerator and see how that sounds, but I'm just trying to get the correct tubes at the moment, which is not easy. Every combination sounds very different. Even putting one brand of 6sn7's on the input and another on the mids will sound very different with them swapped. Plus, some distort, some don't. And I am very picky as far as acceptable sound.

Hmm... the threads been quite quiet for the past week, guess everyone's enjoying their Jades

Well, here's mine just sitting pretty at the moment.

Anyone know how strong or fragile this headphone is? What material are the headband forks that connect to the cups? It seems so thin, especially where it's screweed on to the cups and to the headband itself. Anyone break their yets.

The sound is incredeble though. It's amazing how as good as I though my dynamic cans are, they are far behind the speed, soundstage, openness, and detail of these electrostatics (and this amp.)

So far there is only one tube combination that has everything I'm looking for:
a specific set of Sylvania 7n7's -> a specific set of Tung Sol 6sn7's -> the Groove Tube EL34 xf2 reissue, powered by a pair of Russian 6U4G rectifiers and a Tung Sol O3B voltage regulator. Even different rectifiers and voltage regulator made a big difference in the sound. I've tried dozens of other tube combinations and nothing comes close yet to this one, but I do have a few more tubes ordered to try.

The whole thing is made out of some type of wood and it is very fragile. I did manage to split the wooden fork while putting in new screws on Michaels set (the old ones are cheap and striped easily) but that was easily fixed with some glue. The housing will also not survive many trips to the floor before it splits open. Let's just say that there is a reason for the laminated birch plywood on the Sennheiser HE90...

It sounds like you're pretty darn picky. My kinda listener for sure (welcome to the club). You might wanta try adding a little analog to your source selection. I don't think anything can enhance your listening enjoyment more than that.

Elephas- I have an ES-1 and I am considering the Jade or HE90. Is the HE90 still your favorite on the ES-1 or is the Jade as good or better?

thanks much

My Jade must have made it back home safely. Mr. Fang has sent me a refund asap which I received 5 days ago.

It took some time to provide copies of identification documents to Pay Pal as those are required by the EU for members that receive more than 1000$, (not necessarily in one transaction alone).

It was a wonderful experience. However the economic crisis and the realization that I must have some dynamic high end sets as well lead me to return my Jade.

Mr. Fang, for one more time thanks for the outstanding support and good luck with your new product and company.

One the electrostatic tube amp front, I stumbled across a thread with some really exciting news. Frank Cooter had mentioned a while ago that he was thinking of working on a 'stat amp and now he's hoping it'll be ready for CanJam 09. If you're not familiar with his diy work here's a link to the last meet I heard one of his creations at (the lacewood 3 chassis mercury vapor rectifier amp)
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f45/ma...21/index3.html
I can't wait to hear what Frank's come up with. The above amp sounded fantastic. I wish I could find that post so I could quote him but he didn't go into any real details.
Actually, Craig Uthus was going to work on a 211 based amp but that got sidelined.

Naamanf and I both sold our Stax O2 Mk1 and kept our HE Audio phones (mine are Jade, his are HE 1.2b).

I figure he's got a $1500 phone on one hand vs $9000 phone on the other - I doubt the Jade will make him sell the HE90, but he might part with one of his O2 like we did.

runeight (Alex Cavalli of SOHA fame) is almost done designing a DIY stat amp - target goal was $300 parts, might be a 2-stage design that allows the budget route vs higher cost upgrade route with one PCB design.

Michael selling one of his SR-007? That's crazy talk as then he couldn't come up with stuff regularly to tease me with...

As for the original question, He90 vs. Jade, then I did own the Orpheus for many years and while being one of its more vocal critics it is far, far better then the Jade at everything but loose, flabby, out of control bass. The only headphone that sounds similar to the HE90 and betters it to my ears is the Stax SR-Omega using the original drivers. The SR-Omega chassis fitted with SR-007 drivers is an interesting crossbreed that has many redeeming features such as being the only one of the more "open" stat's that hasn't got any upper midrange etch and all the poise and precision of the 007 yet more "fun".

Gah, a must-have electrostatic amp? A DIY?

I think Justin is mad at me for proposing that he put my BHSE inside a Singlepower chassis. And Mikhail is... busy. So who might build one for me?

I think I might be able to think of some other stuff Sir Thor, o'mighty God of Thunder.

Nah, I couldn't sell an O2. Which one to sell? I'd rather sell the Jade!

I haven't been in possession of a Jade for a while. It's now in Justin's hands, and he seems to like it. The master BH amp builder says the Jade is good, but he needs extra padding on the headband to get a better fit.

I remember the Jade being very large and fitting loosely, so an option for a thicker headband or tighter elastic might work for some people. These could be end-user installable.

I recall the Jade not being quite at the level of the HE90, SR-Omega or the O2's. The HE90 is still my favorite, but the O2Mk1 is very close after I tried a certain tube combination on the ES-1. The HE90, like any other headphone, has its weaknesses. Comparing it to the O2Mk1 or O2Mk2 makes them more apparent, and vice versa. The thing is, the HE90 and the O2's are very different, and the more different they are the more difficult it is to rank them. The HE90, SR-Omega and Jade are more similar to each other and therefore easier to rank. Does that make sense?

I suggest getting the Jade. Yes, I like the HE90 more and I think the Jade is less refined. But the HE90's cost, lack of availability, no money-back guarantee, and soon to be expiring or already expired warranties make the Jade a much better deal. Even better, get the Jade and an O2, either one, and be happy plus keeping a fatter wallet.