Omega 2 vs. Qualia? - Page 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman 

...the scent of toasting cables and being lightly electrocuted by a short results in increased sound quality, and 'it's their ears, and that's what matters'.
 

That's the burn-in.  It'll only take 400 or 500 hours.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler 

What's so funny is that if you read through this thread you fully expect that the Qualias would be at least close to the Omegas in the polling.  I wonder if everyone who voted for the Omegas has heard the Qualias.  That's the flaw with the not being able to see who voted so you can inquire further.   Obviously, due to their electrostatic design, the fact that they're easily purchasable, can fit just about anyone, and perhaps even the Stax name, would make someone who hasn't heard either gravitate towards believing that the Omegas are superior.  I will probably go with the Omegas over the Qualias for the fact that I think I should own an electrostatic rig, but the Qualias are a major player which I have never heard and would ultimately cost me less because I wouldn't need to invest in an amp.  

Remember that the required stat amp can be used for the upcoming Stax C-32 as well as both Sennheisers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolcat 

 

 

 I own T1,LCD2,HE6 and used to own HD800.

I used to believe, that the R10 have just a name and the Headphones today will come close or even better than the R10,but I'm wrong.

You should hear them yourself,I guess you will change your mind. Funnily the headphones,which impressed me the most by our meeting last saturday were the phones from yesterday ,like the Stax sigma pro,O2 MKI or the K1000. I wish the Headphones company will reproduce these headphones or produce a new line of headphones like this (esp the earspeaker)

 I am sure that the manufacturers would love to better those phones,but you can only go so far and I think that with certain phones the technology peaked.

 As long as we have profit above all else orientated companies we face a bleak future.

 We must remember that statement products command statement prices and the market is not there.

 If you think I am wrong why not check on how long it took to sell all those top phones from yesteryear.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler 

What's so funny is that if you read through this thread you fully expect that the Qualias would be at least close to the Omegas in the polling.  I wonder if everyone who voted for the Omegas has heard the Qualias.  That's the flaw with the not being able to see who voted so you can inquire further.   Obviously, due to their electrostatic design, the fact that they're easily purchasable, can fit just about anyone, and perhaps even the Stax name, would make someone who hasn't heard either gravitate towards believing that the Omegas are superior.  I will probably go with the Omegas over the Qualias for the fact that I think I should own an electrostatic rig, but the Qualias are a major player which I have never heard and would ultimately cost me less because I wouldn't need to invest in an amp.  

Personally, if I were to have only one phone I wouldn't but either. I've previously had the O2 and the 010 at the same time, as I pointed out above. And although I do have an O2-II at the office, it's collecting a film of dust under the CPC-1 since I bought the T1.

The Qualia was hugely flawed and despite long hours with jewellers screwdrivers and bracing arrangements finally getting the fit right, I found it still more often than not like standing inside a bathroom while wearing a perforated tin bucket. What was hugely annoying was that you could easily hear the potential of the drivers, and it was a beautiful phone; I have not owned a better-looking, more sexily-engineered phone. It's just that it falls flat on its face when you consider it as a usable headphone.

And the fact that the crap cables peddled here by inexplicably highly-regarded companies, which by dint of their poor construction and absolutely s&$#te cables under the portentious techflex actually affected the sound enough to lop off the high end made the Qualia palatable... was the final straw.

My first experience with Qualias was downright terrible. I've since found out that anything more than the rare "small" headband is too big for most heads. My head isn't even that small, either... I prefer the Qualia over the O2 mk1. I've never heard the mk2, and I refuse to vote in the poll. :)

FYI, different sizes of headbands are still available from Sony.  A bit less than $700 I think, so an owner could achieve a perfect fit if he is willing to pay for the right headband.  I doubt many have heard the Qualia in an ideal condition let alone with a perfectly seal/fit pair, so some impression may not be accurate.  When you manage to get right fit, their sound is quite impressive.  Like Mulveling, I have to give a notch to the Qualia since the OII didn't sound all too great out of the KGSS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler 

 

Just curious...what did you not enjoy about the KGSS / Omega 2 combo and was it an MK1 or 2?

David,

I thought the combo was not that involving and dark sounding.  It had very nice imaging and pretty nice bass response.  We (Mulveling, Hozo, and I) prefered the L3000 + SP SDS over the O2 combo.  It' was MK1.  Hozo later sold the combo to Elephas.  Maybe the source (G-08) was to blame. 

You were pretty much describing the G-08 there.  I for one always thought there was something wrong with my system when I used that POS.  Turns out it was just the source...

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer 

You were pretty much describing the G-08 there.  I for one always thought there was something wrong with my system when I used that POS.  Turns out it was just the source...

Not sure whether it was the G-08 or not but most of us ending up liking the L3000 better that day.  I'll never cross the O2 off my list until I hear it with the BHSE amp.

Better yet, try it with the DIY SRM-T2.  Now that is a monster...