[electrathecat]

I'm awaiting receipt of Qualia 010s I was lucky enough to purchase from immtbiker a few days ago. Obviously it's no secret that a proper fit is essential to optimize sound quality (it's amazing how much a precise fit seems to matter with Qualias, hence the "love it or hate it" opinion of so many here). I've had no luck finding one. Can anyone lend me one, or photocopy one, or hand-draw one in crayon (I'm desperate) and send it to me? I would be eternally grateful.

P.S. Already tried Qualia directly -- Howard Stringer personally told me to "bugger off."

 

[Mercuttio]

Wow, what was Sony's actual response? They must have a few of those lying around. I have never heard of a company so committed to being unhelpful of customers...

 

[electrathecat]

A gruff "concierge" told me that the 010's were discontinued. I told him I knew that, but that I was still hoping for a fit kit. He then put me on hold for about fifteen minutes (apparently asking/looking around) and told me that Sony ran out of them and were no longer printing them up anymore. At least he tried I guess. I was actually surprised that anybody bothered to answer the hotline at all.

 

[Mercuttio]

Yuck, Sony. Seems like everything lately (especially the Playstation 3 PR debacle) just re-inforces my dislike of the company. What on earth happened? If you want a real horror story regarding the Qualia though, just ask jjcha about his 010 breakage and what they told him...

 

[Hirsch]

I probably have a size gauge or two. However, the accuracy of the Qualia gauge is very poor, and the first Qualia I got was too large. If you really want one, I can try and find one and send it, but I wouldn't trust the results. If you've got a normal head, you probably want a small.

 

[Chri5peed]

Sony are a bunch of turds.

 

[euclid]

my goal for this lifetime is to not have a single piece of sony equipment, apple is now on the blacklist as well. so far im down to a pair of crappy mdr-v600 which im putting on ebay, and a PS2. though i dont think i will ever be without at least one sony console system, so therefore my life will forever to be a failure.

sony is even releasing an SLR camera/lens line, lol.

 

[jpelg]

I'm just flabbergasted that you actually spent 2G's on a headphone that is not only incredibly dependent on perfect fit, but isn't size adjustable, and you don't know your size????

While I concede that Sony didn't come up with the best sizing scheme in the world, it was well-documented both by Sony in their purchase process & marketing materials, as well as here on Head-Fi. You can't really blame Sony for buyers not listening (ie. buying blind).

I hope you are a medium.

 

[J-Pak]

Wasn't there a NYC Qualia store mini meet recently? Maybe the attendees could offer advice.

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpelg I'm just flabbergasted that you actually spent 2G's on a headphone that is not only incredibly dependent on perfect fit, but isn't size adjustable, and you don't know your size????

There is a certain amount of play in the height of the headphone. You simply unscrew the two phillips head screws holding the earpiece in place, adjust height, and retighten. Within those constraints, the headphone is adjustable. However, your fit needs to be within that particular size range for the headphone to sound right, and the Qualia gauge is useless.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hirsch There is a certain amount of play in the height of the headphone. You simply unscrew the two phillips head screws holding the earpiece in place, adjust height, and retighten. Within those constraints, the headphone is adjustable. However, your fit needs to be within that particular size range for the headphone to sound right, and the Qualia gauge is useless.

Totally agree with the gauge comment. Koji sent me one way back, and I should have it around here somewhere. But with the gauge, I was in between an M and an L. In reality, I'm in between an M and a max adjusted S, but I've tried them all and none of them fit. I've got a huge head and I'm swimming in the L. About the only person is would fit is Andre the Giant. So I wear my M loosely and constantly fidget to get it to seal. Just as Bangraman mentioned on another thread, after about 10 minutes I kind settle into them and then the world seems right again.

 

[Sleestack]

I think I have one. I need to look through my files. I'll let you know.

 

[BrianS]

imagine having to take them off every time you wanted to change a CD. ahhh the pleasures of life

 

[electrathecat]

In the spirit of full disclosure, I did do extensive research on this site concerning Qualia 010s and am well aware of the fit issues. When presented with an opportunity to own what is arguably one of the best dynamic headphones ever made (and of which only a few hundred were ever sold), I couldn't pass it up. Yes $2k is a large chunk of change, but if in the worst case scenario they don't satisfy me acoustically or they just don't fit properly then I'm pretty confident that I can sell them without much effort and without much loss. From everything I've read I'm probably a maxed out small or a min'ed out medium, so there's a good chance I'll be able to get a reasonable fit from the medium Qualia that's coming to me. The reason I was looking for a fit kit was to help with the micro adjustments I'll almost certainly have to make, but after getting excellent advice as a result of this thread I'm pretty sure the fit kit won't be much assistance to this end -- I'll just have to hope that trial and error will be enough to obtain a decent fit. Thanks to everyone (Hirsch and Sleestack in particular) for their kind offers!

 

[bangraman]

If all else fails, post up the distance between the middle of your earHOLES (tricky, but this is key) with the measuring tape passed over the crown of your head.