Tom's a great guy…a true audiophile. Thanks a bunch for having me over (and to the generous person lending R10s). The meet was pretty spontaneous but what great gear! Tom’s Thiel cs7.2s were great for rock, and the bass was surprisingly good in his small room. The highs were a bit too warm for me, but a ribbon & ESL guy shouldn’t really comment.
Headphones
Qualia
Weird and unique. With Mike’s rock music, they were quite excellent. They took Rock into a new dimension. The speed and “weird” frequency response added a nice flavor. With Classical, tonality was off and became a big distraction. Soundstage, speed, imaging, etc were all great on classical except the fact a violin didn’t sound like a violin. It might work for others or after getting accustomed to the tone.
The construction on the Qualia is an engineer’s dream. All space age materials with a real carbon fiber band and crazy cushioning system.
JVC
Comfortable and well rounded. The sound was pleasant and balanced. Imaging and soundstage seemed lacking. It sounded like an under-damped housing.
R10
Awesome midrange and bass with killer highs. First thing I noticed after putting these babies on was the tremendous treble energy piercing my eardrums. It was unbearable at times. I heard a section on Patricia Barber’s CD that was more lispy than the K1000 (abet a smoother lisp…if that’s possible). However, I’ve been listening to the dark Omega 2s for a while. After getting accustomed to other brighter cans, the R10 treble sounded less striking. Mids and bass sound wonderful, smooth and musical. Soundstage and instrument separation are incredible with Classical. I love its musicality, but still hesitate with the volume in fear of its killer highs.
