[gsferrari]

Just wanna get this thread started...

Fantastic!! I got to :-

* Meet Neilpeart (Leeav)
* Meet ayt999 (Alex)
* Listen to Qualia, Orpheus etc.
* Introduce more headfiers to Indian cuisine

[size=large]First impressions : Orpheus PWNS all!! [/size]

More lata!! Stay Tuned

pics/qualia impressions/videos etc.

 

[ayt999]

well, it isn't the Orpheus since I don't have the HEV90.

thanks for coming over though. it was a blast!!

 

[Zanth]

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PLEASE

 

[gsferrari]

My laptop is broken...I smashed it in a fit of rage

All my meet impressions are gone with it...

basically -


Excellent meet.
* HE-90 is the best headphone out there...no need to use adjectives and audiophile terms to describe it.
* Omega II - Excellent...but fades away when you put it up against the HE-90
* K-1000 - again rates pretty high. It is now a budget setup because of the T-Amp. I have not heard ANY amp that sounds better with the K1000. This is something amazing...a $30.00 amp kicking butt!!
* Sony Qualia - Dissapointing. Hollow cavey sound which is a total departure from the R10 sonic signature. R10 owners - hang on to your R10s - long live the king...

Qualias were new and not burned in but the sonic signature is best described with the two words "shrillness" and "glare"

Keep in mind that this is out of a Gilmore Reference...perhaps a nice tube amp will do better...but I am not optimistic. It sounded like a bad sony CD3000

 

[NeilPeart]

There definitely was a large discrepancy between Alex's Qualia and Chris' Qualia (other than the fact that Alex's pair has the blue pads and Chris' pair has the red pads

). Perhaps this is due to break-in or the lack of synergous amp but I won't make any statements until I hear the Qualia again after 300+ hours. While I've always maintained that the Qualia is the most detailed 'phone but lacking in body and musicality, Alex's pair sounded absolutely "hollow." This was while being driven by the Gilmore Balanced Reference and the Accuphase DP-85 as the source! In contrast, Chris' Qualia sounded better than Alex’s while running off the Benchmark DAC1's built-in $150 headphone jack (and also a bit warmer, though with flabby bass from Chris' upgraded MPX3 with Tung Sols). I find it hard to believe that a $1000 source that is not known for its full-bodied sound and a PIMETA-level built-in headamp could sound better than a $10000+ source and a $2000 amp. However, Chris' Qualia simply sounded much better than Alex’s pair, and break-in is probably the most likely culprit. Alex's Qualia sounded hollow from the Grace 901 and Gilmore Reference (though it did sound more full from the Reference but still far from the R10's lushness and simply awful compared to the HE90 - even the K1000 sounded better). The Qualia was still the most detailed 'phone there (among the W2002, L3000, K1000, PS-1, HP-2, HE90, HD650, SR-007) but it sounded lifeless and empty. I always felt that the Qualia wasn’t my cup of tea, but nothing could explain its abysmal performance at Alex’s place through all those fine amps – break-in is the likely culprit, I surmise. Hopefully the Qualia will be fully burned-in by the next meet, and I’ll bring my DAC1 and Chris (with his Qualia) and hopefully a Dynahi and a tube amp (maybe Alex’s Singlepower SDS Balanced will have arrived by then) for a more thorough comparison. It’s always fun hanging out with Alex and Guru’s presence only enhanced the evening – the Indian cuisine was great but I’ve had better!

EDIT: The impressions regarding Chris' Qualia are from memory; he (and his headphones) were not present at this meet.

 

[ayt999]

impressions:
1. my Qualia 010 needs a lot of burning in since they are new.
2. my ATH-L3000 needs a lot of burning in because I had the drivers replaced.
3. I didn't like the K1000's that much.

 

[ayt999]

since I'm uploading pictures, figured I'll put these up.

Guru and Leeav

Guru with HE90

Guru with K1000

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsferrari * Sony Qualia - Dissapointing. Hollow cavey sound which is a total departure from the R10 sonic signature. R10 owners - hang on to your R10s - long live the king...

My thoughts exactly, from what I heard at the Qualia store.

I was hoping that a better source and amp would help, but there are some things that even those can't fix.

Oh, and the build quality was quite dissappointing, but then again this is coming from the lavish overkill of the R10's.

-Ed