[null]

I wouldn't mind chipping in a tiny amount (even just to hear them for an hour or so... I DREAM OF THAT DAY hehe lol)

 

[TrevorNetwork]

So Todd ended up buying the Orpheus from ZCX?

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrevorNetwork So Todd ended up buying the Orpheus from ZCX?

Todd has a new orpheus in stock

guru, I'm all about that timeshare

 

[Edwood]

ROFLMAO! Headphone time share?

-Ed

 

[NeilPeart]

The problem is I might forget to share the d@mn things! We'd also have to buy a communal Blue Hawaii! I actually considered selling all my audio gear (speakers, amps, cans, everything) and my car (1990 Nissan Maxima) to finance the HE90 and a KGSS...

 

[Scrith]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilPeart However, the musicality (that intangible, difficult to define and defend facet of audio) of the Qualia is lacking.

Yeah, on that day I agreed with you (comparing the Qualia@50hours to the HE90 or R10). Like I've said, I think the Qualia has gotten better since then (or I've gotten used to it). By the way, regarding Guru's point about R10s never sounding as bad as new Qualias...I doubt that many people have heard R10s that didn't have hundreds of hours on them already.

I still maintain that I think a lot of this musicality could probably be enhanced by using some digital equalization (maybe reduce those highs a bit, or boost the mids), after which you'd have the incredible detail at appropriate levels for all frequencies (this approach worked wonders with the HD280, whose bass is great but muted). But, so far I am happy, and haven't tried coming up with equalizer settings in Foobar for the Qualia.

But I'm sure there will be some people that dislike Qualias no matter how old they are (or what equipment they are used with) for whatever reason...I just know that I like mine a lot, and am hearing things with them that I didn't hear with other headphones (although sometimes these things may not be as friendly to the ear as they are on a headphone that doesn't reproduce them as well).

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilPeart We'd also have to buy a communal Blue Hawaii!

I don't know about that. I've never actually heard anyone say that the Blue Hawaii was in any way superior to the HEV90...

I think Kevin had the Omega II's more in mind with the Blue Hawaii. Has anyone actually heard both amps with the HE90 headphones?

I would definately be in for a month or two of this timeshare... maybe as it goes along I could buy out other people as well.

 

[eric343]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilPeart The problem is I might forget to share the d@mn things! We'd also have to buy a communal Blue Hawaii! I actually considered selling all my audio gear (speakers, amps, cans, everything) and my car (1990 Nissan Maxima) to finance the HE90 and a KGSS...

The HE90s are very nice headphones. Quite probably the best there is.

But the source is almost as important as the headphones and more important than the amp. A complete set of magic boxes from Meitner will run you $15,000...

Keep in mind they are, in the end, just headphones. There's a whole world around us with a much more diverse selection of fun to offer and, in truth, far greater fulfillment than headphones alone can provide.

That is to say, get off your butt and get outside if your brain has become so wrapped in the obsession of headphonalia that you're seriously thinking it would be worth selling your car for upgrades. Let put it this way -- I'd sell my whole rig without a second thought to keep my car. Or to keep my Powerbook G4...

 

[eric343]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox I don't know about that. I've never actually heard anyone say that the Blue Hawaii was in any way superior to the HEV90... I think Kevin had the Omega II's more in mind with the Blue Hawaii. Has anyone actually heard both amps with the HE90 headphones?

The HEV90 is very, very good. While I've never heard both the BH and the HEV90 side-by-side, I've found that the main difference between the KGSS and the BH is that the latter is a touch warmer with more (and better) bass. Hear them side-by-side and you may experience a bit of "builder's remorse," evidenced in the words of one builder (now no longer to be found) to me that the Blue Hawaii "simply wasn't worth the work and money." This is, of course, more of a tribute to the KGSS than anything else...

The HEV90 is even warmer, more liquid, and overall much more tubey. The HEV90 sacrifices surprisingly little detail and zero clarity to achieve this end, but those who prefer absolute neutrality would be better off with a Gilmore design. The HEV90 represents the "more magic" switch on the HE90s. If you like what they do now, you need to hear Sennheiser's tubes.

It would be very interesting to do a three-way head-to-head. Wayne and ayt, time for you guys to come to Seattle.

 

[philodox]

Never mind...don't need HE90...have K340

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric343 It would be very interesting to do a three-way head-to-head. Wayne and ayt, time for you guys to come to Seattle.

I'd come to Seattle, but I'm not so sure about the HEV90!!!

I had to send the Egmont Reference and Shanling T200 in for repairs after hauling them to meets. The airline people are just not nice with audio gear. I've now resorted to carrying on 40 pound amps (Singlepower Maestro ZR, for example) and walking through airports with them instead of taking the risk with the baggage thugs.

I'd really like to make the upcoming Vancouver meet, if possible, but I don't think they have settled on a date yet. But cans and cables are about all I can manage. Amps and sources stay in Cayman.

 

[ayt999]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric343 It would be very interesting to do a three-way head-to-head. Wayne and ayt, time for you guys to come to Seattle.

who decided that we were doing the three-way head-to-head in Seattle?

 

[NeilPeart]

Quote:

I think Kevin had the Omega II's more in mind with the Blue Hawaii. Has anyone actually heard both amps with the HE90 headphones?

He did. I think Kevin prefers the Omega II to the HE90, IIRC. In fact, the Blue Hawaii is really a KGSS with the tube output section of the famed and elusive Stax SRM-T2 (probably the best Stax amp ever). I mentioned the communal BH because its thousands cheaper than the HEV90. A true Orpheus (HE90+HEV90) would be too much for even a group time-share, methinks!

I would really like to compare the HEV90 to the Blue Hawaii but both those amps are very esoteric and thus few and far between. I have no doubt that the HEV90+HE90 probably possesses a special synergy that may sound better than the HE90+BH rig, but such an issue requires too much $$$ for me to even speculate. Actually, my ideal rig would be a KGSS+HE60, since I don't like messing with tubes at all and the HE90 is probably way overpriced (the wooden accents, exclusivity, etc.), though from memory the HE90 is quite a bit better than the HE60 (I heard the HE60 driven by the SRM-T1, SRM-313, SRM-007t and SRM-717). The clarity and musicality of a DAC1->KGSS->HE60 would be something to behold. I'd like to compare the HE90 to the HE60 one day using the same amp/source to really gauge how close they are to each other performance-wise (and I'd close my eyes so the beautiful wooden accents wouldn't affect my decision)!

 

[eric343]

The HE60 is not comparable to the HE90. It is considerably less refined in all respects, and lacks the "magic."

ayt: The guy with the KGSS that isn't capable of travelling, that's who.

(the internal parts are not mounted well enough to survive airline handling. I got to the point where the amp worked, and couldn't tear my ears away for long enough to get everything to 'production KG grade' specs. And I'm no longer enough of a headphone addict to invest the time and money.)

 

[eric343]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus I'd come to Seattle, but I'm not so sure about the HEV90!!!

I opened it up, remember? The design of the beast is such that it would be easy to fix. I doubt it would ever need repair, though! That amp could survive being shipped via parachute-drop (and, by the look of that box you showed me, probably did).

Come to think of it, that quality makes the HEV90 better for "time-share" use than any other electrostatic amp I know of... unless you had Justin build a special "bomb-proof" BH