HeAudio Jade and HE1.2/1.3: how many are using them and are you happy with them so far?

[markmaxx]

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I am still quite puzzled about Spritzer's comments about the Jade sound signature, as his descriptions sound nothing like my phones.

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I tried two Jades at CJ and both sounded horrible to me.  Flat, disjointed mess just like Michaels set.  One set was in the Woo room so I tried it with the WES, GES and the transformer box but it always sounded bad.  In fact it all came back to me why I was so eager to send them back once I had recabled them....

Spritzer,  don't be shy here,,tell him what you really think....

.....
 

 

[bada bing]

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I tried two Jades at CJ and both sounded horrible to me.  Flat, disjointed mess just like Michaels set.  One set was in the Woo room so I tried it with the WES, GES and the transformer box but it always sounded bad.  In fact it all came back to me why I was so eager to send them back once I had recabled them....

I spent quite a bit of time in the Woo room listening to the Jades on the WA5 + transformer box and was pretty impressed. It was a first time experience with all three, so novelty could be part of it. The quick opinion I got was the Jade was like a slightly less polite and more colorful HE60.  I would definitely like to hear the Jades again on more familar equipment and a closer comparison to O2's & HE60. I came away from CanJam lusting for a T2, a JH3 and a Jade in that order. Most of the highly touted gear like the LCD-2, HE5le and Beyer T-1 didn't ring any big "buy me" bells with me.  

 

[n3rdling]

Every time I've heard the Jade I've come away very very underwhelmed.  Probably the worst electrostat I've heard, I think I like the lowly SR5 more than it.  The EXTREMELY diffuse headstage just bugs the crap out of me.

 

[Yikes]

The term "Headstage" bugs me.

That being said they are a polarizing headphone, either that or some of them sound better than others.

 

[AudioCats]

[size=10pt]some comparison impressions from the 8/14/2010 Colorado meet:[/size]
 
[size=10pt]Re-cabled Jade vs. O2mk1[/size]
 
[size=10pt]On ASR’s BHSE: O2 is more precise and has better bass. Wide stage. Sharpe details. Very relaxing sound. “effortless”. Jade has a slight advantage in human voice replay. Sound stage is much narrower, more upfront, some might consider it to be more “engaging”. A little “harder” sounding (probably due to less micro details than the O2mk1). The O2 wins, by a slight margin. [/size]
 
[size=medium]On headphoneAddict’s WES: Similar to the above, except O2’s bass was a bit too strong for me (though I got used to it after more listening). Jade still has an advantage in replaying human voice, but that edge was very very slight. The O2mk1 wins again. There is one area Jade can beat the O2, though, that is the Jade’s smoothness/forgivingness, it sounds better when playing certain recordings, such as Diana Krall’s the girl in the other room album (which is said to be very sibilant).[/size]
 
[size=medium]The Jade cable in this case was a silver/teflon, not a stax-wide. Stax-wide cable is a lot less expensive but doesn't sound as good. The factory Jade (PVC) cable is pretty bad.  [/size]

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I am used to the O2 bass on the WES now, and it seems close to just right but slightly boosted vs listening to the LCD-2 on the ZDT (similar flavor).  What I didn't like about the Jade this weekend was the Jade with stock cable seemed a bit more compressed and smoothed out and flat sounding, while recabled the jade improved in detail a good bit and sounded less compressed.  I must get my Jade re-cabled like Audiocats if I am to keep them, but even then the soundstage was still flatter than the O2 and HE60.

 

[sonance]

Any opinions on using the Jades with an energizer (this thought is prompted by Woo Audio's pre-order for their new energizers)? For some reason I find it easier to invest in an amp that can run speakers, and if it can also run an energizer then why not...
 
I'm wondering if buying a WES would be a better option than energizers, as I would love to own the O2s as well as Jades, but it seems like the O2s really require a bigger amp than the WES to sound their best?

 

[Jon L]

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 What I didn't like about the Jade this weekend was the Jade with stock cable seemed a bit more compressed and smoothed out and flat sounding, while recabled the jade improved in detail a good bit and sounded less compressed.  

Who did the Jade rewire job and with which specific silver wire?  
I would have thought UPOCC copper would have been a better fit with Jade..

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

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Any opinions on using the Jades with an energizer (this thought is prompted by Woo Audio's pre-order for their new energizers)? For some reason I find it easier to invest in an amp that can run speakers, and if it can also run an energizer then why not...
 
I'm wondering if buying a WES would be a better option than energizers, as I would love to own the O2s as well as Jades, but it seems like the O2s really require a bigger amp than the WES to sound their best?

 
The WES and eXStatA were noticeably better than the WEE driven by my ZDT.  The WEE sounds more compressed and flat, with less micro-detail than these direct drive amps.  However, the WEE was noticeably better than my stock SRD-7 Mk2.  It had better detail and was more efficient, so it could drive an O2 better if all you were concerned about was enough power.  I would prefer to have a Woo GES or vintage Stax SRM-717 than the WEE, but the WEE beats my stock Stax boxes.  I have an Audiocats modded SRD-7 with pro-bias and 5-pin XLR, that has direct coupled transformers that I will try vs the WEE before I send it back.
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Who did the Jade rewire job and with which specific silver wire?  
I would have thought UPOCC copper would have been a better fit with Jade..

Audiocats re-cabled his Jade himself, and the wire alone cost him $250 I think.  I don't know what kind.  I should have also tried his Stax wide PCOCC cable, but I forgot.

 

[sonance]

Thanks Larry - as it turns out, I meant GES rather than WES. The WES I would hope (with that sort of price difference) would bury the WEE, even with a really good amp driving it. And drive is only one of my concerns, I'm sure I'd be losing a bit of transparency and smoothness by going through an energizer. I find it hard to judge based on what I've read whether the Omegas are really so under-driven by current production Stax amps and something like the GES, and whether it takes a KGBH-level amp to make them sing.
 
From everything I've read the Jades are much easier to drive, making clarity and tone the main things to worry about in choosing amplification, but I think I'd need to do some listening to decide how much of a compromise some of these options are.
 
I guess I'll have to attend some meets and get some listening in before diving into the wonderful world of 'stats.

 

[AudioCats]

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..the wire alone cost him $250 I think.  I don't know what kind.  I should have also tried his Stax wide PCOCC cable, but I forgot.

wire was probably between $250 and $300, then add extra teflon tubing for insulation. I won't tell you which wire I used, but with that kind of bulk park price # there really isn't that many different options.
 
Stax wide is about midway between the stock PVC and the silver teflon.

 

[AudioCats]

if you want to use speaker amp + transformer box (whateven box that is), then the O2 is a better option. Drive power is usually not a problem when you go the trans box route. You are right that trans box will lose some details, partly due to the speaker amp partly due to the transformers themselve, so you might want as "fine detailed" a phone as you can get, and IMO the O2 is definitly a finer sounding phone.
 
There is a chance that "recabled Jade + Maxxxxxxed GES (no, Auri caps are not good enough)" combo (possibly around $4.5k total) can rival a O2 setup in similar overall price. nobody knows for sure though.   
 
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Thanks Larry - as it turns out, I meant GES rather than WES. The WES I would hope (with that sort of price difference) would bury the WEE, even with a really good amp driving it. And drive is only one of my concerns, I'm sure I'd be losing a bit of transparency and smoothness by going through an energizer. I find it hard to judge based on what I've read whether the Omegas are really so under-driven by current production Stax amps and something like the GES, and whether it takes a KGBH-level amp to make them sing.
 
From everything I've read the Jades are much easier to drive, making clarity and tone the main things to worry about in choosing amplification, but I think I'd need to do some listening to decide how much of a compromise some of these options are.
 
I guess I'll have to attend some meets and get some listening in before diving into the wonderful world of 'stats.

 

[AudioCats]

my previous experience with Neotech UPOCC wire says.... no. ( I wouldn't even use that wire in power cords).
 
please Do try it yourself and please let us know if copper is indeed better with the J.
 

 
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Who did the Jade rewire job and with which specific silver wire?  
I would have thought UPOCC copper would have been a better fit with Jade..

 

[Jon L]

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my previous experience with Neotech UPOCC wire says.... no. ( I wouldn't even use that wire in power cords).
 
please Do try it yourself and please let us know if copper is indeed better with the J.
 

 

 

Really?  Which Neotech UPOCC wire did you try and what was wrong with the sound?  The upocc in PVC or upocc in teflon wire?
 

 

[AudioCats]

Not trying to bash the Neotech wires. If you think it will work well, try it and see how it works out. I am not interested in the result, others probably do.