[jude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nik Jude, what about your impressions of the Qualia ??? Best! Nicola

Nik, I've had it for a while now (on loan from Sony Electronics), and I just can't get rid of the strong resonance. I've tried it on several fantastic amps, but that overly resonant characteristic is not one that I've been able to alleviate.

I have them for a while longer, so I'm going to keep them burning in, and hopefully there's a reduction (or elimination) of that trait; however, given how prevalent it is, I'm afraid that would take some serious changes with use.

I'll be bringing it to what will almost certainly be a bigger Head-Fi Meet on May 20 (hosted by Wadia), and it will be interesting to establish a broader impressions base there.

One of the most exciting things about the Mini-Meet for me was that the stork dropped off my new baby, and this baby has a hot temperament, a gorgeous voice and a single glowing eye (I'll post more about 'er later):[align=center]


[size=xx-small]Click on photo to enlarge.[/size]

[/align]
As for further impressions and photos, I'll post more later. Still swamped at work. I posted some photos in the Head-Fi Gallery, and will post more photos and impressions later.

 

[dhwilkin]

It's the amp version of the

smiley!

 

[GlowWorm]

Forget it...

 

[Mikey01]

Sounds like y'all had a good time. Glad to here it. How about more on the Eddie Current HD25 "Big Brother". It's a new amp. Ya gotta spill the beans.

 

[adhoc]

was that 'standard' hd-25 a demo model which was returned after the meet? if so, that might be MY amp!

 

[Nightfall]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikey01 Sounds like y'all had a good time. Glad to here it. How about more on the Eddie Current HD25 "Big Brother". It's a new amp. Ya gotta spill the beans.

That would be the soon to be available Eddie Current DM1. An all new amplifier from the audio design brilliance of Craig Uthus that sounds simply wonderful. I was blown away by the quality of sound per dollar ratio, This is very expensive sound in a very modestly priced package, all things considered.
The final version will be completely enclosed and look very slick. Honestly, this amp is almost TOO good for its asking price. I told Craig he should charge MORE!

It should be available for sale sometime in the next few months and at a cost of about $900.00. The tubes it uses are also extremely affordable, and long term, that makes this even a better value. I would, and actually do plan to recommend to this to a number of friends that are looking for a great amp under $1000.00. In that price class, again, IMO, it has no peers. Not even close.


JC

 

[jude]

Okay, color me big-time embarrassed about how late I'm posting these Mini-Meet impressions. Yes, this Detroit Mini-Meet occurred almost a month ago, and I've been sitting on a very rough draft of these impressions since. I just took some time to do some spelling and grammar corrections (probably not completely), so that I could finally post them. Here they are:

1. [size=small]Sony QUALIA 010:[/size] This is a headphone I wanted desperately to like. In a teleconference with Sony Electronics about their QUALIA products, it was clear that they’re very excited and very proud of every one of their QUALIA products. The idea was to build products not constrained by the need to build to price points or engineering limits. Essentially, their development teams were tasked with going balls-out on all of the QUALIA-branded products, including this QUALIA 010. I believe at least some of the people who worked on the now-legendary Sony MDR-R10 headphones also worked on the QUALIA 010. From its highly advanced materials (nano composites, carbon fiber, magnesium, etc.), and its sheepskin earpads, it’s pretty obvious little or no expense was spared in creating this headphone. Everything about it suggests it should be an exciting product, and a top-notch performer.
   
   Unfortunately, I just have not been able to get these headphones to sound “right” to me. Can they be detailed? Yes. Does it have solid bass response? Generally, yes. But there’s an overriding character about them that I have not been able to shake, and that’s a resonance that is, well, overwhelming. Yes, I’ve tried every possible position of the earcups on my head. I’ve tried pressing them against my head, and pulling them out slightly. I’ve removed my glasses, I’ve left them on. I’ve tried it with close to a dozen amps. This resonance has been unmitigable for me. I’m certainly no headphone designer, but when I look inside the earcups, I’m not entirely surprised. Forward of each driver, leading to the earpad, is a horn-shaped chamber, made of a smooth surface. What I’d be interested in trying (if they belonged to me and weren’t valued at $2600.00) would be to line the smooth chamber with a softer material, the idea, of course, being to reduce the very apparent reflections.
   
   I’ve had the QUALIA 010 for quite some time, given it a lot of use, and now it’s about to go back to Sony. Again, I’ve tried everything I can, short of modifying it, to get some magic out of it, but the resonance I’m hearing just keeps getting in the way. Unfortunately, all but one of us at the Mini-Meet heard the same resonance I was hearing.
   
   
2. [size=small]AKG K1000:[/size] A wiley old veteran of a headphone. I listen to the K1000 a little bit more at a time, with each passing Meet. I may have to get one. What it does, in terms of soundstaging, is entirely unique in the headphone world, and its allure in this regard draws me in a little closer each time I try it. If you listen at moderately loud levels, it does sort of does its own crossfeed. Tempting. I may have to pick this one up soon.
   
   
3. [size=small]SHURE E4c:[/size] This is an upcoming product that has “winner” written all over it. It looks good, it sounds even better. To my ears, they’re better than SHURE’s intended flagship, the E5c, and they’ll come to market priced significantly less than it. I know at least one person (chosen1) took the opportunity at the Mini-Meet to compare both the E4c and the E5c, and, without any attempt to influence his opinions, I simply awaited his findings, and he, too, preferred the E4c. This is the first earphone from SHURE that I’ve heard that I think will keep the folks at Etymotic up at night and steal their lunch money. The E4c has solid bass that, even if not as ultimately deep as the E5c, is certainly more controlled, and an overall neutrality throughout. My first good earphone was the Etymotic ER-4S, and it has been one of my primary portable phones for years. Since the E4c has arrived, I’ve not used the ER-4S, except for comparison. I may try some custom-molded earphones down the road, but, for now, the SHURE E4c is my new reference earphone.
   
   
4. [size=small]Eddie Current HD25.[/size] I recently wrote a semi-full review of this amp, and, as I expected it would be, this amp was well received at the Mini-Meet. I won't say much more about the HD25 here, as opinions at the Mini-Meet seemed consistent with my review.
   
   
5. [size=small]Eddie Current DM-1 (Dual Mono 1) Prototype.[/size] This is the mysterious looking amp a couple of you asked about, occupying an HD25 chassis like a sort of invasion of the amp-body snatcher, or some Frankenamp. It only looks this way because it's a prototype. If you want to see a drawing of what this amp's production chassis will probably look like (tube portholes and all), click here. Sonically, this amp went over very well with the folks at the Mini-Meet, and is Craig Uthus' attempt at aiming for the performance of his much more expensive Moth Audio Si2A3H, but keeping it priced less than a grand. Did he succeed? Since I've spent so much more time with the DM-1 than with Nightfall's Si2A3H, that's a tough question for me to answer definitively. I have, however, spent a lot of time with the HD25, so I'll make a couple of comments about the DM-1 relative to it. The DM-1 betters the performance of the HD25 to my ears, and it does so not by taking the HD25's signature and improving it, but by offering a different presentation altogether, and stretching the total performance envelope, relative to the HD25. While maintaining the allure of a hint of midrange emphasis, this amp is more neutral through the midband than the HD25, and also extends the treble further out, with that only-very-good-tube-and-amazing-solid-state-can-do-it grainlessness. In fact, to my ears, the DM-1 may have more extended treble than most other tube amps I've heard, including its much more expensive Si2A3H cousin. It's a little bit more airy than the HD25, and the DM-1 also manages to be a more precise imager. Whereas the HD25 could reasonably be called a somewhat "tubey" amp (read: not "tubby," but tubey), the DM-1 is probably too precise to call it that. Don't misunderstand, as I'm not saying it comes off as cold, lean or analytical, as it certainly does not. But it is more neutral (especially through the midrange) and resolving (especially in the treble region) than many who use tube amps may be used to. Could tube rolling make this amp sound more "tubey" than it does? Perhaps, but I didn't have a chance to roll its two unusual types of tubes (unusual for headphone amps anyway), the 6H30P and the 6AL5 mini rectifier, and I'm not sure what kind of variety is available in those tube types.
   
   After my experience with the Antique Sound Lab Twin Head Mark II pre-production unit (which some reported sounded very different than the eventual production version), and because this DM-1 unit is an early prototype (and I know there are some changes intended for the better for the production DM-1), I will state cautiously that if the production DM-1 amp sounds at least as good as this prototype, then it will be a very formidable competitor in the $1000.00+ amp arena. Because if this prototype is an accurate example of what to expect when it comes to production, then, like the HD25, the DM-1 will be a legitimate competitor at its price and beyond, and makes a lot of sense in the Eddie Current product line price progression, as a step up from the HD25. According to Craig Uthus, in addition to a totally different chassis, changes with the production unit will include better output transformers. And speaking of output transformers, if you're of the mind that transformer-coupled designs can't stand up to OTL in terms of transparency, then give this DM-1 a listen and get back to me.
   
   
6. [size=small]PS Audio GCHA (Gain Cell Headphone Amplifier) Pre-Production Beta:[/size] Before hearing it, I admittedly had mild expectations (at best) for PS Audio's upcoming headphone amp. Why? To the best of my knowledge, PS Audio had never designed or made a headphone amp before. When asked if they had much experience, even casually, with other headphone amp products, the replies I received were frank admissions that they had little (read: virtually no) experience with headphone amp products of any sort, prior to the development of their own GCHA. Yes, they build other critically acclaimed high-end-audio-related products (most having to do with power conditioning), but, as most veteran Head-Fi'ers know, not every attempt by well-known hi-fi manufacturers to enter headphone hi-fi has proven terribly fruitful, at least by the demanding sonic standards that Head-Fi'ers hold headphone amps to today.
   
   I was invited to be one of the GCHA beta tester by PS Audio, and, of course, I accepted. (From my observations over the years, PS Audio is very good about making consumer beta testing a component of a product's development, which I think is something more companies should do.) I fully expected that I'd be going back and forth with PS Audio with critiques and suggested changes, but I only came up with one significant suggestion for them, and I've had this thing for months: increase the GCHA's maximum gain (which, given its architecture, is apparently an easy adjustment for PS Audio to make). That's it, that's the extent of the suggestions I had for PS Audio for the GCHA, because, as for its sonic performance, it's a top-notch solid state offering that, to my ears, challenges the best conventional solid state amps I've heard, including even the best I've heard so far from HeadRoom, Meier Audio, and Ray Samuels Audio (not including the HeadRoom BlockHead, which I'd call unconventional). The GCHA's extension from bottom to top is excellent, with deep, thundering bass just waiting for the right recording to call it up, and with good, if not quite standard-setting, control from low bass to mid bass. From midrange to its sparkling treble, neutrality is what the GCHA serves up, but yet it doesn't sound dry due to its penchant for allowing harmonics to bloom rather full, and so timbral performance is also very good. Harmonics and timbral resolution are typically a couple of the hallmarks of good tube amplification, but a few solid state amps I've heard--like the high-end HeadRooms and Meiers, and now the GCHA--do that dance as deftly as good tube amps I've heard. Whereas the high-end Meier amps (like the HA2 MkII and the PreHead) and the high-end HeadRoom amps (like the Max and the BlockHead) present with corporeal solidity, the GCHA, especially from the mids on up, goes for a more airy, enveloping presentation, with ambient retrieval as one of its obvious strengths. Well-recorded instrumental soloists, allowed to monopolize the acoustics of the venues they play in, really bring out this characteristic trait of the GCHA in the most positive light, as do chamber ensembles and live small jazz groups (like John Pizzarelli Trio's Live at Birdland). With its solid bass, it has good rhythmic drive for rock and pop, but some might desire a little more solidity through the midband for that kind of music (although with my heavy intake of jazz and classical, I'm not one of them).
   
   Also interesting about this amp is that it was driving the K1000 at the Mini-Meet enthusiastically, if somewhat quietly. I have a feeling that if PS Audio ups the maximum available gain as I’ve suggested, that this may be still another in a growing stable of amps able to drive the difficult K1000.
   
   I'll have more to say about this amp soon, but I can say comfortably now that PS Audio has a very good thing going with the GCHA. Other than HeadRoom, I can’t think of any other high-end headphone amp manufacturer that would currently have a higher level of name recognition with non-Head-Fi audiophiles. With PS Audio's broad reach into the high-end audio world, this headphone amp of theirs may have a larger impact than any of the other new non-HeadRoom headphone amps in introducing high-end headphone audio to more audio enthusiasts not already in our specific branch of hi-fi.
   
   
7. [size=small]Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline II "The Raptor."[/size] Last December, while on business in Chicago, I had a chance to stop by Ray Samuels' place with Jack, one of my business partners (who's also into headphone hi-fi), to listen to some tunes and see how things were going at Ray Samuels Audio. One of the things Ray showed me almost as soon as I walked in the door was a little tube amp he'd designed and assembled. It was an early prototype of what we now know as "the Raptor," and, despite its diminutive size, immediately captivated with its sound--powerful, huge, glorious. What I didn't immediately notice behind the little amp was its substantial power supply in a separate chassis, umbilical-connected to the amp section--the potent source of power from which the amp derives much of its magic. I wasn't much of a guest that night, because, once I got my ears around this thing, I didn't really feel like doing much chatting with the fellas. After a long stretch of saying virtually nothing, headphones still on my head, I turned to the guys and interrupted their conversation with, "Ray, this is your best product yet." I knew that night that I had to have one. Five months later, and, like a proud, loud, smiling stork, Ray hand-delivered two Raptors to two separate, but equally excited, new Raptor parents--Nightfall and yours truly.
   
   An OTL (output transformerless) design, the Raptor, with its one 12AU7 input tube, and two powerful 5687 output tubes, has a sonic presentation that is a model of both tranparency and power, especially with the right tube combinations. I'm talking about tranparency that allows the tiniest textural details to pass from recording to ears unobscured, and the power to convey sonic image object solidity and tactility that stands darned near toe-to-toe with the very best I've heard in this regard--yes, I mean the BlockHead. As one might expect from good OTL, the Raptor does delicate wonderfully, but it's also a macrodynamic monster, able to negotiate swings in mood and dynamics with violence when called for, as with "The Battle" (Track 3) on the score for Gladiator, now a longstanding reference track of mine. Through my reference Sennheiser HD650, the Raptor delivers at least as much bass grunt and authority as I've ever heard from any tube amplifier with this headphone. Equipped with its three stock tubes, the Raptor's tendency is more neutral than not, with treble extension that no diehard solid state aficionado would complain about. I, however, am willing to sacrifice a bit of neutrality to achieve a bit more emphasis on (and more detail in) the midband, as I practically live in the midrange. With RCA 5687's (versus the stock JAN 5687's), my wish in this regard was granted. Some of the 12AU7's that Ray brought to roll had an even greater effect than the rolling of the 5687's, with a couple enriching the mids further still, so I've no doubt that I'll be paying a visit to my local tube dealer soon for a NOS 12AU7 fix.
   
   Also, we tried the K1000 with several amps, including the Raptor, and the Raptor had the muscle to drive the hard-to-drive AKG K1000 well. This is a combination I may have to play with more, as the two together sounded very good in my brief audition, and the K1000 grows on me more, each time I hear it with amps that can drive it well.
   
   After listening to the prototype last December, I left Ray's place knowing that I might have just listened to my new reference amp. Listening to the production version at this Mini-Meet, and especially on my own after the Mini-Meet, confirmed that there was indeed a new reference amp in town for me, and it's going to take something I haven't heard yet to unseat it. The Raptor really is an exceptional, magical amp, and the first to eliminate completely my longing for the pre-production Antique Sound Lab Twin Head MkII. I'll no doubt say more about the Raptor soon in the form of a more thorough review than this.

This Mini-Meet was thrown together with very short notice (details not finalized until a day or two before it), and so I want to thank everyone who attended our impromptu gathering.

Thanks also to elrod-tom, who brought me a gift of music at the Mini-Meet, a hybrid SACD of Chet Baker’s Chet. Thanks, Tom! I dig the album big time, man. And thanks also to Ray Samuels for coming out, and hand-delivering my new Raptor (and Jeff’s, too), and for the matched pair of NOS RCA 5687’s (in addition to the stock tubes).

 

[Jahn]

Jude, you're not making it easy for me to stay with "Pinkie." I'm going against better judgment - after reading your impressions, I'm going to focus on what amps kick my Solo's butt at the NYC meet within my budget (if any - meaning the amps, not my budget!).


Edit - just changed my mind. I just remembered having the Solo face K501s, a SA5K, and my SR200, and the SR200 had the most "Synergy" with it. Why mess with success? But I'll still check out the other rigs of course!

 

[Nik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jude [*] [size=small]Sony QUALIA 010:[/size] This is a headphone I wanted desperately to like. In a teleconference with Sony Electronics about their QUALIA products, it was clear that they’re very excited and very proud of every one of their QUALIA products. The idea was to build products not constrained by the need to build to price points or engineering limits. Essentially, their development teams were tasked with going balls-out on all of the QUALIA-branded products, including this QUALIA 010. I believe at least some of the people who worked on the now-legendary Sony MDR-R10 headphones also worked on the QUALIA 010. From its highly advanced materials (nano composites, carbon fiber, magnesium, etc.), and its sheepskin earpads, it’s pretty obvious little or no expense was spared in creating this headphone. Everything about it suggests it should be an exciting product, and a top-notch performer. Unfortunately, I just have not been able to get these headphones to sound “right” to me. Can they be detailed? Yes. Does it have solid bass response? Generally, yes. But there’s an overriding character about them that I have not been able to shake, and that’s a resonance that is, well, overwhelming. Yes, I’ve tried every possible position of the earcups on my head. I’ve tried pressing them against my head, and pulling them out slightly. I’ve removed my glasses, I’ve left them on. I’ve tried it with close to a dozen amps. This resonance has been unmitigable for me. I’m certainly no headphone designer, but when I look inside the earcups, I’m not entirely surprised. Forward of each driver, leading to the earpad, is a horn-shaped chamber, made of a smooth surface. What I’d be interested in trying (if they belonged to me and weren’t valued at $2600.00) would be to line the smooth chamber with a softer material, the idea, of course, being to reduce the very apparent reflections. I’ve had the QUALIA 010 for quite some time, given it a lot of use, and now it’s about to go back to Sony. Again, I’ve tried everything I can, short of modifying it, to get some magic out of it, but the resonance I’m hearing just keeps getting in the way. Unfortunately, all but one of us at the Mini-Meet heard the same resonance I was hearing.

Sony do not give the Qualia before sending their gauge. Did you have the right size of the cans? As they said, not only the headband is "customized" but even general dimension of the cans!

I'm convinced that this cans need a lot of time to be loved ! Another different kinf of sound they give to the listener, a sound we all do not are accustomed to hear.

This cans (as I said a lot of times) is not for meetings, (sorry), just to have them and to live with them, but with the right and perfect unit.

Just my two cents...

Best!
Nicola

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nik Sony do not give the Qualia before sending their gauge. Did you have the right size of the cans? As they said, not only the headband is "customized" but even general dimension of the cans!...

Nik, they fit. And I've made many (mostly small) adjustments to the headband using the screw-set mechanism, just to be sure.

I don't doubt your love for them, man, and I don't doubt what you're hearing--but I'm also hearing what I'm hearing. I know what's true for me with any component may not be true for others, and I don't think this case is any different. To my ears, however, that resonance is a rather dominant trait, and I find it obscures the essence of my music.

They're just too expensive to play with (and they're not mine), so I won't try anything to alter them, but, again, I would be very curious to find out what they'd sound like with a soft, less reflective material lining the earcups.

 

[Nik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jude Nik, they fit. And I've made many (mostly small) adjustments to the headband using the screw-set mechanism, just to be sure. I don't doubt your love for them, man, and I don't doubt what you're hearing--but I'm also hearing what I'm hearing. I know what's true for me with any component may not be true for others, and I don't think this case is any different. To my ears, however, that resonance is a rather dominant trait, and I find it obscures the essence of my music. They're just too expensive to play with (and they're not mine), so I won't try anything to alter them, but, again, I would be very curious to find out what they'd sound like with a soft, less reflective material lining the earcups.

It is not my intention to convince nobody to love what I love, but I never bought a cans (or hifi gear) just for a little first impression of a meeting, too simple. If you try the Qualia with the Balck Dragon cable, at the first time you have the impression that that "resonance" (as you said) go totally out, but the effect of the BD is to cut the highest frequences that give to the headphones the highest details. You know the Headroom amps with their processor, that effect of bigger space you have listening with the proessor in on pisition probably give an idea of what the Qualia do without any artificial processor. The Qualia, IMHO, has a BIG soundstage and incredible details we do not are accostumed to hear from headphones, just this. This cans is also not so easy to be used correctly, yes, you have tried differents positios ecc, ecc. I have learned to use them only after severals mounts listening 4 or 5 or more hours every day. External silent (generally a lot of noise in the meetings) is also very important for the best result with this totally open cans, not only open, but (as I said in that my first post) a sort of passive amplification (for the construction of the horn) you can hear. Another very important aspect is the burnin time that produce dramatical changements in the sound of the cans.

My words are just to convince you to have another and a long time with that object before to declare the last word. As you know, even here, someone has changed A LOT his opinion about that cans he has judged before very weird and not so good...

Best!
Nicola