[thatopampguy]

I was up until 3a.m. in the Wednesday morning clicking "refresh" on my Froogle search for "SA5000" until the headphones showed up in stock at a store that wasn't audiocubes or digitalfotoclub.

When I saw it, I immediately bought it.

When I called BeachAudio, the woman who checked my order said, "Oh, its those headphones again. I see that you were the first person to order the headphones. Did you order them at 3a.m. this morning?"

Then she also pointed out that there were a ton of orders around midday today and asked me if I knew what the deal was because $400 headphones aren't exactly your everyday item.

I said, "well when demand exceeds supply, economics would tell us that $400 is obviously a a bargain for these items and a price increase would be in order."

Just kidding . . .

Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RHMMMM I just called BeachAudio and they said they had a bunch of orders for the 5000's today and they were backordered now even though it said 4 available on their site. Thankfully, I was the 6th to place an order and got one w00t! I'm not gonna get too excited until I get the shipping number though.

 

[tyrion]

My SA5000 are on there way. They should arrive by 3/31 according to UPS website. Perfect timing as my demo pair will be here tomorrow and will give my a few days to decide on whether to keep the new ones or add to the FOTM avalanche (sorry guru). I can also get the demo back to the owner quickly before he goes through withdrawals. Time to cancel my other order.

 

[acs236]

Mine shipped, too. I hope I like them. Based on my preference, I think I should.

 

[backdrifter]

edit

 

[SteveM324]

Got my UPS tracking number! I'm getting mine on 3/30. I'll be comparing them to the 650w/Zu, CD3K's stock, AKG340 and the Ety 4P/S. The amps that I'll be using are the Grace 901, SR-71 and the Supermacro w/OPA627. Thanks Backdrifter for the Beach Audio lead.

 

[RHMMMM]

Got my UPS # also - I'm also getting them on 3/30. I CAN'T WAIT OMG OMG!!! Haha... I'll be comparing them to my 650's w/stock cable (wish I had the Zu) and running them w/my PPA w/STEPS and OPA627's and diamond buffer from the Meridian 588.

These have lower impedance than the HD650's right? Hopefully that means they should be easier to drive from the iPod headphone jack if I wanna go mobile around the house or at work. Has anyone tried them from an iPod yet?

Also - what kind of plug do they have - is it a 1/4" or is it like the other Sony's with a 1/8" and that screw-on adapter to make it a 1/4"??

 

[Langrath]

Only compared to their origin price. Let's say I produce headphones First I set a price of $1000. The i decrease the price to $500. And everybody says wov! I think it can be something like this here.
Georg

 

[RHMMMM]

Quote:

Only compared to their origin price. Let's say I produce headphones First I set a price of $1000. The iI decrease the price to $500. And everybody says wov! I think it can be something like this here.

Yes, right now I think it's a pretty decent price to pay for these 'phones. The CD3K's were the same MSRP ($699 USD)for a decade and were had easily for ~$350+ brand new nearing the end of their production. I think that for the fairly early adopters like us, ~$390 is definitely a good price considering that the MDR-SA5000's are a brand spankin' new model, might very well sound better than the CD3K's from reports here on Head-Fi, appear to have excellent build quality, and are for all intents and purposes the replacement for the old CD3K.

Yes, I think it's a fair price, and that's why I bought a pair.

 

[agile_one]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RHMMMM ... snip ... These have lower impedance than the HD650's right? Hopefully that means they should be easier to drive from the iPod headphone jack if I wanna go mobile around the house or at work. Has anyone tried them from an iPod yet? Also - what kind of plug do they have - is it a 1/4" or is it like the other Sony's with a 1/8" and that screw-on adapter to make it a 1/4"??

sa5k's are 70 ohms vs 300 ohms for 650's.

They have a 1/4" headphone plug.

 

[SteveM324]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Langrath Only compared to their origin price. Let's say I produce headphones First I set a price of $1000. The iI decrease the price to $500. And everybody says wov! I think it can be something like this here. Georg

I don't think so. I bought my CD3K's over a year ago for $394 shipped from Audiocubes. The CD3K's were in production for many years before I purchased them. The SA5000's MSRP is priced nearly the same as the CD3K's MSRP. Therefore, I doubt that the price will drop much lower than the $380 that we've already seen.

 

[SteveM324]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RHMMMM Yes, right now I think it's a pretty decent price to pay for these 'phones. The CD3K's were the same MSRP ($699 USD)for a decade and were had easily for ~$350+ brand new nearing the end of their production. I think that for the fairly early adopters like us, ~$390 is definitely a good price considering that the MDR-SA5000's are a brand spankin' new model, might very well sound better than the CD3K's from reports here on Head-Fi, appear to have excellent build quality, and are for all intents and purposes the replacement for the old CD3K. Yes, I think it's a fair price, and that's why I bought a pair.

RHMMMM, you stole my thoughts before I could hit the "submit reply" button. I agree with everything you stated.

 

[morphie]

too bad they dont ship internationally... I would have liked a pair at that price

 

[backdrifter]

edit

 

[gshan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsferrari Hmmm...with a notebook I will NOT recommend the SA1000 because it will really make those crackles and pops VERY annoying. Stick to a less sensitive headphone. Also - the cable is LOOOOONG and although it is easily rolled up...I find it a pain going portable. Finally - they dont isolate very well. But purely from a functional point of view - with a decent portable DAP and notebook with an external sound card like the Echo Indigo / Bithead / new Porta Corda USB etc. it will work very well... No problems as far as the headphones are concerned - you HAVE to watch the source material...

Thanks GS..I guess it'd be best used at home, even with a portable dap. I'll consider running it off the pc too.

 

[NeilPeart]

Your thoughts regarding the SA5000 and HD 650 remind me of my own opinions of their respective relatives, the Qualia 010 and HE 90. I too find the Qualia a supremely-detailed, subtlety-driven headphone that exhibits the highest levels of resolution I’ve ever heard and demonstrates unparalleled technical ability; in this regard it is even more resolving than even the mighty Orpheus headphone (HE 90), though not by much more than a sliver. However, the headphone sounds artificial and un-natural to me – the Qualia is comparable to completely transparent window that allows everything to be seen (heard), but it presents certain information that perhaps shouldn’t be heard so prominently (I certainly don’t wish to hear them above the music itself). The HE 90 (and for the most part, the HD 650) also presents these details, but it portrays them as they’re meant to be portrayed (IMO) – it leaves them in their space and doesn’t focus attention unto them. The Qualia (and from what I’ve read, the SA5000) highlight the minute details in music and detracts from the music itself – no amount of amplification changes and cable upgrades will improve this as it’s the nature and character of these ‘phones. One could even argue that the Qualia chooses to neglect the heart and soul of the music in favor of the details – to me this is one of the worst facets of audiophilia, but I know more than a few people who align themselves with this path. The Qualia is an amusical headphone that is ultimately resolving though completely involving, IMO. I’ll take the HE 90 and achieve 95% of that resolution (which no other headphone achieves, IMO) and eat my musical cake too. The HD 650 achieves ~ 75% of the Qualia’s resolution, but again, it presents music as music. I was very tempted to hop on the recent SA5000-for-under-400-bucks deals, but I know it’s a derivative of the Qualia, and I know what that means to me (plus I bet someone’s gonna get one sooner or later and the next meet will feature several of the new Sonys).