[pirate]

speaking of the site tim linked of to the spirit project, i came across a pair of headphones known as orion headphones? never heard of these nor seen them before, anyone know anything about them?

 

[Wodgy]

Beto, thanks for the link!

So it looks like these will be sold in the US, at Sony's upcoming Qualia store in Manhattan. The article also suggests they'll be sold by phone, but not over the web.

 

[Norbert]

I agree with sovkiller. Forget the price, the reputation of Sony in general, the cinicism of marketing and planned obsolescence, or the logic of "branding". Let somebody listen to this and discover it is indeed all about the music!

I'm skeptical but optimistic, but no I won't pull the trigger first on this one.

 

[GlowWorm]

I'm sure they sound good, but man they're pretty ugly.

 

[toaster]

Tim Schirmer's comments about Sony making an attempt to fix their image, sounds silly, but it makes a lot of sense.

Any real company that's dedicated to it's customer's would be able to provide a solid product, with a solid warranty, and solid customer service. Sony (and apple while we're at it) are great at getting the product into the hands of consumers, but they both suck such, such, ass at anything after that.

I have a wega tv. It's by far the nicest non-hdtv money can buy, no questions asked. However, these tv's are also known for having the most problems with geometry and polarization. There have also been consistent comments about the cd 3000 not lasting all that long, and when customer service is needed, it's not readily available.

Some companies make amazing products, and, or, (or both) have great advertising to make you want them really badly. But this is only the first step to a respectable business in my opinion. Especially when you pay premium prices, like what sony charges for their tv's or apple charges for their mp3 players, customer service should not only be there for a while, it should be good. i called apple a few months after i got my ipod, to ask them a question on the phone...$50 service charge and we'd be glad to help you...um are you friggin' kidding me?

Any companies out there that work on cutting edge products, should not be allowed to release these products unless they have service to offer the customer willing to shell out the dough for it. Sony honestly has been accused of, (and i've seen it first hand with my wega) making great products but having some of the worst warranties and customer service.

This kind of business practice should not be allowed.

 

[smeggy]

The Qualia line is meant as nothing more than technological and design showcase products. Very expensive, limited quantities and definitely not for profit. The range goes from mini-players, TV's, SACD, headphones, cameras etc. They aren't meant as value or budget stuff and the likelyhood of the prices dropping any significant amount is negligible IMO.

They are sometimes based on existing consumer products but in geneal they are one-off's that may or may not filter down to consumer level prices. I tend to think not as the Qualias are supposed to stand out above all their other stuff. Making cheap knock-off of their own gear would defeat the purpose of showcase products.

 

[greenhorn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beto As some have already deducted, Qualia is a wholly new brand under the Sony umbrella catering to the discerning, style-conscious, noveau riche crowd who are willing to pay more -MUCH more- to distance themselves from the Fry's and Circuit City proletariate, so to speak There's even a Qualia scent. No joke.

It looks to me like a direct challenge for Bang & Olufsen. I mean, it looks like Sony's trying to steal parts of the B&O clientele.

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodgy Interesting quotation from the page Edwood linked to: "Introducing Sony Qualia Sony has some of the world's best R&D focused on creating consumer devices. But, although cool prototypes may wow the public at a trade show, high price points prevent many products from making it to market. The innovators at Sony grew frustrated with this, and launched a brand called Qualia. Sony Qualia products are Sony's best-of-the-best.

This is just rephrasing my last post. This is the new Sony they are trying to portray, not only leading in technology where they've been second rate, but also making more money on that lead. Again, if you sell 2000 headphones for $2500 that only cost you $500 to make, it beats the heck out of selling 500 headphones at $4000 that cost you $3500 to make. The numbers are of course made up, but that is the gist of what they are trying to acheive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodgy We seriously doubt that Sony intends Qualia to be a huge profit center. Even though most products fall into the if-you-have-to-ask-you-can't-afford-it category, the high-priced inputs and presumably tiny demand mean that Interesting quotation from the page Edwood linked to: Qualia profits (if they exist) will be a drop in the bucket for a global leader like Sony. But, much like a car company that sponsors F1, the value to Sony will be in the admiration fostered for its brand."

Who ever said it was single handedly going to turn Sony around? That appears to be a misunderstanding of what I was saying that you have interjected into the discourse.

 

[rhodyavphile]

From what I understand the R10s are being discontinued as a production model. So the Qualia could very well be the new flagship product. Best to not confuse customers with multiple top of the line products, even the savvy ones that understand things can be top notch for different reasons...

 

[stuman]

could someone translate that sight...ive just been struck dumb by the beuty of the qualia17 that lill mini disk player...i go to the page with spec and price .....and the only number i can find is the 189,000 and that turns out to be about £900 :O for that price it better make me a cup of coffe while it goes to work for me.....this number might be wrong tho...plese enlighten me....

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhodyavphile From what I understand the R10s are being discontinued as a production model. So the Qualia could very well be the new flagship product. Best to not confuse customers with multiple top of the line products, even the savvy ones that understand things can be top notch for different reasons...

The R-10 was never a mass production model AFAIK, the first batch was very limited, and from that day on, you had always to order it in advance, and it takes about 2 months to be completed.
IMO it will not replace the R-10, it will be just another Sony high end option, from another new Sony line of products, maybe a "new blood" (or new generation) line of products, while the R-10 will be the "traditional" (or old school) which will be better, who knows????
The numbers are very tempting though, from 20Hz-20KHz that the R-10 offer, to this "unique" 5Hz to 120KHz....this is a serious number guys, this bass should be really visceral, it should really rock on the bottom end. As per the highs I doubt they should be much better than the R-10, but the lacking of a serious low end that had being reported by many on the R-10, this should be Sony answer to that.....of course, all this, is just speculation.....

 

[markl]

Quote:

The numbers are very tempting though, from 20Hz-20KHz that the R-10 offer, to this "unique" 5Hz to 120KHz....this is a serious number guys, this bass should be really visceral, it should really rock on the bottom end. As per the highs I doubt they should be much better than the R-10, but the lacking of a serious low end that had being reported by many on the R-10, this should be Sony answer to that.....of course, all this, is just speculation.....

I don't know how much I trust the numbers 20-20KHz of course that's *exactly* the range of human hearing, is it based on real numbers or just pulled out of Sony's butts in 1989?

It kinda sorta looks like almost a generic sort of place-holder marketing spec sheet number, not something they heavily tested and measured. Also, if you're willing to rate your speakers/headphones at + or - 10db or some ungodly number, you can get some very impressive, stretched out exaggerated numbers. I wonder how Sony achieved those rated response numbers for the Qualias.

To me, the extreme frequency response rating of the Qualia sends up a little red flag. How much resolution can it deliver in the middle, in the frequencies where it matters if the driver has such an outrageous frequency response. Is that extra extension up top achieved at the expense of the yummy mids of the R10s? Is physically less of the driver devoted to delivering the frequencies we can hear to get those pumped up numbers for the highs we can't hear?

That said, if these numbers can be achieved in a single-driver piece like the Qualia, *without* compromising frequency response/resolution/tone/timbre/weight/expressiveness where it counts in the middle, then yes, hooray for the breakthrough!

If not, then boo-hiss for tweaking the driver to give impressive specs rather than a delicious listening experience.

God, the anticipation of the Qualia is killing me...

 

[Edwood]

Tim has Sony's strategy right on the nose.

Check out this book:

Digital Dreams: The Work of the Sony Design Center

It's a very intersting book with a look at Sony's corporate strategy, and a lot of pictures and insights into Sony's Industrial Design Philosophy. A must read for product designers.

-Ed

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl I don't know how much I trust the numbers 20-20KHz of course that's *exactly* the range of human hearing, is it based on real numbers or just pulled out of Sony's butts in 1989? It kinda sorta looks like almost a generic sort of place-holder marketing spec sheet number, not something they heavily tested and measured. Also, if you're willing to rate your speakers/headphones at + or - 10db or some ungodly number, you can get some very impressive, stretched out exaggerated numbers. I wonder how Sony achieved those rated response numbers for the Qualias. To me, the extreme frequency response rating of the Qualia sends up a little red flag. How much resolution can it deliver in the middle, in the frequencies where it matters if the driver has such an outrageous frequency response. Is that extra extension up top achieved at the expense of the yummy mids of the R10s? Is physically less of the driver devoted to delivering the frequencies we can hear to get those pumped up numbers for the highs we can't hear? That said, if these numbers can be achieved in a single-driver piece like the Qualia, *without* compromising frequency response/resolution/tone/timbre/weight/expressiveness where it counts in the middle, then yes, hooray for the breakthrough! If not, then boo-hiss for tweaking the driver to give impressive specs rather than a delicious listening experience. God, the anticipation of the Qualia is killing me...

Well markl, first 20-20 is not exactly the range of the human hearing, it is a media based on statistics, some people even hear less, and a few others far above that, but this is also true, that this numbers were published by the same company, and on the same category of products. Both for a high end headphone, I'm assuming that both reflect the reality "in some way" the same way. I do believe that both were measured, as both were in their respective release times, a new product and with new materials on diaphragms, so they should measured the freq response at some point, nobody is going to release numbers, in a manual, and in an official document, of a high end product, of that price tag, without a measurement that back them up, that is silly.
OTOH, if one was distorted, I'm assuming the other was distorted the same way, as both were made by the same company, but again, those are just numbers, at the end as you wisely stated, the ear is IMO (and I hope in yours), the final and more refined instrument that will give you the truth of the sound quality...But there is also other companies (Grado, Sennheiser, Beyers, AT, AKG, etc..) that offer different numbers, above that 20-20, so I don't think that the 20-20 is "a media" that has to be followed blindly while making any reference to a human hearing.
Honestly I do not believe that after that long time, they will show up, and develop an inferior product, considering that there is also a few others in the market already released, that at that time (R-10's 1989 era), did not exist, it should be really stupid from them, but who knows??? Let's wait for the final test, the "listening test"....And I'm, not saying that it will be or not better than the R-10, maybe it is not, but we have to wait till someone listen them, wanna pull the trigger???

 

[KR...]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimSchirmer http://www.sony.net/Fun/SonyDesign/2001/index.html edit: here are a few pictures of stuff from the R10 series courtesy of google: Apparently the R10 series has been replaced by the "1" series which contains the SCD-1.etc

Did you know that there was also a headphone amp to go along with the R10? Now find me a pic of that if anyone can.