New headphone of SONY (pics)~
Apr 21, 2004 at 11:31 PM Post #46 of 82
i appear to be one of the few people who has voiced this type of opinion, but those are some amazing looking headphones.

first of all, it's a different style than the r10's. these look "cool" and "modern" while the r10's look "classy."

i agree that it's unlikely these will sound better than the r10's. that's only speculation though. sony apparently did not search the globe for the finest trees in the world to build these headphones, as is claimed with the r10's. however it is possible they dug to the center of the earth to find the finest metals for the qualia...

honestly, one thing i am sure of, these go right up there with the r10's as "obscene" pieces of audio equipment. i feel like these level headphones represent the crossing of the boundary between people who LOVE audio and people who have nothing to do other than listen to music. (this is NOT an insult, but rather me voicing an opinion about my views on sanity.)

someone place an order for these and review them...now.
 
Apr 21, 2004 at 11:35 PM Post #47 of 82
Anyone cought a glimpse on the Qualia 017??? Looks to be a small bling bling protable audio player priced at around $1,000USD!!!
eek.gif
 
Apr 22, 2004 at 12:54 AM Post #49 of 82
Ok, you know what, even though I would not in a million years consider buying a $1000 MD player, that thing is damn sexy. This could probably be said of a lot of the Qualia line.
 
Apr 22, 2004 at 1:07 AM Post #50 of 82
It is always fun when a new high end headphone is release, but this whole line is high on the gimmick factor more than anything. However, no one has heard them so i think it's stup... silly to talk about if they are better or worst than the R10 and even more so if you never heard the R10
wink.gif
 
Apr 22, 2004 at 1:15 AM Post #51 of 82
There's always somebody walking around with money burning a hole in their pocket thinking "Gee, I wish Sony would make some REALLY EXPENSIVE stuff for a change. That ES stuff just doesn't cut it for me." So off goes Sony on a little marketing tangent. As long as it's somewhat profitable, the upper management will green-light it. They need a new direction.

As with the car analogy, there are more people buying super cars... eventually the market will glut again, values will drop and we'll have to wait until manufacturers catch up with the cycle. And sometimes, I think people who will spend $1000 on a MiniDisc player are really stupid... but $1000 may be a week's play money for these customers.
 
Apr 22, 2004 at 1:20 AM Post #52 of 82
oh man this is going to be so awesome, ive been intrigued by the qualia line for a while considering their unlimited cost barriers and really really cool products. essentially super super es line. perhaps they may even build a full-sized cdp given enough time....


Quote:

Originally Posted by Jorg
Absolutely agree. It's obvious that we might expect a cheap version of these headphones. Wanna bet?
wink.gif



considering the qualia line is not supposed to worry about cost or pricing at all, i doubt they would make their headphones worse in order to get sales. they're not looking to sell many of these in the first place
 
Apr 22, 2004 at 1:30 AM Post #53 of 82
Quote:

Originally Posted by pirate
perhaps they may even build a full-sized cdp given enough time....


The Qualia 007 appears to be a full sized SACD player. And, in it's last picture, there seem to be speakers, although I cannot read Japanese, so I don't know if that's part of the package, or what.
 
Apr 22, 2004 at 1:31 AM Post #54 of 82
Quote:

Originally Posted by reeseboisse
The Qualia 007 appears to be a full sized SACD player. And, in it's last picture, there seem to be speakers, although I cannot read Japanese, so I don't know if that's part of the package, or what.


oh man i just saw it right before i went back to this post, someone needs to buy this... now!
 
Apr 22, 2004 at 2:34 AM Post #55 of 82
I don't have the patience to read through 4 pages of comments but I gotta say the cans part of the phones looks kind of like the ultrasone models (flat cups with that small extension for the diaphragm. Wondering if this might be an affirmation of the ultrasone design and a retro tip of the hat to the V6? Might this be their high end version of the V6? Comparisons are compelled to be made.
 
Apr 22, 2004 at 3:09 AM Post #56 of 82
Don't any of you remember the spirit project? The beautiful tea ceremony portable cd player and the golden walkmans? I'm sure you all know about the R10 headphones. What you probably don't know is that "R10" was actually a name for a whole series of esoteric products that were released by sony in the early 90's. I believe there were electrostatic speakers, mono amplifiers, a cd player, and a DAC. This new series appears to be the same idea with the same motivation. The name "Qualia" gives it all away.

You see, every few years people start to see sony for the utter crap it actually is. Therefore, once in a blue moon, they release things like the R10 series, the spirit series, and the new qualia series. All for slightly different motives I’m sure. I suspect that the primary advantage of producing these high end product lines has to do primarily with improving their reputation and perceived brand quality, and the information gained from the research and development used in making these products. They kill two birds with one stone. It’s really quite an ingenious business model.

Anyways, if you want some evidence and eye candy, check out sony's 2001 design page and scroll on over to the "spirit project"


http://www.sony.net/Fun/SonyDesign/2001/index.html

edit: here are a few pictures of stuff from the R10 series courtesy of google:

Sony CDP-R10 CD Player
CDP-R10.gif


Sony DAS-R10 DAC
DAS-R10.gif


Sony SS-R10 Electrostatic Speakers
SS-R10.gif%20(1.500.000%20Yen)


And finally, for comparison's sake, Sony MDR-R10
mdr-r10.jpg


Apparently the R10 series has been replaced by the "1" series which contains the SCD-1.etc
 
Apr 22, 2004 at 3:26 AM Post #57 of 82
Quote:

Originally Posted by ProFingerSk8er
IMO those look like some $250 headphones,


Please, not again!!!!!
All the Grado line look pretty alike, and they are not even similar in performance.....why not waiting first for someone to get them and review them, to begin to talk about if it is worth or not, the price tag???? IMO it is too early, it is not even released.....OTOH I have not heard of any headphone in earth, not even electrostatic, capable of reaching 5Hz - 120KHz

BTW which $250.00 headphones "look" like it????


FYI, there is another thread like this one....we need the search button!!!!!

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=69934
 
Apr 22, 2004 at 3:30 AM Post #58 of 82
Quote:

Originally Posted by reeseboisse
The Qualia 007 appears to be a full sized SACD player. And, in it's last picture, there seem to be speakers, although I cannot read Japanese, so I don't know if that's part of the package, or what.


nope, not part of the package. (below prices include tax)
main unit for 840,000 yen
speakers for 735,000 yen
speaker stands for 168,000 yen
 
Apr 22, 2004 at 3:46 AM Post #59 of 82
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
biggrin.gif


There's even a Qualia scent. No joke.

In fact, check this NYT article for the full scoop on how this works. (Free registration required, blah, blah)
 
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