New Jecklin Float QA !!!

Sep 22, 2013 at 10:27 AM Post #586 of 744
Hey guys!
 
I'm excited to say that I'm now a proud owner of the new Jecklin Float QA. This is the most expensive headphone I've purchased so far, and also the first electrostatic headphone I've owned. I'll be comparing it against my other TOTL headphones (LCD-3, TH900, HE-6, HD800) and see how this beast holds its own. Some folks seem to prefer the Float QA to SR-009, so it better sound. Really good.
 
Will post impressions later, for now let me sit back and enjoy. 
floatsmile.png
 
 
Sep 22, 2013 at 7:58 PM Post #587 of 744
cool.gif
Quote:
  Hey guys!
 
I'm excited to say that I'm now a proud owner of the new Jecklin Float QA. This is the most expensive headphone I've purchased so far, and also the first electrostatic headphone I've owned. I'll be comparing it against my other TOTL headphones (LCD-3, TH900, HE-6, HD800) and see how this beast holds its own. Some folks seem to prefer the Float QA to SR-009, so it better sound. Really good.
 
Will post impressions later, for now let me sit back and enjoy. 
floatsmile.png
 

 
Subscribed 
cool.gif
 
 
I just watched two very beat original pairs pass by on Ebay... Should be great to see what the new one is like!
 
NK
 
Oct 3, 2013 at 5:05 AM Post #588 of 744
Well, I have some bad news. I think I received a faulty unit, so I sent my Float QA back for repair. I wasn't sure if the headphone or the power supply was faulty (or perhaps both), so I sent both of them back.
 
There were two major problems with it. I wonder if anyone had a similar experience as mine.
 
1. It was difficult to get my Float QA to sound loud enough for proper listening enjoyment. I was told by Manfred that a speaker amp with an output of higher than 30W should be enough, optimally around 60W, to enjoy the Float QA at loud volumes. However, my Pathos Classic One MkIII amp (70W per channel) struggled to drive it. I was able to get the volume loud enough at 90-100% of maximum volume. And I'm not talking about ear-piercing loud, just loud enough to appreciate the sound quality of the Float QA fully without straining your eardrums. I thought there was something wrong with my amp, so I tried other amps at a local audio store ranging from 50W to 300W. The 50W and 60W amps all struggled just like my Pathos amp, although the 300W amp drove it effortlessly. However, there was an even bigger problem...
 
2. Not only did Float QA fail to deliver enjoyable volume on many amps, it produced an irritable crackling noise and severely distorted the sound at higher volumes. At low volume there was no crackling noise, but at medium to high volume, the noises became evident. At around 80%-90% of maximum volume with my 70W Pathos amp, which wasn't even that loud (as I pointed out above), the crackling became severe and the sound was distorted. At over 90% of maximum volume, the crackling persisted but the sound itself was so distorted that it was unbearable to listen to. Again, I thought maybe my Pathos amp was at fault here, but there was no difference when I plugged it into other 50W, 60W or even 300W amplifiers.
 
At any rate, I even recorded the music coming out of my Float QA using my iPhone do demonstrate the crackling and distortion. Manfred said it was strange, because he tested it out before shipping it to me and there was no problem with it. Well, it was very problematic when it arrived, so I had no choice but to return it. I hope they find out what's the problem and send me one that works perfectly.
 
Come to think about it, I think I've read somewhere earlier in this thread that some of the first buyers of the Float QA (including MuppetFace) had certain technical issues with the Float QA that they had to send it back for repair. I wonder if their problems were the same as mine. At least they felt that the Float QA sounded good even with the issues, but for me, the sound was just unbearable and terrible.
 
Oh well, I guess it won't be for at least another 2 weeks that I can get my Float QA back.
 
Oct 3, 2013 at 10:43 AM Post #590 of 744
  This would point to bias issues.  The bias sets the potential of the drivers so if that is not correct then you need huge voltage swings to get any meaningful output from the transducers. 

 
Are you saying that the bias - whatever that is - was incorrectly set? As far as I could tell, there was no bias switch on the Float QA power supply. Do you think there would have been a way to solve this problem myself, or was sending it back necessary?
 
Also, is it possible that using the Float QA with incorrect bias - thus the crackling noises - would have harmed or damaged the headphone or the power supply in any way?
 
Oct 5, 2013 at 1:49 AM Post #593 of 744
  Sending them back is your best option.  The bias supply on these is very simple but you need special tools to measure and test it. 

 
I already sent them back to Germany. My main concern is, do you think having used the Float QA with incorrect bias could have harmed or damaged the unit (either the headphones or power supply)? They could correct the bias and send it back to me, but I don't know if I could have damaged it in some way by using them with wrong bias.
 
Oct 5, 2013 at 7:11 AM Post #595 of 744
Doesn't the Float QA comes in with only plug and play feature? There isn't anything that you can do to adjust its bias voltage or is there?

 
It's only plug and play. There was no switch for adjusting bias or anything.
Besides, the Float QA power supply is only compatible with Float headphones because it uses its own proprietary connectors.
 
Oct 5, 2013 at 8:06 AM Post #596 of 744
   
I already sent them back to Germany. My main concern is, do you think having used the Float QA with incorrect bias could have harmed or damaged the unit (either the headphones or power supply)? They could correct the bias and send it back to me, but I don't know if I could have damaged it in some way by using them with wrong bias.

 
Unlikely, but even if it did they're not going to send a defective unit back, they'll fix whatever is damaged.
 
To the best of my knowledge those folks that have had a few issues with early units were satisfied with the service Manfred gave them on the defective units.
 

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