Greetings to headfi's eager 010 aspirants! . . . and thanks to my new friends bozebuttons, jahn, jpelg and Lan (purposely in alpha-order to avoid emphasis) -- for participating in a thorough, intelligent and cooperative shared experience. And my thanks, too, to Josh Kim. I look forward to seeing him at future meets.
I always need to let impressions percolate for awhile 'til they coalesce into communicable thoughts -- and though this process is only partially complete, I certainly want to share my impressions as well, so I'll start blabbing. It's so late now that I hope I don't doze off while writing. And if all these words put anyone else to sleep, my apologies in advance.
The Qualia 010 is a remarkable, new kind of headphone. From our chat after hearing them, I believe we all agree that they are very much a new breed of headphone in search of the ideal chain(s) of synergistic components to control and cultivate the sound it generates. To clarify that: my experience listening to them directly from the headphone jack on the store's Sony 9000E was not what I would call underwhelming; rather (to recall just a few impressions) it produced sizzlingly hot highs, thin "jumbled" bass (not muddy, but uncontrolled and thin), and what seemed like a raw sound in need of taming. The frequency spectrum, while obviously extended, was not well-balanced and definitely not comfortable to hear for more than a short while -- directly from the headphone output.
As the other four attendees did, I was constantly juggling phones, amps and software. At the start I heard the Qualia through bozebuttons Phillips SACD1000/Krell combo, via a very nice disc of (I'm guessing) Allison Krauss and Union Station with Jerry Douglas on dobro, and I was excited by the quality of the sound, which was richly textured with lots of air around the instruments and voices, and lots of harmonic detail of the strings and the singers breathing.
While this system tames the worst of the sizzling highs and presents the openness and detail of the phones, it still does not enable the Qualia to produce a bottom end with any weight. I wouldn't mind owning both the R10 and the Qualia (if I could find a successful system for it and had oodles of cash to accomplish that goal).
The Qualia obviously gave a different impression through the Toshiba/Stealth combo and the Sony/SR71 combo. I was also surprised that the SR71 managed to drive the AKG1000 adequately enough (though just barely) for it to create a very nice soundstage, a very pleasant over-all balance and more bass energy that I expected. Of course, by the nature of this diminutive unit, it has more limitations that the Krell and Stealth, but it also somewhat tamed the migraine-highs that the Sony 9000ES' headphone output sent screaming through the Qualia. The SR71's presentation of the Qualia was a bit dry and veiled, and still a bit bright with the Qualia -- just not the right combination.
I didn't listen enough through the Toshiba/Stealth system, but I remember that the Qualia was perhaps more relaxed or laid back with it, though it lost some the air and energy that I heard with the Phillips/Krell. Late in our session, Lan replaced the Krell with the Stealth in the Phillips chain and we compared the phones again to see if the Toshiba source may have limited the sound. I felt that the Phillips/Stealth combo was much better that the Stealth with the Toshiba player. I must have become somewhat brained-fatigued by then, because I can't recall a clear picture of the comparative listening with this last combo, except the same differences I noted with the Krell, and the obvervation that the Stealth did sound much better with the Phillips player. I hope to hear the Stealth at greater length in the future. Aside from the Toshiba's influence, we weren't sure that the Stealth's tubes had enough warm-up time to perform optimally.
I haven't yet heard some of the super-phones (HE90, etc.) so I can't compare the 010 to any of those.
The Qualia is very detailed, but I don't think I would call it "dry". The Union Station/Jerry Douglas recording I heard through the Phillips/Krell sounded really "juicy" to me, in a way. My sense memory of that early, brief listen isn't too reliable, so I won't go into that -- but the voices and guitars were too richly texture and had too much "presence" for me to call them dry. The uniqueness of its sound was exciting in a way that a "dry and analytical" headphone (or loudspeaker) never is. As I'll probably repeat a few times, the Qualia is a strange, wild new beast. Detailed and analytical may apply, but I don't think "dry" quite fits. The AKG K271S does have a dry sound (I can imagine it being used for studio monitoring.), and the Qualia is nothing like the K271S. I'm hoping that there is true mate of a system out there that will allow this new adolescent to blossom.
I know that the K271S was hugely outclassed, but it's always fun to hear the more affordable units in the same context as the big guns and then enjoy them for what they can do. I much prefer the K501 to the 271S -- and the K501 costs less -- but the closed-back 271, though lacking the wide open soundstage, detailed and lucid mid- and upper-midrange, and the subtlety of the 501, is still pretty fast, with tight bass, and enjoyable enough with proper amplification. As Jahn mentioned, after the meet we had fun comparing the KSC-35s, and also the K271S, through the SR71 and the Superdual with pleasant results.
Since I've shifted away from the Qualia, for a moment, I have to say that the AKG K1000 was really a delight with all the systems present and to my ear/mind setup provides the best soundstage of all the phones present and had (for my taste) a wonderfully balanced sound -- though I couldn't really spend enough time with it since it was not the primary focus of the meet. I'm not sure if I'd be happier listening the the K1000 or the R10 for long hours. Although I like the immediacy and impact of the R10, the added sonic weight might obscure some of the air and intricacy I enjoy in the K1000 and K501. I just don't know yet. I'll also have to listen more to determine which I prefer in terms of placement of instruments and which soundstage. I find the K1000 soundstage much preferable to the K501, which I have found extremely (almost unnaturally) wide, but not very deep front-to-back. Again, in that regard I haven't tried the 501 through enough amps to hear it at its best.
After trying a number of Red Book and SACD discs for my own comparisons (Stevie Ray Vaughan Gold Disk "Couldn't Stand The Weather); "The Rite Of Strings with Al Di Meola, Stanley Jordan & Jean-Luc Ponty; Steely Dan "Goucho" SACD; "Tigerlilly", "Carmen Highlights" (EMI); etc. -- I finally chose my SACD of Bill Evans (Live at the Village Vanguard in 1961): "Waltz For Debby". Despite its few tiny spots of damaged master tape warble, I felt it was a great, complex, live recording which provided a palpable, dimensioned performance with people moving, breathing & clinking (tableware) in a 3D space, as well as Bill Evans delicate, rich, romantic jazz piano, Scott La Faro's passionate, guitar-like string bass and Paul Motian's solid percussive foundation on the classic, intimate Village Vanguard stage.
The counterpoint between the R10 and the 010 is fascinating, wonderful, tantalizing -- and a guaranteed wallet-assassin for the brave-hearted. The 010 painted a wide-open, elegant and detailed jazz portrait in a deep stage -- but it lacked the mass and impact, and the visceral feel that not just bass and drums, but even a piano delivers at modest sound levels (not just at ear-splitting volume). The piano is a big, percussive resonating chamber which you can feel in an intimate club like the Vanguard. Here's where the R10 is so engaging. The R10 lacks some of the elegance, air and quick detail, but it presented all the heft, body, impact and excitement of the bass and drums, and clear separation and placement of the musicians, tho' the piano was a bit recessed -- which I suspect might be inherent in the recording. I've read in a couple of articles that from this same performance date, the first release "Sunday at the Village Vanguard" was specifically edited to showcase Scott Le Faro's bass innovation, since he died just after this session. Perhaps Bill Evans' conscious and deliberate "stepping back" was true of the entire date, which would free the listening gear of blame.
The R10 is dramatic and exciting, and perhaps a bit aggressive. In this context the bottom end wasn't just solid and punchy, it was very forward, in-your-face and as bozebuttons states, grabby (my word) -- it does suck you into the performance. It is seductive and anything but cerebral. On this day the Qualia did not have that kind of warm, seductive appeal. There's a lot about its sonic signature that I like. it does not create the K1000 out-of-your head 3D soundstage, but it does create distinct air around instruments. I need to listen to them more, with different music and electronics. With all that the Qualia does well, you wish it had the bass foundation and heft of the R10 -- that might help it create a really great sonic picture.
Josh said the Qualia 010 is designed for SACDs. Perhaps at the fall NYC meet we can have, in addition to lots of electronics, a wide range of superlative, audiophile SACDs, to show the systems at their best. Some of observed that the R10 and the Qualia behaved different with different recordings, which doesn't surprise me but which complicates evaluation.
It's obvious that I have a preference for the AKG1000 sound and soundstage and I agree that there are aspects of the Qualia sound that are similar in character and feel to the AKG1000. Though it is a vastly different instrument, if you have to pigeon-hole it in a genre, then K1000 may be the closest. Don't try an A-B comparison of the K1000 and the Qualia without lowering the gain (volume) substantially before hearing the Qualia, since the K1000 needs much higher levels to drive it than does the Qualia, and your hearing will be at risk if you're not careful.
I am very much looking forward to future investigations and experiments that will place the Qualia 010 in many well-thought-out system configurations. Will the wild beast be tamed? And will we be privvy to a wonderful aural picture capable of reassembling something close the original sound and emotional experience of the performances we're hoping to hear? Or will this very interesting, high-tech transducer remain a tantalizing work-in-progress with incorrigible flaws.
As of this limited -- but very welcome listening, the Qualia is an exciting question mark and a fun challenge. I'll look to those with the expertise, money and equipment to meet this challenge, and hope that I might ride their coattails a bit, and give a listen here and there.
At the next full-fledged NYC fall meet it will be interesting to see if the Qualia shows and it will be fun to see how it shows, fits in and performs.
In concert with the previous comments, the Qualia 040 projector -- shown to its best with the Spiderman2 trailer -- is breathtaking when showing off great Hi-Def program material. HD Video can have a hyper-real look which is an exciting jolt, and so thrilling you don't want to stop watching. After experiencing it, it's hard to get it out of your mind when you view lesser-quality monitors and software. If you can swing it, get ready to ante-up the $30K MSRP.
Well - my fingers have ground to halt, so -- Good Night!
