[Romanee]

Yo, PF (hey, those are MY initials...) --

ACT I. Scene 1. (ooops, this is cinema, not stage....)

[Fade In - Edvard Munch's "The Scream" ]

[Voice Over]

STAAAAAHHHHHHHP (stop) !!! You're killling me! Pant-pant-pant . . . Drool - drool - droooooolllllll. Aaaargggghhhhh.

[Brando-esque voice over]

The dahlllers - the dahhllllers ($)

[Falls hard and fast in a swoon.]

 

[Jahn]

Prepare to keel over. Lan's bootstrapped the Solo. Now you know how critical he is when judging sonic performance, so take the following quote in context...


"The resistors are in. This is some good ****.

--Lan
__________________"


OH YEAH. Plus I think there is one more mod to do, upping the cap size in the Solo once more, then we're done! I can't wait!

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Prepare to keel over. Lan's bootstrapped the Solo. Now you know how critical he is when judging sonic performance, so take the following quote in context... "The resistors are in. This is some good ****. --Lan __________________" [/i] [/td] [/tr] [/table] [img]http://www.head-fi.org/forums/images/smilies/http://hfimage.head-fi.org/smilies/wink.gif Quote: Originally Posted by Jahn OH YEAH. Plus I think there is one more mod to do, upping the cap size in the Solo once more, then we're done! I can't wait! 220uF to 470uF takes the bass down an octave and the sound stage is more expanded in width and depth, yet its focus is even more solid than before. I'm sure you'll like these latest (and final) mods Jahn..... any more would be over egging the pudding and I feel this is as far as you need to take this amp... the 1K bootstrap mod has transformed it IMO All the best. Mike.

 

[Jahn]

AWESOME. I can always use a little Bass! Man I see the light at the end of the tunnel...

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinkFloyd 220uF to 470uF takes the bass down an octave and the sound stage is more expanded in width and depth, yet its focus is even more solid than before.

What happens if you use >470uF? Even more bass?

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan What happens if you use >470uF? Even more bass?

That would be gilding the lilly, I mean over egging the pudding.

 

[Jahn]

i smell blackgates in the future oh yes...

 

[lan]

I smell Panasonic FC and FM in the near future.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan I smell Panasonic FC and FM in the near future.

Hey! That saves me cash! That's cool

Plus Panasonic FCs still got 3rd place in PinkFloyd's poll, hehe-

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=88336

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan What happens if you use >470uF? Even more bass?

Try it, you won't harm anything

470uF makes a perfect pudding tho.

EDIT: Panasonics are great caps

 

[Romanee]

Following are a few quotes of Kevin Gilmore's replies to my questions, in a couple of impromptu chats I had with him, regarding the Qualia 010 cables and connectors and any efforts he might be making towards creating improved cables for them. They are not carefully prepared pronouncements, so please take them as the casual notes they are:


[size=x-small]"I already made my own set of cables because you have to do that
if you want to use 4 wire balanced.

Parts are readily available, though not cheap at $40 for each of the connectors.
And they are not so easy to solder if you are an old guy with limited focus range.
Lemo has a minimum order, and fischer does as well.

The sony connectors come apart real easy and you can always use them
and save some money."

The wire i'm currently using is not what i really want, been very busy lately.
Micro litz pure silver is what i'm after.

.................

"I don't think the current cable is anywhere near as good as it could
or should be. Sony is into copper only, and not at all into trendy cables.

The microthin cardas cables, or stuff like that will definitely make a difference.

So will the microlitz pure silver stuff i'm planning on using."[/size]

[size=x-small]— quoted from (and with permission from) Kevin Gilmore 10/8/04[/size]

I hope you find this interesting. I find all intelligent improvement endeavors very interesting, and the question of the Q010 cables has been coming up in various threads with increasing frequency -- with few productive responses appearing, thus far. It would also be interesting to learn who else has been, or will be working along these lines.

 

[Jahn]

c-c-c-copper??

joke, i use copper for all my ICs to give my rig a warmer tone. but for the 010 why not go for the highest detail you can all around? i think that means silver if i'm not mistaken.

 

[Sovkiller]

Peter, I respect what Dr. Gilmore is pointing out, (BTW he replaced his as he needed balanced cables, and not for quality reasons, IMO) and I know that for sure you may find better cables out there, but IMO, this is not the point, (and honestly I'm not sure neither, as I have seen enough already to believe anything...LOL...) but do you really believe that Sony will cut corners is a product like that? Is this a product designed to reach a price point in the market? IMO they could place any price on it, they claim and maybe it is, a completelly innovative product, a "show off" product IMO.....How much would cost Sony to put the best cable on it, 150 bucks?

I'm not denying that they could be improvements, but not always a different sound is a better sound, if Sony had consider this stock cable as part of the Qualia sound (as I'm assuming in a product like that, this is not the same case of the HD6XX at all) I do not believe that replacing the cable for a "better cable" will give you a better overall sound, maybe this new different cable will introduce anomalies that were considered and tamed by the original one, as a whole product....but anyway, what do we know? Let's wait for the guinea pigs out there to conclude this chapter of the aftermarket Qualia cables.....

Now the last thing we need, is someone to say that those connectors on the Qualia are intended to make the cable "upgradeable"...LOL....

 

[Romanee]

Hello Sovkiller!

I absolutely agree with much of what you say. I have no interest in destroying a marvelous design and I don't expect proud owners to rush to be tweak-mad guinea pigs. I am a staunch participant in the "different is not necessarily better" group, and perhaps you can deduce from my often wordy and windy notes that I'm a cautious, if curious, guy. We're all in agreement that any change in the sonic chain may add or detract in ways that may not be an improvement. And as an aside, one principle in life that I try to remind myself as often as possible (and occasionally those around me, in gentle fashion) is never to "assume" anything. I'm perfectly willing to risk seeming stupid and ask a question that I feel might uncover something closer to the truth about a thing, an ideal, a process, etc.

I am interested to hear what the most expert innovators with the money and resources to experiment have to say about this, and to see if any worthwhile results are created.

The Qualia 010 is a wonderful transducer and -- to my tastes -- a beautiful example of innovative industrial design (thus my attempts to create a few interesting closeup photos in those challenging conditions).

Nonetheless, the stock cable is very microphonic -- noisy when handled (even Qualia personnel acknowledged that), which seems to me to be a not so minor deficiency in Sony's designing a "cost-no-object" leading edge work of art. I don't have the expertise to deconstruct and analyze the cable, but I see headfiers posting questions pondering this issue and I am simply curious to know what findings and developments are out there. (I won't be cliche and say "the truth is out there", 'cause it often isn't, and there are few, if any, absolutes.)

If it turns out that this is a non-issue and that Sony did indeed design the best, most synergistic cable for the phones, that's fine with me.

It would be nice to hear what Sony's techies have to say.

Thanks very much for the lively and sincere response!

Best Regards.

{AKG Goofus Supremus} -- can't stay too serious.

 

[Sovkiller]

Well I agree on the microhonic issue of the cable, and if this could be improved it should be fine IMO. What is curious is that they are keeping this same kind of cables in their top models, CD3000, R-10 and now the Qualia, it seems that they do not care about the problem, I noticed also that the R-10 uses a similar cable to the CD3000, just a lot thicker, maybe more stuffing inside, but the silk jacket is very similar (the Qualia is more CD3000 like), not sure about the microphonic in this particular one, but I don't care neither, I just fell in love with it, a real shame that I can't marry her....LOL....

IMO not a big deal, those three headphones are made to be listened in a quiet environment, and in which you are enjoying the music and not moving too much, they are big, at least is the way I would do it, and I actually do, so microphonics is not a problem for me. Maybe for a more portable can like the Etys or so, it is indeed is a problem, as they are intended for a more portable use, and more freedom of movement...but on those big guys not a problem IMO.....