Sony Qualia 010 astonishing disappointment

[iDesign]

I tested the Sony Qualia 010 though a Music Fidelity X-Can v3 headphone amplifier paired with a Sony Qualia 007 Super Audio CD Player. Sony notes that the porous baffle technology reduces resonance (or the "sea shell" effect) by allowing airflow and resistance to be consistently managed. Surprisingly I found this exactly to be the most troubling issue with the 010 as it indeed suffered from this phenomenon. I am curious if this is typical of the 010 or if there was some kind of fault with the example I tested.

 

[overlunge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDesign I tested the Sony Qualia 010 though a Music Fidelity X-Can v3 headphone amplifier paired with a Sony Qualia 007 Super Audio CD Player. Sony notes that the porous baffle technology reduces resonance (or the "sea shell" effect) by allowing airflow and resistance to be consistently managed. Surprisingly I found this exactly to be the most troubling issue with the 010 as it indeed suffered from this phenomenon. I am curious if this is typical of the 010 or if there was some kind of fault with the example I tested.

Hi iDesign,

I guess your impression fits the general perception/impression of the 010 when the driver was wrongly positioned in relation to your ear. Did you try tilting the headband slightly forwards/backwards or move the housing around to find the spot?

They are definetly worth another audition.


Best of luck,
Overlunge

 

[GoRedwings19]

idesign>You are certainly in right to assume the sound of the Qualia ties in which other headfiers have found them to be.

But there is also an aftermarket cable which might help and also fiddling around with the posistioning. If you find it does not still sounds right to your ears then it is not for you.

 

[Jahn]

yep that weird sea shell sound thing is offputting, but as folks said it could be just a positioning prob. or a recable, since a qualia i listened to with black dragons didn't have that problem.

 

[iDesign]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoRedwings19 idesign>You are certainly in right to assume the sound of the Qualia ties in which other headfiers have found them to be. But there is also an aftermarket cable which might help and also fiddling around with the posistioning. If you find it does not still sounds right to your ears then it is not for you.

I suspect that the faults that I noted with the 010 in my extended testing were directly associated with the design and engineering of the headphone and much less with the type of cable used. I also was unable to produce the same kind of effect using alternate headphones with the 007 and Music Fidelity headphone amplifier. The 010 very well may be one of least surprising and yet most shocking products I have ever seen or tested since the introduction of the BMW E63/4 6 Series! I wont use the term gobsmacking to describe either.

Cheers!

 

[Sovkiller]

I have tried them several times, in defferent positions and systems, and they have this problem all the time, a recable has been mentioned as a possible solution, not sure though....

 

[mjg]

when i tried immitbikers pair, at first i had that impresion,
when he gave me them witht he right music, and i must've put them on right, they sounded very good, best dynamics in headphones ever to me...

Yet, that weird effect did turn me off alot.

 

[PsychoZX]

I also think the 010 has the resonance issue due to the design. The Qualia that I heard at the recent south florida meet had a black dragon cable and I tried a bunch of different positions on my head. I was not albe to eliminate the echoey sound. Wich is a shame because without the resonance they would probably sound great. I just couldn't get past the echoey sound. It annoyed the crap out of me.

 

[jjcha]

I dunno if it's necessarly a cable upgrade, though it might help. I don't find mine to sound hokey with the stock cable.

But I certainly appreciate them sounding like crap to most people on most auditions. They certainly did for me for my first two trips to the Sony store. When I finally bought mine on the third, I didn't bother auditioning them as I figured they'd sound like crap again.

But I've gone on record that I'm now a huge fan of these, and they are my favorite headphone. I've got my doubts, but we'll see if the HE90 can knock them off the throne (at least for my ears).

Anyway, it wouldn't surprise me if some people never can get these sounding good for them. A pity, I think...

Best,

-Jason

 

[overlunge]

For the past five days I spent with the 010, sometimes I put it on and go: "mmm... that's not right...", have a quick fiddle with the housing, and the spot can be found quite easily.

One interesting thing though, I was listening to Eagles' Hell Freezes Over and on the live tracks, the position of vocal changes with some tracks. I found it quite noticable especially with 'Hotel California', the vocal seemed to take a step back behind the guitars. (p.s. Within the same listening session)

Has anyone experienced this as well?


Overlunge

 

[PATB]

NeilPeart and I listened to Ayt999's Qualia 010, HE90, PS1, HP-1000 etc. today and perhaps I have noob ears, but I could not detect the infamous Qualia 010 hollow sound that several members have been complaining about. I listened to them side by side with an R10, and while I prefer the R10, it took me several side by side comparisons to get to that conclusion. IMHO, the Qualia 010 is right up there with the best headphones and is much maligned in the forum probably because of bad fit (the sound changes when you move it around, thank goodness the medium size fits me perfectly).

---Pat

 

[fureshi]

i think i'm one of the lucky that doesn't have this problem. when i tried the medium sized ones at the qualia store, they sounded fine the first time i put them on. i didn't have to fiddle with the placement either. i was quite impressed with their weight as they felt like they disappeared after a few minutes.

 

[Nik]

Guys, I think that this discussions about the Qualia is now very clear... do a search and find what we have said about this complicated object ...

Best!
Nicola

 

[bhd812]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nik Guys, I think that this discussions about the Qualia is now very clear... do a search and find what we have said about this complicated object ... Best! Nicola

yeah so complicated that you may have a 90% chance of hearing the sea-shell..lol


great job Sony!!!

you made the worlds best headphone no one can place on their head!


btw I heard the sea-shell effect once then with the same set I didnt. sounds nice but not at its price tag nice...and I dont usually care about the price tag.

 

[bangraman]

It is a positioning issue. I eventually figured out to an ~80% first-time-right repeatable degree. The fit is counterintuitive and needs to be documented better.


There's a fine line between a more 'coalesced' staging and the Spelunk. Cables do not help, unless they are... well, mediocre. Since I'm going portable, relatively crappy cables don't bother me so that's what I'm using. And the Qualias do even rise above mediocre cables. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the standard cable, even compared to some available aftermarket.