[bozebuttons]

3. mini meets where held at the Sony Quaila store in NYC you can find impressions in the meet impressions threads around 2004 page 21 the 2nd meet was the biggest.We where able to bring our own gear.
When they first came out.

 

[purk]

3. mini meets where held at the Sony Quaila store in NYC you can find impressions in the meet impressions threads around 2004 page 21 the 2nd meet was the biggest.We where able to bring our own gear.
When they first came out.

That’s almost 20 years ago. Wow!

 

[bozebuttons]

That’s almost 20 years ago. Wow!

Time flies when you are having fun

 

[padam]

On my head right now. I am not sure if I even put more than 12 hours on it within 12 years of ownership. (Maybe I did, I just don't remember.)

But maybe it's time to lift that number before I try to sell it yet again, especially considering it still wasn't a cost-free ownership with new pads and a smaller headband. Last time I tried selling, a driver got toast sitting idle. But after a lengthy absence they have been repaired. I just haven't checked since because the balanced cable also needed fixing once more (that LEMO connector is just not a very good design).
But who cares, all is well now.

Well, how can I describe this...this is really confusing. Can I even rate it? I am not sure. Goes against what I was fighting for when going through headphones all these years. Just a clean, calm, relaxing, natural, unforced, balanced, honest (in a one-word summary: "reference") sound.

This is not like that at all.

Sharp, sharp. lighting quick, constantly on high alert with a tone (mostly with vocals, seems a little strident) that seems quite odd at first. But for some reason there is not much harshness or shoutiness, nor it seems bright (it was before going balanced).
The key to its sound comes from the chamber that is formed around the driver. [Brochure calls it Porous baffle, finished with pressure dispensing leather pads - oooh!] You put it on (correctly) and yet it still sounds like if it is coming from a hollow cave.
And yet our very adaptable and powerful mind should not be underestimated. Kicks in at full steam with the Qualia, probably more than with any other headphone I tried because of its particular characteristics.
What this mind trick does is basically accepting this virtual sound environment, picks up all those crunchy details [thanks to what the brochure calls Nanocomposite HD driver units - lovely] and spatial cues that reflect back from these virtual walls. And all this makes the tone feel almost normal again with still a fair bit of sharpness added in, but the mind actually does not mind that all at after getting used to a smooth sound. Also has other technical tricks up its arsenal like sharp (exaggerated) transients and tight, impactful, deep bass.
This is something completely different. Something new.

Probably not your most dependable, long-term everyday companion. But what it is instead is the mad, wild seducer - the exotic type.
If this was an attempt to resist it, then I might be failing under its spell.

I have listened it for over an hour while I was formulating this (album of choice: CCR - Cosmo's factory - needle drop version) and I am still perplexed about it. Because I should not 'sense' this as 'good' sound and even though the chain restricts it a fair bit so it's not anywhere near what it is capable of.
(I think I already had this impression 10+ years prior. Now I have way more experience and some possible explanation for it. I also compared it against the HD800 back then, possibly not quite as 'incorrect' but it also lacks all this wow-factor.)


The opposite headphone to this is the early 007 Mk1, which for me is also a mixture of world-class amazing and weird at the same time. And it almost feels like as if their designers had a very specific tuning in mind that emphasises certain technical aspects over frequency response (or simply just their - rather differing - ideas of "reference").
Needless to say, I would not mind hearing each of them with a system purposefully designed just for them and nothing else (preferably no EQ).


Anyway, I don't feel the need to post frequently anymore, when the information is usually there, as long as you know what to look for and how to dig it up.
But this is such an odd sensation I just had to write about it while listening - still

Happy listening!

 

[padam]

Had to put it down after a few hours. Not because I did not enjoy it, but I may need to do something about those pads absorbing sweat.

Instead I decided to migrate back to the estat I have that at least might be somewhat reminiscent, the SR-Omega and while it does not feel new, it certainly feels different, despite not changing anything. Interestingly, Stax seems to have a more 'visible' treble that occupies more space within the stage but the attack and decay makes it sound a bit too delicate and a little busier (at first), Qualia has known to have world-class treble (in Asr's old posts), so not much of a surprise. Everything is just even a little larger still, but softer, resulting in more of a borderless sound with holograph-like images rather than more rigid images in the virtual chamber approach of the Qualia and dynamics are also scaled back somewhat, transients are a bit blunted. Tonality is of course an easy win for the Omega (clean as a whistle with the previous aspect it contributes to a feeling of "flatness") but it's not quite that simple, timbre is not just about tonality as far as I can see, speed and imaging also affect it significantly. (That's what always rubbed me the wrong way about the X9000 from the get go, even faster is somehow less believable to my ears, more blunted transients, etc. previous rant here)
So the mind adjustment machine will still going to kick in, it just going to do different things. It certainly does not have to do anything regarding harshness or sibilance, those are pretty much completely eliminated while if you put the wrong ('digital-sounding') compressed record on with female vocals, the Qualia is ready to bite.

While the Omega is quite consistent and predictable in what it's doing (so it can work as an all-rounder) it's still not necessarily going to be the style anyone would like because it is an estat carrying estat traits, no matter what you do. In the same way I just don't see dynamics or planars ever matching that level of cleanliness and refinement. I was always deeply impressed by its low-end resolving capability, but the balanced Qualia has more, tighter and harder-hitting bass.
Most likely scenario is that you won't be bothered too much by those things, just get used to it and enjoy the music as it seems to work for a lot of people with the X9K or something completely different, whatever

 

[smellis]

On my head right now. I am not sure if I even put more than 12 hours on it within 12 years of ownership. (Maybe I did, I just don't remember.)

But maybe it's time to lift that number before I try to sell it yet again, especially considering it still wasn't a cost-free ownership with new pads and a smaller headband. Last time I tried selling, a driver got toast sitting idle. But after a lengthy absence they have been repaired. I just haven't checked since because the balanced cable also needed fixing once more (that LEMO connector is just not a very good design).
But who cares, all is well now.

Well, how can I describe this...this is really confusing. Can I even rate it? I am not sure. Goes against what I was fighting for when going through headphones all these years. Just a clean, calm, relaxing, natural, unforced, balanced, honest (in a one-word summary: "reference") sound.

This is not like that at all.

Sharp, sharp. lighting quick, constantly on high alert with a tone (mostly with vocals, seems a little strident) that seems quite odd at first. But for some reason there is not much harshness or shoutiness, nor it seems bright (it was before going balanced).
The key to its sound comes from the chamber that is formed around the driver. [Brochure calls it Porous baffle, finished with pressure dispensing leather pads - oooh!] You put it on (correctly) and yet it still sounds like if it is coming from a hollow cave.
And yet our very adaptable and powerful mind should not be underestimated. Kicks in at full steam with the Qualia, probably more than with any other headphone I tried because of its particular characteristics.
What this mind trick does is basically accepting this virtual sound environment, picks up all those crunchy details [thanks to what the brochure calls Nanocomposite HD driver units - lovely] and spatial cues that reflect back from these virtual walls. And all this makes the tone feel almost normal again with still a fair bit of sharpness added in, but the mind actually does not mind that all at after getting used to a smooth sound. Also has other technical tricks up its arsenal like sharp (exaggerated) transients and tight, impactful, deep bass.
This is something completely different. Something new.

Probably not your most dependable, long-term everyday companion. But what it is instead is the mad, wild seducer - the exotic type.
If this was an attempt to resist it, then I might be failing under its spell.

I have listened it for over an hour while I was formulating this (album of choice: CCR - Cosmo's factory - needle drop version) and I am still perplexed about it. Because I should not 'sense' this as 'good' sound and even though the chain restricts it a fair bit so it's not anywhere near what it is capable of.
(I think I already had this impression 10+ years prior. Now I have way more experience and some possible explanation for it. I also compared it against the HD800 back then, possibly not quite as 'incorrect' but it also lacks all this wow-factor.)


The opposite headphone to this is the early 007 Mk1, which for me is also a mixture of world-class amazing and weird at the same time. And it almost feels like as if their designers had a very specific tuning in mind that emphasises certain technical aspects over frequency response (or simply just their - rather differing - ideas of "reference").
Needless to say, I would not mind hearing each of them with a system purposefully designed just for them and nothing else (preferably no EQ).


Anyway, I don't feel the need to post frequently anymore, when the information is usually there, as long as you know what to look for and how to dig it up.
But this is such an odd sensation I just had to write about it while listening - still

Happy listening!

Thanks for the update- finding current feedback on such a rare headphone is pretty cool and likely harder to find as the years progress. I'd love to own one of these but seeing the heartbreak from driver failure is a little much to me. I'm curious how you even got these repaired? I'm mostly seeing people just accept they have a rare paperweight after driver failure in their Qualias.

 

[padam]

Credit goes to ES Lab HK having connections to a person who is able to work on issues like these.
Wasn't cheap or risk-free, and it took plenty of time, but considering the amount I've spent on a headband and earpads some years prior, and the time it had already been sitting idle like that, seemed like worth trying.
Haven't listened to them since then by the way. Maybe I should, but I feel like a better amp would be needed to unlock it (maybe a CFA3 or similar). Even on a lesser amp, against the very best estats it says. "Is this is best you've got with regards to dynamics and punch?" So I can hardly imagine what it would be like. But then again, having more of a calm personality, there aren't necessarily the aspects I value to most.