[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood Woah! The SA5000's have MORE bass than the CD3000's?

They have more bass extension and quality than most headphones.

 

[spike33]

would you say the diff between sa3k and sa5k are about same as 580/600 to 650?

 

[daler]

nice picture of all 3 headphones

Can't wait for a review on the 3000/5000 and the overall differences after they are burned in.

 

[jjcha]

This is from another thread about the Qualia, but I think my response is more appropriate here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker I'm not putting down the SA5000's...I listened to lan's at the mini-meet. It's just that they are more in the arena of the 650's and not the R-10's or the 010's . It's not a viable alternative. The Omega's are a better comparison, in both price and quality.

I gotta second this opinion. This is despite the fact I far prefer the SA5k in my rig with my music, IMO it doesn't have the depth of quality of my Qualia.

I enjoy my SA5k the way I enjoy a bacon double cheeseburger from Burger King. Nothing subtle about it, one of my favorite foods in the world. But still fast food.

I also have to backtrack and agree more with those who said the SA5k doesn't sound anything like the Qualia. Don't get me wrong - I still stand by my statement that they're clearly from the same Sony family, but man, they do sound very different.

The honest truth is that after I got my Qualia and sold my first SA5k, I had some serious doubts on whether I had made the right decision. The SA5k was great, especially in my rig with my music. And the Qualia wasn't performing the same way. I held back on getting a replacement SA5k for a long time because I wanted to give the Qualia a chance. Quite frankly, I was afraid that I had made a mistake buying the Qualia. I finally decided, heck with it, if I liked the SA5k better, so be it and I shouldn't let my purchase of the Qualia keep me from having an SA5k. I decided I can sell the Qualia and cut my losses, if necessary.

So I got the SA5k, and yes, it's as wonderful as I remember it. Can I say how much I really really love bacon double cheeseburgers?

Man, it is a whole lot of fun.

But actually having it again for comparison with the Qualia makes me appreciate the Qualia a whole lot more. It doesn't sound as immediately pleasurable as the SA5k playing my pop music, but it sounds a lot more interesting and can be a lot more involving. I honestly don't know how much play time each will get in my system. Probably will just depend on what kind of listening experience I'm looking for.

Now back to listening to the SA3k. The SA3k does strike me as a baby SA5k, in that it sounds pretty similar to the SA5k (as contrasted to the SA5k/Qualia relationship.) I do need to give it time to give it a fair evaluation, but I will say this (I don't think this opinion will change, even with burn-in) - if you're looking at the SA3k hoping to get 90% of the performance of the SA5k, but at 50% of the cost, I think you should save your money and get the SA5k. There is an awful lot that I like about the SA3k, but the SA5k is a clear class ahead, and the improvements are well worth the money in my mind.

But if you're considering the SA3k on its own merits and the SA5k isn't in the picture, again, there is a lot I like about it and I'll post more later. To some degree, I think the better comparisons are SA3k and HD600 than SA3k/SA5k...

Best regards,

-Jason

 

[daler]

interesting to hear jason. I think I made the right decision in cancelling my sa3000 order last week to hold off for the sa5000. All in all, its good to hear noone really is trashing the sa5000's or that they arent all hype/overpriced.

Curious, regarding purchasing from the usa, definitely wait to purchase these instead of audiocubes right? I know I could find an answer to this if i did some more research, but any idea how much these run by retail and when it comes out for a us release? The cheapest I found from japan is at 48,000 which I believe is how much the group buy was.

 

[jjcha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daler interesting to hear jason. I think I made the right decision in cancelling my sa3000 order last week to hold off for the sa5000. All in all, its good to hear noone really is trashing the sa5000's or that they arent all hype/overpriced. Curious, regarding purchasing from the usa, definitely wait to purchase these instead of audiocubes right? I know I could find an answer to this if i did some more research, but any idea how much these run by retail and when it comes out for a us release? The cheapest I found from japan is at 48,000 which I believe is how much the group buy was.

I spent about 15-20 minutes looking for a good price from a reputable retailer for the SA5k, and 48,000 is what I came up with. Generally street price seems around 49,000, though if you look really hard you might find better than the 48,000 price.

I have no idea how much street price will be for the phones in the US. I am willing to bet it is far lower than Audiocubes' price, and closer to the Japan street price, if you're willing to wait.

Best,

-Jason

 

[gsferrari]

I think the SA500 street price will be around $599.99

I'll pick up another one then

 

[daler]

$599.99 sounds about the same price as ordering from japan cheap + shipping........ maybe im wrong on this, but certainly questionable whether to

A. wait for us release
B. order now somehow

I've never ordered from across seas, but when i ordered from the canadian version of amazon for some rare dvds, it did a number on my wallet in terms of conversion of the dollars........ infact, turns out there was no conversion, which made whatever was supposed to be cheap into quite expensive. i certainly dont think the same can be done regarding purchasing from japan, but still thinking about that time

 

[james__bean]

Amazon had the SA5000's listed for 599.00, they're not listed anymore though. With how close the yen to dollar is in terms of 10,000 yen being about $100 (95 currently), I would imagine you would be able to get them for under $500 considering you can get them in japan for 48,000 yen which is roughly $460.

 

[phlavorman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by james__bean Amazon had the SA5000's listed for 599.00, they're not listed anymore though. With how close the yen to dollar is in terms of 10,000 yen being about $100 (95 currently), I would imagine you would be able to get them for under $500 considering you can get them in japan for 48,000 yen which is roughly $460.

You are forgetting all the freight costs and custom fees that sony is going to spend getting there cans over here. The headphones are surely going to demand much more in the USA than in Japan.

I agree in that I believe the street price will be in the $599+ region.

 

[rob1031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spike33 less talent than britney spears? impossible... looking forward to your review of sa3k

+100 to the first bit, +1 to the 2nd bit

 

[jjcha]

Just doing some comparisons of the gear... curse you head-fi! I used to have a life...

BTW, the conclusion from the photo - the Overture's DAC ain't bad at all, but the Grace is smoother. But neither can drive my speaker rig like my Chord setup.

Best,

-Jason

 

[kin0kin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjcha Just doing some comparisons of the gear... curse you head-fi! I used to have a life... BTW, the conclusion from the photo - the Overture's DAC ain't bad at all, but the Grace is smoother. But neither can drive my speaker rig like my Chord setup. Best, -Jason

thats some expensive sh1t uve got there man! sony wide screen, logi dinovo...not to mention the cans

life in japan rox

 

[jjcha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kin0kin thats some expensive sh1t uve got there man! sony wide screen, logi dinovo...not to mention the cans life in japan rox

You know what's the funny thing about having spent all this money? Two of my favorite rigs are:

1. iPod + SR-71 + Senn HD600 (stock cable!);
2. iRiver + SA3k.

Both rigs aren't cheap, but if it's about the music, you don't have to spend a whole lot...

Best,

-Jason

 

[jjcha]

I PM'd this to someone asking about Qualia/SA5k comparisons, and thought I'd share here. I'm still trying to put together a description of why I think the Qualia is by far the higher quality headphone, and what's so rewarding about listening to it. I don't think I adequately express it below. It is pretty amazing stuff.

Anyway, the usual caveat - I listen to some pretty crappy JPop music, which is the basis of the thoughts below. I do listen to real music once in a while, and will post more on that later.

Best,

-Jason

(copy-paste begins here)

Oh man, I've been thinking about this a lot lately. SA5k comparisons and Qualia comparisons are tough. They sound significantly different.

I would not say the SA5k are less detailed or more musical - generally, the notes I've been taking are (these are all out of my "bed rig"):

Pros for the SA5k:

SA5k are more present/forward. Qualia sounds more subtle - refined, polite/laid back - even veiled - compared to the SA5k. More dynamic punch to the SA5k. SA5k are a lot more fun and perfect with my pop music - it handles it with control and authority and isn't shy at all. Qualia sound shy, reserved.

SA5k easily has the best bass performance of each of my headphones, including Shure E5c/Sensa/HD650. Not copious amounts of uncontrolled subwoofer bass, but plenty of tight, controlled, impactful bass.

The Qualia isn't lacking in bass or dynamic punch. Often it surprises me at how much it has, and i really enjoy it. It's just more refined and less forward, but certainly there.

Pros for the Qualia

The Qualia sound is more refined/intricate. It sucks me into the music more somehow. The sound is richer, there's more depth to the detail. Even though the SA5k are better with my pop music, I've been listening to the same music more with the Qualia, it's more engrossing. There's more to explore here.

To me it really is the difference between a awesome ice cold beer on a hot day (SA5k) and a fine, incredibly delicious white wine (with a hot date at a top restaurant). Or maybe something like the SA5k is like a well-tuned Honda S2000, while the Qualia is more like a Mercedes SL600 (the V12, not the V8).

Hard to say, I really love both. Depends on what kind of mood you're in. If I could only have one, I'd pick the Qualia, and it is getting a lot more listening to than the SA5k, even with my pop music. But I'm really glad I bought the SA5k.

I'd recommend the SA5k over the Qualia in a flash to (1) normal people who just want to enjoy their normal music (2) non-snobby audiophiles who enjoy a fun listening experience. I recommend the Qualia over the SA5k for audiophiles looking for more engrossing/deep/rewarding listening experience.

Depending on what you're looking for, I'd say get both =).