Laglaph
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2004
- Posts
- 4
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- 0
I have been under pressure form my family to get some headphones so I can list to jazz without "inflicting" it on them. So after much desktop research (including reading loads of postings here and other forums) I drew up a short list. Namely Stax signature and Sennheiser HD650 with a headamp the Graham Slee Solo with the dedicated power supply.
I had listened to the HD650 before via the headphone jack on my Nakamichi tape deck and while they sounded OK I felt there was a great deal more to be heard.
So then I arranged to list to the Stax and the HD650/Solo (which involved coordinating loans/sale return from 3 different dealers at once) Firstly the Stax. These are a great set of phones they deliver a very detailed musical sound with a spaciousness that feels really good. However for me the upper mid range became more forward as they burned in. While I had these on loan the dealer rang me and offered me a pair of Omega 2's at a really good price (£2K). As these had been one of these "if I win the lottery" items I decided I must have a list even if I (most likely) would not buy them.
On listening to the Omega 2's they were very similar initially to the Signatures, as you would expect. However everything the Signatures did well the Omegas went further. The base is wonderfully deep, accurate and musical, mid range finely balanced and a sweet top. No sign of the forward upper mid range of the Signatures. Very comfortable to wear. Very spacious sound stage. Yes I would say all the hype is true a really excellent set of phones, some may find the sound too relaxed, to me though that was that they were not "pushing" the sound at me. This push may be liked by those into heavy metal etc but for jazz, classical, vocals the effortless sound of the Omegas is excellent.
About 2 weeks before I had to either send the Stax back or keep them I received the Solo head amp from Graham Slee. I quickly got hold of a pair of Sennheiser HD650's and started the long burn in the Solo's need. I left them a week before any critcal listening. I did have a "peek" and the combo HD650/Solo sounded very promising out of the box a lot better than the HD650's on their own.
After a week I started to compare the HD650/Solo and the Omega's (I had decided the forward upper mid range of the Signatures would not work for me with the type of music I listen to) The HD650/Solo sounded very detailed, just as detailed as the Omegas, if there was a difference may be the solo is a fraction more detailed in the base, but it may simply be they way the sound is presented. The mid range and top end of the HD650/Solo is all there just a detailed as the Omegas with no area forward or recessed. The Omegas sound stage was still better, wider, with more separation between instruments where as the HD650/Solo presented a much more restricted sound stage. The Omegas create a sound stage that appears to be outside my head (I found this effect only works with my eye shut so any visually clues are removed) the HD650/Solo sounded within my head. However I found that by careful placement of the HD650's I could get them to sound almost as spacious as the Omegas. You place the HD650's so the top rear quarter of the ear cup is place up against the top rear quarter of the ear, you bring the phones down and push them forward, then open up the phones at the front so the pressure is as fully of the front as you can get it.
So suddenly I start to think my ears have stopped working properly. Here I have my fantasy head phones sounding only slightly better than a phone/amp combo costing 1/3 as much. I really wanted to Omegas to sound better. But the more I listened to the HD650/Solo the better it sounded. So I got my wife to help. She has an amazing ear for music. She can hear a piece once and instantly recall it if she hears a snippet of it years latter. She thought the Omegas were much better until I showed her how to adjust the HD650's position and then she agreed they sound so close as to be down to minor differences.
So in the end a surprise but a very good one, which saved me, a great deal of money (£700 vs. £2000). On reflection the cost difference is due to what I call channel costs and nothing to do with the value of the product. Outside Japan there are additional costs and profits added to the sale price that add no value to the Omegas so the value equation is severely jeopardised. If the Omegas were around the same price may be 25% at the most more than the HD650/Solo I may have gone for them but them if I’m honest that would have been desire of the heart not logic of the head, who knows.
So now I am the very happy owner of an HD650/Solo combo which sounds stunningly good. What Graham Slee's developed is a fantastic amp that transforms the HD650's enabling them to really sing. Adjust them right and you'll occasionally get up to see whose playing that instrument in the next room!
I had listened to the HD650 before via the headphone jack on my Nakamichi tape deck and while they sounded OK I felt there was a great deal more to be heard.
So then I arranged to list to the Stax and the HD650/Solo (which involved coordinating loans/sale return from 3 different dealers at once) Firstly the Stax. These are a great set of phones they deliver a very detailed musical sound with a spaciousness that feels really good. However for me the upper mid range became more forward as they burned in. While I had these on loan the dealer rang me and offered me a pair of Omega 2's at a really good price (£2K). As these had been one of these "if I win the lottery" items I decided I must have a list even if I (most likely) would not buy them.
On listening to the Omega 2's they were very similar initially to the Signatures, as you would expect. However everything the Signatures did well the Omegas went further. The base is wonderfully deep, accurate and musical, mid range finely balanced and a sweet top. No sign of the forward upper mid range of the Signatures. Very comfortable to wear. Very spacious sound stage. Yes I would say all the hype is true a really excellent set of phones, some may find the sound too relaxed, to me though that was that they were not "pushing" the sound at me. This push may be liked by those into heavy metal etc but for jazz, classical, vocals the effortless sound of the Omegas is excellent.
About 2 weeks before I had to either send the Stax back or keep them I received the Solo head amp from Graham Slee. I quickly got hold of a pair of Sennheiser HD650's and started the long burn in the Solo's need. I left them a week before any critcal listening. I did have a "peek" and the combo HD650/Solo sounded very promising out of the box a lot better than the HD650's on their own.
After a week I started to compare the HD650/Solo and the Omega's (I had decided the forward upper mid range of the Signatures would not work for me with the type of music I listen to) The HD650/Solo sounded very detailed, just as detailed as the Omegas, if there was a difference may be the solo is a fraction more detailed in the base, but it may simply be they way the sound is presented. The mid range and top end of the HD650/Solo is all there just a detailed as the Omegas with no area forward or recessed. The Omegas sound stage was still better, wider, with more separation between instruments where as the HD650/Solo presented a much more restricted sound stage. The Omegas create a sound stage that appears to be outside my head (I found this effect only works with my eye shut so any visually clues are removed) the HD650/Solo sounded within my head. However I found that by careful placement of the HD650's I could get them to sound almost as spacious as the Omegas. You place the HD650's so the top rear quarter of the ear cup is place up against the top rear quarter of the ear, you bring the phones down and push them forward, then open up the phones at the front so the pressure is as fully of the front as you can get it.
So suddenly I start to think my ears have stopped working properly. Here I have my fantasy head phones sounding only slightly better than a phone/amp combo costing 1/3 as much. I really wanted to Omegas to sound better. But the more I listened to the HD650/Solo the better it sounded. So I got my wife to help. She has an amazing ear for music. She can hear a piece once and instantly recall it if she hears a snippet of it years latter. She thought the Omegas were much better until I showed her how to adjust the HD650's position and then she agreed they sound so close as to be down to minor differences.
So in the end a surprise but a very good one, which saved me, a great deal of money (£700 vs. £2000). On reflection the cost difference is due to what I call channel costs and nothing to do with the value of the product. Outside Japan there are additional costs and profits added to the sale price that add no value to the Omegas so the value equation is severely jeopardised. If the Omegas were around the same price may be 25% at the most more than the HD650/Solo I may have gone for them but them if I’m honest that would have been desire of the heart not logic of the head, who knows.
So now I am the very happy owner of an HD650/Solo combo which sounds stunningly good. What Graham Slee's developed is a fantastic amp that transforms the HD650's enabling them to really sing. Adjust them right and you'll occasionally get up to see whose playing that instrument in the next room!
