[Zenja]

Quote:

Originally Posted by StanleyBuchanan Does anyone have EQ settings they suggest for the SA5K? Personally a little bass boost from my PRII and the SA5K are wonderful

I used this thread as a reference: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...lat+equaliz%2A

The biggest thing to equalize away is that big broad peak at around 2000-3000Hz. From there you could look at the graph and try the other parts and see if you like it. I personally added a bit of bass boost and slightly boosted the step down at around 250Hz. I'm not sure what to do with the last frequency point I have.

 

[FA22RaptorF22]

I do find that like the qualia's, the sa5k is amp sensitive and sounds nice with an amp with rounded off highs, or a tube amp. As for eqing. Analog eq's give the sa5k a more smooth feel and not as exaggerated highs. A digi eq gives you much greater frequency control but a more detailed sound.

my 2cents.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl CD5000?

My apologies. I had the MDR-CD1000. The MDR-CD3000 were the plushier ones with more bells and comfy whistles, but no apparent audio difference. The MDR-CD3000 were their top-of-the-line for some time before they started getting replaced by other 50mm driver unit models.

I loved my CD1000. I don't think I have ever found an over the ear headphone that sounded as good to me as those two models did. The CD3000 in my opinion was not worth the extra bucks for the 99.999% oxygen free purity linear litz blah blah blah cable (blah blah blah means I have no idea what that is but I doubt it will increase the sound that much from the CD1000 which had a 99.998% oxygen free cable, I think. It didn't have the plushier ear-cups either, but I was quite content with the MDR-CD1000.

I wish they still made them. Compared to other high end headphones like Beyer, AKG, Grado, Sennheisher, some electrostatics, some drivers, I found the high end Sony's to be my favorite (which could only be purchased through elite Sony dealers or through Sony Style).


PJ

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ I'm pretty sure the ones above the CD3000 were the CD5000, but I am not sure what you are implying. If you are implying they had a higher end one than the CD3000, than yes they did (with no audible difference to my ears, just more bells and comfy whistles). If you are implying that there was no such headphone called the CD5000, you may be right. It may have been the CD7000 ?? I don't distinctly remember. I only remember the ones I had. PJ

There is no CD5000. Nor a CD7000. The CD3000 was the top model in their previous consumer line, with their reference model being the highly expensive MDR-R10.

 

[Elephas]

I'm listening to Sarah McLachlan's "Bloom (Remix Album)" with the SA5000. It sounds great. Detailed, precise, and accurate. It is sounding better with this type of music than my usual favorites, the W5000 and AD2000.

Amp is the AT-HA5000 and source is a Lavry DA10. The SA5000 sounds best paired with the HA5000 out of the admittedly few amps I've tried it with.

I haven't listened to the SA5000 for a while and was thinking of selling it. Now, I'm thinking what an idiotic thought that was.

 

[TimmyMac]

I can't help but feel like I'm not doing mine justice... out of an Audigy 2ZS and Millett hybrid amp

 

[Elephas]

I don't know how the Audigy 2ZS sounds, but I would guess it isn't very good for music. I used to use an E-MU 1212M and now use the RME HDSP 9632. The Lavry DA10 sounds better than either of these two cards' analog outputs.

The SA5000, like many headphones, benefits from a good source and well-matched amplification.

You can try your SA5000 with the Millet amp and another source, such as a standalone CD player. A local audio shop might let you audition their demo gear. Attending a local meet is another option.

 

[DJShadow]

I'm the new member of what appears to be a diminshing club and really need some help. The right channel is becoming increasingly intermittent which I presume is an unsecure connection between cable and driver. So I need instructions on how to take apart them apart and see for myself. If I can't any replies then I'll have to resort to PM'ing people who have some experience of dissasembly

 

[Zenja]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJShadow /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm the new member of what appears to be a diminshing club and really need some help. The right channel is becoming increasingly intermittent which I presume is an unsecure connection between cable and driver. So I need instructions on how to take apart them apart and see for myself. If I can't any replies then I'll have to resort to PM'ing people who have some experience of dissasembly

I've seen several posts related to that in the last week, just do a search.

 

[DJShadow]

I think I've worked out how to open them up now, just need to get some Philips screwdrivers and probably a soldering iron. If I can get hold of a decent camera I'll post pics on how to dissasemble them

What kind of soldering iron do I need and is desoldering equipment needed as well?

 

[DJShadow]

An update if anyone's interested:

Managed to open them up, which is incredibly easy so pictures aren't really needed and I couldn't get hold of a camera anyway. To start with, you peel back the pads to reveal 4 screws-2 at each 'end' of the earpiece:

Once opened, I inspected the (somewhat flimsy looking) connections. I couldn't see that there was any apparent loose connections between the wires and driver, although there was a cut green wire that wasn't connected to anything. There was a piece of black electrical (thats what I'm thinking it is) tape that fell out so I applied it to the driver/wire area.

I'm now 15mins into listening and haven't had any intermittance regardless of how much I move my head around. Sooo was the cause of my problem a piece of tape that fell off?

 

[BobMajor]

I've had the SA5000 for a year and a half. Due to intermittent signal in the cable I sent it away to Drew Baird at Moon Audio to have a Black Dragon cable put on it.
When I got the headphones in 2005 I really liked them compared to my Sennheiser HD600 with Moon Audio Silver Dragon cable. The SA5000's strong point is that they are very fast and thus offer an extremely good soundstage.
The downside of the phones right out of the box was that they sounded cool (that is the mid-range was weak) with some areas of bass emphasized and the treble overemphasized. However, after a year I feel that this coolness had become significantly reduced and the overall presentation was smoother than right out of the box.
Unfortunately, as others have found the cable is a weak point in many ways.
I got the headphones back from Moon Audio and let them break in with 100 hours of continuous use. I found that they really needed 125 hours to break in.
The results are truly stupendous. The midrange frequency response is detailed, solid and sumptuous. If the recording is warm then the phones deliver that perfectly. For example Renee Fleming's voice or cellos or woodwinds sound completely seductive. Also the treble has been transformed as well. With the original cable there were certain areas of the high frequency which stood out while the higher frequencies dropped off noticeably. Now the high frequencies go higher without drop off and the whole response is smooth way up so that the soundstage has improved wonderfully.
There is still a slight bass hump but it's rare to find a recording which shows this off. I think it's just so unusual to have so much bass response that is only coming from phones and is not also hitting the body. This causes a slight disconnect with reality.
I had been seriously thinking of getting the Stax OmegaII but now I don't have any feeling to bother. I've heard 2 lesser Stax models and while I admire the speed especially in the midrange, I can't seem to warm to the presentation. There's just something fatiguing about the whole thing for me.
I can't recommend the recabling with the Moon Audio Black Dragon cable highly enough.

 

[fatko]

pumped.

i bought SA5000 today.

the female vocals on this phone is so beautiful and yet analytical!

one of the amazing things i like most is the details

i can hear a lot of things that i couldnt notice before.

the bass is the best part of SA5000

so tight so deep

just my first impression

 

[DJShadow]

Hmm I personally think female vocals could do with some more 'gloss', a doughnut or two. Occasionally vocals sound slightly anemic. Violins sound off on some records. I definitely appreciate the brutal revealing nature of these headphones in every other respect though. Drums are so good to listen to.

Good to see people are still interested in what I reckon is an underrated headphone. Beware of the cable though, its pretty crappy

 

[cadobhuk]

I bought mine used and I love it,I can notice it has a spike in the treble that I read about and it definetely messes up the sound making it kind of tinny,but once equalized,they are imho one of the best headphones imaginable,for any genre,because I just dont see any kind of weakness in them after that.They are neutral,detailed,fast,with great big soundstage and precise imaging,tight and textured bass - whats there to improve upon?