The Sony MDR-SA5000 Thread
Dec 21, 2007 at 9:53 AM Post #241 of 413
Quote: bump. It's been 19 days since someone posted here...

Everyone is to busy listening to them.
The SA 5000 is a class act,if you love female singers/new age then these are the phones.
I have SR 80s,F1s,Darths,none of them come anywhere close.
I never listen to the others now.
tongue.gif
 
Dec 21, 2007 at 10:02 AM Post #242 of 413
i have RS2, HD600 and Darths. The SA5k will come in like 2-3 days and we'll see which headphones will get more head time
 
Jan 10, 2008 at 3:08 AM Post #243 of 413
I previously posted an appreciation of the SA5000 with recabling by Moon Audio with the Black Dragon cable.
I have to report that I recently bought the GS1000 with the Black Dragon cable. The type of presentation the Grado delivers is in many ways similar to the Sony. However, the Grado has MUCH MORE DETAIL than the Sony. People comment in hearing the 2 phones that the Grado makes the soundstage sound huge. The presentation isn't forward like most Grados. It places the performers exactly where they were in the recording studio. The sound is much richer and more full-bodied than the Sony.
If you listen to music with a natural soundstage (like classical), have a very good source and amp (since the Grado will reveal any imperfections), and have lots of money! then I'd recommend this can over the Sony.
 
Feb 5, 2008 at 6:07 PM Post #244 of 413
I have owned these Sony headphones for about one month.

I am satisfied that these headphones relay enough information to present a realistic representation of an audio signal. The Sony's are feed by a Little Dot Mk V from a Meridian 508.24 CD player, they can convincingly render an audio representation of the bass element of track 5 Telarc Disc CD80231 which has a frequency down to 13hz.

They will faithfully reproduce an audio signal, the quality of this reproduction is dependent largely on the performance of other devices in the chain.

I believe there is no greater accolade that can be paid to a transducer than this degree of fidelity.

I would recommend the acqusition of these headphones although buyers must be aware that they may bring into focus previously unrevealed inadequacies in ancillary equipment.
 
Feb 5, 2008 at 7:26 PM Post #245 of 413
I tested my old SA5000's with some tracks (for example Metallica) and I found that they lack so much punch in music compared to my RS-2's. Yes the sound is fast, detailed and accurate but the bass is lean.

I'll probably recable them with HD650 wire some day to see if they improve.
 
Feb 5, 2008 at 9:15 PM Post #246 of 413
Quote:

Originally Posted by Seba /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I tested my old SA5000's with some tracks (for example Metallica) and I found that they lack so much punch in music compared to my RS-2's. Yes the sound is fast, detailed and accurate but the bass is lean.

I'll probably recable them with HD650 wire some day to see if they improve.



Bad mistake.. I did once, & the SA5000 loses a lot of what makes them great.
 
Jul 7, 2009 at 8:42 AM Post #247 of 413
Well, things have changed since my last post. I'm beginning to fall in love the SA5000's again, thanks to my great DAC and amp.

Now I'm wondering which recable to consider for them: APS V3 or BlackDragon?

I really liked Drew's answer when I wrote him an email and asked about the BlackDragon's tonal qualities. He said it should smooth out the highs and bring the bottom end more.

So, anyone of you had a chance to compare an APS V3 recabled SA5000 to a BlackDragon SA5000?
 
Jul 7, 2009 at 8:59 AM Post #248 of 413
Quote:

Originally Posted by Seba /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Well, things have changed since my last post. I'm beginning to fall in love the SA5000's again, thanks to my great DAC and amp.

Now I'm wondering which recable to consider for them: APS V3 or BlackDragon?

I really liked Drew's answer when I wrote him an email and asked about the BlackDragon's tonal qualities. He said it should smooth out the highs and bring the bottom end more.

So, anyone of you had a chance to compare an APS V3 recabled SA5000 to a BlackDragon SA5000?



I owned the SA5000, and sold them cause the DT48 builds on their strength with less flaws, but they share a lot of the same qualities.. Speed, detail, clarity, transparenty.. I have my DT48a recabled with the V3, and they are even more transparent and resolving.. Bass response is better with more weight and grit at the bottom.. The V3 should do the same to the SA5000 since they share a lot of the same similarties.
 
Jan 12, 2010 at 3:23 AM Post #249 of 413
Bumping an old thread here.

Just picked up a nice set of SA-5000's here on the 'Fi. I had heard Earjam's set a few times at our Lawrence Kansas meets and was lukewarm but not negatively inclined toward them. When I sold my last Stax phone, I thought I'd give them a shot to balance my Senn HD600's and modded Yamaha orthos.

Well, as often noted the SA-5000's are just a little lean at times and the mids are sightly colored - in sort of an open Audio Technica sort of way. I have to say, though, I'm hearing things that I didn't know were in my music, so fast and clear. Rather like a Stax SRX-MKiii in some ways with better bass.

I have an ASL tube amp that I've been looking to move out for a while on the sale forums here. I thought it was sold and had it packed up. Deal fell through maybe, who knows. So I opened it up and set it up again. The ASL amp has an OTL mode - output transformerless running the tubes with the transformers as a choke rather than cranking. The OTL setting gives a slightly gentler presentation that really tames the tiger in the SA-5000's in a nice way. They sound better out of the ASL than ut of my Cary XCiter. I may take this whole Sony ASL rig to the office and order in the new Beyer T1 for home.

Anyhow, just showing some appreciation for the SA-5000's and liking them a lot for the things that they do really well.
 
Jan 12, 2010 at 3:38 AM Post #250 of 413
Yes,It is one of those phones that starts a love hate relationship,sometimes think of selling them but one more listen convinces me to keep them.
I have now married them to an Ear + ,and love it,these phones seem to like tubes.
 
Apr 27, 2010 at 11:40 AM Post #251 of 413
And another bump!

Just got them and they definiatly fill the purpose I got them for.

Just what is this supposed cable problem you see referenced to all over the place? Is it prown to break in any way? Cable say 6N ofc I suppose its thinner then 7N ofc... I like the flexibility of the cable really soft and zero microphonics.

Another issue that I may get used to or not is the head band. Can you bend the magnesium to make for a better fit or will it automatically bend and become more comfortable the more you wear it? It seems to be designed for bald people
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Apr 27, 2010 at 12:09 PM Post #252 of 413
Quote:

Originally Posted by oqvist /img/forum/go_quote.gif
And another bump!

Just got them and they definiatly fill the purpose I got them for.

Just what is this supposed cable problem you see referenced to all over the place? Is it prown to break in any way? Cable say 6N ofc I suppose its thinner then 7N ofc... I like the flexibility of the cable really soft and zero microphonics.

Another issue that I may get used to or not is the head band. Can you bend the magnesium to make for a better fit or will it automatically bend and become more comfortable the more you wear it? It seems to be designed for bald people
smily_headphones1.gif



Just handle the "Y" splitter with kid gloves,it can be a poblem.(that explains the RS-1 cable on mine)
 
Apr 27, 2010 at 3:04 PM Post #253 of 413
I ordered a pair from Amazon last week and received them on Friday. They were beautifully constructed. On initial listen ouch, I found them excessively bright, not harse just extremely bright.

I burn't them in overnight and listened again on Saturday. Detail was incredible along with speed, right up there in electrocstatic land. Never found them closed in at all, very up front presentation. However they are the most extreme bright sounding phones I've ever heard, damn shame because the fit and finish is 1st rate. I returned them on Saturday afternoon.
 
Apr 27, 2010 at 3:08 PM Post #254 of 413
Quote:

Originally Posted by TommyTunes /img/forum/go_quote.gif
they are the most extreme bright sounding phones I've ever heard [..] I returned them on Saturday afternoon.


this could have saved your day: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/how...torial-413900/

a friend of mine told me that the HD600/650 are said to be dark because Seinnheiser tried to compensate for those sparkly middle ear resonances...SONY definitely does not! but it's not like it's meant to stay like that, and it's actually better to finetune the EQ to perfectly match your ears impedance/FR.
 
Apr 27, 2010 at 3:23 PM Post #255 of 413
I have no problem with the highs with the DAC19... But then I suspect the DAC19 roll off the highs quite a bit which this was supposed to fix
smily_headphones1.gif


I can even run CMSS3D on them without them becoming painfully bright.
I can definiatly see they becoming bright on the wrong system since in relationship with my other headphones/speakers these are slightly brighter. Obviously nothing proper system matching can´t fix.

Still curious if somebody have a trick for making the headband more comfortable?
 

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