soupy
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okay, I'm definitely dropping by for an audition after this semester ends. cept I'm worried after a listen I'm going to want to sell my entire speaker rig
Went to the Qualia store on Wednesday...
- Thread starter immtbiker
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Wmcmanus
President treasurer secretary and sole member of the Cayman Islands Head-Fi Club.
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Quote:
Nik, I should have put some of these
in my post to let you know I was kidding you!!! I knew exactly what you meant, and understood that you were in no way trying to offend anyone. You are a true gentleman and a good friend to have at head-fi. Sometimes I get a kick out of the way you express yourself because of the passion you have for the hobby.
| Originally Posted by Nik Hi Wayne, I hope that my words do not sound bad for you, it was not my intention... right beacuse I whant believe in the american headfiers competent, I tought that something wrong was appened in some Quali's test in the NY store... As I said I had needed two mounts to understand a lot of things about that can... (and with my gear and at my home). Ten minutes in another place, with other gears I do not consider in any way a good test. Best! Nicola |
Nik, I should have put some of these
Blahh
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You people have intirely to much money
Zuerst
Headphoneus Supremus
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Can someone go try out the EXQ1 earbuds that comes with the 017 minidisc player...? Please please please?
Romanee
Headphoneus Supremus
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Sov - Biker - et al --
I'd like to add a some notes regarding the Qualias, the upcoming mini-meet and reflecting Nik's experience and his input here, in the hopes that it may in some way help refine our pursuit of enjoying the true capabilities of the unique Qualia 010 phones.
I'm speaking as one of the small group that had 2 mini-meets at the NYC Qualia store when the Q010s pretty much first appeared here (new, un-burned and raw).
Nik has spent a great deal of time burning in and living with the Q010. Further his unique amp is custom built for synergy with his phones which, as he said, are very precisely fitted as is necessary. I've obviously never heard his amp and never had precisely fitted Q010s.
My 2 brief encounters were a painfully short 2-1/2-hour first meet and then another 3-hour session just 3 weeks later in which I might have personally had about 2 hours solid listening time, part of it with a pair that fitted pretty well and part with a pair that was too large to have an even adequate seal around my ears no matter how I uselessly tried to hold them pressed in place, and most of the time disturbed by very audible talk from other attendees as well as loud sound leakage leaving their Q010s or K1000 and entering "my" Q010s since these phones IMO have almost zero attenuation of ambient sound entering or sound exiting. My personal experience was that external sounds were more disturbing with the Q010 than with the K1000 and you could really hear lots of music leaking from everyone else's Q010s.
So: POINT 1: "Zero attenuation" -- After the meet I made many references to the need to audition these phones in a very very quiet environment. We'll have to make a very serious effort to establish this at least to some extent at Aaron's happy gathering.
POINT 2: FIT -- As Nik has emphasized many times, precise fit is absolutely essential. This will, very obviously, not be possible for some or most of us at the meet.
POINT 3: BURN-IN -- The first Q-store mini meet apparently happened when the 3 sets in the store had almost no burn-in at all. The 2nd Q-meet 3 weeks later on 9/26 had the Qs more burned-in, but still not nearly enough. Though the 3 phones were pleasantly listenable thru all amps there -- surprisingly good compared to the bizarre and wildly varied sound of meet 1 -- it seemed like a tantalizing tease and a hint at what they could do rather than a fully developed sound. Sony rep Josh (no longer there) told me the phones were getting minimal play time from visiting customers and possibly just a handful of total hours in the 3 weeks between meets.
POINT 4: SYNERGY OF ALL COMPONENTS IN THE CHAIN -- Although they're very efficient and easily driven by most amps, they are so very sensitive to synergy with every link in the sonic chain from AC power and source to the wearers ears, and will even sound different from recording to recording -- dramatically more so than any other phones I've tried to date (I haven't tried them all by a long shot). Since we won't have one of the few amps built in dedication to the Q010, anything that can be done to refine the synergy of the available components will help.
The first meet was mostly hampered by no burn-in, but also by lack of appropriate gear. Besides the lack of synergistic amps that time, the 3 phones were so new and raw and the listening results were really weird and pretty much useless to form any accurate picture of their character beyond their detail, extension and big, open soundstage. There was much more than a little "something wrong" that time. Out of the store's stock Sony 9000ES the sound was so uncontrolled that the top end really seared my ears while the bottom was loose, thin and unfocused. I couldn't say what the midrange sounded like. Out of Jahn's modded Toshiba 3960 through Lan's Ray Samuels Stealth II it was more controlled and laid-back but had a dead, lifeless sound to me. Jahn's SR-71 was fun to hear but not up to this task. Bozebuttons Phillips SACD1000/Krell combo tamed the worst of the sizzling highs and presented the openness and detail of the phones with lots texture as well as big air around instruments & voices, but it still did not enable the Qualia to produce a bottom end with any weight.
Meet 2 had lots of gear, and more burn-in though not enough by far. I won't list the gear which is detailed and shown in the impressions thread. To my taste and ears, bozebuttons Cary 300SEI/PhilipsSACD/MeitnerDAC6e/PSAudioUltimateOutlet (I don't remember the interconnects) was the most synergestic there and presented a very complex and richly textured sound, incredibly detailed and finely nuanced subtleties, deep and tightly controlled bass, great air, dimension, placement and character. The one big thing missing was Qualia burn-in. (The Singlepower Supra had tube malfunction and was out of the running that day.)
SO - BURN IN - BURN IN and MORE BURN IN. AND ... consider every single link in the chain from power to Q010. AND ... ground rules for as much quiet listening as practical in a friendly get-together. Aaron will have the deserved pleasure of real, one-to-one, quiet enjoyment and exploration in our absence.
But I sure am looking forward to hearing the Qualias in Aaron's setup and meeting friends again. [apologies for my wordiness... and here I am writing a big note in the wee hours, so please forgive anything bizarre!]
{need Q010 & K501 smilies!!!}
I'd like to add a some notes regarding the Qualias, the upcoming mini-meet and reflecting Nik's experience and his input here, in the hopes that it may in some way help refine our pursuit of enjoying the true capabilities of the unique Qualia 010 phones.
I'm speaking as one of the small group that had 2 mini-meets at the NYC Qualia store when the Q010s pretty much first appeared here (new, un-burned and raw).
Nik has spent a great deal of time burning in and living with the Q010. Further his unique amp is custom built for synergy with his phones which, as he said, are very precisely fitted as is necessary. I've obviously never heard his amp and never had precisely fitted Q010s.
My 2 brief encounters were a painfully short 2-1/2-hour first meet and then another 3-hour session just 3 weeks later in which I might have personally had about 2 hours solid listening time, part of it with a pair that fitted pretty well and part with a pair that was too large to have an even adequate seal around my ears no matter how I uselessly tried to hold them pressed in place, and most of the time disturbed by very audible talk from other attendees as well as loud sound leakage leaving their Q010s or K1000 and entering "my" Q010s since these phones IMO have almost zero attenuation of ambient sound entering or sound exiting. My personal experience was that external sounds were more disturbing with the Q010 than with the K1000 and you could really hear lots of music leaking from everyone else's Q010s.
So: POINT 1: "Zero attenuation" -- After the meet I made many references to the need to audition these phones in a very very quiet environment. We'll have to make a very serious effort to establish this at least to some extent at Aaron's happy gathering.
POINT 2: FIT -- As Nik has emphasized many times, precise fit is absolutely essential. This will, very obviously, not be possible for some or most of us at the meet.
POINT 3: BURN-IN -- The first Q-store mini meet apparently happened when the 3 sets in the store had almost no burn-in at all. The 2nd Q-meet 3 weeks later on 9/26 had the Qs more burned-in, but still not nearly enough. Though the 3 phones were pleasantly listenable thru all amps there -- surprisingly good compared to the bizarre and wildly varied sound of meet 1 -- it seemed like a tantalizing tease and a hint at what they could do rather than a fully developed sound. Sony rep Josh (no longer there) told me the phones were getting minimal play time from visiting customers and possibly just a handful of total hours in the 3 weeks between meets.
POINT 4: SYNERGY OF ALL COMPONENTS IN THE CHAIN -- Although they're very efficient and easily driven by most amps, they are so very sensitive to synergy with every link in the sonic chain from AC power and source to the wearers ears, and will even sound different from recording to recording -- dramatically more so than any other phones I've tried to date (I haven't tried them all by a long shot). Since we won't have one of the few amps built in dedication to the Q010, anything that can be done to refine the synergy of the available components will help.
The first meet was mostly hampered by no burn-in, but also by lack of appropriate gear. Besides the lack of synergistic amps that time, the 3 phones were so new and raw and the listening results were really weird and pretty much useless to form any accurate picture of their character beyond their detail, extension and big, open soundstage. There was much more than a little "something wrong" that time. Out of the store's stock Sony 9000ES the sound was so uncontrolled that the top end really seared my ears while the bottom was loose, thin and unfocused. I couldn't say what the midrange sounded like. Out of Jahn's modded Toshiba 3960 through Lan's Ray Samuels Stealth II it was more controlled and laid-back but had a dead, lifeless sound to me. Jahn's SR-71 was fun to hear but not up to this task. Bozebuttons Phillips SACD1000/Krell combo tamed the worst of the sizzling highs and presented the openness and detail of the phones with lots texture as well as big air around instruments & voices, but it still did not enable the Qualia to produce a bottom end with any weight.
Meet 2 had lots of gear, and more burn-in though not enough by far. I won't list the gear which is detailed and shown in the impressions thread. To my taste and ears, bozebuttons Cary 300SEI/PhilipsSACD/MeitnerDAC6e/PSAudioUltimateOutlet (I don't remember the interconnects) was the most synergestic there and presented a very complex and richly textured sound, incredibly detailed and finely nuanced subtleties, deep and tightly controlled bass, great air, dimension, placement and character. The one big thing missing was Qualia burn-in. (The Singlepower Supra had tube malfunction and was out of the running that day.)
SO - BURN IN - BURN IN and MORE BURN IN. AND ... consider every single link in the chain from power to Q010. AND ... ground rules for as much quiet listening as practical in a friendly get-together. Aaron will have the deserved pleasure of real, one-to-one, quiet enjoyment and exploration in our absence.
But I sure am looking forward to hearing the Qualias in Aaron's setup and meeting friends again. [apologies for my wordiness... and here I am writing a big note in the wee hours, so please forgive anything bizarre!]
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Romanee- In response to your most recent post:
Quote:
I have a set-up in my bedroom, that 2 or 3 people can shut the door and share music and opinions with in a mini-mini meet...at anytime. This includes vinyl (best behavoir with my vinyl).
Quote:
This may not be right to say without Stevieo's permission (if so, sorry), but perhaps, we can ask Stevieo to properly burn-in his pair in time, and bring them (sorry if I overstepped my bounds, but Stevieo seems like an easy going person)
This will solve 2 things-
1. My headphones woon't be pased around like a $2 whore (times 1300), and
2. Stevieo's is a size [size=xx-small]small[/size] in green (private joke), and mine's a [size=medium]medium[/size], and no one needs a large, except Wayne (more brains), and he will be there in spirit only, unless he "hops a flight to Miami Beach".
Quote:
Sovkiller is working on bringing a couple of Rudistor amps, that should be properly warmed up. Let's hope it works out.
A variety of interconnects and powercords for synergy, shouldn't be a problem with this group.
Quote:
| So: POINT 1: "Zero attenuation" -- After the meet I made many references to the need to audition these phones in a very very quiet environment. We'll have to make a very serious effort to establish this at least to some extent at Aaron's happy gathering. |
I have a set-up in my bedroom, that 2 or 3 people can shut the door and share music and opinions with in a mini-mini meet...at anytime. This includes vinyl (best behavoir with my vinyl).
Quote:
| POINT 2: FIT -- As Nik has emphasized many times, precise fit is absolutely essential. This will, very obviously, not be possible for some or most of us at the meet. |
This may not be right to say without Stevieo's permission (if so, sorry), but perhaps, we can ask Stevieo to properly burn-in his pair in time, and bring them (sorry if I overstepped my bounds, but Stevieo seems like an easy going person)
This will solve 2 things-
1. My headphones woon't be pased around like a $2 whore (times 1300), and
2. Stevieo's is a size [size=xx-small]small[/size] in green (private joke), and mine's a [size=medium]medium[/size], and no one needs a large, except Wayne (more brains), and he will be there in spirit only, unless he "hops a flight to Miami Beach".
Quote:
| POINT 4: SYNERGY OF ALL COMPONENTS IN THE CHAIN -- Although they're very efficient and easily driven by most amps, they are so very sensitive to synergy with every link in the sonic chain from AC power and source to the wearers ears, and will even sound different from recording to recording -- dramatically more so than any other phones I've tried to date (I haven't tried them all by a long shot). Since we won't have one of the few amps built in dedication to the Q010, anything that can be done to refine the synergy of the available components will help. |
Sovkiller is working on bringing a couple of Rudistor amps, that should be properly warmed up. Let's hope it works out.
A variety of interconnects and powercords for synergy, shouldn't be a problem with this group.
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Quote:
No we don't! It is all spent on gear
| Originally Posted by Blahh You people have intirely to much money
|
No we don't! It is all spent on gear
Wmcmanus
President treasurer secretary and sole member of the Cayman Islands Head-Fi Club.
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Quote:
Hey, I thought we settled this argument! I might have a big mellon, but it's only a medium in Qualia land. Bangraman wears his HD650's and 9 clicks and ordered a medium. I'm a 7 clicker on the HD650's, so I think I'll be safe with a medium as well. Jahn, on the other hand...
You never know, I just might pop in unexpectedly on this meet. It all depends on what Telica has cookin'. It would be nice to see you and Tom and Jimmy again, meet Sov, Jahn, Romanee, etc. Last time, she made some killer lasagna for me, and brownies. Anything I wanted, really!
| Originally Posted by immtbiker 2. Stevieo's is a size [size=xx-small]small[/size] in green (private joke), and mine's a [size=medium]medium[/size], and no one needs a large, except Wayne (more brains), and he will be there in spirit only, unless he "hops a flight to Miami Beach". |
Hey, I thought we settled this argument! I might have a big mellon, but it's only a medium in Qualia land. Bangraman wears his HD650's and 9 clicks and ordered a medium. I'm a 7 clicker on the HD650's, so I think I'll be safe with a medium as well. Jahn, on the other hand...
You never know, I just might pop in unexpectedly on this meet. It all depends on what Telica has cookin'. It would be nice to see you and Tom and Jimmy again, meet Sov, Jahn, Romanee, etc. Last time, she made some killer lasagna for me, and brownies. Anything I wanted, really!
Nik
Headphoneus Supremus
Quote:
There are some italian words that americans cannot translate in their language: PIZZA, LASAGNA... so I understand that Italy for you is something on the table... good!
Best!
Nicola
| Originally Posted by Wmcmanus (...). Last time, she made some killer lasagna for me, and brownies. Anything I wanted, really! |
There are some italian words that americans cannot translate in their language: PIZZA, LASAGNA... so I understand that Italy for you is something on the table... good!
Best!
Nicola
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The English word for pizza is: bakeddoughwithmtomatoesaucespicesandcheeseontop
The English word for lasagna is: layersofpastameatcheesetomatoesandspicesbakedinthe ovenuntilhotandbubbly
What is the Italian word for brownies?
The English word for lasagna is: layersofpastameatcheesetomatoesandspicesbakedinthe ovenuntilhotandbubbly
What is the Italian word for brownies?
Nik
Headphoneus Supremus
Quote:
I have one of the best dictionary and I can find this for the word brownie: "tortino al cioccolato" (= a little chocolate cake), isn' it ???
Best!
Nicola
| Originally Posted by erikzen The English word for pizza is: bakeddoughwithmtomatoesaucespicesandcheeseontop The English word for lasagna is: layersofpastameatcheesetomatoesandspicesbakedinthe ovenuntilhotandbubbly What is the Italian word for brownies?
|
I have one of the best dictionary and I can find this for the word brownie: "tortino al cioccolato" (= a little chocolate cake), isn' it ???
Best!
Nicola
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Quote:
Exaclty! That is my point. There are words in English for pizza and lasagna but it's so much nicer and easier to say "pizza!" and "lasagna!" than to say baked savory pie or some such thing. Just like it's easier to say brownie than tortino al cioccolato.
What this has to do with Qualias I don't know except that you need to nourish your tummy to fully enjoy the nourishment for the ears. That and everyone wants to eat Aaron's wife's cooking.
I'll shut up (and eat) now. Ciao!
| Originally Posted by Nik I have one of the best dictionary and I can find this for the word brownie: "tortino al cioccolato" (= a little chocolate cake), isn' it ??? Best! Nicola |
Exaclty! That is my point. There are words in English for pizza and lasagna but it's so much nicer and easier to say "pizza!" and "lasagna!" than to say baked savory pie or some such thing. Just like it's easier to say brownie than tortino al cioccolato.
What this has to do with Qualias I don't know except that you need to nourish your tummy to fully enjoy the nourishment for the ears. That and everyone wants to eat Aaron's wife's cooking.
I'll shut up (and eat) now. Ciao!
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Quote:
Not if you're Italian!
Quote:
Teilca's Menu
Killer Lasagna
Tortino al cioccolato
...and most importantly
Wet Ones
!!! Bueno!
| Originally Posted by erikzen Just like it's easier to say brownie than tortino al cioccolato. |
Not if you're Italian!
Quote:
| Originally Posted by Wmcmanus You never know, I just might pop in unexpectedly on this meet. It all depends on what Telica has cookin'. It would be nice to see you and Tom and Jimmy again, meet Sov, Jahn, Romanee, etc. Last time, she made some killer lasagna for me, and brownies. Anything I wanted, really! |
Teilca's Menu
Killer Lasagna
Tortino al cioccolato
...and most importantly
Wet Ones
soundmania
Member of the Trade: Sony QUALIA
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After reading all your posts I learned two things. First I need to get more burn time on all the 010 that are displayed and secondly I need to upgrade the gear that the headphones are played on.
I have bought this up with the QUALIA team and we are looking at options on how to get the best sound out of the 010. If you have any recommendations I can pass it on (eg. Sound system, SACD player, etc.) Also if you would like to schedule an appointment for a hands on demonstration please email me.
We definitely need a 010 smiley.
I have bought this up with the QUALIA team and we are looking at options on how to get the best sound out of the 010. If you have any recommendations I can pass it on (eg. Sound system, SACD player, etc.) Also if you would like to schedule an appointment for a hands on demonstration please email me.
We definitely need a 010 smiley.
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Soundmania...YGPM
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