hirsch

Please note that my description of what I heard with the HP-1000 was only in comparison with other headphones, some of which are very high caliber. At one point, I thought they were the best there is also (damn Vertigo-1 for cursing me with that first R-10). I will also note that in direct comparison, the HP-1 is less efficient and rolls off the high end in comparison with the HP-2. I've heard both headphones with both the Laboratory Standard and High-Bandwidth Reference cables, but that high-end rolloff is always there with the HP-1. I don't think the phase switch used is particularly transparent, but that's just my guess. Rest easy. Your HP-1000's will sound the same as they always do, regardless of my personal opinion. They won't even drop in value because I think that there are better headphones. At the current price, I'd grab an OII and whatever Stax amp I could afford, and upgrade the amp later. The Omega II is simply superior to the HP-1000 in just about any way I can imagine (although you really need the right amp to push them, but that's true of the HP-1000 also. OTOH, if enough people start dissing the HP-1000, we can create doubt in buyers' minds. Keep repeating it, and people may eventually come to their senses and stop paying silly prices. Market price would plummet, and we could all afford HP-1000's again...hmmm...boy does the HP-1000 suck.

I did own a second pair of HP-1000's, or was it a third? My memory is going. In any event, I wound up selling each one (actually before prices skyrocketed, damn it). The HP-1000 sounds great by itself, but does not hold up well in comparison with other high-end headphones, including the PS-1 and RS-1, IMO. I did not regard it as a question of neutrality, but rather one of sluggishness. The HP-1000's smeared the sound a bit compared to the other Grado's, and more than a bit compared to headphones such as the R10, Qualia, or any electrostatic can. The only reason I would own an HP-1000 at this point would be peer pressure. So many people think the Hp-1000 is that great that a part of me wants to go back and listen and see what I missed. However, I think that I owned enough pairs for a long enough time with enough amps that I didn't miss much. The GS-1000 is still a mystery to me. When I first heard it, I loved it. Since that time, I've yet to hear a pair that I'd want to listen to for an extended period. The pair I bought refused to burn in, and I returned them. Those I've heard since had the same signature sound. Probably not going to happen, as I'm now restoring and collecting vintage fountain pens, which is a hobby that makes audio look downright inexpensive.

The need for an exactly correct fit on the Qualia has been noted, and most sonic aberrations of the headphone are due to the need for such a precise fit. However, the cable is also part of the issue, and, IMO, the stock Qualia cable is not that great. I'm now using a balanced silver cable I got from Headphile and terminated myself, and the Qualia is sounding good. If the amp is up to it, the Qualia is every bit as fast as an electrostatic can. If you're looking for "neutral" in its truest sense, the Qualia is probably the best there is in that regard, once you get past fit and cabling issues. This is a very different sonic signature than the R10, which has a distinct sound that's part of the experience it presents. The sound of the Qualia 010 has no relationship to the sound of the Sony SA5000, which, IMO, is a POS, particularly relative to the CD3000 which was discontinued to make way for it.

I did have the HP-1 and HPA-1 at the same time I had an RS-1 and RA-1. The HF-1 was later. The only one of those I kept is the RS-1.

I've never heard Ray's pair, but I owned both versions for a long time. I finally decided that I really didn't like the compressed sound stage of the "bass heavy" version, particularly compared to the older R10's, sold it, and kept my two older ones. That said, it is a bitch to drive them properly. When they don't get enough amperage, the low end drops out almost completely. After that, it can clip. If you look at published specs, the R10 can suck more current than the K-1000, although its voltage demands are less.

I can't remember that post. I don't think I owned the HPA-1 and HF-1 simultaneously, but this could be a memory fart. I actually liked the HPA-1 with a variety of headphones, but time has overtaken the design. It won't hold a candle to something like the M^3. IIRC, the RA-1 circuit is the HPA-1 circuit stripped to the bare essentials. The RA-1 has a very similar sound, but those stripped parts appeared to be responsible for the amp's smoothness, since the RA-1 had grain that simply wasn't present in the HPA-1. The boards of both are embedded in epoxy, so looking at the circuit can be destructive. Note that the posted photos appear to be of an HPA-2, which is exactly the same circuit as the HPA-1 according to Joe Grado, but he's been misleading before (the shield at the front is only present on the HPA-1, IIRC).

Below represent my personal preferences only. I will only refer to headphones that I own, used to own, or had in my possession for an extended period. Da Best: Sennheiser HE90 Sony MDR-R10 Sony Qualia 010 Reference Cans: AKG-K1000 Grado PS-1 Stax Omega II Ultimate Ears UE10-Pro Good ones that don't quite reach the top: Audio-Technica L3000 Sennheiser HD-600 Sennheiser HD-650 (balanced only) Grado HP-1000 Grado RS-1 Sennheiser HE60 Stax Lambda Pro Stax Sigma Pro Etymotics ER-4s Alessandro MS-Pro Decent headphones that sound good in some rigs: Stax SR-404 Sennheiser HD-650 (single-ended) AKG K-701 Audio-Technica ATH-W100 Denon 5000 Ergo 2 Ergo AMT Grado HF-1 Junk: Audio-Technica ATH-W2002 (prettiest piece of crap I know of) Audio-Technica ATH-A100Ti Grado RS-2 Grado SR-325 Koss Cheesephones Audio-Technica ATH-W100 (not an error that this appears in two categories. There are two types of driver for these. One of the driver sets bites the big one. The other is decent). Stax Alpha Aperio I'm sure I've forgotten several of them. That edit window is a bitch.

US pricing for the Meier group buy was $5K. Given current pricing, I should have bought a spare or two...

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes!

Yes, generics are actually copying and selling someone else's work legally, and it's not a very good thing. Although the active compound can be copied, the inactive carriers are often proprietary. The current guideline from FDA is that a generic must be within 20% less to 25% more bioavailable than the original drug (this variance is entirely due to the carriers). That's also a hefty amount of variance. If you switch between high and low bioavailability generics, you can have a hefty change in the dose you are getting, although in theory the amount of active ingredient is the same. Not good. IMO generics are one of the bigger hoaxes pulled on the public.

This is a fundamental misunderstanding of DBT. If anything, a DBT is a conservative test that is far likelier to produce a false negative than a false positive. The large control group is done to insure that it is a sufficiently representative sample of the population of interest that correct inferences can be drawn. Large control groups do reduce variability and make it likelier that a real effect will be seen. Small groups have sufficient variability to mask real effects within normal between-subject variance.

I did some pretty extensive tube-rolling on the Exemplar 2900, as it just wasn't right when I got it. Once I found the pinch-waist 7062 (E180CC), I stopped tube rolling and listened to music. I also bought enough tubes to keep the Denon running for years, and have not experienced an upgrade itch. it's a clearly better source than the Transporter. I've heard the original version of the Esoteric, but never warmed to it. I also auditioned the Capitole MK II (not the current SE version) and couldn't figure out what the big deal was with that source. I may eventually get a 3910 simply to have the balanced option, but I don't need that with my single-ended SDS, which is where the Denon lives. I recently heard the Meitner single-box unit, but as good as it was it didn't trigger an upgrade urge from the Denon. The pinch-waist tubes used to be on eBay all the time, but I haven't seen them lately. Maybe I got them all I was unsure of just how good the 2900 was until I found those tubes. Since I've got the Transporter, I think my next move may be an outboard DAC for that. It performs at about the level my Wadia 301 used to before I sold it, but the Denon and the Meridian G08 are both clearly better, and, in all honesty, I prefer the Denon to the Meridian. The 2900 is going to be difficult to find a significant upgrade from (The person who sold me the 2900 went to the 3910 from Exemplar, but admitted that he felt the 2900 might have been the better unit from a musical standpoint. However, he needed balanced output).

If your amp can't control it, the bass on the PS-1 is overblown. If your amp can control it, it can be a killer headphone for music with low frequency content.

I've owned three R10's simultaneously (and previously owned a fourth), and so was able to compare versions directly. The one I had that was the most recent production had far more bass quantity than the two older ones. While it may be related to driver version rather than serial number, all three of the older R10's I've owned have had the same sound. It has less bass than the newer one, but a wider, yet more coherent sound stage. I'm very sensitive to staging, so the compressed stage of the newer R10 became the deal-killer, and when I decided to come back down to two of them, the newer one was the one to go. Note that I was talking quantity, not quality. The older R10's may not have as much bass, but it's very tight and well defined. You can hear the fingering of the string on a double bass, as opposed to bloated low frequency sound. If I absolutely need more bass, I can go to the HE90 (which does not have the precise image of the R10, although it's getting closer). The Qualia 010 is an odd one for me. Technically, run balanced out of the SDS-XLR, it may be the one headphone I've got that gets everything technically right. And yet, I've never really gotten into it just for the fun of listening to music. Hmmmm....

Duggeh on the other forum has my old AMT. Decent headphone that could have been great with different amplification. Unfortunately, the Ergo amp left something to be desired, and their transformer for using power amps was unbearably bright. However, I've since learned that the transformer might not be needed, and it could be possible to hook the AMT directly to a power amp by removing the proprietary plug and using regular speaker connectors (see AKG K-1000). Whether or not that would fix the brightness (the transformer is used as a tweeter, after all) is another question.

It's not going to be that if you've got a history of illness, a chronic condition, or become high-risk in any manner. Unless you're covered under a group plan, insurance in the US is only inexpensive for those that don't use it. Think of what happens to your car insurance after an accident... The mortality rate in the US due to human error in the medical system is approximately 100,000 yearly. Yeah, you read that number right. Think of the outrage we would feel if an airliner crashed on a daily basis, which would approximate the same mortality. Yep, great system we've got. Doctors are too busy covering their asses to avoid liability to spend the time they need to actually practice medicine. Need pain medication in the US? Good luck. Your doctor can go to jail for prescribing it, if he's got too many patients with chronic pain. I do know somebody who has to travel to another state to get to a doctor willing to prescribe adequate levels of pain medication (and that doctor is at great risk of arrest by the DEA). The irony is that he's a leading researcher in addiction, who knows more about drug addiction that any of the doctors he's seen, or the politicians who have been making the rules. In the US, people are not going into medicine at the same rate as in the past. This is going to be a crisis as the baby boomers retire, and deplete the medical fields, while at the same time needing more medical care. Doctors do well, but they've got huge overhead. Another friend who is an ob/gyn founded a large practice that had grown to nine doctors. They had to join a corporate group to survive at all, because malpractice insurance for their practice had exceeded $1,000,00 yearly. There are areas in the US where you simply can't find an ob/gyn. I don't know the fraction of the money that goes into healthcare that actually goes for medical practice, but it's pretty small. Your health care dollar in the US is paying the plan administrators, insurance companies, and of course the lawyers (I don't want to even think about the number of CYA procedures in the US that are done simply to avoid liability, not because the doctor actually believes the patient needs it). Look at insurance rates for a family with two kids, not for a single young person. Some of these people have a choice between health insurance and paying the mortgage, even with both parents working. Some choice. Maybe they should give up food. It isn't all about luxuries. The people who live in the US who think that their medical system actually works are living a fantasy. If you've got enough money, the fantasy will work. But the bottom line is that it's a seriously broken system. The people that are getting shafted are the ones that don't have the money to get to a competent doctor, or the intelligence to find one. Of course, these people are also not particularly political, since they're more focussed on survival, they are the least likely people in the US to vote, and they are screwed. That pretty much sums it up. FYI, I was affiliated with a medical school in the US until I took another position.

No kidding. I've been harassing him about that for years.

I've been thinking about your problems, and I think I've come across a solution. You should special order a Singlepower amp in a clear acryllic case. You can look at the guts all that you want without having to learn how to use an allen wrench. Expect a wait time of 12-18 months (Custom chassis work is a bitch. Ask Justin how the chassis affected delivery time of the Aristaeus. Or, look at the time between any of Ray's working prototypes shown at meets and actual production of an amp, although that's a bad example, as most of Ray's chasses are off the shelf). Most people who buy tube amps should not be opening them up. I'll say it again. Tube amps contain lethal voltages, and also have large capacitors that can hold a charge for months and years. If you don't know high-voltage safety, keep them closed. Fine if a builder wants to show off his work, or someone who can work safely opens an amp and take pictures. Not so fine if a first-time amp buyer opens an amp and takes a hefty 200 to 400 v shock. Do you know high-voltage safety procedures? Do you have some idea where it would be dangerous to touch if you've got an amp open? Would you be happy if you had an amp open and your small kid reached out to a large cap to say "what's that"? The SinglePower amps are built for sonic excellence, with attention to safety issues, not for your visual gratification. If visual gratification is that important to you, buy it.

Time that Mikhail spends answering email and phone calls is time NOT spent building amps.

Good grief. You're really stretching now. And yes, making it difficult for an end user to access high voltages might not avoid a lawsuit, but it will help win one. Given the number of Darwin award candidates here and on Head-Fi, making it a bit difficult to open high voltage gear is a good thing. Maybe Mikhail is basing the type and number of fasteners on his estimate of how likely he thinks the customer is to go for the Darwin. If so, I think he didn't use enough fasteners on yours, which probably should have just been welded shut.

Singlepower chasses are not locked, so you might as well stop passing around false information as fact. All you need is the correct hex wrench. Any hardware store has them. However, the screws can be tight, and sometimes difficult to remove. You can strip a screw and have to drill it out (or have Mikhail do it), particularly if you use the wrong size wrench (This is usually due to small variances in outsourced chasses. which is something that Mikhail has very little control over. If he has the chasses remade, it's another four months on the wait..) I've been inside all of my amps, and what's in them is exactly what was supposed to be there. That said, there are potentially lethal voltages inside the amp, and some of the capacitors will hold a charge for long periods of time even if the amp is unplugged. Somebody who does not know how to work around high voltage should not open one of those amps. Tube gear should only be opened by someone who knows what they're doing. Anyone who can't figure out a hex wrench does not qualify.

The general rule is: the more customization, the longer it takes. An ES1 with any of Mikhail's standard options in a standard chassis should be relatively painless (which doesn't mean that it will be less than 4-6 months). The really long wait times occur when Mikhail is putting in options that he hasn't done before. At that point, he's quite literally designing as he builds, and he seriously underestimates how long an option that he's worked out theoretically will take to put into an actual amp, and then work out the unexpected bugs etc. I've got the longest outstanding special order of anything Mikhail is working on. In fairness to him, I told him that is was not urgent to me, and to get orders out to his other customers before spending too much time on mine. However, in terms of time from order to delivery, I suspect that I'm going to set a record that's going to be hard to beat.

Unless of course the wedding is his. Or should that be "especially" if the wedding is his?

A couple of years ago, I put up my HE60/HEV70 rig, combined with Stax SRM-007t for what I paid ($1900). I got no takers. Lucky me (and I'm not kidding). I do think that the OII is overall a better headphone than the HE60 (although a friend of mine who's been comparing them with the thought of keeping one seems to think that they're about equal). It's got a smoothness the HE60 will never match. The only issue is when it's smooth, and shouldn't be. OTOH, the HE60 seems to respond to Stax amps better than Stax headphones. The HEV70 is no prize, but it's decent enough until you have a real electrostatic amp. People have raised the repair non-issue. Sennheiser is one of the best companies at supporting its older products. It would be out of warranty, and would likely cost, but I'm reasonably sure that Sennheiser would cover any repair issues. If you keep dust out of them, there's no reason for a driver to go bad. The HE60 is more comfortable than any of the Stax headphones, OII included, if you like the fit of dynamic Sennheisers. In fact, it's likely that you could replace the headband with an "HD" headband if needed. After not selling the HE60 a couple of years ago, I wound up putting on a new cable, new earpads, and new headband pad (all purchased directly from Sennheiser, although I think they later clamped down on selling the cable). In fact, I'm listening to it hooked to a Stax SRM-X Pro as I type. (SRM-X Pro is even smaller than HRV70, but somehow sounds better. It may be that the HE60 likes the higher Stax bias voltage). Personally, I think current pricing on HE60 is insane. But it is supply and demand, and HE60 finally hit FOTM status. IMO, right now is a good time to sell an HE60, rather than buy. Which has now got me thinking thoughts I'd rather not be thinking.

I'm in.