saint.panda

What other electrostatic amps have you had the chance to hear?

http://www.mininova.org/tor/607446

Yep, confirmed the purchase last weekend. Now I just need an amp, probably a McAlister or the Woo GES. Still waiting for more impression on those. Or in the unlikely event that an Aristaeus comes up for sale, I'll probably spring for that.

One thing about Battlestar Galactica is that imo it's less of a sci-fi series with poltical, religious and social undertones but more of a political, social and ethical dissection of human society shown through the lense of a self-provoked human exodus in a sci-fi setting with religious undertones. It might as well take place in ancient Greece or anywhere else but the sci-fi element paradoxically injects a certain sense of realism and relatedtness to present day events by provoking a sort of retrospective on the fictional past (i.e. our today) and telling an epic story about how a small group of human beings lost in space arrives at conclusions as we might today. Basically, they're starting from point blank with a handful of people and have to survive somehow. A microcosm encompassing a huge area of relevant topics with lots of moral dilemmas without offering perfect solutions. It's much more realistic in terms of human interaction than any other sci-fi show I've seen - perhaps as much as to defeat the purpose of a sci-fi show altogether, especially in the third season, but I like it. The characters are the most realistic I've seen in a long time. I think this show is mature, smart, exciting, comprehensive in scope, and simply a pleasure to watch. The third season could use some space battles though.

Amazing series, so much better than 24 and all the other stuff that's running right now. First few episodes of the third season were too angst-ridden imo but lately it's been great again.

R10 for me. 4070 was very nice, too, but comparing 4070, R10 (and the Omega II) side by side, the later production R10 is the best I've heard yet, closed or open. Unfortunately I didn't pay close attention to the 4070 due to the presence of other cans but it was very good as far as I remember. The L3000 was thrown into the mix but that headphone just sounded plain weird to me (only heard them for a minute so the impressions aren't really meaningful). Amp used was Corda Opera, Mapletree Ear+ and the headphone out from my Apogee Mini-Dac. (4 person-)meet conditions apply. The Ultrasone 750 given some acclimatisation is pretty good for the price although not quite as good as equally priced open headphones. Certainly not neutral, especially in mid-treble, but the soundstage depth and bass (extension, linearity and impact) are pretty impressive. Excellent for pop, rnb and some eletronica. Vertical soundstage is only mediocre and the treble sounds rather unnatural compared to HD650. Not my cup of tea for classical and jazz. CD3000, owned them twice, never did it to me due a strong metallic touch in the treble. Again, not so great for classical music. just my 2c

Heard it last week from a Ear HP4 and dcs P8i. Might impressive soundstage for a Grado and quite comfortable. Rather bright.

Man, I still don't know. This is a huge investment (I could buy more than 400 CDs with the HE90) and something like a Omega II or HE60 can be had for a fraction of the price. What's the usual going price for the HE90 alone? I also have my doubts about the KGSS, asked a few people who have owned/heard this combo extensively and the feedback on the amp paired with the HE90 wasn't too positive. Would I get some of the HE90 magic even with a less stellar amp, something like a McAlister EA-4? pabbi, looking forward to what you have to say about the EA-6

Thanks for the comments, quite an endorsement and good point about the no loss in value. It's gonna eat up half a year of working savings but I'd probably only regret it later otherwise. Better spend the money while I still have it. I'm still not really convinced about the KGSS though since I tend to like warmth and a lush midrange most the time, especially with the HD 650, and Gilmore amps have never really been my preferred flavour regardless of source (good ones). That is with the Gilmore Lite (owned) and Dynamight (very extended listening). Always a tad uninvolving sounding to me, can't really nail it ( probably lots of bass and treble if I had to say something) and it's been a while since I've heard them. I was thinking of getting one of these McAlister tube amps, something like a EA-4 or -6 or the Woo tube amp. Buying the HE90 together with the KGSS DX would be very convenient though, and it's a fair combo deal. Anything negative in specific to say about the KGSS / HE90 pairing?

What do you think? Should I jump on the HE90 without ever auditioning it (a chance which I'll never get anyways)? I'm a huge fan of the HD 650, favourite headphones probably, warts and all, and also liked the O2 very much when I heard them decently amped. Somebody offered the HE90 to me at a fair price with the Stax adapter. The seller also offered me a KGSS DX tuned for the HE90 as an optional buy, any thoughts on that? Just please talk me into or out of it. Thanks and sweet forum by the way.

Strauss' Salome conducted by Kent Nagano, new music chief in Munich. Great performance, great music, very sexy striptease and "veil dance".

Scotch (Lagavulin in particular, Macallan on smoother days) or wine. Beer and spirits make me want to drop the headphones and actually go out or turn on the TV. First post, yay.