Elephas

Whoa, it's quite fast now. Looks good too, I like the dark blue and green colors. Thanks.

Already done. You slowpoke, no cheetah at all.

Heh heh, considering the OP's claim, everyone seems so respectful! Is the JP 6'4" and 280 pounds? I also think SSD or normal HD shouldn't make a difference. But if I had to pull something out from the behind, maybe the SSD draws less power and therefore the power supply is quieter (supposedly more of a factor if USB is used). I use a dedicated PC with RME HDSPe AES sound card and foobar as my main playback device. It doesn't seem to be quite as good as SACD, but it's close enough.

Used Sennheiser HD-25-1 It's closed, medium-sized, has decent isolation, is tough and should be able to take a lot of abuse carried in a backpack. Change the cable, a reterminated HD650 cable is good. Velour earpads are a nice option.

I must admit, the SACD disc of Michael Jackson - Thriller sounds really very good. The song "Thriller" sends goosebumps crawling up my trunk. I recall hearing this song when it was released, when I was even more of a baby than now, watching the MTV with mouth agape, flapping ears and wide eyes, and then a few more times over the intervening years. I was never a big MJ fan (my unfortunate musical tastes tend towards even more simplistic bubblegum-type pop, eg. "annoying crap"). But on a reasonably good electrostatic headphone system, hopefully an EL34-based amp and that amazing Thriller SACD, it is an unforgettable experience that every head-fier, oops head-caser, should experience at least once.

Didn't you see all the humbly truthful "Sennheiser Rules" posts made by those unfortunately few, but brave and honorable individuals, in this very thread, courageously willing to shout truth and stand up against the hurtful so-called self-proclaimed "Stax Mafia"?

I had some fun trying 6SN7-GTB and Treasure CV171 in the SRM-T1W, although there was also worry about the amp blowing up. But hey, if I'm brave enough to operate an SP ES1... The HE60 and HE90 really sound great, I like them a lot. But with more and more time listening to the O2 (over three years now, and over one year with the BHSE) I'm more and more easily annoyed by their "flaws" in comparison and can't seem to listen to the Senns for extended periods of time. It's sad. I intelligently stayed away from that craziness, I'm so happy.

db post

Yep, Espanol pronunciation Preh sin di bleh makes better sense than Ingles. Yep, HE60 and HE90 have many virtues and few flaws. But, compared to well-driven O2mk1 or O2mk2 (by Blue Hawaii or somesuch amp), those seemingly few flaws suddenly become glaring. Even HE90+Aristaeus, as sublime as it can be, becomes flawed. If you have and like O2, I suggest focusing upon la amplificaci

Hahaha, prescindible actually seems like it could be an actual word. Man, kids these days, "I'll go off and google," sheesh, what happened to wasting 10 minutes of life flipping through a 12 pound slab of dictionary trying to find a non-word? HE60 and HE90 sound really good too, but very different from HD6x0. It's sometimes kind of puzzling to think they're made by the same company, plus the HD800 too. HE60's fast and clean sound can be intoxicating, while the HE90's larger than life sound can be very pleasurably addictive. I have an old Airbow SR-SC1 that would do for testing amps with, if only I actually knew something about testing amps.

The HD600 and HD650 driven balanced by a Beta22 are quite good. Probably the largest improvement going from single-ended to balanced, a good value I think, and could even be competitive with an O2/717 setup or another somesuch amp. Sennheiser Rules! Yes, I'm very brave, I shout this here!

Yep, I'm using the 404LE real leather earpads on the 4070, they fit perfectly. There's no model called Omega 2, that's just something made up, it's the SR-007 and SR-007Mk2 dammit. This is new "SR-008" is great news, I haven't bought a headphone for over a year.

EL34 for BHSE For O2mk1 and O2mk2: Mullard xf1 Blackburn (Somehow xf1 and xf2 sound surprisingly different) Mullard xf2 Blackburn Philips metal base, made in Holland (Metal base is cleaner and crisper than xf2, but high cost may be difficult to justify. Cures all O2 treble shortcomings, though.) For SR-Omega and HE60: Philips xf3/xf4 dark brown base made in Sittard or Brussels (Seem less expensive than Mullard xf2, works well with O2 as well) GEC KT77 made in England (Very rare, unfortunately. But very smooth, liquid smooth) Didn't like: GE 6CA7 Fat Boys (really too bad, I have several nice sleeves), RFT Telefunken 4-crimped plates, many current production types

OK, then. It seems I may have overstated the fact and opinion thing. How's this: In most cases, the HD800 should have a larger soundstage than the O2. But this may depend on the listener, the system, the recording, and the conception and definition of "soundstage" itself. Anyway, if you're enjoying a wider left-right soundstage with the O2 than the HD800, your O2 system is doing something very right.

The HD800 has a larger soundstage than the O2. To be sure, we're talking about the soundstage illusion, where the sounds seem to appear at varying distances away from your head. It's not like speaker soundstage, it's the artificial headphone-type of soundstage, which some people claim isn't actually soundstage at all. In Darth Nut's classic O2 review, he talks a lot about this aspect of the O2 vs. SR-Omega (another headphone with a larger soundstage than the O2) and even coins the term "headstage" to distinguish between the soundstage illusion and the places where the sounds seem to emanate from around your head. Which is actually another illusion, because the sounds are produced by those things strapped over your ears. One may prefer the O2's soundstage, or think that it presents a more coherent and realistic portrayal. Those are opinions, while it's fact that the HD800 has a larger soundstage than the O2.

Fine, I'll shut up.

Stringer Bell FTW!

OK, confession time, I'm basically middle-aged now, and I can't stop listening to Taylor Swift - Love Story. With the O2+BHSE, it's so fun! WTF!?! Is there any recourse? Can I sue Stax or Justin for emotional distress?

Yes, yes, I know, I know... but I can't help it, it's so fun on the O2+BHSE... it's Justin's fault.

$960 is quite a good deal, I might have bid at least $1200. I think maybe too few people have heard a 4070 and it's less discussed than other headphones, so the demand is low. You already know what my gear sounds like. Well, maybe not all the EL34 tube types I've got. As for music collection, I was an old school CD guy, got my first CD player a Portable Walkman in 1984. Over twenty years of CD buying means thousands of CD's. Unfortunately, most of them were concentrated in the early 90's when I developed what has become my horrible musical taste (pop, dance, electronic, chill out mostly) which has stayed with me despite advancing age. Sure, I've got the usual audiophile stuff, jazz, Patricia Barber, etc. but it seems I'm still stuck in the 80/90's. Quite embarrassing and a bit sad.

All right, it's time to get out of the boring 19th century and into the 80's and 90's!!! Coming up next on the playlist: Kim Wilde - Kids in America KWS - Please Don't Go (Sunshine Mix) Nena - 99 Luftballons Sinead O'Conner - Mandinka I can't help it, the O2m2 + BHSE makes those songs sound so good!!!

A new 4070 is not that much less than a new O2, so most people probably choose the O2. The 4070 seems to be relatively rare, even among electrostats in general. I tried out the 4070 and O2mk2 with my "newly developing and powerfully improved" musical tastes and the Master and Commander soundtrack a few days ago. "La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid" was glorious. Really just about as good as actually being in the captain's cabin of the HMS Surprise with Aubrey and the doc. I don't think they would've played as well.

Hey everybody, I would like to announce that my O2mk1 and O2mk2 sound really really good! In fact, they're sounding so good that they are now officially my favorite headphone. Yay, I have a favorite headphone! I'll just say O2 to refer to both. Yes, we elephants are a bit slow. I used to prefer the HE90 over the O2, but not anymore. It has taken me about one year to reach this conclusion, basically the experience of spending one year with a HeadAmp Blue Hawaii SE. I have other gear that I just don't seem to want to listen to much anymore. This includes other electrostats such as the HE90 driven by the Aristaeus (also by HeadAmp!) and dynamics such as Qualia and R10 driven by an Eddie Current Zana Deux or Rockhopper 4-channel Beta 22. I guess I'm now in agreement with Spritzer and prefer the O2 over the HE90. But I'm still sticking to my position regarding the O2mk1 earpads being fake leather.

I got a Razer Mamba mouse and a NAS unit, a Synology DS1010+. The DS1010+ with five Hitachi 2TB drives is surprisingly quiet. It is much much quieter than my old Thecus N5200, which I'm still using. They're side by side. Startup and shutdown is also much faster, and the web interface is also better. Thumbs up for Synology.

Listen Up! The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Album Waka Waka!