catscratch

It's not powerful enough to control the bass and really wake the phones up. It's a good amp for Lambdas and other phones that are easier to drive, but the O2 is very difficult to drive and needs a lot more power to sound dynamic and for the bass to be tightly controlled. If you're looking to spend 007t-level money, get the 717. It's not going to do a perfect job either, but it's probably the only amp I'd use with the 007 that's under $1k. It has a warmer tonality than many solid-state amps and in general sounds pretty fluid, so you won't be missing the tube sound - as long as your source is up to par. The alternative would be a transformer box, and if you have a top-notch speaker amp, I'd go that route, but otherwise, I'd take the 717. Now that my source doesn't suck (as much) I definitely prefer the 717 over the transformer box. It's more detailed, more dynamic, has better control over the bass, and is in general more transparent. I had a very detailed comparison some pages back in this thread.

Damn, that's some GOOD acid. Oh, and a nice dubstep track, too.

Yeah, that "we're the best" bit turned me off. Seems like that sort of thing should belong in a paid-for thread where everybody knows it's advertising, but hey, that's head-fi for you. I for one am hoping that they actually do a good job and make something that sounds right, if only to motivate Stax to get their act together. Being better than the O2 Mk1 is a long shot but better than the Mk2 isn't that hard. I do remember a meet-impressions thread where the 1.2b, 1.3b, and a whole bunch of other stats were compared back to back. Most people preferred the 1.2b over the O2 (there were both Mk1 and Mk2 versions), though reading between the lines, it looks like the O2 was driven by a 007t or ES1 in most cases and wasn't in a good rig. I'd like to hear one, but I'm not shelling out money for it. Next meet, maybe, if I ever get my ass out to one.

You're never judged by your intentions. You're judged by your actions, or as the case may be, your posts. You may not have intended the "negativities" which you say you were accused of, but that's how your posts were read.

Nice, hope you get it. I can't think of a better home for a T2 anyway.

Good, if you want to leave this website forever, don't let the door hit you on your way out. Your kind of attitude will not be tolerated here. You're more than welcome to stay if you don't project that kind of attitude. But, if you start spouting all sorts of bullshit like you did on head-fi, you will be banned. And believe me when I say this - I don't have any problems with you because of what you think about Ultrasones. It's your attitude that I can't stand, and I'm not alone. So, you've been warned.

Oh nice, you were here all along!

Driving law enforcement in the USA depends entirely on where you live. In some areas traffic laws are a joke, and you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want. In other areas, like my sleepy little town, God forbid you stray 10mph over the limit, or change lanes too fast, or drive a flashy car, because the pigs will be on you like flies on a pile of dung. My friend has a flashy car, doesn't speed, obeys every road law, and he lost his license many, many times and only has it now because his mother is a translator for the local traffic court and has some influence. I think that things like cell phones, headphones, booze/drugs, and other distractions, aren't the root of the majority of accidents that have anything to do with them. It's just that our driving training/tests are so easy, and our traffic laws are so strict, that people never learn to properly drive. Then, you factor in that a lot of people in the tri-state area are immigrants and didn't have a car back where they came from (my family certainly didn't), so they have a lot less experience than their age would have you think. If we were much more serious about teaching drivers some actual driving, like skid control, slalom, bad weather conditions, and yes, how to drive fast on a track and control the car at high speed, then people would be much more able to multi-task, drive while talking on a cell phone, or drive slightly drunk, or generally know how to react in a dangerous situation on the road - which WILL happen no matter how hard you try to avoid it. Instead, the bureaucracy is making so much money just getting drivers on the road as quickly and in as large numbers as possible, then taxing them and fining them for just about everything they can think of, that having a stricter driving standard would involve financial losses, and will never probably be done.

By T50 I presume you mean the older Foxtex T50, and if that's the case, how does one go about acquiring one? I don't have a goat, but there's space for a shrine and certainly time enough for a ritual. Maybe I can use my neighbor's dog? Edit: More importantly, why isn't wualta on this forum? I don't know much about the guy specifically, but from what I've read of his posts, he sounds like someone we really should rescue from the clutches of head-fi.

I had something similar a year ago. Driving a fairly new G35, just came to a stop at a traffic light, when this Asian woman slams into the back of my car because she was talking on a cell phone and didn't pay any attention. She had an old Elantra and the airbags didn't go off, and to make matters worse, she had 4 kids in the back 2 of whom weren't buttoned down so to speak, and they hit their foreheads against the front seats/headrests/etc rather hard. So, she's screaming, kids have cut up and bloody heads, the street is brought to a halt, and it's up to me to sort it all out. Not a pretty scene... but hey, she was alright, her kids were ok save for a few stiches, and her insurance fronted the $15,000 repair bill on the car, so it all worked out in the end. I'm not prejudiced against women drivers, but I do hate bad driving in general. Our laws for who we allow on the road are far too lax. If we had a stricter program, then we wouldn't have to have these kinds of speeding laws and these draconian insurance policies (at least here in NJ). P.S. I love the older Integras. Such a beautiful car. My current CL is more of a grown-up version of it, but I still miss our old Integra from back in '92, that was an awesome car. I hope you get yours fixed up nice and new.

The Qualia and the R10 are two very different animals. They don't sound alike, and the Qualia is a lot more electrostatic in its presentation. I can't really say which one I like more since it's been ages since I heard them. The Qualia certainly rocks in all respects save tone. Its tone is definitely wrong, but it's been too long since I heard one to exactly define how its tone is wrong. It does compete with electrostats in detail; it's one of those headphones that tends to bring inner detail to the forefront, so it's very difficult to tell if it's actually more or less detailed than, let's say, the SR-007, from memory, especially since the 007 tends to be very polite with its detail. In terms of speed, the Qualia is without a doubt the fastest dynamic I've ever heard, but it's still not quite as fast as a 'stat. Still, it's in a different league from most dynamics, period. Its tonal balance is just about perfect, bass is extended, tight, and very impactful, and soundstage is very massive, if a bit artificial. I really like the Qualia (and I like very few dynamics), but I'm not going to take a gamble on getting one used. If you don't have the perfect fit, you have shit for sound. It's as sensitive as an IEM when it comes to fit. I was, however, very much thinking about one when they were still in production. Good thing my wallet never really let me do it.

I'm wondering about that now. Should I be afraid? Edit: according to my friend, it's "talk like a pirate" day. So, I have to translate my posts into pirate-ese. I.e. - Yarr! I be wonderin' about that now. Ortin' ta I be lily livered?

Don't get me wrong - I may not want another pair of headphones again, but that may not stop me from buying another pair of headphones again. You assume that there is a direct correlation between wanting headphones and buying them, and that logic and desires have anything in common with my actions. That's not how I roll My main saving grace is not having enough money (for now).

The retail is 2.4k but I bought mine new from Moon Audio for roughly $2k. If you can bargain for a bit, you can knock the price down. Still insanely overpriced compared to the Mk1 which is better, but somehow I doubt the low prices on Mk1's will last. Though to be fair, there are a LOT of Mk1's floating around, and you shouldn't have any difficulty finding a good pair (so far). If I had the $ I'd snag a backup pair. I may still do that. I don't think I'll ever want another headphone again.

Check back a few pages. I had a comparison of the SRD-7 Pro/Dared VP-20 vs SRM-717. The transformer box is less transparent and more colored, and doesn't have the power to give the bass tightness and definition. For that matter, neither does the 717, but it is a very noticeable improvement on the transformer box at the very least. However, a lot of this will also depend on the amp that's behind the transformer box. The O2 is ultimately transparent, and you will hear the qualities of your speaker amp immediately. A lot of the comparison was a contrast between the VP-20's and the SRM-717's sonic qualities. I'd say that the 717 will have an advantage in bass control, frequency extension, soundstage size and imaging, and overall transparency over the transformer. However, the way in which the transformer is voiced - the tone, tonal balance, fullness, texture, fluidity, etc - will all depend on the amp behind it. The 717 is fairly fluid, and a tad warmish, but really it's more of a neutral/transparent amp than a warm/fluid one.

The 840c is only a placeholder until I can get something better. I just wanted the Rega out of the system, and I didn't want to use it as a transport. The Rega was a good source for things that aren't brutally revealing, but when it comes to brutally revealing, at the altar of all things brutally revealing where esoteric electrostats revel in revealingness and brutality, they worship the Omega 2. It's seriously in a different league. The O2 needs a reference-level source. Needs. Period. That doesn't mean, however, that you won't enjoy it with a mediocre source. It was still enjoyable with the Rega, even if you could hear all of its problems. It's more enjoyable with the 840c, and sounds very good. But, you can still hear all of its problems. Not having a reference-level source shouldn't stop you from getting the O2, but you should be advised that if you're driven by perfectionism like a certain stupid catscratch (don't want to drop names here) you will not want to stop until you're driving the O2 right, and that means $ (or patience + luck with hunting down quality vintage gear).

Damnit, don't remind me. I have two crates of vinyl in storage, and more than a few reference quality records that one of my friends keeps dropping off as a subtle hint as to where my rig should be going.

I've heard the HD650 sound boring, analytical, cold (yes, cold), warm, soft, dynamic, not dynamic, detailed, muddy, whatever the hell you can think of really, all depending on the system. I don't think it's a neutral headphone by itself, but it's revealing enough to sound at least in part like your upstream components, and its sound can be tailored in many different directions. The reviewer also mentioned FR irregularities in the Proline 2500, which I agree with. He seems to be immune to piercing highs, but even so, I've seen far worse "professional" reviews than this one.

Wow, the O2 really does show up your source like nobody else's business. Listening with an 840c in the system right now, balanced outputs to 717. It's such a different sound! The Rega was clearly inadequate for the system, with grain, a shouty tone to the upper mids, limited extension top and bottom, and a smallish soundstage. The 840c fixes these problems. The sound is smooth, liquid, and free of artifacts except for a slight sheen on the treble and upper mids - I'm guessing that's the upsampling making its presence known. The tone of the midrange is neutral (actually slightly warmer than the Rega), the highs are very even but slightly pushed forward - very K1000-like, actually - and the bass is deep and tight but not overstated. Soundstage is much more open and three-dimensional than the Rega, and imaging is not bad, though not quite all the way up there. Basically, the sound is that of extreme transparency and air, with very good detail and a correct tone. Still, not all is well, since this combo lacks weight and fullness. Midrange is correct in tone and is fluid, but is also a bit thin. It's like looking at a holograph of an image rather than an actual image. Very nice, detailed, colorful, and three-dimensional, but not solid. And, when you crank up the dial to compensate for the lack of solidity, the highs quickly let you know that they are, in fact, pushed forward. Even the Rega sounded distinctly fuller, though on the whole, the 840c is in a different league entirely. The whole sound signature of the player is very K1k-like, if it makes sense to compare a transducer's sound signature to a player's. Basically, the player is IMO a very solid mid-fi machine that has the detail of a high-end machine, has a very nice tone, but is somewhat lacking in solidity and fullness, and has a slight digital sheen. Basically, about what I'd expect from a $1500 new player that's worth its money and isn't a rip-off. I'm guessing if it had a discrete output stage, and used a better DAC that didn't upsample, it would have a more robust sound. Still, I'm not going to complain, as it's a massive improvement on what went on before. On the whole, I quite like it. Time for more listening.

Damnit, the world is still here. That means I have to go back to work and fix this stupid PC. Man, and I had high hopes...

No balanced output on that AudioZone (right?). Also, I didn't want to use the Rega as a transport since I simply HATE that top-loading mechanism. You have to fiddle with it and adjust it out the ass, and by the time you're ready to listen you want to hang yourself with your own colon. I'll see though, I just want something that's good enough for now, and in a few months when I have 3k to blow, I'll get something better.

Well, let's see what the 840c will do with the 007/717. It's going to be a stopgap until I can rile up enough cash for something truly high-end. But until then, it should be better than the Rega. Digital glare and upsampling artifacts, here we come. But at least hopefully there will be no more grain, roll-off at both ends, and shouty vocals.

O2 Mk1 is only "that" good in the sense that it's the first headphone I've come accross where I have very little to nitpick about. Any time I listen to a piece of audio gear and something is out of place, I start getting irritated and can't really relax into the music. Provided I'm in a critical listening mood, since I can listen to a crappy car system in a good mood and not care about how it sounds. So, when you're driven by perfectionism but don't have bottomless pockets, it's very nice to have a headphone like this, which, when you think about its competitors, really isn't very expensive for what it offers. In fact, I'm hard pressed to find any reason for going with anything other than the O2 Mk1 in its price bracket, unless of course you don't like its presentation. Too bad the hidden costs are so steep, but I don't see how this would be any different for any other seriously high-end transducer. Garbage in = garbage out. And yes, the O2 definitely isn't about impressing on the first listen. Sure, it can be very impressive if the music is very impressive, but a lot of its stuff comes out when you've had time to listen to the nuances of its presentation. It doesn't flaunt its detail, drive, dynamic range, soundstage, etc. But for all that, it's still the most detailed and dynamic headphone I've ever heard (well maybe the Qualia 010 can do better but it's been a long time since I've heard one) and its imaging is second to none. It doesn't take apart the whole to impress you with the individual aspecs of its presentation.

I'm warming up to the 717 as well. The lack of fluidity and grain in the sound is definitely from the source. Once that's changed, then there will probably be little to nitpick about. Areas for improvement, sure, but very little that's outright wrong. Which will make a first... In fact, the O2 Mk1 pretty much stops my search for headphones. I don't lust after the HE90 anymore. I don't really care to keep up to date with what else is out there, unless it gives the O2 Mk1 a run for its money. Just about the only conceivable (and likely) headphone purchase in the future would be the UE11, or whatever TOTL custom is out at the time. The modded SR-001 is surprisingly good and more than adequate as a transportable system, so I'm set on that front, too. I'll have to hear the ESP950 to see if I want it.

I don't want it diplomatic, I want it right between the eyes. I'm one heck of a lot less diplomatic IRL than online, which makes me... just about the complete opposite of 99.9% of the population. I tell the truth, and usually that gets me into trouble. Oh well... I'll post high rez pics in a few days, but you'd better hold onto your lunch. It ain't pretty.