catscratch

I've been away on vacation and didn't have internet. But even so, I'm tired of making the same arguments over and over again. I'm not here to try and convert anyone to my views, so there's no need to pointlessly repeat the same banter. There's another forum for that... BHSE looks smoking hot. Though hopefully not literally.

Gents, Here's a toast to the mistakes made last year, and to not repeating them this year. So, a glass to learning, as it were. Happy New Year. Cheers!

I don't think the SR-007 is "darker sounding than every other headphone besides the HD650." The SR-007 has a very HD600-like tonality, at least with the SRM-717. Not dark, not bright, but just about perfect. Though to be fair, it's still very dependent on the source. With the 840c it was rather bright, actually, and with the Opus 21 it was the other way around. Cables were able to adjust tonality either way in both cases. I think the problem is that you're using the same exact rig to drive many different headphones which have all been voiced in a different way. The O2 requires the rig to be tuned around it since it's so damn revealing (which usually means making the whole rig as neutral as possible), and if you have a rig that's tuned for something else, like the HE90, the O2 probably won't work in it all that well. But, not having heard the rig in question, I could be wrong.

Definitely go for shock therapy. The way I see it: how many of us actually regret spending this much on audio and would want to undo that first fateful moment when we heard really good sound? Sure, it's an expensive road, but very worth it in my opinion.

"Soundscapes and Modern Tales" by Shulman. Wow, this is some serious electronica. Very much in the vein of Shpongle's "Are You Shpongled?" though perhaps with somewhat more melody. Still, there's the same sense of utter psychedelic chaos that assembles itself into catchy infections rhythms and grooves, melodies that sporadically apear out of the madness and swirl effortlessly into the mix, and layers upon layers of hidden inner meaning. It will take me weeks of listening to disect all of this stuff. Needless to say, I like it a lot. Time to check out the rest of the discography.

I remember that fight. Really impressive stuff by Manny. This is not the weight class for him but it was completely one-sided nevertheless. Still, who knows how much of that was Manny being brilliant, even at that weight, and Oscar being slow? I wonder what's next for both fighters. Is Oscar finished? Is Manny going to fight Mayweather Jr. after the Hatton fight? It's definitely going to be an interesting 2009, I think. Though on the whole I have to say that Hopkins' fight against Pavlik was even more impressive. Beating someone like Pavlik through handspeed and lateral movement when you're 43 is inspiring, no other word for it.

I really liked Angelo's "No Boundaries," and not only because of a soft spot for pointless instrumental wankery. Some of the tracks were really well written. As for Nitro... ugh.

The ER-6 isn't white only. There's a black model and there may be other colors. It's one of the smallest IEMs you can get your hands on, and is very low-profile if getting mugged is an issue. It doesn't have gigantic bass though, so if that's the type of sound your friend is looking for, you should probably keep looking.

Kuba - Inside Out Seriously awesome flowing organic chillout.

That's pretty damn ugly IMO (I thought I'd try honesty rather than sweet cooing noises here), but if he really has a great personality then it shouldn't matter. Friendly, outgoing cats are rare but are absolutely amazing when you can find one. A friend of mine has a Maine Coon that's very dog-like in its personality, if anything, and is one seriously awesome bit of kitty. Friendly, affectionate, and very smart. If your cat's anything like that, then I can see why you couldn't turn him down. I probably wouldn't be able to, either.

Those pupils ought to be a lot bigger than that if it's really kicking in.

Definitely go for Don Julio, and Anejo is the way to go, though other varieties of Don Julio aren't bad either. The Bianco has a nice mild flavor. My favorite widely-available commercial hard liquor.

Shawn Lane on "Time is the Enemy" Buddy Guy on "Stone Crazy" Devin Townsend on "Terria" But all-time favorite has to be Steven Wilson on "Up the Downstair" and "Voyage 34." NOT the shitty remasters - the originals. Don't get the remastered - which is actually re-recorded - Up the Downstair. It's a travesty. Most of it is re-recorded and all of the original emotion is gone. Get the original instead even though the production sucks.

Right, time to revive the dead. Ghoulish, I know. I have been messing around with the W3 some more, and experimenting with fit, and I finally found something that works: large clear silicone tips, which are too big to go into the ear canal and make a pretty good seal just outside the ear canal. Not very comfortable, but driver distance from the ear seems to be about right. The sound improved massively. Mids aren't quite as distant and not veiled. Treble is no longer harsh and sibilant. Bass isn't overblown, though upper bass is still exaggerated. But, on the whole, what was originally a mess of a canalphone is sounding very nice now, and I never thought I'd say that! It doesn't have the finesse of the ES2 but it's getting closer. I actually kinda like it! Too bad the fit sucks. I think that Westone made the stems, sound tubes, whatever you want to call them, too short. When the W3 is worn as any other canalphone - i.e. shoved in as far as it will go - the sound seriously sucks. So you have to come up with stupid fitting techniques to get the driver-ear distance just right. So from another mediocre canalphone I will upgrade this to a rather good canalphone actually with some major design flaws. The comfort [is bad] and makes me stick with the ES2 just for that alone, but the sonics are definitely something I could live with. Still going to get the UE11 though.

Used to be into the Soul Calibur series quite a bit. My friend was very much into local tournaments and did reasonably well, and I was his practice partner, though I never bothered with tourneys myself. Don't have the time for it now, though I still like SC4 quite a bit.

Flawed but interesting is exactly how I'd describe the H2 when it was in a Rega Planet 2000 --> Dared VP-20 --> TR2 --> H2 rig. Now that I have a source that doesn't suck balls though it will be interesting to swap it back in and see what's what. The bass was bloated in the old rig, the treble could sometimes be bright to the point of being unlistenable, though with positioning it could be scaled down to manageable levels (whoever thought that a tweeter that fired as a ray in the middle of a massive and essentially supra-aural driver was a good idea?), and the midrange was rather recessed and dull. But, at the same time, you had unbelievable speed and detail, together with serious impact - sort of like the best qualities of dynamics and electrostatics put together. But, unfortunately, with a whacked-out frequency response...

Pics or it didn't happen.

I've seen those mentioned before. They've always looked like style over substance to me. The layman is starting to accept the idea of expensive luxury headphones, which is theoretically great, but in practice lots of mediocre stuff dressed up in pretty wood and leather and chrome overalls is going to pollute the market, and high-end publications, being the sellout pigs that they are, will drool all over them and lavish endless praise. In the end, it's the audiophile that will suffer, as usual. But don't let my pessimism distract you from taking one for the team and getting a pair. I swear, I will read your impressions very attentively!

Sure, it may have serviceable Mk1 pads now, but they won't last forever. Personally I'm stocking up on Mk1 pads next week. They shouldn't degrade if they're properly sealed and stored, and I plan to keep the O2 until something better comes along (or I'm forced to sell it for other reasons), so it's time to start thinking long-term.

(Jeremy Clarkson voice) All we know is: he's not Birgir, but he's Birgir's Egmont-building cousin!!

I have to caution against buying an 010 blindly because of how critical the fit is. If the fit is only slightly off, then all bets are off sonically, and you'll get the echoey, cavernous sound that has been described in many negative comments. So, I'd say actually get your hands on a few pairs at a meet and listen firsthand. Then, you can see what size you'll need. It's an awful lot of money to gamble with in hopes that the size will be right (but then again maybe not so much money for you). It sure is a nice headphone when everything is right, though.

No, we don't want Sovshiller here, thank you very much. Though it may be fun to sit back and watch the ripping he'd receive if he ever decided to grace us with his presence.

Thanks, those are some great impressions! Regards to the Mk1 being potentially sibilant/etched - I think this is more due to the rest of the system. I've heard it sound dull, bright, dark, sibilant, thin, congested, airy, grainy, fluid, just about anything you can think of really, and all with the meager assortment of components I have at home. Something as simple as the right interconnect can really make or break the system. So, IMO it can definitely be tuned not to sound bright, or to sound just about every which way you want, with some strenuous component matching. There was certainly lots of digital glare in the highs and elevated highs in general with the 840c, but with the Opus 21 I had to roll in some of the brightest cables I had in order to offset the massive difference in tonal balance. You're also spot on about it being absolutely ruthless when it comes to showing up recording imperfections, to the point that some really bad recordings are unlistenable. I would like to hear the Mk2 with Stax's current lineup of amps, especially the 727. If it's voiced more for the Mk2, then it could make for a good system.

And? Come on, you can't just leave us hanging like that!

You definitely hit the nail on the head there. The O2 is a very subtle headphone and it never beats you over the head with its technical excellence. This is what makes it so stellar for long-term listening. It's not fatiguing in any way, and it focuses on the whole of the presentation while at the same time giving you the ability to zoom in on any individual aspect of the presentation, while a lot of other headphones will emphasize one thing or another and not really give you a choice in the matter.