blubliss

Not hotter than the O2 for sure. Maybe a bit more than HD650 or K701, but it is not bad. I'll be there to set up around 3pm tomorrow or a bit earlier. See you there!

Ok, so some very initial impressions.... The phones fit nicely on the head, not too snug. You won't want to be moving around too much with these on if it is warm, pads are warmish, that is, they heat up the ear area for me. My first thoughts are that this is a "nice" headphone which means to me that it is fun and warm, the basic Sennheiser sound IME. They are more detailed and soundstage is larger than previous HD models, but the general flavor is still around. Consider that I am putting them next to the R10s, HE90, SR-Omega in my mind so they have a lot to live up to. They do not have the same spot on tonality or soudstage as the R10s, not yet. Maybe they will get closer when balanced. And I definitely would like to try some different driver tubes with these, I think that will make a difference. The bass for me is very nice, tight and not overboard, like the L3000 can be on my amp. The amount is just right for me, but I am definitely not a basshead anymore, although I thought I was at some point. When I started listening to the R10s and HE90, that changed. I like a balanced presentation, which the HD800 has. It is not as extended on the top end (as my other phones) but still gives a lot of detail/nice presentation. Anyway, I can see myself keeping these and listening when I just want to relax and listen to music in a "fun" manner. They do provide enjoyment. I found myself smiling in the usual places when listening to my favorites. More to follow.....

IMO, I prefer the way Donald did it. To each his own.

i didn't get the shipped email. ): oh well, they will come.

i have no tracking info, where did you guys find it? i looked in my account and it says shipped.

i could call him?

It's this rack: Stillpoints ESS rack ess rack

Ok, so I now have the trifecta in the house, getting the SR-Omega today. Wow, the bass on the SR-Omega is unreal, it actually thumps the head a bit. With a short listening session, I can vouch for the comparisons made by spritzer on these three phones: HE90 - Pleasant but diffuse sound, like there is some haziness around the notes, but not a game-killer for me. You just have to be in the right mood. I would call them romantic. O2 MK1 - If comparing soundstage to a room, the HE90 is orchestral, and the O2 is a nice cozy jazz bar. This is a nice thing to have at times, depending on music and mood (i'm a moody guy ). SR-Omega - These impressions will take time to solidify but I can say that I agree with spritzer that this is a cross between the HE90 and the O2. Soundstage is closer to HE90 but without diffusion. Instrument placement remains fixed and clear like the O2. One good thing about the ES-2 is that I can have all three plugged in at once with no sound degradation that I can discern. Need to do some volume matching but it makes it easy to compare the 3. Does that mean the ES-2 has lots of power? I can only have one headphone on the SDS-XLR at a time. Two sounds awful.

Thanks for the suggestions and offer. My table neighbors at the SoCal meet definitely helped out.

To the International Meet veterans, how safe is my gear at the meet? I mean, do I need to be there to watch at all times. I am mostly worried about the R10s and the HE90s. At the SoCal meet I walked away for long periods and nothing happened. Not sure that was smart? Have you heard any bad stories from the International Meets? Do you suggest someone watches my stuff at all times? I definitely don't want to be tied to my gear for the whole meet.

Happy Birthday.

I will definitely be bringing my balanced R10s (with SE adapter)but I hope they are not the only pair there, besides Rays'. I am trying to fix the foam on my backup pair but that is slow going. You guys may borrow.

Will bring them. They should be here late this week or early next. Al, if you listen to the Smyth, you will want one, be prepared. To listen: O2 > BHSE HE90, O2, O1 > WES HD800 > everywhere/anywhere Craig's stuff

what is the requirement to be a head-caser?

I agree, the things I bought from Craig he had already purchased. I did notice that it took awhile for an email reply, like he only worked on them once a day and that was it, but i did get a reply within 24 hours every time.

I did not buy from lobster_king. Didn't want to support the dude. This SR-Omega was a pair from HF (Aliacha via Afrikane & Alex @ apuresound). Comes with extra cable and set of pads. Voltron almost bought it but I guess the guy was firm on his price. Thanks for passing Al .

I met Donald North over at an audio dealer's house a few months ago. Nice guy. That's the extent of my involvement with DNA. I guess this is his first headphone amp. I'll copy what he wrote me: When we met I talked about developing my own tube headphone amp. The design is now done and operational. I'm calling it the DNA Sonett. It uses the 6H30 dual triode with transformer loading for the audio amplification. Power supply is tube rectified using the 5AR4 and choke filtered. I played the prototype for Elliot and thought it sounded very good. I have also played it for some friends who liked it and placed orders. The audio circuitry uses no coupling capacitors or feedback. Measured frequency response is very flat and extended, while distortion is very low. Triodes are naturally low distortion voltage amplifiers when loaded by a high impedance, which transformers do very well. Selectable on the output is 2 different output impedances: 120 ohms following the IEC standard and a low 28 ohms. This affects the tonal balance, allowing you to tailor the sound to your particular headphones and achieve the best sound. It's very quiet with no hum or buzz and has just the right amount of gain. I will offer it in 2 versions: Single ended output using standard 1/4" stereo jack and Balanced output using dual XLR jacks. Attached is a photo of the prototype. The production unit will have a nice brushed aluminum faceplate. MSRP is $1200. I will be exhibiting at the upcoming Can Jam show at LAX and will offer a special price of $1000 to everyone who places an order at the show. The 2 transformers at the bottom are the custom output transformers made to my specification. The 6H30 is DC heated (production unit will have professional pcb for DC supply) and has its own power transformer (at the top of the photo). Anyway, I may have a chance to go over to the dealer's house this weekend (in Studio City) and hear this amp. I can take 1 or 2 people with me. If anyone is interested, please PM me.

The ES-2 is most likely not moving. I am afraid of it falling apart . Right now the O2s are not humming and it sounds great so I will not touch it. Maybe the SDS-XLR will come to CanJam?

And this is why one must own both the HE90 and the O2. When the 'wow' of one wears off, it's time to move to the other . I am really enjoying the O2s right now.

I have the atomic clock (10m) and another clock (ocx) of theirs. It was part of a computer setup that did not work out. Might be cool to use with this dac.

There is an optical out on the unit so i guess you can run it through your dac later. I don't know what running through multiple dacs will do to the sound. I guess i'll find out.

I heard this at the last SoCal meet and it was unbelievable. Literally can't tell if you are listening to the headphones or the speakers. I spoke with the rep today and am on the list for a unit. They are somewhat flexible with knowledgeable headphone people to sell the unit without the Stax setup. They just don't want some fool with Ratshack headphones trying to use the system and saying it sounds like crap.

Shields was an idea I had too. First I decided to prop up some ERS paper between the driver and power tubes, this worked. What does that mean? So the adapters may be the issue?

OK, so I have had for a long time now issues with some sort of interference in my system which manifests as a background high-pitch noise that is fatiguing after awhile. I have tried many things to assuage the problem because its source has been unknown. Thought it might just be digital harshness, the headphones, etc. Anyway, I got some bendix 2C51 from luvdunhill recently and popped them in to my SDS-XLR (gotta live with what I got ) and when music started there was an intermittent static noise in both tubes. No music, no static. I thought it might be bad tubes. Anyway, this morning, for whatever reason, I decided to cup my hand around the tube (between driver & power tube), and lo and behold, the static ceased. I was not touching the case or tube, but if I touched the case it still worked. But only if i cupped my hand around the tube, not if I touched the case in other places. Is this some sort of interference between the power and driver tubes (2C51 & 6BL7GTA)? I have not noticed this with the other driver tubes, 6SN7, but it may be real low. I have noticed interference of a high-pitched nature as I mentioned before. Now I had noticed some time back that I could no longer listen to single-ended phones on my SDS-XLR with the APL as source, major hum/static. If I used an adapter and went RCA into the amp, problem solved. I was told that this was due to the grounding schemes of the amp and source. The APL is transformer-coupled XLR output and the SDS-XLR is who knows what. My thought now is that this tube issue is also related to ground issues. One other strange thing I noticed is that from time to time when I would disconnect my ICs and then put them back on the sound seemed to improve, that is, the interference was much less. But, over a short time it came back. Could all of this be related to ground issues? What could I do to rectify? Any other info you need to help? Thanks.