Blue Hawaii Special Edition

[aardvark baguette]

seriously.

[grawk]

And better music, of course

[kevin gilmore]

So i've been dealing with fischerusa for the last 6 weeks. i agreed to make a

he60 to he90 plug so that one person can use his he60's on a hev90. 5 weeks

later after promising the male connector in 1 week or less, i'm back on the

waiting list from the factory, 12 weeks for one fucking connector. And two

of the sales people i've been dealing with in that time have "left the company"

and the purchase order keeps getting dumped in the bit bucket.

What a way to run a company.

Justin: where is my BHSE... estimate a 4 week time frame including the year please.

[Elephas]

Justin says: "Go build your own! Go away. Stop bothering me, I'm going on vacation indefinitely."

Well, I entered "Spritzer Mode" today. I plugged in the O2mk1.

Ehh, what's this? It doesn't sound dark? OK, get ahold of yourself, it could be placebo. But it's not dark, it's quite neutral actually. But it's still darker than the HE90. True, yeah, and I like the HE90. But this sounds damn good, and it's not dark. Only an idiot self-proclaimed "super cool" crybaby would call this dark. And it sounds more balanced, more neutral, and better than the O2mk2. What the hell did Stax do to the O2mk2?! What a bunch of... That annoying mid-bass hump is damn annoying.

I can't say this on HF. Not that it would be a big deal, but Spritzer independently confirmed to be right about the O2mk1? That would blow up his ego to dangerous size, it seems to be quite large already.

Hmm, if I say he's right, maybe he'll fix my SP ES-1? That would be good, and I wouldn't need to lie, even.

The O2mk1 is definitely better than the O2mk2. Still to come, versus SR-Omega and HE90.

[Deadneddz]

I can sell everything else off. Well, maybe not the ES-1, as it's liable to crapout at anytime. Maybe I'll give it to Justin, he can hang it on his wall like people used to do with the heads of conquered enemies.

lol at that statement, and if I remember correctly you were quite skeptical about any positive difference the BHSE would bring compared to your ES1. Very glad you're enjoying your amp. It looks incredible in your system.

I can't begin to understand how exhausted Justin might be from finishing just the amps that have already shipped. 20 BHSE's must be a beyond daunting task, although the idea of building a T2(headamp style) would most likely make the BHSE seem like building a pico in comparison:D

Congrats Elephas, im sure you have a grin that cannot not be wiped off your face:p

[Dusty Chalk]

Wait, since when was your ES-1 broken?

[Elephas]

No, no grinning, because I need a better source and a new audio rack.

OK, now I'm out of "Spritzer Mode." I switched over to the HE90.

The O2mk1 and O2mk2 are slightly dark-sounding. There, I said it and I stand by that no matter what. There's a slight lack of sparkle and brightness at the upper-midrange up to the treble region. It's noticeable with some female vocals, where their voices sound slightly toned down.

This was the case with the SRM-T1W, Aristaeus, ES-1 and now the BHSE. With bigger amplification it seems the O2's become less and less dark, but they're still relatively dark.

Go Team HE90/SR-Omega!

[Elephas]

Wait, since when was your ES-1 broken?

It works fine now, but it's probably going to blow sooner or later.

[Elephas]

I hope fellow BHSE owners have the opportunity to hear the SR-Omega with their amps. It's quite an amazing experience. I've always preferred the larger headstage and soundstage of the SR-Omega (and HE90) over the smaller ones of the O2mk1 and O2mk2, even though the O2's have more precise imaging and sharper-focused sound images. It's still the same with the BHSE.

The O2's can seem comparatively sleepy, or laid-back. Yep, even with the BHSE driving them. Hey, if you don't think so switch over to an HE90 or SR-Omega and compare. I think it's part of their refined and smooth sound, because the HD650 or HD600 can also have this laid-back tendency. It's a very pleasant sound, kind of like being enveloped by high quality down pillows. It reminds me of luxury sedan suspensions, smooth and comfortable. I tend to listen at louder volumes with the O2's than with other headphones. It's not the lack of details, far from it, it's that their volume sweetspot seems to be a little bit higher than my normal preferred volume level.

[The Monkey]

The O2mk1 is definitely better than the O2mk2.

Say it ain't so!

[Elephas]

Well, with the BHSE I think so.

But maybe the difference isn't as large or as obvious with other amps. I was perfectly happy before listening to either one with the ES-1. <- That amp again, I don't feel like talking about SP amps anymore, I'd rather forget about the whole damn thing.

[Aura]

Congrats elephas and thanks for keeping the impressions coming, not that I'm likely to ever own any of the gear you are commenting on .

[spritzer]

The other side of that argument is that the SR-Ω/HE90 are overly bright. They certainly both have etch issues to my ears which is why I did sell the Ω in the end. \

Ohh and you are 100% on the O2 volume level, listen quite loud too.

I can't say this on HF. Not that it would be a big deal, but Spritzer independently confirmed to be right about the O2mk1? That would blow up his ego to dangerous size, it seems to be quite large already.

Ahhh crap, please don't do that. I can hardly stand myself as it is...

Edited August 15, 2009 by spritzer

[Elephas]

Hehe, but I think it's all right if a large ego is backed up by substance. What I do recall, and respect, is how Spritzer stuck to his guns about the O2mk1 versus the HE90 when a lot of people were giving him crap about it, about two or three years ago?

The Philips/Mullard EL34 metal base are great. But I think the DD-getters are very close, and probably easier to find at lower prices and more are available, which should result in better matching sets.

I switched to Telefunken EL34 today, the Ulm-made type with 5-crimped plates. Not the Telefunken-labeled RFT dimple tops with 4-crimped plates, it seems a lot of people are confused and pay a lot for the RFT tubes.

These TF are very good too, but they're very hard to find. I only have two matched pairs and they're different construction. One type has two round holes and two small rectangular "vanes" sticking out, made in the late 60's. The other type has one slot, made in the early 60's. So with mismatched types in each pair, it's possible that the sound is compromised.

I've got a lot more EL34 types to try.

[Elephas]

Congrats elephas and thanks for keeping the impressions coming, not that I'm likely to ever own any of the gear you are commenting on .

Don't worry about electrostatic headphones, all you need is an HD800!

Oops, I thought this was the HD800 thread.

[Icarium]

Hehe, but I think it's all right if a large ego is backed up by substance. What I do recall, and respect, is how Spritzer stuck to his guns about the O2mk1 versus the HE90 when a lot of people were giving him crap about it, about two or three years ago?

The Philips/Mullard EL34 metal base are great. But I think the DD-getters are very close, and probably easier to find at lower prices and more are available, which should result in better matching sets.

I switched to Telefunken EL34 today, the Ulm-made type with 5-crimped plates. Not the Telefunken-labeled RFT dimple tops with 4-crimped plates, it seems a lot of people are confused and pay a lot for the RFT tubes.

These TF are very good too, but they're very hard to find. I only have two matched pairs and they're different construction. One type has two round holes and two small rectangular "vanes" sticking out, made in the late 60's. The other type has one slot, made in the early 60's. So with mismatched types in each pair, it's possible that the sound is compromised.

I've got a lot more EL34 types to try.

Damn Elephas.. rolling with crazy EL34s I've never even heard of. You really went all out with tubes

[bozebuttons]

So i've been dealing with fischerusa for the last 6 weeks. i agreed to make a

he60 to he90 plug so that one person can use his he60's on a hev90. 5 weeks

later after promising the male connector in 1 week or less, i'm back on the

waiting list from the factory, 12 weeks for one fucking connector. And two

of the sales people i've been dealing with in that time have "left the company"

and the purchase order keeps getting dumped in the bit bucket.

What a way to run a company.

Why just not just call Senn Usa & order a HE90 cable with the connector atttached.(ask for Dwight Stevens in the parts department) You can cut the cable to add the HE60 adapter to the cable.

[HeadphoneAddict]

WANT

[spritzer]

Hehe, but I think it's all right if a large ego is backed up by substance. What I do recall, and respect, is how Spritzer stuck to his guns about the O2mk1 versus the HE90 when a lot of people were giving him crap about it, about two or three years ago?

...and I still do.

I switched to Telefunken EL34 today, the Ulm-made type with 5-crimped plates. Not the Telefunken-labeled RFT dimple tops with 4-crimped plates, it seems a lot of people are confused and pay a lot for the RFT tubes.

Indeed. These tubes were branded by just about everybody so if you want cheap ones, look for National, AEG or some "odd" names.

Why just not just call Senn Usa & order a HE90 cable with the connector atttached.(ask for Dwight Stevens in the parts department) You can cut the cable to add the HE60 adapter to the cable.

That's a good idea but it might be a bit expensive. 150-170$ or something like that for the cable/connector...

[guzziguy]

You must have missed the JH13 Pros.

[kevin gilmore]

Why just not just call Senn Usa & order a HE90 cable with the connector atttached.(ask for Dwight Stevens in the parts department) You can cut the cable to add the HE60 adapter to the cable.

$375...

I thought $85 for just the connector was a good deal.

Maybe the person who wants it may change their mind.

[spritzer]

Damn, they sure have increased their prices! Purk posted a pricelist over on HF some time ago from 2007 and it was somewhere around 150$ back then...

[guzziguy]

i in fact did.

Heretic! Time to gather some wood and oil.

[Iron_Dreamer]

You must have missed the JH13 Pros.

Which make the Omegas no less brilliant

[Voltron]

The SR-Omegas are brilliant and they sound fantastic out of Naaman's BH. I don't think they sound as good out of the BHSE, and I certainly don't think the HE90 sounds very good out of the BHSE. Maybe the tubes can make a big difference, but the several times I have heard the BHSE it sounds best with the O2 but too bright and glaring with the SR-Omega and the HE90. Both of those cans sounded really good out of the WES and I have spent some time recently going back and forth between the BH and WES and the WES comes out ahead.