Blue Hawaii Special Edition

[spritzer]

Interesting but I also found the SR-Ω to be an excellent match with the old BH. I always found the amp to hold the SR-007 back a bit but that wasn't the case with the older brother. It did have the tendency to sound a bit bright and edgy at times, very slightly and especially when the volume is pushed but this is due to the design of the phones since some of it also holds true for the SR-Ω/007.

You should not discount the tubes as a factor here since they change the sound quite a bit. If you can access the trimpots on the BH PCB's then it is easy enough to tuberoll it.

[bozebuttons]

$375...

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

Maybe the person who wants it may change their mind.

I paid $95 a few years back for that cable,You may want to contact Drew at moon audio for the connector,he may have some available.

He made some adapter cables a while back.

[kevin gilmore]

Thanks i just sent him an email. This is what happens when i try to

help people for nothing..

[Elephas]

Drew at Moon Audio made an HE90 to Stax 5-pin adapter for me. I've never used it, I think it didn't cost very much.

The HE90 does seem brightish to me driven by the BHSE. It's slight, though, and not really overly bright. But if I had to make a call, I'd say it was to the bright side of neutral. I think my source and system overall has reasonably good treble quality, smooth and sparkly without being harsh, so the brightness works well for me. Oh, and it seems to make female vocals a little bit sexier too.

Tubes do seem to affect the tonal balance, and also treble extension, bass quantity, etc. I remembered that full "Blue Hawaii Spritzer Mode" requires Mullard EL34 xf2, and put in a quad of 00-getter with matching date codes. I have a lot of xf2 tubes, both the 60's 00-getter types and the 69-73 0-getter types so I can form reasonably matched quads with both date codes and test results. Yeah, it takes a lot of tubes to do this, but I had a lot of time to build up a collection while waiting for the BHSE (I'm not complaining, Justin, the wait and cost was well worth it!) and while using the ES-1 in the meantime.

Oh, the HE90 with the xf2 seems slightly brighter than the DD-getter type or the metal base type. I find that I like the combination of clarity, sharpness and detail with refinement, smoothness and liquidity. The better tubes seem to do this and make the lesser tubes sound comparatively flat and lacking liveliness.

Do those caps short signal to ground? If so it might not be so great to use them on the RCA loop outs. At a minimum I'd check with Justin.

I checked with the manufacturer, those caps do not short the signal to ground.

I have another set of Acoustic Revive RCA outlet plugs that do short the signal to ground by design, they're larger and have a center plug and are supposed to be for preamp outputs. I'm not using these with the BHSE.

[catscratch]

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.

That's basically the effect of Fletcher-Munson curves. The O2 doesn't have any treble emphasis whatsoever so it doesn't really sound flat until you hit the higher volume levels, whereas brighter headphones with more treble emphasis sound flat at lower volumes but start to sound bright and glaring as you crank the volume up.

I'd be willing to bet that some of the O2 vs [brighter headphone] preference has a lot to do with listening level. I do listen pretty loudly, not loud enough to be rock concert levels by a long mile (I can't even go to most concerts without earplugs) and not enough to risk noise-induced hearing loss but certainly not background listening levels either. The O2's dynamic and tactile presentation and awesome bass generally egg you on to crank it up more, too.

Glad to see the BH working out for you and also nice to see that you finally see what we're on about in the Mk1 vs Mk2 debate. I am so tempted by the BHSE it's not even funny but I do need the money for other things unfortunately.

[Elephas]

I think I listen at fairly low volume. I'm usually around the 9 o'clock area of the volume knob with most amps.

The BHSE volume control is a bit weird. It starts at 7 o'clock (the markings correspond exactly to the clock face), but there's no sound until after 8:30 with the headphones I've tried. So my range is usually between 9:00 and 10:00, 10:30 is quite loud for me already and there's no way I'll ever get close to 12:00.

nice to see that you finally see what we're on about in the Mk1 vs Mk2 debate

Oh, no, you don't, I mean I don't, that was in simulated "Spritzer Mode"!

I say the Mk1 and Mk2 sound quite similar, they're closer to each other than any other two headphones, including the HD650 and HD600! It's not a big difference!

[Elephas]

Actually, I had already preferred the Mk1 over the Mk2 using the ES-1 during the past few months. The Mk1 already seemed a bit better balanced and more accurate and neutral, though it could also sometimes seem a bit sleepy. The Mk2 could be more engaging or fun with some music, especially lower quality pop, but its stronger mid-bass could also seem excessive and too dominant. With the BHSE, the difference between the two is magnified. The Mk1 is "woken up" even more, and in comparison the Mk2's more forward midrange and greater mid-bass seems even more out of balance. Still, the Mk2 is far from a horrible headphone. If one thinks so badly of the Mk2 in favor of the Mk1, I wonder how he would think of the SR-Omega, Jade, HE90, HE60 or others such as the K1000, which are even more different from the Mk1 than the Mk2 and have a whole series of other differences and "failings" compared to the Mk1.

One of the things I've wondered about the O2 (both versions) is the way Stax sells and markets it with their own amps, the 007t, 007tII, 717 and 727. Sennheiser can get away with just an HD800 launch. But being electrostatic and endowed with a 5-pin plug, Stax obviously has to market amps along with the O2. That's what's in the stores and available for people to demo, a matched set. But to me, the O2 sounds overly dark and laid-back with the 007tII (the one I've had experience with). Assuming that the other Stax amps sound roughly close to each other, this means that it is the sound that Stax is "selling" and promoting. Is that the intended sound? If it is, I don't really like it. It's too dark, sluggish and lacking air, dynamics and vibrancy.

Sure, the O2 sounds better, brighter and more dynamic, less sluggish, when driven by the KGSS, Aristaeus, ES-1 or BHSE. But these aren't the official Stax amps that are in the stores.

The O2 + 007tII sounds good, sure. Refined and recognizably the O2 sound. But isn't it also undeniably darker-sounding than almost every other headphone, including all other Stax headphones? SR-Omega, SR-404, 4070, etc.? It's not neutral-sounding, is it? So why is Stax selling the O2 with those amps? If that's the intended sound, it's too dark. If it is intended, then their concept of neutral-sounding is darker than almost everyone else's, and why are the SR-404, SR-Omega and 4070 so bright then?

I don't even think the O2 + BHSE is neutral-sounding, and it's certainly a brighter combo than the 007tII. With the BHSE, the O2 is lively-sounding, energetic and not really too overly dark. But I think it's slightly to the dark side of neutral.

[Elephas]

These are the EL34 tubes I'm currently using, I've been saving them for the BHSE.

Here's a screenshot from the Guide to EL34 PDF by Pasquale Russo that I bought off eBay.

[Icarium]

Sexy that has to be rare as fuck.

[Elephas]

Yeah, the metal base tubes look very nice. They're rare for sure, and be careful buying them.

But the supposedly NOS set I've been saving that test very strong, the strongest of all my EL34 types, were a disappointment with the O2mk1. Sigh.

I'm pretty sure that they are darker than the xf2 00-getter, 1965. I also think they're smoother and more refined, but they just don't seem to sound that great with the O2mk1.

The xf2 00-getter version seems to be a better match. I would recommend O2 owners to try them before going after some rarer types.

[boomana]

Got my tracking number today, and expect my bhse on Wed.

[drp]

Deep green with envy. You must be so stoked.

[Deadneddz]

oooooo, Team Blue Hawaii SE is slowly forming.

[morphsci]

Got my tracking number today, and expect my bhse on Wed.

[guzziguy]

Got my tracking number today, and expect my bhse on Wed.

Yay! Guess who is calling in sick this week?

[boomana]

I'm off work on Wed. and Thurs. That's plenty of time to catch a cold for Friday.

[Happy Camper]

:dance::ian::dance:

[penger]

I'm off work on Wed. and Thurs. That's plenty of time to catch a cold for Friday.

Now that's a good plan.

[The Monkey]

Send it back, Vicki, and have a special JH13 jack installed.

[penger]

Ninja a pico slim in!

[Elephas]

OK, now hopefully there will be more people to talk to about the BHSE.

Where's Asr? He just dropped in and spewed some questions and now it appears he's run off to enjoy listening and left us all hanging.

I built up some courage today and bumped up the volume knob. I'm at 10:30 with the O2mk1. I was at 11:00 for a while but it became too much and I had to back off.

I think it's important for us to be aware of listening volumes and protect our hearing. I usually listen at low volume, low enough to be able to conduct a conversation with someone while the music is playing.

But the O2mk1 + BHSE sounds much better at higher volume. There's an incredible sense of body and substance in the sound. It's the closest I've ever experienced with a headphone to feeling that there's an actual person singing in front of me, I only have to reach out and touch her. At this higher volume, I think it's safe to say that the O2mk1 + BHSE provides as close to a visceral experience with the music as is possible with headphones. The BHSE is an amazing amp. The O2mk1 is likewise an amazing headphone, I just didn't know it until now.

[Sherwood]

[raffy]

Congrats Vicki! Perhaps it's time for a So Fla mini-meet?

[spritzer]

Well said my friend.

11-12 o'clock from a balanced output (4V) seems to be about right. I'm using the T2 at roughly 12 o'clock from the APL's 2V SE output.

[Icarium]

OK, now hopefully there will be more people to talk to about the BHSE.

Where's Asr? He just dropped in and spewed some questions and now it appears he's run off to enjoy listening and left us all hanging.

I built up some courage today and bumped up the volume knob. I'm at 10:30 with the O2mk1. I was at 11:00 for a while but it became too much and I had to back off.

I think it's important for us to be aware of listening volumes and protect our hearing. I usually listen at low volume, low enough to be able to conduct a conversation with someone while the music is playing.

But the O2mk1 + BHSE sounds much better at higher volume. There's an incredible sense of body and substance in the sound. It's the closest I've ever experienced with a headphone to feeling that there's an actual person singing in front of me, I only have to reach out and touch her. At this higher volume, I think it's safe to say that the O2mk1 + BHSE provides as close to a visceral experience with the music as is possible with headphones. The BHSE is an amazing amp. The O2mk1 is likewise an amazing headphone, I just didn't know it until now.

I dont think he's really spent quality time with it yet.. its been floating around forever in limbo.