Qualia 010 = OMG!

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah baby!!!onesies-twosies!

[Elephas]

Not to take the thread too off-topic, here's a pair of their XLR cables with silver connectors. The silver ones are supposedly better, but standalone connectors aren't available for purchase.

[philodox]

Looks like they still use gold pins.

[grawk]

Looks like they ripped off the natejeans cable design

[purk]

Nice Elephas !! Nice!! Did you check out the R10 cable modified thread on Headfi? Pretty serious looking. The modification cost is $1500. Those jenalabs look kinnda odd with the R10.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f70/fun-modded-sony-r10s-274275/

http://www.jenalabs.com/headphones/sony-r-10.html

[Elephas]

Yes, the pins on the silver connectors are gold.

Yes, I saw the JenaLabs page and sent an email to APureSound to verify that he replaces the entire stock cable.

I'm still planning to send an R10 to Alex for recabling and will also buy a balanced Qualia cable from him.

I believe Head-Fi member "Quint" has an R10 with JenaLabs recable.

[n_maher]

Those jenalabs look kinnda odd with the R10.

Kinda?

[tkam]

They looked retarded with a price to match

[spritzer]

They looked retarded with a price to match

...and there is no reason for the price. It's just stranded copper

[laxx]

I'd get one. Ken Ball approves of it.

[tkam]

...and there is no reason for the price. It's just stranded copper

Yep exactly.

[Duggeh]

...and there is no reason for the price. It's just stranded copper

Stranded copper thats been immersed in a solution containing particles of the magic force which powers Nintendo 64s.

[spritzer]

Stranded copper thats been immersed in a solution containing particles of the magic force which powers Nintendo 64s.

Hmmmm that good hahh? I think I need to get me some...

[Jon L]

Yep exactly.

Well, there is a bit more to Jena Wire, including "6N" copper, use of "unflourinated teflon" dielectric, which they claim is big deal. The whole cryo thing is a personal taste thing.

Having said that, I have a bunch of this Jena wire and have made DIY interconnects and recabled headphones, and basically I don't like it much.

I much prefer the much cheaper Vampire continuous-cast magnet wire from Percy. Solid core and stiff, but a 3-wire braid of this stuff sounds excellent.

[Dusty Chalk]

The problem is, it looks like Monster cable.

[hirsch]

The problem is, it looks like Monster cable.

No, the problem is that imaging is very diffuse (at least using their balanced interconnects). I had a sample here for a couple of weeks, and didn't like the Jena Labs cable (trying to remember the model). Tonally, it's a very warm and luxurious sound, but the longer I listened, the more I missed the focus of my other interconnects. I don't care what an interconnect looks like, but do care what it sounds like.

[spritzer]

Well, there is a bit more to Jena Wire, including "6N" copper, use of "unflourinated teflon" dielectric, which they claim is big deal. The whole cryo thing is a personal taste thing.

Ehhh how the hell can it be unfluorinated since the most common teflon is Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and all forms of teflon are built around flour molecules. The big deal is to be rid of the teflon all together but if it doesn't contain flour it isn't teflon. With the 6N and cryo bullshit they are just luring people in that think bigger is better. Why not use a 4N wire and have longer grain so you don't need to cryo in the first place.

No, the problem is that imaging is very diffuse (at least using their balanced interconnects). I had a sample here for a couple of weeks, and didn't like the Jena Labs cable (trying to remember the model). Tonally, it's a very warm and luxurious sound, but the longer I listened, the more I missed the focus of my other interconnects. I don't care what an interconnect looks like, but do care what it sounds like.

That's the feedback I've got from people who's ears I trust. Extremely warm, mushy sound but some people do like that or rather think they do.

[Jon L]

That's the feedback I've got from people who's ears I trust. Extremely warm, mushy sound but some people do like that or rather think they do.

Hehe, you can imagine my dismay when I rewired my K340 with the Jena Wire. Sounded like I changed my amp to a bad EL34 amp with small-ass PS

[spritzer]

flour? flourine, surely.

Yep you're right. My bad... Still I don't get this teflon nonsense with line level signals. Teflon is a great insulator at 1kV/mil for HV but so is foam rubber and why hasn't somebody tried to make something out of that...

Hehe, you can imagine my dismay when I rewired my K340 with the Jena Wire. Sounded like I changed my amp to a bad EL34 amp with small-ass PS

Damn that must have sucked.

[Icarium]

Ha ha so that's the sound signature of Jena Labs stuff eh? Not very surprising.

[Fing]

Picked up a pair last week and all the stories are true. Fit is crucial, weird tonality, great detail, soundstage/imaging and good with electronica and classical.

They were actually very useful as they helped me debug some issues I was having with my interconnects / output valves on the Crimson. Detail/resolution on these really are amazing.

However, I just couldn't get on with them and decided to give my ears a rest until I can balance them.

Back to my fav until then (HE90 )

[F1GTR]

Out of all the headphones that I have yet to try, which are many, this is the one I still want to try the most. I'm an electronica whore.

Perhaps one day I'll convince myself to sell the PS-1 and begin the hunt for this unicorn.

[mulveling]

Last few times I gave the Qualia a good listen, the Steely Dan Aja vinyl was particularly fantastic on them. Amazing, actually.

It helps listening to the Qualias if you start the day out on them. It's particularly a no-no to start out on something with warm, thick mids (HD650, L3000, R10) and then move to the Qualia. In this way, I've found the ear can somewhat adapt to the "unique" tone, and then you're just left with the fantastic impact/resolution/speed/imaging to enjoy

[mulveling]

Perhaps one day I'll convince myself to sell the PS-1 and begin the hunt for this unicorn.

Do you prefer your unicorns pink or blue?

I really wanted a small blue unicorn, but could only find a medium-sized pink one

[Dusty Chalk]

...sell the PS-1 ...

No. Have you never heard it? Try to find a way at least to hear it first. It's good, and depending on your priorities, perhaps better, but also perhaps not. I know I, for one, prefer the PS-1. I never "got" the Qualia.