Qualia 010 = OMG!

[fierce_freak]

What are the Qualia going for these days? 2500+?

[darkless]

What are the Qualia going for these days? 2500+?

Yeah, but I've heard people ask $3000+ for mint pairs.

[hirsch]

The need for an exactly correct fit on the Qualia has been noted, and most sonic aberrations of the headphone are due to the need for such a precise fit. However, the cable is also part of the issue, and, IMO, the stock Qualia cable is not that great. I'm now using a balanced silver cable I got from Headphile and terminated myself, and the Qualia is sounding good. If the amp is up to it, the Qualia is every bit as fast as an electrostatic can.

If you're looking for "neutral" in its truest sense, the Qualia is probably the best there is in that regard, once you get past fit and cabling issues. This is a very different sonic signature than the R10, which has a distinct sound that's part of the experience it presents.

The sound of the Qualia 010 has no relationship to the sound of the Sony SA5000, which, IMO, is a POS, particularly relative to the CD3000 which was discontinued to make way for it.

[Elephas]

Thanks guys, but I think full credit should go to darkless, who gave me the opportunity to hear the Qualia's incredible sound.

I love darkless, every time I listen to the Qualia I feel like sending him gifts, money, a Stax or another L3000 or maybe a NOS W11JPN perhaps...

Zip ]

Looks great Elephas! I hope you are really enjoying them. The 010 are really something special.

Alex, I'm thinking of ordering, no, I want, no, I really need, a balanced V3 Qualia cable. I hope your cable is better than hirsch's.

I found a pair of XLR-male plugs that might be even better than the Furutechs. I'll send them to you to try out.

[APureSound]

Alex, I'm thinking of ordering, no, I want, no, I really need, a balanced V3 Qualia cable. I hope your cable is better than hirsch's.

I found a pair of XLR-male plugs that might be even better than the Furutechs. I'll send them to you to try out.

I will definitely have something ready for you soon. Icarium loves the one I made for him with Furutech Rhodium XLR connectors.

I am interested in what XLR connectors you have found that may be better then the Furutech's. Drop me an email with a picture I would be really interested to see!

-Alex-

[philodox]

Are these secret XLRs? Can't we all see?

[Icarium]

I only have 3 pairs sadly Had to part with a red pair to acquire a blue!

Darkless with your close relationship with Mikhail you should have gone for the adjustable headband (Carbon fiber siding instead of aluminum though)!

You can of course borrow one at some point JP.

As for pricing I paid 3.1k for the blue pair and sold my red pair for 2.7k unboxed with that weird modded stock cable a shorted out Black Dragon single ended and a blue dragon balanced (My original pair I got from the taiwan guy with the rudistor). I was told the blue pair I bought had offers of 3.3k and people willing to bid it up higher but the seller went with me since I lived 5 minutes from him and the transaction was less painful for him (Guy is in love with the sds-xlr and hd650 combo and the hd650's ability to scale which admittedly the Qualia by far bows to the hd6X0/k1k in).

Personally I think the sure thing price on Qualias is probably 3.5k at the moment... and if that pair I had (8/10) had the rest of the accessories/boxes/papers I would have wanted 3k and gotten it. Though I wouldn't have sold if I could afford to just chill with 4 Qualias. I plan to someday at least have 4. And I think that valuation makes sense. It's 2x as limited (~250 pairs) than the L3K and imo a clearly superior headphone unless you are very into the L3K sound and can't get a good fit.

Meh if people disagree and are willing to sell me pairs at ~2.5k or less though I will not argue price/value with you and just take you up on that no questions asked ;p

[Elephas]

Three Qualias? I didn't know that, but I knew Icarium was completely bonkers. I am too, but I tell myself it's to a lesser extent.

Darkless has a close relationship with Mikhail? If he can make Mikhail work any faster I'll collapse from the weight of too much love.

I think pricing for the Qualia is especially tricky since it is so rarely for sale. It seems that there are more transactions of the HE90, L3000 and R10. This is why I especially appreciate darkless' sale to me, instead of putting it up on eBay or an IC on Head-Fi.

[socrates63]

Congrats, Elephas. I wish you lived in Seattle... well, maybe not. I don't need more temptation to buy rare high-end cans.

Just curious, have you attended headphone meets in Taiwan?

[Elephas]

There aren't many meets here, about once a year on average. The venues are usually not ideal and the gear limited in variety compared to US meets.

There's one upcoming in January that I'm not planning to attend, but will probably loan some gear out.

[darkless]

Special relationship to Mikhail? I wish! Then maybe he would actually have shipped my amp by now. I bug him often, but that certainly doesn't get me any special treatment.

[Elephas]

Haha, looks like we're in the same boat waiting for Mikhail.

Here's a photo of the XLR connectors I found. They are made by Telos Audio and are copper with gold-plating.

[grawk]

Haha, looks like we're in the same boat waiting for Mikhail.

Here's a photo of the XLR connectors I found. They are made by Telos Audio and are copper with gold-plating.

Those certainly are blingy!

[deepak]

Replace blingy with gaudy and I agree.

[grawk]

Replace blingy with gaudy and I agree.

synonym ftw

[deepak]

synonym ftw

Ah I see, should have known you didn't mean it in a good way

[philodox]

Hmmm, If they were silver plated, they'd be perfect for Alex's cables... as is, I'm with Grawk. BLING-Y

[APureSound]

Haha, looks like we're in the same boat waiting for Mikhail.

Here's a photo of the XLR connectors I found. They are made by Telos Audio and are copper with gold-plating.

I wouldn't think those are better then the Furutech connectors, but I will see once they come in. Also, I replied to your email.

-Alex-

[spritzer]

If you want the best and are willing to pay for it look here. They can make the connectors with silver pins if you have the cash.

[Icarium]

Wow that is pretty blingy. I don't know about 4 figures for connectors. I love the aesthetic of the furutechs really understated retro elegance. I will stick with those

[spritzer]

Wow that is pretty blingy. I don't know about 4 figures for connectors. I love the aesthetic of the furutechs really understated retro elegance. I will stick with those

Wuss... I like the Furutech products a lot but since I'm going SE only in the future WBT Silvers it is.

[purk]

Personally I think the sure thing price on Qualias is probably 3.5k at the moment... and if that pair I had (8/10) had the rest of the accessories/boxes/papers I would have wanted 3k and gotten it. Though I wouldn't have sold if I could afford to just chill with 4 Qualias. I plan to someday at least have 4. And I think that valuation makes sense. It's 2x as limited (~250 pairs) than the L3K and imo a clearly superior headphone unless you are very into the L3K sound and can't get a good fit.

Meh if people disagree and are willing to sell me pairs at ~2.5k or less though I will not argue price/value with you and just take you up on that no questions asked ;p

The only thing that prevent the price of the Qualia to go any higher is their fit. Not everyone is as lucky as the Elephas and Icarium. Plus the SP headband isn't cheap and the SP headband changes the look of the Qualia. IMO, I prefer the look of the stock Qualia. When I finally found a perfect position on Mulveling's Qualia, the sounds was incredible and almost as special as my R10. Of course, I can see why Icarium prefers the Qualia over the R10s.

[fierce_freak]

At the DC area meet last July, there were a couple of pairs of Qualia there. One of the pairs felt like it fit perfectly...wish I'd checked to see which size it was. Not that I'll ever be able to afford or find a pair

[Dusty Chalk]

Those certainly are blingy!

By themselves, as in the pic, I agree, but I suspect the effect would be more subdued in the context of the cables. Imagine them on an otherwise all-black cable, for instance, I suspect that would look pretty hot.

[grawk]

By themselves, as in the pic, I agree, but I suspect the effect would be more subdued in the context of the cables. Imagine them on an otherwise all-black cable, for instance, I suspect that would look pretty hot.

Hot like a black escalade with gold spinnerz