Party in Tampa - Nov 15th.

[Dominatrice]

[spritzer]

The cups are just about the same size, maybe a few millimeters difference. The drivers also appear to be the same size.

I wish I had a pair of HE90's to compare to the Jades. I'm not saying they sound the same but they are a lot closer than the O2 is (not that the O2 was meant to sound like the HE90). As good as the O2 is with the right amp, to my ears there Jade are just plain better. First, as PJ mentioned, in terms of comfort, the Jade wins, end of story. The soundstage/imaging/airiness of the Jade is better than the O2. Speakers are my first choice most times and as such soundstage, etc. is important. They extend well in both directions. The bass is deep and controlled. It produces detail that is almost palpable. The Jade impresses me now as the first version did in MOA. The BH just makes them sing. This pair has about 8 or 9 hours on them at the moment so hopefully this will continue and improve over the next week or so.

Seems like I forgot to replay this morning but thanks a lot for the writeup Mike. I'm not a fan of the He90 but if Mr. He managed to fix what I didn't like and build on its strengths then the Jade would be a very good headphone and offer an alternative to the SR-007. I must admit that I'd like a bigger soundstage sometimes which is why I use the SR-Omega/SR-007 hybrid so much, all the precision of the SR-007 but with a slightly more forgiving soundstage and woolly bass.

Btw. Have you tried any other tubes in the BH besides the Electro Harmonix?

[boomana]

Spritzer, I'm guessing Mike hasn't had time to try out tubes since he's only had the BH for a few days.

I, too, liked the Jade, which I think would be a nice complement to the O2s. I didn't really do any critical listening, only enough to confirm I didn't much like the 4070s and HE60s, and preferred the Jade to them, but still preferred the O2 to all.

Edited November 17, 2008 by boomana
left out the most important part :-)

[flecom]

I didn't much like the 4070s and HE60s

i like my HE60's *sniff*

lol j/k

at least i think you approve of my dynamight still lol

[boomana]

i like my HE60's *sniff*

lol j/k

at least i think you approve of my dynamight still lol

Your dynamight proves that the K701s are really good headphones. Most other amps prove that they suck.

Nice to see you over here, Frank. Hopefully, you'll stick around.

[crappyjones123]

if anyone finds a red mini-rca cable in their gear, please pm me and i will pay the shipping back to florida. hopefully it didnt get too far west with al it was one nate built for me, so id rather get it back instead of just get a ****ty one temporarily. it has neutrik jacks and does not have any kind of tubing on it. just red wire woven in braid.

[n_maher]

if anyone finds a red mini-rca cable in their gear, please pm me and i will pay the shipping back to florida. hopefully it didnt get too far west with al it was one nate built for me, so id rather get it back instead of just get a ****ty one temporarily. it has neutrik jacks and does not have any kind of tubing on it. just red wire woven in braid.

Don't fret if it got lost, stolen or otherwise. It can be replaced. And in case it helps, this is what it looks like.

[tyrion]

Oh, that cable ^^^.................haven't seen it.

[crappyjones123]

thanks for the help nate. i feel like an

[Dominatrice]

i remember seeing the adapter on the cart with the stuff, i think i stuck it in the crate, but i guess i was wrong....

[morphsci]

Looks like another great Florida meet. I really need to retire so work does not constantly get in the way of making it to meets.

Thanks for the pictures, you had some nice gear show up. Who owns the Denon TT? I love the older Denons.

[grawk]

that's matt's

[morphsci]

Well then, Matt certainly has good taste in turntables

[catscratch]

I must admit that I'm most tempted to open it up and see if I can give Mr. He any feedback.

Dew Eet!!! Seriously, I'd love to hear your impressions of these phones, though I'm guessing Icelandic customs aren't quite as forgiving when it comes to shipping stuff back and forth on 30-day return policies?

I'd do it myself but I'm way too broke right now to chase a new $1500 headphone. It will have to wait a few months at least. In any case, I'm going to wait until the FOTM blows over and some real critical reports come in.

As for the sub 1k$ amp, you can't really go wrong with the SRM-717. I didn't really care for it when I had the BH (didn't really give it a chance) but I've grown quite fond of it in the recent months. It has enough power to hint at the SR-007's greatness and yet imposes very little on the sound.

Yah, I've gotten to like the little 717 (well not so little actually) quite a bit too. I never thought that I'd like a solid-state amp this much, but the 717 has none of the characteristics that I usually hate about solid-state amps. It's slightly warm, pretty fluid, very detailed, very clear, has a nicely saturated tone color, and has a massive wide-open soundstage. It's very subtly colored in a tubish way but is still a very transparent and detailed piece of kit. Now if it only had more balls, I'd be all set, but unfortunately, no cigar. It's powerful enough to wake the 007 up but not powerful enough to give the bass some real cajones.

[ingwe]

Looks like it's a good thing I didn't come, or I would've ended up giving everybody an STD.

FIFY

[flecom]

The cups are just about the same size, maybe a few millimeters difference. The drivers also appear to be the same size.

I wish I had a pair of HE90's to compare to the Jades. I'm not saying they sound the same but they are a lot closer than the O2 is (not that the O2 was meant to sound like the HE90). As good as the O2 is with the right amp, to my ears there Jade are just plain better. First, as PJ mentioned, in terms of comfort, the Jade wins, end of story. The soundstage/imaging/airiness of the Jade is better than the O2. Speakers are my first choice most times and as such soundstage, etc. is important. They extend well in both directions. The bass is deep and controlled. It produces detail that is almost palpable. The Jade impresses me now as the first version did in MOA. The BH just makes them sing. This pair has about 8 or 9 hours on them at the moment so hopefully this will continue and improve over the next week or so.

i would just like to add...

tireiron, i hate you... i was so happy with my headphone collection... SO HAPPY

then i asked, hey, wtf are those?

*points at jades*

and you tell me, i thought you might be interested in these...

WHY?! why didnt you lie to me and tell me "they are crap stay away!"

i dont have $1500 lol (which ironically is $100 less than i paid for my HE60's >_< doh lol)

argh!!! :palm::palm:

that being said, i really enjoyed the jades... they sounded really nice out of tyrions KGSS and even out of my lesser Stax SRM-1/MK-2 lol

they do NOT sound like HE-90's to me... (which to me is a good thing, i think the he-90's had too much of their own sound and were not true to the music... dont get me wrong, they are excellent headphones, but not my thing)

the jades sound more like HE-60's but with significantly more bass extension and quantity, giving them a hyper-detailed balanced sound... truly excellent sounding headphones IMHO

i know i could just sell some headphones, but all i ever hear at the meets is "oh i owned xyz headphone, sold it, biggest mistake i ever made" but I cant justify owning 8 pairs of headphones LOL

additionally at that point i think the value of all my headphones would exceed the value of my vehicle or pretty much anything else i own

[spritzer]

Dew Eet!!! Seriously, I'd love to hear your impressions of these phones, though I'm guessing Icelandic customs aren't quite as forgiving when it comes to shipping stuff back and forth on 30-day return policies?

I'd do it myself but I'm way too broke right now to chase a new $1500 headphone. It will have to wait a few months at least. In any case, I'm going to wait until the FOTM blows over and some real critical reports come in.

Since Iceland has been officially bailed out of the financial crises I'll be able to continue buying stuff from abroad which will include the Jade. The whole customs deal will be a problem though. In theory I should be able to get a refund but it can take months and be a lot of trouble.

The FOTM is definitely strong with this one and we will see a lot of "reviews" from owners with no clear point of reference to the other ESP's in the same price range. I do have an inkling that my impressions may clash with those of other owners based on my hyper critical nature. \

Yah, I've gotten to like the little 717 (well not so little actually) quite a bit too. I never thought that I'd like a solid-state amp this much, but the 717 has none of the characteristics that I usually hate about solid-state amps. It's slightly warm, pretty fluid, very detailed, very clear, has a nicely saturated tone color, and has a massive wide-open soundstage. It's very subtly colored in a tubish way but is still a very transparent and detailed piece of kit. Now if it only had more balls, I'd be all set, but unfortunately, no cigar. It's powerful enough to wake the 007 up but not powerful enough to give the bass some real cajones.

The lack of bass is really my only complain and I compensate for it by using the SR-Ω and SR-Ω/007 hybrid since their bass is a bit looser.

Oh and the 717 is far from small. It's a huge brute compared to the SRA-3S.