spritzer Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 That ranking system is way off... I'm crazy but not that crazy. ...and to prove my last point, some internal pics of the Jade. Taking them apart is a pain but mostly just removing the screws which hold the housings to the forks. Those that have opened up a HE60 know exactly what I mean. The drivers are quite well designed and very robust. That dust cover has to go but other then that the drivers are great. I put those markings on the drivers if anybody has to open the phones up at a later date. As can be seen, the pads are a mess. They are held down by some liquid glue which is applied with no care what so ever so it gets everywhere. Due to the design it would be hard to use double sided tape but some metal spring would work perfectly. Here are the drivers back in the housing and after I added some blutak to seal the baffle. There is really nothing to stop the baffle leaking so this could help but I haven't done any comparisons yet. Finally they are back together. I'm far from done so I have to find some way of attaching the headband temporarily as the screws get old real fast.
deepak Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Now onto the sound. Simply dropping them into my computer rig instead of the SR-Omega/007 is quite a cultural shock. The soundstage is far too wide, so much so that is messes with the stereo image. This makes the soundstage very 2D and they have no depth to speak of. They are certainly forward and just a tiny bit aggressive in the top midrange but I'll have to spend more time with them to know if some etch is hiding behind it. The midrange is ok but nothing spectacular. The bass is very much like the He90, all show and no go. It lacks the presence, depth, control and texture of even the SR-Omega let alone the younger brother, even the ESP950 has cleaner bass from memory. The bass goes deep and can be impressive at times but it is slow and sloppy, pointing to the chassis not being able to soak up all the extra energy. There are also some strange things going on with the lower midrange/upper bass, some suck out which makes them appear a bit thin in places. Now these are just first impressions after a few hours out of the box (they aren't new though) so they might change. They are pretty common but sought after on the headphone forums fetching about 250-300$. Well worth it though. That was my impression as well regarding the depth. They sound like everything is in a flat plane instead of the 3D image the SR-007 MK1 projects. It's not a deal killer with studio recordings, but for minimally miced jazz and symphonies I really couldn't stand it.
faust3d Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Lots of glue all over the place I see. How are the drivers secured to the housing?
Duggeh Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Right now I'm sitting here with a Jade on my head. The build quality is quite horrible to say the least and the pads are way too stiff to serve their purpose and should really be tapered. The cable is far too stiff and has to go which is something I will be doing. They really look like a 20 year old used Lambda covered in small nicks and scrapes except they are new and everything is just stuck together with some glue. Now onto the sound. Simply dropping them into my computer rig instead of the SR-Omega/007 is quite a cultural shock. The soundstage is far too wide, so much so that is messes with the stereo image. This makes the soundstage very 2D and they have no depth to speak of. They are certainly forward and just a tiny bit aggressive in the top midrange but I'll have to spend more time with them to know if some etch is hiding behind it. The midrange is ok but nothing spectacular. The bass is very much like the He90, all show and no go. It lacks the presence, depth, control and texture of even the SR-Omega let alone the younger brother, even the ESP950 has cleaner bass from memory. The bass goes deep and can be impressive at times but it is slow and sloppy, pointing to the chassis not being able to soak up all the extra energy. There are also some strange things going on with the lower midrange/upper bass, some suck out which makes them appear a bit thin in places. Now these are just first impressions after a few hours out of the box (they aren't new though) so they might change. Ach this is all rubbish we know. After a couple of days exclusive time you'll come back and say that the O2 is all congested and dull with no whack in the low end This wil all look tame compared to your hands on with the TakeT though I bet. I'm always ruthless as I don't like compromises. They do have their moments though and I have to see what I can do to help them along. One things for sure, those dust covers will have to go as the holes are much larger then the ones used by Stax. You can stay tuned for some exploratory pictures in the next few days... Therein lies your curse old boy. You should envy those of us who love headphones for or in spite of their compromises. BHSE pic update...almost there... -piqchoors- laser engraving then it gets sent to KG for some kind of blessing ceremony and then its ready Dude. Kuscht. Hehe, yeah, I think "seriously fucked up" is a bit of an exaggeration for the O2Mk2. But that's just Spritzer being Spritzer. If you know where he's coming from, the things he says makes its own kind of sense and can be of some value. I think of something like this, on a scale from 1 to 100, 100 being most preferred: 100...O2Mk1 9.......O2Mk2 7.......SR-Omega 5.......4070, SR-SC1, Lambda Sig, other Stax, HE90, maybe Jade is here 4.......Lambda Pro, HE60 3.......SR-003 2.......R10, Qualia, L3000, K1000, HP-2, other "top" dynamics (HD800 probably here too) 1.......Most dynamics 0.1....Most Ultrasone (which I kinda agree, but wouldn't rank so low) 0.004...Bose TriPort Sad but true, wait though, has our stat dude heard all those dynamics? Not that I'd expect an HD800 or L3000 to change his mind of course.
spritzer Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Lots of glue all over the place I see. How are the drivers secured to the housing? 6 wood screws and there is nothing to to seal the baffle or dampen vibrations.
faust3d Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 6 wood screws and there is nothing to to seal the baffle or dampen vibrations. Interesting, is this similar to how HE90 looks inside?
spritzer Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Interesting, is this similar to how HE90 looks inside? There are some similarities but the HE90 has a solid baffle which the driver is attached to which is in turn attached to the wooden back. It's quite clear that the HE90 is the blueprint for the design but there are some interesting twists such as the housing is angled and so are the pads. Not nearly enough but it helps create that flat soundstage.
n_maher Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 BHSE pic update...almost there... laser engraving then it gets sent to KG for some kind of blessing ceremony and then its ready A) How did I miss this earlier?!?! Holy shit Justin, that looks outstanding. Where is Dusty with a black comment? I'm guessing he passed out in ecstasy after seeing the pictures.
Voltron Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Holy snot, does "kuscht" mean something good, duggeh, because that is a whole lot of kuscht if it does. Now I fucking want one! No way Dusty could survive seeing the utter blackness of it all.
Duggeh Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Aye kuscht is kuschta, is kuschty, is sound, is well blat mon, biggitup yo. I is down wif da street slang ye?
Dusty Chalk Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Where is Dusty with a black comment? I'm guessing he passed out in ecstasy after seeing the pictures.I was viewing the pics at home -- I actually thought there was something wrong with my monitor. Now that I'm seeing it at work (monitor is set brighter)...mmm...there's...uh..."lots of glue all over the place"...which is quite embarassing, because there are other people here at work...and I can't wait for the laser engraving, I'm a big fan of laser engraving...I got a HP LightScribe just because I like the way it looks...
HeadphoneAddict Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 My Jade come from the mid January batch, not the older batch with the different coating. Were Elephas's from the Nov or Dec batch? So far my only complaint is shallow soundstage depth.
Smeggy Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 I think Dusty was just busy for a little while *cleaning up* if you know what I mean... Very nice Justin, aside from the heatsinks. I know they're functional, but eeh. It really deserves something moar seksy looking.
n_maher Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Very nice Justin, aside from the heatsinks. I know they're functional, but eeh. It really deserves something moar seksy looking.Are you fracken kidding me? Those heatsinks are teh sechs.
Voltron Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Are you fracken kidding me? Those heatsinks are teh sechs. x2
Duggeh Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 You can't make heatsinks in the shape of Jessica Alba anyway.
Asr Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 OMG, I'm in love with the BHSE. I can't stop drooling. And who needs laser engraving with the HeadAmp aesthetic, it looks pure awesome as-is!
Hopstretch Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 OMG, I'm in love with the BHSE. I can't stop drooling. And who needs laser engraving with the HeadAmp aesthetic, it looks pure awesome as-is! You're still not getting a discount, kiss-ass.
Asr Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 I do it only because Justin is full of win!
Dusty Chalk Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Are you fracken kidding me? Those heatsinks are teh sechs.QFT
spritzer Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 That BHSE is the sechs but I need some silver in my life. My Jade come from the mid January batch, not the older batch with the different coating. Were Elephas's from the Nov or Dec batch? So far my only complaint is shallow soundstage depth. I'm not sure when he got them but you can check in the HF thread. I haven't had much time with them today but I believe I managed to tame the bass somewhat with the new cable and sealing the baffle. When I get some suitable glue for the earpads I'll know more.
guzziguy Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 That BHSE is the sechs but I need some silver in my life. I'm sure that you'll be able to get the A-10 in silver.
HeadphoneAddict Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 BHSE pic update...almost there... laser engraving then it gets sent to KG for some kind of blessing ceremony and then its ready So, if I return the Jade and cancel the HD800 I can pay for half of one? Sob...
mypasswordis Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 If the LEDs were red, it'd be Darth Vader's amplifier of choice. Sick. Meanwhile, removing the center pin in a WPI plug is a real bitch. I just attempted, and succeeded, for the most part.
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