Stax SR-009: suggestions to tone down the brightness? - Page 3

Instead of spending thousands of dollars on tube amps in an attempt to make the sound signature darker (by rolling off the highs), you should resort to EQ. That's what a person with a brain would do, I think. 

Here http://www.kvraudio.com/product/electri_q_posihfopit_edition_by_aixcoustic_creations is a link to resolve your problem. It is a simple solution and there is plenty of information about it on this forum if you do a search. It is a far better solution than spending a fortune in cables and going crazy matching components. I use it with some of my gear.

With posihfopit you can very easily equalize your audio material, but furthermore the plugin will add a new color to the sound. Due to its unique transistor based algorithm, a small amount of soft distortion is applied according to the filter band used. This way your material gets kind of "creamier".

 

Well if thats what you want all well and good but why would you want to add distortion?

 

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Originally Posted by Chodi 

Here http://www.kvraudio.com/product/electri_q_posihfopit_edition_by_aixcoustic_creations is a link to resolve your problem. It is a simple solution and there is plenty of information about it on this forum if you do a search. It is a far better solution than spending a fortune in cables and going crazy matching components. I use it with some of my gear.

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Originally Posted by complin 

With posihfopit you can very easily equalize your audio material, but furthermore the plugin will add a new color to the sound. Due to its unique transistor based algorithm, a small amount of soft distortion is applied according to the filter band used. This way your material gets kind of "creamier".

It does not add anything if you set it to digital. It only adds that if you want and if you set it to analog. I have a/b it in the digital mode and I can hear no change when it is set to flat. It is a good parametric equalizer. It is designed to add coloration only if you want. Lots of people on this forum use it and there are many threads and comments you can search for on this forum. You can buy a paid version with more features but I never required that.

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Originally Posted by Sahara 

In my opinion the greater upsamplig means higher resolution, but the sensation of artificial sound and excess of brightness is patent. With these conditions if we add a resolutive headphnes, perhaps the sensation is not satisfactory.

I think that NOS DAC which there is no upsamplig the sound is not as refined, but it is more natural and balanced, then brightness is not so patent.

 

I had the Cary CDP 303/300 for near two years and I,ve tried all possible tube & solid state upsamplig/downsamplig configurations with it. After that I decided the most natural sound was associated to non up&oversamplig and bought the AN.

 

If SR-009 is so neutral as people say I think the most important is to get our "sound aesthetic" from the associated system.

 

Cheers

 

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Originally Posted by Clarkmc2 

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Originally Posted by spritzer 

Not more power but rather better voltage specs.  That is an amp rewired for 6S4A's which can handle more power but more importantly, can take far more voltage.  No more compression at higher levels and the amp doesn't sound like a garbled mess. 

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Originally Posted by Currawong 

Sounds interesting. I've decided that, in the end, I don't like any of the sets of 6FQ7s I have here, so if I could find a 007t that could be modded, the idea would be tempting. Is there anything else required beyond the wiring in the picture?

That is my SRM-007tII Spritzer modified. I have the SZ3s, which I actually like (perhaps my old man hearing), but they are good enough to say this about the mod. DO IT! Spritzer characterized the sound as a refined GES sound. I wouldn't know about that, but I can attest that the amp is really good now. It's fixed and it sounds great. The FR is excellent, detail is superb and it has MOAR BALLS in every way. It still reproduces subtleties non Stax listeners can only dream of, but now you can turn it up until your ears bleed and the sound is the same but louder. No audible distortion from the amp.

It's a win- win. Do it.

If it could be done on the original 007t and I could find a multi-voltage one, I'd consider it. Bit scary to do a non-reversible mod on a new amp.

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Originally Posted by Lord Voldemort 

Instead of spending thousands of dollars on tube amps in an attempt to make the sound signature darker (by rolling off the highs), you should resort to EQ. That's what a person with a brain would do, I think. 

First, tube amps don't necessarily "make the sound signature darker". Sure, some do, but many don't change it at all.  NOS DACs have serious roll-off above 10 kHz though. Most of that roll-off isn't very audible.

Second, a person with a brain, I would suggest (if you're going to go down the route of insults which I'm trying to abolish from this forum) would learn as much as they could so they can make an informed decision.  The reason for the "brighter" sound of the 009s has been discussed in Tyll's reviews on Innerfidelity. It isn't just frequency response. 

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Originally Posted by Currawong 

Second, a person with a brain, I would suggest (if you're going to go down the route of insults which I'm trying to abolish from this forum) would learn as much as they could so they can make an informed decision.  

Sorry mate, that sounds like an insult to me.

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Originally Posted by Currawong 

 

 

If it could be done on the original 007t and I could find a multi-voltage one, I'd consider it. Bit scary to do a non-reversible mod on a new amp.

The older 007t's might even be easier to modify due to the more open layout and the simpler setup of the filaments.  The only amps which can't be modified are the 100 or so amps Stax used nos 8CG7's in as they have a heater voltage of 8.4V. 

Keep an eye out on audiogon for a Shunyata Anaconda VX power cord on your digital source (DAC/CDP/Transport, whatever).

I have your combo too (007t/ii and 009) and this did the trick for me. I thought they were just this side of bright too until I did this.

(I always turned to this cord in many circumstances with many cd players, dacs, speakers, headphones, and more over the past 10 years. It's a classic cord for digital.

Also try a warm IC like Cardas Golden Cross.).

There's three options, in order of how I'd probably prefer them:

- get some EQ and find settings that make you happy (it doesn't take much, and it won't make the sound any worse than other hardware that also colors it will);

- get a different headphone;

- spend some time with it to get used to it and find it fine.

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Originally Posted by anetode 

Call me crazy, but an audiophile with an Accuphase front end could probably afford a Rane DEQ-60L to satisfy all their tonality desires.

+1.......I've never understood all this audiophile paranoia about using eq. Every component in your system is equalized at the factory to their own design so what's the big deal in equalizing your own system to your own preference? It is a lot better than spending a fortune on cables and matching gear to arrive at the same point.