[icnaiwhimor1975]

(Yes, my adapter circuit still looks like crap, don't judge lol)

actually looks good
all that remains is to add the shell
and the main thing is
that there are many "life resistors"
that make it safer

maybe I should try lundahl
main issue of all the transformers that I tried - is the mid and high frequencies
they never sounded the same as on solid state - such a kind of roll off, lack of transparency
but I must admit that the transformers I tried had an interesting drive and swing effect

 

[aokman]

actually looks good
all that remains is to add the shell
and the main thing is
that there are many "life resistors"
that make it safer

maybe I should try lundahl
their main issue of all the transformers that I tried - is the mid and high frequencies
they never sounded the same as on solid state - such a kind of roll off, lack of transparency
but I must admit that the transformers I tried had an interesting drive and swing effect

Lundahl LL1630PP is basically dead flat from 20Hz to 30Khz, directly driven with no resistors or compensation, up to about 300Vrms where it hits its 20Hz saturation. 400Vrms+ from 30Hz onwards. There is no roll off, in fact it extends well past an OEM STAX amplifier at higher frequencies.

I have shared charts in the past, the Edcors I have sitting here will be tested soon now I have cleared other projects and can try to tame its frequency response. It doesn't give me the warm fuzzies though as its quite wild like the SRD transformers are without setting up RC / RL networks and etc6849 has been working with the Lundahl LL9202 side of things.

 

[padam]

"Our goal is to develop something even better than the SR-X9000" - I'm pretty confident that they are able do that.

 

[icnaiwhimor1975]

"Our goal is to develop something even better than the SR-X9000" - I'm pretty confident that they are able do that.

they should resume production of omega 1 and sigma, I'm sure there will be demand

 

[SolarCetacean]

The Stax president made a comment of keeping classic designs but updating them for the times. And I think the X9000 is very much a headphone of the times, in the way that the Omega was a product of its time. In the past few years, it seems like "technical" tunings have dominated the high-end market. Think of Audeze's shift from the LCD-4 to the LCD-5. Or of old Hifiman models vs the Susvara. That sort of brighter, ultra-separated, hyper-detailed sound is the current high-end headphone zeitgeist, and that's what the X9000 is. Fortunately for me, I enjoy that sort of technical tuning and I've greatly enjoyed my X9000. But I'm also someone who got into the hobby during the current era of headphones.

I think a rerelease of the Omega would be cool. I recall the main issues were the assembly and reliability of the stators on the Omega and Stax claims to have fixed those issues by using a compression bonding technique in the X9000, so putting a more reliable driver into the Omega's enclosure and using Omega earpads could be interesting. I think it was in the Omega thread that someone measured on a B&K4128 an Omega and an X9000, then the Omega with the X9000 earpads and vice versa, and at least at the graph level, much of the difference comes from the earpads. That doesn't tell us much about the intangibles of the experience, but it's a start.

 

[Chefguru]

The Stax president made a comment of keeping classic designs but updating them for the times. And I think the X9000 is very much a headphone of the times, in the way that the Omega was a product of its time. In the past few years, it seems like "technical" tunings have dominated the high-end market. Think of Audeze's shift from the LCD-4 to the LCD-5. Or of old Hifiman models vs the Susvara. That sort of brighter, ultra-separated, hyper-detailed sound is the current high-end headphone zeitgeist, and that's what the X9000 is. Fortunately for me, I enjoy that sort of technical tuning and I've greatly enjoyed my X9000. But I'm also someone who got into the hobby during the current era of headphones.

I think a rerelease of the Omega would be cool. I recall the main issues were the assembly and reliability of the stators on the Omega and Stax claims to have fixed those issues by using a compression bonding technique in the X9000, so putting a more reliable driver into the Omega's enclosure and using Omega earpads could be interesting. I think it was in the Omega thread that someone measured on a B&K4128 an Omega and an X9000, then the Omega with the X9000 earpads and vice versa, and at least at the graph level, much of the difference comes from the earpads. That doesn't tell us much about the intangibles of the experience, but it's a start.

Redesigning the x9000 with a ring that is straight outward instead of angled might help it retain closer to the sr-omega sound.
There is something weirdly thin/stretched about the x9k that doesn’t happen with the omega and 007 which may also be baffling related.
Based on previous release dates we should anticipate a new flagship around ~2027, but more likely it will be a “s” or “mk2”.

1993 - omega
1998 - 007 mk1
2007 - 007 mk2
2011 - 009
2018 - 009 s
2021 - x9000

The 4070 was released in 2001 so that might explain the big gaps during the early 2000s

 

[gammi]

"Our goal is to develop something even better than the SR-X9000" - I'm pretty confident that they are able do that.

Very interesting, I wonder how many years of development it typically takes them, it's curious they're already starting to develop an SR-X9000 successor. I would have thought that would start later but maybe that process takes many years.

Also he mentioned he wishes to "complete the series" in other words, it seems one or more of the following are coming, SR-X3000/5000/7000.

Redesigning the x9000 with a ring that is straight outward instead of angled might help it retain closer to the sr-omega sound.
There is something weirdly thin/stretched about the x9k that doesn’t happen with the omega and 007 which may also be baffling related.

I was actually just discussing this over in the SR-X9000 thread and I agree. The angled grille is definitely affecting the soundstage of the X9000. I'm also active in the RAAL Immanis thread and the designer had mentioned there how he vents sound out of the front for a crossfeed like effect. Sure enough the grille on the X9000 is angled such that it's open more up front and I suspect this was done for the same reason.

I wonder if people who dislike the X9000 would like it more if they tried it with the grilles removed. Personally I'm in the camp that likes the effect, I've always felt the X9000 has a special ethereal-ness to it, perhaps this is what the people who dislike it are also referring to, just it's not pleasant for them like it is for me.

 

[aokman]

Very interesting, I wonder how many years of development it typically takes them, it's curious they're already starting to develop an SR-X9000 successor. I would have thought that would start later but maybe that process takes many years.

Also he mentioned he wishes to "complete the series" in other words, it seems one or more of the following are coming, SR-X3000/5000/7000.


I was actually just discussing this over in the SR-X9000 thread and I agree. The angled grille is definitely affecting the soundstage of the X9000. I'm also active in the RAAL Immanis thread and the designer had mentioned there how he vents sound out of the front for a crossfeed like effect. Sure enough the grille on the X9000 is angled such that it's open more up front and I suspect this was done for the same reason.

I wonder if people who dislike the X9000 would like it more if they tried it with the grilles removed. Personally I'm in the camp that likes the effect, I've always felt the X9000 has a special ethereal-ness to it, perhaps this is what the people who dislike it are also referring to, just it's not pleasant for them like it is for me.

I personally think they know the market will “tolerate” an even higher end product price wise with the Warwick, Sennheiser and HIFIman flagships and want to go for that.

I personally want them to try and even higher bias like Warwick, not sure if it has anything to it.

 

[Chefguru]

Very interesting, I wonder how many years of development it typically takes them, it's curious they're already starting to develop an SR-X9000 successor. I would have thought that would start later but maybe that process takes many years.

Also he mentioned he wishes to "complete the series" in other words, it seems one or more of the following are coming, SR-X3000/5000/7000.


I was actually just discussing this over in the SR-X9000 thread and I agree. The angled grille is definitely affecting the soundstage of the X9000. I'm also active in the RAAL Immanis thread and the designer had mentioned there how he vents sound out of the front for a crossfeed like effect. Sure enough the grille on the X9000 is angled such that it's open more up front and I suspect this was done for the same reason.

I wonder if people who dislike the X9000 would like it more if they tried it with the grilles removed. Personally I'm in the camp that likes the effect, I've always felt the X9000 has a special ethereal-ness to it, perhaps this is what the people who dislike it are also referring to, just it's not pleasant for them like it is for me.

The original sr-omega grill is straight. It’s also a thicker driver and the pads as mentioned before, have less of a seal. These are probably the biggest factors in differences between them.

007 is more unique because the electrode has no holes which then provides an increases diaphragm vibration area. On really heavy bass songs it can feel like a sub. I think Stax might want to consider playing off this framework for their next omega.

 

[Chefguru]

I personally think they know the market will “tolerate” an even higher end product price wise with the Warwick, Sennheiser and HIFIman flagships and want to go for that..

Having heard/had time with these headphones (SGL, he1, warwick) I can promise you there isn’t anything cost wise going on there that the x9k didn’t already incur from R&D or parts.

Please don’t wish this on us.

 

[gammi]

I personally think they know the market will “tolerate” an even higher end product price wise with the Warwick, Sennheiser and HIFIman flagships and want to go for that.

I personally want them to try and even higher bias like Warwick, not sure if it has anything to it.

Personally I think RAAL Immanis is going to slaughter that market. $9k is more than most $4-6k TOTL models but significantly less than the $30-70k "summit" segment. Yet as someone who recently heard HE-1 and Immanis within 30 minutes of each other, I feel they're comparable in performance. It works well on cheap amps too since it's so efficient, I was listening to it on a $400 Schiit Jotunheim R.

So basically if STAX is going to go for that market, they better keep it near $10k (or $15k if it's a whole package) or I think it's gonna struggle. Of course there will always be some people with bottomless pockets that don't test or read and just cut a check for whatever is most expensive thinking it's best, they'll get some sales there.

 

[padam]

Very interesting, I wonder how many years of development it typically takes them, it's curious they're already starting to develop an SR-X9000 successor. I would have thought that would start later but maybe that process takes many years.

I'm quite sure it would be a tweaked model, like the SR-009S coming out 7 years after the SR-009.
They can do a lot just with different diaphragm material, thickness, diaphragm-stator spacing, etc.

 

[etc6849]

If they do come out with a Stax X9000 successor, used prices will go down a bunch. This will be great for anyone looking to try the X9000. I'll never sell my X9000 that I bought new, because if I did, I'd lose too much on them Plus, no way am I buying another new flagship when the X9000's sound so fantastic to me. Seems like a money grab to me, but of course I'd love to see what they come up with.

I love the used SR-009 I bought for $1650 too. I bought it from the original owner. He hardly used it and had all the packaging; even came with the invoice and he paid a bunch more for it.

I also bought my L700mkII used, and they are awesome for $900 too, but the best overall value has to go to the used SR 009 though.

 

[SolarCetacean]

Even now, used X9000 prices have dropped quite a bit. A year ago, you could still sell a used one for over $5000, but these days you have to be under $4500 to get a quick sale. I think there are 3 X9000s in the classifieds right now in the upper $4K range and they've all been there for a while. I suppose I'm contributing to the issue; two of those listings had been up for several months when I bought mine, but I chose to buy new (with a negotiated discount) from a local dealer. Now, that dealer was where I demoed the X9K extensively prior to purchase, so I think they earned that sale.

A friend of mine, who really enjoyed the L700mk2 (more than the X9000), was wondering when the Lambda line would get a refresh. I didn't see any hints in the Stax video unfortunately, though I suspect the subtitles are missing a lot of what was said. I'd guess it would still be a few years away, but before the next flagship iteration if history is anything to go by.

 

[Kiats]

I’ve been away from my desktop rig for a while because of a stay in hospital and fatigue as I was recovering at home. But I know I am feeling much better when I am happily listening to the Lambda NB off the 007t and ED-1. So nice to be back on my Stax rig.