Description from the Aliexpress website:   "Ours is with the best quality drive units, and improved the logo production technology, the logo is 100% the same as the original product. You will find our products has the best performance"   Seriously, this sort of Chinglish didn't tip anyone off?

Certainly sounds like they're fake.  Especially given that the previous owner barely used them and then sold them.   Your idea of going to a store to listen to some real ones is excellent. But make sure you take you (possible) fakes with you, so you can compare directly.   As an aside, I...

I think you're right. Athough I don't know the difference between electrostatic and electret headphones. Here's a picture...     As I said, fiendishly uncomfortable. And quite expensive if I remember.   I would have to think very hard about ever handing my money over to the Stax company...

Thanks to everyone for their help. My new E09k arrived yesterday and it sounds wonderful.   As mentioned the sound output from my motherboard is reasonable (112dB SNR, support for 196/24 DAC) at the line out jacks. No problem at all with noise.   One happy listener!

Thanks, I'll check them out. It also has the bonus of being able to tell people that I have a hi fi component with an hilarious name!

Good advice. Thankyou.

I once had a pair of Stax electrostatics way back in the mid 80's. They were, without doubt and quite easily the absolute worst pair of headphones I ever had.   They couldn't handle any bass at all, and they were supremely uncomfortable.

Thanks for that info.   I have a pair of Sennheiser Momentum over-ear. The box says they're 18 ohms from memory, so quite easy to drive obviously.   I have run them from the headphone out socket on my computer and they sound great, but don't really get loud enough, hence why I was thinking...

Hello all.   I'm getting perilously close to buying a FiiO E09K desktop headphone amp. It will be used exclusively with my desktop computer and my shiny new Sennheiser Momentums.   Problem I'm having is that I can't find any reviews of the E09K without the E17 docked.   I just want to run...