[iFi audio]

Or even a well amped 007 that many consider the real one to beat.

I haven't heard them so can't say, but it seems that you know more about the Stax lineup than I do. It's time for me to catch up

Susvara is to beat to haha....

Now that comparison would be entertaining, but considering different amp needs I think that Susvara is safe

 

[118900]

I haven't heard them so can't say, but it seems that you know more about the Stax lineup than I do

Tbh I haven’t heard many of them but I have heard some of the L series and I own the 007s and many people have said tonally they are the ones to beat in that the 009 and 009S are more resolving but (too) bright .

its all good to me I really really love my ones, I originally bought them as an alternative to my Audeze LCD-4z but once I started listening to them I traded in the Audeze’s. Not saying anything negative about the Audeze’s, they are great, but the Stax really do it for me and the CRBN will honestly need to be very very VERY special indeed to beat them (for my personal tastes) but progress is ALWAYS welcome and competition keeps the game going forward.

 

[mammal]

I’m considering getting these.
Any comparison between the LTA Z10e and Viva Egoista STX to go with the new Audezes?

Unfortunately, I do not have any experience with either of these. What I can share with you are my approximate findings of TOTL amplifiers. When I asked around, Viva brand came up a couple of times, which led me to borrow their Viva Egoista 845 tube amplifier for my 1266 and Susvara, an amp I have utmost respect for. I spoke to some other owners, who said that Viva Egoista STX works magic with their Hifiman Shangri-la Sr electro stat headphones. This being said, the only time I heard about LTA Z10e was in Utopia's forum, and then mentioned here and there when someone asked about an amp that can drive both electrostats and planar, but based on feedback I read neither was to perfection (not compared to other TOTL amps like DIY T2). This makes me think (by approximation) that Viva Egoista STX will be a step above LTA Z10e. But these are just my "reading between the line" comments, sorry I don't have something more specific/tangible. I hope someone else can comment further. Also, system synergy matters too, so hard to say which one will work with Audeze better.

 

[Audio Addict]

I use the the RSA A-10 Thunderbolt II and matched to the SR-009S. This is the best pairing I have ever heard. The entire frequency range is just right. This was't always the case until Ray's last update which he completed in late 2019. Basically he had time to really focus in on both his A-10 electrostatic amplifier and his B-52 dynamic one. He was spending a lot of time going through the designs determining where he could make them better. He sold his HE90s and feels the Stax-009 / 009S are the best match for the A-10. He has talked with Audeze and has the CRBN on order to see if it will be even better. His B-52 has been tuned to get the most out of his bass heavy Sony R-10s. His comments to me is the A-10 / Stax SR-009 has the edge over the B-52 / R-10s.

It will be interesting to hear what he has to say. He has invited me up after he gets the CRBN.

 

[musicman59]

I agree with AudioAddict. I also have the A-10 and after the latest upgrade from Ray the sound out of the SR-009 fantastic.
Even before the upgrade I personally preferred this paring over the BHSE/SR-009.

I used to also own the SR-007 MkII but end up selling them because they were a little to dark for me and preferred the SR-009 sound.

My top 4 headphones that I roll in are: Susvara, Utopia, SR-009 and SR1a.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Tbh I haven’t heard many of them but I have heard some of the L series and I own the 007s and many people have said tonally they are the ones to beat in that the 009 and 009S are more resolving but (too) bright .

its all good to me I really really love my ones, I originally bought them as an alternative to my Audeze LCD-4z but once I started listening to them I traded in the Audeze’s. Not saying anything negative about the Audeze’s, they are great, but the Stax really do it for me and the CRBN will honestly need to be very very VERY special indeed to beat them (for my personal tastes) but progress is ALWAYS welcome and competition keeps the game going forward.

Tonality wise, yes the 007 is much smoother. But it comes at the cost of resolution and technical proficiency (slightly). The 007 struggles a bit to keep up with most of the true TOTL planars (Sus/TC) + the Sr1a etc. The 009 doesn't. So given new and improved technology and everything I've experienced, I would believe that a well designed newer TOTL stat like the CRBN stands a fairly good chance at competing or besting--but that's a total assumption that can be proven wrong. And also is totally personal and based on tastes.

 

[Chefguru]

Even if it sounds exactly like the sr009s, at a lighter weight and more durable build, it’s the best in the world … but I’ll know for sure Thursday

 

[AlwaysForward]

They are being built to order.

Regarding predicting success/flop:
I wish I had a crystal ball to predict how exactly a product would do before it gets to the hands of customers, just by looking at the pictures. Electrostatic headphones make up for only a small fraction of headphones used by audio enthusiasts/audiophiles, the barrier of entry is also high, we realize that; so having realistic expectations is good.

We also realize that competing with the best electrostatic headphones is a huge mountain to climb. I can only hope (as someone who has been listening CRBN for several months now) that CRBN meets or exceeds expectations. Only time will tell, as more of you get to listen. For now, all we can hope for is less speculations; neither hyping nor dismissing a product unheard helps anybody. In the mean time we can try and answer questions the best we can.

(My personal opinion) Success, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, it need not always be financial:

• I don't think many were aware of the need for better headphones inside MRI scanners (most use pneumatic headphones, a technology used in airplanes from 1960s). These sound horrible and distorted. Imagine trying to calm down a child who is claustrophobic and instructing them not to move inside a MRI machine so the scans are good.
• I don't think anyone (other than a handful) have heard a electrostatic headphone that uses carbon nanotubes instead of metal deposits and how that changes the presentation and timbre.
• What we learnt from building a headphone for use in a very hostile environment., motivates us to apply it elsewhere.
• Exploring and pushing boundaries is a good thing, it ultimately makes technology more affordable and reach a wider audience.

Did the R&D behind achieving 60db isolation spin out any new ANC innovations that might make it into future products?

 

[Cincy2]

I'll be able to compare the CRBN with STAX 009 on both the Stax T8000 amp and MSB's blockbuster solid state amp but I'll have to wait until late next month for the CRBN's. That's the delivery date I got.

Cincy

 

[arnaud]

Did the R&D behind achieving 60db isolation spin out any new ANC innovations that might make it into future products?

That’s surely going to come across as pretentious but, with feedforward type anc (possible here as a reference signal can be picked upstream) + probably 20dB or more of passive isolation from a closed headset, 60dB doesn’t sound that surprising to me. It‘s really specific to the application where the disturbance is either periodic and/or known in advance from a ref signal with sufficient delay for processing, there’s no trickle down to a headset you wear on the street as far as I can see.

 

[KMann]

That’s surely going to come across as pretentious but, with feedforward type anc (possible here as a reference signal can be picked upstream) + probably 20dB or more of passive isolation from a closed headset, 60dB doesn’t sound that surprising to me. It‘s really specific to the application where the disturbance is either periodic and/or known in advance from a ref signal with sufficient delay for processing, there’s no trickle down to a headset you wear on the street as far as I can see.

Did the R&D behind achieving 60db isolation spin out any new ANC innovations that might make it into future products?

I cannot disclose much about the technology as it relates to ANC, but ANC on planars is challenging as such due to large surface area of the diaphragm. The low frequency noise are the hardest to suppress and a lot of headroom is required to accommodate ANC. While it is a good learning experience, the requirements are very different when it comes to a direct application to consumer audio.

 

[rayofsi]

My local builder Kerry sounded enthusiastic when i said i would drop off my set for him to play with when i get it. He does great work on the KGSSHV Carbon and the T2 that we all know about.

 

[AlwaysForward]

I cannot disclose much about the technology as it relates to ANC, but ANC on planars is challenging as such due to large surface area of the diaphragm. The low frequency noise are the hardest to suppress and a lot of headroom is required to accommodate ANC. While it is a good learning experience, the requirements are very different when it comes to a direct application to consumer audio.

Very cool. Either way, excited to see new driver innovations like this. Kudos for exploring the frontiers and finding your innovations which now are changing the lives of patients. I am a big fan of this story and hope you guys have a massively successful launch!

 

[Sense]

Any reviews of this guy yet?

 

[gKalkin]

Had the opportunity to stop by Audeze's office in SoCal this afternoon and listen to the CRBN for ~30 minutes. Not really enough time to get a good sense of it but I can give some impressions. I don't have too much experience with high end stuff yet other than listening to a bunch of different sets at The Source AV. Never owned a set of electrostatics before. Also, I am pretty sure I had the volume up higher than I normally do... seems to be easy to do this when not in my home listening environment.

Anyway... here are some of my impressions:

• Incredibly rich and intimate sound. (Probably partially due to the volume I may have been listening at.)
• Soundstage seemed "tall," if that makes sense. Gave me a great sense of the cavern on the track "In the Cave" by Pepe Deluxe.
• Very detailed. Effortlessly delivered all of the texture on "A Night and a Day" by Pepe Deluxe.
• Bass response seemed much fuller and impactful that I remember from stax.
• Superb comfort. I had a light headache and it did not exacerbate it whatsoever.
• Treble is detailed but smooth. Listened to "Calypso Blues" by Youn Sun Na, which I'm sure would be sibilant on some other cans.

Always difficult to have meaningful impressions in an unfamiliar environment with limited time but overall it was a great experience.