[marcoarment]

  I had this very problem with the Stax SR009. As amazing as they are, I had to use them only with music they were suited to. I now listen to a lot of music that is not "audiophile" in my car to and from work -- quite a lot of stuff that I had neglected or would otherwise. I think that is why, for example, a lot of people like the Fostex TH900s which, while not as detailed as other TOTL headphones, are "fun" to listen to music with (and hence from the Fostex/Denon FR I coined that very term).

 
I had the same problem with the SR-009 (during the brief period that mine worked before I had to send it in for a channel-imbalance repair): they sound amazing with amazing recordings, but anything less sounds like garbage.
 
FWIW, I've been renting an HE-6/EF-6 pair from The Cable Company for the last two weeks, and it has this problem much less than the SR-009 and my other flagship headphones (TH900, HD 800). The HE-6 sounds amazing on more music than any other headphone I've tried, and I actually prefer its sound overall to the 009. When it gets back from repair, I'm going to sell my 009 and KGSSHV here and go all-in on the HE-6 and a big amp instead. (Hopefully the Ragnarok.)
 
I also enjoy music with the HE-6 on a more emotional level than my other headphones, which I never felt with the 009 or HD 800, and occasionally feel a bit with the TH900. I wonder if this combination of factors — lower-quality recordings sounding much worse, and a lack of emotional connection — is part of what causes this "peak and losing interest" phenomenon. If you climb the wrong peak, you might achieve technical perfection poorly suited to your music or without the kind of feeling you're looking for.
 
But that doesn't mean it's not possible to have both. You may have picked a technical peak that's not well-suited to your taste, but there are other peaks that can sound different without being technically inferior.

 

[Zoom25]

  I think I've reached pretty high and staring to realize it's affects.  I can't say if it's positive or negative.  My music taste has changed to better recordings as I notice significant difference in recording with transparent setup and realizing the meaning of what transparent means.  I don't like the fact that my music taste has steer because in trying to get the most perfect sound quality I have left music I enjoy listening aside because of the low quality in the recording.  Wasn't aware of the lower quality in the recording during mid fi and was enjoying looking for lots of music and now I see myself looking for audiophile tracks instead now.  I've gone too far.  

 
Don't worry, it's a phase. It will pass overtime. This happened to me a bunch of time with audio upgrades, but after some time you'll go back to the music you always loved…unless it was recorded really, really bad.

 

[Focker]

   
 
 
Unfortunately this is too true. It is too easy to forget my first point, that we are seeking enjoyment and sharing that enjoyment. Enjoyment from trying to take down others just ruins it. I think that is why many people lose interest. If I wasn't able to go out and meet people as part of the hobby, I would have lost interest and given up.
 
 
 

Well said...completely agree.

 

[Happy Camper]

I had the same problem with the SR-009 (during the brief period that mine worked before I had to send it in for a channel-imbalance repair): they sound amazing with amazing recordings, but anything less sounds like garbage.

FWIW, I've been renting an HE-6/EF-6 pair from The Cable Company for the last two weeks, and it has this problem much less than the SR-009 and my other flagship headphones (TH900, HD 800). The HE-6 sounds amazing on more music than any other headphone I've tried, and I actually prefer its sound overall to the 009. When it gets back from repair, I'm going to sell my 009 and KGSSHV here and go all-in on the HE-6 and a big amp instead. (Hopefully the Ragnarok.)

I also enjoy music with the HE-6 on a more emotional level than my other headphones, which I never felt with the 009 or HD 800, and occasionally feel a bit with the TH900. I wonder if this combination of factors — lower-quality recordings sounding much worse, and a lack of emotional connection — is part of what causes this "peak and losing interest" phenomenon. If you climb the wrong peak, you might achieve technical perfection poorly suited to your music or without the kind of feeling you're looking for.

But that doesn't mean it's not possible to have both. You may have picked a technical peak that's not well-suited to your taste, but there are other peaks that can sound different without being technically inferior.

I am glad others have noticed this with the HE-6. They sound good with most everything. It's like having my music remastered. Old classic rock falls into this noticeably.

 

[marcoarment]

I am glad others have noticed this with the HE-6. They sound good with most everything. It's like having my music remastered. Old classic rock falls into this noticeably.

 
Definitely. And what I found most surprising was that to achieve this, the HE-6 seemingly gives up nothing (except requiring extreme power — but the 009s require special amps, too).
 
To my ears, the best qualities of the 009 — most notably, the transient speed, midrange presence, and strong-but-not-harsh treble — are matched by the HE-6. Most reviewers who've tried both say that the 009 might be a touch better in those regards, but I can't hear a difference.
 
(Some of the perceived difference may be mental, based on an assumption that electrostatics must be better than orthos because common wisdom says electrostatics are always the "best".)

 

[arnaud]

(Some of the perceived difference may be mental, based on an assumption that electrostatics must be better than orthos because common wisdom says electrostatics are always the "best".)

 
Already, bashing festival has started! About the 009 sounding like crap out of anything but stellar recordings, I'd say "don't shoot the messenger", you probably have more to worry about than just the transducer in your chain, although I agree this particular can is really not about hiding the facts.
 
Ultimately, voicing is a matter of personal taste and motivation in the hobby is sometimes misplaced. In particular, I can't see the point of spending so much money on very accurate transducers when all you're after is a phone that simply make all you music sound good. For that, I would stop <<1kUSD for the phones and simply apply some P.EQ. until I can call it a day.

 

[Happy Camper]

I love stats. My speaker rig is. But I wanted more weight in my music without the volume and the HE-6 has given me exactly that at a much cheaper cost than swapping out speakers. Now I have both flavors, country and western. But you are right, we all have our desires for our listening tastes and genres we listen to. Better is so ambiguous.

 

[Claritas]

If one wants to have it all in only one headphone, it does seem as if one has to reach a respectable mid-point between hi-fi and forgiving. Something like HD6x0 and PM1 but I don't think we're there yet.

 

[arnaud]

If one wants to have it all in only one headphone, it does seem as if one has to reach a respectable mid-point between hi-fi and forgiving. Something like HD6x0 and PM1 but I don't think we're there yet.

 
How about a PM-2 with pads that fit the bill for you? I already liked the PM-1 in stock form for that: making any CD a foot tapping experience. Ultimately, it's the comparing game that damped my interest a bit (I felt like most liked I'd get bored with a headphone sound signature that seemed recurrent with all musics I was playing). But already there, I felt it's only a matter of time until stats become even more confidential than what they are already. I feel like I am protecting a species at risk of extinction with my stat rig lol .

 

[marcoarment]

  Already, bashing festival has started! About the 009 sounding like crap out of anything but stellar recordings, I'd say "don't shoot the messenger", you probably have more to worry about than just the transducer in your chain, although I agree this particular can is really not about hiding the facts.

 
All I did was suggest that a minor perceived gain in a more exotic and expensive component is inaudible to me and may be influenced by placebo — hardly an outrageous statement, and certainly not "bashing festival". Discredit me and the rest of my system all you want — you'll find a lot to complain about, starting with the unhealthy amount of Phish I listen to — but you're looking for a fight where there isn't one.

 

[Claritas]

How about a PM-2 with pads that fit the bill for you? I already liked the PM-1 in stock form for that: making any CD a foot tapping experience.

Thanks. I heard a PM2 at the Chicago meet and honestly it didn't sound much better than PM1. I know there's some sort of on-going controversy about the pads but I don't know what to make of it. It sounds like they had a rocky start.

 

[paradoxper]

   
Already, bashing festival has started! About the 009 sounding like crap out of anything but stellar recordings, I'd say "don't shoot the messenger", you probably have more to worry about than just the transducer in your chain, although I agree this particular can is really not about hiding the facts.
 
 

Yup. With the Bifrost I'm not surprised by his findings - to me, it makes little sense to gimp the chain with a Bifrost (not that it's a bad DAC at all.) 
Personally, I listen to a lot of crappy metal and without a hitch find myself enjoying the hell out low quality recordings. The bigger thing is the 009's ability to
give me a completely engrossing experience - I haven't enjoyed my tunes this much ever. And not even the mk 1 gave me this let alone any other dynamic or planar can.

 

[SilverEars]

Could the high resolution just be a boost in the 5-10k treble?  Both 009 and HD800 seem to share some commonalities.  Large stage, harsh with compressed recordings(does this happen with 009?), analytical.  How are the tonality of these two?  Can they be considered natural toned?  Well, compared to HE6 and HD800, the 009 doesn't have a peak there.  

 
HE6 and LCDs are opposites.  HE6 peaks in treble, but LCDs dips in the same area, but the LCD3 a bit less, hence people saying it sounds more resoluted.  How would a happy medium of LCD and HD800's treble sound? Could the 009's treble be that happy medium?  Would it work out well with wider genre of music and yet have great amount of resolution?
 
Sombody brought up a appoint about the way FR look the way it does for LCD is not because it's purposely dipped at the harsh region, but because they can't make a perfectly flat response.  I'm not too sure about that as the HE6 is the opposite in the same dipped region.

 

[n3rdling]

If one wants to have it all in only one headphone, it does seem as if one has to reach a respectable mid-point between hi-fi and forgiving. Something like HD6x0 and PM1 but I don't think we're there yet.

You should check out the SR-007.

 

[Asr]

At the peak of my Head-Fi madness (in 2009-10), I had a Plinius CD-101, Arcam FMJ CD36, HeadAmp BHSE w/ Stax OII MKI, and HeadAmp GS-X MK1 w/ Sony Qualia 010 and Grado HP1000, along with a few other flagship dynamic headphones. Total retail value of my system (well, counting used prices for the out-of-production headphones only, heh) including all cables (power cords and analog interconnects) was well over $15K. Brings back memories of all the CD-player rolling that I did too—at one point I had the Plinius CD-101, dCS P8i, and Bel Canto CD-1 all at the same time. Those were crazy times.
 
Last year I downgraded to this setup: NAD T533 (DVD player) > HeadAmp Gilmore Lite w/ DPS > Audio-Technica AD2000 | Sennheiser HD598 | Creative Aurvana Live. Total retail value of this system is just under $2K, and I can achieve full musical satisfaction with almost any CD that I might pull from my collection....
 
The lesson that I learned for myself is that downgrading from ultra-high-end-fi to something mid-fi is definitely possible.