[tonyo442]

Actually, the Stax tube amps (T1.006, 600LE and 007) have potentially as much voltage swing and power as their solid state amps - they are held back by their output stages, which still use plate resistor loads. Simply replacing those with good constant current sources, such as their solid state amps use, would raise their voltage output to equal their solid state equivalents, and significantly increase their effective power output.

a theory still theory, ..... but the reality is quite different, .......

 

[gordec]

I've just been listening with the Susvaras from the Audiovalve Solaris using the Pro iDSD as the source. It's a great combination.

Have you played with Solid State, Tube, and Tube+ modes. In the beginning, I felt solid state sounded the best, now Tube+ is gaining more ground. I feel tube+ has the best vocals but doesn't really sacrifice much from the clarity and detail.

 

[JimL11]

a theory still theory, ..... but the reality is quite different, .......

Not just a theory. Muffinhead did the mod, see his reaction on the Stax III thread in Feb of this year. Also, there is a modded T1 on the Mjolnir website in the used amp section - see spritzer's comments on the results of the mod.

 

[Rhamnetin]

hello, the lcd4 can not be worse than the 009, or the 009 less good than the lcd4, these are two helmets totally opposite, ........
practically all helmet owners had a stax set, personally I had the 507 headphones and the stax headphone amp limited with two ecc99 tubes, with the stax set I never could listen to a full opera. ..... with stax one does not listen to an artistic work but a technology,

that the lcd4 do not like, quite agree, ..... my reproach on stax, it is not the helmets that are involved, but the amps, not powerful enough, ....... and the fact that it lacks power low frequencies do not stand out, all stax helmets are good, we can not say as much for their amps,


and then that I have already recalled, each headphone should have its dedicated amp, to operate my lcd4, or my focal elear Ii i have the pro and a dac that comes out 2.5 volts asymmetric,
I can not wait to get the iDSD Pro for comparison,

Ultimately what most people will call better or worse is dependent on subjectivity. I for one consider the SR-009 to be better, not just different, but plenty of people will disagree.

 

[astrostar59]

Ultimately what most people will call better or worse is dependent on subjectivity. I for one consider the SR-009 to be better, not just different, but plenty of people will disagree.

Respect your views, but own it for a bit longer, and see if your opinion changes. Mine did. I asked myself, is this 009 sound realistic, or a detail examination at the cost of realism? I found the latter. I actually hear more detail in the mids to upper mids in the LCD4, and real / solid energy in the mids that was striped right back in the 009. The elevated treble of the 009 can not be denied, even by total fans of the headphone. It sounded to me a price to pay and lose the rest of the spectrum, the body, the realism. All at the expense of plankton and micro details.

Before I sold my 009 and Carbon amp, I wrote notes on 10 well recorded tracks and what was good and bad between the 009 and LCD4, then the same on known problem recordings such as Evanescence: Fallen, Cranberries: Zombie, Eva Cassidy. These failed big time on the 009, virtually unlistenable. This was with my then Audio Note DAC 5 R-2R tubed DAC (30K) which is not a known bright sounding DAC. I did not enjoy problem recording with the 009 at all. Thus over my time with the 009 I avoided a lot of music for that reason, which is not a good thing to be doing.

I will admit, the LCD4 is a shock after the wall of detail thrust forward by the 009. I had a 3 month break from them and lost my love of the 009 sound during this period. I wonder if any headphone can cover all aspects of live music? It is a personal choice which one gets the closest.

I would also add, the DAC makes a big difference to the level any top headphone can reach. More than I realised a few years ago.

 

[Rhamnetin]

Respect your views, but own it for a bit longer, and see if your opinion changes. Mine did. I asked myself, is this 009 sound realistic, or a detail examination at the cost of realism? I found the latter. I actually hear more detail in the mids to upper mids in the LCD4, and real / solid energy in the mids that was striped right back in the 009. The elevated treble of the 009 can not be denied, even by total fans of the headphone. It sounded to me a price to pay and lose the rest of the spectrum, the body, the realism. All at the expense of plankton and micro details.

Before I sold my 009 and Carbon amp, I wrote notes on 10 well recorded tracks and what was good and bad between the 009 and LCD4, then the same on known problem recordings such as Evanescence: Fallen, Cranberries: Zombie, Eva Cassidy. These failed big time on the 009, virtually unlistenable. This was with my then Audio Note DAC 5 R-2R tubed DAC (30K) which is not a known bright sounding DAC. I did not enjoy problem recording with the 009 at all. Thus over my time with the 009 I avoided a lot of music for that reason, which is not a good thing to be doing.

I will admit, the LCD4 is a shock after the wall of detail thrust forward by the 009. I had a 3 month break from them and lost my love of the 009 sound during this period. I wonder if any headphone can cover all aspects of live music? It is a personal choice which one gets the closest.

I would also add, the DAC makes a big difference to the level any top headphone can reach. More than I realised a few years ago.

Yep, as you know DAC plays a massive role here. With the right DAC and the SR-009 + KGSSHV Carbon, I am not sacrificing anything. Especially body and realism where non-electrostats are just peasant to my ears compared to an elite Stax system, most notable in instruments that normally sound too small and tiny on every non-electrostatic headphone (honestly every instrument other than drums I think which planars can also do justice). But yeah my tastes may change over the years, it happens to lots of people.

But if I go and change the DAC then that will change and a lot of magic is lost. Actually even the elevated treble is gone with the Denafrips Venus it seems, making the SR-009 sound more like other headphones.

 

[gordec]

Respect your views, but own it for a bit longer, and see if your opinion changes. Mine did. I asked myself, is this 009 sound realistic, or a detail examination at the cost of realism? I found the latter. I actually hear more detail in the mids to upper mids in the LCD4, and real / solid energy in the mids that was striped right back in the 009. The elevated treble of the 009 can not be denied, even by total fans of the headphone. It sounded to me a price to pay and lose the rest of the spectrum, the body, the realism. All at the expense of plankton and micro details.

Before I sold my 009 and Carbon amp, I wrote notes on 10 well recorded tracks and what was good and bad between the 009 and LCD4, then the same on known problem recordings such as Evanescence: Fallen, Cranberries: Zombie, Eva Cassidy. These failed big time on the 009, virtually unlistenable. This was with my then Audio Note DAC 5 R-2R tubed DAC (30K) which is not a known bright sounding DAC. I did not enjoy problem recording with the 009 at all. Thus over my time with the 009 I avoided a lot of music for that reason, which is not a good thing to be doing.

I will admit, the LCD4 is a shock after the wall of detail thrust forward by the 009. I had a 3 month break from them and lost my love of the 009 sound during this period. I wonder if any headphone can cover all aspects of live music? It is a personal choice which one gets the closest.

I would also add, the DAC makes a big difference to the level any top headphone can reach. More than I realised a few years ago.

Yep, as you know DAC plays a massive role here. With the right DAC and the SR-009 + KGSSHV Carbon, I am not sacrificing anything. Especially body and realism where non-electrostats are just peasant to my ears compared to an elite Stax system, most notable in instruments that normally sound too small and tiny on every non-electrostatic headphone (honestly every instrument other than drums I think which planars can also do justice). But yeah my tastes may change over the years, it happens to lots of people.

But if I go and change the DAC then that will change and a lot of magic is lost. Actually even the elevated treble is gone with the Denafrips Venus it seems, making the SR-009 sound more like other headphones.

You guys have very different audio chains, so it's possible depends on your streaming, USB regenerating, and power cleaning methods, the sound could change significantly.

 

[Rhamnetin]

You guys have very different audio chains, so it's possible depends on your streaming, USB regenerating, and power cleaning methods, the sound could change significantly.

Won't most if not all of the things you specify only result in reduced noise floor? But I already have a totally black background.That's what I've noticed when messing around with such things, except I have encountered some USB converters/digital interfaces create a slightly more laid back sound too (but nothing major).

For the Stax SR-009, there are actually consistencies between what myself and astrostar59 hear based on our posts, only how we feel about what we hear is different. Our LCD-4 experiences seem to differ a lot though. This is off topic for this thread though, I have no Susvara experience but will get a little taste in a few months.

 

[gordec]

Won't most if not all of the things you specify only result in reduced noise floor? But I already have a totally black background.That's what I've noticed when messing around with such things, except I have encountered some USB converters/digital interfaces create a slightly more laid back sound too (but nothing major).

For the Stax SR-009, there are actually consistencies between what myself and astrostar59 hear based on our posts, only how we feel about what we hear is different. Our LCD-4 experiences seem to differ a lot though. This is off topic for this thread though, I have no Susvara experience but will get a little taste in a few months.

I'm not an expert on digital noise and power noise. I have been doing a lot of reading on Computeraudiophile site. It seems like things like Ultrarendu, SOTM 200 Ultra can make huge difference in sound based on what others have reported. The improvement goes beyond just a cleaner background. I'm just touching the surface in terms of cleaning up USB noise. I'm planning on adding either Ultrarendu or SOTM 200 Ultra later this year with a good LPS to hear it for myself. I'm already very happy with my current set up in my signature, but if adding a 1k network streamer can give me even more, I'm all down with it.

 

[koven]

Some people prefer smooth and others prefer transparency. It's not mutually exclusive but there's always some give or take. Doesn't matter what you kind of gear/$ you throw upstream at the LCD4 it will never resolve like the 009, or even Utopia. Similarly it doesn't matter how many tubes or R2R ladders you throw at the 009, it will never have a buttery sound like the LCD4. Different strokes for different folks!

 

[Shini44]

i have Susvara + Xi Audio Formula S, McIntosh MC275 Vacuum Tube (with Mullard nos tubes all the way) + Hugo 2 , i am still testing around, and ordered silver cable for it from norne audio.

i ordered Focal Utopia (again) and i have SW22 cable as well, and on the top of that SR-009 + KGSSHV Carbon on the way.

basically i will compare top dogs together for while and swap between them for fun since i am not planing to sell any headphone as of now.

Stay tuned for a humble review ^^

 

[Rhamnetin]

Some people prefer smooth and others prefer transparency. It's not mutually exclusive but there's always some give or take. Doesn't matter what you kind of gear/$ you throw upstream at the LCD4 it will never resolve like the 009, or even Utopia. Similarly it doesn't matter how many tubes or R2R ladders you throw at the 009, it will never have a buttery sound like the LCD4. Different strokes for different folks!

Pretty much this. I am curious about attempts to find a middle ground like the SR-009S and Susvara. I really wonder if the 009S sacrifices anything compared to the 009...

 

[astrostar59]

A few things off topic, so sorry in advance, but relevant to any top HP system.

Noise from the mains is the first problem to any high end setup IMO. That feeds straight into our beloved and highly sensitive gear. Many don't believe, but most have noticed a 2am sweet spot, that time to go to bed, but the system is totally on song. That IMO is dirty mains, and at the quiet periods of local demands, is less if any negative effect. Try switching off the fridge and other stuff for even more. A power regenerator can give you that 2am sound 24/7, and some. Never going back to open mains.

DACs also make another huge difference, and probably why many hear different things? Or a big part of that reason possibly. Then system synergy. I wouldn't pair a known bright DAC with the 009 for example. Esoteric comes to mind.

And then software, the server, power supplies to that (LPS or switching) decent interconnects, it goes on. It is part of the fun of this hobby, and can get complicated / expensive / obsessive.

Funny, rewind 25 years my older buddies at that time had decent turntable setups, and they talked a lot about records, buying vinyl, live versions etc. I wonder if that has diminished, and we are all obsessed with the gear more? I am guilty of it I admit. The space I am in now is moving to searching more new tunes, less about the gear. I love talking about this stuff mind, can't see that changing LOL.

 

[AFWannabe]

I'm not an expert on digital noise and power noise. I have been doing a lot of reading on Computeraudiophile site. It seems like things like Ultrarendu, SOTM 200 Ultra can make huge difference in sound based on what others have reported. The improvement goes beyond just a cleaner background. I'm just touching the surface in terms of cleaning up USB noise. I'm planning on adding either Ultrarendu or SOTM 200 Ultra later this year with a good LPS to hear it for myself. I'm already very happy with my current set up in my signature, but if adding a 1k network streamer can give me even more, I'm all down with it.

I would suggest testing with an iPhone or iPad as Roon endpoint.
My ultraRendu and LPS have been disconnected since I have tried it...

Some say the iPhone X is better (maybe due to the Oled screen?...)...

 

[rgs9200m]

Ha ha, sometimes I wish I could graft a Lazuli Ref cable to my 009...