[thomaskong78]

It's weird how and when you learn things about audio.

I had been using a LDR passive pre-amp between my DAC and Carbon for years with a Yggdrasil A1. That worked pretty well. Any other DAC I used I would get fatigue and headaches. When I upgraded the Yggdrasil to A2 that would cause fatigue as well.

I thought it was because it was too bright. It wasn't. I finally discovered it was distortion caused by the passive pre and took it out of the audio chain.

Here is the thing. I liked and had become accustomed to the distortion it was causing - even though it was causing me fatigue. By my research online, this wasn't even order distortion but mostly odd order - thus the fatigue.

So when I took it out of the chain fatigue was gone but Carbon > 009 sounded a bit dry and grainy in the mids. I swapped it back in and sure enough - back to the sound I liked but it caused fatigue very quickly.

Thing is, I had never warmed up my Carbon at all before listening to it. Like really ever. I would usually plug in, turn on and go. With the passive pre, and the distortion it provided it sounded right to me from the get go. Or I couldn't hear that well. Or both.

Now I''m thinking I need to get some type of tube amp in the chain because I was addicted to distortion. But I need the right type so I don't continue to fry my brain. Just bought a very expensive DAC. Really don't want to have to buy anything for a while!

Then I left my Carbon on for an hour, accidentally, and listened again. Mids are liquid, highs are extended, no fatigue. Wow, this thing does change pretty significantly when warmed up!

Now while the Carbon is a bass monster with the 009, I'm sure a GG or a BHSE would have more liquid mids - but you know what - it sounds freaking great as is! And what's more, my LCD4s sound awesome from Dave's headphone out. It's super transparent, all the bass I could want and no strain at all. Beats my V281 by a mile.

I never loved the Yggdrasil A1, but it was the only DAC I could listen to the Stax rig with. A2 is good, but slightly too dark for my taste.

Now I've got my Dave>Carbon>009 and it sounds just like I want it to with no fatigue. Finally! Lost in song when I should go to sleep for work. Dave's depth coupled with the 009 and live music is really unbelievable. This has been years to be happy with my 009 rig. Bought and Sold Dacs. Bought and returned the 009S, And it should given the cost of the components, but as we all know - it doesn't always work out that way.

It's funny how we discover things about audio and our setups.

Now it's time to sell some stuff and relax and listen to music for a little while

I have Dave and Mscaler.

I had bought Stax009s and Carbon which will be delivered July 9th.

From reading your post, I have more expectation.

 

[thomaskong78]

A thing for sure is that if you are touching Kg high-end amplifiers and SR009, everything in your chain will matter

Files quality
Transport
Interconnect cables
DAC
Digital cables
XLR Interconnect Cables
Etc....

There is no simple 1 device that does all

DAVE May be expensive, and perceived by many as High-end, but under some people eyes, it is hardly deserving it price. Switching power supply but not Linear Power Supply, and not to mention the Clock system that it is using. See ? When we are talking about DAC, there are other things to debate, components tolerances, Clock precision and floor noises, power supply.....distortions....etc....There is no single thing

It is a rabbit holes...so Run...Run before you dig deep and burry yourself LoL!

But here is one thing I can tell you all for sure as of why we keep talking about KG amplifiers instead of the rest of the rabbit holes ? Because KG designs are legendary, and then the components being used to build, regardless of different builders, are all good stuff. Then what is so special about KG-T2 ? Because it is another level of components choices and very particular Works/experiences to make it work.

That is why we keep talking about KG amplifier as a starting point for your Stax system, not only that Stax is sensitive to the amplifiers that is driving it, but KG amplifiers are good devices from the ground up. So, once you get either a Carbon, BHSE, GG, or T2, then you can start looking at other components.

Remember, the game will never end

I pulled the trigger on used Stax 009S and
KGSSHV Carbon made by loligagger.

I expect to get those on July 9th.
Although I am rather newbie to headphone.

I have 41 years of history in high end audio.

As you mentioned above, everything in the chain matters.

I have two Single ended tube amplifiers in main 2 channel system.

It requires a lot of money and time to find right tube for your amplifier.

That is the reason that I chose Carbon instead of BG or GG.

I wish to enjoy the music without paying too much attention to its sound.

Thomas

 

[Velomane]

I listen to my 009S on one of loligagger's Carbons. Very well put together and the sound is amazing.

 

[thomaskong78]

I used to use Analysis Plus power cables on my loligagger's Carbon.

Also Analysis Plus XLR cable between Dave and Carbon amp.

I had been happy with balanced sound with good bass and dynamics.

The only thing missing was some air, although it did not sound closed in but too polite to my taste.

Today, I had replaced Analysis Plus power cables with Synergistic Blue and then the it sound slightly more detailed and nuanced with tighter bass.

Then I replaced Analysis Plus XLR cable with Synergistic Foundation cable.

Now it sounds faster with more air.

Although it sounds pretty good with Analysis Plus cables, I am happy with the improvement brought by Synergistic cables.

 

[Dan Lee]

Sorry to pose this question again guys, but have any of you heard of anyone adding a tube preamp into their Carbon set up? I'm not exactly very savy on what exactly a preamp does, but my hope is that with a tube pre I could inject a little tube flavor into the sound from time to time and still maintain the ability to run solid state as well.

I am not 100% sure if it would work this way or not. I have considered the Schiit Freya +, Vincent Audio SA-32 or the Woo Audio WA22.

Any advice or input here would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Dan

 

[Tumyum]

I pulled the trigger on used Stax 009S and
KGSSHV Carbon made by loligagger.

I expect to get those on July 9th.
Although I am rather newbie to headphone.

I have 41 years of history in high end audio.

As you mentioned above, everything in the chain matters.

I have two Single ended tube amplifiers in main 2 channel system.

It requires a lot of money and time to find right tube for your amplifier.

That is the reason that I chose Carbon instead of BG or GG.

I wish to enjoy the music without paying too much attention to its sound.

Thomas

Hi, still on the quest to find which amp I should get - bhse, gg, or carbon.

Reading your post, you like ss because of low maintenance with no extra cost associated, while tubes are the opposite. Since we stuck with ss sound forever, only option left is to tweak sound with cables? You went thru 3 ic just to find the sound you like. Isn't it better with tubes and the tweaking sound make more sense? Cables and tubes are about just as bad in term of crazy pricing, especially cables lol.

Just wondering and doing my research before which route I should pick between the 3 amps mentioned above. Cheer.

 

[thomaskong78]

Hi, still on the quest to find which amp I should get - bhse, gg, or carbon.

Reading your post, you like ss because of low maintenance with no extra cost associated, while tubes are the opposite. Since we stuck with ss sound forever, only option left is to tweak sound with cables? You went thru 3 ic just to find the sound you like. Isn't it better with tubes and the tweaking sound make more sense? Cables and tubes are about just as bad in term of crazy pricing, especially cables lol.

Just wondering and doing my research before which route I should pick between the 3 amps mentioned above. Cheer.

I have 100K$ 2 channel system with SET tube amp.

Thus I wish not to pay much more attention to tube rolling in headphone setup.

But sometimes I wonder what would be the sound with Ground Grid.

It is up to you.

If you want to play with the sound, you may go for BHSE or GG, but it is not too bad with carbon.

 

[phaeton70]

rolling tubes in a BHSE or GG will defintely change the sound. not so much, just a bit of something, but it will definitely change.
I'm using my GG with JJ 6CA7, and I find the combo with 009 just perfect to my ears
and yes, sometimes rolling the (right) tubes is cheaper than rolling cables or DACs

 

[Clsmooth391]

To those who have compared the Mjolnir KGSSHV and Bigir's Carbon, does the Carbon add a lot of warmth? I'm reading that it's more laid back but is it warmer and do you lose any transparency vs the KGSSHV which is meant to be brighter? I've listened to the Mjolnir KGSSHV with the 009 and for me it's near perfect, just lacking a little in bass and mids.
I found the Mjolnir Pure Bipoloar too warm for my taste.

 

[tumpux]

No, it just perfect.

 

[o7brother]

Maybe this is asking the question backwards, but anyway, if someone has tried both, which would be best:

SR-009 with KGSSHV Carbon or

SR-007 with KGSSHV Carbon

They say the 007 is harder to drive and therefore shines with the Carbon's power, but the fact that the 009 is easier to drive doesn't mean it doesn't benefit from an amp like that. Perhaps it's just personal taste between the signatures of the two headphones.

 

[thomaskong78]

Maybe this is asking the question backwards, but anyway, if someone has tried both, which would be best:

SR-009 with KGSSHV Carbon or

SR-007 with KGSSHV Carbon

They say the 007 is harder to drive and therefore shines with the Carbon's power, but the fact that the 009 is easier to drive doesn't mean it doesn't benefit from an amp like that. Perhaps it's just personal taste between the signatures of the two headphones.

009s is sensitive to amp too.

I chose Kgsshv Carbon on the reputation of fuller bass and overall balance.

Recently I added Freya+ in front of Carbon to add tube flavor.

I had been trying many Nos 6sn7 tubes on it.

So far it makes already excellent 009s sound more enjoyable.

 

[astrostar59]

009 and Carbon is not a combination that will last IMO. Yes detail and speed but fatigue and exaggerated mid treble and leading edges made me sell mine. Carbon > 007 is probably easier to live with, but then looses transparency and speed.
I would look at the Abyss or Susvara, if you want to get both detail, speed and bass and a more realistic timbre, closer to life. That is my opinion, having had a Stax setup for 20 years and most of the electrostatic amps inc many KG DIY.

 

[o7brother]

I would look at the Abyss or Susvara

Thanks for the feedback. So you'd say the Carbon doesn't make the 007 match the 009's technicalities like detail and soundstage? And these other two headphones do?

 

[number1sixerfan]

Thanks for the feedback. So you'd say the Carbon doesn't make the 007 match the 009's technicalities like detail and soundstage? And these other two headphones do?

I think at the end of the day the issue is that the 009 isn't perfect. It gets close, but isn't. You can go through every amp pairing, the main issue really is that the headphone's treble definitely gets a little hot sometimes and it doesn't have a great quantity of bass (the bass it does have is excellent however and adequate overall, just less than other non-stats). But keep in mind, that's my perspective on most electrostats.. that's the price you pay for insane detail and the magic that comes with them. I have the BHSE and the WES and the 009 sounds extremely good out of both.. with more weight to the music and bottom end out of the WES with no harshness in the highs.. and with greater transparency, openness and detail with the BHSE with a bit too much brightness every now and then depending on the recording.

Brightness and treble does not bother my ears, but I could see how it could for many others. I think what the poster above is alluding to is that it's quite a bit easier (and cheaper) to get a TOTL traditional (non stat) system that isn't as nit picky to get close to perfect. However, there's a specialness you get with a TOTL stat system that not even the Abyss, Utopia, HD800, etc can match. Even having those, I certainly can't give up the BHSE/009 combo.