[Arnaldo]

I was wondering if you're still listening to the SR-009 with the SRM-727A. And if so, how's the pairing working out? After a too brief audition, I'm eager to get on the SR-009 bandwagon but without the hassle of tubes and endless waiting lists. Besides Stax' current SRM-727II, which I guess shouldn't sound that different from the 727A, the only other valid solid-state option seems to be the upcoming but still really untested Cavalli Liquid Lightning...
 
Quote:

Listening to Ben Harper's Fight For Your Mind, very very nice ! Last I heard this was probably some years back and with a dynamic headphone or my Omega 2. Never heard as much detail in the recording as today, but at the time it's so natural, not shoved into my ears.
 
If there's one complain to make with the 009 is that it just won't let you enjoy average recordings but it doesn't mean you can't listen to any rock recording. I wish every producer / artist / mixer would take a stance to not butcher a recording for the sake of being louder [...]

 

 

[arnaud]

Yep, and I am in the same boat as you: I have two little daughters and am quite reluctant to go to tubes. I have really absolutely no complaint with the 727A (BTW, I believe this is exactly the same amp as 727II, but a labeling specific to domestic market in Japan). Unfortunately, I can't tell you how it fares against the LL, am eager to hear myself.
 
At the very least, I can guarantee you that you won't feel like you're spoiling the enjoyment of the 009 by "limiting" yourself to this Stax amp. Personally, I am quite happy with my choice and, even though I could see myself upgrading at some point, I am nowhere near obsessed with upgraditis at the moment. If anything, I might be looking at a new source before I switch the amp.
 
The recordings you feed this system with, and ultimately the DAC/Player, are probably just as important, if not more important than the amp. Actually, I restate: the recording quality is really the key and if you're listening mostly to average sounding CDs, I am not sure it is a reasonable idea to move to the 009.
 
PS: it was a good idea to listen to Ben Harper's Will to Live )). "I want to be ready" was particularly moving, I'd almost weep a bit . 

 

[Arnaldo]

Completely in agreement in regard to proper sources. And as far as I can judge from my short audition, the SR-009 should be a match made in heaven for the high-rez PCM and DSD recorded SACDs that I like to feed my VSE modded Sony SCD-XA5400ES. In the meantime, I'll just have to wait patiently for a few (hopefully favorable) impressions on the Cavalli Liquid Lightning, which is expected to start shipping in May. But if not, I'll just pull the trigger on a 009/727II package instead.
 
Quote:

Yep, and I am in the same boat as you: I have two little daughters and am quite reluctant to go to tubes. I have really absolutely no complaint with the 727A (BTW, I believe this is exactly the same amp as 727II, but a labeling specific to domestic market in Japan). Unfortunately, I can't tell you how it fares against the LL, am eager to hear myself.
 
At the very least, I can guarantee you that you won't feel like you're spoiling the enjoyment of the 009 by "limiting" yourself to this Stax amp. Personally, I am quite happy with my choice and, even though I could see myself upgrading at some point, I am nowhere near obsessed with upgraditis at the moment. If anything, I might be looking at a new source before I switch the amp.
 
The recordings you feed this system with, and ultimately the DAC/Player, are probably just as important, if not more important than the amp. Actually, I restate: the recording quality is really the key and if you're listening mostly to average sounding CDs, I am not sure it is a reasonable idea to move to the 009 [...]

 

 

[purrin]

 
Quote:

Eddie Current Electra vs BHSE vs WES vs Cavalli Liquid Lightning
 
Which one is the best?

Right now there are two versions of the Electra under development, neither of which are the rumored TOTL. There will be an OTL and a SE. I am not sure if there will be a shootout to determine which one Craig will actually offer. It could be both since they are different flavors.
 

 

[edstrelow]

 
Quote:

Yep, and I am in the same boat as you: I have two little daughters and am quite reluctant to go to tubes. I have really absolutely no complaint with the 727A (BTW, I believe this is exactly the same amp as 727II, but a labeling specific to domestic market in Japan). Unfortunately, I can't tell you how it fares against the LL, am eager to hear myself.
 
At the very least, I can guarantee you that you won't feel like you're spoiling the enjoyment of the 009 by "limiting" yourself to this Stax amp. Personally, I am quite happy with my choice and, even though I could see myself upgrading at some point, I am nowhere near obsessed with upgraditis at the moment. If anything, I might be looking at a new source before I switch the amp.
 
The recordings you feed this system with, and ultimately the DAC/Player, are probably just as important, if not more important than the amp. Actually, I restate: the recording quality is really the key and if you're listening mostly to average sounding CDs, I am not sure it is a reasonable idea to move to the 009.
 
PS: it was a good idea to listen to Ben Harper's Will to Live )). "I want to be ready" was particularly moving, I'd almost weep a bit . 

 
People seem to forget that Staxen are very transparent and have less sound of their own than most other items of equipment. Much of what you think is their sound really belongs to other items in the chain.  There is a lot you can do to improve the sound before you need to invest in major upgrades.
 
 I have recently been converting my DAC-driven systems over to toslink connectors when I discovered that these sounded much better through all of my Stax ( 007A, LNS, 404, Sigma, Sigma Pro Sigma 404, 003)  than electrical connectors.  All these years I had been hearing that electrical was better but when I finally got around to a comparison, I felt otherwise.   Nor would I have guessed that CD-DAC interconnects could make such a difference. The sound is much sweeter, less harsh in the treble and less boomy in the bass.  Also toslink is usually cheaper than electrical,  I have been paying less than $30.00/1m connector.
 
Congrats on the second daughter.  Enjoy them while you have them.  My oldest started college last year and my youngest joins her this year. Maybe when they are through I can look at big bucks upgrades but my youngest is already talking about law school.

 

[arnaud]

Hi Ed, 
 
It's funny because this is exactly what I was thinking when listening to my rig last night . A computer based source is convenient but somehow, it seems like there are days when it's not working as well as others, in particular in regards to prat / attack in the mid-highs. I guess there could be so many other factors (in particular how tired you are, how loud you're listening on that day, maybe power line noise), but there are recordings that sound "shouty" in the mid/highs, like projecting sound but, somehow, there are days better than others. I noticed before that restarting the mac could help with this but I never know how much the placebo is playing an effect. The truth is, I am too lazy to spend the time necessary to track down little details like USB cable / SPDIF cable influence because essentially, I don't think you can notice the effects immediately so you have to carry these experiments out over some weeks at a time.
 
But certainly, I believe that when you get to some subtleties of your system, seemingly insignificant "pollutions" add up to spoil the long term enjoyment of the rig. At least with the SR009, the resolution is such that you can get down to that level of optimization. I am just not quite committed to spending the time to get these details nailed down (I am also not sure where I need to look at too...). In that regard, it's so much simpler to just look into a component swap like DAC or amp, especially knowing that either of these are not the "ultimate".
 
Anyhow, first step now is to simply upgrade the DD because current is major PITA (doesn't support 88kHz output) and I want to see if async USB get improve things or not....

 

[HDMan]

place a source between your computer and the Realiser? and bitstream

 

[arnaud]

place a source between your computer and the Realiser? and bitstream

Not following you here, what did you say?

 

[HDMan]

 
Quote:

Hi Ed, 
 
It's funny because this is exactly what I was thinking when listening to my rig last night . A computer based source is convenient but somehow, it seems like there are days when it's not working as well as others, in particular in regards to prat / attack in the mid-highs.

 
If you haven't already, place a pre-processor (like the Emotiva UMC-1) in between your PC and Realiser and bitstream to the Pre.

 

[arnaud]

 
Quote:

Hi Ed, 
 
It's funny because this is exactly what I was thinking when listening to my rig last night . A computer based source is convenient but somehow, it seems like there are days when it's not working as well as others, in particular in regards to prat / attack in the mid-highs.

 
If you haven't already, place a pre-processor (like the Emotiva UMC-1) in between your PC and Realiser and bitstream to the Pre.

You must be able to see into the future as I am no realiser owner... Just yet ... I am presently using a D/D converter between my mac and DAC (see sig).

 

[rudi0504]

You must be able to see into the future as I am no realiser owner... Just yet ... I am presently using a D/D converter between my mac and DAC (see sig).

Your way is correct , for the best SQ from my IMac , I already ordered from April Music
U3 is convert from my IMac to Digital with higher bit rate .between iMac and U3 I use USB cable .
From U3 I feet with coax cable to my eximus DAC DP1
This the best SQ from iMacs or pc with U3 , you can read U3 and Eximus Dp 1 in 6moon review

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/aprilmusic8/3.html

 

[rsbrsvp]

I am bothered about some of the negative comments regarding the SR-009's sonics.
 
 
Just like the SR-007 sounds not so good with poor amplification,  the SR-009 needs the right electronics behind it to sound right as well.
 
 
I, like many others find the SR-009 to be the most revealing headphone imaginable, and yes they can be somewhat bright.  However, with the proper electronics, they are in my opinion much more balanced.  
 
Here is what I have found in my experience.
 
1.  Use a Tube DAC/Source.  It is more natural sounding, and tonally easier on the ears.  It does not have to be a "rolled off" type of tube DAC.
2.  DO NOT UPSAMPLE.   It  puts a hyper focus on the music which to my ears almost always emphasizes the treble.  This is bad news for the SR-009.
3.  If you are using a MAC MINI as your source,  use PURE MUSIC as your transport and always play the songs from "memory play".   This really smoothes out the sound and makes it more natural and organic.  I have tried Amarra, Itunes, Fedelia, and others.  None work with the SR-009 as well.  Something about the tone of Pure Music- especially in memory play and at 16/44   matches the SR-009 perfectly.    

 

[Drumonron]

So, 2011 the interest in this SR-009 just drops out?  I don't get it.
 
This is why I stopped posting or reading ...FOTM thing.
 
I will be getting a pair of these SR-009s, can we resuscitate this thread?

 

[arnaud]

What are talking about? What's up with you guys bringing these sr009 threads from the deads lately?!
The sr009 is discussed plenty in the stax III thread (every other page it feels like), that's not enough?
Arnaud