[gomincha]

Has anyone compared SR-007 and SR-009 with BHSE or KGSS?
Kiertijai how does the SR-007 fairs against the SR-009 with your modded 727a?
Spritzer i would also appreciate your comments..Have you heard the SR-009 yet?
Thanks a lot guys!

 

[kiertijai]

I will try to compare SR007, SR Omega, SR009 this weekend
HE90 also, but only from the energizer or the Spritzer modded  SRM300 Stax amplifier

 

[Currawong]

After a day with the 009s and a 007t amp, it's quite obvious how unholy detailed these headphones are, but in a manner that is delivered with the typical Stax effortlessness. So far, compared to the LCD-2s, I feel the 009s are a bit better for jazz, classical and vocal (ie: well-recorded acoustic music where the intimacy of detail matters most) whereas the slam you get from the orthos along with their less in-your-face frequency response would make them preferentially for music I like that is compressed, which means pop and rock most often. It is rather like my first experience with the 404s when I was primiarly using Denons, though in this case the LCD-2s aren't shamed at all, just the 009s are on another plane of detail retrieval altogether.

They are, tonally, somewhat bright and forward. However, "bright" in the typical Stax, if not O2 manner. I didn't think of them as being bright at first until I listened to some less than stellar compressed tracks where the distortion induced during mastering became annoying. Vocal and instrument reproduction -- I have not heard better in my memory. I have no issues with the bass, but neither did I with the HD-800s. I suspect that it will inevitably be such an amp-dependent thing and I doubt they will never be anything like orthos so attempting to pick it apart is really moot.

 

[arnaud]

Listening to Chalie Byrd at the Village Vanguard at the moment, I could not agree more with you impressions. Intimate recordings are really the most impressive. For me the most shockingly real sounding instruments are acoustic guitars and percussions in general. The voices are flawless but this is something I was already used to with the Omega 2.
 
Now in regards to the behavior with compressed / edgy (typically rock) recordings, I very much agree that the sound is a bit projected and it does not help to make poor recordings more palatable. However, what I am not sure about is how much this is a characteristic of the headphone rather than the amplification used (e.g. my stock 727 and 007t amp). In particular, if I remember from my speaker days, I thought one of the things that separate low/mid range amps to better one is this ability to deliver lots of energy without feeling like sounds are being projected (an indication of power reserve). Maybe this is wishful thinking, but I have this little feeling that modding the 727 amp or going full throttle on the amp could alleviate this issue with some recordings...
 
Quote:

After a day with the 009s and a 007t amp, it's quite obvious how unholy detailed these headphones are, but in a manner that is delivered with the typical Stax effortlessness. So far, compared to the LCD-2s, I feel the 009s are a bit better for jazz, classical and vocal (ie: well-recorded acoustic music where the intimacy of detail matters most) whereas the slam you get from the orthos along with their less in-your-face frequency response would make them preferentially for music I like that is compressed, which means pop and rock most often. It is rather like my first experience with the 404s when I was primiarly using Denons, though in this case the LCD-2s aren't shamed at all, just the 009s are on another plane of detail retrieval altogether.

They are, tonally, somewhat bright and forward. However, "bright" in the typical Stax, if not O2 manner. I didn't think of them as being bright at first until I listened to some less than stellar compressed tracks where the distortion induced during mastering became annoying. Vocal and instrument reproduction -- I have not heard better in my memory. I have no issues with the bass, but neither did I with the HD-800s. I suspect that it will inevitably be such an amp-dependent thing and I doubt they will never be anything like orthos so attempting to pick it apart is really moot.

 

 

[arnaud]

Also, one thing I wanted to add is that it does not seem to me like the issue with some recordings is due to an excess of treble / artificial brightness. For instance, I am listening to Miles Davis's Sketches of Spain now and this would typically sound pretty brittle if the tonal balance was off. On the contrary, it is about as realistic as I've ever heard the recording...
 
Ditto on Someday My Prince Will Come...

 

[K3cT]

Bright as in O2 MK2 kind of bright or 404LE kind? The latter is intolerable to my ears.

 

[Currawong]

I agree, the realisism is astounding. The recordings I have issue with are very compressed, sometimes to the point that they distort, though not as bad as a typical pop recording. Just enough though that on this kind of gear it is annoying. Anyhow, it's not a topic I want to divert the discussion into as I know the cause of any irritation and it definitely isn't the headphones.

 

[spritzer]

My set will come from the US so I'll have to wait until August for mine.  That said, I'm tempted to buy one of these earlier units just to compare it against the later version.  Crazy, I know...

 
Quote:

Thanks a lot for the clarification, I was about to ask you what you were comparing against! I am getting really interested in the mod myself but I thought I read somewhere that Birgir was not intending to perform the mod to whomever asks him, maybe I misread? Or maybe I need to send in the same package something of interest to him that I can find here .
 

I normally don't do the mod (or any other work) for others mostly because I'm not an MOT, have no free time and all the customs hassle here.  Kiertijai just caught me on a good day so I agreed to do it.  That said, something else sharing the box is often a good way to get me to say yes...

 

 

[googleli]

The female vocal is so good that it makes me shiver... In a good way

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Bright as in O2 MK2 kind of bright or 404LE kind? The latter is intolerable to my ears.

I'm confused because I don't find either of those phones to be bright, and the 404LE sounded a lot like an improved HD600 in sound signature to me (faster, more detailed, more transparent, just as balanced etc).
 

 

[K3cT]

Hmm... When I compared the O2 MK1 and MK2 out of the KGSS, I find that the latter has a slight boost in the upper mid/lower treble region which is perhaps done to emphasize details but overall it's still tolerable for me. The 404LE has a similar "peak" in the same region but it's much more pronounced than the O2 MK2 which makes it really unbearable to listen with certain recordings.

 

[googleli]

I am wondering whether using the volume bypass on the SRM727ii and turning on the digital attentuator on my Esoteric K01 will improve the sound. Any thoughts?

 

[Currawong]

googleli: Definitely worth trying.

I took the 009s around to Lobstersan's place yesterday and ruined him. I'm presently in the usual "rediscovering my music library" phase.

 

[kiertijai]

I have tried to compare the SR Omega, O2mkI and SR009.
I think the O2mkI is darker for me , the sound stage is narrower, imaging , detail very good.  The
midrange is warm and fuller.   The modded 727 definitely improved this but it is still there.
SR Omega and SR009 are quite similar but I think when both were driven by the modded 727a
the SR 009 is warmer, a little more coloured, midrange fuller but not to the extent as O2mkI.
The soundstage , imaging , detail are excellent.  In my opinion it does not have overbright treble
even with chinese music , definitely not the same as HD800 with stock cable (I use Zeus cable
 gold clad and that is a big improvement to the HD800 too).
the SR Omega is kinda opposite,   the soundstage , detail, imaging are very good, more airy,
high and low extension is very good, more laid back than the SR009.  Also no overbright treble
 
I am preparing my audiogears try to compare others better,  I have prepared :
HE90(driven by energizer)
AKG 1000 (driven by speaker post)   , R10 ( apuresound cable SE to balanced beta22),
HD800 (gold clad Zeus cable 4pin XLR to  beta 22), Grado HP2/HP1000( vixen modification at headphile,
black gold cable  4 pin XLR to beta22),Qualia 010 (stock cable SE to headphone output of Weiss DAC202),
SR Omega and SR009 from 727a modded .  
Lindemann 820s as the player, DAC = Weiss DAC202)
Cables: Stealth Indra, Analysis plus digital XLR, Analysis plus golden oval interconnect Furutech carbon fiber
termination, Audioquest Sky 72DBS.  
Power cables: Purist audio design, JPS, Crystal, Shunyata etc.
Wall plug Wattgate 380i (will change to Furutech rhodium) .  
Line conditioner :  Shunyata Hydra4, Furutech etp60
 
I hope that I can contribute some more , again  I am not a good critical listener , my cables are also mixed bag.

 

[purk]

Quote:

I have tried to compare the SR Omega, O2mkI and SR009.
I think the O2mkI is darker for me , the sound stage is narrower, imaging , detail very good.  The
midrange is warm and fuller.   The modded 727 definitely improved this but it is still there.
SR Omega and SR009 are quite similar but I think when both were driven by the modded 727a
the SR 009 is warmer, a little more coloured, midrange fuller but not to the extent as O2mkI.
The soundstage , imaging , detail are excellent.  In my opinion it does not have overbright treble
even with chinese music , definitely not the same as HD800 with stock cable (I use Zeus cable
 gold clad and that is a big improvement to the HD800 too).
the SR Omega is kinda opposite,   the soundstage , detail, imaging are very good, more airy,
high and low extension is very good, more laid back than the SR009.  Also no overbright treble
 
I am preparing my audiogears try to compare others better,  I have prepared :
HE90(driven by energizer)
AKG 1000 (driven by speaker post)   , R10 ( apuresound cable SE to balanced beta22),
HD800 (gold clad Zeus cable 4pin XLR to  beta 22), Grado HP2/HP1000( vixen modification at headphile,
black gold cable  4 pin XLR to beta22),Qualia 010 (stock cable SE to headphone output of Weiss DAC202),
SR Omega and SR009 from 727a modded .  
Lindemann 820s as the player, DAC = Weiss DAC202)
Cables: Stealth Indra, Analysis plus digital XLR, Analysis plus golden oval interconnect Furutech carbon fiber
termination, Audioquest Sky 72DBS.  
Power cables: Purist audio design, JPS, Crystal, Shunyata etc.
Wall plug Wattgate 380i (will change to Furutech rhodium) .  
Line conditioner :  Shunyata Hydra4, Furutech etp60
 
I hope that I can contribute some more , again  I am not a good critical listener , my cables are also mixed bag.

That gotta a be a massive comparison that's for sure.  We will camp here waiting for your impression.  For short though, any clear winner b/w the SR009, OII & OII using the mod SRM-727II or just a case of preference?  Many thanks.