[Currawong]

Quote:

Do you think the ark assembly on the 009 looks better than the 007 or the 4070?

The headband assembly goes back to a Lambda-style arrangement which some might think is a step backwards, but maybe the constantly stretching elastic was becoming a nuisance with customers. The cup and gimbal arrangement gives the appearance of high-quality industrial design, more so than the O2s do, though even they felt very well-built.  Maybe I need to take some photos of the O2s as well?
 

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

@complin. I didn't know someone here owns an original T2. Good to hear that yours has been working fine.
I saw many pics of the inside and felt the heatsinks are clearly not adequate for the job. Most of them are just tiny on-board ones and putting all the tubes inside is not a good idea to me. Did you ever measure its working temperature?

Hell, I never said it's something like the SP. They are absolutely different beasts.

 
Mine ran at 65+°C which is enough to fry an egg so not cool at all.  I would never run it with the cover on.  That said all the SRM-T2's will die sooner rather then later since there is a fatal flaw in the PSU.  The huge transformer isn't big enough so it gets rather toasty and the windings will fail eventually. 
 
 

 

[immtbiker]

@ n3rdling. Thank you for your post. If my logic was confusing then let me try to clear it up a bit. My comment about you and spritzer thinking that the sound of the Jade was the worst stat you have ever heard, which prompted my comment about never taking either of your advice, was a sarcastic remark, which, of course, had I used a smiley, would have been seen as one. My fault for not including the smiley. 
I have a great deal of respect for what both of you have to say and so take  my comment with a bit of levity. The shilling comment was something, as a Head-Fi Administrator, I did take to heart, and thought it was not appropriate to what I was getting at.
 
My point in a a nutshell, was…that dust or environmental factors getting inside a stat seems to be a hard issue to deal with. So, I was comparing 2 companies that had to fight that battle. One being a major player in the game (Stax), the other, being a one man show (Mr. He.)
It's amazing that a microscopic element can deteriorate a design, no matter what the build quality is.
 
Also, of course I think that the latest creations from Ultrasone, Grado, Beyer, Sennheiser and others that were feeding the starving population who up until then, had to lay out ridiculous amounts of money to buy vintage to get better than an average offering like the HD6XX or DT990, are way overpriced. No doubt about that. $1700 for a re-invented for a Grado based upon other previous designs? Definitely  a "supply and demand" issue. I was just happy that the audio world, which makes more money on a Triple Fi Pro or a Dr. Dre Beats, than a few thousand HD800's, finally heard the outcry for newer hi-end components and went back to the drawing board, even though it's not what puts food on the executives table.
 
I used to buy $10,000 Meitner equipment at the ring of a bell, but with the economy and wifely unemployment, my position on high priced audio has changed. So I guess my perspective on the price being asked for the C32 has changed. I bought one of the 30 Meier re-instated HE-90's for $5K. But right know that is  not doable for me. So, when Stax asks so much for their flagship headphone, which has a batch with the same problem as a headphone 1/5 of it's price, it shows us that know matter what the cost, it's an obvious obstacle.
 
That was my original point and the only reason I posted in the first place.

 

[n3rdling]

Ok cool, understood

 

[3210]

Quote:

 
Mine ran at 65+°C which is enough to fry an egg so not cool at all.  I would never run it with the cover on.  That said all the SRM-T2's will die sooner rather then later since there is a fatal flaw in the PSU.  The huge transformer isn't big enough so it gets rather toasty and the windings will fail eventually. 
 
 

Give it Kevin Gilmour (60Hz!).
 
 

 

[Shahrose]

Well Jude's review of the SR-009 says it all (Episode 8).

 

[rsbrsvp]

Has anyone had a chance to compare the 007MK1 to the SR-009 on a BHSE.
 
I am curious because I plan to keep my BHSE and it is scarily transparent and revealing.   I think that BHSE was made to power the harder to drive and less bright 007 and am concerned it will be to much for the SR-009.
 
 
I doubt the 009 will be to bright on a WES as reviewed by Head Fi.  But will it be on a BHSE ?
 
I would not be surprised if a SR-007 on  a BHSE sounded similar tonally to a SR-009 on a WES.  Not exact- but probly similar.

 

[kiertijai]

I have been trying to compare the SR009 vs O2 mkI  vs O2mkII and SR Omega driven by Spritzer modded 727.
The SR009 is probably the easiest to drive, may be the same as SR Omega but better than the O2mkI, O2mkII
The SR009 seem brighter to O2mkI (which I consider dark), may be the same to the O2 mkII (but the midrange
of the SR009 more fuller , more mellow and probably a little bit more forward).  The SR Omega seem to be neutral.
The sound stage has to go to the SR Omega (I don't know may be I like the SR Omega more because of the laid back
nature , not as bright as SR009) but the accuracy may go to the SR009 or O2mkI.  When I listened to Tong Li "returned
to the field" I could hear the sound of the rain in 3d, more detail  with the SR omega , better than the SR009
If I have to rate for vocal music I will go to : SR Omega>=SR009 > O2mkI>O2mkII   but those who prefer
not too overbright music may choose O2mkI over SR009.  Like in Cassandra Wilson: Loverly album I like the O2mkI better.

 

[googleli]

I have listened to some really good female vocal through the 009 lately and the quality is so amazingly superb that I don't think any of my custom IEMs, dynamic headphones or orthodynamic headphone I have is a close match. And I am just using the stock SRM727II for the 009, but the top ranked tube amp ranked by Skylab for the dynamic ones, so the comparison isn't even fair to the 009 to begin with. I will try to get a loaner pair of HD800 for further comparison but I doubt if it is up to par with the 009. In Chinese Headfi or Hifi jargon, the 009's female vocal is the most "poisonous" sound I have heard. I also have the CK100 which is considered extremely poisonous for female vocal, but it is quite colored and is IMO no match to SR009's genuine and effortless presentation of the most detailed yet musical female voice through my Esoteric K01. I don't think you need a source which is four times the price of the SR009 to sound great, but with it I can comfortably say that all details of music are retrieved and stunningly presented through the 009, and that is quite close to music nirvana, I believe. Now all I need is a higher end stat amp!

 

[monsieurguzel]

Sell the Esoteric Dac, buy another state of the art DAC for a quarter the price along with top flight stat amp...and still have $10k left over

 

[warp08]

Quote:

Sell the Esoteric Dac, buy another state of the art DAC for a quarter the price along with top flight stat amp...and still have $10k left over

The K-01 is not a DAC.  It's the current flagship single-chassis digital source device in their lineup.  I'm of the opinion that you wouldn't want to feed a flagship amp with substandard quality source material.  Garbage in, garbage out.  This applies both the quality mastering recording and a source that is capable of retrieving and presenting those additional details that lower quality sources aren't capable of, and no amping will compensate for that.
 
There is a reason why those devices are priced at that level.  I suppose one must own one to really appreciate that.  The reality is that it's priced out of the range of most audiophiles, which is a pity.

 

[kiertijai]

SR009 is an excellent phone but the excellent phone is different from a perfect phone for all.
It will come down to other factors: type of music, songs, personal taste, mood.....etc.
I think SR009 is very good for Chinese music : Tongli, Yao Si Ting, Teresa Teng and many others but
for other singer like Tsai Chin some one may prefer O2mkI more . LCD2 and Grado HP2 are better than SR009 IMO.
Norah Jones also sounds very good with SR 009 but it doen't like Norah Jones that I used to know, LCD2 and other Grado  PS1, HP1, HP2
 do better.    I prefer SR009 in some singer : tongli, Yao Si Ting . When I  listen to" somewhere in time" from her endless love
album )   SR009 is very sweet , romantic, beautiful but when you have to think about the movies (with Christopher Reeves + Jane
Seymour )  SR Omega will win for me because it is not only sweet, romantic , beautiful, It is also very thoughful, more deep feeling.  It is just
like you are in the movies yourself. That's not only beautiful music but the music that I would like to hear . HE90 will produce the same feeling,
presentation but better , more magic.
This morning I played Brahm Symphony 4 by Carlos Kleiber with SR009, it was so beautiful and lovely.   But it's not  Brahm Symphony 4  by
Carlos Kleiber that I used to know.  Because music is not just beautiful sound.  SR Omega will display more deep thoughtful  presentation of the music,
dynamic change in emotion and you may be able to know Brahm's personality from hearing his masterpiece.  You can use SR009 with Mozart, Vivaldi, 
Beethoven 5,6 but not for Beethoven 3 Eroica  I would choose SR Omega or HE90.    
You will never use SR009 with  Gorecki Symphony 3, It is the symphony of sorrowful song ,  how can you use a phone that sound  lovely with this kind of music?
Again if you will love four seasons by Janine Jansen dearly with SR9009 but when she played theme from Schindler's list,  SR009 will not match the SR Omega or HE90.
SR 009 will be treble overbright for some pops : M2M, Britney Spears,Avril Lavigne, Kelley Clarkson....etc.
I will use these phones to listen to more music with deep heavy bass : Nickelback, Queen's : Another one bites the dust, The Black Keys : Brothers, Deadmau5 : for lack
of a better name.

 

[arnaud]

Quote:

SR 009 will be treble overbright for some pops : M2M, Britney Spears,Avril Lavigne, Kelley Clarkson....etc.

Ok, I certainly hope someone isn't spending 10k+USD in an audio system to listen to Britney Spears .
 
On a more serious note, I went to see and listen to Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet at the new national opera of Tokyo and listening to various versions back at home now just for fun. Well, this is truly awesome through the SR-009 but still quite a bit far away from the real thing (even when closing the eyes)... I feel the biggest issues with the headphone reproduction are 1) low level resolution (likely source / recording dependent), 2) imaging (likely would be improved by listening to binaural recording with personalized HRTFs), 3) feeling of sound projection during dynamic peaks (likely would be better with an amplifier with more power reserve). Can't tell for the tonality as this is very much depending on the hall, seating, recording ... But, clearly the SR009 sounds natural and not artificially bright. I also I don't feel I am missing anything at either ends of the spectrum.
 

 

[purk]

Quote:

Ok, I certainly hope someone isn't spending 10k+USD in an audio system to listen to Britney Spears .
 
On a more serious note, I went to see and listen to Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet at the new national opera of Tokyo and listening to various versions back at home now just for fun. Well, this is truly awesome through the SR-009 but still quite a bit far away from the real thing (even when closing the eyes)... I feel the biggest issues with the headphone reproduction are 1) low level resolution (likely source / recording dependent), 2) imaging (likely would be improved by listening to binaural recording with personalized HRTFs), 3) feeling of sound projection during dynamic peaks (likely would be better with an amplifier with more power reserve). Can't tell for the tonality as this is very much depending on the hall, seating, recording ... But, clearly the SR009 sounds natural and not artificially bright. I also I don't feel I am missing anything at either ends of the spectrum.
 

BHSE is calling you!!!  

 

 

[rsbrsvp]

The more posts I read the more I get the feeling that the SR-009 is NOT the undisputed champion- best headphone- period.   It seems to be a very good one, but the overall consensus so far is "different" rather than "better".  Many prefer other electrostats for certain music, mood, or personal tastes.
 
I was really looking for "The King" for all music in all moods at all times for a price of  5k.
 
Considering the "Different" rather than "Better" reality, I would rather stock a "SR007 MK1, SR007MK2,  SR-507, and Sigma/404 to provide me with many different tastes for many different moods and types of music for about the same price as one SR-009 which may be equally as good as all of these and maybe better in some situations, moods, music types- but I would be limited to one headphone instead of four very very good ones.