OK I feel like I'm going to explode if I have to contain my excitement any longer on this one
Koss ESP 950 electrostatic headphone with SRM 1 MK2 Stax amp and Bifrost Uber DAC versus SR-009:
It's taken me 24 hours to even begin to come up with words for how angelic this pairing is - still I'm left with just a bunch of words like magnificent, timeless, velvety, etc.!
Let me start by telling you this is without a doubt one of the best things I've ever heard -
astoundingly surreal!!!!!
- Compared to Senn. HD 650: 950 has about 30% better punch / dynamics, about 50% more detailed. Soundstage about the same quantity but in a different way. Bass quantity similar but quality in a different league.
- Compared to the Stax SR-009: Stax wins by about 30% in all these regards: punch, detail, lushness, soundstage and bass quality, yet IMO is slightly bass shy.
From my testing, I would have to disagree with the previous poster that it's sound is overly dry / cold and that the attack / release is too fast. I quite enjoyed that punchyness especially on electronic music, and the decay will be there as long as it's part of the recording. Sure it's not as lush as the 009 but I had no qualms with that. It sounded marvelous with all the electro / pop / acoustic songs I threw at it. The only very slightly negative comment I would have was that the bass presentation seemed to have a
slight artificial or plasticky feel too it. Both these electrostats were quite comparable but the SR-009 sounded more organic, pure, detailed and effortless.
Overall 8/10
for an electrostat.
The only other things I've heard to best it were Sony MDR R10, Stax SR-009 and a
heavily modded HE-6 on a goliath powered amp