[TheDreamthinker]

If I look into those audiophile-magazines, you see those speaker systems for 70000 - 100000$ (which no longer look like speakers).
 
IMHO, those prices are a bit out of proportion. But those people think otherwise.....i am probably just a jealous non-billionaire.

 

[Lunatique]

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If I look into those audiophile-magazines, you see those speaker systems for 70000 - 100000$ (which no longer look like speakers).
 
IMHO, those prices are a bit out of proportion. But those people think otherwise.....i am probably just a jealous non-billionaire.

You know what, I'd love to have a double-blind shoot out where those 5 to 6 figure speaker systems are pitted against those that cost far, far less, but are already amazing in sound quality (especially the high-end pro audio reference monitors). I think it would likely be very embarrassing for those ludicrously priced speakers systems when the shoot out results are revealed.
 

 

[NewMACAdress]

I love you.

 

[TheOtus]

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No flagship headphone system can ever compete with even mid-range speaker systems, and the only reason why you should consider such an expensive headphone system is if you simply do not have the room for a speaker system, or that your living environment does not allow you to play speakers at optimal volume.

Now I'm extremely interested to hear what's the price your mid-range speaker system... I've heard a speaker system at this one audio store, only the speakers alone cost about 7 times more than my whole headphone setup, and I was left very un-impressed.

 

[NewMACAdress]

More importantly,  are you a female?  Because i definitely said that i love you and i would feel like an idiot if you weren't.
 

 

[Satellite_6]

LOL. . .  xD

 

[maverickronin]

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More importantly,  are you a female?  Because i definitely said that i love you and i would feel like an idiot if you weren't.

His blog is linked in his sig.
 
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[dagothur]

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His blog is linked in his sig.
 
 

He can wear a dress while he's on Head-Fi.  Being a good Samaritan and all that.
 

 

[maverickronin]

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He can wear a dress while he's on Head-Fi.  Being a good Samaritan and all that.

Inferring gender from an avatar is risky business..

 

[TheDreamthinker]

Quote:

You know what, I'd love to have a double-blind shoot out where those 5 to 6 figure speaker systems are pitted against those that cost far, far less, but are already amazing in sound quality (especially the high-end pro audio reference monitors). I think it would likely be very embarrassing for those ludicrously priced speakers systems when the shoot out results are revealed.
 

I once read about those melon-speakers, they really are from an aesthetic point of view they are real pieces of art.
(sorry but don't have the name right now, i will post a picture once i remember again)
Those were only 80000$.....let's stay humble.
 
On a more serious note, at that pricerange it seems, the first thing is the price/prestige and the sound comes second.
The same with cars, get an Astron Martin or a Skoda/Dacia (cheap cars), both drive and bring you from A to B. Of course it also depends on your style of driving, whether you reach B safely, but in this aspect I suppose that the cheap cars are better as you are less likely to crash into a tree.
 

 

[NewMACAdress]

     Idiot i am young one
 

 

[Lunatique]

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Now I'm extremely interested to hear what's the price your mid-range speaker system... I've heard a speaker system at this one audio store, only the speakers alone cost about 7 times more than my whole headphone setup, and I was left very un-impressed.

Well, my Klein + Hummel O 300D's retailed at about $7,000 a pair full price, but you can find them for cheaper street price, and there's also the non-digital version (the O 300) that cost even less. I don't know if the O 300D's can be called mid-range, since in the pro audio world, they are considered high-end already (for nearfield reference monitors). But I guess that just makes my point even more so--that in the pro audio world, high-end reference monitors that cost thousands of dollars less than the SR-009 can easily blow it away. There are  other excellent reference monitors in the pro audio market (some cost only about half or less of the SR-009 rig, and I bet they will beat the SR-009 in listening tests, if the room is well-treated):
 
Klein + Hummel O 300D: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Oct04/articles/kh300d.htm
 
Barefoot MicroMain 27: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan10/articles/barefootmicromain27.htm
 
Digidesign RM2: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct07/articles/digidesignrm2.htm
 
Event Opal: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug09/articles/eventopal.htm
 
Adam S3XV: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec09/articles/adams3xv.htm
 
This one costs more than the other monitors listed above (slightly more than the SR-009 rig), but I highly doubt it performs objectively better than the cheaper monitors:
Genelec 8260A: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan11/articles/genelec-8260a-0111.htm
 
Focal's pro audio products are also highly respected: http://www.focalprofessional.com/en/product.php
 
If you want to go even higher-end than these nearfield/mid-field reference monitors, you'll have to enter the world of full-sized mastering studio loudspeakers, and those all start in the 5 figure range and go up from there. Here's a brief thread from 2006 on gearslutz (where pro audio gear nuts hang out) about mastering loudspeakers: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/mastering-forum/67450-loudspeakers-mastering.html
 
There are some companies/products that share a cross-section of customers from both the audiophile and pro audio markets, and B&W is one such company. Personally, I think when a company is able to attract both the audiophile and the pro audio customers, is when you know they are doing something special.
 
There are also companies that deal only with the pro audio market, such as Oceanway: http://www.oceanwayaudio.com/

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More importantly,  are you a female?  Because i definitely said that i love you and i would feel like an idiot if you weren't.
 

Wow, you just professed love to my wife.
 
Among the list of my passions is photography, and that avatar photo is one of my favorite portraits I've ever taken of my wife.
 
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Inferring gender from an avatar is risky business..

It's interesting that whenever someone uses an avatar that looks like obvious commercial studio photography of some hot chick, people tend to just assume the person is a fan of that model/actress/celebrity, even if we don't recognize the hottie in the avatar. We don't just assume the person IS the hottie in the avatar, because somehow a very polished commercial photo disassociates that possibility for some psychological reason. But if the photo was a typical snapshot of the same hottie, then we're far more likely to assume the avatar is the person posting.
 

 

[jude]

I like the Stax SR-007 (the Mk1 more than the Mk2), but, as I said in the video, I haven't found it to be better for me--in terms of both value and absolute performance--than my top-tier dynamics.  (I understand, and accept, that some may disagree with me.)  I am a giant fan of the Audeze LCD-2, HiFiMAN HE-6 and HE-500, and the Sennheiser HD 800 (all of these when driven well), and find them to fulfill my sonic needs as well as the Stax SR-007 system configurations I've heard.
 
But the Stax SR-009 is...the SR-009.  In other words, of currently available headphones, it stands alone (to my ears).  (And after more and more people hear it, I'm sure there'll be those who'll disagree with me, but I think more who will agree.)  I'm not sure yet if it's something I can bring myself to pay the price for, but I'm seriously considering it.
 
I still love my other rigs, but I've now heard the outer limits of headphone performance pushed further than I've yet heard it pushed.  And I've heard the outer limits of sheer detail in an audio system pushed further than I've ever heard it pushed, via the SR-009, relative to any other headphones or loudspeakers I've experienced.
 
As for its price, and what kind of speaker-driving rig you can get with it:  I know you can get a good speaker-driving system for the price of a top-notch SR-009 setup.  But I was reviewing what I now consider the best headphone in the world.  As for what speakers can do that headphones cannot, I'm certainly well aware.  I know that the imaging from headphones (with overwhelmingly most recordings) won't be able to keep up with a good loudspeaker setup.  I know that no headphone--no matter the price--will be able to convey the visceral, body-pounding waves of bass that good loudspeakers can.  But none of the loudspeaker rigs I've heard--and I've heard some dandies--have been able to match the inner detail from the best headphone rigs I've heard.  None.  And no headphone has the inner detail that the SR-009 does (in my experience).
 
So you may elect to spend $10,000 to $12,000 on something else--a car, a wristwatch, a big honkin' television (or four), your dream espresso machine, home renovations, or even a loudspeaker-driving audio system.  But it won't be a Stax SR-009 setup.  And if you elect to buy a Stax SR-009 setup, it won't haul your kids to a hockey game, tell you the time, let you watch movies on it, make you coffee, increase your home value...or do the things good loudspeakers can that it cannot.
 
I'm not trying to convince anyone that the Stax SR-009's price should make sense to you.  There are some here for whom it does (all of whom are well aware of the fact that it's a headphone).  I might be one of those people.

 

[Lunatique]

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I'm not trying to convince anyone that the Stax SR-009's price should make sense to you.  There are some here for whom it does (all of whom are well aware of the fact that it's a headphone).  I might be one of those people.

On man, you're really wringing your hands on whether to bleed out money for the SR-009 rig, aren't ya? I can just feel the pain in your voice/words. I think anyone who's ever made a huge purchase in life that just about stretches his spending budget to above and beyond the absolute breaking limit, can relate to your struggle. I felt that way when I spent about $10k on my photography rig, or the Stax SR-007 rig, or my K+H studio monitors, or even the home we now live in.
 
I guess the real deciding factor is how much joy you think you will get from such a purchase, versus how much joy you are getting from your current favorite rig. So my questions to you, Jude, are these:
 
Not considering the cost at all and focusing purely on the sound quality, just how much better would you rate the SR-009 compared to your previous favorite rigs, in terms of increase in sound quality in percentage overall? Is it a 10% increase in overall quality/enjoyment? 15%? 20%?
 
The next logical question would be, how much is that extra increase in quality/enjoyment worth? $1,000? $5,000? $10,000?
 
The final question would then be, how often do you realistically think you'll get to enjoy the new purchase? A couple of hours a day? A few hours a week? A few times a month?
 
It I was in your position, unsure whether I'd pull the trigger, those would be the questions I'd ask myself. Of course, it's hard to be completely rational when it comes to luxury purchases, but I think most intelligent people eventually learn to control themselves enough to be pragmatic. Or am I placing too much faith in human being's ability for self-control?
 

 

[NewMACAdress]

If i were to show my friend a pair of high end headphones and that friend decided that he enjoyed what headphones had to offer,  I would immediately point him over to Head-fi.org.  With in a matter of a couple hours, i would be willing to bet that my friends curiosity would get the best of him and he would start searching for "the best headphone ever"
This is where he stumbles upon the STAX SR-009!  Yep, just like everyone else who has ever joined this sight could tell you before this headphone came out, the orpheus was the best.  To some it might be plain curiosity.  To some, a reason to gossip and others a new glimmer in their eye and one check away from owning something they know will please them for a long time.