STAX SR-009S new flagship electrostatic earspeakers released (with impressions)
Dec 18, 2018 at 9:21 AM Post #677 of 1,367
I just bought the SR009S after having used the SR009 for almost 8 years. I was one of those early buyers who had experienced channel imbalance and returned it for exchange for few times via Pricejapan.

Now my impression of this SR009S is that it differs from the 009 by more than I expected to be. Warmer , more smooth sounding , vocal less upfront and overall darker. The headpad is thicker which is a plus.
My old 009 is pretty worn out- loose fitting ,slightly smelly , a portion of the plastic that houses the headband got chipped off, but still sound pretty fine. Now i need to get used to this 'darker' presentation or tweak my setup again, haha.
 
Dec 18, 2018 at 12:40 PM Post #680 of 1,367
stax_amp1.jpg
Now my impression of this SR009S is that it differs from the 009 by more than I expected to be. Warmer , more smooth sounding , vocal less upfront and overall darker. The headpad is thicker which is a plus.
My old 009 is pretty worn out- loose fitting ,slightly smelly , a portion of the plastic that houses the headband got chipped off, but still sound pretty fine. Now i need to get used to this 'darker' presentation or tweak my setup again, haha.

SR-009 is sometimes horrible bright! I had 3 times the standard SR-009 and cannot lived with it. SR-009s is the perfect headphone. Thanks Stax!

I have listened on 2 different occasions at two different stores with SR-007, SR-009, SR-009S driven with STAX SRM-T8000 and from what I heard is totally different: STAX SR-009 do not sound Bright, the SR-009S has even more detail than the SR-009, it never sounded warmer or smoother. The SR-007 is not revealing like the 009/009S, it sounded dull, some detail are lost, some might prefer 007 as warm sound.

This is my second amp that I built for driving the STAX, it is a three stage design and can swing to 600V peak, on the scope, with 300V swing it is louder than you want to listen to. With the right amp and sources STAX never sounds Bright, even at louder volume setting within amp limit, it sounds more dynamic, but never Bright. It is just more revealing than any other headphones on the market. It can magnifies problem upstream, DAC, Preamp....

Remember, if STAX sounds irritate you, then you have problem with your signal chain.
 
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Dec 18, 2018 at 12:40 PM Post #681 of 1,367
I have listened on 2 different occasions at two different stores with SR-007, SR-009, SR-009S driven with STAX SRM-T8000 and from what I heard is totally different: STAX SR-009 do not sound Bright, the SR-009S has even more detail than the SR-009, it never sounded warmer or smoother. The SR-007 is not revealing like the 009/009S, it sounded dull, some detail are lost, some might prefer 007 as warm sound.

This is my second amp that I built for driving the STAX, it is a three stage design and can swing to 600V peak, on the scope, with 300V swing it is louder than you want to listen to. With the right amp and sources STAX never sounds Bright, even at louder volume setting within amp limit, it sounds more dynamic, but never Bright. It is just more revealing than any other headphones on the market. It can magnifies problem upstream, DAC, Preamp....

Remember, if STAX sounds irritate you, then you have problem with your signal chain.


Perfectly said :)
 
Dec 18, 2018 at 12:59 PM Post #682 of 1,367


I have listened on 2 different occasions at two different stores with SR-007, SR-009, SR-009S driven with STAX SRM-T8000 and from what I heard is totally different: STAX SR-009 do not sound Bright, the SR-009S has even more detail than the SR-009, it never sounded warmer or smoother. The SR-007 is not revealing like the 009/009S, it sounded dull, some detail are lost, some might prefer 007 as warm sound.

This is my second amp that I built for driving the STAX, it is a three stage design and can swing to 600V peak, on the scope, with 300V swing it is louder than you want to listen to. With the right amp and sources STAX never sounds Bright, even at louder volume setting within amp limit, it sounds more dynamic, but never Bright. It is just more revealing than any other headphones on the market. It can magnifies problem upstream, DAC, Preamp....

Remember, if STAX sounds irritate you, then you have problem with your signal chain.

The T8000 is responsible for the 007 sounding dull.
 
Dec 18, 2018 at 1:22 PM Post #683 of 1,367
(...)

Remember, if STAX sounds irritate you, then you have problem with your signal chain.

I couldn't agree more. One of the things I always wonder about, after reading a lot of the comparisons between the 009 and S here is I have no idea what the upstream DAC is. I would like to think that a DAVE driving a T2, driving a variant of the 009 would sound different than a Hugo, vs. a PSAudio, etc. I would be interested in knowing, especially when people say the S sounds different than the 009 what they're using.

I can't help but to think that the upstream DAC will play a lot into this.

For me, my 009 (not S) is driven by a DAVE to a Mjolnir Carbon CC sounds fantastic and is the best headphone I've heard, but this is my first foray into electrostats. That doesn't mean the 009S might not sound better on my rig, but this is the kind of info I think a lot of the comparisons are missing.

I guess what I'd be interested in seeing are reviews that pair the 009/S on an endgame DAC/amp rig where the only moving part are the headphones.
 
Dec 18, 2018 at 1:28 PM Post #684 of 1,367
I couldn't agree more. One of the things I always wonder about, after reading a lot of the comparisons between the 009 and S here is I have no idea what the upstream DAC is. I would like to think that a DAVE driving a T2, driving a variant of the 009 would sound different than a Hugo, vs. a PSAudio, etc. I would be interested in knowing, especially when people say the S sounds different than the 009 what they're using.

I can't help but to think that the upstream DAC will play a lot into this.

For me, my 009 (not S) is driven by a DAVE to a Mjolnir Carbon CC sounds fantastic and is the best headphone I've heard, but this is my first foray into electrostats. That doesn't mean the 009S might not sound better on my rig, but this is the kind of info I think a lot of the comparisons are missing.

I guess what I'd be interested in seeing are reviews that pair the 009/S on an endgame DAC/amp rig where the only moving part are the headphones.

You have seen my comparisons between 009 and 009S. My DAC and my built PC are end games, but it is not your typical sources

The LKS004 is my DAC with upgraded OCXO clocks that are 5PPB (parts per Billion) which is 1000X better than your typical clocks that you can see even in the DAVE :D

My Pc is Pinkfaun with upgraded OCXO clocks around 15PPB, which is also around 1000X better than any of the common source out there you can buy as they are typically 20-50PPM (parts per Millions)

So the digital transport is my PC that keeps all the files and playback Via HQPlayer in Windows10, and my DAC is LKS004 that sports 2XES9038Pros with many goodies, and every cables are dedicated toward Musica performances.

The amp is KG-T2 with XF2 Quad with Power cables being Solid Silver everywhere...etc...no cheap out on anything :)

Yes, 009S sound different than 009, not much, but is different, and 009S is defintely warmer with thicker lower trebles and very little less extensions or sparkles in comparison to 009. Both deserves to be the very top tier of whatever headphones out there

Btw, my 009 is always unbelievably good, never a harsh or dull moment..ever...
 
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Dec 18, 2018 at 1:41 PM Post #685 of 1,367
I use V850 DAC to KGSShv Carbon and 009s beats 009 on tonality. No need to look further for other sources. For me the 009 is too bright on my rig not so natural then 009s. The only area 009s looses is bass impact vs LCD4. The Audeze has easily the best bass response of all TOTL.
 
Dec 18, 2018 at 1:45 PM Post #686 of 1,367
I use V850 DAC to KGSShv Carbon and 009s beats 009 on tonality. No need to look further for other sources. For me the 009 is too bright on my rig not so natural then 009s. The only area 009s looses is bass impact vs LCD4. The Audeze has easily the best bass response of all TOTL.

I hear what you and @Whitigir are saying, however, I'm not "hearing" it (excessive brightness) on my rig with 009/Carbon CC/DAVE combo.

It sounds like the only answer for me, personally, is to somehow audition a pair of 009S on my rig. Anyhow, no FOMO going on over here, anyways.
 
Dec 18, 2018 at 1:52 PM Post #688 of 1,367
I hear what you and @Whitigir are saying, however, I'm not "hearing" it (excessive brightness) on my rig with 009/Carbon CC/DAVE combo.

It sounds like the only answer for me, personally, is to somehow audition a pair of 009S on my rig. Anyhow, no FOMO going on over here, anyways.

That means your chains are great :)
 
Dec 18, 2018 at 2:09 PM Post #689 of 1,367
Not true, I have listened to 007 in my tube amp, for the mid up, I prefer the SRX MK3, Stax Lambda, Nova Sig, over the 007 compare side by side, the difference is quite big.

Maybe you could post the schematic for your tube amp, but I suspect it cannot do the 007 justice - I get that things are subjective but it is surprising to hear that someone preferred the SRX MK3, Lambda and Nova Sig to the 007. That usually points to the amp.
 
Dec 18, 2018 at 2:20 PM Post #690 of 1,367
When I said bright I don't mean harsh or fatiguing. A 009 is not harsh or fatiguing. It is too much about 1Khz for me what makes the tonality unnatural vs 009s.
Harsh or fatiguing is a K812 for example or TH900 but I don't know any E Stat with this bad attributes.
Hey when you love the 009 there is no need to think about other headphones or 009s. The difference is not a world. It is hearable but not very big.
 

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