[dleblanc343]

People, who are not used to work but do have a lot of money, buy Sennheiser HE1 because it is expensive.
People who love music, buy the X9000 no matter if they have the money or not.

Ignoring income and $ I can say I’d take the HE1 10 times out of 10 if I could.

Heard X9000 off BHSE, WES & T2/ Aeras at Canjam NY. Sounded good on T2 & Aeras (Custom DAC so not sure how it’s voiced)

Heard it off all Stax amps at Montreal Audio Show (sounded great on T8000)

Had it extensively at home and listened through a custom build SR-X Plus (with BHSE output stage) & custom build (“DSST-E”, best Stax amp I’ve heard but in development stages - lacks gain at the moment).

 

[Trance_Gott]

Ignoring income and $ I can say I’d take the HE1 10 times out of 10 if I could.

What is exactly better? Is the bass the problem of X9000?

 

[eee1111]

What is exactly better? Is the bass the problem of X9000?

Ur relentless

And no the bass is good

 

[Trance_Gott]

Ur relentless

And no the bass is good

Have I ask you? No.
I ordered a 7250€ headphone. And when it's not THE absolute best why spend so much money? Seems better to stay with Susvara, 1266 TC and CRBN and be happy.

 

[urs]

.

 

[Violine42]

Ignoring income and $ I can say I’d take the HE1 10 times out of 10 if I could.

Heard X9000 off BHSE, WES & T2/ Aeras at Canjam NY. Sounded good on T2 & Aeras (Custom DAC so not sure how it’s voiced)

Heard it off all Stax amps at Montreal Audio Show (sounded great on T8000)

Had it extensively at home and listened through a custom build SR-X Plus (with BHSE output stage) & custom build (“DSST-E”, best Stax amp I’ve heard but in development stages - lacks gain at the moment).

I see it exactly the other way around. I auditioned both head to head, there were also some other guys, one of them had the HE1 another the X9K(BHSE). And some other headphones.
There was only one person in that group who found the HE1 being better than the X9K and that was the owner... lol.
One said he liked the smooth timbre of the HE1 a bit better but the details and overall technical superiority of the X9K better.
The others all preferred the X9K in all aspects because of being a new class of its own.
Bass was perfect on the X9K but on the HE1 a bit more, however thicker. Not my personal taste, I like dryer, precise bass. But it's all about personal preferences. One even preferred Stealth over HE1 and X9K. Yes, I can understand, Stealth is indeed impressing, Carbon not so much.

 

[Trance_Gott]

Are there any measurements for the X9000 anywhere?

Regarding HE1 vs X9000 seems we need a voting.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Ur relentless

And no the bass is good

Just ridiculously relentless with his agenda. It's extremely annoying and really hurts the value of the overall thread. Every post... "x is a problem with the x9000" or "surely the CRBN is better"--from someone who hasn't even heard it. I just honestly hope people that are making purchasing decisions can see through it, I would assume they can.

Have I ask you? No.
I ordered a 7250€ headphone. And when it's not THE absolute best why spend so much money? Seems better to stay with Susvara, 1266 TC and CRBN and be happy.

You hate the x9000 and the praise it's receiving so much that you're willing to spend $7k on something you anticipate letting you down (and subconsciously want to let you down) lol. Just as in another thread where you mentioned the x9000 'would be complete crap if it doesn't perform well with metal'. A few others mentioned that it's probably not best suited for that genre, so again why not just cancel? You want to be able to say that these headphones are crap and that's literally all there is to it lol

You are hate ordering these headphones lol, and your review or impressions are going to clearly be of extreme bias. But alas, patiently awaiting the "CRBN is King over x9000" review.. (fyi, I have no problem with ppl not liking or loving it, I love the genuine discussion either way... it's just the very clear agenda here that makes this different)

 

[zolkis]

Bass was perfect on the X9K but on the HE1 a bit more, however thicker. Not my personal taste, I like dryer, precise bass. But it's all about personal preferences.

I agree with that. IMHO the X9K bass can be:
- life size bass in huge space, no limits in extension or dynamics
- diffuse in huge space,
making it a bit difficult to directly compare with more focused bass headphones, including the HE1, since it will much depend on personal preferences.

For me the X9K is clearly a class above the 007/009 family in every respect (bass, mids, treble, harmonic structure, musical resolution, sound stage, presentation etc).
The only criticism that could be applied is being prone to sound somewhat artificially enhanced sometimes, instead of a more organic and dense presentation, when that is desired. But sources and amps matter too on that respect. Also, it is something that can be relatively easily fixed with pad changes. As far as the driver is concerned, I am pretty sure it is (one of) the best e-stat drivers currently available, including the HE1, which is many times the price.

From what I get from others' feedbacks is that people would like something sounding between the X9K and the CRBN, which IMHO can be approximated from both sides with pad mods.

 

[Petergrifindor]

I have listened to Metallica, Blind Guardian, Helloween and Pantera on the X9000 and I loved it.

It doesn't have the bass of the 1266, but globally they sound amazing.

 

[Trance_Gott]

I have listened to Metallica, Blind Guardian, Helloween and Pantera on the X9000 and I loved it.

It doesn't have the bass of the 1266, but globally they sound amazing.

Thank you very helpful for me!

 

[number1sixerfan]

I agree with that. IMHO the X9K bass can be:
- life size bass in huge space, no limits in extension or dynamics
- diffuse in huge space,
making it a bit difficult to directly compare with more focused bass headphones, including the HE1, since it will much depend on personal preferences.

For me the X9K is clearly a class above the 007/009 family in every respect (bass, mids, treble, harmonic structure, musical resolution, sound stage, presentation etc).
The only criticism that could be applied is being prone to sound somewhat artificially enhanced sometimes, instead of a more organic and dense presentation, when that is desired. But sources and amps matter too on that respect. Also, it is something that can be relatively easily fixed with pad changes. As far as the driver is concerned, I am pretty sure it is (one of) the best e-stat drivers currently available, including the HE1, which is many times the price.

From what I get from others' feedbacks is that people would like something sounding between the X9K and the CRBN, which IMHO can be approximated from both sides with pad mods.

I share the same perspective of just about everything here. Same on all of the positives, and also get the feeling on some tracks that it does sometimes feel artificially staged/voiced (soundstage and imaging). It's hard to explain and for me at least, it's not a feeling I have on every track, but it does happen.

And yea, I get the sense that some people are looking for something more voiced like the 007, even a direct upgrade from it perhaps, which I think is really fair. I actually feel the same way about the 009, as even it is voiced pretty differently. Anyone wanting the exact presentation of either, isn't going to get it with the x9000. But I do agree with you, it's clearly in a league above both.

 

[VandyMan]

Just ridiculously relentless with his agenda. It's extremely annoying and really hurts the value of the overall thread. Every post... "x is a problem with the x9000" or "surely the CRBN is better"--from someone who hasn't even heard it. I just honestly hope people that are making purchasing decisions can see through it, I would assume they can.

What I see is that every time someone says something negative about the x9000 or positive about the CRBN there are a few people who jump in to disagree. Every single time. And, I'm totally fine with that and likewise I'm fine with Trance_Gott giving his opinion, even though I don't share his love of metal or priority on bass. I think both side are saying the same thing over and over, so I tend to scroll a lot in these topics recently.

 

[number1sixerfan]

What I see is that every time someone says something negative about the x9000 or positive about the CRBN there are a few people who jump in to disagree. Every single time. And, I'm totally fine with that and likewise I'm fine with Trance_Gott giving his opinion, even though I don't share his love of metal or priority on bass. I think both side are saying the same thing over and over, so I tend to scroll a lot in these topics recently.

I totally get that too. At the end of the day, everyone has a right to respond and disagree, but that's the case even in response to negative comments. It doesn't mean that people are automatically dismissive, it simply means they don't agree. And many of us here simply struggle to agree to disagree (I'm definitely not exempt here). And then there's this odd obsession with trying to objectively claim whatever headphone someone has as objectionably best.

But when there's a clear agenda in every thread from the same exact person, it's an entirely different thing that just truly becomes an annoyance imo. Big difference between trolling and sharing a valid perspective based on first hand experience--of which he hasn't had. But anyways, I've given too much energy to this specific situation so it's the last I'll say on it. Cheers.

 

[BTD1]

Here is my perspective as a new Stax owner on the x9000, 007Mk2 and the CRBN. My perspective is based on how each of these headphones reveal the music and how they take me deeper into hearing the music. I can't speak with authority on the various technicalities, and I don't want to. Others are much better at that. What I am hearing is that the x9000 (before I sent it in for repairs) was so balanced and layered and spacious, that I didn't think about anything but how beautifully the music I was hearing was coming across. I really did stop thinking about the headphone itself. The 007Mk2 has, for me, some of that essence, but I was aware that in some recordings I felt the tuning of the headphone needed adjustment, or there was too much or too little of something. But I still enjoy it. Unfortunately, for me, the CRBNs lack the subtle layering and space and timbre that I hear in both of the Stax phones. I have learned so much about what I am really looking for in a headphone. For me, it's not about bass or mid or sparkle, it's about a perfect musical balance that lets the music come forward. When my Shangri-La Sr phones finally arrive I hope that between the x9000s and the SGLs I will have the ideal situation to experience and enjoy recorded music at the highest level. A year and a half ago, I had never heard of Stax and had no idea what estats were all about. This has all been so much fun!