Best team shoutout to Headamp!!!!
@justin w. will have the STAX SR-X9000 and our BHSE at the DC Head-Fi Meet! If your even a little curious to hear what we feel is THE best headphone on the market be sure to swing by!
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dc-...echo-town-hall-on-april-30-2022.962776/page-4
Stax SR-X9000
- Thread starter HBen
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catscratch
Headphoneus Supremus
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Thanks. Doesn't look too bad at all. The mid bump and peak past 10k should be equalizable. These measurements are diffuse-field compensated too so the dip in the upper mids is not as big as it appears. I wonder if there's a bass port on these.
Chianti
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SR-X 9000 in the house!
3 observations after a few hours:
1. Distinct sound, 'worth it' for varieties sake, irrespective of what other headphones you own (IMHO). Not the best for 'aggressive' music genres ...
2 Delivery speed: Ordered in September 2021 from Staxaudio.com (Woo).
Serial number in the low 1300s - after reports of somebody who had received SN 1111 end of November, that seems to imply 5 months / 200 headphones = current production rate about 40 per month (average). This may be accelerating eventually, but that was the message since launch, I don't care as much anymore as I now have mine
3. Amp pairing: I have so far not found a reason to go beyond 11 o'clock on my Woo 3ES Elite Edition. Plenty of headroom. Too early to make a recommendation re:Tube rolling (WE300B vs. TA300B - I have both and will experiment ...)
3 observations after a few hours:
1. Distinct sound, 'worth it' for varieties sake, irrespective of what other headphones you own (IMHO). Not the best for 'aggressive' music genres ...
2 Delivery speed: Ordered in September 2021 from Staxaudio.com (Woo).
Serial number in the low 1300s - after reports of somebody who had received SN 1111 end of November, that seems to imply 5 months / 200 headphones = current production rate about 40 per month (average). This may be accelerating eventually, but that was the message since launch, I don't care as much anymore as I now have mine
3. Amp pairing: I have so far not found a reason to go beyond 11 o'clock on my Woo 3ES Elite Edition. Plenty of headroom. Too early to make a recommendation re:Tube rolling (WE300B vs. TA300B - I have both and will experiment ...)
Chianti
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Don't want to do too much stream of consciousness, although it's tempting ...
So far it amounts to this (for me): What the SR-X 9000 does really well, it does much better than any other headphone I have heard.
Think 'magical moments' - where you think 'this is worth it, I have never heard this song like this before'.
The magic comes from the presentation and layering of instruments, e.g. notably with sophisticated pop like Annie Lennox/Eurythmics, live concerts (try Herbert Grönemeyer Live Tumult 2019), singer/songwriter (time to revisit 'fast car' and 'Tom's diner).
Jazz is also best in class, never heard Freddie Freeloader better than this.
Some classical not as compelling (SR-X 9000 not better than other top headphones), I prefer e.g. Susvara for Beethoven Symphonies.
Bizet's Carmen again is best on the STAX.
Other lmits of the SR-X 9000 can be experienced with Highway to Hell (I am using the Qobuz 96kHz remaster from the album of the same title, it's true HD): SR-X 9000 starts strong with Bon Scott's opening but then doesn't keep it up at the same level as the chorus hits 'highway to hell' - stage and separation are not rendered as nicely as during the opening. To give the SR-X credit: You could also look at this as a testament how nuanced the overall presentation is, with most other headphones there isn't as much of a difference because they are so far away from the baseline performance of the STAX ... So not necessarily a reason to give them preference just because they are 'worse everywhere'
E.g. Thunderstruck keeps going throughout, SR-X never missed a beat.
There are no hard 'no gos' at this time - every kind of music remains very enjoyable with the SR-X (Rockna Wavedream Signature -> Wavedream NET -> Woo 3ES Elite, right now with TA300B and TA274Bj).
For now the SR-X 9000 has dethroned the Susvara as overall best open headphone in my collection. More to try, including head-to-head shoot out between these two on the iFi Pro iESL (which can drive both from my ML585).
Worth the wait.
So far it amounts to this (for me): What the SR-X 9000 does really well, it does much better than any other headphone I have heard.
Think 'magical moments' - where you think 'this is worth it, I have never heard this song like this before'.
The magic comes from the presentation and layering of instruments, e.g. notably with sophisticated pop like Annie Lennox/Eurythmics, live concerts (try Herbert Grönemeyer Live Tumult 2019), singer/songwriter (time to revisit 'fast car' and 'Tom's diner).
Jazz is also best in class, never heard Freddie Freeloader better than this.
Some classical not as compelling (SR-X 9000 not better than other top headphones), I prefer e.g. Susvara for Beethoven Symphonies.
Bizet's Carmen again is best on the STAX.
Other lmits of the SR-X 9000 can be experienced with Highway to Hell (I am using the Qobuz 96kHz remaster from the album of the same title, it's true HD): SR-X 9000 starts strong with Bon Scott's opening but then doesn't keep it up at the same level as the chorus hits 'highway to hell' - stage and separation are not rendered as nicely as during the opening. To give the SR-X credit: You could also look at this as a testament how nuanced the overall presentation is, with most other headphones there isn't as much of a difference because they are so far away from the baseline performance of the STAX ... So not necessarily a reason to give them preference just because they are 'worse everywhere'
E.g. Thunderstruck keeps going throughout, SR-X never missed a beat.There are no hard 'no gos' at this time - every kind of music remains very enjoyable with the SR-X (Rockna Wavedream Signature -> Wavedream NET -> Woo 3ES Elite, right now with TA300B and TA274Bj).
For now the SR-X 9000 has dethroned the Susvara as overall best open headphone in my collection. More to try, including head-to-head shoot out between these two on the iFi Pro iESL (which can drive both from my ML585).
Worth the wait.
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What would you do for a STAX SR-X9000 and Blue Hawaii Special Edition? We had a customer eagerly travel 12 hours down to pick his system up, an if you ask him he’ll whole heartedly agree it was well worth the drive! Each and every week we are shipping 100% of inventory that we get for SR-X9000 as soon as it is received we appreciate everybody’s patience as STAX works to get all their orders filled. After almost 20 years in business we can wholeheartedly say this system is well worth the wait, we’ve never heard anything on this level before and we are so excited for everybody to get a chance to finally enjoy and experience it in their own homes. We know that you’re going to be absolutely delighted and amazed!!!
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Just got notified that we have a shipment of SR-X9000 on the way to fill pre-orders! And another one will follow end of this month.
For those keeping track, the serial #s of these is in the low 300s (1300s)
For those keeping track, the serial #s of these is in the low 300s (1300s)
Yesterday, I got my replacement (channel imbalance) X9000s from Stax Japan. They worked through Stax Audio in Hong Kong. They were professional, efficient and delivered on their promises. The serial number is in the 1300 range. The defective one was in the 1000 range. I immersed myself in Haydn and Mozart and I am once again amazed and delighted by how wonderful classical music, in particular chamber music, sounds on these headphones. I am thoroughly enjoying having them back!
Glad the return was fast.
Curious, were you keeping your headphone plugged in to the amp when you weren’t using it?
Yes I was. Was that a problem? I’m not doing it now.
Supposedly it can contribute to channel imbalance - there was a debate about it on the BHsE thread if it matters or not. Something about the charge holding in the headphone.
Perhaps it does!
I have always kept my SR-009 connected to my RSA A-10 for years and have not experienced any issues.
chargedcapacitor
500+ Head-Fier
If the BHSE has a DC offset that builds up over time, I would imagine that could put differing amounts of stress on the drivers. Over time it could change the tension relative to one another. So it could be amp dependent.
It’s getting more ridiculous..
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