[lsantista]

sign me in when there is a softer, more plush aftermarket earpad. Maybe thicker (and taller) as well. It would change the tuning somehow, but Im really interest in more comfort for long hours. Dont get me wrong, it is top notch comfort , but to me it could be better. Also, I believe most of the characteristics Im complaining about are related to the diameter of the pad. Interest how we usually ask for larger drivers, and them complain of too large pads (and the earpads do protrude some 3-4mm from the X9000 body)

 

[Chefguru]

I do find it weird the tip of my ears touched the driver on the srx9000.
Part of the appeal of the crbn is how comfortable and deep the pads are (although, likely the cause of the farts)

 

[zolkis]

I usually recommend shallow pads for sound quality.
But in the case of the X9K I would first try a deeper pad, without the mounting ring and the big flap holding it.
You can try a VesperAudio or Brainwavz pad with similar outer and inner diameters, just thicker. It will likely change the sound considerably.
I think the Stax pads will sound better.

Alternatively, the cheapest is to insert some thin crescent shaped foam or felt padding under the pads from the inside, in the places it matters. The material will matter: you can experiment how much the sound can be changed even just with those inserts.

 

[Trance_Gott]

A headphone that cost 7250€ must be perfect and not something you must mod.

 

[BassicScience]

Interesting, I found the X9000 (with stock pads) supremely comfortable. If anything, I might have preferred just a hair more clamping force when leaning forward, but it was entirely fine with my head more or less vertical.

 

[BassicScience]

A headphone that cost 7250€ must be perfect and not something you must mod.

That's a pretty silly statement on a lot of levels. Nothing is perfect (for everyone), for starters.

 

[jamato8]

A headphone that cost 7250€ must be perfect and not something you must mod.

Nothing is perfect for everyone, not even their own ears or head, unless they consider it so. I can't do much about my head, so for me it is perfect, now to find the perfect fit, that is something else but many come close but my issue, not theirs unless a designer is totally inept.

 

[Aspirant Audiophile]

That's a pretty silly statement on a lot of levels. Nothing is perfect (for everyone), for starters.

I mean...I paid 7250 for my x9000s, and I admit I paid with the thought, "Well at least this is a finished product so I won't have to hear about mods all the time."

I'm pretty sure Ferraris don't require mods to reach peak performance. I could be wrong, but isn't that what Phenomens are for?

 

[zolkis]

A headphone that cost 7250€ must be perfect and not something you must mod.

Of course, that argument comes up rightly at many price levels. A 725€ headphone must be perfect as well. At least I expect they are optimized to a given extent, limited by the price and other constraints.

But it's not about being perfect: it's about personalization.

I have to give it to Stax that they do optimize their headphones very well. That is why I was so much surprised for having the worst mechanism (from sound quality p.o.v.) for pads mounting. Their cheapest headphones are the best from this regard (*). I bet the X9K would be also cheaper with simple glued pads, not speaking about the double back grill and the complications for manufacturing. I really hope a simplified version will come out for cheaper. It might even sound better.

As for the Stax X9K pads, I liked them very much, they look like I would design them and I am not sure one can improve on those - it depends on what's inside, and whether thicker pads without the mounting ring would prove to sound better.

(*) EDIT. I must include that the 007 and 009 have good solutions for pads mounting, but without the spring in the case of the 007. The advantage with the 007 pads mounting is free rotation. The 009 solution is an improved version of that, but not rotating. The X9K solution uses a thick plastic mounting ring instead of a thin metallic ring in the 009, and uses plastic pins instead of screws. But I hear that even the 009 sounds better with simply glued pads.

 

[BassicScience]

I mean...I paid 7250 for my x9000s, and I admit I paid with the thought, "Well at least this is a finished product so I won't have to hear about mods all the time."

I'm pretty sure Ferraris don't require mods to reach peak performance. I could be wrong, but isn't that what Phenomens are for?

For a lot of people, the X9000 is a "finished product" in stock form. If you don't find it so, then you need to decide whether to invest time/money into trying to improve it (or the chain) to your liking, or just cut bait and move on to something else.

I'm not into (expensive, wasteful ICE) cars, but I'm 100% positive that there's a huge industry for aftermarket tweaks to pretty much any car ever made. Some are performance-related, and others are cosmetic. Sorry, not familiar with "Phenomens".

 

[ufospls2]

OK, so. Initial impressions of the X9000's. Extremely comfy, not too heavy at all. Build quality feels good. Feels "premium," and well put together.

Initial impression of the sonics is very good. I've only been listening for about half an hour, so I will report back obviously once I have had time to form a proper opinion.

 

[ufospls2]

Ok so I have had a bit time to spend with the X9000 now. Please keep in mind these are impressions after about a day of listening and totally subject to further listening and changes of opinion going forward once I get to know them more.

Overall I'm very impressed. Based off of others impressions, I thought that in terms of overall character they might be a laid back warmer listen, but they aren't coming across as that, at all really. I don't really feel like they are an improved 007, or an improved 009(S.) They are doing their own thing. More treble than I was expecting, or maybe it's just a spike somewhere in the treble rather than an overall elevation of the highs. They are the "biggest" sounding stax I've heard but not as big as the Shangri-La Sr sounds. When I say "big" I mean in terms of the overall sound, not necessarily soundstage width etc. Its hard to explain, but to me there is a difference between soundstage, and how "big" the overall sonic picture is.

Soundstage width is wider than the SR007 and SR009. Imaging seems to be a very strong point for these. The space between instruments within the soundstage is very impressive, and there is real depth going on. Also they are most detailed stax I've heard, but they seem to lack the last 5% of micro detail and "delicate" sound the Shangri-La Sr have. I have not heard the original omega from Stax so can't comment there.

Build quality and materials feels awesome and they are super comfy also.

 

[Aspirant Audiophile]

Ok so I have had a bit time to spend with the X9000 now. Please keep in mind these are impressions after about a day of listening and totally subject to further listening and changes of opinion going forward once I get to know them more.

Overall I'm very impressed. Based off of others impressions, I thought that in terms of overall character they might be a laid back warmer listen, but they aren't coming across as that, at all really. I don't really feel like they are an improved 007, or an improved 009(S.) They are doing their own thing. More treble than I was expecting, or maybe it's just a spike somewhere in the treble rather than an overall elevation of the highs. They are the "biggest" sounding stax I've heard but not as big as the Shangri-La Sr sounds. When I say "big" I mean in terms of the overall sound, not necessarily soundstage width etc. Its hard to explain, but to me there is a difference between soundstage, and how "big" the overall sonic picture is.

Soundstage width is wider than the SR007 and SR009. Imaging seems to be a very strong point for these. The space between instruments within the soundstage is very impressive, and there is real depth going on. Also they are most detailed stax I've heard, but they seem to lack the last 5% of micro detail and "delicate" sound the Shangri-La Sr have. I have not heard the original omega from Stax so can't comment there.

Build quality and materials feels awesome and they are super comfy also.

I've really enjoyed my x9000s with a Soren Brix-built Carbon. His Megatron should arrive later this month. While I don't hear the infinite clarity I had hoped for, everything is "bigger" with the Carbon--in fact, "everything sounds bigger" is exactly how I described it to my wife. My wife thinks the "bigness" maybe even does a disservice to her preference for classical music listening, while I am enjoying more "big-sounding" music like rock and metal.

I also demo'd the x9000s and Carbon together with a Holo Spring and Holo May yesterday with a raspberry pi streamer...I was expecting a bigger (i.e. noticeable) uptick from my Node/RME ADI DAC, and that was not the case at all with the Spring, only slightly with the May. I know Holo May measures as the greatest DAC of all time...I was left wondering what the fuss was all about.

 

[Trance_Gott]

I've really enjoyed my x9000s with a Soren Brix-built Carbon. His Megatron should arrive later this month. While I don't hear the infinite clarity I had hoped for, everything is "bigger" with the Carbon--in fact, "everything sounds bigger" is exactly how I described it to my wife. My wife thinks the "bigness" maybe even does a disservice to her preference for classical music listening, while I am enjoying more "big-sounding" music like rock and metal.

I also demo'd the x9000s and Carbon together with a Holo Spring and Holo May yesterday with a raspberry pi streamer...I was expecting a bigger (i.e. noticeable) uptick from my Node/RME ADI DAC, and that was not the case at all with the Spring, only slightly with the May. I know Holo May measures as the greatest DAC of all time...I was left wondering what the fuss was all about.

Metal with X9000 really? What other headphones do you have to compare this genre?

 

[Aspirant Audiophile]

Metal with X9000 really? What other headphones do you have to compare this genre?

I'm not comparing headphones here, and I'm sure there are much better bass-focused headphones. I'm only saying that I can listen to metal now with this setup and I'm very satisfied, whereas before with the x9000s and 353x, metal was unlistenable.