[gusGGG]

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)

Hello,

I ordered them on Oct´ 2021.

He talked about 2 batches. Someone received a pair of X9000 from Headamp?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[mercman]

I ordered mine from Justin on 10/6 and the X9000 is scheduled to arrive today.

 

[hifixman]

I ordered mine from Justin on 10/6 and the X9000 is scheduled to arrive today.

Congradulations!

 

[mrmarbach]

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)

I ordered mine at the start of October. I still don’t have them and Justin doesn’t answer…

 

[Aspirant Audiophile]

Congratulations

I've read comments across various forums about one amp or another being a better or best fit for the each of the Stax Big Three.

With a little luck, I should have a Megatron and a Carbon in two weeks to compare side by side with x9000. Right now I'm surviving on a 353x. I've also been advised to get a Grounded Grid as it apparently has a similar design to BHSE. But I'm no expert.

 

[jamato8]

Would like to hear these. I have the LTA Z10e here and on loan the RSA A10 and would to have a Blue Hawaii. Then to compare the X9000 and the HE90.

 

[Kevintj604]

Am I missing something? This has to be a typo right?

https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/det...y-ad&utm_source=notification&utm_medium=email

An SR-Omega for $10,000?

That can't be right.

 

[Chefguru]

Am I missing something? This has to be a typo right?

https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/det...y-ad&utm_source=notification&utm_medium=email

An SR-Omega for $10,000?

That can't be right.

That's in CAD, so it's about 8.5k USD but yeah that's about the going rate for an original SR-omega. They're very rare and a percentage of them are actually 007mk1 drivers now.

SRX9K at 6.3k is pretty reasonable honestly given the warranty.

 

[Kevintj604]

That's in CAD, so it's about 8.5k USD but yeah that's about the going rate for an original SR-omega. They're very rare and a percentage of them are actually 007mk1 drivers now.

SRX9K at 6.3k is pretty reasonable honestly given the warranty.

Wow. I had no idea. I thought their original MSRP was closer to $3000 USD.

 

[eskamobob1]

Wow. I had no idea. I thought their original MSRP was closer to $3000 USD.

A few decades ago

 

[orcawithabat]

Wow. I had no idea. I thought their original MSRP was closer to $3000 USD.

From some accounts I’ve heard they are basically a less refined version of the 007mk1. Never heard one myself though so I can’t say

 

[Chefguru]

From some accounts I’ve heard they are basically a less refined version of the 007mk1. Never heard one myself though so I can’t say

Not really, no. They're pretty different sounding. I've owned both.
The Sr-omega has a much bigger soundstage and overall different tone than the mk1. It is technically a superior headphone given the larger drivers and exterior ring. Detail is about the same but the 007mk1 has better layering/separation. The classic trade for better imaging vs better soundstage.

The 007 was Stax's attempt at better reliability as many of the Sr-omega's had driver failure or early driver imbalances. In the past most people felt the 007 was the superior headphone, but in most recent sentiment the opinion has shifted - which I think is a function of the improved DACs and amps that fix the weaknesses the Sr-omega previously portrayed.

The SRX-9000 is a reprise of the omega technical prowess given they, like the Orpheus, I believe (can anyone confirm?) uses glass electrodes instead of a phenolic plate or plastic plate with holes. It also has the exterior ring. However this time, with the new knowledge acquired during the making of 009/009s they've found work arounds for the Sr-omega's reliability issues.

 

[BassicScience]

The SRX-9000 is a reprise of the omega technical prowess given they, like the Orpheus, I believe it (can anyone confirm?) it uses glass electrodes instead of a phenolic plate or plastic plate with holes. It also has the exterior ring. However this time, with the new knowledge acquired during the making of 009/009s they've found work arounds for the Sr-omega's reliability issues.

Apparently not. From the What Hi-fi review:

The new Stax flagship, the SR-X9000, raises the bar for an electrostatic earspeaker system, beginning with a new version of the company’s metal-mesh electrode system.

Stax first tried using metal-mesh electrodes, as compared to more solid ‘hole-punched’ stators, with the SR-X in 1970, and returned to them in 1993 for the very first of the Omega series, the SR-Ω. Its 90mm-diameter metal-mesh electrodes then represented perhaps the largest driver delivered in a headphone design. The greater openness of metal mesh assists transparency of sound by reducing air resistance to the diaphragm’s motion, and the effect of reflections.

The problem of metal mesh is the size required to match the large ultra-thin diaphragms that can move enough air.

The reducing rigidity of larger meshes would reduce the accuracy of the sound. So to improve rigidity in the SR-Ω, the metal mesh was reinforced using an adhesive, in a manual operation requiring high-precision work. So tricky was this process that demand outstripped the ability to supply; it is thought that only 600 units of the SR-Ω were ever delivered. It took until 2011, with an investment injection from China’s Edifier when it took ownership of Stax, for the problem to be solved using a new multilayer metal-mesh construction, which became the basis for the SR-009 released in that same year.

 

[Chefguru]

Apparently not. From the What Hi-fi review:

The new Stax flagship, the SR-X9000, raises the bar for an electrostatic earspeaker system, beginning with a new version of the company’s metal-mesh electrode system.

Stax first tried using metal-mesh electrodes, as compared to more solid ‘hole-punched’ stators, with the SR-X in 1970, and returned to them in 1993 for the very first of the Omega series, the SR-Ω. Its 90mm-diameter metal-mesh electrodes then represented perhaps the largest driver delivered in a headphone design. The greater openness of metal mesh assists transparency of sound by reducing air resistance to the diaphragm’s motion, and the effect of reflections.

The problem of metal mesh is the size required to match the large ultra-thin diaphragms that can move enough air.

The reducing rigidity of larger meshes would reduce the accuracy of the sound. So to improve rigidity in the SR-Ω, the metal mesh was reinforced using an adhesive, in a manual operation requiring high-precision work. So tricky was this process that demand outstripped the ability to supply; it is thought that only 600 units of the SR-Ω were ever delivered. It took until 2011, with an investment injection from China’s Edifier when it took ownership of Stax, for the problem to be solved using a new multilayer metal-mesh construction, which became the basis for the SR-009 released in that same year.

got it, so metal-mesh, which was a fail for the omega but success for the 009/S. The 007 doesn't use metal mesh (plastic I presume)

 

[GYLIND]

My sr-omega has the same level soundstage and bright and separation as the hifiman SGL with original earpad. And its special image is My favorite. The state of sr-omega is hard to maintain because age old. Unless you want to collect it, the sr-x9000 is more suitable for daily use in my humble opinion.