Stax SR-X9000

[SolarCetacean]

I feel like my cat right now. She has a favorite toy that she loves to play with. It had been lost for a few months and recently found (in a closet that we normally don't open). Now she's happily and vigorously playing with it.

Similarly, after 2 and a half months without my X9000 (shipped out on Dec. 9th for repair), it was delivered back to me today with the bass imbalance fixed! In the meantime, both of my listening chains have changed significantly; my upstairs desktop setup is now the Ferrum Erco Gen 2 + LTA Z10e while the 727 has moved downstairs to pair with the UD-507. Both chains now have much more powerful amps (the 727 displaced my CCS-modded 006tS), and I've been enjoying the X9000 greatly on them.

I don't notice the sense of overly forward/intimate vocals as much as I did on my previous setups, particularly those that included the 006t. The lead element is still pulled forward vs everything else in the track - that's pretty much baked into the acoustic tuning of the X9000, but it doesn't feel too close for enjoyment. I also love the relaxed midrange tonality. It doesn't have the upper midrange "etch" that many reference-tuned headphones have on vocals while offering a very rich midrange tonality. Bass, mids, and treble all seem broadly in line with each other. I guess this is a second honeymoon period, but I've been reminded of how much I enjoy the X9000's sound.

I also just returned from CanJam NYC this past weekend where I spent a good deal of time listening to the X9000 on various amps, including the BHSE, Aeras, T8000, 700S, 700T, and B-21 Raider. I think the Z10e is another good option alongside those amps for the X9000. I don't find the sound lacking on the Z10e vs the BHSE and I'm happy with my purchase of it.

 

[Svperstar]

I didn't go to Canjam so I wouldn't be tempted to spend money lol

 

[alota]

I feel like my cat right now. She has a favorite toy that she loves to play with. It had been lost for a few months and recently found (in a closet that we normally don't open). Now she's happily and vigorously playing with it.

Similarly, after 2 and a half months without my X9000 (shipped out on Dec. 9th for repair), it was delivered back to me today with the bass imbalance fixed! In the meantime, both of my listening chains have changed significantly; my upstairs desktop setup is now the Ferrum Erco Gen 2 + LTA Z10e while the 727 has moved downstairs to pair with the UD-507. Both chains now have much more powerful amps (the 727 displaced my CCS-modded 006tS), and I've been enjoying the X9000 greatly on them.

I don't notice the sense of overly forward/intimate vocals as much as I did on my previous setups, particularly those that included the 006t. The lead element is still pulled forward vs everything else in the track - that's pretty much baked into the acoustic tuning of the X9000, but it doesn't feel too close for enjoyment. I also love the relaxed midrange tonality. It doesn't have the upper midrange "etch" that many reference-tuned headphones have on vocals while offering a very rich midrange tonality. Bass, mids, and treble all seem broadly in line with each other. I guess this is a second honeymoon period, but I've been reminded of how much I enjoy the X9000's sound.

I also just returned from CanJam NYC this past weekend where I spent a good deal of time listening to the X9000 on various amps, including the BHSE, Aeras, T8000, 700S, 700T, and B-21 Raider. I think the Z10e is another good option alongside those amps for the X9000. I don't find the sound lacking on the Z10e vs the BHSE and I'm happy with my purchase of it.

I'm coming to the conclusion that the x9000 is more sensitive to coupling and that solid state is a good partner. Another thing I noticed yesterday is that when I move the pads away from my ears the bass response improves significantly. I remain in doubt as to whether stax can improve the original pads

 

[phil3607]

I feel like my cat right now. She has a favorite toy that she loves to play with. It had been lost for a few months and recently found (in a closet that we normally don't open). Now she's happily and vigorously playing with it.

Similarly, after 2 and a half months without my X9000 (shipped out on Dec. 9th for repair), it was delivered back to me today with the bass imbalance fixed! In the meantime, both of my listening chains have changed significantly; my upstairs desktop setup is now the Ferrum Erco Gen 2 + LTA Z10e while the 727 has moved downstairs to pair with the UD-507. Both chains now have much more powerful amps (the 727 displaced my CCS-modded 006tS), and I've been enjoying the X9000 greatly on them.

I don't notice the sense of overly forward/intimate vocals as much as I did on my previous setups, particularly those that included the 006t. The lead element is still pulled forward vs everything else in the track - that's pretty much baked into the acoustic tuning of the X9000, but it doesn't feel too close for enjoyment. I also love the relaxed midrange tonality. It doesn't have the upper midrange "etch" that many reference-tuned headphones have on vocals while offering a very rich midrange tonality. Bass, mids, and treble all seem broadly in line with each other. I guess this is a second honeymoon period, but I've been reminded of how much I enjoy the X9000's sound.

I also just returned from CanJam NYC this past weekend where I spent a good deal of time listening to the X9000 on various amps, including the BHSE, Aeras, T8000, 700S, 700T, and B-21 Raider. I think the Z10e is another good option alongside those amps for the X9000. I don't find the sound lacking on the Z10e vs the BHSE and I'm happy with my purchase of it.

How would you describe the sonic signatures of the various amps when matched with the x9000?

 

[Thomsen132]

I'm coming to the conclusion that the x9000 is more sensitive to coupling and that solid state is a good partner. Another thing I noticed yesterday is that when I move the pads away from my ears the bass response improves significantly. I remain in doubt as to whether stax can improve the original pads

That breaks the seal. I personally wouldn't describe it as better bass, but like this:
- more upper bass
- less deep bass
- worse quality

Tried this to a time ago, but it never made me smile as in my experience a broken seal not only results in more upper bass with worse quality, but also it sacrifices pin point localization and soundstage for a little bass. Sound also gets slightly inprecise and bloated.
But....as always: everybody hears differently.

 

[alota]

That breaks the seal. I personally wouldn't describe it as better bass, but like this:
- more upper bass
- less deep bass
- worse quality

Tried this to a time ago, but it never made me smile as in my experience a broken seal not only results in more upper bass with worse quality, but also it sacrifices pin point localization and soundstage for a little bass. Sound also gets slightly inprecise and bloated.
But....as always: everybody hears differently.

i know that breaks the seal but was only an experiment.I was thinking about how they might sound with wider pads.

 

[MrHaelscheir]

i know that breaks the seal but was only an experiment.I was thinking about how they might sound with wider pads.

Wider (putting the drivers further from your ears) pads with the same seal would likely cause the upper midrange to relax without affecting the bass very much. Some might experience changes in imaging, but for me, even with ridiculously wide custom pads on the HE1000se, far left and far right sound sources still image directly from the drivers, only a centimeter further, but the upper midrange drops by around 8 dB.

Red: Stock pads. Green: Same thickness custom pads with larger open surface area. Blue and Cyan: Same as Green pad, but deeper (the one in the previous two photos). The thickest pads clamp the hardest and thus have better seal, hence a bit more sub-bass and less mid-bass.

 

[SolarCetacean]

How would you describe the sonic signatures of the various amps when matched with the x9000?

In brief:

SRM-700T: poor bass performance. Recessed bass and lack of impact.
SRM-700S: sort of the standard sound. Decently punchy bass, a bit of treble sparkle.
SRM-T8000: boomy bass, a bit like a car subwoofer if I was being dismissive, a bit "cinematic" if being charitable. Highs are sparkly and splashy.
BHSE: Solid, more bass heft/body and percussive impact. Crisper treble
Aeras: Very similar to the BHSE, but slightly thicker sound in lower midrange and slightly smaller soundstage. The Aeras' output stage is basically a mini-BH, same topology for the tubes, but using less powerful 6S4A tubes instead of EL34.

From my personal collection:
CCS-modded SRM-006tS: midrange-focused, with a bit too little frontal depth to the sound. It exacerbates the X9000's mids tuning where the lead element is pulled forward towards me.
Stock 727: Too loose and boomy in bass and percussion. X9000 already has softer transients and stock 727 softens them even further, which wasn't desirable to me.
Feedback-modded 727: my living room amp, it has tight bass, an overall "light" sound, and it has decent frontal depth to the soundstage. Similar to the 700S.
Z10e: sort of a good tube amp signature for estats (since most estat tube amps like BHSE aren't tuned to be tubey). More body and richness to the sound, good spatial qualities, smooth treble, not the last word in impact though.

The differences aren't huge, and X9000 will sound like an X9000 regardless of amp. But that's how I heard each amp nudge the sound.

 

[phil3607]

In brief:

SRM-700T: poor bass performance. Recessed bass and lack of impact.
SRM-700S: sort of the standard sound. Decently punchy bass, a bit of treble sparkle.
SRM-T8000: boomy bass, a bit like a car subwoofer if I was being dismissive, a bit "cinematic" if being charitable. Highs are sparkly and splashy.
BHSE: Solid, more bass heft/body and percussive impact. Crisper treble
Aeras: Very similar to the BHSE, but slightly thicker sound in lower midrange and slightly smaller soundstage. The Aeras' output stage is basically a mini-BH, same topology for the tubes, but using less powerful 6S4A tubes instead of EL34.

From my personal collection:
CCS-modded SRM-006tS: midrange-focused, with a bit too little frontal depth to the sound. It exacerbates the X9000's mids tuning where the lead element is pulled forward towards me.
Stock 727: Too loose and boomy in bass and percussion. X9000 already has softer transients and stock 727 softens them even further, which wasn't desirable to me.
Feedback-modded 727: my living room amp, it has tight bass, an overall "light" sound, and it has decent frontal depth to the soundstage. Similar to the 700S.
Z10e: sort of a good tube amp signature for estats (since most estat tube amps like BHSE aren't tuned to be tubey). More body and richness to the sound, good spatial qualities, smooth treble, not the last word in impact though.

The differences aren't huge, and X9000 will sound like an X9000 regardless of amp. But that's how I heard each amp nudge the sound.

Thanks, that’s useful. Appreciate the time taken to respond.

 

[SolarCetacean]

Welp, another bit of drama with my X9000. I ran a few sine sweeps to check channel balance and it is indeed fixed, but now I notice something similar to a notch filter in the upper treble, specifically around 13.1 KHz. The sound gets quieter starting at around 12.7 KHz, then nearly cuts out with a bit of channel imbalance between 13.1K and 13.3K, and then returns to normal by 13.5K. I don't recall hearing this notch before the repair, and it's a pretty noticeable dip when running through a sine sweep. The notch has a similar shape to a similar notch that I hear around 7KHz on all over-ear headphones (except the L700), hence my suspicion that it's some sort of anatomy-related pinna notch, but again, I don't recall hearing it before the repair. I checked old miniDSP EARS measurements and those showed a ~3 dB notch at around 14K, and that might be it, but the reduction on my ears was far greater than 3 dB, it's more like a 20 dB reduction in volume; the sound practically cuts out.

To be clear, I only noticed this when running a sine sweep. I first listened to music after getting the headphones back and did not notice any issue with the upper treble, even my usual EDM that has a lot of content in the upper treble. Many channel balance tests don't even sweep up that high, ending at 10KHz. Personally, the channel imbalance in the bass was significantly more noticeable and that's gone now. I suppose this means that my X9000 is a bit less sharp in the treble in the best case, and a bit less clear in the worst case, but very little, if any, music exists where there's content at 13K that has no other harmonics to carry that information, and the peak at I hear at 6.5KHz should make up for the 13K notch given that it's one harmonic series lower. Honestly, while I'd have hoped this notch wouldn't exist after sending my headphone in for repair, I don't think it would be worth it to get it fixed.

Sadly, I learned through running these sweeps that I'm losing my high-frequency hearing I'm turning 31 in two weeks and at my normal listening volume I can only hear up to 18.2 KHz. When I ran similar sweeps 3 years ago, I could hear up to 18.5K. I guess that's still pretty good all things considered, but a memento mori I suppose.

 

[alota]

Welp, another bit of drama with my X9000. I ran a few sine sweeps to check channel balance and it is indeed fixed, but now I notice something similar to a notch filter in the upper treble, specifically around 13.1 KHz. The sound gets quieter starting at around 12.7 KHz, then nearly cuts out with a bit of channel imbalance between 13.1K and 13.3K, and then returns to normal by 13.5K. I don't recall hearing this notch before the repair, and it's a pretty noticeable dip when running through a sine sweep. The notch has a similar shape to a similar notch that I hear around 7KHz on all over-ear headphones (except the L700), hence my suspicion that it's some sort of anatomy-related pinna notch, but again, I don't recall hearing it before the repair. I checked old miniDSP EARS measurements and those showed a ~3 dB notch at around 14K, and that might be it, but the reduction on my ears was far greater than 3 dB, it's more like a 20 dB reduction in volume; the sound practically cuts out.

To be clear, I only noticed this when running a sine sweep. I first listened to music after getting the headphones back and did not notice any issue with the upper treble, even my usual EDM that has a lot of content in the upper treble. Many channel balance tests don't even sweep up that high, ending at 10KHz. Personally, the channel imbalance in the bass was significantly more noticeable and that's gone now. I suppose this means that my X9000 is a bit less sharp in the treble in the best case, and a bit less clear in the worst case, but very little, if any, music exists where there's content at 13K that has no other harmonics to carry that information, and the peak at I hear at 6.5KHz should make up for the 13K notch given that it's one harmonic series lower. Honestly, while I'd have hoped this notch wouldn't exist after sending my headphone in for repair, I don't think it would be worth it to get it fixed.

Sadly, I learned through running these sweeps that I'm losing my high-frequency hearing I'm turning 31 in two weeks and at my normal listening volume I can only hear up to 18.2 KHz. When I ran similar sweeps 3 years ago, I could hear up to 18.5K. I guess that's still pretty good all things considered, but a memento mori I suppose.

You are so young...lol. enjoy the music and the life

 

[MrHaelscheir]

Welp, another bit of drama with my X9000. I ran a few sine sweeps to check channel balance and it is indeed fixed, but now I notice something similar to a notch filter in the upper treble, specifically around 13.1 KHz. The sound gets quieter starting at around 12.7 KHz, then nearly cuts out with a bit of channel imbalance between 13.1K and 13.3K, and then returns to normal by 13.5K. I don't recall hearing this notch before the repair, and it's a pretty noticeable dip when running through a sine sweep. The notch has a similar shape to a similar notch that I hear around 7KHz on all over-ear headphones (except the L700), hence my suspicion that it's some sort of anatomy-related pinna notch, but again, I don't recall hearing it before the repair. I checked old miniDSP EARS measurements and those showed a ~3 dB notch at around 14K, and that might be it, but the reduction on my ears was far greater than 3 dB, it's more like a 20 dB reduction in volume; the sound practically cuts out.

To be clear, I only noticed this when running a sine sweep. I first listened to music after getting the headphones back and did not notice any issue with the upper treble, even my usual EDM that has a lot of content in the upper treble. Many channel balance tests don't even sweep up that high, ending at 10KHz. Personally, the channel imbalance in the bass was significantly more noticeable and that's gone now. I suppose this means that my X9000 is a bit less sharp in the treble in the best case, and a bit less clear in the worst case, but very little, if any, music exists where there's content at 13K that has no other harmonics to carry that information, and the peak at I hear at 6.5KHz should make up for the 13K notch given that it's one harmonic series lower. Honestly, while I'd have hoped this notch wouldn't exist after sending my headphone in for repair, I don't think it would be worth it to get it fixed.

Sadly, I learned through running these sweeps that I'm losing my high-frequency hearing I'm turning 31 in two weeks and at my normal listening volume I can only hear up to 18.2 KHz. When I ran similar sweeps 3 years ago, I could hear up to 18.5K. I guess that's still pretty good all things considered, but a memento mori I suppose.

I'd vie that it is most likely just phase cancellation due to your physiology, likely not something that could be "repaired" without access to your head, though maybe driver damping, backwave absorption, or slightly different pad geometry could shallow out those nulls. I likewise can't expect my ears to have identically positioned treble nulls for both drivers mind for a single neutral speaker centered a distance before me. The brain is already adjusted to using those cues as part of sound localization, headphones in my case almost universally mimicking the cue for a soundstage rotated 50 degrees upward, something that can be fixed with DSP.

 

[catscratch]

I wouldn't worry about small notches like that, they're basically imperceptible. You can try to take the pads off and put them back on again, it could just be the result of pads being mounted differently.

Hearing to 18.5k is good... enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[VandyMan]

Sadly, I learned through running these sweeps that I'm losing my high-frequency hearing I'm turning 31 in two weeks and at my normal listening volume I can only hear up to 18.2 KHz. When I ran similar sweeps 3 years ago, I could hear up to 18.5K. I guess that's still pretty good all things considered, but a memento mori I suppose.

I'm 56 and last I checked I could hear up to 15.5K, but that was a couple years ago. The good news is it has not affected my enjoyment of music one bit. I guess there are things in some music I may not be hearing, but I don't notice or miss it.

 

[alota]

I'm 56 and last I checked I could hear up to 15.5K, but that was a couple years ago. The good news is it has not affected my enjoyment of music one bit. I guess there are things in some music I may not be hearing, but I don't notice or miss it.

I'm near to 54. In the past was difficult to listen brighter headphones. Today is different, but i don't remember the past so who cares?