[purk]

   
As you said, it's a matter of opinion.  I sold my HeadAmp KGSS Stax 007mk1 for the LCD-2 Rev1 so... ya.  Can't speak of the 009 but the 007 just didn't sound grounded or have good attack compared to planars.  Massively better than what was available when I bought it though.

I was never impressed with the KGSS + Stax SR007 MKI when I heard them either.  However, with either the KGSSHV or BHSE and the SR007 MKI pairing it is an entirely different animal all together.  Time to get back to stats man...you are missing out.  

 

[Solude]

They come as in ears now?  I'm out of the open headphone game.

 

[purk]

  They come as in ears now?  I'm out of the open headphone game.

  I'm just saying that the new crops of stats amps are that much better than the original KGSS.  I sold my SR007 awhile back and had to re-purchase b/c they just improve so much from KGSS to BHSE.

 

[arturo71]

How good are Stax 009's and 007's with the BHSE vs the GS-X Mk2 with LCD3's / HD800's / HE-6 with balanced input and output (using the same DAC ) ? 

I use the 009 and 007 with the BHSE and also the GS-X Mk2 with the HD800. They are all superb but the 009 and 007 are better, smoother and faster. However the HD800 detail retrieval and soundstage is second to none.

I use the GS-X for short listening sessions, e.g. if I get a spare half hour here and there during the week. If it's for less than two hours listening I do not bother to switch the BHSE on.

Arturo

 

[purk]

I use the 009 and 007 with the BHSE and also the GS-X Mk2 with the HD800. They are all superb but the 009 and 007 are better, smoother and faster. However the HD800 detail retrieval and soundstage is second to none.

I use the GS-X for short listening sessions, e.g. if I get a spare half hour here and there during the week. If it's for less than two hours listening I do not bother to switch the BHSE on.

Arturo

I personally think the Sony MDR-010 (Qualia) is capable of capture soundstaging and detail better than the HD800.  Tonality wise, the R10 when driving properly is second to none.  Do you like the 007 or 009 better with the BHSE?  I have both and I think the SR007 is a killer with the BHSE.  Still, I like my SR009 out of the BHSE just as much as the SR007 out of the BHSE.  On lesser amps, the SR009 is head and shoulder above the SR007 though.  

 

[arturo71]

First I got the 007 and then the 009. When I got the 009 I thought it was a massive improvement over the 007. There is so much detail detail retrieval and it is so much forward that it is like "looking to the music through a microscope". But when the wow factor faded I kept coming back to the 007. Presently I'd say I listen more the 007 than 009, I guess because it is more relaxed and lets the music flow. It is more about the music and less about the sound. I love both thought.

 

[icebear]

  Quiet thread. There are 60 (?) new people out there listening to music instead of posting.
 
The resolution on this amp is insane. With the HD800 the soundstage is quite wondrous. It will be fascinating to hear what happens when I go balanced with a better DAC and all the requisite cabling. (More expense...! The UD120 is doing a surprisingly good job in the interim.)
 
Enjoy everyone. I am back to listening to music and trying to get work done.

 
I have been wondering the same thing. Maybe only a fraction of the new owners of the latest completed batch are members here. Or they don't want to waste any minute of spare time and post rather than listening to music with a big grin on their face. I'm looking forward to the same

.
 

  Just got mine after a 1 year wait (more or less). You can trust Justin to reserve one for you!
 
Wonderful amp! Using a HDP-R10 to drive an ancient Thorens TDA-2000 DAC into the GS-X Mark II with a HD800 with stock cables.
 
Really nice. Will be plugging in the AKG-1000 this weekend!

 
How's the AKG-1000 in comparison to the HD-800 on the GSX-MkII ? It's been years (>20 I assume) that I have listened to a AKG and it was more like speakers in front of my ears than a headphone but the best sound stage !

 

[cooperpwc]

   
I have been wondering the same thing. Maybe only a fraction of the new owners of the latest completed batch are members here. Or they don't want to waste any minute of spare time and post rather than listening to music with a big grin on their face. I'm looking forward to the same

.

 
Well, I was listening to the GS-X mk2 and HD800 when I read this. Lovely combination. 

 

[Xecuter]

I thought it went quiet because the Ragnarok is making some waves. I was so set on the GS-X until purrin did a comparison. Now I am not so sure.

 

[preproman]

You let one persons opinion sway your thinking after reading the many truly positive impressions in this thread and other threads?  WOW is all I can say.

 

[ogodei]

  You let one persons opinion sway your thinking after reading the many truly positive impressions in this thread and other threads?  WOW is all I can say.

 
But...  its PURRINS opinion!
 

 

[cooperpwc]

Here is an interesting post from the HD800 thread. As Xecuter may remember, Purrin was going on in that thread about how the GS-X mk2's treble is grainy.
 
The key point is that one man's opinion is just that. You might agree with it. I do not and neither does the poster below.
 

As promised, I listened to the HD800 with a whole bunch of amps. To keep the number of permutations and combinations to a minimum, I used only one good source, the PS Audio PerfectWave Transport and DAC, for comparing the sound of various ampos with the HD800 (I found the Oppo 105 SABRE DAC a tad too bright in all cases. By comparison, the old Burr-Brown DAC with the RWA Bellina sounded great with the HD800)

As I expected the HD800 sounded bright with some of the amps but not with most of them, which led me to treat the HD800 as a revealing headphone capable of reproducing bright sounds when such signals are produced upstream.

I heard slightly bright to piercing sound from the following amps:

Schiit Mjolnir
Burson Audio HA-160D
Burson Soloist
Apex Peak/Volcano (just slightly bright)
Oppo HA-1

I did not hear any problem witht the treble or excessive brightness with the following amps:

Vioelectric V181
Bryston BHA-1 (a little dull in the midrange)
RWA Corvina
MAD Ear+ HD (missing some bass and treble)
Fosgate Signature (nice added bass if you need it)
EC Super 7
Bakoon HA-21 (warmest sound)
HeadAmp GS-X Mk2 (silky smooth)
Cavalli Liquid Fire (very accurate)
Woo WA5 (gonzo bass)
EAR PH-4 (tube heaven)

With so many successful amps, I have no choice but to conclude that there is no "huge flaw" with the HD800. It is simply sometimes too revealing of the amp's or DAC's sound for its own good.

I can easily make the HD800 more forgiving of the DACs and Amps by simply putting another piece of speaker grill cloth over the drivers, but that diminishes the clarity of sound as well. I rather preserve the wonderfully open sound of the HD800. It is not that hard to select the right amp for it.

(emphasis added)

 
Just another man's opinion. He is not alone though.

 

[cooperpwc]

FWIIW my HD800 has the infamous treble spike as my personal graph shows below. Nothing in the GS-X mk2 is going to change that. Lots of people are modding their HD800s to deal with this spike with all variety of amps (including the individual who is the focus of the last few posts.) Still I hate to change the soundstage of the GS-X mk2 and HD800. It is glorious. So I am playing with eq in Ozone 5 with very nice results. My current profile, maxing out at about a 2db treble reduction centred on the peak, is below.
 
Sometimes I use it and sometimes I don't. But when I want it, it sounds great. Ozone 5 is expensive but so are my amp and headphones.
 

 

[Justin_Time]

FWIIW my HD800 has the infamous treble spike as my personal graph shows below. Nothing in the GS-X mk2 is going to change that. Lots of people are modding their HD800s to deal with this spike with all variety of amps (including the individual who is the focus of the last few posts.) Still I hate to change the soundstage of the GS-X mk2 and HD800. It is glorious. So I am playing with eq in Ozone 5 with very nice results. My current profile, maxing out at about a 2db treble reduction centred on the peak, is below.


 


Sometimes I use it and sometimes I don't. But when I want it, it sounds great. Ozone 5 is expensive but so are my amp and headphones.


 

 


Could you tell me if the EQ was done in the digital domain or in the analog domain?

Also, I am not very familiar with the slew of new equalizers available today, but during the Juassic Age when I played with EQ, the phase anomalies created by the various filters of the EQ had a very nasty impact on the quality of the sound overall: the cure was worse than the disease.

I remember a (in)famous reviewer for Stero Review (long defunct) who claimed that all amplifiers sounded the same once the FR is properly EQ'ed and the loudness perfectly matched. He was right. All the amps sounded like the Equalizer he used.

I am sure that we have come a long way since then but have we eliminated the problems inherent to the parametric EQ? Maybe it is time for me to get back to playing with the EQ again.

 

[cooperpwc]

 

Could you tell me if the EQ was done in the digital domain or in the analog domain?.

 
Good question. There are two modes: Analog and Digital. I am using Analog. However, from the instruction manual:
 

 Selecting Analog or Digital Curve Shapes Ozone offers a choice of analog curve shapes, modeled after classic equalizers using IIR filters, or more precise “surgical” shapes reminiscent of digital equalizers using FIR filters. The choice is a matter of subjective taste, although as a guideline the analog shapes provide a classic sound for general mastering, while the digital filters provide more precise control.

 
So it is really controlling how your movement of the numbered points is reflected in the resulting curves. I like a smooth application of eq with no obvious transition points so I use Analog. However, I assume that the actual eq is talking place in the digital domain. It is a VST plugin so I do not see how it could be otherwise.