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The Stax Thread III
Jun 23, 2018 at 4:09 PM Post #15,406 of 25,560
Count me amongst those that feel the L700 has more bass than the 009.
 
Jun 23, 2018 at 4:55 PM Post #15,408 of 25,560
Trance_Gott said:
Yes L700 has more Midbass impact then SR009.
I hope the SR009s has even more.
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Early impressions are the SR-009S has less than the SR-009, but both are held back by improperly sealing pads. The amp plays a role here too of course.
 
Jun 23, 2018 at 5:23 PM Post #15,409 of 25,560
There is one owner who wrote that the bass hasn't decreased.
More like the opposite, SR-009 pads seal rather well (imho), if you break the seal you get a lot more bass, but it's not a positive change. You can also get an SR-007 Mk2 that has improper seal by default (not at the earpads, at the cable entry) and more bass quantity as a result (but less bass depth). It can be plugged in but if it is not the SZ2 version it might not be worthwhile to do so.
There were some tinkering in this thread as well, but in the end it was reverted back to stock.
Most of these mods are quite personal and not what the manufacturer had in mind when they did the tuning, so feel free to experiment but also take them with a grain of salt.
 
Jun 23, 2018 at 5:27 PM Post #15,410 of 25,560
And on Fujija festival ALL impressions said more bass.
That's the problem with every early impressions.
I remain the first impressions for the HE1000 telling there is coming a Game Changer bla bla bla.
In the end all that was not the truth.
What means more bass? My 007 pushes more fuller bass but my 009 are hitting harder. L700 has more midbass hump then 009 but 009 has more lower bass.
And yes a not proper seal kills the bass on every electrostatic headphone!

My only problem with the SR009 is too much forward in the mids and a little too bright.
Seems these two aspects are fixed.
 
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Jun 23, 2018 at 5:28 PM Post #15,411 of 25,560
Today I finally got around to finish the step down transformer build for my newly acquired SRM-007tA. The Stax amp is now running off a 100VAC balanced output step down transformer. It's all a bit messy still, but so far I really like what I'm hearing! 20180623_143218.jpg 20180623_130532_HDR.jpg
 
Jun 23, 2018 at 7:07 PM Post #15,412 of 25,560
Contrails said:
009 vs L700 on KGST amp. Which one would sound better? I am thinking of getting a used 009 instead of the L700. I already picked up a KGST.
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009 hands down IMO. It is clearly better in terms of technicalities. I think L700 and 009 are quite similar headphones overall, 009 just does everything better.
 
Jun 23, 2018 at 7:12 PM Post #15,413 of 25,560
Trance_Gott said:
And on Fujija festival ALL impressions said more bass.
That's the problem with every early impressions.
I remain the first impressions for the HE1000 telling there is coming a Game Changer bla bla bla.
In the end all that was not the truth.
What means more bass? My 007 pushes more fuller bass but my 009 are hitting harder. L700 has more midbass hump then 009 but 009 has more lower bass.
And yes a not proper seal kills the bass on every electrostatic headphone!

My only problem with the SR009 is too much forward in the mids and a little too bright.
Seems these two aspects are fixed.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the impressions, still loving my 009, and I do hope the 009S is a combination of both worlds 007+009=009S
 
Jun 24, 2018 at 8:30 AM Post #15,414 of 25,560
Gents, one more question. I have been offered a 007mk1. I have read that this beast is not easy to drive. I have a KGST amp (350v). Will it suffice?

Second, the 007mk2(sz3) is easier to drive?

Regards
 
Jun 24, 2018 at 9:28 PM Post #15,417 of 25,560
Contrails said:
Gents, one more question. I have been offered a 007mk1. I have read that this beast is not easy to drive. I have a KGST amp (350v). Will it suffice?

Second, the 007mk2(sz3) is easier to drive?

Regards
Click to expand...

unqualified opinion, ignore.
 
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Jun 24, 2018 at 9:32 PM Post #15,418 of 25,560
AudioThief said:
I haven't heard the BHSE or Carbon, but I seriously, seriously doubt that the benefits of those amps are "worth" it so to speak. I use my 007 mk1s out of a 727II, which sounds absolutely fantastic, better than anything I've ever heard. What I will say is that 007 vs 009 is a matter of taste. I don't think the 007 will ever touch the technicalities of the 009, and I think that the people saying that (the same people who say you "MUST" have a BHSE or Carbon to truly "get" the 007s) are just defending their 6000$ usd purchase, to be honest.

I would say that you need at least a 727II or KGST, HV, WES, Carbon, BHSE. Vintage stuff like SRM T1 and mk1 pro can also work, but likely on the edge there.

The differences between the 009 vs 007 as headphones are much more important to consider.

The thing is this - at this point in electrostatics, both have SUPERIOR technical abilities, squeaky clean sound with zero distortion, incredible imaging, clarity, seperation etc - as you would expect from TOTL estats. The differences here are as follows:

The 009 have a larger soundstage, more forward treble, more airy sound.

The 007 has a more mellow, darker (relative to 009) sound, more even keel treble

The 009 is the best headphone to blow people away - it impresses immediately with its shocking seperation and overall resolution.

The 007 is more laid back - it grows on you. it is not so obviously spectacular as the 009. The 007 wins out in longer listening sessions, as it truly is zero fatigue. I have never, ever found a headphone even touching the 007 in terms of fatigueless listening. It works for ALL genres, and it is NEVER fatiguing. This cannot be said about the 009, even though it is technically better and more impressive. At this point in TOTL estats as mentioned, the differences will be relatively small.

I'll give you an example...

The SR-L300 are excellent headphones, and I could live with them for the rest of my life. They sound just absolutely sublime. They are not perfect, but they aren't far off either. Enter the 007 - they are better than the L300 at absolutely everything, almost stunningly so. Still, the differences aren't that big because the L300 are ALREADY THAT GOOD.

So while the 009 clearly is more technically adept than the 007, the differences in technicalities really should take second fiddle to the differences in presentation - Spectacular and bombastic, or laid back and subtle?

I want to mention something though - do not consider 007 like HD650 and 009 as Fostex TH900 for instance... The HD650 are laid back to a fault, and the TH 900 are forward to a fault. Both 007 and 009 are much, much closer to perfection, and indeed each other. The 009 does not have ear piercing treble, and the 007 does not have a lazy / lacking treble. Just imagine a line and call it treble perfection. At each side, tangent to this line, is the 009 on the "bright" side, and 007 on the "dark" side.
Click to expand...

Why would those people need to use mental gymnastics to justify their purchase? Many of them purchase plenty of other similarly expensive gear and it's not really a whole lot to them, others build plenty of those amps themselves so aren't spending nearly as much. I've never seen one person listen to the SR-007 or SR-009 with a BHSE or KGSSHV Carbon or even a KGSSHV, and claim those amps are not worth the price premium.

I used to own an SR-007A and a KGSS, and listened to various SR-007s and the SR-009 with the BHSE on multiple occasions, but never actually owned one of those top tier amps. Just from those auditions though, seemed worth it to me (such that I am now ordering a KGSSHV Carbon), very substantial difference but of course deciding whether or not it's worthwhile is completely subjective. I have no issue selling off or returning more expensive audio gear for less expensive ones if the latter sounds better.
 
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