[118900]

Anyone else have input from the KGSSHV vs Carbon? It’s so tough deciding on Stax stuff when you can’t hear anything before you buy!

The problem is that no one can really give you an answer to such a subjective question.

Is the carbon better than the kgsshv? Sure. Is it worth buying? Depends on the price, how much you are personally willing to spend and what your subjective appreciation of the difference between the two is.

When I first answered “maybe” to your initial question it wasn’t to be facetious but to indicate that the only person that can answer that is you. Yes it is difficult to make a decision without hearing them for yourself but the problem is most others can’t answer the question for you either.

The general consensus is that the kghvss is great (it was already great in its first iteration and has now reached the fourth I believe) but the carbon is even better. A lot of people say that it’s certainly not a night and day difference but definitely noticeable and worth getting if you can justify the extra cost.

And there lies the problem, only you can justify that based on the points I made at the beginning of my post.

If it’s any help, every comment I have read from people that have had both was that they were very happy with the kgsshv but that the money spent on changing up to the carbon was also worth it.

Personally I was very lucky and managed to buy the equivalent of the kgsshv for considerably less than $2k which I love but If I had had to pay 70% of the price of a carbon for a kgsshv I would have paid the extra and would have gone straight for the carbon.

 

[Trance_Gott]

I had a lot of TOTL headphones and sold all of them. In the end I was disappointed with all of them. Only my SR007 SZ2xxx bass port mod and SR009 stays here along with my KGSShv Carbon. No LCD4, no RAD0, no Abyss 1266 TC, no Utopia has something the Stax duo not have.

 

[Deolum]

What do you think of SR007 Mk1 with SRM 007 TII or SRM 717? Could get them used for an okay price.

Another option would be the Jade 2 + Amp.

Would like to add an estat since i like fast headphones like K702 or Utopia.

 

[thinker]

Sound comparisons with Phenomenon Carbon, Mjölnir Carbon and new Stax amp SRM-700S with Stax SR-009S phones tested with Luxman D10X MQA DSD files etc. and siltech cables

Phenomenon Carbon- the fan noise inside the amp made me almost mad, otherwise it's more musical, smoother but with similar soundstage than Mjölnir Carbon

Mjölnir Carbon- average "distant" mids, less soundstage than Stax 700S and Phenomenon, is sometimes almost strident or harsh, almost sounds like it would have artificial dynamics.The Mjölnir Carbon is another amp with SR-007 headphone but that is another topic

Stax -700S is huge step up from earlier 717 etc models wich had almost smeared mids.Very wide soundstage, is very detailed in natural way ,excellent positioning of instruments,has good dynamics and relaxed natural overall sound.I would call SRM-700S a perfect match for SR-009S

 

[elton7033]

Sound comparisons with Phenomenon Carbon, Mjölnir Carbon and new Stax amp SRM-700S with Stax SR-009S phones tested with Luxman D10X MQA DSD files etc. and siltech cables

Phenomenon Carbon- the fan noise inside the amp made me almost mad, otherwise it's more musical, smoother but with similar soundstage than Mjölnir Carbon

Mjölnir Carbon- average "distant" mids, less soundstage than Stax 700S and Phenomenon, is sometimes almost strident or harsh, almost sounds like it would have artificial dynamics.The Mjölnir Carbon is another amp with SR-007 headphone but that is another topic

Stax -700S is huge step up from earlier 717 etc models wich had almost smeared mids.Very wide soundstage, is very detailed in natural way ,excellent positioning of instruments,has good dynamics and relaxed natural overall sound.I would call SRM-700S a perfect match for SR-009S

ahhhhhh i like that D10X
I was looking to get one to replace my D08 but it was nearly double the price.....

 

[elton7033]

What do you think of SR007 Mk1 with SRM 007 TII or SRM 717? Could get them used for an okay price.

Another option would be the Jade 2 + Amp.

Would like to add an estat since i like fast headphones like K702 or Utopia.

SR007Mk1 depends on what amp you will be using, 717/727/007t are alright but you will need a higher amp to unleash the full potential of the headphone, the 007 scale up very well with amp like the WES/KGSS/KGSShv/KGST/BHSE/Carbon and they can be quite different. But what do you mean by okay price? 007MK1 plus a 717 will go around at least 2000usd depends on condition and location...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/STAX-SRM-0...224589?hash=item48f6db7c0d:g:QzYAAOSwZeBf~lmc

Don't even consider Hifiman, their build quality are crap you and you are most likely to end up with channel imbalance with less than a year, and broken driver/ ear pads flaking are common. Its SQ wasn't great as well, they dose not sound electrostatic and are definitely worst than the Utopia. Their HE1000v2 and Susvara sounds much better in my opinion, but still lots to criticise. Not to mention they have copied the legendary R10...

 

[AudioThief]

What do you think of SR007 Mk1 with SRM 007 TII or SRM 717? Could get them used for an okay price.

Another option would be the Jade 2 + Amp.

Would like to add an estat since i like fast headphones like K702 or Utopia.

Get the 007 with the 717 or 727. While there is definitely a need for power as far as the 007 goes, the 717/727 has enough. The generic message for anyone wanting a 007 is that they "must" get a carbon/bhse, but having owned the 007 with the 727 I don't believe that is the case. I'm not going to bother arguing about how truthful it is that the headphone gets better the more power you throw at it after reaching what it scientifically requires, but I'll tell you that it sounded amazing out of a 727.

If it were true that you do in fact "need" a carbon/bhse for the 007, I'd say go for another pair of headphones. Maybe the 009 or lambdas.

 

[6PANDEMONIUM6]

SR007Mk1 depends on what amp you will be using, 717/727/007t are alright but you will need a higher amp to unleash the full potential of the headphone, the 007 scale up very well with amp like the WES/KGSS/KGSShv/KGST/BHSE/Carbon and they can be quite different. But what do you mean by okay price? 007MK1 plus a 717 will go around at least 2000usd depends on condition and location...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/STAX-SRM-0...224589?hash=item48f6db7c0d:g:QzYAAOSwZeBf~lmc

Don't even consider Hifiman, their build quality are crap you and you are most likely to end up with channel imbalance with less than a year, and broken driver/ ear pads flaking are common. Its SQ wasn't great as well, they dose not sound electrostatic and are definitely worst than the Utopia. Their HE1000v2 and Susvara sounds much better in my opinion, but still lots to criticise. Not to mention they have copied the legendary R10...

I find it interesting that people often overlook the 353X since it is considerably more powerful than the 007T and doesn't have the strange tonality of the 727. It's a very clean and neutral sounding unit.

 

[paradoxper]

Anyone else have input from the KGSSHV vs Carbon? It’s so tough deciding on Stax stuff when you can’t hear anything before you buy!

It might better serve if you clarified what direction you may be leaning towards.

If I were keeping the L700 and planning for the 009 in the future, I'd opt for the KGSSHV 450v. I feel the more warmth is a little better match.

But you're generally flying blind not exactly sharing your preferences or what the rest of your chain may be.

 

[elton7033]

I find it interesting that people often overlook the 353X since it is considerably more powerful than the 007T and doesn't have the strange tonality of the 727. It's a very clean and neutral sounding unit.

Please don't misunderstand me, I like the 353X a lot for its price but sometime it can be unforgiving as well lacking the detail and extension which other amp can provide. It have a great balance sound but it doesn't bring out particular range like for example make the vocal more up front as well. The 007t will add extra warmth to make everything seems darker but I guess this is like comparing water to wine lol

 

[elton7033]

Get the 007 with the 717 or 727. While there is definitely a need for power as far as the 007 goes, the 717/727 has enough. The generic message for anyone wanting a 007 is that they "must" get a carbon/bhse, but having owned the 007 with the 727 I don't believe that is the case. I'm not going to bother arguing about how truthful it is that the headphone gets better the more power you throw at it after reaching what it scientifically requires, but I'll tell you that it sounded amazing out of a 727.

If it were true that you do in fact "need" a carbon/bhse for the 007, I'd say go for another pair of headphones. Maybe the 009 or lambdas.

By the end of the day what's matter is personal satisfaction. I am not saying the 727 is not good enough, I really shouldn't since I am currently selling my 727 on for sale forum.

I start with the 727 as my first electrostatic amp, but after I tried and purchase my BHSE, KGSShv and now the Carbon I can feel the improvement of SQ with the 007 more than my 009 or 404LE. When I AB compare the same headphone on different amp they all sounded different to my ears.

Things always get complicated when it comes to personal preference as we all paid our money that we earn very hard for something that we like, so is very hard to be not subjective...but for me the answer for this is fairly simple, if someone only have a certain amount of budget to follow I will advise them to go for something within his affordability but if someone could afford more and are happy to try then why not?

I am sure that some might think the Carbon is a better amp but I still believe the BHSE are better match with 007 but Carbon is better with 009. The 727 might be inferior but it sure can bring out the general tonality of the headphone.

 

[AlexmodNew]

Well. I did some repair with my second-handed Stax SR-007. It is mkI version, signed as Z1-xxx

Because it is about 25 years old, some problem with cable contact near the cups occured in past.. Previous owner(s) tryed to repair it but it looks unreliable and ugly with the help of some heat-shrink tube used there. Because it is mkI version it use old type of cable sockets, which fasten the cable in the cups. On mkII version this part was changed to new one, which looks exactly like SR-009 part. Now this type of cable (old type) unavailable to buying, so good estetic repair seems impossible.

That is the reason for me to made design and 3D printing for that parts to perform repair. Just cut-off the problem part of the cable near the cups, dissect it to 3 wires, solder and use glue for new printed parts. Here is what I have at the end.
Here is new sockets for repairing a STAX SR-007 cable (old type aka mkI)
Keep informed

 

[chocolates]

been thinking of doing a similar sort of recabling, but my issue isn't that bad - just cuts out if you pull. not sure if it's possible to add some sort of strain relief after the fact since the connection there really doesn't do anything of the sort...

 

[AudioThief]

By the end of the day what's matter is personal satisfaction. I am not saying the 727 is not good enough, I really shouldn't since I am currently selling my 727 on for sale forum.

I start with the 727 as my first electrostatic amp, but after I tried and purchase my BHSE, KGSShv and now the Carbon I can feel the improvement of SQ with the 007 more than my 009 or 404LE. When I AB compare the same headphone on different amp they all sounded different to my ears.

Things always get complicated when it comes to personal preference as we all paid our money that we earn very hard for something that we like, so is very hard to be not subjective...but for me the answer for this is fairly simple, if someone only have a certain amount of budget to follow I will advise them to go for something within his affordability but if someone could afford more and are happy to try then why not?

I am sure that some might think the Carbon is a better amp but I still believe the BHSE are better match with 007 but Carbon is better with 009. The 727 might be inferior but it sure can bring out the general tonality of the headphone.

Audio is a personal journey either way - science can never tell us what we personally experience. With that being said, I think a dose of healthy skepticism is a good idea when throwing around thousands of dollars. With that being said, the 007 and 009 are truly the end station as far as headphones goes, and so maxing out every single part of the equation makes sense to me. This is equipment you might own for 30+ years. But having been the victim of severe upgraditis, I think its a good idea to take a step back and truly assess what sound differences are available in upgrading an amplifier that already sufficiently powers a pair of, granted, electrostatic headphones.

As you said, it brings out the "general tonality" - in my opinion I think it brings out the exact sound signature, and any changes in signature will surely be completely subjective. Either way you look at it, if he springs for the 007 and 727 and doesn't like the sound signature - it is very likely that a pair of 009s or lambdas will be a better and cheaper remedy than getting the Carbon/BHSE. My evaluation of the 007 (mk1s) were that they are the single most technically impressive headphones I've ever heard - however the sound signature just wasn't for my ears. Not that I didn't like listening to them - I loved it. But it will never have the edge that the lambdas or 009s have. I am sure you can agree that no matter what you plug the 007s to, it will never sound as edgy as a pair of 009s into a solid state. So I guess that is the takeaway here - yes, the 007 are incredible headphones - but they have a different sound signature than other Stax, and if that sound signature isn't for you, spending 6000$ on an amplifier won't change the signature.

 

[AlexmodNew]

I cannot understand why anybody doesnt use EQ to correct sound of any es headphones to your own taste?
It is easy to perform, it is simple to have a ruller-flat response if you use correction from trusted source like that:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h0zyfb49e1yf241/Stax SR-007 mk1.pdf?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3tfl27gzlf6mzl6/Stax SR-009.pdf?dl=0

ES headphones can be corrected flawlessly becase have almost no distortion throu the spectrum, even at low frequency it is very low. It is much more simple than for dynamic headphones, which have many resonanse issue based fluctuances on FR. Just avoid to made high boost setting - thats all.
Even more you can turn it OFF at any time too.
And it cost almost nothing..