[thinker]

I have to rethink how good the driver of 007mk2 actually is, the driver sounds so much better when installed in 009 case. I had to take some other parts from 009, rubber rings etc to make a tight fit for the driver to reduce resonances. I was not expecting much but i'm now blown away what i hear.

The new 009/7 is much better than original 009 and 007. I think the original 007 case ruined the potential of the 007 driver, actually it's sounds muffled.

The new 009/7 has deep bass and the highs are on par with 009 but smoooth. The midrange appears wider/ open against 007 and the 3D imaging is incredible. The new is very detailed like 009 and airy , very lifelike natural. The 009/7 sounds like a new stax headphone maybe brother to X9K

 

[Reima]

Just find this amazing review of tubes

https://wallofsound.ca/audioreviews...-with-tubes-supplied-by-www-thetubestore-com/

I was wondering if anyone has experience of rolling tubes of T2? While I love the clarity, control, and ease of PSVANE UK EK34, I do miss the slam and god send bass from Mullard and NOS which then sounds a bit muffled lacking control compared to the EK34.

The link does not work for me.

 

[genefruit]

The link does not work for me.

try it again - didn't work for me earlier as well but is working now.

 

[dynavit]

Very interesting combination, your 007/009.
Is the change reversibel?
How about other way round, puting the 009 drivers into the 007 case?
Thanks for your impressions

 

[mulveling]

Just find this amazing review of tubes

https://wallofsound.ca/audioreviews...-with-tubes-supplied-by-www-thetubestore-com/

I was wondering if anyone has experience of rolling tubes of T2? While I love the clarity, control, and ease of PSVANE UK EK34, I do miss the slam and god send bass from Mullard and NOS which then sounds a bit muffled lacking control compared to the EK34.

He doesn't even mention which "NOS Holy Grail USA" tubes he didn't like.
The T2 with literally any working EL34 tube will still significantly outclass other amps with holy grail tubes. So you don't have to tube roll to fix or enhance anything. I used Russian Mullard and Amperex / Holland EL34. Both mind blowingly good.

 

[thinker]

Very interesting combination, your 007/009.
Is the change reversibel?
How about other way round, puting the 009 drivers into the 007 case?
Thanks for your impressions

yes it is reversible, takes about 1 hour to switch back. It would be interesting to see measurements on this, to my ears it sounds very balanced. This headphone has everything on it from bass to highs. The sound is effortless (sweet/ lovely) it has also foot tapping speed. Soundstage is right, the players are not too far away like X9K

Excellent positioning and right tone of instruments and at the same time airy. Quite different than stock 007 wich sounds darkish in comparison and 009 bright in comparison.
The sound is meaty, it has weight, the music seems to flow. No way i will ever switch back to 009 and 007, this is a permanent change.

 

[HifiXMen]

I have to rethink how good the driver of 007mk2 actually is, the driver sounds so much better when installed in 009 case. I had to take some other parts from 009, rubber rings etc to make a tight fit for the driver to reduce resonances. I was not expecting much but i'm now blown away what i hear.

The new 009/7 is much better than original 009 and 007. I think the original 007 case ruined the potential of the 007 driver, actually it's sounds muffled.

The new 009/7 has deep bass and the highs are on par with 009 but smoooth. The midrange appears wider/ open against 007 and the 3D imaging is incredible. The new is very detailed like 009 and airy , very lifelike natural. The 009/7 sounds like a new stax headphone maybe brother to X9K

That is exactly what I am thinking, The first thing to rebuild 007 into a more modern sound estat is to change the whole case, the original case and earpad mounting structure are really really bad design.

 

[thinker]

That is exactly what I am thinking, The first thing to rebuild 007 into a more modern sound estat is to change the whole case, the original case and earpad mounting structure are really really bad design.

Zolkis is going to measure 009/7 at some point in time maybe in next 1-2 weeks he will report back

 

[urs]

The first thing to rebuild 007 into a more modern sound estat is to change the whole case, the original case and earpad mounting structure are really really bad design.

Interesting:
For me, the 007 was and still is the most optimal STAX in terms of fitting & handling:
The rotating pads, and lack of swivels, or such, make the 007 my preferred E-Stat-HP, when I need to put it on or take it off quickly e.g. for my “editing” work.

What is regarded as the “muffled” sound – sorry, my lack of better wording: the 007 just doesn’t present this extra treble, shine & transparency – is my specific choice for Digital sources and/or my work with Shellac recordings…1)

Regards
Urs



1) For real “High-End-Listening & Enjoyment”, I’ll always preferred the 009(S) or now the “X” any time without any question.

 

[Zoide]

Is it normal for the KGSS Klassik case to get very hot after listening to the L700 at moderate volumes for about one hour?

It's not like it's about to burn up (I can lay my hand on it pretty much indefinitely), but I'm pretty sure my SRM-323S got that hot.

Thanks

 

[mulveling]

Is it normal for the KGSS Klassik case to get very hot after listening to the L700 at moderate volumes for about one hour?

It's not like it's about to burn up (I can lay my hand on it pretty much indefinitely), but I'm pretty sure my SRM-323S got that hot.

If you can lay your hand on it indefinitely, that's NOT hot by our standards. All the good electrostatic amps are gonna throw out some heat, ranging from "toasty warm" to slowly-fry-an-egg hot. There's no way around it, with those high voltage rails (+/- 300V and more) and running in class A - meaning it's at maximum dissipation all the time, even at idle. Get a Kill-a-Watt and watch its absolute rock steady power draw under all conditions. And almost all of that is coming back out as heat. Hot and reliable, like your Mjolnir, is waaaaaay better than cool and unreliable.

How does it sound to you?? I would imagine that should be a huge improvement in detail, dynamics and grip over the 323.

 

[Zoide]

If you can lay your hand on it indefinitely, that's NOT hot by our standards. All the good electrostatic amps are gonna throw out some heat, ranging from "toasty warm" to slowly-fry-an-egg hot. There's no way around it, with those high voltage rails (+/- 300V and more) and running in class A - meaning it's at maximum dissipation all the time, even at idle. Get a Kill-a-Watt and watch its absolute rock steady power draw under all conditions. And almost all of that is coming back out as heat. Hot and reliable, like your Mjolnir, is waaaaaay better than cool and unreliable.

How does it sound to you?? I would imagine that should be a huge improvement in detail, dynamics and grip over the 323.

Thanks, it's good to know that there's nothing wrong with the amp.
I just hope it doesn't draw too much more power though, since the warm weather is coming and also energy prices are going through the roof here in Europe thanks to Putin's war.

It looks and sounds great, but I haven't had much time for comparisons and I don't have a way to A/B quickly between the amps because I need to swap power cables and interconnects each time. It's very hard to remember the differences "from memory", plus I don't expect that much of a difference with the L700 and my moderate listening levels. I mostly bought the KGSS for use with the Hive X I have on the way, which is said to require a beefier amp.

The other thing is that my DAC only has RCA outs and the PC introduces a bit of noise via the USB power (depends on the CPU usage, etc.). With the 323S, that's not a problem because I can connect a cable between the DAC's ground and the amp's ground. But with the KGSS there is no ground post/knob I can connect it to. So the KGSS is at a noise disadvantage.

 

[SolarCetacean]

The other thing is that my DAC only has RCA outs and the PC introduces a bit of noise via the USB power (depends on the CPU usage, etc.). With the 323S, that's not a problem because I can connect a cable between the DAC's ground and the amp's ground. But with the KGSS there is no ground post/knob I can connect it to. So the KGSS is at a noise disadvantage.

Do you have a separate power strip or electrical outlet that you can use for your PC? I had that same issue on a Stax amp when I had an unbalanced DAC (with an ungrounded power supply) and a noisy USB connection from the PC. I could work around it by connecting my PC to a separate power strip on a different outlet. Not quite sure why that worked, as sharing a ground should be better, but it got rid of the PC-dependent squealing. There was still a ground loop hum at higher positions on the knob though, and I only got rid of that when I bought a DAC with XLR outputs.

 

[KDS315]

Zoide, if your amp draws 300Watts and you let it run 10hours per day (!!) that makes 3kWatthours which sets you back about ONE EURO then….

 

[Zoide]

Do you have a separate power strip or electrical outlet that you can use for your PC? I had that same issue on a Stax amp when I had an unbalanced DAC (with an ungrounded power supply) and a noisy USB connection from the PC. I could work around it by connecting my PC to a separate power strip on a different outlet. Not quite sure why that worked, as sharing a ground should be better, but it got rid of the PC-dependent squealing. There was still a ground loop hum at higher positions on the knob though, and I only got rid of that when I bought a DAC with XLR outputs.

Thanks, I'd tried a separate outlet before, but it didn't help. I think I'll eventually have to bite the bullet and buy a nicer DAC with balanced outputs. I've got my sights placed on the SMSL DO100.

Zoide, if your amp draws 300Watts and you let it run 10hours per day (!!) that makes 3kWatthours which sets you back about ONE EURO then….

Hahaha you're right... I just measured the KGSS with a smart plug (Tapo P110), and it draws 38 Watts. At ~€0.4 / kWh, using it 4 hours a day every day is less than €2 a month.

A bigger concern will be once the summer gets really hot! The thing is quite a space heater.