[purk]

  Neither are the BHSE or Carbon...there's always the T-2. 

  Hard to improve on that. 

But he has the T2....just saying and a darn Stax SRM-Omega. 

 

[MacedonianHero]

  But he has the T2....just saying and a darn Stax SRM-Omega. 

And that's endgame! Well...unless we consider the new Sennheiser stat? 

 

[zolkis]

I had my second time with an SZ3-2xxx Mk2.5, compared to my 007 Mk1 with black EP007 pads and original springs and dust screen.
I want to make some justice to the Mk2.5. It has a wonderful sound stage, I'd say better than Mk1 and 009. It has more midbass impact than the Mk1, but less deep bass impact (sub-30 Hz). It had somewhat less treble than my Mk1, and more recessed mids, but I liked it more with jazz than the Mk1... Very compelling presentation, and sometimes small issues. They are quite different, but I would say it's similar class. The Mk1 is perhaps a tiny bit smoother and less colored (though still sepia-toned).
 
I think most differences in bass and treble may come from pads and dust screen variance, but there is a genuine difference in the midrange that seems to be characteristic to the drivers. The Mk1 seems to be more full/forward in the mids, and has less colorations. The Mk2.5 can sound a bit cavity-honky-ghosty in some cases. IMHO both of the 007's are bettered by the 009 in the midrange, openness and naturalness of timbre (ok, the 009 has a 4K peak instead of a dip), but  both 007's have more bass than the 009, and the Mk1 beats it in the treble dynamics, too, at least for me. Sound stage wise, the Mk2.5 is largest, the Mk1 is smallest, the 009 is almost perfect (though it could be larger a bit in all dimensions).
 
I want and demand a 009 with thicker (from 1 μm up to 2.4 μm) diaphragm, or copper-only cables (no silver coating), a bit less aluminium in the enclosure, slightly more angled and stiffer pads, and a bit cheaper... please. I will call it the Omega reborn .
 
That being said, Mk2.5 owners can stay relaxed, their phones are not worse than the Mk1, just a bit different. For different musical genres I can imagine picking either of them for different reasons. Just enjoy the music and disregard hypes.

 

[joseph69]

  I had my second time with an SZ3-2xxx Mk2.5
 

Are the SZ3/Mk2.5 serial #'s the most current SR-007 Mk2?
I'm asking because I just purchased the (black) SR-007 Mk2 from Justin.
Thanks.

 

[zolkis]

  Are the SZ3/Mk2.5 serial #'s the most current SR-007 Mk2?

 
This one is less than a year old, so I guess yes.

 

[joseph69]

  This one is less than a year old, so I guess yes.

Thank you.

 

[rgs9200m]

SZ3-195x 007 here (no mods). One darn brilliant headphone.
(Like all Staxes I have known though for almost 20 years now, it works better with a warmish digital front end since they can be revealing of glare. I even found this with the 007 mk1 I had for 8 years.)
 
 This not a criticism of the 007; *every* high end headphone needs a complementary front end to get the best out of it. And when you do, boy does the 007 deliver.
The SR007 really scales with the quality of the digital source you feed it. It's really amazing with SACD ime.

 

[joseph69]

  SZ3-195x 007 here (no mods). One darn brilliant headphone.
(Like all Staxes I have known though for almost 20 years now, it works better with a warmish digital front end since they can be revealing of glare. I even found this with the 007 mk1 I had for 8 years.)
 
 This not a criticism of the 007; *every* high end headphone needs a complementary front end to get the best out of it. And when you do, boy does the 007 deliver.
The SR007 really scales with the quality of the digital source you feed it. It's really amazing with SACD ime.

Great to hear!
My BHSE is shipping in a few days, can't wait to hear both the 007/009!

 

[Drumonron]

congrats on the BHSE and looking forward to your impressions. 

 

[joseph69]

  congrats on the BHSE and looking forward to your impressions. 

Thank you very much.

 

[Drumonron]

You know, I was debating on whether to invest in one of the FOTM headphones:
New Sony MDR-Z1R or Focal's offerings but decided that I doubt they can touch
what I have so I'm Stax for life with an HD800 and some Grado for dynamic fun.

 

[zolkis]

  You know, I was debating on whether to invest in one of the FOTM headphones:
New Sony MDR-Z1R or Focal's offerings but decided that I doubt they can touch
what I have so I'm Stax for life with an HD800 and some Grado for dynamic fun.

 
Same here, stuck with Stax, especially 007 with 2 pads of choice, perhaps 009, and wishfully an SR-Ω or worthy successor in the future, to replace all.
I also bear with a heavily modded TH900 for office (must be closed back) most of the time.
Unfortunately IEMs are incompatible with my ear canal.
The modded HD800 would be quite nice for classical music (and a bargain by today's standards, who'd believe that 10 years ago...). The Focal Elear and K812 also sounded quite OK for the price, but no reasons over my modded TH900 or the HD800. Audeze, MDR-Z1R no thanks. Never heard Ether. For a non-Stax open-back solution (totally hypothetical), I'd perhaps choose the HE-1000 (modded V1 or V2) despite the flaws or the modded HD800 with occasional EQ or a Smyth Realiser. But thankfully I can have Stax, so I have Stax .

 

[Drumonron]

Joseph69, If you, or anyone else, ever gets tired of the BHSE, don't hesitate to PM me. 
It'll take a bit of saving but I'd like to buy one someday.  I really do think Stax is the purest
sound for me.  I'd probably save tons of money by just upgrading my amps now.  Would love a
GS-X for my dynamics and the BHSE for my Stax.

 

[joseph69]

  Joseph69, If you, or anyone else, ever gets tired of the BHSE, don't hesitate to PM me. 
It'll take a bit of saving but I'd like to buy one someday.  I really do think Stax is the purest
sound for me.  I'd probably save tons of money by just upgrading my amps now.  Would love a
GS-X for my dynamics and the BHSE for my Stax.

I haven't received my BHSE…but I do have the GS-XMk2 and for sure thats never going anywhere. 

 

[Bloos]

Being new to electrostatic headphones, having acquired a pair of Lambdas, there's a particular thing I have a question about:
When I turn on my electrostatic amp and listen right away to the headphones, I hear distortion at certain points in songs. However, after a while when I listen to the same parts of the songs, the distortion is gone!
Does anyone else experience this? and why might this be?
(Is it because the film acts like a capacitor with a large time constant, and takes a while to charge up? If so, how long should I wait?)