[MacedonianHero]

  Side to side, no, but I'm a BHSE/SR-009 owner and did listen briefly to Utopia recently.
Tonal balances and soundstage sound indeed very very close, but Utopia sounds more dry to me, with this so typical grain of electrodynamic drivers...knowing the less grainy ones for me are still HD800's.
This dryness / kind of "correctness" makes Utopia sound very very quick BTW, and 009 are slower / blurrier on average amps like my ex modded 727 was (not the case with some BHSE).
 
Meet conditions, so not favorable to e-dyn since you have to crank up the volume and reach their once again typical sreechiness in the high-mids / treble. I've tested them on humongous Viva Egoista amps, and no doubt I do prefer smoothness from the 2A3 version rather than straight amount of power from 845.
 
YMMV, grain of salt, etc...will have better occasions to compare maybe in january.
 
Ali

 
I wouldn't say the Utopias are more dry. I would say the tonality of the Utopias is as spot on as I've come across. They are dynamic and transparent and likely the only headphones to come close to dethrone my SR-009s. Close, but my SR-009s aren't going anywhere. 

 I would actually say in terms of speed and detail retrieval, the SR-009s have it here. Both are awesome headphones and neither pair is going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[Jones Bob]

Just swapped out the ear pads on my SR-009, thought I would post a few pics.

Starting


Unroll the earpad. Gives you more room to work in the interior.


Pull the dust screen


The earpad lip is sandwiched between the top black metal plate and the aluminum headphone body with 6 Phillips head screws. Unscrew each, 2 to 2-1/2 turns.


Then you can pull the earpad lip from between.


My plate was a little dirty.


Since I have OCD, cleaned with IPA.


Reverse for assembly. Tighten the screws criss cross like the lug nuts on your car. Snug the small screws, don't torque them like lug nuts.

 

[JustinBieber]

Where did you buy the pads? I heard Stax is strict about 009 spares and a receipt is needed to confirm the 009 is not grey market imported (pricejapan)

 

[Jones Bob]

Bought them a while back from Yama at STAX USA. He asked for the serial number. Cost me a small fortune as I bought from PriceJapan originally.

Seems he has been reined in on STAX Earspeaker prices recently. That's a good thing.

 

[Headzone]

I kind of wish there would be "electrostatic cmoy" kind of option for New Stax users. Something basic for driving SR202-SR404 etc. I bet more people would have Stax if they wouldn't have to buy a bulky, expensive amplifier to go with them.

 

[sarora]

  I kind of wish there would be "electrostatic cmoy" kind of option for New Stax users. Something basic for driving SR202-SR404 etc. I bet more people would have Stax if they wouldn't have to buy a bulky, expensive amplifier to go with them.

 
While I get your point, I think that's half the fun (if not more) with these things....we're not dealing with magnets anymore but a very simple principle (rudimentary, even) yet the fun is in the power to make unique amplifiers that push the bounds of power and allow an almost infinite amount of uniqueness from one pair of headphones.
 
Electrostat's like the modern Stax's are unique: you buy the headphone which is priced reasonably for the most part in the sector, but then you get to take that and tune it with an amplifier. Sure, you can do that with dynamic and planar magnetics, but you don't get anywhere near the sheer customization potential you get with the Stax...and that's just based on the amps alone. Not to mention the thriving DIY community that is full of innovative engineers and designers that are working to propel even better designs...from the same headphone! It's expensive - yes - but it's a niche inside a high end market already.
 
With that being said, there are cheap methods to amplify (and there are portable IEM-Stax setups too), but you just won't get the result that you should be getting...everyone is trying to push the limits and I think all the different sound profiles and signatures and end results we see reported from so many massive hand-built amplifiers for what amounts to a very "basic" headphone design (at the end of the day) is awesome  
 
I think most (if not all) Stax users truly appreciate the engineering that goes into powering these cans and are very involved in the design/community.

 

[labrat]

del

 

[JimL11]

  I kind of wish there would be "electrostatic cmoy" kind of option for New Stax users. Something basic for driving SR202-SR404 etc. I bet more people would have Stax if they wouldn't have to buy a bulky, expensive amplifier to go with them.

Never going to happen.  Stat phones require high voltage bias and high voltage (with some current) amplifiers.  That is inevitably going to cost more.  The closest you can get are the Stax SRM001 and the SRM252.  I discount the Kingsound because I have not been at all impressed with the circuit designs of the Kingsound amps I have seen.

 

[Tinkerer]

  I kind of wish there would be "electrostatic cmoy" kind of option for New Stax users. Something basic for driving SR202-SR404 etc. I bet more people would have Stax if they wouldn't have to buy a bulky, expensive amplifier to go with them.

 
That's pretty much what the old transformer boxes are for.

 

[JimL11]

   
That's pretty much what the old transformer boxes are for.

Good point!

 

[Hauge]

As for boxes...

I have SRD6 and SRD7, for my Lambda pre Pro, but would really like to go active.
Therefore my question.
Wich diy's are the ones to throw parts after, when comes to normal bios??

 

[Tinkerer]

They can all be made to have a normal bias socket. You just attach a voltage divider circuit with a ballast resistor to the B+ rail of your PSU. As far as I've been able to tell, the rankings for normal bias among the amps are the exact same as with pro. Because it is the same amp at the end of the day.

 

[zolkis]

My 007 Mk2 is leaving to a friend and I am keeping the Mk1.
 
Optimising the sound of the 007 Mk2 was orders of magnitude easier than for the Mk1: just take out the spring, don't do the port mod, and point the earpad sewing on the thinner part a bit upwards rather than forward or downwards. It sounds open, effortless, natural, fluid, tuneful, with good bass slam. It's just wonderful. It also measures well (red line).
 
Although I like the modded Mk2 a lot, and often prefer it to the Mk1, I am mesmerized by the modded 007 Mk1 mids and instrument realism (green line, at lower volume) - but the mod is not that easy. Note that the bass measurement below 40-50 Hz is not to be taken seriously, as it depends on the coupler/seal to the measurement rig.
The Mk1 and Mk2 have about similar bass, the Mk2 has more slam and the Mk1 extends more smoothly (ported vs non-ported). The Mk2 bass is more pleasant perhaps. The modded Mk1 mids sound out of this world in realism, but the Mk2 is very close. They have slightly different harmonic structure, but are within 2-5% of each other. All things considered, I wouldn't bother with the old Mk1, just get the Mk2 and take out the spring (2-5 minutes). And of course get a good tube amp.
 

 
The port mod on the 007 Mk2 will reduce the bass a bit and make the CSD slightly cleaner, but makes the sound more constricted and with narrower sound stage, so I have undone it as fast as I could. Taking out the spring also resulted in slightly better measurements, but it sounded much better IMHO.
 
Of course all statements need peer review, so... try it out .
 
Now that my 007 Mk1 has left the 009 and the 007 Mk2 behind, it is ready to meet (and be defeated by?) the SR-Ω . Let's see when. I dream to organize a 009 vs SR-Ω vs 007 Mk1 shootout on BHSE, Aristaeus, and a yet to be named new tube amp (when I get it ready).

 

[wuwhere]

So I'm contemplating which is the best sounding amp for the 007 Mk1. Of these which is the best pairing with the 007 Mk1 as far as pure sound is concern? Most of the music I listen to are classic rock with vocals, female vocals, jazz, and piano concertos:  BHSE, KGSSHV Carbon, KGSSHV, Cavalli Liquid Lightning 2/2T, HeadAmp Aristaeus, other suggestions?

 

[zolkis]

For start, check this: http://www.head-fi.org/t/378843/aristaeus-vs-blue-hawaii
Then make a search in this very forum - it has been discussed several times .