[joseph69]

 

   
As far as the 009 being imbalanced, I can't comment without the experience, sorry.
I can however comment on the bass responding differently while turning your head from left/right.
I just noticed this myself the other night. I moved my head all the way to the left/right to stretch a bit and noticed the bass increased.
 
The reason the bass increases is because the ear pads are moving away from your ears slightly when this is done. While sitting with your head straight, slightly pull the cups away from your ears and you'll replicate what you experienced. 

Thanks Joseph, indeed that was what I noticed and I agree. Apparently, when moving the head around or adjusting the headphone, the bass response responds the most as opposed to the mid and high frequency. I wonder if it is affected by the seal created by the earpad seal. Bcos I do experience often some Stax "farting"/ crackling (i think) as i move the phone around and adjust the driver position. It is that sensitive: pressing the earcup against the ear, tilting the earcup slightly, lifting the earcup AWAY from the ear - all change the bass. Kind of reminds of the AKG K550, where it really takes a while to adjust to get a proper seal for the bass to appear. And the K550 farts too, serious!
 
Oh, i noticed something strange too. As i lift the earcup AWAY from the ear, the bass became bigger and stronger. When I put the earcup back against my ears, the bass became softer but tighter. Strange but true! Thats how sensitive!
  The HE-6 , HD800 are not affected much by the ear position which I think is bcos their earpad are velour and hence do not "seal". The SR009 is a open headphone with a has sealing earpad. Intriguing.

It's definitely an effect created by breaking the seal on your ears. I actually don't have such a tight seal around my ears with the 009, so I don't hear the diaphragms moving. I do know what you're talking about though, because with my 007 the ear pads create a much tighter seal, so I do hear the diaphragms moving when I'm adjusting them, which I don't like to hear because I feel I'm forcing them to move by creating such suction. I don't know if this causes any harm to the diaphragms, but I still don't like forcing them.
 
Yes, the slightest movement (breaking the seal/pulling the cups away) from your ears causes the bass to increase. Glad you found the reason for the bass resounded when moving your head. Good luck with your imbalance issue, hope you have it resolved at a minimum cost being you're out of warranty.

 

[rayofsi]

Imbalance issues are not normal fyi. Sign of a defect somewhere. I have a pair of SR009 that is from before the edifier take over. They are perfect without issue. I think they are 5+ years old?

 

[Michgelsen]

I had a pair of 'stats with a very slight imbalance once, a long time ago. As soon as I heard it once, it couldn't be unheard, and it ruined the experience. While listening, I was constantly checking whether voices were centered or not, so I had it repaired. My suggestion is to: 1) make sure that the headphones indeed have an imbalance and the fault is not somewhere else, 2) in case of imbalance in the headphones, get it fixed under warranty ASAP.

 

[Feilong4]

I'm thinking of getting a pair of Stax. 
 
I'm a bit concerned about the dust problem though. This might have been asked numerous times before, but how well have they've fared in your rooms?
 
I might get a slight layer of dust on my desk every week. No idea whether this is a lot, as it's normal to me by now.
 
Also, any predictions/experience in how they might fare in an environment that gets pretty hot in the summer and pretty cold in the winter? I live in Minnesota where the temperatures can get crazy from below zero in the winter and mid-nineties or higher in the summer.
 
EDIT: Where might I be able to get the earspeakers or the system repaired? I might look into shipping internationally when it comes to it (hopefully not).

 

[JimL11]

  I'm thinking of getting a pair of Stax. 
 
I'm a bit concerned about the dust problem though. This might have been asked numerous times before, but how well have they've fared in your rooms?
 
I might get a slight layer of dust on my desk every week. No idea whether this is a lot, as it's normal to me by now.
 
Also, any predictions/experience in how they might fare in an environment that gets pretty hot in the summer and pretty cold in the winter? I live in Minnesota where the temperatures can get crazy from below zero in the winter and mid-nineties or higher in the summer.
 
EDIT: Where might I be able to get the earspeakers or the system repaired? I might look into shipping internationally when it comes to it (hopefully not).

Shouldn't be a problem.  Stax drivers are enclosed within a dust shield like a plastic bag, so dust should never reach them unless you are in the habit of sticking needles into them.

 

[Tinkerer]

I'm thinking of getting a pair of Stax. 

I'm a bit concerned about the dust problem though. This might have been asked numerous times before, but how well have they've fared in your rooms?

I might get a slight layer of dust on my desk every week. No idea whether this is a lot, as it's normal to me by now.

Also, any predictions/experience in how they might fare in an environment that gets pretty hot in the summer and pretty cold in the winter? I live in Minnesota where the temperatures can get crazy from below zero in the winter and mid-nineties or higher in the summer.

EDIT: Where might I be able to get the earspeakers or the system repaired? I might look into shipping internationally when it comes to it (hopefully not).

 


I live in a literal swamp and use 20 year old Stax that still work perfectly. A lot of stuff people say about dust or water or temperature about other electrostats don't apply much to good Stax with dust shields. The stuff that usually gives out is either the cord or maybe the diaphragm coating after 30 or 40 years. Compared to other quality stats that seem to have problems with buzz from dust like the Koss ESP 950 anyway. Even those kind of things are pretty solid. I had a an ESP 6 from the late-60's that still worked perfectly after a little TLC to the circuit boards.

 

[Ampeezy]

After a week of burning in the Sr-007 it sounds like the bass has toned a bit, and is now a bit more neutral? It was very very punchy and a bit overemphasized the first few days. Maybe my brain burned in

 

[Tinkerer]

Probably just the pads sealing better to your head. You get a midbass hump if they don't seal exactly right. Electrostat headphones don't burn in. Really old ones might take awhile to fully charge the diaphragm though.

 

[ToroFiestaSol]

Probably just the pads sealing better to your head. You get a midbass hump if they don't seal exactly right. Electrostat headphones don't burn in. Really old ones might take awhile to fully charge the diaphragm though.

 
+1000
I think the same, good seal is crucial with 007.
After sealing the bass ports with blu tack, took me a few days to get a "correct" seal. After that and with KGSSHV Mini, the headphones sound super tight and neutral.

 

[tanyokemeng]

Hi,

Just a little update on the imbalance issue:

Earlier, I have tested the 009 with two different amps. The same slight imbalance and shifting of Low frequencies still present.
Then I brought the unit down to my local store and the good distributor/ technical support tested it out.
Surprise... it sounded ok there during a short test.

So I went back and worked out some possible problems down the chain. So I tried cable swapping,different sources. So last night after messing around for the night, problem slowly dissipated (hopefully it remains so).

I thought what could happen are these:

1. Headphone earpad/ foam
The earcups being conditioned during the early stages of usage resulting in a better fit onto the head and seal. This happens gradually and can be noticed after a few hours of use. I noticed the earpads are made of leather at the contact part. The leather is not exactly the same - one side leather seems a little more crumpled while the other is way smoother. Also the right earpad is very slightly distorted at one area, probably happened in the packaging. Maybe that could have contributed to the difference in seal before being conditioned in.

2. Amplification volume
The DAC I am using is Benchmark DAC2 with a HGC volume knob with a variable volume output through XLR.
In the "home theatre" mode, it tries to output at 90%.
I used about 20% volume on the headphone amp. I somehow remembered someone telling me that some volume knob may have slight imbalance at very Low volume.
So what I did was ramp the amp volume to 50%, while turning down the DAC volume to 30%.
That "seems" to bring out more details on the left side of the phone and the L-R balance improves subtly.
I cannot tell if it is psychological or ear getting adjusted.

3. Position of listening
I sit very near a wall to my right side. Sometimes there is a fan on the left with its gentle breeze. Although the part has nothing to do with the imbalance of the headphones, it does create a different sense of space when listening at lower volumes.
The 009 is so very open and I can hear everything outside very clearly. When listening at low volumes, the sense of space on the right wall side can feel different. Even when I lean back against my chair and lift up my arms to rest them behind my ears, the sound bouncing back can change the sound from the 009 slightly! It's true!
So I tried to change my sitting position either facing the wall side completely or the opposite side. The sense of space is better. When I listen at higher volume and louder music, it's not so relevant.

 

[Tinkerer]

If you look over on the other site, there's been some info that the balance issues might be a bias connection issue since STAX replaced the 009 screw connection with a rivet that can get loose in later models. If it's loose then the diaphragm won't charge correctly and gets a lot of the behavior you're talking about. The good thing is, this can basically be fixed with a little dab of solder on the connector to fill the gap.

Otherwise, volume pots at low volume will accentuate tracking differences like you said.

 

[Ampeezy]

   
+1000
I think the same, good seal is crucial with 007.
After sealing the bass ports with blu tack, took me a few days to get a "correct" seal. After that and with KGSSHV Mini, the headphones sound super tight and neutral.

​yeah probably what it is...have you tried the srm 007TA with the 007? if so how does it compare with the mini?

 

[Ampeezy]

Hi,

Just a little update on the imbalance issue:

Earlier, I have tested the 009 with two different amps. The same slight imbalance and shifting of Low frequencies still present.
Then I brought the unit down to my local store and the good distributor/ technical support tested it out.
Surprise... it sounded ok there during a short test.

So I went back and worked out some possible problems down the chain. So I tried cable swapping,different sources. So last night after messing around for the night, problem slowly dissipated (hopefully it remains so).

I thought what could happen are these:

1. Headphone earpad/ foam
The earcups being conditioned during the early stages of usage resulting in a better fit onto the head and seal. This happens gradually and can be noticed after a few hours of use. I noticed the earpads are made of leather at the contact part. The leather is not exactly the same - one side leather seems a little more crumpled while the other is way smoother. Maybe that could have contributed to the difference in seal before being worn in.

2. Amplification volume
The DAC I am using is Benchmark DAC2 with a HGC volume knob with a variable volume output through XLR.
In the "home theatre" mode, it tries to output at 90%.
I used about 20% volume on the headphone amp. I somehow remembered someone telling me that some volume knob may have slight imbalance at very Low volume.
So what I did was ramp the amp volume to 50%, while turning down the DAC volume to 30%.
That "seems" to bring out more details on the left side of the phone and the L-R balance improves subtly.
I cannot tell if it is psychological or ear getting adjusted.

3. Position of listening
I sit very near a wall to my right side. Sometimes there is a fan on the left with its gentle Breeze. Although the part has nothing to do with the imbalance of the headphones, it does create a different sense of space when listening at lower volumes.
The 009 is so very open and I can hear everything outside very clearly. When listening at low volumes, the sense of space on the right wall side can feel different. Even when I lean back against my chair and lift up my arms to rest them behind my ears, the sound bouncing back can change the sound from the 009 slightly! It's true!
So I tried to change my sitting position either facing the wall side completely or the opposite side. The sense of space is better. When I listen at higher volume and louder music, it's not so relevant.

​I don't know if you're using stax amps but if your are, some of them allow independent L/R volume control. if this is the case, hold the back of the knob with one hand, while adjusting the front of the knob so the left and right channels are roughly the same volume. This feature honestly irks me, because one wrong move and the channels are imbalanced

 

[ToroFiestaSol]

 
​yeah probably what it is...have you tried the srm 007TA with the 007? if so how does it compare with the mini?

 
Not a fair comparison, because apart of my KGSSHV Mini, I only heard the SRM-323S, and it was a one hour audition, did not heard the 007TA.
SRM-323S (now replaced by SRM-353X) is considered the best Stax amp by the Stax mafia.
The KGSSHV Mini is the only electrostatic amp that I bought for myself.
Also, when I heard the 007 with the SRM-323S, the 007 was in stock form, mine has the bass ports sealed, I did the mod one day after having the headphones, so it's not the most accurate comparison. My 007 are the current revision, don't know what revision are the other 007 pair that I auditioned with the Stax amp, it was in 2016, so I suppose they're the same version.
 
What I can say is, stock 007 and 323s= midbass hump, bland sounding, dull.
007 with Spritzer mod and KGSSHV Mini= neutral, no soft treble, tons of bass impact, no midbass hump.
 
You really need to seal the bass ports and a Kevin Gilmore amp for the 007, if not, go for another headphone.
Also the seal is very important, is a very tricky headphone, very hard to judge because of the required conditions to get it "right".
 
EDIT: I know that opening the headphones and buying something from a DIYer and not a store is a kick in the balls, because you can broke the headphones if you touch the diaphragm and get scammed with the amp if you have bad luck...but for me, the risk was worth it, didn't broke anything and didn't get scammed, now my problem is a better source, but headphone upgrade? Ha! I've found true, inconditional love for this tricky, unicorn-like Stax headphone.

 

[tanyokemeng]

 
​I don't know if you're using stax amps but if your are, some of them allow independent L/R volume control. if this is the case, hold the back of the knob with one hand, while adjusting the front of the knob so the left and right channels are roughly the same volume. This feature honestly irks me, because one wrong move and the channels are imbalanced

Unfortunately my stat amp do not have the L-R balance. My other dynamic BHA-1 amp has it. But I too agree that it is kindly of fiddly. I also feel the knob should not be used to correct a headphone that is imbalanced, not working as it should in the first place. Maybe it is better to solve the primary condition.