[mulveling]

BHSE is a wonderful match with each of L700, 007, and 009. Hard to go wrong there, unless you had a chance at DIY T2 and blew it (me). I haven't heard DIY T2 with L700, so BHSE stands as the best I've ever heard that headphone (with Carbon and Balanced hev90 close behind; maybe the Grounded Grid is on par with BHSE but I haven't heard it to comment). The DIY T2 is beyond sublime with 009/007/he90, and represents by far the pinnacle of headphone performance in my view. What's shocking is how each of those 3 very different headphones start to sound far more alike than different on the DIY T2...and in each case it's the best you've ever heard it. Very possibly the best headphone amp ever made.

 

[SeaWo|f]

On a more limited budget a modded T1 or modded 006ts would seem to be a good option? IDK if anyone has heard those with the L700.

 

[VIrak]

Can any of you guys give me a hand here?
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/stax-srm-1-mk2-100v-to-240v-conversion-is-this-correct.872626/
I didn't want to clutter up the discussion here with such a mundane question, but it seems like the Stax illuminati doesn't bother much with the rest of the forum...

 

[Sound Eq]

can i ask please soundwize how is l300 different than l500 and l700

as its so confusing which one to buy, I heard the l500 and i liked it

I also heard the signature series 407 and I did not like it as l500, i felt there were passages where the 407 were harsh compared to l500



best wishes

 

[Whitigir]

In the mean while, when people keep talking about 009 being bright, boring, and harsh treble ? I don’t have enough of it, as in a sense that it can have more, and better. So what do I have again ?

1/ KG T2 with all Silver solder and Silver wiring

2/ Stax 009

3/ All Silver Interconnect cables

4/ LSK 004 DAC that sports Dual ESS Sabres 9038 Pro chips

4/ Silver USB cables

5/ upgraded power cord !

Now, I used to upgrade my Walkman Cradle docking station to Silver/Gold and used Silver Gold USB cables. I still can’t get enough of this Sweet, clean, details, crips, extended to infinity trebles. Very very addictive.

*lastest thing I am doing* Trying to upgrade to Silver materials as much as I can. Now my Sony Cradle docking station is also carrying Silver inside. KG T2 has magic in it. The letters of “S” and “H” from Female vocal could be very sibilant or harsh, but here it is all just Turned into “air” ! So awesome

 

[Pokemonn]

but you know T2 is not so affordable for almost people. Lol
Even Jude-san never heard it.

 

[Tinkerer]

It's not always even about affordability. Just getting stuff to work 100% can be a pain. I remember reading through all the KGSSHV birthing pains and I'm still trying to get my Circlotron online with no problems. It currently runs as a very nice Carbon though.

 

[Whitigir]

but you know T2 is not so affordable for almost people. Lol
Even Jude-san never heard it.

Yeah, I understand. Hence, I give it the name of a “legendary Unicorn” lol. Point is though, it is not always the headphones, especially when you get to this level of performances

It's not always even about affordability. Just getting stuff to work 100% can be a pain. I remember reading through all the KGSSHV birthing pains and I'm still trying to get my Circlotron online with no problems. It currently runs as a very nice Carbon though.

I agree, and also to get parts for it is another pain. Your circlotron build is very impressive

 

[buzzlulu]

can i ask please soundwize how is l300 different than l500 and l700

as its so confusing which one to buy, I heard the l500 and i liked it

I also heard the signature series 407 and I did not like it as l500, i felt there were passages where the 407 were harsh compared to l500
best wishes

+1
I demoed the 300/500/700 at CanJam and preferred the 500. Two caveats:
I have read that the 700 does not do well with the 353 amp and needs something more. No problem for me as that is the amp I want to start with so I am not considering the 700

The 500 and 300 anniversary cost the same. I am really considering the 300 anniversary - the problem is I am not sure which 300 I demoed at the show as Woo had both models. I did not like the one I heard - so I am hoping it was just the plain 300 model. I quite liked the 500

 

[Sound Eq]

+1
I demoed the 300/500/700 at CanJam and preferred the 500. Two caveats:
I have read that the 700 does not do well with the 353 amp and needs something more. No problem for me as that is the amp I want to start with so I am not considering the 700

The 500 and 300 anniversary cost the same. I am really considering the 300 anniversary - the problem is I am not sure which 300 I demoed at the show as Woo had both models. I did not like the one I heard - so I am hoping it was just the plain 300 model. I quite liked the 500

can you tell what you did not like in the 700 compared to the 500, as this is really important to me as i am about to plug the trigger in buying either the 500 or 700, i thought the 700 is way superior and better sounding

 

[yakaway]

Can anyone direct me to the biasing process for the srm-007tII?

 

[Pahani]

I personally don't put much stock in L700 listening sessions of a few minutes, or even a few days.

JUST SPEAKING FOR MYSELF, my L700 didn't wow me as much as I'd hoped upon first listen. I went back and re-did my comparative listening after 2 weeks with L700 though, and THEN I could fully appreciate them

I attribute it to brain burn-in on my part. Dunno why, but I just had to get used to them. As always, YMMV, etc.

 

[Sound Eq]

I personally don't put much stock in L700 listening sessions of a few minutes, or even a few days.

JUST SPEAKING FOR MYSELF, my L700 didn't wow me as much as I'd hoped upon first listen. I went back and re-did my comparative listening after 2 weeks with L700 though, and THEN I could fully appreciate them

I attribute it to brain burn-in on my part. Dunno why, but I just had to get used to them. As always, YMMV, etc.

can u tell me what did not give u great impression at first, what amp were u using. As to me such info is important

can i ask are there many people in this thread that liked L500 more than l700 from initial impressions

 

[joseph69]

I thought the 700 is way superior and better sounding

Don't take this the wrong way, but if you feel the 700 is superior, why ask anyone what they think? If you feel this way about the 700, then this is what you prefer, so buy it. Never mind what others prefer, because the bottom line is your enjoyment, not theirs. So I say go for it and enjoy!

 

[336881]

So you have $1.4k for DAC, 3.8k for headphones and god knows how much (8k -10k+) for the DIY T2, haha. I wanted to reinforce that I think that's actually a wise allocation of funds. With the 007 and 009 Stax headphones, amps make SO much difference that I think they easily defeat the usual diminishing returns rule, as long as you're upgrading to the "right" amp at each step. E.g. Stax 007 / 717 / 727 => KGSShv / KGST => BHSE / Carbon / GroundedGrid => DIY T2. Whereas DACs all sound a LOT more similar to each other, and I know it's possible to find very reasonably priced ones that sound very good. I'm really enjoying my ECP Audio DAC, paid just $600 (used), and I don't miss the Yggdrasil one bit; honestly the sweeter Wolfson 8741 based DAC (delta-sigma, horror of horrors!) with CineMag outputs synergizes better here (009 + BHSE). It does great with the Utopia + Max Balanced too, but of course they're no 009. I'm liking my headphone setup more than ever.

It is a wise allocation of funds if you are going digital. Analog that is a bad way to go for the 009. You def. want more into the record player or reel to reel than the amp.