[astrostar59]

  @astrostar59 OK I misunderstood your point. In a sense, everything you said is happening to some degree. By that I mean bootlegs made from master tape sources (close to the real thing as possible), bootlegs made from remasters intended for CD at 16/44.1 then put to vinyl, bootlegs from one vinyl to another (will introduct some form of degradation in the re-recording/re-plating process), but the worst we can all agree are the ones that are bootlegs made from MP3 masters. However we can safely assume the people who press MP3 to vinyl for remasters are either hopelessly ignorant of what they are doing, or scammers who couldn't care less what the vinyl sounds like. This group falls into the latter you mentioned, the equivalent of "dodgy DVDs at the seaside type of thing". That is certainly not the industry as a whole I agree, but more labels than one would expect engage in this sort of behavior. There was a release recently from an independent startup label who claimed to get the rights of a musician who self released a cassette in the early 90s. well it got rediscovered and somewhat popular again, and this label put the album out on vinyl. It wasn't until some hardcore cassette collectors got a copy of the vinyl, found it sounded not only worse than their cassettes but was the wrong artist and album entirely! It turned out to be - of all things - a YouTube rip pressed to vinyl. Someone had uploaded the wrong cassette rip to youtube, and the vinyl is complete with all the YouTube lo-fi warbliness.
 
then again that could get me on a whole different rant of youtubers filming their vinyls playing when their record players can't even keep a consistent speed.

Totally agree with all of above.
On the Lambdas, I think many of the Lambda previous incarnations and some of the current 207/307407/507 HPs do have some of that legacy. I am sure of the strident 6K range, but I did get really fed up with the treble etch of my various Lamda models. The smoothest I found was the Lambda Nova Signature, but even that needed a smooth DAC or source.
 
I would go for the new L700 (bit more like a scaled down 009) or the 007A. The 007A is super smooth and has great bass, a different animal altogether IMO.

 

[vapman]

The L700 will likely be the next on my shopping list. Cheers @astrostar59

 

[yates7592]

I would like to hear the L700. Never read a bad word about it. Seems to be 90% of SR009 for a third of the price.

 

[LaCuffia]

I currently have the 404 Limited Edition, and I can only compare it to the 2170 that I had - the 404 LE is much smoother and forgiving and a bit more weight in the mid-range.  I can't compare it to other Lambdas, but from what I read the 404 LE has very good reputation.   I would still like to try the L700 at some point too, but not sure how much of an upgrade it would be to the 404 LE.   I might just jump to the Omega series.  The 007A is intriguing but I don't have the right driver for it now.  The 404 LE pairs nicely with the SRM-T1.   It's been said that the 007 is power hungry and that the T1 wouldn't do it justice.   But then again it can't be all that bad since Stax used the T1 as the reference driver for many years (until the T2 was developed). 

 

[jibzilla]

  I currently have the 404 Limited Edition, and I can only compare it to the 2170 that I had - the 404 LE is much smoother and forgiving and a bit more weight in the mid-range.  I can't compare it to other Lambdas, but from what I read the 404 LE has very good reputation.   I would still like to try the L700 at some point too, but not sure how much of an upgrade it would be to the 404 LE.   I might just jump to the Omega series.  The 007A is intriguing but I don't have the right driver for it now.  The 404 LE pairs nicely with the SRM-T1.   It's been said that the 007 is power hungry and that the T1 wouldn't do it justice.   But then again it can't be all that bad since Stax used the T1 as the reference driver for many years (until the T2 was developed). 

 
The 404LE and airbow sr-sc-11 were much better performers than the 407 and 507 for me. Should not have sold the airbow's.

 

[vapman]

The Airbow is a non-Stax made Electrostatic, correct? or is it a modified stax?

 

[Michgelsen]

 
 
On topic:  Stax 2170 owners: do you feel this model also shares the strangeness around 6k hertz the Lambda suffered from? I had two Lambdas and do not intend to get one with that same sound... i will save my money for a higher end model that is less similar to the Lambda.

 
No, the 207 doesn't suffer from the 6kHz 'etch' at all. I have a 207 here right now.

 

[hardpike]

The Airbow is a non-Stax made Electrostatic, correct? or is it a modified stax?

Modified one

 

[zolkis]

Modified mainly by cryogenic treatment AFAIK, which is kind of debatable thing. In principle that would help to obtain a material structure where the internal tension distribution is more even (IOW it "calms down" or "settles" materials faster).
 
However, I think the effect is less on the membrane than on the housing. The Stax diaphragms don't seem to "break in" too much over time, even over very long time. I suspect cryogenic treatments change the supporting structures more, especially when they are from plastic. I guess we will not see an Airbowed 007 or 009 any time soon. Just speculating, as usual.
 
But if the assumption is valid, my question is what is an optimal housing for an e-stat driver. A thick and heavy machined aluminium housing like with the 009? Or a wooden frame? (I'd bet yes). I speculate that thin metal housing is the worst (looking at you, 007), and even well chosen plastic housing is better than that. Of course metal is better for perceived value.

 

[mulveling]

But if the assumption is valid, my question is what is an optimal housing for an e-stat driver. A thick and heavy machined aluminium housing like with the 009? Or a wooden frame? (I'd bet yes). I speculate that thin metal housing is the worst (looking at you, 007), and even well chosen plastic housing is better than that. Of course metal is better for perceived value.

Given the gear I've experienced, I wouldn't think wood is the best choice for top-class gear, whether electostatic headphones or speakers. It's not a terrible choice, and probably better than plastic. But I get the impression that massive, rigid aluminum housings are better than wood or plastic. Of course that's assuming the stuff inside is at a comparable level.
 
I prefer 009 over he90 and 007. The 009 is also better than L700 with similar drivers but aluminum vs. plastic housing. Preferred Qualia 010 over R10 (carbon fiber and other stuff vs. wood). Grado HP1000 over RS-1...by a lot (Grados won't ever be top-class though, lol). I also really like what I've heard from Magico S-series speakers (extruded aluminum), though I still prefer Tannoys (birch plywood) for their special drivers. Let's not even get into those terrible wooden cup mods for Sennheiser HD650 back in the day (yes I know the issue there was that they made an open headphone closed, but still). Then we could get into cartridges, where I prefer the Koetsu stone bodies over the Rosewood Platinum. All-in-all, a rigid chunk of aluminum seems to be pretty awesome. 
 
And I haven't experienced notable break-in effects with any of the 3 new Stax headphones from Japan. I definitely wouldn't be interested in having Stax cryo-treated.

 

[karlgerman]

   
 
And I haven't experienced notable break-in effects...

007 MKII -- really audible effect after some time
009 no.1  -- no break-in effect
009 no.2 -- no break-in effect
 
... to my ears!

 

[LaCuffia]

What would give the most dramatic change in sound signature: going from a 404 LE to a 007 MKII or to a 009?   Just curious for those who know what a 404 LE would sound most similar to...

 

[karlgerman]

have the 4040 signature + srm 006tII-- and a 007 MKII and 009 now on BHSE.
As the 009 was brand new on market my amp still was the 006mkII and that 009 was a dramatic change in over all sound quality.
Upgrade to a d-02 DAC and a BHSE improved the system too but the 009 was the key component imo.

 

[LaCuffia]

I currently have a SRM-T1, and I hear that the 006t is similar.   So I wonder whether the 009 would sound good with the T1 until I can afford a better and newer driver.

 

[PATB]

Is the L700 more comfortable than the SR-009? 
 
I am thinking of getting a second stax and am torn between the L700 and SR-007 MK2.  I had the SR-007 MK1 and although I liked the sound, I did not find it comfortable for long listening sessions (> 60 minutes).  It is kind of hard to know how comfortable the L700 is on audition, as I will need at least a full CD to decide!