[martyn73]

Please can anyone advise how to alleviate discomfort I'm experiencing with my SR-007A's ear pads? My ears are quite small and flat yet I feel contact and pressure with the mesh and sides of the ear pads despite rotating the ear pads so that the inner D shape aligns with my ears. This is distracting unfortunately, so any help would be appreciated.
 
I've read the mod here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/754839/stax-sr-009-and-sr-007-mk1-earpad-diy-mods but is there an equivalent mod for the SR-007A/MkII? Alternatively, is there an another ear pad which is deeper and can be converted to fit the SR-007A? The Ether pads I saw at CanJam look comfortable.
 
Thanks,
 
Martyn

 

[HemiSam]

The Ether estat I heard at the Houston meet out of my KGSSHV Carbon (450v mA 20 rig fed by an Ygg) was unimpressive, although it is only fair to note it was a pre-production unit.  I had to CRANK the amp up and if you happened to be standing next to someone listening to the headphones, you'd be blown away by how loud they sound.  Definitely not friendly for anyone that listens with others in the room.  They've got a lot of work to do.
 
HS

 

[joseph69]

  Guys, something strange happen to me since I have my BHSE + Stax 009: Often after listening to BHSE/SR009, I have my ears ringing for many hours. And I do NOT listen louder with the STAX than with my Orthos headphone which do not produce this ringing phenomenon !??

This is exactly what happened to me with my first pair of 009's paired with a KGSSHV which is why I sold them both…and my other HP's are Grado's which most find very sibilant, but I do not and have never had ringing in my ears from them. But I needed/wanted to hear the 009's again which lead me to re-purchase them and a KGST which for me was much better with the tube output and didn't cause any ringing in my ears at all. Which is also the reason I purchased the BHSE (waiting for arrival) and a quad matched set of NOS Amperex EL34's from the late '50s (which someone else has mentioned). I've also recently purchased the 007Mk2 from Justin incase I prefer them to the 009 with the BHSE…or enjoy both.

 

[PATB]

  Please can anyone advise how to alleviate discomfort I'm experiencing with my SR-007A's ear pads? My ears are quite small and flat yet I feel contact and pressure with the mesh and sides of the ear pads despite rotating the ear pads so that the inner D shape aligns with my ears. This is distracting unfortunately, so any help would be appreciated.
 
I've read the mod here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/754839/stax-sr-009-and-sr-007-mk1-earpad-diy-mods but is there an equivalent mod for the SR-007A/MkII? Alternatively, is there an another ear pad which is deeper and can be converted to fit the SR-007A? The Ether pads I saw at CanJam look comfortable.
 
Thanks,
 
Martyn

 
This is the main reason I sold my SR-007 MK1 years ago. 

 

[mulveling]

  This is exactly what happened to me with my first pair of 009's paired with a KGSSHV which is why I sold them both…and my other HP's are Grado's which most find very sibilant, but I do not and have never had ringing in my ears from them. But I needed/wanted to hear the 009's again which lead me to re-purchase them and a KGST which for me was much better with the tube output and didn't cause any ringing in my ears at all. Which is also the reason I purchased the BHSE (waiting for arrival) and a quad matched set of NOS Amperex EL34's from the late '50s (which someone else has mentioned). I've also recently purchased the 007Mk2 from Justin incase I prefer them to the 009 with the BHSE…or enjoy both.

The BHSE will be notably more aggressive than the KGST -- but it'll also be WAY better overall. There's no comparison. It'll be interesting to see which Stax headphone you prefer there; it may well be the 007 (I strongly prefer the 009).

 

[martyn73]

   
This is the main reason I sold my SR-007 MK1 years ago. 

The SR-009 may be an option, but it won't suit my tinnitus.

 

[PATB]

  The SR-009 may be an option, but it won't suit my tinnitus.

 
I have the same problem as you, so am also looking for a Stax I can live with.  I am so in love with the sound of SR-007 and SR-009, but the fit needs work.  The SR-009 doesn't have the pad issue, but has an irritating clamping force. 
 
I am thinking the L700 may be the ticket, so am looking to audition one. 

 

[martyn73]

   
I have the same problem as you, so am also looking for a Stax I can live with.  I am so in love with the sound of SR-007 and SR-009, but the fit needs work.  The SR-009 doesn't have the pad issue, but has an irritating clamping force. 
 
I am thinking the L700 may be the ticket, so am looking to audition one. 

I had the L700 and hated its (to me) harsh treble and thin sound. I much prefer the SR-007A but the ear pads need to be much thicker; I let a member of my family try them and could see an impression left by the ear pads. The only other alternative would be the L500 which I had and misguidedly returned to get the L700. Lesson learned. I have the SRM-727II which I know from experience is not a good match for the Lambda headphones and emphasises treble to unpleasant proportions.

 

[joseph69]

  The BHSE will be notably more aggressive than the KGST -- but it'll also be WAY better overall. There's no comparison. It'll be interesting to see which Stax headphone you prefer there; it may well be the 007 (I strongly prefer the 009).

I won't mind the aggression, but sibilance would be an issue for me.
It will be interesting which I prefer between the two...cant wait!

 

[carbonfet]

Been quite a while since I've posted an amp I've built here, so here's a carbon I've finished recently.
 

 
 

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

  Please can anyone advise how to alleviate discomfort I'm experiencing with my SR-007A's ear pads? My ears are quite small and flat yet I feel contact and pressure with the mesh and sides of the ear pads despite rotating the ear pads so that the inner D shape aligns with my ears. This is distracting unfortunately, so any help would be appreciated.
 
I've read the mod here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/754839/stax-sr-009-and-sr-007-mk1-earpad-diy-mods but is there an equivalent mod for the SR-007A/MkII? Alternatively, is there an another ear pad which is deeper and can be converted to fit the SR-007A? The Ether pads I saw at CanJam look comfortable.
 
Thanks,
 
Martyn

Vegan pads? 

 

[JimL11]

  Please can anyone advise how to alleviate discomfort I'm experiencing with my SR-007A's ear pads? My ears are quite small and flat yet I feel contact and pressure with the mesh and sides of the ear pads despite rotating the ear pads so that the inner D shape aligns with my ears. This is distracting unfortunately, so any help would be appreciated.
 
Martyn

There is a seam that runs across the ear pads from inner D shape to outside and then to the metal housing.  The ear pads should be rotated until this seam points forward and upwards toward your temples.  This was covered in one of the Stax threads but you probably will spend hours looking for it.  You will notice when you do this that the flat side of the inner D shape is behind your ear rather than in the front, which is what I'm guessing you have now.  You will also notice that the thicker part of the ear pad is also at the back and lower part of your ear which is the part that sticks out the most.  This should alleviate the problem - unless of course you already knew all this, in which case it won't help one bit. 

 

[jibzilla]

   
I guess I need to hear the Utopia now . Slightly OT, I am sure it is good, and don't doubt the state of the art beryllium driver can compete in many respects with state of the art e-stat, I have my doubts whether they are better overall, and the Utopia forum reinforces these doubts. I used to have the legendary Yamaha NS1000M monitors with beryllium mids and highs, and modded the crossover, cabinet and woofer to make it even (quite much) better, and I know what you mean by being e-stat like. Beryllium domes sound clean, dynamic and crisp, but you can still hear that the membrane has less internal damping than say good soft domes or e-stats, even though these are the best metallic domes possible to make. Good e-stats sound different (though they have their own compromises, for instance I liked Quads and meh'd Martin Logans which lose on resolution even compared to a Dunlavy).
 
I am sure there are fine lines where one could say this is enough e-stat like sound but it's more dynamic (or replace it with your favorite characteristic), then someone gets to the Utopia which is completely fine (and probably a better total cost of ownership than with a Stax 009 + BHSE or Carbon).

 
The Utopia was very nice but I still did not hear enough to pounce on them right off the bat. They do have build quality and comfort over the sr-009 and lcd-4. If there is a $4k headphone front runner for me it is the Utopia slightly ahead of the 009 and lcd-4. I would say the Utopia had an advantage in the treble region but lost in the bass department to my 007mk1.
 
I have listened to the Abyss and briefly owned the he-1k. They're ok but not for me.  

 

[nemomec]

  Guys, something strange happen to me since I have my BHSE + Stax 009: Often after listening to BHSE/SR009, I have my ears ringing for many hours. And I do NOT listen louder with the STAX than with my Orthos headphone which do not produce this ringing phenomenon !??
 
—> Do you think it can be caused by some brightness in the SR009 to which I may be extra sensitive ? have other people experienced such thing ?  will I adapt with time or should I consider may be a SR007 instead or use a warmer DAC or....???  
--> or... can it be caused instead by some electromagnetic radiation generated by the SR009 that I am very sensitive to (there are hundreds of volts in those ear cups !) ?

Is the sound level really the same? I made the experience that many persons listening louder to e-stats than dynamic headphones, i think the reason are the lower distortion.

 

[jibzilla]

  Sure, the HD800 beats the big Stax on the value and portability, but although I like the HD800 for certain music types, I find even a Stax 207 better for my taste, and it can't even compete with my [modded] 007 and the 009. I guess I am a Stax guy. The Utopia might hit a sweet spot for dynamic vs e-stats, even though it's too expensive. The question is, will its midrange beat the Stax, that is to be seen, let's see when can I put my hands on them.
 
However, I have found most interesting that someone actually prefers the HD800 to a top 009 setup. That is a good reminder on how subjective this hobby is, and how different people are. I would almost say this casts a heavy shadow over trusting reviews on this forum, since you can't rely on other peoples' opinion too much, it's a MUST to listen to stuff yourself.

 
Absolute truth about s.q. Build quality and comfort are less of a debate and it is hard to argue that the 007mk1 and hd800 that I own fail in that regard. To each his/her own but if you have issues with the hd800 and 007mk1 in terms of build quality and comfort I think you might be better off trying speakers. I do not see Hifiman lasting a whole lot longer because there is so little effort put into  comfort and build quality. Sad to me cause the he-500 sounded awesome for the price.