[3X0]

Nah, save your money and go with a 323S to start. Migrate to the BHSE or KGSSHV Carbon as budget allows.

 

[Sorrodje]

@3X0 : I'll come in the US with @JimL11 SRX plus I'll receive soon . Maybe something interesting to hear for you ? 

 

[wuwhere]

There's one used KGSSHV Carbon in the FS right now but at $$$$.
I'm looking at a new 'SR-007 Omega II Mk2 Open Back Headphones (Black)' from Elusive Disc.
Is the 323S good with that?

 

[purk]

  There's one used KGSSHV Carbon in the FS right now but at $$$$.
I'm looking at a new 'SR-007 Omega II Mk2 Open Back Headphones (Black)' from Elusive Disc.
Is the 323S good with that?

Nope.  The SR007 in general needs at least a KGST or KGSSHV to sound really good.  You will be disappointed with the 323S.  It isn't bad but that amp just can't drive the 007 properly and it will cause it to sound slow, dark, and slightly bloated.

 

[wuwhere]

  Nope.  The SR007 in general needs at least a KGST or KGSSHV to sound really good.  You will be disappointed with the 323S.  It isn't bad but that amp just can't drive the 007 properly and it will cause it to sound slow, dark, and slightly bloated.

 
That's why I want to buy a used KGSSHV 500V(?) first. I know its ~2.5K.

 

[mulveling]

 
That's why I want to buy a used KGSSHV 500V(?) first. I know its ~2.5K.

A good 500V KGSShv build is an excellent choice for the 007. I don't think it should cost as much as 2500 on the used market these days. Anything priced that high, you should either bargain or wait for it to come down in price. The Mjolnir units do tend to ask a premium, though I don't think they're worth it.

 

[IridiumEagle]

I bought a used GeorgeP built KGHSSV Carbon with new 2016 007 MK2s (no mods). The level of awesome is extremely high. Best I've ever heard. My points of "reference" are BM5A studio reference monitors: http://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/dynaudio-bm5a
and a May 2016 LCD-X. I'll probably post a detailed review here or on reddit at some point. 

 

[wuwhere]

  A good 500V KGSShv build is an excellent choice for the 007. I don't think it should cost as much as 2500 on the used market these days. Anything priced that high, you should either bargain or wait for it to come down in price. The Mjolnir units do tend to ask a premium, though I don't think they're worth it.

 
Thanks for the info. I'm not in a hurry to do this that's why I want to get the amp first. I know I can always buy the 007 later but the right amp is more expensive.

 

[TheAttorney]

I've been considering EQ for my SR-009.
 
Background: I feel the 009's are the most transparent and neutral headphones I've ever heard (there's a lot I haven't heard), but that doesn't mean they're perfect - particularly when handling "hot" recordings that include an artificial presence lift. Plus, although I feel that the 009's bass is generally peerless, they never add bass if it's not there in the recording, and anaemic bass sadly occurs all too frequently with lesser recordings.
 
So, for those less than ideal recordings, I predicted that a touch of  EQ reduction in the upper mids, plus a touch of lift in the lower bass, would make the 009's even more perfect than they already are. I remembered from way back the Stax Mafia were concerned about a 4khz hump, so that was my starting point with the only Equalizer I had easily to hand: The simple one built into JRiver MC20. That had limited options, so I upped  60hz and dropped 3khz and, to a lesser extent, 6khz. later I'll evolve to the parametric EQ, but am keeping it simple to get started.
 
A few variations of above showed some promise, but nothing jaw dropping. Then I looked at Tyll's compensated measurements in top left in the link below. 
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSR009.pdf
 

These to me show  a broad mild hump around 1khz (compared to bass) and a sharp narrow drop at 6khz and, erm, that's about it really (I'm not concerned about the high frequencies) - nothing here that gives any indication of what is causing any brightness. The raw measurements do show a lift in the 3-5khz area, but my limited understanding is that the (harman curve) compensated version is what humans actually hear in their ear drums.
 
So my questions are:
 
1. What am I missing from the graph that indicates any kind of brightness in the 009's?
2. To short cut my tests, what EQ settings have others found that work well with their 009's?
 
PS. Any MC20 EQ settings I've tried so far did not sound fundamentally as good as a flat setting HQ Player (which has no built in EQ), and nowhere near as good as HQ Player through microRendu - which I think just goes to show that frequency response consideration is not the whole story.

 

[3X0]

Interested to see where you end up. Sub-bass and upper-midrange/lower-treble are also my main complaints with the SR-009, and it'd be a more competitive flagship if these issues were ameliorated.

 

[Tinkerer]

   
That's why I want to buy a used KGSSHV 500V(?) first. I know its ~2.5K.

 
You can have mine (500v onboard v5 with the servo) for 1.8K+shipping if you want. I use it on my 007 Early and love it but I'm working on building a new amp. Has RCA+balanced input but no looped output, overspecced toroidy transformer (dual 115 primary so I can wire it to pretty much whatever voltage you need), and a decent modern generation RK27 quad potentiometer. Has a couple small scratches on the case from when the case was shipped to me. Shoot me a PM if you're interested or want pictures.

 

[zolkis]

  I've been considering EQ for my SR-009.
 

1. What am I missing from the graph that indicates any kind of brightness in the 009's?
2. To short cut my tests, what EQ settings have others found that work well with their 009's?
 
PS. Any MC20 EQ settings I've tried so far did not sound fundamentally as good as a flat setting HQ Player (which has no built in EQ), and nowhere near as good as HQ Player through microRendu - which I think just goes to show that frequency response consideration is not the whole story.

 
IMHO EQ will ruin important aspects in the perceived sound quality no matter what, to more extent than the benefits it may bring, but depending on music type, that may not be a problem. However, I can ask the Signalyst (he's sitting next to me at work) whether including EQ in HQ player would be an option. What I would do (and have done for experiment) with the 009
- 3-6 dB increase around 25 Hz (optionally 6 db at 25 Hz, 3 dB at 40 Hz and flat at 60 Hz)
- 3-6 dB decrease around 4 kHz (you can take it wide from 1000 to 4500 Hz), that is where presence is a bit lifted
- 3-6 dB decrease around 12 kHz (you can also do -2-3 dB at 10 kHz, and 3-6 dB at 12 kHz).
 
The apparent 6 kHz dip probably comes from measurement tech, I don't hear it when playing a sweep (only relative to the 4 kHz bump), I tried compensating there but IMHO it is not needed.
 
However, the 009 is good enough to convey musicality even though the FR could be even more even. The harmonic structure (the ratio and distribution of harmonics) is more important than the FR alone (I have earlier linked here the study made by Harbeth about this). The primary difference between the 009 and SR-Ω is IMHO not so much in the FR, but in the harmonic structure, in the favor of the latter. And that is probably one of the reasons why I prefer my modded 007 Mk1 over the 009, even though its FR is quite much worse. The 009 sounds a bit thin in comparison (but also more true to the timbre, more lean and more neutral, with better presence and more "light" in the presentation). Probably source pairing can help with that. 
 
Apart from the treble, I was able to produce the rest of the EQ with a small mod to the pads, 1) adding a crescent moon shaped felt or foam piece under the thick portion of the ear pads, preferably inside the pads; 2) by replacing the 4 mm thick white disk on the ear pad filling with wool felt disk. The first is less intrusive, easier, and most people like it. Do experiment with different materials, different sizes, densities and thicknesses.

 

[wuwhere]

   
You can have mine (500v onboard v5 with the servo) for 1.8K+shipping if you want. I use it on my 007 Early and love it but I'm working on building a new amp. Has RCA+balanced input but no looped output, overspecced toroidy transformer (dual 115 primary so I can wire it to pretty much whatever voltage you need), and a decent modern generation RK27 quad potentiometer. Has a couple small scratches on the case from when the case was shipped to me. Shoot me a PM if you're interested or want pictures.

 
Thanks. I'll PM you if I become interested in your amp.

 

[TheAttorney]

  IMHO EQ will ruin important aspects in the perceived sound quality no matter what, to more extent than the benefits it may bring, but depending on music type, that may not be a problem. However, I can ask the Signalyst (he's sitting next to me at work) whether including EQ in HQ player would be an option.

Thank you zolkis. Very helpful.
 
It was certainly the case in the analogue past that tone controls and equalizers were frowned upon by purists for doing more harm than good - apart from maybe if you were rich enough to afford a Cello equalizer. And it's one reason I haven't got round to it until now. But I was wondering if equalizers did less harm in the digital domain?
 
You can add EQ to HQP via 3rd party apps and there's some impressively spec'd professional ones around, but I'm doing baby steps first to see if it's going to be worth the effort. I'd be interested to hear if Signalyst (Miska?) considers the Pro ones don't harm the sound compared to say the freebie ones built into JRMC.
 
Anyway, I'll give your EQ settings a try when I'm back home..     

 

[arnaud]

We could always hope for an 009mk2 in the near future although they seem to focus more on the other end of the product line lately.
Fujiya fall headphone festival is coming up, let's keep our hopes up .
arnaud