[catscratch]

Harman is pretty accurate in the midrange IMO, somewhere between 200hz and 4khz. Below 200hz, the amount of bass shelf really varies by preference, and above 4khz you will have very real differences between how people hear the highs. So I would use Harman presets as a baseline, but then adjust the bass and highs to how you hear and prefer. Alternatively, you can just do your own curve from scratch using pink noise, sine sweeps, test tracks, etc, but when I started using more pink noise to EQ, the curves I came up with started getting closer and closer to Harman, at least in the mids.

 

[Chefguru]

Asking all Stax aficionados:

I have recently been looking into the Stax SR-007Mk2(v2.9), SR-009 and SR-009S. I have read all comparison I could find and asked some experts already on the subject how they compare, but I would still like to get a bit more information, specifically related to technical performance. The comparison is as follows:

- SR-007Mk2(v2.9) on SRM-717 with Denafrips Ares 2
- SR009(S) on SRM-353X with Denafrips Ares 2

Assuming each headphone is equalized to the Harman Target, how do they compare in terms of detail, separation, resolution, imaging? I specifically listen to soft rock music, which is relatively bass-light, so my concern would mostly be with the detail in the treble region. Would love to hear what you think!

I would urge most people getting into Estats to purchase KGSSHV or KGST as the baseline. Hearing the CRBN for instance off the Z10e (not enough juice) vs the Carbon, was further a reminder. I literally watched a line of people come off the different units with polarizing opinions based on amp.

I think you will be disappointed with the 007 on the 717. I was when I owned that setup back in 2013. Right now I have the 009s with the KGST and I was very pleased with how close it came to the BHSE's performance when directly compared.

 

[KDS315]

what do folks think about applying the harman target to stax?
is there a consensus on its impacts (+ and -) to SQ?
if beneficial, are there any preferred implementation/hw/sw to do the equalization?

Well, I have to admit that I'm pretty happy using the ROON Convolver and the ORATORY1990 files for my SR-009, SR-0007Mk2.5 and my various Lambdas.

 

[jimWA]

I would urge most people getting into Estats to purchase KGSSHV or KGST as the baseline. Hearing the CRBN for instance off the Z10e (not enough juice) vs the Carbon, was further a reminder. I literally watched a line of people come off the different units with polarizing opinions based on amp.

I think you will be disappointed with the 007 on the 717. I was when I owned that setup back in 2013. Right now I have the 009s with the KGST and I was very pleased with how close it came to the BHSE's performance when directly compared.

The Z10E delivers 12W and was favorably reviewed with the hard to drive Susvara by Herb Reichert, and used by Audeze with their CRBN release to reviewers, who were positive in response, so it would seem to be more a matter of taste.

I for one am not a bass-head, so not looking for that emphasis, whereas others do, which, based on other comments on Mjolnir vs LTA on CRBN would seem to draw that line.

 

[Velomane]

Well, I have to admit that I'm pretty happy using the ROON Convolver and the ORATORY1990 files for my SR-009, SR-0007Mk2.5 and my various Lambdas.

Same here, for my 009S and 007mk2's. Hopefully a file shows up for the SR-X9000.

 

[Aurosonic]

For a while I tuned my 007 MK1 to Harman target using a convolution filter. I then used the SR-009 filter which I preferred. I am now running custom PEQ with a bass shelf below 150Hz, a high shelf above 9kHz, and corrections to dips/peaks in the midrange.

 

[Chefguru]

The Z10E delivers 12W and was favorably reviewed with the hard to drive Susvara by Herb Reichert, and used by Audeze with their CRBN release to reviewers, who were positive in response, so it would seem to be more a matter of taste.

I for one am not a bass-head, so not looking for that emphasis, whereas others do, which, based on other comments on Mjolnir vs LTA on CRBN would seem to draw that line.

the difference is not in the bass but the high end due to the way electrostatic headphones work. I’m not an engineer, but from what I’ve been told it’s not as simple as the watts of power.

Kevin Gilmore had an explanation a while back that’s maybe (?) helpful
“
for dynamic amplifiers the same voltage swing at 1khz and 20khz is easy.

for electrostatic amplifiers a whole bunch harder.

600v power supplies require 18ma.
the koss esp950 is push pull and still can't come anywhere near close to this.
my cfaelectrostat will do this with enough heatsink.

500 v power supplies require 15ma of output current at 20khz into 120pf
A T2 can do this. A megatron can do this

450 v power supplies require 14ma of output current.
a carbon can easily do 18 to 20 ma
a kgsshv is limited to a max of about 9ma

400v power supplies require 12ma of output current
a BH will easily do this and more

350v power supplies requires 10.6ma of output current
Most stax amps (t1,717,727,007t...) are 350v power supplies and can only supply about 7ma

300v power supplies require 9ma of output current
some stax amps including the d50 are limited to about 6ma

200v power supplies (kse1500/kse1200) capacitive load 80pf (actual measured, no spec)
4ma needed, amplifier limited to +/-1ma and the thd is over 1% at 200vppss

175v power supplies D10 requires 5.25ma of output current
amplifier is limited to 6ma”

 

[Terozzzz]

I dont know about 007 or 009 but my L700 sounds absolutely nuts good on T1 modded amp and the magic comes from denafrips ARES II. The main thing is ARES II.
Made the biggest change in my system. Going from STAX lambda pro to L700 was not as big of a change as i bought ARES II.

 

[zomkung]

the difference is not in the bass but the high end due to the way electrostatic headphones work. I’m not an engineer, but from what I’ve been told it’s not as simple as the watts of power.

Kevin Gilmore had an explanation a while back that’s maybe (?) helpful
“
for dynamic amplifiers the same voltage swing at 1khz and 20khz is easy.

for electrostatic amplifiers a whole bunch harder.

600v power supplies require 18ma.
the koss esp950 is push pull and still can't come anywhere near close to this.
my cfaelectrostat will do this with enough heatsink.

500 v power supplies require 15ma of output current at 20khz into 120pf
A T2 can do this. A megatron can do this

450 v power supplies require 14ma of output current.
a carbon can easily do 18 to 20 ma
a kgsshv is limited to a max of about 9ma

400v power supplies require 12ma of output current
a BH will easily do this and more

350v power supplies requires 10.6ma of output current
Most stax amps (t1,717,727,007t...) are 350v power supplies and can only supply about 7ma

300v power supplies require 9ma of output current
some stax amps including the d50 are limited to about 6ma

200v power supplies (kse1500/kse1200) capacitive load 80pf (actual measured, no spec)
4ma needed, amplifier limited to +/-1ma and the thd is over 1% at 200vppss

175v power supplies D10 requires 5.25ma of output current
amplifier is limited to 6ma”

Aren't 717 and 727 450V?

 

[kevin gilmore]

nope, 350v usually a little bit less depending on line voltage as they are unregulated power supplies

 

[cat6man]

it seems there must be a way to try these convolution filters with offline processing to see if i like the result?
do you have any (free) software recommendations? (linux preferred)

edit: it looks like i can install foobar2000 as a snap on ubuntu, and it has a convolver i can play with.

edut2: anyone know how i can get filters to put into convolver? i have stax 009. anyone have 009 filters they enjoy and can share?
on oratory, i see graphed/equalized 009 but no obvious link to the correction filters used (but they must exist to create the convolved/corrected output)

thx

 

[KDS315]

it seems there must be a way to try these convolution filters with offline processing to see if i like the result?
do you have any (free) software recommendations? (linux preferred)

edit: it looks like i can install foobar2000 as a snap on ubuntu, and it has a convolver i can play with.

edut2: anyone know how i can get filters to put into convolver? i have stax 009. anyone have 009 filters they enjoy and can share?
on oratory, i see graphed/equalized 009 but no obvious link to the correction filters used (but they must exist to create the convolved/corrected output)

thx

Install ROON as it comes with free 30day tryout. Convolver is built into the DSP menu and simple to use.
The ORATORY1990 files are here: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/oratory1990/harman_over-ear_2018 just click onto the 44.1kHz and 48kHz wav files and then click DOWNLOAD, safe them, then zip BOTH files into ONE zip file (appropriately named) and upload this file in the ROON CONVOLVER DSP Menu (you have to add the Convolver first, it is not loaded as a default by clicking the + symbol)

 

[cat6man]

Install ROON as it comes with free 30day tryout. Convolver is built into the DSP menu and simple to use.
The ORATORY1990 files are here: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/oratory1990/harman_over-ear_2018 just click onto the 44.1kHz and 48kHz wav files and then click DOWNLOAD, safe them, then zip BOTH files into ONE zip file (appropriately named) and upload this file in the ROON CONVOLVER DSP Menu (you have to add the Convolver first, it is not loaded as a default by clicking the + symbol)

thanks.
i have a strong aversion to roon (i have tried it) and am also looking to process music offline to see what i think of the equalized sound.

so, i went to the github repository and downloaded the csv file the stax 009 and extracted the frequency corrections for the 'equalization' column.
and, of course, foobar2000 wants to see an impulse response, not a frequency response or a WAV tile.

are there any simple tools to convert either the frequency reponse data or the WAV file to an impulse response?
worse case, i can always go into MATLAB or R and process it myself but i'm feeling lazy today

off topic: i see Arnaud is following this topic. hello Arnaud! I hope you and your family are well (and vaccinated).
have you had a chance to hear the x9000 headphone yet?

 

[hewlett168]

What would be a reasonable price for a 009 new/demo in Europe?

 

[tycinis]

You can find used one in very good condition for 2.5k€ , 3k€ for a demo one seems fair.