[rgs9200m]

Quote:

Changing the power cord of your CD player isn't gonna give your amp more control of the SR-009s bass.

Well, whatever the cause, I just spent some time to verify how great the 009's sound is (w/my Rhino Ray Charles CD and) and the bass is the kind of bass that makes me forget about speakers,
really resonant, solid, and transparent. Again, this is with my 007t/ii amp.
I like to contrast the bass with my LCD3s (w/ a Pinnacle), and the bass presentations are 2 different animals, with the LCD3 a more earth-shaking bass that seems to be more spacious but still 
detailed and musical, whereas the Stax 009 bass is quicker and more clearly attached to the musical component generating it, so it's more localized, and it's also more defined.
Both are great, and I love to hear both versions with the same music.
(My Stealth interconnects also help out the bass a lot. I did some A/B testing of ICs and the Stealths really stand out in the solidity and sheer beauty of the bass, along with the sweetest, pristine upper highs. I did these tests with speakers a few years back and settled on the Stealths for good. Kubala Sosnas were a close runner up.)
 
I just do not hear the 009/007t bass as wooly, and I know what that means from my former Grado PS1000s and JVC DX1000s (and also somewhat from my Senn 600s).
The 009s may have a touch, just a fleeting touch of glare on a strong central vocal compared to dynamics (TH900s, LCD3s), but it always seems to disappear somehow after
about 10 minutes of playing (all Staxes I ever owned -- Omega 1s and Lambdas -- seemed to benefit from playing a while at each session).
 
And with the Stax 009s, like no other, the sound just seems to dig deep and make the world go away, a trance-like experience. I don't know what it is about these 009s for me,
but they do the music-as-drug thing like no other phones I have owned (and there have been many over the years).
(And since this is with the 007t/ii amp, that is why I endorse it so highly.)

 

[n3rdling]

I didn't say the bass on your system isn't good.  Quite the contrary - I think the 009 has phenomenal bass.  However, Tyll's critique of the 007t was in comparison to other amps driving the 009s.  Not to other headphones or interconnects.  Which amps have you compared the 007t to when driving the 009s?  I've heard all the amps in Tyll's review and agree with most of his impressions, though he thought more highly of one or two of the amps than I do.  It's all about context.  The DIYT2 is the best amp I've ever heard...before hearing that, the Blue Hawaii was the best at everything I'd heard but I no longer think of it as the absolute ultimate.  If I only heard my 009s with the SRM-1 mk2 then that'd be an ultimate rig in my mind...until I heard the 717...until I heard the KGSS...until I heard the HEV90...until I heard the Blue Hawaii...until I heard the T2...etc

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

Hey guys, I just realized that those lambdas that I linked are the same ones that I fell in love with the other day. Screw budget. Can someone tell me how to get yahoo japan to work. I sign up for an ID and it seems that using an american zip code isn't working. The auction ends in 8 hours. Please help 

 

[DefQon]

Best recommended is to get a proxy done, someone you may know or someone who is willing to help you that lives within Japan. Otherwise your out of luck, not to mention you would need to get in contact with the seller (if they can understand any English at all or so) if they are willing to ship out of Japan or not as some seller's don't want to go through the hassle even if the buyer is paying for shipping at their own expense.

 

[rgs9200m]

OK, n3rdling, understood! Never did hear a T2, and I have wondered what that would be like. 
I heard the WES with the 009 and like the wide stage and depth, but did hear too much glare for me.
I sense that the Stax amps produce a smaller soundfield, and that's good and bad, maybe just an alternative presentation.
The 007t is kind of an intimate space, not as grand as the WES, but to me it's great for what it is.
 
I guess the reason I'm commenting so much on this is because I think, although the Blue Hawaii may produce something special,
I just need to say that the 007t/009 is just something so great and unique to me that I want others here to understand that,
to at least this pair of ears, with maybe some upstream tweaking, it can achieve true greatness,
and I guess I just disagree with the idea that the BH or equivalent is a necessity, or that the 007t is not a real contender.
 
I actually started out thinking the 007t/ii would be a stepping stone to a better amp, but now I don't have the heart to part with it.

 

[livewire]

Quote:

OK, n3rdling, understood! Never did hear a T2, and I have wondered what that would be like. 
I heard the WES with the 009 and like the wide stage and depth, but did hear too much glare for me.
I sense that the Stax amps produce a smaller soundfield, and that's good and bad, maybe just an alternative presentation.
The 007t is kind of an intimate space, not as grand as the WES, but to me it's great for what it is.
 
I guess the reason I'm commenting so much on this is because I think, although the Blue Hawaii may produce something special,
I just need to say that the 007t/009 is just something so great and unique to me that I want others here to understand that,
to at least this pair of ears, with maybe some upstream tweaking, it can achieve true greatness,
and I guess I just disagree with the idea that the BH or equivalent is a necessity, or that the 007t is not a real contender.
 
I actually started out thinking the 007t/ii would be a stepping stone to a better amp, but now I don't have the heart to part with it.

 
Yeah, I thought the same thing about my 252S.

 

[rgs9200m]

OK, I get the message. best to you.

 

[livewire]

My Blue Hawaii is on the way. I will still keep the 252S. It is excellent for a small amp.

 

[milosz]

Quote:

My Blue Hawaii is on the way. I will still keep the 252S. It is excellent for a small amp.

 
 
"Blue Hawaii" - that is such a great name for an amp.  
 
Can the amp's name make it sound better?  I think that by setting a very positive mental state, one would be inclined to have an overall more positive experience. When you add a wonderful name like "Blue Hawaii" to a very good product - an amp that has a very fine reputation, no doubt well deserved- the name actually does evoke good things. This is not quite the same as sounding better, but owning and listening to a "Blue Hawaii" would be a more positive pleasure than if that same well-designed and well-made amp were named  the "Gassy Wombat"  amp.... or even were it named "ESL-Max" or etc.
 
"I'm going to listen to the Blue Hawaii now...."  sounds like going on a vacation!
 
I wish it actually had some pale blue anodized casework parts- but it doesn't, alas.

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Hey guys, I just realized that those lambdas that I linked are the same ones that I fell in love with the other day. Screw budget. Can someone tell me how to get yahoo japan to work. I sign up for an ID and it seems that using an american zip code isn't working. The auction ends in 8 hours. Please help 

 
Try contacting kuboten.com. I'm not sure if Craig (who runs it) is in Japan at the moment, but regardless, he might still be able to bid on it for you. Importantly, if you win the auction you have to pay for the item, AND for international shipping, as well as shipping to him from the seller.

 

[TheAttorney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgs9200m 
 
 
...and I guess I just disagree with the idea that the BH or equivalent is a necessity, or that the 007t is not a real contender. I actually started out thinking the 007t/ii would be a stepping stone to a better amp, but now I don't have the heart to part with it.

 
Agreed. Of course, any of the top models will be better than a 007t or other current Stax amps. But the 007t is more than capable of giving an enjoyable result in it's own right. And it is more than capable of showing up improvements elsewhere in the chain, such as power cords for the cdp

.
 
I base this on years of pleasurable listening to the 007ti/O2mk1 combination, which some say is a particularly bad combination to have. And yes the bass could have been tighter, and so is not ideal for certain types of music. But, at least at moderate volumes, the bass texture and detail was still above most dynamic rigs, and the all important mid range was pretty good by any standards. 
 
I'm glad I upgraded to the BHSE, but in no way did I feel my time with the 007t was wasted. Often in forums like head-fi, people get pressurised into becoming dissatisfied with with what they currently have. But if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Anders]

Agree, I also like the 007t, especially with HE60 and small ensemble acoustic music. It has a special charm. BHSE is better but I still think that 007t is a good amp. Bass-heavy music with O2 is not the strong side of 007t but there are other aspects.

 

[Solude]

Quote:

"I'm going to listen to the Blue Hawaii now...."  sounds like going on a vacation!

 
There is a good reason for that...
 
The genesis for this hybrid electrostatic headphone amplifier occurred when I was in Hawaii on vacation, at a fancy hotel on Maui. Sitting at the bar on the beach, drinking “Blue Hawaiis,” I drew the schematic for the amp on a placemat. The design is my conception of the mysterious and rare Stax T2 amp, which I have never been able to find at anything resembling a rational price.

 

[dj nellie]

Any more reactions to Tyll's electrostatic amp review?  All things considered, I think the LL came out looking relatively good.  The criticisms he had of the amp didn't seem nearly as indicting as what he had to say about every other amp not named "BHSE."
 
Without the benefit of having heard other amps, I think his impressions of the LL mostly match mine.  At times, and with certain recordings, the treble can seem slightly fatiguing, but this seems to have diminished with time (and maybe better self-monitoring of the volume).  And while I agree that the amp sounds great with well-recorded high energy music, I actually think the 009/LL combo generally sounds best with classical and acoustic music.
 
There is a touch of warmth to the LL, but it seems tastefully done and fairly clean.  I haven't noticed any significant upper treble roll-off, but my only true frame of reference would be the UERM, and I haven't done a direct comparison.  It's interesting that Tyll's impressions seem to contradict the anecdotal evidence of the posts I've read comparing the LL and BHSE, in which all but a handful of people seem to have had a slight preference for the LL due to its less fatiguing and warmer nature.  But no one, other than avguide.com, has really done an in-depth comparison (and many of the people who have had both amps have been very guarded with their impressions).
 
Of course, Tyll's unqualified praise of the BHSE does make it even more tempting.  But for me, having a compact amp with no tubes exposed was a must, so it was really a choice between the LL and the Stax amps.

 

[Golfnutz]

Quote:

Any more reactions to Tyll's electrostatic amp review?  All things considered, I think the LL came out looking relatively good.  The criticisms he had of the amp didn't seem nearly as indicting as what he had to say about every other amp not named "BHSE."
 
Without the benefit of having heard other amps, I think his impressions of the LL mostly match mine.  At times, and with certain recordings, the treble can seem slightly fatiguing, but this seems to have diminished with time (and maybe better self-monitoring of the volume).  And while I agree that the amp sounds great with well-recorded high energy music, I actually think the 009/LL combo generally sounds best with classical and acoustic music.
 
There is a touch of warmth to the LL, but it seems tastefully done and fairly clean.  I haven't noticed any significant upper treble roll-off, but my only true frame of reference would be the UERM, and I haven't done a direct comparison.  It's interesting that Tyll's impressions seem to contradict the anecdotal evidence of the posts I've read comparing the LL and BHSE, in which all but a handful of people seem to have had a slight preference for the LL due to its less fatiguing and warmer nature.  But no one, other than avguide.com, has really done an in-depth comparison (and many of the people who have had both amps have been very guarded with their impressions).
 
Of course, Tyll's unqualified praise of the BHSE does make it even more tempting.  But for me, having a compact amp with no tubes exposed was a must, so it was really a choice between the LL and the Stax amps.

 
I don't think anyone has ever criticized the sound of the LL. The only negative I've read was what it would cost to build that amp vs what you paid. Not everyone likes totally neutral either, especially the way some CD's are recorded, or the type of music - which is why some people lean towards the side of warm (LL, or WES for lushness). As far as the AVguide review goes, if you look at the numbers and comments they posted, it's really a joke (I read somewhere that a marketing company helped with the review of the LF on the same site (Playback), so who knows).