[number1sixerfan]

I'm curious about how the SGL performs in that regard. I guess it would be more on the technical side. Can you please share your thoughts?

Yup, more on the technical side, but smoother than the 009 and a slightly more natural presentation than the x9000. Very engaging, but still on the technical side and without much added warmth. That's why the HE90 were still such an attraction despite having it.

 

[HugoFreire]

Very engaging, but still on the technical side

Thank you, that's what I suspected. When I briefly tried it with its companion amp, I thought it sounded similar to what I am used to get from the HE90. I would love to compare these two out of the same amp.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Thank you, that's what I suspected. When I briefly tried it with its companion amp, I thought it sounded similar to what I am used to get from the HE90. I would love to compare these two out of the same amp.

I'll should be able to do so by Sept.

Will report back. I expect the HE90 to improve quite a bit but not match the Sr.'s level of openness/detail, while again the Sr. not matching it's smoothness.. but we shall see.

 

[lsantista]

I consider Stax 007MK1 as the best headphone ever made. I like it more than HE90 and Omega.
Also people just do not know. You do not need to hunt down a 007MK1. All you need is a brand new 007A - "A" version
Do a little bass port mod or nothing and it is 90 to 100% a MK1.

007Mk1 has one of the worst builds ever, high percentage of imbalance, dead drivers, static issues and cable problems. 007A solved this.
Yet, people race towards this dying, imbalance driver headphone.
Probably birgir and me to blame for this.

please someone mail me some bluetak to Brazil ! I've seen it for ~US$50 in here, plus it takes 45 days to deliver!
I have the 007A non-modded and it sounds jast bad to my ears. Im sure my unit isn't broken or something, it does perform flawlessly on any test album. SN SZ2-13XX
It sounds ok with EDM and fine with pop and some rock. but even then it doesnt appeals as top notch to me. With classical (about half of my listening time) Im so underwhelmed, even with a mjolnir carbon. Just my humble experience of course. My hearing is doing great BTW, even at 40.
OTH I like X9000 so much I may buy a second one 1-2 years from now for a setup in another city. Could consider instead paying some extra for an Omega, but then Im led to believe it sounds more similar to 007. Or a MDR-R10 , but my tinnitus is not fond of closed headphones. And I likely wouldn't ship those down here, so it would depend on me travelling to where there is a pair selling

 

[number1sixerfan]

please someone mail me some bluetak to Brazil ! I've seen it for ~US$50 in here, plus it takes 45 days to deliver!
I have the 007A non-modded and it sounds jast bad to my ears. Im sure my unit isn't broken or something, it does perform flawlessly on any test album. SN SZ2-13XX
It sounds ok with EDM and fine with pop and some rock. but even then it doesnt appeals as top notch to me. With classical (about half of my listening time) Im so underwhelmed, even with a mjolnir carbon. Just my humble experience of course. My hearing is doing great BTW, even at 40.
OTH I like X9000 so much I may buy a second one 1-2 years from now for a setup in another city. Could consider instead paying some extra for an Omega, but then Im led to believe it sounds more similar to 007. Or a MDR-R10 , but my tinnitus is not fond of closed headphones. And I likely wouldn't ship those down here, so it would depend on me travelling to where there is a pair selling

I found the Omega much more similar to the x9000, but they are still different. Just on a quick listen, but just saying I wouldn't count it out, out of fear that it's similar to the 007.

 

[lsantista]

true, I got that part! certainly the more interesting alternatives would be the omega or getting a used 009 to try the 079 and 097 mods.

 

[number1sixerfan]

So many quality sessions this week and weekend. Some quick takeaways..

I have to adjust my overall ranking of the 007 on the T2. And I think that's my second time saying this. It's just absolutely up there.

The SGL Sr. is just incredible with it's technical ability and natural and just "right" presentation. Realism is simply unmatched.

The HE90.. might have the greatest tonality of any headphone ever. Got lost for hours, multiple times.

The L3000 is incredible and divinely unique. Although imperfect, nothing like it. I'd buy it for a fourth time if I had to.

Comfort is the only reason I don't listen to the TC way more than I do. It's been a few weeks since I've revisited, and immediate wow factor--and not just the bass. There's also nothing out there like it.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Also spent some considerable time with the CRBN vs. HE90 vs. x9000. Continuing that tonight as well, with some love for the 009 and HE60 added. Will report back.

 

[Chefguru]

Also spent some considerable time with the CRBN vs. HE90 vs. x9000. Continuing that tonight as well, with some love for the 009 and HE60 added. Will report back.

Curious- are there any headphones you don’t like ?

 

[number1sixerfan]

Curious- are there any headphones you don’t like ?

Good question. Over the years? Plenty. And the headphones I've loved the least, I've sold.

But more importantly, these days.. I just don't buy headphones I know I won't like/love or at least appreciate for the most part in the first place generally speaking. I really pride myself on that, as it's pretty easy imo to assess sifting through impressions on here. I can rank them all day, but if I own it, there's something I see in it--no matter where it falls in ranking. But I've been pretty clear in this thread on where they all fall, despite appreciating each of them for what they are. (although after a few weeks or months or so, I'll rerank as I've picked up a lot of new gear lately)

The one and only headphone recently that I largely disliked and was quite frustrated I bought was the LCD-5. For the price, just pretty bad and not comparable to other TOTLs. Congested sound/headstage, shouty midrange, unnatural tonality.. ended up selling for a considerable loss. For the first time in a long time. The person I sold them to literally put them up for sale within like an hour of receiving them. *edit* and I'm honestly still frustrated over this purchase lol

 

[number1sixerfan]

But generally speaking.. there aren't many headphones I end up trying or owning that I significantly don't like or hate. They get eliminated before I get the chance to try them.

 

[jamato8]

Three headphones I think are top tier that I have are the Abyss 1266LC, HE90 and the HE6 (1st run that are the 4 screw). They are all different and all very enjoyable if amped right.

 

[padam]

please someone mail me some bluetak to Brazil ! I've seen it for ~US$50 in here, plus it takes 45 days to deliver!
I have the 007A non-modded and it sounds jast bad to my ears. Im sure my unit isn't broken or something, it does perform flawlessly on any test album. SN SZ2-13XX
It sounds ok with EDM and fine with pop and some rock. but even then it doesnt appeals as top notch to me. With classical (about half of my listening time) Im so underwhelmed, even with a mjolnir carbon. Just my humble experience of course. My hearing is doing great BTW, even at 40.
OTH I like X9000 so much I may buy a second one 1-2 years from now for a setup in another city. Could consider instead paying some extra for an Omega, but then Im led to believe it sounds more similar to 007.

I can send you over some. But don't expect a big chance apart from the bass response cleaning up the sound a little.
All the rest is going to depend on your setup which is probably more crucial, chain-sensitive and an outlier amongst all the other Staxes as well with regards to sound signature, speed, stage projection, etc.
As I wrote in the Stax thread, personally, I'm not quite convinced by the matching with the Carbon yet, the high power does increase the clarity and control, but it also seems to emphasize the polite nature of the headphones.

When a 007 is set up right, it is one of the best for classical, has some unique traits that you simply cannot get with other headphones (X9k included).

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/review-story-stax-sr-007-headamp-blue-hawaii-se.598589/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mini-review-stax-sr-009.635893/

The Omega is certainly related to the 007, but quite different at the same time.
Basically, all Stax flagships stand on their own, despite sharing some similarities between them.

 

[HugoFreire]

The HE90.. might have the greatest tonality of any headphone ever. Got lost for hours, multiple times.

So true. I usually listen to 2 or 3 albums in a row in each listening session with the HE90. So engaging and non-fatiguing.

With the X9k, I can’t listen to more than a few tracks. Definitely not a whole album.

 

[Chefguru]

So true. I usually listen to 2 or 3 albums in a row in each listening session with the HE90. So engaging and non-fatiguing.

With the X9k, I can’t listen to more than a few tracks. Definitely not a whole album.

There's a user on here who believes that the all-tube Novem is the best amp for the SRX9k, not an ultra powerful T2/carbon etc.
I'm very curious about the Megatron /SRX9k pairing. With the Carbon it's a lot to digest over a long session ... just like the SR009S was.