Yes. Moar squiggles! The pressed-against-the-head measurement is a bit like how I hear them, slightly upturned FR through the mids hence the somewhat cold tonality, smooth FR in general with well-behaved highs, and a bit light in the bass, but it's all there. I'm guessing I get a good seal...

Imbalance issues weren't a thing back in the day, or at least they were rare, and on headphones where the coating started to deteriorate. But starting with the 009, Stax made some changes to their drivers, and that's where they became more frequent out of the box. I certainly wouldn't compare...

Channel balance issues with Stax are sadly a thing. I think it has something to do with the electrically conductive coating they use. I was rather hoping we'd be past this, but I guess not. The good news is that when they happen, they usually happen early on, so if your set is stable for a few...

So yeah, I couldn't resist. Thanks Headamp for the prompt shipping and good service, as usual. First impressions are generally positive. The build is very simple, they're small and light, and the fit is somewhere between circum-aural and supra-aural. Comfort is pretty good. I get crinkles out...

Interesting, thanks. That seems like a pretty smooth FR. What compensation did you use? Looks like it's not ported if you can get flat FR in the bass, though it's probably unlikely in real use.

I am going to click "buy" and feel a mild twinge of regret. Does anybody have squiggles? I love me some squiggles.

You guys do know who Bob Katz is, right? I'm pretty sure we're not the ones who should be telling him which eq to use. Regarding APO, its main draw is convenience. In terms of sound quality, I don't think it's that great. Run any peaking filter sharper than Q 2.5 and I already start to hear...

Interesting. These measure pretty well and shouldn't be too hard to EQ into shape. I wonder if Focal has fixed the fatigue issue with their drivers though. I could never listen to them for more than 30 minutes at a time even though I enjoyed the sound, so I kinda moved on from the brand. I know...

Yeah, with Stax price was never indicative of performance, and even a lot of their lower-end stuff could give you world-class sound in the right rig. That made them unique, but I also feel like it hasn't stopped being the case up to now. I hope they continue that trend, and I'm not gonna say the...

I've read that the x9000 and 007 are the models that sell. So dumping the 007 makes no sense unless there's something new in the works. 007 is an anachronistic design, the lack of fully articulating earcups and the asinine pad mounting mechanism are two obvious points that need to be fixed. The...

I wouldn't draw any conclusions based on price. Price is not always correlated to performance, and this is doubly true for Stax. What I'm wondering about are the conflicting reports we've heard on these, with the first few impressions being of a dark headphone but the last few sets of...

What do you not like about the HD650? If it doesn't sound as clear as it used to, replace the pads. The pads will only last about 1-2 years and when they get worn, you will lose about 5db worth of top end. New pads will sort you out, at least for a while. Stock HD650 cables are a known weak...

$1k is too much for a peerless driver these days, especially considering this has been done before both by Aurorus Audio and Nectar Sound, the latter at less than half the price. These probably will sound quite good, however, considering what they're similar to.

I'd rather Stax take the time to fix their veritable litany of issues instead of releasing a $10-15k headphone that maybe 20 people will actually buy. How hard is it to incorporate CCS outputs into your tube amps considering that you already use them on some of your solid state amps... or make...

As someone who's owned multiple BMWs I can safely say they're some of the least reliable vehicles I've ever had. So, not the best analogy. Of course, I still have them, because I am dumb and never learn.