[alota]

About 009 i believe that sounds best on diy t2. Wish i had money for this amp...but my humble consideration: had first srm 1 mk2 and now t1 stock. 009 is the best headphone i had in my house afyer many years. About bass, i do not have quantity but quality and definition is outstanding. My goal for now is to improve mi t1. I hope one day a better amp if .y wife give tome a gift for retirement lol

 

[zomkung]

ES1-A vs Perun Live vs Stax Sr-009

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1zz411z7TN

 

[KDS315]

About 009 i believe that sounds best on diy t2. Wish i had money for this amp...but my humble consideration: had first srm 1 mk2 and now t1 stock. 009 is the best headphone i had in my house afyer many years. About bass, i do not have quantity but quality and definition is outstanding. My goal for now is to improve mi t1. I hope one day a better amp if .y wife give tome a gift for retirement lol

Have you considered the ECC99 + CCS mod for your SRM-T1? Had that done for mine here in Germany and thst was an impressive improvement, especially since the 009 is rather easy to drive! Even the CCS mod alone is quite an improvement.

 

[alota]

Have you considered the ECC99 + CCS mod for your SRM-T1? Had that done for mine here in Germany and thst was an impressive improvement, especially since the 009 is rather easy to drive! Even the CCS mod alone is quite an improvement.

Yes. I will follow your advice that you gave me some time ago. I didn' t forget. My only doibt is about tube: stock or ecc99 or russian tube or 6sn7.....

 

[stasta]

I believe the LPC is the equivalent of the L500 (with the LP being the L700) from that era.
717 is one of the best amps stax made - the KGSS is basically a modified version of it - in other words, you can turn a 717 into a kgss classic (not confused with the HV or Carbon).

The Classic (or Spirit) is a later, cheaper variant that has no damping in it with a cheaper headband, that's basically it.
You can find measurements in the oratory1990 database on both to see how this change affects the frequency response.
Treble becomes smoother, soundstage gets a little bigger and the bass hump gets reduced a bit, gaining a bit of texture.
A little less V-shaped overall. On the other hand, transients a bit better defined on the damped version.
The party piece on either of these models is that the perception of dynamics seems higher than most other Staxes (when driven well).

Thanks for letting me know.

 

[ESL-1]

About 009 i believe that sounds best on diy t2. Wish i had money for this amp...but my humble consideration: had first srm 1 mk2 and now t1 stock. 009 is the best headphone i had in my house afyer many years. About bass, i do not have quantity but quality and definition is outstanding. My goal for now is to improve mi t1. I hope one day a better amp if .y wife give tome a gift for retirement lol

I had the opportunity to listen to the 009 on the custom build T2 by Kerry of Eksonic who has been building and improving them for over ten years. I also had the opportunity to listen to Eksonic’s Aeras hybrid amp. Listening to both convinced me that there is a good bit of T2 DNA in the Aeras. I have had the Aeras now for over a year and the results are wonderful. At less than half the cost of the T2 build I even have money left over to buy food and other necessities. The compact footprint is also a nice plus for me.

Heartily recommend you look into when you are thinking of upgrading.

 

[KDS315]

Yes. I will follow your advice that you gave me some time ago. I didn' t forget. My only doibt is about tube: stock or ecc99 or russian tube or 6sn7.....

ECC99 and 6SN7 are NOT equivalent!! You could also do CCS mod first and see how that works for you. Stritt Audio / Freiburg did mine.

 

[alota]

ECC99 and 6SN7 are NOT equivalent!! You could also do CCS mod first and see how that works for you. Stritt Audio / Freiburg did mine.

I know but 6sn7 is same pin out of stock tube if i' m correct. For ecc99 the pin out is different

 

[alota]

I had the opportunity to listen to the 009 on the custom build T2 by Kerry of Eksonic who has been building and improving them for over ten years. I also had the opportunity to listen to Eksonic’s Aeras hybrid amp. Listening to both convinced me that there is a good bit of T2 DNA in the Aeras. I have had the Aeras now for over a year and the results are wonderful. At less than half the cost of the T2 build I even have money left over to buy food and other necessities. The compact footprint is also a nice plus for me.

Heartily recommend you look into when you are thinking of upgrading.

My curiosity is differences between aeras and kgst

 

[KDS315]

I know but 6sn7 is same pin out of stock tube if i' m correct. For ecc99 the pin out is different

Better check datasheets too - 6SN7 certainly won’t work, possibly GTB types for that rather high voltage and loss per plate.

Or safe all that hazzle and buy an ANTARES from high-amp.de - could not be happier!

 

[alota]

Better check datasheets too - 6SN7 certainly won’t work, possibly GTB types for that rather high voltage and loss per plate.

Or safe all that hazzle and buy an ANTARES from high-amp.de - could not be happier!

Yes. I know

 

[Chefguru]

My curiosity is differences between aeras and kgst

I'm also curious about this.

 

[Dynamo5561]

Very fun post to read. Really insightful. Based on your current comparisons, have you felt like the HE60 is a little "too" bass light? I still love them for the reasons you state, but after a long, long time with them (they were my first real stat 15+ years ago), that's been standing in the way for me just a bit lately. But with the right music, the midrange and vocals are to die for.

I would like to emphasize that bass holds significant importance for me when it comes to headphones. It has the potential to either make or break my overall experience, with an emphasis on quality rather than sheer quantity. I don't necessarily fit into the target audience for Stax headphones, as my musical preferences rarely lean towards classical or acoustically-based genres. In my opinion the linear bass extension contribute highly to the texture and detail found in the bass department. And overall it provides a sense of body and physicality to the sound. These aspects are very likely not so important by someone who primarily listens to classical or acoustic music, as they may not deem them as crucial.

I also struggle to appreciate the mid-bass emphasis and bass roll-off commonly found in most Stax headphones. Despite my research, I haven't come across any Stax headphone models that boast a linear bass response down to 20Hz, apart from the LPC and L300 LTD. However, even my L300 LTD, despite attempts to improve its performance through modifications like the blu tack mod, did not achieve a truly linear response. Even though the bass roll-off on the 009 and X9000 is minimal, it is still noticeable enough to hinder my enjoyment. Additionally, I am aware that there can be significant variation between individual units, and factors such as worn pads and seal can greatly impact the sound. Furthermore, measurement errors are not uncommon with these headphone designs.

Regarding the comparison between bass performances, I want to reiterate my priorities and preferences for bass. In my opinion, the HE-60 headphone had a generally good bass response, although it fell slightly short in terms of extension. Comparing it to the X9000 and 009 models, the HE-60 exhibited a lesser bass hump and slightly better extension, but it still didn't reach the level of the LPC. Furthermore, I felt that the LPC construction handled bass resonances more effectively, while the HE-60 seemed to transfer those resonances to the headband, creating a somewhat "rickety" sensation.

Despite this, the HE-60's exceptional overall tonality and its enchanting mids make it my preferred choice over the X9000 and 009. I want to emphasize that I don't intend to offend enthusiasts of the 009 or X9000; there's no denying that these headphones are incredible for the type of music they are designed to and there is no headphone that can create a sensation of being in front of an orchestra like the X9000. However, that particular aspect is not my primary focus when it comes to listening preferences.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I would like to emphasize that bass holds significant importance for me when it comes to headphones. It has the potential to either make or break my overall experience, with an emphasis on quality rather than sheer quantity. I don't necessarily fit into the target audience for Stax headphones, as my musical preferences rarely lean towards classical or acoustically-based genres. In my opinion the linear bass extension contribute highly to the texture and detail found in the bass department. And overall it provides a sense of body and physicality to the sound. These aspects are very likely not so important by someone who primarily listens to classical or acoustic music, as they may not deem them as crucial.

I also struggle to appreciate the mid-bass emphasis and bass roll-off commonly found in most Stax headphones. Despite my research, I haven't come across any Stax headphone models that boast a linear bass response down to 20Hz, apart from the LPC and L300 LTD. However, even my L300 LTD, despite attempts to improve its performance through modifications like the blu tack mod, did not achieve a truly linear response. Even though the bass roll-off on the 009 and X9000 is minimal, it is still noticeable enough to hinder my enjoyment. Additionally, I am aware that there can be significant variation between individual units, and factors such as worn pads and seal can greatly impact the sound. Furthermore, measurement errors are not uncommon with these headphone designs.

Regarding the comparison between bass performances, I want to reiterate my priorities and preferences for bass. In my opinion, the HE-60 headphone had a generally good bass response, although it fell slightly short in terms of extension. Comparing it to the X9000 and 009 models, the HE-60 exhibited a lesser bass hump and slightly better extension, but it still didn't reach the level of the LPC. Furthermore, I felt that the LPC construction handled bass resonances more effectively, while the HE-60 seemed to transfer those resonances to the headband, creating a somewhat "rickety" sensation.

Despite this, the HE-60's exceptional overall tonality and its enchanting mids make it my preferred choice over the X9000 and 009. I want to emphasize that I don't intend to offend enthusiasts of the 009 or X9000; there's no denying that these headphones are incredible for the type of music they are designed to and there is no headphone that can create a sensation of being in front of an orchestra like the X9000. However, that particular aspect is not my primary focus when it comes to listening preferences.

Appreciate the detailed and thoughtful response!

 

[alota]

About bass again: i'm not an expert but i have listened pop, rock, metal, jazz, some classical. Despite the quality of bass, i have quantity too. Not at level of some headphones but in line with most of dynamics or planars i had in my house. Never tried abyss or susvara