The Headcase Stax thread

[Oldie]

@padami appreciate your reply and the tone even more, polite as it was

In case you or others lack the attention span or desire to read through all this; i'm not sure if you misunderstood me, took the diplomatic approach regarding certain situations arising from certain grey market individuals, or if you were just defending your own view, which i respect entirely. I wasn't attacking the individual preference. There just is a problem when a collective of 'expert' individuals consciously, heavily influence a certain market. And not quite pro bono either, if you get me. Most especially when said influence revolves around an oddity, rather than what one should expect from a certain company.

 

Now as to your reply (which again, i'm thankful for) in some detail:
- Confusion as to whether it's a 007 'a' or 'mk1' absolutely, i don't follow revisions with the same gusto as others. I am aware that -as is said- ideally one wants to listen to a 70xxx serial, or a 71xxx right after. I thus specified as understandably some point of reference had to be given. Apologies nonetheless. Also for my being overly general/aloof regarding my impressions of it, but after lurking for years here, i do know whom i'm addressing; and that isn't the regular posters but the irregular viewers instead looking for information (rather than what 'x' person 'advises' them to buy). Sorry to be so blunt. The headphone has some obvious tendencies and some obvious area of focus everyone has read about. Stating them again only in my own words seemed pointless. I rather i focused on what no one at all appears to be saying.

- You have a point regarding driving this thing, was surprised to see just how inefficient it is. I do however have an SRX-Plus (that if i may say so, is without certain errors and issues that the final revision was left with) that has been improved even further. It can drive these headphones well enough for me to have an opinion.

- We will eschew the part where i give my credentials or pointlessly attempt to convince folks i'm not deaf.

The remainder of your polite reply? Only reinstates what i said myself.

- If you build a system around it. Sure i guess. I can build a system around a fart, could still give a balanced outcome. Eventually.

Only with such a system, nothing else would ever sound quite as it should afterwards, now would it.

Bringing us back to why one would ever invest so heavily for a sole, specific Stax headphone that sounds nothing like your typical Stax headphone anyway. Sounds like a logical thing to wonder. And my ideas on that.

Bringing us, perhaps, to whether, or how come it's been so praised. Enter my view. And a self-censored one mind, as one could easily jump to more conclusions, like say whether maybe, total coincidence, equipment is sold (profit) for said headphone that certain same exact people are hyping; if again, one was so inclined to think upon.

My view and again, not on the personal preference. Not quite.

 

Much obliged to the moderator(s) for allowing a voice of dissent. Expected the harsher treatment if i'm to be honest.

[padam]

"I get the love for the 007s, but they're not my thing at all."
That was the only reasonable statement that you've made - also questioning why you've bought them in the first place. Besides this, it's all just noise, which anyone can see just by reading them. I can only suggest seeing it from the 3rd person perspective as well. You also need to be able to see fault in everything, including your own favourite headphone.
Widening your vision, being able to see things more as they are, these might help you.

We've all bought or tried things, seen movies, etc. etc. that other people love. And it's fine to state a negative opinion.
But it is only useful, if it is stated and explained in a somewhat thoughtful way.
https://overearmania.com/2019/02/03/stax-sr-007-mk1/
https://www.headphonesty.com/2020/10/review-stax-sr-007-mk1/

These are articles, which manage to provide useful information about what the 007 is in essence - whether you like this sound, or hate it.
Here is something more interesting I forgot about that I collected in the past: 007 Mk2 (could be the lesser Mk2.5, while Bob Katz's pair is a modified Mk2.0) vs 009 in the same chain auditioned by various people:

Alek JK74
Jonathan
Bob Katz
Roy Romaz
Pyrates
Aaron (ab_ba)
HeadRoom Jamie & Mike
Brian
Tyll Conclusion
 

I really wish there were more like this on YT, way more interesting than influencer reviews.
The opinions are somewhat sort, but still providing an insight as to why some people prefer this or that. And some simply state that this particular setup favours one over the other.

But they all express themselves as civilised human beings.
(Well, Bob seemed a bit angry, but I somewhat get what he was on about.)

[Oneguy]

Maybe it is more accurate to say that 007MKI/Carbon combo is more desirable rather than people just generalizing the 007MKI since the 007MKI scales far down from ideal faster than with other Stax headphones?

IDK, I’m just trying to find a middle ground between you guys. I’ve only heard a Mk2.9 (may have been a 2.5) through a stock Stax SS amp and I wasn’t all that enamored with it. Since that is my only 007 experience, I don’t consider myself very heavily 007 credentialed but just trying to mediate the conversation. 

[Aspirant Audiophile]

40 minutes ago, padam said:

Alek JK74
Jonathan
Bob Katz
Roy Romaz
Pyrates
Aaron (ab_ba)
HeadRoom Jamie & Mike
Brian
Tyll Conclusion

...thank you for the now-bookmarked links... One trip to YouTube saved=approx. one nap earned...

[padam]

1 hour ago, Oneguy said:

Maybe it is more accurate to say that 007MKI/Carbon combo is more desirable rather than people just generalizing the 007MKI since the 007MKI scales far down from ideal faster than with other Stax headphones?

IDK, I’m just trying to find a middle ground between you guys. I’ve only heard a Mk2.9 (may have been a 2.5) through a stock Stax SS amp and I wasn’t all that enamored with it. Since that is my only 007 experience, I don’t consider myself very heavily 007 credentialed but just trying to mediate the conversation. 

I have the Carbon and imho it isn't as simple as that. I suggest reading the second review using an amp much weaker than a Carbon, yet it explains the 007 quite well. If you perceive it differently, then it probably isn't for you, irrespective of its sizeable reserve, when the chain is right.
Look at it this way, the X9000 has technical superiority, faster, much cleaner bass, much less coloured, not as soft, etc.
However, to my ears, a lot of the times it also sounds thinner, drier, more artificial, less coherent, missing that "inexplicable magic" that a 007 can convey, that pulls the listener in the music without forcefully trying to grab the attention - in some ways, that is old Stax vs new Stax in general.

Maybe it's the X9000 setup not being the best either. But it very much illustrates that it's not like with other Staxes you can just throw them in some random chain and expect them to perform at their best, unless it is something that you really like upon first listen.
With the 007 I am going through multiple cycles. But when they impress, they seem to be  right up there with the best, i.e. quite undervalued for that they are.
And if people care to do some research, they can find that the reputation is based on many different people's opinions dating back many-many years, it's not about certain people 'hyping them up' - modern stuff gets way more of that.

Edited August 22, 2022 by padam

[jamesmking]

21 minutes ago, padam said:

However, to my ears, a lot of the times it also sounds thinner, drier, more artificial, less coherent, missing that "inexplicable magic" that a 007 can convey, that pulls the listener in the music without forcefully trying to grab the attention 

 

I entirely agree, for me the object of listening to music is emotional involvement and enjoyment. The combination of the mostly modern T2 and the SR007 does this for me in a way nothing else I have listened to can. It makes music rather than throwing detail and frequencies at you. I don't care if its not as "accurate" as something else or technically or measurably not as good. I know of no measurement or technical specification that correlates with enjoyment or musicality.

I think the general trend in hifi has been for things to get brighter and brighter in the search for more "resolution" and "speed" and more "high end" sound, hence the trends for metal drivers, more silver plated/solid silver things like wires/fuses caps etc etc. If you like brighter then the sr007 is not for you, if you don't like modern sound then the sr007 can be wonderful - if driven properly and the standard stax energizers can't drive it property at all.

Edited August 22, 2022 by jamesmking

[catscratch]

There's nothing wrong with being a dissenting voice, just don't be a jerk about it.

Also, it's important to realize that people can look at the same exact set of inputs as you do and come to a completely different conclusion. And there's nothing wrong with it either. Though they may not necessarily be right.

I kinda have a love/hate relationship with the new 007, though it's more love and less hate. There are some things it does wrong, but mostly it does things right, and it's just a matter of how much the wrongs bother me and how well you can deal with them.

The FR is a bit of a mess, too much upper treble and a pair of strong resonances in the midrange screw up midrange tone and treble tembre, and of course you have the usual 007 shenanigans, insanely hard to drive, wonky fit, too small headband, etc etc.

So in my case I have to mod it to fit, EQ it, and do all sorts of stuff to it to make it sound like I want it to. At the end of the day though, it sounds pretty special, it's more natural sounding than anything else that has this level of detail, and it's way more resolving than anything that also sounds this natural. Is there stuff that's more natural or more detailed? Sure, but nothing has this combination of both. But I also haven't heard everything.

The old 007 didn't require you to jump through as many hoops, and did all of this out of the box with no need for tweaking. It's a massive shame that it's out of production but what can you do.

The question arises then: is it ok for a $2k headphone that needs many thousands in energizer fuel to require all of this? Well yes and no. Some of us are gonna do it anyway, and for us this will reach a higher peak level of sound quality than we can get elsewhere. So there clearly is a niche for it. But for others there may be better options.

Anyway it's fine to like what you like, and it's fine to disagree, just don't be a dick to longstanding members cause we have itchy shovel fingers.

[padam]

2 minutes ago, jamesmking said:

I entirely agree, for me the object of listening to music is emotional involvement and enjoyment. The combination of the mostly modern T2 and the SR007 does this for me in a way nothing else I have listened to can. It makes music rather than throwing detail and frequencies at you. I don't care if its not as "accurate" as something else or technically or measurably not as good. I know of no measurement or technical specification that correlates with enjoyment or musicality.

I think the general trend in hifi has been for things to get brighter and brighter in the search for more "resolution" and "speed" and more "high end" sound, hence the trends for metal drivers, more silver plated/solid silver things like wires/fuses caps etc etc. If you like brighter than the sr007 is not for you, if you don't like modern sound then the sr007 can be wonderful - if driven properly and the standard stax energizers can't drive it property at all.

I'm missing the final part from the excerpt  There are more vintage Staxes that are gathering dust right now instead of being kicked up in the back by a T2.
From your description, may I suggest trying a Lambda Nova Signature one day. I think a good Lambda always has merit next to any Omega. The NB version will be forever my favourite. No matter how 'perfect' I can make an Omega sound, it's more about the grandiose, nuanced style with the full frequency range, rather than simplifying it even more, bringing it closer, putting yet more emphasis on musicality and 'relevant' detail. It is only the bass quality that I'm desperately missing from Lambdas and the tone feels a bit plasticky at times. The rest while impressing me a lot of the times, I don't necessarily feel that it makes the experience that much more appealing.

Brightness is a relative term for me. Looking at the other end of the spectrum, some days I find the Lambda Signature very bright, at other times it sings beautifully when the 007 is too polite. The fast treble can annoy me (reminds me a bit of the X9000), but a lot of the times it just doesn't seem to matter. Not as dependable as the Nova, but very rewarding, involving, yet silky at the same time. The rest I might not recommend that much, having that damping does have its own quirks, although removing them is a possibility, I did it on the Lambda Pro, and it was overall a good improvement when driven by a Carbon. The SR-X Mk3 Pro seems to be the most successful damped design, my choice for the best small Stax, and I think it would also be amazing on a T2. (And yet it is still sitting unsold on head-fi, why...)

[Oneguy]

3 hours ago, padam said:

I have the Carbon and imho it isn't as simple as that. I suggest reading the second review using an amp much weaker than a Carbon, yet it explains the 007 quite well. If you perceive it differently, then it probably isn't for you, irrespective of its sizeable reserve, when the chain is right.
Look at it this way, the X9000 has technical superiority, faster, much cleaner bass, much less coloured, not as soft, etc.
However, to my ears, a lot of the times it also sounds thinner, drier, more artificial, less coherent, missing that "inexplicable magic" that a 007 can convey, that pulls the listener in the music without forcefully trying to grab the attention - in some ways, that is old Stax vs new Stax in general.

Maybe it's the X9000 setup not being the best either. But it very much illustrates that it's not like with other Staxes you can just throw them in some random chain and expect them to perform at their best, unless it is something that you really like upon first listen.
With the 007 I am going through multiple cycles. But when they impress, they seem to be  right up there with the best, i.e. quite undervalued for that they are.
And if people care to do some research, they can find that the reputation is based on many different people's opinions dating back many-many years, it's not about certain people 'hyping them up' - modern stuff gets way more of that.

I am assuming when you say “read the second review” you “mean watch the second link?” If not, please clarify. 

I’ll gladly give them a shot if I can find one at a decent price or I can find a friend with a pair for me to borrow. I’m not paying some of the used prices people are asking just to try MKI when it’s later lineage didn’t wow me on initial listen. Doesn’t seem prudent when there are others out there that did.

If I hear the magic in home, I’ll extoll their virtues. If not, they’ll stay in the not for me pile. I feel my system is enough to give them a fair shake. 

[padam]

4 hours ago, Oneguy said:

I am assuming when you say “read the second review” you “mean watch the second link?” If not, please clarify. 

I’ll gladly give them a shot if I can find one at a decent price or I can find a friend with a pair for me to borrow. I’m not paying some of the used prices people are asking just to try MKI when it’s later lineage didn’t wow me on initial listen. Doesn’t seem prudent when there are others out there that did.

If I hear the magic in home, I’ll extoll their virtues. If not, they’ll stay in the not for me pile. I feel my system is enough to give them a fair shake. 

https://www.headphonesty.com/2020/10/review-stax-sr-007-mk1/
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/eqoytw/stax_sr007_long_term_impressionsranty_review/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mini-review-stax-sr-009.635893/

Or I can repeat myself and say you can also try the Lambda Nova Signature instead, if you find that too bland, you might think the same about the 007. Might not seem very special at first (people tend to downplay Lambdas too much after trying flagships), but it's more dependable in a way it manages to skip a flaw that annoys me at times: the bass has similar pacing to the rest while the 007 plays it a bit slower, partially contributing to its fuller, punchier sound. The Nova has less body in the lower mids/upper bass, but does not have the recessed upper mids of the 007 that also contributes to its more polite character.
If you don't hear the X9000 as I describe it sometimes, then the 007 might not make sense - but there are a handful of other options to choose from.
I am struggling to dislike any Stax that I've tried that came out between 1975 and 1998 (didn't try the in-ears and a few lower-end Lambdas, I also don't yet know what the 4070 is all about)
After that I fail to hear much it terms of improvement for me (the 007 Mk2.0 seems pretty close to the Mk1 at times, but not improved overall, the rest is new Stax which I'm not finding to match my taste)

 

[Oneguy]

I’ve owned a fair share of Lambas (L700MKI, L500MKI, 507, 407, 404). I didn’t care for the L500 or the 404. I agree though that lambdas tend to do get the love they deserve. I’d take a L700 and day of the week over a 009. 
 

I’ll look for a Lamda Nova Signature and scoop it up if one becomes available to have a listen. I’m always up for expanding my horizons with older Stax models. 

[padam]

It is like a slower, more relaxed, less coloured 404 with less of that upper-mid emphasis.
A fair amount of resemblance to the SR-Omega without the technical virtues but for way less money.
Surprisingly great synergy with the KGSSHV.

[padam]

To add more to this 007 (whatever version...) saga, in a way all this actually helped me.

Preface: we, as - preferably nice, humble - humans, should join forces and try and learn from each other.
Even just regarding audio we experience and know things that others do not.
And the frustrating thing is there is very information in one place and it might not be as valuable as experience, if you are lucky you find someone with close experience.
A chain is not "ready-made".
It is something that you figure out eventually, after finding out what sounds good and what not. And this even starts with the recording you play that someone else made and the software you use.
All these tiny differences might add up to what you are hearing.
If you don't start comparing getting a lot of placebo effects in the meantime (and just not enjoying not listening to music) you have very little idea about where you're actually at - in some ways fooling ourselves can be less distracting and more enjoyable...
I'm guess being a musician or an audio engineer might help, they might have a better idea of how things should actually sound, that helped me a lot 10 years ago. Although I would add, that in the grand scheme of things, that is also just an another viewpoint that I should be taken into account as I said, people make recordings is various ways.
I started 14 years ago, being completely clueless but at least I observed how people behave which steered me towards Stax and also this forum.

Anyway, who cares about audio lesson cliches...

I am on the modified 727 after some weeks with the Carbon. It's anything but a representation of a very accurate sound.
I prefer this one. I listen to music. (while I observe a lot of things, this has become my main perspective)


Why? The 007 is a power hog, how is this possible...?

The Carbon is more neutral, has tons more power with better extension up and bottom, bigger stage, better dynamics, definition and all that jazz.

So, with the 727 I am listening to a more compressed, I would say softer, brighter sound (but with warmth in the mids) with a smaller stage and some roll-off. (I feel that almost any Stax becomes too bright on this 727, basically nothing really works as well as this 007 Mk1.)
However, the sound is 'simpler', more 'wholesome'. More cohesive, intimate and inviting and there is more focus and "beautifying" on the midrange which is a special 007 characteristic.
Less can be more, which is why the NB Lambda is still a firm favourite of mine.
Maybe it is just my brain getting bored by a certain sound and more interested in a different sound, but I don't think so.
I had the 727, but for quite a while I didn't have a 007.
(So basically, this lengthy post is only written, because I randomly have all this gear...)

The Carbon does not "do much".
It's a great amplifier.
Works great with Lambdas (older ones), works great with the Omega and I might find more interesting matches.
However, the characteristics it is giving to the 007 is making it more V-shaped and analytical.
The stage becomes too big, there no coloration to fill in that upper midrange mid and upper treble emphasis and the flabby bass problem is actually more emphasized on the Carbon. (I was thinking of maybe trying different earpads, they definitely do their own contribution...) There is deep bass, but I think a bit too much and treble is the same.
More does not equal better.

So do I want throw (yet) more money at this to dial it more?
Or rather: is this something that I myself created that wasn't there in the first place?

A few notes about the Lavry DA11, which I still have many years on, partly because of being a cheapskate and partly because I am not the biggest fan of buying things blindly and I haven't found anything that I borrowed and think I must have this (Slightly missing the Parasound DAC1600HD, should have had that modified). In today's world, it is now a "semi-vintage" studio DAC. Does not add anything "magical" to the sound, that could be needed with a Carbon with certain headphones.
However it does add a bit of fullness to the bass and "looseness" to the sound that I found more preferable with Stax headphones that can become "too clean", and there is nothing offensive in its presentation. Sort of a similar difference that you get regarding 727 vs Carbon.
Unlike with headphones and amps I have very little clue about sources, and I don't want to screw up the synergy I achieved with the SR-Omega + Carbon either. I would like more richness in the mids and I can detect a slight bite in the treble but it is good enough for me. (Although I wonder how I will feel once I get the Carbon back from the normal bias modification and I switch back to this pairing...) I know Lavry makes the Quintessence, but it is super expensive and does not even have a USB input.
Just to give you an example about synergy: with the SR-Omega + Carbon, stage is also overdone, but the headphones want to do it anyway, the Carbon just lets it do that, so it is not distracting, the bass is naturally very strong without cutting into anything else like on the SR-007, etc. etc.


As much as I understand about why the amps are designed are how designed, some headphones just need more coloration to reel them back to "accuracy." (a quote I stole from a meet impressions, and it's very true)
So in the future I hope to see some variations that are at the Carbon's power level but deliberately more tuned like the Stax amps.

The X9000 needs plenty of tuning if you ask me... But it's also telling that people with T2s tend to like it more. So maybe it is not completely lost cause for me in the future when it gets cheaper on the market.
But as Bob Katz said about the 009 "Why would you want to have a more expensive headphone that you might need tons of EQ to correct?"
Well, to balance things out, I can answer that, because each headphone has particular characteristics that a chain will not change that much.
That is exactly my personal worry about the X9000. The reason I am annoyed by it is just having a lot of generated hype by comparing it against other products that I personally don't like much either.
If there was a balanced take on things, I would have no reason to be frustrated.

The 007 Mk1 has simply matured enough that you can find all the good and bad about it.
I hope to hear it in a maximised setting a BHSE is something that a lot of people rate (maybe against a maximised Omega, which might rather prefer what the Carbon provides)

It can be a great everyday headphone. It has great natural ability, a few definitely just manage to edge out the SR-Omega without being silly expensive, threatened by reliability problems, etc...
I just don't know how much money and tinkering etc. is needed to be thrown at it to keep the synergy and technicalities perfectly balanced - as all things should be.
For about 3000$ all-in, this chain is not too bad (I would add my NB Lambda to have more brightness, but more firmness accuracy.)
But maybe there is more to be extracted from this budget, that's where the knowledge comes into play (with personal preference).
 

Probably not how it's supposed to sound on the 007 Mk1, too soft.

But it captures the essence of the musical message, there is no distraction going on, it takes me back to a different time - so I like it.
 

[padam]

Yeah, BHSE was best (it would have been so nice to have a Carbon there).
But the stock 007tII (that can be further improved by simple mods) but wasn't exactly crapped on either considering its attributes. The stock 727 was poor because of the NFB design - which is again could be more synergistic with other Stax with its inferior design - at least way back on head-fi I read that a guy preferred the 717 with the 007 but he thought the 727 was fine with Lambdas.

I thought of the 727 as being in sort of this "nowhere-land", being not as sweet as the hybrid amps and also not as much fun as a KGSSHV which instantly grabbed me when I heard it (I did not have a 007). But in my case, it seems quite appealing with the 007 Mk1 and the 007 Mk1 is quite appealing with the 727 even though I am sure this is very far from what it can really do.
Omega vs 007 on Carbon is simply an unfair comparison both with regards to value and also with regarding matching.
Tubes are great in that you can vary the sound - but it can be too late to think about that now, because they can cost insane amounts of money and I don't like the idea of limiting that aspect.
I am genuinely curious if there will be more solid-state amps coming (maybe not as the Carbon is as good as KG can make it) or a proper T8000, tube input and ss output can still sound interesting.


My listening preferences seems to be in line with liking vintage lenses or film photography.
I don't like an "oversharpened" and artificially clean sound that lacks fluid and organic quality. The X9000 has this in spades. Others may think about this completely differently.

Raal SR1a vs K1000 by Hirsch
These small, yet important observations about new vs old headphones are just randomly put out on the internet.

[electrostatics]

Just got a 009s to complement my SR007 MK1. Since my KGSSHV just went up in smoke (can’t find its fault), I’m currently amp-less with the exception of my SRD7 Pro hooked up to Hypex Ncore mono blocks.

What is an inexpensive amp to run the 009s with good quality? Are the Stax offerings or older energizers any good for the 009s? I usually don’t listen very loud.

[spritzer]

Well here is something odd, it's well known how much I "love" the SR-009 and I recently picked up a used one in Japan as a part of a larger bundle.  I was just going to move it on as I already had one in my collection so after putting it off for a while, I sat down to test it in my main rig just to make sure it was ok.  Now here is the odd part... this one sounds nothing like the other eight SR-009's I've had here over the years.  It has a slight forward tilt to it but far better than any 009.  It lacks that artificial "boxing in" of voices or the excessive brightness superimposed on everything.  I dare to say they are pretty smooth and with proper bass response too. 

Thinking I was going nuts I grabbed the other set from my collection (which sounds like all the other 009's) and did a double blind test.  I had my better half pick songs and hand me either of the two sets (plugged into the same Carbon CC) and this wasn't even close.  With the regular 009, just the opening of a song was enough to give them away.  That same feeling as with Tyll reviewing the Ultrasone ED10 if anybody remembers that... 

Now this set is never leaving my collection but why is it like this?  It's not a super early one or a late one, I've had both (plus everything in the middle) and they all sound the same.  In fact the other set I have here is one of the last ever made and it sounds the same as the very first set I got back in 2011.  This set is in the SZ9-1200 range so this has to be a QC issue or something like that.  I don't know the history of the set but no mention of it ever being serviced.  Earpads feel like new and the whole set feels like new so yeah... not sure what is going on. 

I first tried tried them on Friday and I've probably logged 10 hours on them by now which is pretty unheard of for me with 009's.  Hell, I had to force myself to try the Purrin Rock set which just arrived (those are weird) and now I'm back on the 009's. 

 

[Pirx]

Did you open them for inspection and compare them with your old 009?

[spritzer]

No, I don't dare touch them. 

[Pirx]

I was hopping that you could find that one "mistake" from factory that we could replicate in our 009s ...

[nopants]

I spent a bit of time with the O2mk1 fitted with 009 pads because I read a few posts here and there, seems like it evens out the bass impact a bit (general sense of balance between high/mids/lows) but at the expense of making vocals a little too shouty for my tastes. Essentially you get a bit of the artificial hi-fi flavor, not terrible but it starts to grate if you listen for too long. Eventually ended up switching back. 

I'm curious about the old brown pads, I've forgotten how they sound...

Edited February 10, 2023 by nopants

[padam]

From my understanding some of the internal filling also needs to be cut out with a knife.
But yes, I think it sounds best as-is with the old brown pads and the springs in place. Bass control and impact is never going to the best, a bit soft, but it's smooth, non-sibilant with great imaging and detail.

The general problem is that while certain mods might end up working nicely for some, the headphones will sound vastly different depending on the amp, source, cables, positioning on the head, etc. just a handful of other factors involved.

[udurbalanced]

On 1/22/2023 at 2:19 AM, spritzer said:

Hell, I had to force myself to try the Purrin Rock set which just arrived (those are weird) and now I'm back on the 009's. 

 

I've always been curious about the Perun but I never see reviews, only hyperbolic shilling. 

[spritzer]

They are odd, I'll give them that.  I'm going acquire a few more (as they are all so different) and then do a review on them. 

[udurbalanced]

I got in a brand new pair of SR-007 mk2 on Monday and they already have an odd noise in the left channel. It sounds like a telegraph and there's no imbalance. I have the same issue with the ESP/95X, which has a significant channel imbalance. Both have been fed by a modded SRM 006t I bought from spritzer last March, and I've always kept them on a Stax stand with plastic cover.

I tried swapping channels and sockets on the amp to no avail and it doesn't change noticeably with driver distance. The sound starts as soon as I turn my PC on, regardless of anything playing. I haven't yet checked how it changes with the volume knob nor have I tried the Koss with the stock energizer to see if the noise persists, but those are next.

I know dust on the driver can cause noise, but the 95X squealed and buzzed before the left driver started losing volume and both headphones producing the same noise in the same channel seems odd.

Any thoughts? Noise issue aside, the SR 007 are phenomenal headphones and I don't want to think they're already faulting.

[andres]

Does it go away if you put your mobile phone on airplane mode?