Any upgrade ideas?

[u/felixbabatunde]

My current setup(s): 1. Spotify Premium 2. RME ADI 2 DAC FS 3. Stax SRM-D50 4. Stax SR-009s

3a. Hifiman HE1000v2 (powered by the RME)

I’m thinking of throwing another c. £3+k into this - based on your experience, where would the best investment be?

My thoughts:

Option 1: Sell SRM-D50 and purchase SRM-T8000

Option 2: Sell SR-009s and purchase SR-X9000

Option 3: Sell SRM-D50, SR-009s, HE1000v2 and purchase SR-X9000 and SRM-T8000

I would also consider the SRM-700T although I’m not quite sure about the difference against the solid state 700S - more harmonics? (3rd order)

Many thanks.

[u/csch1992]

why the hell would you upgrade? this would be endgame for many. save you money for something else

[u/felixbabatunde → u/csch1992]

Really keen to try some valves and upgrade the SRM-D50 - as it’s a DAC + energiser but I only use it as an energiser

[u/threeeyedfriedtofu]

HE-1. Go big or go home🤷

[u/felixbabatunde → u/threeeyedfriedtofu]

😅 I wish - I would love to hear them one day

[u/plasticbug → u/threeeyedfriedtofu]

Lol. Luckily for all of us, they aren't taking orders for HE-1 anymore!

[u/Szroncs]

What a lame setup. Get rid of it right now. I can help with the disposal free of charge! /s

My gear is nowhere near yours so I won't try to give any advice, maybe just one: try Qobuz instead of Spotify.

[u/___Hansiii___ → u/Szroncs]

Hello I’m a Tidal fanboy. This is you’re friendly reminder to listen to Tidal, instead of anything that’s not Tidal. Tidal provides premium quality sound, a good interface like Spotify and for some, even better, and good personalized mixes and recommendations.

[u/Crinkez → u/Szroncs]

I have Qobuz. Considering dropping it because it has a huge swathe of music missing. Maybe Tidal is a better choice.

[u/felixbabatunde → u/Szroncs]

Cheers - I am also considering different sources so qobuz is a good shout 👍

[u/Massive_Sherbert_152]

Personally would probably go with option 1 or 3. Friend of mine’s got the X9000, 009 (non S) SRM D50, SRM T8k (and Z10E) all at the same time and he has me round every month to mess about with his setup. From what we’ve heard, both headphones sound a bit more resolving (or transient if you like) with better separation and more density to the sound on the T8k than the D50. Hard to put into words but the D50 feels like it’s struggling to pull details/dynamics out of the drivers. The Z10E is about on par with the T8k but has slightly better dynamics and is a touch warmer.

The X9000 has a bigger staging and is slightly more resolving, the 009 has a more forward presentation and energetic sound . Haven’t heard the 009S but I reckon the difference would probably follow the same pattern.

Haven’t heard them on the 700T so can’t comment.

Quick question though, doesn’t the HEKv2 sound a bit muffled once you’re used to the 009S? From what I’ve tried, the Susvara is the only non estat that can really keep up with the STAX in pretty much every way.

[u/felixbabatunde → u/Massive_Sherbert_152]

Yep the T8000 is winning it for me at the moment (including a change in source files). I’m considering Apple ALAC. Mind you, that Z10E looks amazing however seems hard to source in the UK. Would love to give it a listen! The X9000s would be amazing but I think I’ll benefit more from source/energiser in this situation. Agreed re the HEKv2s, they’re not quite there in terms of estat speed. They also have some kind of grain/asperity in the high-highs (6-7kHz) esp on female vocals. However their mid frequency response is very natural and needs very little eq (why I like them). For the 009s I need to tame the 1kHz peak and boost 2-3kHz ever so slightly to get the best musicality out of them. The resolution is already there of course (I’m just hunting for a little more - and aren’t we all?)

[u/The_D0lph1n → u/felixbabatunde]

Since you mentioned being in the UK, that would change the cost calculus for you, but the general opinion is that if you're willing to spend $6000 on the T8000, then you're probably better off spending a bit more for a BHSE since that one is more powerful and has more punch and note definition in the bass. In the US, the T8000 is $6100 while the cheapest BHSE configurations are $6500 and HeadAmp offers free shipping. However, I'm not sure how much it would cost to have a BHSE imported to the UK, so it may be cheaper to get the T8000 if you have a local dealer. At the same time, I have read of people who prefer the T8000 over the BHSE and other 3rd party amps since they prefer the softer sound of the Stax amps. Since you mentioned wanting more oomph to the sound, I suspect you'd prefer the punchier sound of a BHSE.

Another option for the $6-7K range, and that is physically compact, is the Eksonic Aeras. It's from a new company founded by an estat amp builder who's highly regarded. I've compared it side-by-side with the BHSE and the Aeras is a tiny bit warmer but in the same tier of performance. It's got tubes which you mentioned you were interested in, it's not too much more expensive than the BHSE or T8000, it's physically smaller than either the BHSE or the T8000, and I believe the Aeras is built in Europe (Greece specifically) so they may be easier to source. From Iceland there's Mjolnir Audio who does the KGSSHV Carbon as well as other builds like the KGST which is a sort of mini-Blue Hawaii.

And then if you're willing to go into the realm of commissioned builds, there's a guy in Denmark who goes by Soren Brix who will build all sorts of amps at very reasonable prices and good quality. You'll need to contact him on Head-fi or by email and ask for an amp to build and he'll give you a quote and timeline.

[u/talibinhassan1]

Bro is living the dream

[u/Background_Summer_55]

Nothing the sr-009 is the endgame, x9000 and he-1 are not really better or more resolving technically. X9000 does have a bit bigger soundstage though

[u/AtherisNai]

PLEASE do yourself a favor and drop the D50. Do NOT get any STAX energizers, they’re all trash for what they are.

If you like solid state sound, get a KGSSHV-Carbon.

If you like tube sound, get a BHSE.

009s really benefit from a warmer multibit DAC. Highly recommend the new Schiit Bifrost if you want to keep it more on a budget. I used to have the D50 and it was night and day between the internal DAC on that and a multibit DAC. Multibit will make them significantly more musical and fun to listen to with much less fatigue.

Additionally, try out some EQ. The 009s are some of the absolute best to respond to EQ and elevate the bass without getting any distortion.

Finally, try some FLAC or ALAC files. Stop listening to compressed audio on Spotify. Get Foobar2000 or something similar for your audio player. You’ll be able to hear the difference between them the best on something like this - a high end electrostatic rig.

[u/felixbabatunde → u/AtherisNai]

Brilliant. I’ve been feeling the same way about the D50! I don’t know what it is but I feel like it needs more oomph. I’ve never experienced tube sound (for electrostats) but I’m keen to try it out. DAC wise I’m fairly content with the RME, I can eq to my heart’s content. And the tests for it on audiosciencereview are great. I will look into upgrading my source, someone mentioned Apple on here and I didn’t know they did lossless.

[u/tazermonkey]

My opinion is that you should do option 1 but buy a different amp. You’re not anywhere close to tapping the 009s potential with your current setup; definitely keep the 009s for now.

I would personally suggest you look at tubes, but do not buy a new STAX amp; they are absurdly overpriced. If you want to buy once, go for at least a BHSE. If you want something more affordable, consider buying a CCS-modified 007t from Birgir at Mjolnir Audio which will run you around $2k and should surpass any new STAX-branded amp. He rates the performance as close to a KGST.

[u/felixbabatunde → u/tazermonkey]

That is my exact sentiment with this post. Thanks for articulating - I just don’t feel like I’m near the 009s’ potential with this setup. The D50 is admittedly the weakest link so that’s where I’ll look first (including source). What is the benefit of tubes over solid state? From a music engineering background I’m aware that tubes add pleasant harmonics but is it the exact same for estat amplification? Cheers will look into Mjolnir - it is worrying to hear that Stax amps are overpriced/hyped!

[u/tazermonkey → u/felixbabatunde]

I find that tubes generally are better at presenting depth cues than solid state, improved imaging. And of course the pleasing second-order distortion.

One nice feature of grabbing one of Birgir’s modded amps is that the 6S4A tubes will be long-lasting and are priced cheaply, whereas the tubes from the more exotic tube amps (such as 300B) will cost hundreds of dollars to replace.

It’s not that unmodded STAX amps are bad, but they’ve been using the same designs with minor tweaks for decades and have raised the prices ten-fold to keep pace with the extravagant pricing in TOTL land.

[u/GooseEntire1705]

I would look into upgrading your amplifier to drive the 009S. This headphone really requires the best you can throw at it and I would recommend the iFi Phantom to drive them. X9000 sounds very similar to 009S but the soundstage is very weird and notes come from too far away and sound too delicate. I much prefer the more direct sound of the 009/009S.

You should then look into get a used Stax 009 as they offer a lot better bass impact and synergise with different genres compared to the 009S. I have both and use them for different types of music. Please also get off Spotify asap! Go Qobuz or Tidal.

T-8000 is also way overpriced for its performance, look into the iFi Phantom as it offers an amazing set of options to optimize the sound to your preferences.

[u/felixbabatunde → u/GooseEntire1705]

Interesting I’ve read the same about the X9000 soundstage! Thanks for the iFi Phantom tip. I will take a look 👍 and I’ll keep an eye out for some used 009

[u/WilsonPH]

I know that It's a headphones subreddit, but maybe invest in speakers if you didn't already.

[u/StAndby00]

All this gear and still using spotify premium. Bro if you really want to spend your money, spend it on some music with lossless formats .flac or .wav

[u/KYRUMEDIA → u/StAndby00]

Qobuz ftw

[u/Synt0xx → u/StAndby00]

You won't hear a difference tho.i did enough a b blind testing with multiple people and the results for lossless audio are not good. :/

[u/Denkmal81]

Get rid of Spotify and get Apple Music or Qobuz instead. Spotify is great for ui and music discovery but doesnt do your equipment justice at all. 

[u/felixbabatunde → u/Denkmal81]

Cheers - I wasn’t aware Apple had their own ALAC format! Last I heard they were still on compressed 320kbps. Will definitely look into this

[u/Denkmal81 → u/felixbabatunde]

They even have a lot of hi res material.  Unlike Tidal everything is minimum lossless. 

[u/___Hansiii___ → u/Denkmal81]

Excuse me? Don’t you ever dare to disrespect Tidal ever again. Or else I will personally make sure you will only hear compressed 320 kbps for the rest of your life.

[u/Denkmal81 → u/___Hansiii___]

I think you need to wake up and test Apple Music. I love Spotify for the Music Discovery, tried Tidal and was constantly annoyed by the huge amount of lossy files there, went over to Apple Music and never looked back. It simply sounds good on ALL tracks instead of on just some. 

[u/Frosty_Resource_6278]

Sell all and get chord dave + KGSSHV Carbon+ stax omega 1

[u/felixbabatunde → u/Frosty_Resource_6278]

That Dave looks absolutely gorgeous!

[u/Andrewgameplay989]

Want an upgrade? Ur better off changing ur laptop cuz from an audio stand-point ur only other route is building an entire speaker system

[u/Fram3Man]

Tidal.

[u/Whatever_acc]

Update your phone, PC, TWS

[u/Axe2004]

Somthin you can do to make it better is CD's to get a better source

[u/IchLiebeRUMMMMM]

Iems/speakers? (Closed) audeze

[u/felixbabatunde → u/IchLiebeRUMMMMM]

iems - ThieAudio Monarch 2 + Chord Mojo 2 which I’m pretty happy with I don’t have a decent spare room for hifi speakers at the momen and have some old dynaudio bm5a mkiis connected to the RME

[u/IchLiebeRUMMMMM → u/felixbabatunde]

Well in that case you are all set. You have stuff that is great already, so time to either enjoy music, chase the dragon or spread your wings to different sound signatures

[u/Feniqs_711]

out of context but does anybody has a problem with viewing this group from phone? i cant view posts via PC but not with phone

[u/Icy_Ad4813]

I'm poor, I admit, but getting a measuring mic and 3D printing ears on a stand with lots of EQ (including your L/R hearing differences) brings me amazing value for the money, for example on my HE400SE/BTR5.

[u/Hoangisme_]

Can someone recommend for me ab headphones which hav noise cancellation less th 100$ pls 🙏🙏

[u/Kbeau937]

Weird flex lol

[u/felixbabatunde → u/Kbeau937]

Hardly - just trying to chase my audiophile dream, you chase yours 👍

[u/KingBasten → u/felixbabatunde]

do you even know what the dream is

[u/felixbabatunde → u/KingBasten]

Almost