Headphones

Fun, short read- http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2013/12/29/head-fi-versus-hi-fi-beats-by-dre-and-the-future-of-the-high-end/ "Beats – by itself – is outselling the entire hi-fi industry combined, by a factor of two."

I figured it was worth its own thread to look at these aftermarket cables that have popped up. Now I don't really want to be a part of the whole cable mess but with electrostatics it is rather simple... the main component is capacitance. The cable will always add some and it determines how hard the entire system is to drive. So TLDR, more capacitance... everything is worse. The amp has to work much harder to try and push current into the top and bottom end. As a baseline, I tested a spare SR-X1 driver I had here and between the +/- inputs it is right on 40pF. We want to keep this as low as possible to keep the load low. So first off we have this ebay find, staight…

I am planning to buy the Stax x9000, but my friends say that the x9000‘s driver is easily to be malfunctioning, and the cost of repairing it outside of warranty is very high as we know. Therefore, I want to do a survey to see what the failure rate of the x9000 really is. Thanks in advance for participating in the survey

For the past 15 years or so I've been happily grooving with my Grado RS-1 and AKG K340, I've heard other setups during that time but never felt the urge to upgrade or buy anything new. Then I made the mistake of reading through the Head Case LCD-2 thread and decided that I needed to get my hands on an Audeze to hear it for myself, a couple weeks later an LCD-XC showed up on the local classifieds and that was that. First impressions; WTF is this alien tech?? This was a like a replay of my first headphone meet where I heard Biggie's dialed in RS-1 system and had a bunch of preconceptions shattered. How is something this fast while having the bass weight & impact of a…

So a new electrostatic seems to be incoming: https://apos.audio/products/sjy-argos-electrostatic-headphones?utm_campaign=hyperfuse_last_day%20%2801KZW4554JVNW58G1HET4TN43W%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=alex_nongdpr_never_subbed_active_180&_kx=cd77Rbf3yu6_OAujM-M4VU1ihuQFsjtyVcb-jl8r-OKxvi62Czezy2yxdLQUUnAj.Ldk8SW I've been keeping an eye on them for a while, no idea what that company is but hey, more the merrier and all that. I just saw the new updated page for these and it is just what the fuck, are they retarded? First off, "fully vented drivers" being spun as something that is positive. Hello, what is the number one rule of planar design? Something about a…

Just in case anyone here still listens to headphones. The Marketing The Review No USB-C audio? am dissapoint. An apple airpod max pro 2 ultra or whatever they are called rival? Well, it has the premium pricing, vs the XM6 (relatively) pleb version.

Hi all, I have a pair of Stax SR-007 e-stats - a 007 Mk 1 (s/n 71169) for which I made a new pair of diaphragms last year (long story, will make another post just about that here on HC soon) and a 007A (s/n SZ2-1636). In the last few days I've been noticing that the pair of metal arcs on the head assembly of my 007 Mk 1 makes a slight ringing sound transmitted to the drivers when I move my head, especially when these arcs are touching the headband. I don't recall them doing that before, but maybe I just wasn't paying attention. This ringing sound disappears if I either touch the arcs with my hand or reposition the unit so that the arcs no longer touch the headband. H…

Who knew? https://www.cnn.com/world/wired-headphones-comeback-spc

Now it shouldn't come as a massive shock to anybody but I'm not much of a SR-009 fan. From day 1 they always sounded messed up to me and the BK and S didn't really make it any better, even a bit worse with the 009S. To this day I have only one 009BK (as it is a limited edition) in my collection and one regular 009 that showed up here randomly and was a stark improvement over all the other sets I've owned. No idea why those sound different but better not mess with them. Now the plan was always to do something with the 009's to improve them but there was always something better to do. Well with surgery pending a couple of months ago, I finally had time to do some…

I'm pretty sure everyone has done this at one time. Hung onto a headphone or piece of gear that You want to like, but don't. Mine is a q701 I bought used 12 years ago real cheap. Cheap because it smelled like an ashtray. Pulled it apart and cleaned it well, and did the bass port mod. I don't like the sound. Put it away and then tried it out again when I changed DACs and amps. I still don't like it. I'm trying real hard to make myself get rid of it. It's hard to be a horder.

Looking for something that will noticeably outperform my jaba Jabra Elite 45h - Titanium don't want to pay more then 270 dollars. Any suggestions

Hello. I have a pair of Lambda Nova Basic. Both drivers are slanted forward and left one has less bass. Volume is slightly unbalanced but mostly noticeable for stereo music. Should I risk it? Audio signature suddendly changed today and then it sounded normal again (that's when I noticed both drivers slanted forward. Left one was only slightly slanted now both of them fully are)

Just need an audiophile version. https://www.nuanceaudio.com/en-us

Hi folks, a few years ago, I followed my preference for Quad electrostatic speakers into headphone territory & now have Stax 'new' sr3, sr Lambda & sr 404 signature ear speakers. Would you, dear reader, be tempted into buying a pair of sr 407s if you had the three models I already have, and if so, why?

I have a question about how to fit the headphones. The Lambda pros that I have are wired with the wide part of the cup facing the front, while the 500 MK 11 is wired with the wide section facing the rear. Is this correct? Did they change the way the phones fire toward the ear? Donald

Hi This is my first post, I would appreciate opinions on why I have this issue. The link below is the Stax energizer using Lundahl PP TX that I built with a pro-bias circuit. The only change was I didn't use the Lundahl power transformer or the oil caps, I used a magnetically shielded toroid TX mounted on top of the cabinet and poly caps, I also installed the 4m700k resistor after the last cap. The bias volts are 575 d/c, here is the issue, when using my new 500 MK 11 headphones there is a plopping sound that starts in the left channel and then in the R channel, think of a dripping faucet in a cup of water, the L channel is about 60 cycles per minute and th…

https://gradolabs.com/products/hp100-se Just found out aboot these today thanks to @DouglasQuaid Anyone have hands/ears on yet?

'one of the headphones of all time' pic poached from the other place some deets from the manufacturer's website: MOTOR Specifications Configuration Complimentary Tuned Triple Ribbon Ribbon Type Corrugated Pure Aluminum (True-Ribbon) with Viscodamp™ “Silent Metal” Viscosity Dampening Surface Area 25.2 cm² (3.9 in²) Excursion +/- 4mm (0.157 in) Maximum SPL 118dB Impedance 0.057Ω Impedance with Specialized HP Cable 0.29Ω aaand it requires a proprietary converter and cable for use with amplifiers, weighs in at a hefty 626g, costs an eye watering $9,757usd for the 'full package' and $ 7,589…

I have two STAX energizers that need to be recapped & rebiased. Would someone please recommend a tech in the US who could do this work for a reasonable price?

Hello Head-Case, It has been a long time since I've been active here but, I'm glad to be back for something special for us E-Stat enthusiasts! We are very happy to finally announce our new Headphone – INOX. For the very first time in Headphone history, a Consumer/Production Closed-Back Electrostatic Headphone. There is a lot to uncover and I will try my best to give a brief introduction about the technical aspects and details of this new Headphone. Over time in this Official Thread, I would love to go over the stories and details of the many aspects that have gone behind this development which is impossible to cover in this single post. But, for now - …

Sonos Announces Plans to Enter Major New Product Category, Likely Headphones https://www.macrumors.com/2023/11/16/sonos-new-product-category/

I have the L700 MkII and I find the headband pressure too high. I wonder if the original L700 headband would lessen the pressure as the “arm” of the forks are a straight construction without the bend at the bottom in the MkII model. Any “swithers” between the too models heamdband ?

The alcantara pads on my workhorse HD800s are rotten and I'd love to replace them. Over the years I've always been able to buy spare parts directly from Sennheiser, but no distributor seems to carry them for shipping to the U.S. at the moment. I don't want to ruin these by putting aftermarket Beyerdynamic pads or whatever on them, I just want to pay Sennheiser an ugly markup for parts they apparently no longer want to keep in stock. Does anyone have a line on a real supplier for these?

Hi y'all, I have a Stax SR-007A e-stat (with the blu-tac port mod) energized by a Stax SRM-T1S with the CCS mod running a pair of NOS US-made Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB tubes through angled socket adapters at 6.0 mA / tube section. The signal from my DAC (RME ADI-2) is being fed through custom-made balanced XLR cables and the energizer is powered by an Audioquest NRG-Z3 power cord. The system has been running fine for at least a year. Yesterday I removed the earpads for a routine cleaning of the driver (dusting off the dust covers, etc.), but after that the 007A developed what seems to be a ground loop in the right channel. The right driver started having this 60 Hz hum t…

Stax D-10 amp. Are the lithium ion batteries user replaceable and avaiable for purchase ?