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I would be very careful to call the SR-007 any better than the SR-Omega, and vice versa. There are always multiple sides to these stories in audio. I'm not going to dispute the fact that the SR-007 was an absolutely great achievement, considering the limitations they had to deal with and with not much time to spare. They have common strengths and weaknesses and different tunings that may benefit a certain listener more than the other, a direct comparison would always favour one over the other as the ideal matching for them should be a bit different, etc. The common strengths are that they are generally easy to listen to with a wide range of musical material, and have a naturally full and open sound with powerful bass and masses of unforced detail. They are amazing headphones. But nothing is perfect as long as one is willing to analyze and compare deep enough to see, why a particular tuning is good or not. Common weakness is that they are both power hogs, the sound is leaning towards a bit of softness, a bit laid-back and distant in the midrange with instruments that can feel overly panned towards the sides (whenever I switch to Lambda, I can feel the sound getting smaller, but with better tactility and a lot of recordings just placed more naturally) and dynamics seem somewhat compressed compared to an SR-009 or SR-X9000 or the Sennheiser e-stats. That might not be a bad thing, this aspect can also make the sound busier, less peaceful, more fatiguing. I have the late version SR-Omega, which according to some sources might be closer to the SR-007 and not as forward as the earlier version (again, another set of advantages and drawbacks, not a question of better or worse) To my ears (and many others, who I showed these with some chain differences) the SR-007 Mk1 is hands down warmer and more coloured. It has more bass, more upper treble and more recession in the upper mids, and the mids themselves are tweaked to have more a 'liquid' quality to them that colour vocals in a unique way that can be very appealing. The SR-Omega seems a bit brighter, flatter, slightly drier (but not dry), but also smoother and cleaner for the most part, as the treble isn't as emphasized. The Carbon does manage to bring out a tiny, narrow peak somewhere in the lower treble, but for the most part, it is whisper clean, sweet and delicate. But again, is that how it "should" sound? You can be your own judge. Once again, just like I wrote last time, this manifests itself in two ways: either the SR-Omega seem a bit smoothened, rounded, less full, or the SR-007 Mk1 feels a bit more forceful and V-shaped. A good practical example is the Eagles album. Victim of Love is SR-007 territory, this is imho more in line with how it should sound. However, just by letting it go to the next, slower-paced song (Pretty Maids All in a Row) seems to render cleaner on the SR-Omega. The pacing is also different. The SR-007 Mk1 is faster in the midrange and treble, but bass is fatter and slower. The SR-Omega tempo is more unified: more mellow in the mids and highs but the bass is faster, cleaner. Still somewhat "dirty" compared to the SR-009 or SR-X9000, but those can feel thinner with too little volume - it seems these two aspects go right against each other with regard to tuning. So, once again, it just an individual opinion which of these is perceived as "faster" - or is that even better... Detail rendition is different again. If you listen to a solo organ for instance (Peter Hurford on the organ of the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, Torronto, Canada Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 1300), the SR-007 Mk1 is wonderful, able to render it with more nuance and detail, the focus is a real specialty. However, if you like more complex music with lots of elements and texture, the SR-Omega is able to edge it out, that's just one of its own specialties. I can also hear into the bass better. This is one thing by the way, where the SR-X9000 does deserve credit, being able to retrieve information, especially in bass lines, where with the SR-007 Mk1, it's just not there. Both copies are excellent. The reason why I personally prefer the SR-Omega is that it's more forgiving, not as dissolute, more predictable (the "Omega signature" maybe a little less prominent) in what's going to happen and I also prefer how it fits on the head. At times I feel I have an absurd number of driver crackling on the SR-007 Mk1, a testament to the perfect sealing, it does have some clamp to it, like two pillows pushed towards my head. I prefer the slightly imperfect seal of the SR-Omega and the fit is near-perfect and easily adjusted, no looseness and no clamping. If you are interested in other takes rather than my little pamphlets, you can dig out some more posts from other long-time members like elephas, n3rdling or 3x0, imho they've also made some great observations.

That just looks horrible and I am not talking about you, Brent.

I have officially reached the point where I have to move if I want anymore toys.

Like this?

Headphone protector installed and working. Delay time is 15 seconds, and it disconnects when offset is more than approximately +/-70 mV.

Maybe not. Who really needs a bedroom?

*Sigh* why can't we have nice transistors?... I have updated the schematic to show both KSA/KSC and TTA/TTC series transistors. I'm working on changing the gerbers so that leg twists will not be needed 🙂 One channel done, I think, needs checking...

Home made version

Be The Love You Want Southern Avenue 2021 https://album.link/i/1569508447 Example: Solid blues/soul/gospel blend that is done very well.

The frame interpolation/amplification tech looks to be the real deal.

So if my brain is not totally scrambled (which is possible its my first week back lecturing). KSC2690 or TTC004 NPN replaces 2SK216 N channel. Base-> Gate, Emitter -> Source, Collector -> Drain and Ksa1220 or TTA004 PNP replaces 2SJ79 P channel, Base-> Gate, Emitter -> Source, Collector -> Drain which gives modern T2 circuit (green replacements original moved to the side)

My CFA3smd something, now powered from a switched mode power supply and equipped with a headphone protector. I’ll test this for a while and if I like it I might build a decent cage for it. Else I’ve a growing "good to have" closet.

Yola @Webster Hall in NYC last night. She sounded great, but I'm getting too old for standing-room only venues, especially on a weeknight.

Waiting for CSO... Wagner- Overture to Rienzi R. Strauss- Four Last Songs Nielsen- Symphony No. 4 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

R.I.P. Coolio at 59...