TammerDown

Can we call it juggernaut?

Plastic grills, L500 cable… I guess they’re going to knock off the king to release a lesser version of the x9000/009 family? Yuck. sr-x mk4 would be better

I reached out to stax. They claim the 007mk2 is still in production they only stopped the 007a. Weird though and not a good sign. Luckily I have 2x mk1 and maybe it's time for some mk2...

Stax has discontinued the sr-007A. Not clear if that also includes the mk2. Anyone? https://stax.co.jp/news/discont/

I don’t disagree with you on the 009/009s front nor on the 007 being great. I prefer the CRBN over the 009 line. Yet the CRBN should not be a $4500 headphone. The mk2.xxxxx 007 does everything the CRBN does and then some. SRX9k is a different story (…significantly better than the crbn…) and not the subject here.

The CRBN is not warm. It’s treble dimmed with a 3hz peak. When you compare it to a headphone with strong highs you can immediately tell it’s rolled off. Not a worthy $4,500 purchase unless you have the sensory sensitivity of someone autistic.

Sadly, the conclusion to the CRBN "study" is that it's a great headphone that neither technically nor tonally is correct. Perhaps one day Audeze will make a headphone that is both exciting and accurate (and doesn't fart). After 6+ months, it's a zero recommendation from my side. Big question mark as why spritzer was such a fan. Based on the posts, and early access, it seems he may have been influentially bias about the sound signature. I hope I'm wrong Spritzer!

This whole debate feels off. As someone who owns both the 007mk1, the srx9k and the Mjolnir Carbon - it's easily to say the Srx9k is the TOTL. Birgir is a great amp builder, but he's no golden ears. The Omega might still be the preferred pick but the 007, in any rendition, was never a competitor.

007a = garbage 007 mk1 71xxx = ❤️ which one is it …

All of the units have a warranty for 3 years from the build date. Tell them you want them to inspect it. Mine was faulty.

No need to justify, Justin. I know the work deserves a high price tag - I'm just trying to determine how much money to set aside :). The power question is because I have no idea anything from an engineering standpoint. I'm just trying to gauge from a tier standpoint is this like a T2 level amp or more like a megatron... etc

In terms of power I assume this is a step closer (but not surpassing?) a T2? We talking above or below the 5 figure point?

@Kung fantastic work. Would you consider making additional X-men (would be interested...)? What have you used for the headband?

Update: Audeze swapped out my CRBN for a new unit. New unit still does produce loud sticking/farting noise when pressed hard but is significantly less sensitive when on head.

Issues: 1) The headband can twist out of straight-line, minor design flaw. 2) The CRBN has a serious "e-fart" issue. I first tried listening to them right when they arrived, and the temp/humidity of my room must have been too hot because just having the two pads lightly touch each other created serious distortion noises. On-head, even a minor touching shift caused a thunderous cracking noise. I'm giving them another go now since the temperature dropped ten degrees, and the effect is minimized but still apparent. You need to put these on or off your head very carefully - the sound it creates is 85+DB right next to your ears. Other people who were asking about this: this is not normal for any of the Stax models (6?) I've owned. I contacted Audeze to make sure this isn't a defective unit because it seems insane to think they thought this was acceptable for a commercial product. First impressions sonically: The CRBN is sonically a step down in terms of clarity/soundstage and an even more significant step down in detail/separation from the Stax 009S. The CRBN has less bass than I expected too; the Sr009S is not that far off when I use the Carbon amp. However, that's the "on paper" look at things. CRBN has a totally different game they're playing. The presentation is so diffused compared to 009 that it has an extraordinary "filled-in" effect. As mentioned before, the bubble of the soundstage is perhaps half(?) the size of the Sr009s, but it has the illusion of seeming like it can create sound in all directions within it (up/down, diagonal), where the Stax sr-009s is more like a straight string from ear-to-ear, and images appear highly separate on that string. I heard a song on the CRBN where an instrument moved from the back of my head to the front ... don't think I've ever listened to any headphone capable of such an effect. Instruments blend together, but in a musical way that enhances the harmony. Voices, for whatever reason, cut through the separation better and sound tonally correct. I find myself less fatigued, tapping my foot more, enjoying music. This headphone has a lot of soul.