Quick Take: STAX SR-X9000... King of the estate?

[@BrentLeVasseur]

They are gorgeous looking. Love their design.

[@SineCraftAudio]

Yeah, the build is crazy good. All the materials and finishes are top notch.

[@Jingyih]

Switching between x9000 and Caldera is super fun. They just present music in very different ways. I feel Susvara is sort of in between. Nowadays it gets the least amount of listening time.

[@LogicalQ]

I’m a musician. I use headphones almost exclusively to listen to instrument/vocal audio directly from a mixing board. It’s curious to me that none of the audiophile cans are ever reviewed with a live source. Would love to play/hear an analog synth, keyboard, guitar, bass direct from a line level mixing board into an energizer/stax or amp/planars compared to my AKG Q701s.

[@MRFUTURETECHNOLOGYGAMING]

I would love to see you review the modhouse tungsten and the fiio ft3, and when the fiio ft5 comes out

[@christianhaugerud7787]

Nice review. Which set would be your "one and only headphone" then?

[@SineCraftAudio]

Ah, good catch... I'm hoping to have a video discussing that soon.

[@sumeetagarwal6561]

great headphone but im still gonna go with shang ri la sr

[@johnspy12345]

Do these distort easily at higher volumes, or can they maintain their clarity?

[@SineCraftAudio]

As far as I could comfortably take them I did not notice any distortion.

[@orrman5]

What amp did you use with Susvara when you compared the two?

[@SineCraftAudio]

Several amps over time, but most notably the Z10E drives both, and also the ampsandshound Agartha, my all time favorite Susvara pairing.

[@ave.runcus]

thanks for the video! How would you say they compare to the SR-007 Mk1?

[@SineCraftAudio]

007 to my memory (which is not an accurate source) is still a bit more fluid but the X9K has a lot more details and dynamics.

[@ave.runcus]

@@SineCraftAudio Hah! Yeah, memory isn't too accurate, I get that. I would hope that the X9K is more detailed, considering the asking price (plus buying an energizer)!

[@nothingelse1520]

I have the 007 in the mail, making me wonder if I should go all the way and get these

[@ReverendDr.Thomas]

I auditioned these today and found them to be superior to Susvara, except for the pianoforte timbre. Maybe one day....

[@nothingelse1520]

​@@ReverendDr.ThomasI wonder if it would sound better with better earpads

[@3ossomok588]

Damn, you got money !

[@nothingelse1520]

@3ossomok588 I ended up getting them and putting Audeze leather pads on them

[@3ossomok588]

@@nothingelse1520 I wish i was financially confortable as you man. I have a passion for good sound and I have the unique Melody mest mk 2. I hope one day I can buy headphones like these. Enjoy my man 👍🏼🤝🏼

[@martinslocombe2288]

Mjolner audio KGSSHV Carbon energiser at arround $5k is a great match for the Stax 007 and the 009 so i think it will also do the business wth the X9ks .

[@SineCraftAudio]

That was one of the energizers I used to test with.

[@yooanto9465]

Does it have more bass and more texture than hifiman he1000?

[@SineCraftAudio]

Definitely more texture and detail. More bass, hard to say. More defined bass, yes.

[@yooanto9465]

@SineCraftAudio OK time to upgrade. I hope it will not sound lean or bright.

[@x32i77]

Which dac you recommend with the z10e+x9000 ?

[@SineCraftAudio]

Both are pretty exacting so I'd recommend something with a bit of body and, dare I say it, warmth. Holo audio Spring or May would probably work well. Something like the Border Patrol would have the right character but might not be detailed enough to take advantage of all the clarity Z10E+ X9K have to offer.

[@x32i77]

@@SineCraftAudio okay so may it will be 🙂

[@gio.b8808]

How would you compare these to the ZMF Caldera? Which one is better?

[@SineCraftAudio]

Kind of apples to oranges. Both are very good but offer pretty different presentations and require different amps to driver. At a high level Caldera is fuller, smoother, and more natural while the X9000 is leaner, faster, and delivers additional resolution.

[@gio.b8808]

Ahh ok. Which one do you find more enjoyable to listen to overall tho in your experience? Like if you had to pick one of them to keep, which one would you go with?@@SineCraftAudio

[@SineCraftAudio]

I personally lean toward a richer and more fluid presentation so Caldera. X9000 are technically superior but they don't draw me in as much. Susvara is somewhere in between them in presentation at that price point.

[@MFHRaptor]

I'm of Camp Lambda when it comes to Stax. I don't want it to sound like headphones. I want surrealism!

[@jamestorres5582]

Good God they're BEAUTIFUL

[@Tacet137]

They deserve the HeadAmp Grand Cayman

[@Level42Man]

Youll need stax of money for these beauties........

[@nickdual]

$6,200, it's worth?

[@SineCraftAudio]

Only you can make that call. These flagship headphones are crazy expensive. All I can say is that it easily competes with (and in many ways bests) with headphones in this same price class.

[@hmuhmunkunkuapua]

Hoping to hear these at canjam soon, to compare to my es1a. Recently got the es1a and absolutely love em, great compliment to my he6. Not that i can actually afford to buy these anytime soon

[@SineCraftAudio]

The ES1a are fantastic. In a nutshell I'd say they are more exciting, more of a party, and the X9K are more refined and capable.