I remember when I first saw a pair of Stax headphones as a teenager in a nice Hi-fI shop in downtown Toronto. I had never seen headphones that required their own special amplifier before. They looked very serious and, at that time, very unattainable. Fast forward to today and I still get the impression that putting on a pair of Stax headphones (or Earspeakers as they call them) is a rather special treat. At Stax’s display I got to try out the new SR-009S flagship headphones along with the new SR-L700Mk2 Lambda headphones, both hooked up to the new SRM-700S solid state amp. The amp was able to drive both headphones simultaneously without breaking a sweat so I was able to quickly switch back and forth between the two. Both were very comfortable and made music sound incredibly effortless and natural. I felt that the SR-009S had a little more bass impact than the new Lambda but both were surprisingly close in overall sound quality to me. I’m also partial to the classic Lambda styling for nostalgia reasons. The best planar headphones come close but there is still something special about the sound of an electrostatic headphone. Price for the amp is $3400.00, while the SR-L700Mk2 cost $1569.00 and the flagship SR-009S costs $4325.00
https://hometheaterhifi.com/features/highlights-from-canjam-2020-nyc/
Evan Caplinger
- 21 February 2020