Is there a more famous name in headphones than Stax? After all, they’ve only been in business just shy of 80 years!
So, when a brand of such high prestige and rich heritage in the headphone market, or ‘earphone’ as they prefer, releases a new flagship product it is indeed big news.
Announced this week and available in the second half of this year, the SRM-T8000 is Stax’ new flagship vacuum tube electrostatic headphone amplifier.
The SRM-T8000 has been designed with the full intention of pairing with Stax’ flagship electrostatic headphones, the SR-009.
While the SRM-007 Mk2 and SRM-727II amplifiers will remain within the range, the SRM-T8000 is reported to be more revealing, while able to extract more detail from the source material, and more powerful than the previous models.
Hybrid by design, it uses 6922 valves in the input stage mounted on an independent board to shut out vibrations and external noise. The output stage features a solid state, full-balanced pure Class A design.
There are two pairs of single-ended RCA inputs, a pair of balanced XLR inputs, and curiously, a 4th input presented as a large blanking plate for the time being. Stax say, “as for now, release is not yet determined”.
Embracing modern trends, the SRM-T8000 also features an External (Bypass) control which completely bypasses the volume controller of the unit. This is particularly handy with the use of modern DACs that feature built-in volume control.
It’s been over 20 years since Stax released their previous flagship amplifier, the SRM-T2, and if the reports by those fortunate enough to listen to the prototype SRM-T8000 are anything to go by, the electrostatic headphone market really does have a new high-end amplifier.
Local pricing won’t be confirmed until later this year, but is expected to be around $7,955 RRP.
For more information visit the Stax brand page.
StereoNET's Founder & Publisher and still buried deep in the review room auditioning everything from docks to soundbars, amplifiers and headphones. Marc is also the founder of the annual International HiFi Show.
Posted in: Headphones