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In Reply to: RE: The KOSS ESP/950 posted by EdAInWestOC on October 16, 2019 at 07:57:55
Since you didn't answer my question, I interpret that to mean you have not tried the FiiO FH5 earphones. You might want to take a listen before assuming that the best dynamic cans sound a bit slow next to electrostatics. Of course, I'm sure the top-of-the-line Stax sound better than just about any other headphone, but it takes more than ten thousand dollars to find out. I could write a check today, but I just can't imagine the sound of any headphone justifying that kind of money. Anyway, for $260 you can have some very special earphones in the FiiO FH5's. And, for $450 you can have the best FiiO has to offer, the FH7's.
Incidentally, my FH7's are scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I'll let you know how they compare to my FH5's and my Koss ESP/950's.
Best regards,
John Elison
Follow Ups:
I have not tried the Fiio FH5s. The only IEMs I own are a set of HiFi Man RE-400s. Those are very good for a cheap IEM but the FH5 is in another league. Let me know how the FH7s sound.
To tell the truth I don't really care for IEMs. It is a thing I have about sticking something in my ears. The IEMs have an advantage to sealing out ambient noise and a surprising good low end. That plus they are compatible with most players makes for a nice product.
I tried the HiFi Man RE-400 because they were very cheap and I wanted to try something for a portable player I have. It is an old classic IPod w/160MB storage. I bought it long ago and never used it. The headphones available at the time were not that great or you had to drop thousands for a custom set of IEMs which I was not about to do. The fact that the iPod is a low res player only is also a checkbox against it.
I don't have any real driving needs for a portable player so IEMs have taken a back seat to other types of headphones. The good news is there are so many quality headphones to choose from now. Not only is it a time of resurgent vinyl but we have so many headphones to choose from it is difficult to keep up with everything. I am sure there are some headphones out there that I would really love but how do you keep up with all of them?
There are few to no brick and mortar stores where we can try out many of these new headphone models (at least in my immediate area) and thats a shame. I miss the heyday of stereo stores where we could go try out things before we buy. That was nice.
Anyhow, the Stax SR-009S goes for $4500 MSRP (available for around $4400) but requires a very good driver to get them to sing like they should so $10k is a pretty accurate number. That is a crazy number but I keep on thinking about the SR-009S and the Headamp Blue Hawaii driver. I might do it one day but I also have a bug to get back into RTR after all of these years.
Sorry to wander off topic but all of these things keep on finding their way into my mind. I believe I mentioned that I just got done with alimony payments, plus I am still working, collecting Social Security and have few bills. I find myself with more disposable money than I have known in my life.
I have just finished rebuilding my main stereo rig so it is a little hard to figure out what to do with my one and only hobby. A friend and owner of one of the local stereo stores suggests things from time to time but the suggestions are now wandering into higher levels...like ARC gear.
Their phono preamp is drop dead beautiful and based on the 6H30Pi super tube. I just upgraded to the Rogue Audio PH-9 line preamp and it is based on the same tubes. It it drop dead quiet. You simply cannot tell it is on no matter how high you turn up the volume...very nice. And its very neutral and has all of the nice stuff we audiophiles gab about.
OK...enough gabbing on my end. I hope you enjoy the PH7s. Let me know how they sound after they break in.
Take care,
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
Hi Ed,My FiiO FH7 earphones arrived today and they sound great right out of the box. Perhaps they'll improve with break-in, but I'm perfectly happy with their sound quality right now. They sound slightly better than the FH5 earphones with more robust bass and slightly extended highs. I really couldn't ask for more in a $450 headphone.
Last night I compared my Koss ESP/950 electrostatics with my FiiO FH5's and although the two definitely sounded different, I found the FH5's just as enjoyable for extended listening. The Koss electrostatics definitely had more sparkle in the highs but they lacked adequate bass response. The FH5's had more natural and robust bass with highs that were perfectly acceptable so I really preferred the FH5's for extended listening. Consequently, I definitely prefer the FH7's over both of them although I'm sure the Koss have a bit more sparkle in the highs. If they only had a bit more bass the Koss electrostatics would be just about perfect.
My guess is that the top-of-the-line Stax might just be perfect. However, they should be very close to perfect for their price. I would really love to own them but I just can't justify their price. Regardless of how accurate and perfect they might sound, they're still headphones and I've never heard a pair of headphones that I preferred over high-quality speakers for extended listening. Still, I would love to own the new Stax. Check out the link below if you want to drool. ;-)
> To tell the truth I don't really care for IEMs. It is a thing I have about sticking something in my ears.
I've never enjoyed the kind of earbuds that wedge into the outer ear but for some odd reason I find the ones that fit into the ear canal quite comfortable. The cable on FiiO earphones wrap around the top of the ear to support the weight of the earphone and the part that fits into the ear canal doesn't bother me at all. I think they're actually more comfortable than any full-size headphone I've tried including the Stax Lambda Pro's I owned some years ago.
> I might... [buy Stax SR-009S headphones] ...one day but I also have a bug to get back into RTR after all of these years.
I know what you mean. I loved reel-to-reel back in the day. I owned two Revox A77 tape decks and I knew them inside and out. I aligned their heads and made all internal adjustments to achieve perfect performance. I was a PMEL technician in the Air Force with access to a fully equipped electronic precision measurement equipment laboratory. I bought a brand new Revox A77 at the audio club on Bitburg Air Base and took it directly to the PMEL. I started with head alignment and went through all the electronic adjustments -- bias, bias traps, equalization and frequency response, etc. I set it up for Scotch 207, which I believed was the very best tape at the time.
Nowadays, open reel tape is just way too expensive. It costs between $50 and $100 for a 10.5" reel of top quality quarter inch 1-mil blank tape that provides only 48-minutes of music in half-track stereo at 15-ips. New prerecorded tapes cost between $200 and $400 each. It's just not worth it. If you could get over your prejudice against digital I think you'd find that DSD sounds as good or better than the best reel-to-reel tape available.
I have a very good friend who might just be the foremost authority for the repair and restoration of Studer tape recorders in the Northwestern United States. He wants me to get involved with reel-to-reel again and he's even offered to give me a fully restored Studer tape recorder. However, it's just not feasible for me considering the price of media. He also owns a TASCAM DA-3000 in addition to a Korg DSD recorder and when he makes a digital copy of a high-speed analog master tape, he can't hear the difference. Unless you're rich, and my friend definitely has some money, it's just not economically feasible to get involved with reel-to-reel these days.
Best regards,
John Elison
Edits: 10/17/19
A restored A77 still makes a great recording to this day. There are a lot of people who still look for techs who can restore A77s. If you ever want to pick up some spare change you might want to look into restoring A77s. It may not be as big a thing as it once was but it has a healthy following.
Don't misunderstand my attitude towards digital recording. I do have a dedicated digital setup with a dedicated DAW that records up to 24/192 PCM and it makes some dammed fine recordings. My reluctance towards digital is only about absolutes and that is kind of crazy...so consider the source.
I even kind of enjoy editing digital PCM recordings but they are just one step removed from an original. All copies are no matter what the technology.
I wish that someone could come up with an analog technology that does not suffer from degradation on subsequent copies. The DBX disc had promise if they could ever have solved the pumping sound caused by warped or misaligned center holes on LPs. When it worked it was impressive.
There are so many technologies that are like that. How many products seem to get good just before they are discontinued? Redbook CDs are finally getting to the point where they can make the most from 16/44.1 and its better than ever. Just this past year RIAA reported that new LP sales topped CD sales for the first time in decades. CDs are disappearing just as they are starting to deliver closer to their original promise.
Thanks for the Stax link, it is interesting. When it comes to electrostatic drives for the SR-009S I have read there is one that gets recommended as the absolute best...the Headamp Blue Hawaii (see link below).
I don't know if you are familiar with these drivers but they get top marks every time someone rates an estat driver. Maybe Stax developed that new link you sent to me as competition. I would like to read something about these two products compared.
The dream headphone system is the Stax-009S plus the Blue Hawaii...and now the Special Edition ($6900). When you reach this kind of product I am sure it is very small differences between the models. And Woo Audio's 3ES Elite Edition is a new TOTL estat driver. That driver has a $13k asking price. All tubed with every high end passive component, etc, etc. So now we are talking $17k+.
Of course the price tag is multiple thousands of dollars but full sized estats can be a crazy expensive headphones. You have to love that kind of performance. Personally it makes me drool. Yeah...sick, I know.
Anywho, thanks for the Stax link and enjoy those FH7s. I totally agree with you about speakers vs headphones but there are times where a great headphone is so perfect. Late at night or when you are doing critical mastering/recording.
God, this stuff is cool.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
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