Stax Sr 009S Review | 93 Data compared

The Stax SR-009S electrostatic headphonesGo to product viewer dialog for this item. deliver exceptional technical performance characterized by extreme detail, remarkable speed, and a natural, wide soundstage. User comfort is a significant pro, featuring a design that distributes weight evenly to eliminate hot spots during extended listening sessions. However, the headphones exhibit a relatively "rickety" build quality, prioritizing lightweight materials over robust construction. While the sound is highly resolving, it offers less bass impact and punch compared to competitors, and the soundstage depth is slightly less pronounced than the Hifiman Susvara.

In this review, Chris Martens evaluates the Stax SR-009S electrostatic earspeakersGo to product viewer dialog for this item. ($4,325 / £3,895), emphasizing the headphone's internal upgrades over its legendary predecessor, the SR-009. The updated model integrates an ultra-thin super engineering plastic film diaphragm, a redesigned main body, and high-density, gold-plated MLER2 (multilayer fixed electrode) stators designed to smooth air openings and minimize resonance. Martens tested the open-back, push-pull headphones using a rigorous audio chain that included a jRiver music server, an iFi Audio Pro iDSD DAC, and a Stax SRM-T8000 amplifier, using tracks from artists like Yo-Yo Ma and S.M.V. to thoroughly test the full audio spectrum.

Stax SR-009s Review Summary The Stax SR-009s is an exceptional open-back electrostatic flagship headphone that delivers an incredibly fast, highly detailed, and airy presentation. It features gold-plated stators and premium leather earpads housed in a precisely machined aluminum earcup design that ensures supreme comfort and a visually striking aesthetic. Sound-wise, it provides an effortless and smooth listening experience with low distortion, an ultra-resolving treble, and a wide soundstage boasting pinpoint imaging. These qualities make it an excellent option for classical or ambient music, offering a realistic simulation of a concert hall audience experience. However, the headphone's ethereal and airy nature prevents it from delivering an aggressive, intimate, or in-your-face sound, making it less suitable for genres like rock and metal. A major physical con is its loose, floppy earcup articulation and the use of the same plastic headband found on cheaper models, which feels less premium. Acoustically, it lacks the visceral, skull-pounding bass "slam" of top-tier planar magnetic headphones, features a thin upper midrange due to a dip between 2.5kHz and 3kHz, and remains completely unforgiving of bad recordings or...

The Stax SR-009S earspeakers and SRM-700S solid-state driver unit deliver an exceptional, state-of-the-art electrostatic listening experience characterized by a flawless, crisp, and insightful sound quality with a completely silent background. The SR-009S headphones feature ultra-thin circular diaphragms, gold-plated stators for higher conductivity, and premium sheepskin earpads that offer a comfortable, sweat-free fit. Paired with the robustly built SRM-700S amplifier, which utilizes J-FETs in its second stage, the system produces outstanding bass drive that is full and taut, alongside fluid, ethereal high frequencies. A unique, noise-less "liquorice-strap" headphone cable connects via secure gold-plated five-pin valve-style plugs to ensure high conductivity and longevity. However, this premium audiophile system comes with notable operational and practical limitations. Pros include its flawless sound, high sound pressure levels (SPLs), dual outputs, and the flexibility of choosing between solid-state (700S) or valve-based (700T) amplification options. On the downside, the cons highlight awkward rear-panel switches for line and level controls, the total lack of a standby mode, inconvenient input switching, and the absence of a mute control. Additionally, because they emit as much volume from the outside of...

The STAX SR-009S is an open-back electrostatic flagship headphone praised for delivering unrivaled transparency, whole-cloth top-to-bottom coherency, and blazing transient response speed. Priced at $4,545, it ditches the heavy magnets and moving coils of traditional dynamic and planar headphones in favor of a lightweight mylar film diaphragm sandwiched between gold-plated electrodes. This design creates a massive, three-dimensional soundstage that offers deep insight into recordings, rendering vocals and acoustic instruments with exceptional tonal truth, nuance, and an airy, unrestricted treble extension that stretches upward without any stridency or grain. While it requires a specialized electrostatic "energizer" amplifier to run, it is notably easier to drive than its sibling, the SR-007A, requiring 10 to 15 fewer volume steps depending on the amplifier setup. The reviewer highlights several distinct advantages and a minor structural drawback for this high-end audio component. The primary pros encompass virtually every sonic metric, including its lifelike three-dimensionality, light-speed transient quickness, supreme comfort for long listening sessions, and a level of clarity that pulls away layers of veils from familiar music tracks. On the downside, the single notable con...

The Audiophile Style review praises the Stax SR-009S as a premier "endgame" electrostatic headphone, highlighting its detailed, emotional midrange and exceptional comfort, even when paired with a high-end amplifier. While the treble is described as controlled and sparkly, the review notes a lack of visceral low-end weight compared to planar magnetic competitors. Structurally, the SR-009S offers a high-quality, lightweight build, yet is criticized for using a "rickety" plastic headband shared with lower-tier models. The overall design sacrifices a "tank-like" feel for comfort, resulting in a slightly fragile, yet highly rewarding, acoustic experience.

The Stax SR-009S is a premium open-capsule electrostatic "earspeaker" priced at $4,545.00 that represents a rugged, state-of-the-art advancement over older legacy designs. Architecturally, it utilizes ultra-thin plastic diaphragms paired with gold-plated MLER2 electrodes, which significantly lower impedance and physical resonance while maximizing air permeability. The structural housing features a lightweight yet strong mixture of machined aluminum and real lambskin leather earpads. Sonically, the headphones excel at rendering extremely fast, clean, and intimately detailed audio with highly cohesive and impactful bass reproduction that outperforms older Stax units. This allows nuanced low-level information and precise dimensional depth layers to shine through on tracks like BTS's "Butter" and Billie Eilish's "Everything I Ever Wanted". Several key pros and cons emerge from this review. On the positive side, the SR-009S provides next-level comfort, top-tier sonic clarity, exceptional midrange resolution, and a rugged build quality that will easily survive real-world mishaps. It is also highly versatile within the electrostatic ecosystem, remaining compatible with seven official Stax amplifiers as well as third-party units from brands like Blue Hawaii and HiFiMan. Furthermore, it retains its resale value...

The Stax SR-009S is a high-end push-pull open-back electrostatic headphone priced at $4,545, featuring a premium build of leather and metal. In terms of performance, its primary advantage is an unprecedentedly low, virtually distortion-free harmonic profile, even at high sound pressure levels up to 104 dBSPL. When adjusted with parametric equalization (EQ), the headphone delivers an extraordinary, "melt in your chair" spatial quality, featuring stunning detail, beautiful instrument separation, and exceptional comfort for long listening sessions. However, its out-of-the-box frequency response is flawed, presenting a flat bass shelf alongside distinct peak deviations at 1.1 kHz and 5 kHz, as well as an incredibly messy group delay caused by internal reflections. A major drawback is that the headphone cannot handle deep bass amplification without severe distortion, rendering it unsuitable for high-volume playback or bass-heavy genres like hip-hop. Volume scalability is heavily restricted, as raising the sound past moderate levels produces immediate static and severe clipping above 110 dBSPL. Additionally, the loose-fitting headband may not fit users with smaller heads. Ultimately, the reviewer heavily critiques Stax for failing to fix these internal...