The Best Audiophile Earphones headphones and Amp

Gopher: good point about the budget... Having said that, I do not expect the same type of crowd here as head-fi. Not only referring about the average age, but also (it correlates though) about the wallet size. I think people who have invested into a high-end loudspeaker system including room treatment will typically have sufficient funding for a good headphone system...

Matjet: the Orpheus is no longer manufactured. Lucky enough, you could find one used for 6-8kUSD I believe (you'd still need an amplifier which I believe would also run into 5kUSD, no less). I did not listen much to it, but basically I am not sure it is good value considering the C32 is just around the corner (and likely a very serious contender).

Stax C32 is projected to cost between 300 and 500kJPY which is 4 to 6kUSD at current rate. But again, with some Stax distributors being a bit thirsty, it could go north of that in Europe or the US... Release is targeted for "spring" which, by Japanese standard, could be March-April time frame.

Some information about the design found here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/520391/tokyo-fall-2010-headphone-festival . My listening impressions here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/531743/new-listening-impressions-of-stax-c32-prototype

Arnaud

I second Tonykay's message: it has taken me over 10 years to get to appreciate what Stax headphones can do. As of today, I have sold all my electrodynamic headphones and only use the Stax Omega 2 mkII with SRM-727A amplifier (about 3.5kUSD combo).

Before that I have owned the following (from recent to old, probably missing some, headphone + amplifier). I give the approx. retail price:

> Sennheiser HD800 ($1500) + Lehman Black Cube Linear ($1000)
> Ultrasone Edition 9 ($2000) + Lehman Black Cube Linear ($1000)
> Sennheiser HD650 ($450) + Lehman Black Cube Linear ($1000)
> AKG K701 ($300?) + Meier Audio Opera mkI ($1000)
> Sennheiser HD650 ($450) + Meier Audio Opera mkI ($1000)
> Sennheiser HD650 ($450) + Ray Samuel Audio Stealth ($2500?)
> Sennheiser HD650 ($450) + Meier Audio Prehead MkI ($1000?)
> Sennheiser HD600 ($300) + Meier Audio Prehead MkI ($1000?)
> Grado RS-2 ($400?)

As you can see, it's been a regular rotation of headphones and amps. More recently, top dog electro-dynamic headphones (Sennheiser HD800, Beyerdynamic T1, Ultrasone Edition series...) have closed the gap (pricewise) with Stax electrostats.
In terms of resolution too, a well amplified HD800 can very much compete with the Stax Omega 2 + Stax amplifier. However, when I mean well amplified, this implies 2 to 5kUSD of amplification.

What I realized for me is that there was no point to keep spending so much money on electrodynamic gear when I could have it all and more with a similarly priced Stax electrostatic system. For instance, there is no electro-dynamic headphone I have heard that can have the same finesse as Stax (non grainy yet extended treble, extreme resolution, excellent micro-dynamics, basically the usual benefits of electrostatic drivers...). While electro-dynamic headphones can do many things right, you always find that 1 headphones forte comes also with 1 or 2 flaws that spoils the experience, eventually...

To my ears, the Stax Omega 2 are the first headphones I simply feel are sounding totally natural. The Omega 2 is not perfect (the new prototype C32 might be as close to perfect though based on my audition ;), but it totally satisfies me because it always sounds natural. In that sense, I very much agree they're one of the only headphones that make you forget you are listening to headphones...

While sites like head-fi provide a lot of information they're also a bit misleading because a lot of the noise on the surface is based on the "flavor of the month" (there are some recommendations in this thread which are a clear example of that).

To summarize, I will give the same advice as some others: do not take someone's advice for granted (mine included, hey, I have hated Stax gear for years until I realized how right it was ;) ). Listen for yourself if possible, headphones sound come in many many colors, just like loudspeakers... The comfort is also indeed an issue (does not get much better than Omega 2 again though ;) ).

arnaud

Quick update. The Stax SR-009 (was codenamed C32) is now in my system and it sings, oh yes does it sing! It's pretentious to say so but I think the competition, regardless of technology, is going to sweat a few bullets to catch up with this one...

Some pics of the unwrapping, an experience in itself: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/531743/new-listening-impressions-of-stax-c32-prototype-and-shipping-sr-009/645#post_7487827