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Can headphones ever be as good as high end stereo?

I am absolutely satisfied with the sounds of my current setup but I feel like I'm unable to listen at the volumes I prefer on a regular basis due to the ole spouse. I've been considering switching over to headphones. By selling my current speakers and amps I could easily finance stax 009 phones and a suitable amp, which seem to be regarded as the pinnacle of headphones.

My question is, what would I be losing or gaining in the switch? Right now my setup emits a beautiful wall of sound and I would hate to give that up. Understand that I have never owned a pair of headphones worth more than 80 bucks so I have no idea what good ones sounds like. Almost all source material would come from a pyon ultima table. Thanks
bfin3
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
502 posts
 
Different; advantages to each. Your choice of 009 is excellent; they are the best headphones. I don't find as much satisfaction in many other top headphones, but the stax 007 and lambda pros are also excellent. Note that you'll be selling the 009 short by driving them with anything less than a maxed out KGSShv.

Lately I've been splitting time between my 2ch system and 009/007/KGSShv.
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
502 posts
 
Oh, and the Sennheiser hd800 sucks compared to the 009. Stick with Stax.
bfin3 OP
7 posts
 
Unfortunately my speakers rattling the house is too much and I can't win arguments anyway haha. New house seems like an extreme solution lol but if I'm ever in the market I'll be on the lookout for something spread out! I think I'll definitely go stax if I take the plunge. Looking at either the woo wes or the blue hawaii amps to match. Whatever I do I want it to either be great speakers or great headphone setup. I can't comfortably afford both and I don't want to split funds to have only decent speakers and decent headphones. Whatever I do I'm going all in.
extravaganza
268 posts
 
Yes it can,but in this case headphone amp or headhpone output in stereo amp matters the most.For example grado ps1000 can have similar visceral impact on ears the way speakers do,but only if amp do that .
tonykay
856 posts
 
Bfin3, your problem with your spouse is not unique. For that reason I have been listening to Stax phones for more than twenty years, starting with Lambda Pros driven by an SRM1/Mk2, and now the Lambda Signatures/SRMT1S tube driver. At a recent audio show, I had the opportunity to hear both the Stax 007 and 009 models. Both of my previous phones have sounded great but the higher Stax models were a revelation. I was struck by how comfortable both models were, how refined the sound and they have a more conventional look than my Lambdas. I have no doubt that I'll be listening to either the 007 or 009s in the future, driven by my SRMT1S.
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