New Focal Utopia Headphones

[Weiss-Man]

No Stax bashing but I bought 009 and 007t Kimik, balanced from a Rega valve Isis (hate typing that word) and it wasn't for me.

 

[JTC]

A lot of what I've read about the Stax 009 (and the 007) is that the capabilities of the headphones exceed their matching amps. This seems borne out by the fact that people seem to find significant gains by moving to third-party amps (like the KGSSHV and the mighty BHSE). That's why I went for the new L700, as (unlike the 007 and 009) it seems to partner well with 'ordinary' Stax energisers. The advice I got re: the L700 was that unless I was prepared to move to a third-party amp, I'd likely get a more balanced and enjoyable system with the L700s than with the 009s. As these things are hard to audition, I can't confirm that, but I can say that the L700 with 006T is significantly better than the HD800 with SPL Phonitor in all regards except the slightly surreal 'airy headspace' thing that the HD800 does so well. The L700/006T has incredible speed, good weight behind the music, a deftness of touch and no hint of anything being over- or under-represented in the music. Its only downside for me is the build quality of the headphones themselves, which seem a bit plasticky and prone to the odd mechanical creak if I move my head. Slightly annoying, but well worth putting up with as these are proper music lover's headphones, rather than hifi headphones. IMHO, of course; at this level, it's all about slight differences in presentation, fit, comfort and the trade-off of convenience.

I wish I'd discovered Stax properly years ago. I can guarantee I'd have saved myself thousands (albeit probably now have sunk some of those savings into a BHSE or similar!)