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Headphoneboutique (Patreon)

Published:
2021-09-08 11:36:04
Edited:
2021-09-08 12:39:51
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

I drove to Vienna to check out the Dan Clark Stealth headphone which unfortunately hasn't arrived yet. But I had the chance to try out some high-end headphones and amps/dacs and immediately shot a video as I had my equipment with me.

I couldn't try them all but rather concentrated on the most expensive ones and to my surprise they all sucked. Some costing €5000 and more sounded so horrible that I wouldn't even want to listen with them for free. The one I liked most was the Stax SR-007 which was still not really great, but I chose this one to compare it against my own Elex. 

The Stax was powered by a Paltauf HV ESD V3, which is around €4500 and a Chord Hugo TT 2 which is also around €5000. So all together including headphone around €14000. The Elex ($700) was powered by my Iphone 12 Mini... 

This video will probably create some shitstorm from all the audiophile lovers, but it prove again my opinion about this entire scene, that it's all just marketing and hype. If you have too much money to spend, get the most expensive headphone and amp, and I hope you will find your satisfaction!

Listened over a HD600 the sound captured is extremely close to what I heard live.

Files

Headphoneboutique

Listening to a Stax SR-007 MKII powered by a Paltauf HV ESD V3 with Chord Hugo TT 2 compared to a Focal Elex powered by an iPhone 12 Mini. Thanks to Andy from https://kopfhoererboutique.com/ for letting me listen to all this great highend gear. Please support me on Patreon for more content like this: https://patreon.com/oluvsgadgets

Comments

J

Its all about money and they think its great... Well, thanks for proving them wrong, again!

Dandrey

Thank you , it was treble heavy and mids dipped slightly .

yossibm

Stax sounds like the upper treble is extremely accentuated, bringing cymbals forward in the mix. soundstage also feels larger. Have you heard difference in "details" or "technical ability"? I have the koss electrostatic and though it is recessed in lower treble, the drivers are so large and the sound is very "big". it makes me feel as if it is more detailed then other headphones such as HD600.

yossibm

Have you tried the hifiman Ananda/Arya or any Dan clark closed back such as the Noire?

Dennis

Right, people think they have to spend several thousand and it's honestly 10 times as good. I just think at some point a good quality is achieved and then it ends. As well as Oluv says he doesn't notice much difference there. Some Cheap shit can Sound good Aswell look at Soundcore Earfun etc. but yea i think 10 Euro Bluetooth Speaker will just shit in =D

oluvsgadgets

I didn’t like the Koss one that much, it would need some serious EQ to sound good even then I didn’t somehow find it special. I also think that a correct frequency response is the most important factor of the sound and all other aspects depend a lot on that. It means: soundstage detail etc will enhance a lot if the response is correct.

yossibm

yeah but the headphone form (driver size, cup size, proximity to ears, etc) cannot be changed with the correct EQ. no matter how you tune it, you cannot get the small and closed-in k361 to sound as open and wide as the koss electrostatic. and even so the koss treble isn't good, you can hear that when there's a lot of different instruments in the mix, they are easily distinguishable, while in a cheaper headphone, such as the treble-heavy ksc-75 they sound mushy.

oluvsgadgets

The KSC75 sounds mushy because treble area is full of peaks. You could carefully equalize it to sound better than the electrostatic but onears give very different results depending on the individual ear shape, thus it’s not easy to offer the same perfect result for everyone. But of course the better the driver tech is, the better the final result will be.

D. Oeltermann

Nice shop and cool that you have the opportunity to try those headphones. But I am not surprised to hear that those super expensive models are not the edge of everything… ;-)

Adam B

Store furnishings are as expensive as a gold store :D look amazing for me, although I must admit that I would like to check how to listen to music from very expensive headphones: P

ToneDeafLoser

Oluv does it again! Another great video!

Stanislav Baranec

Very nice scene on the Stax, the instrument localization is (in my opinion) on a slightly higher level than with the Elex. Probably not worth the extra money, but still at least something to pick up for justifying the higher pricetag 💁 I, however, don’t quite like the sound signature, it’s way too colored for my taste. In this regard, the Elex are doing much much better job. It would be definitely interesting to hear the Stax playing properly equalized, though 😉

Oliver

Stax mit Röhren, genau darum spiel ich meine Stax nur mit Transistor, die 007 können deutlich mehr mit aufeinander abgestimmter Elektronik, das klang schläfrig und fade.

oluvsgadgets

Ist wohl so wie mit Spezialkraftstoff, manche schwören drauf und glauben aus dem Fiat wird plötzlich ein Porsche. Ich persönlich glaube nicht an derlei Hokuspokus, da gibt’s bessere Anlaufstellen.

Oliver

Ich habe 10 Jahre in einem Hi-Fi laden gearbeitet und kenne die meisten Stax, die Omega-form war nie mein liebstes, Lambda und zwar die alten können viel mehr Spaß machen und bei dem Amps dasselbe, die alten Übertrager (SRD-7Mk2 / Pro) mit nem guten Amp ist mehr das was ich als sound betrachte.

oluvsgadgets

Würde gern 2 solcher Varianten mal direkt testen

Alex Cirovic

Stax sounds better. It reveals few more layers in the music.

Alex Cirovic

Elex sounds great, especially for the money. Still, if you need to get 4 units to have one that is half decent quality wise, it's not worth the trouble.

Alex Cirovic

@Oluv, if you get a chance try the Stax Lambda SR-L700 or MK2. As far as experiences go, it's more special than the SR-007 or SR-009.

Greg Mora

Wow, I dream with visit a shop like that. Thanks Oluv.

Greg Mora

Focal Elex show its value for sure. I would love to get some but.. QC issues makes me think twice.

KlarkKentThe3rd

From what I can guess, the price mostly comes from the niche product being niche, as well as the cost of individual parts. Speaking of Elex, someone needs to surgically remove the cups, and attach to a headband with replaceable cushion.

Vince B

Schönes Video mit einem tollen Tipp, wo man sich in Wien mal umschauen sollte. Allerdings muss ich Alex Cirovic zustimmen was den Elex angeht. 4 Units sind schon echt n Armutszeugnis für die Qualitätssicherung und dazu kann man ihn als Deutscher zB ja nicht mal bestellen. Insofern finde ich es zwar toll, dass er gut klingt und das auch in deinen Ohren, würde es aber begrüßen, wenn du eher einen Kopfhörer empfehlen würdest der weniger Probleme in der Snschaffung und Qualität bereitet. Du hast ja auch den neuen Focal Celestee gehört, fandest ihn aber nicht besser, was in meinen Augen auch gar nicht angemacht ist. Ich würde den Celestee, sowie den Vorgänger Elegia, nur als geschlossene Pendants zum Elex sehen. Aus meiner Sichtweise gesprochen würdest du da den Celestee/Elegia vllt doch gut finden (ohne auf die Preise zu schauen)? Hast du dir auch andere Dan Clark Hörer angehört, ich denke da speziell an den Noire oder Flow Open/closed? Falls ja wäre es durchaus interessant noch ein wenig über diese zu erfahren. Hast du nur den Focal Clear gehört oder auch den Clear Professional? Der Pro soll ja angeblich etwas besser sein als die normale Variante. Wäre interessant zu wissen ob du das bestätigen kannst oder sagst, dass es Quatsch ist. Den Verstärker Hype muss man echt nicht verstehen, außer man heißt Rockefeller. Genauso wie Kabel, klar sollte alles eine gewisse Qualität haben, aber die muss nicht höher bezahlt sein als der Hörer selbst. oO