KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

[admin1959]

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Hey nice, I spot the Stax SR009, I used to have a pair and loved them! What amp are you using to power those?

 

[spiritofmusic]

Congrats on getting these.
I heard the Ultime Ref 2s very recently, and was totally bowled over by them.
So I can fully understand your enthusiasm for the brand.

 

[bonzo75]

This may surprise some folks around here. The Stenheim Alumine 5SX has become my reference speaker. I’ll have more on what led to this decision (alternatives included Cessaro Opus and Avantgarde Mezzo) and how they compare to the Fynes soon. In short, it was quite room and simplicity related.

No surprise as those two (duos and opus) are not contenders except for each other. I will take 5k tannoy gold and Devore O96 over them

 

[Ron Resnick]

Congratulations, Keith! That's a beautiful room and set-up!

 

[Audio Addict]

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I see a pair of Stax electrostatic headphones. I can't see your amplifier but I believe you can elevate your headphone system.

 

[admin1959]

I see a pair of Stax electrostatic headphones. I can't see your amplifier but I believe you can elevate your headphone system.

Possibly, depends which HP amp is used. Top contenders are Blue Hawaii, Hifi Man amps, some others. Sadly Stax's own amps are weak.

 

[Audio Addict]

Possibly, depends which HP amp is used. Top contenders are Blue Hawaii, Hifi Man amps, some others. Sadly Stax's own amps are weak.

It's none of those. It's the Ray Samuels Audio B-21 Raider. It is a limited run of 20 amplifiers with the electrostatic amplifier just amazing. It also has a 2nd full amplifier for dynamics and planars which is also amazing. I will say I am biased as I own serial number 001 but you can do a search and it has been reviewed by The Absolute Sound and some headphone YouTubers.

I should add that as of this weekend, Ray told me there were 4 available and then it's over. He hand assembled each one as if it was going to be his personal unit.

 

[gleeds]

Keith, the room looks terrific, especially your Stax earphones near the listening position The Stenheims have excellent dynamics, especially at lower listening levels, which many speakers do not.

Enjoy!

 

[Pokey77]

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Fantastic looking room Keith! Hope you are really enjoying it.

 

[dcathro]

Congratulations Keith!

You certainly did your due diligence!

Hope you get many years of satisfaction out of them!

 

[sbnx]

Keith,

Really nice. The Alumine 5-SEX is a great speaker. This size really seems to fit your room well. (Better than the Fyne)

Enjoy!

 

[KeithR]

Hey nice, I spot the Stax SR009, I used to have a pair and loved them! What amp are you using to power those?

Thanks, I use a Stax T8000. I bought an entire setup used, and it’s been great for 3 years. I’d probably like the Blue Hawaii more but it’s a difficult piece to put on a rack size wise and I don’t feel the need to spend more. The Stax also allows me to use my Nagra as a preamp/remote control.

 

[KeithR]

Congrats on getting these.
I heard the Ultime Ref 2s very recently, and was totally bowled over by them.
So I can fully understand your enthusiasm for the brand.

The Ultime 2 is the best dynamic driver system I’ve heard (see my review a few months ago). It won’t fit in my room nor budget and is a big reason I went with the pricy SX version of the 5.