STAX Announce SR-X9000 Earspeakers

Electrostatic headphone juggernaut STAX has finally unveiled a new earspeaker for the most devout audiophiles. The new SR-X9000 is a flagship model to replace the SR-009 with a newly developed four-layered electrode “MILER-3.”  This new metal mesh reduces air resistance and reflection for higher transparency. Its diaphragm is a super-thin plastic film reducing the weight significantly, and increasing transient response and depth.

Features

• Sound element with newly developed third-generation fixed electrodes (MLER-3);
  The fixed electrode is extremely thin and the cross-section of the electrode is round-shaped, so the air resistance and reflection are reduced and the sound transparency is improved. Thin electrodes are poor in rigidity and metal-mesh electrodes vibrate. These factors may make sound unclear. SR-X9000 is the culmination of STAX technology. SR-X9000 is equipped with the fixed electrode “MLER-3”, for which we further evolved the multi-layer structure, a feature of the fixed electrodes for the SR-009. One of the characteristic materials of MLER-3 is metal-mesh. This is the ideal material for an electrostatic fixed electrode. For reducing vibration of mesh to the minimum, an etching electrode and a metal-mesh electrode are united by diffused junction (thermocompression bonding). This technology realizes natural sound. Moreover, gold plating reduces the electrical resistance of electrodes and improves
  clear sound.
• Ultra-thin film diaphragm;
  SR-X9000 is equipped with an ultra-thin film diaphragm made of super engineering plastic to improve the linearity of the sound. Now you can enjoy the high linearity bass and clear resonance.
• Genuine leather ear pads;
  The main reason to use genuine leather (sheepskin) is breathability and softness which improves fitting comfort. But the leather also improves the “vividness” and “dignity” of sound. (Unlike artificial leather, wrinkles or gloss of genuine leather differs depending on the used part. For this reason, the performance is not affected even if the surface of the right and left ear pads look a little different.)
• Changeable cables;
  Cables can be detached from the earspeakers. If higher quality cables will be developed in the future, cables can be easily changed.
  SR-X9000 includes 2 cables (2.5m cable and 1.5m cable). Choose cables according to your style. The material of the cables is silver-coated 6N (99.9999%) OFC parallel 6-strand, low-capacity wide structure.
• Newly developed arc assembly (headband) and asymmetry case holder;
  The arc assembly is made of stainless steel thin plate richly. So the arc assembly is more flexible and tough than ever. The cable outlets are positioned slightly forward to make the earspeakers fit better.
  The height of the head pad can be adjusted by the newly developed slider parts with a 10-step clicking system. This system enables the earspeakers for the best fit. Once you adjust, you can always keep the best position. Re-adjustment is not required for each listening. The head pad softens the pressure to your ears to enable you to enjoy listening to music comfortably for a long time.
• Enclosure made of tough machined aluminum;
  The sound element is firmly fixed to the enclosure. This improvement makes sound clearer. Furthermore, the depth of the enclosure is reduced to a minimum. The air from the sound element flows more smoothly.

Specs

• Type:push-pull electrostatic large circular sound element, open-air type enclosure
• Electrode:MLER-3
• Frequency response:5 – 42,000Hz
• Electrostatic capacitance:110pF (including cable)
• Impedance:145kΩ (including cable, at 10kHz)
• Sound pressure sensitivity:100dB / input 100Vr.m.s. / 1kHz
• Bias voltage: DC580V
• Right/left channel indication: Golden solid line (left) and dotted line (right) on the cable
• Earpad: Genuine leather (skin touching portion), high-quality artificial leather (surrounding portion)
• Cable: Silver-coated 6N (99.9999%) OFC parallel 6-strand, low-capacity special wide cable, 2.5m、1.5m
• Weight:432g (without cable)

You can pre-order the STAX SR-X9000 for $6,200 here.