The Best Audiophile Earphones headphones and Amp

Tonykay 02-05-11: Used units on Audiogon are safe bets. Stax headphones are hard to damage-I've been using mine for about 20 years and they still sound GREAT!

Ditto!

If you want to consider a used pair of Stax's, you should be aware that original Stax replacement earpads can be obtained from Audiocubes2.

The earpads are supplied together with a replacement for the piece of foam that covers the electrostatic element. A couple of years ago I replaced the pads and the foam on my mid-1980's Stax Lambda Pro's, because the foam was disintegrating. They continue to work as new, after 26 years.

Regards,
-- Al

O2Mk.I and BHSE are worth investigating although the wait for the BHSE is approx 1 year.

Theres a pair of HE90 available at eightyfivehundred over at headfi at the momemnt.

Keep in mind that the price you will pay for the 02MK1 and the BHSE will put you right around the price you would pay for the HD800 and RSA B52. With an electrodynamic amp (B52), you have the ability to try a bunch of different phones including the Audeze and Hifiman electrostatic phones that can be used through an electrodynamic amp. With the Stax amp you are limited to exactly that. There is a point on any audiophile journey where you find the quest to get the best sound is infringing on the ability to listen to music. When you get to that point, take the best of what you have heard ACCORDING TO YOUR PERSONAL TASTE and enjoy some music. The best way to start this journey is to go to headfi.org and look for the next CanJam date. At this meeting you will meet the major headphone and headphone amp manufacturers; as well as, be able to listen to people's personal set ups. This may require a plane ticket and a hotel room, but that is a small price to pay for the money you will likely save by making the right choice based on your listening to the equipment and not trusting someone else's assessment. Bring discs that you know so that you can pick out what equipment you like with the recordings you know.

Agree in general about the AVERAGE head-fi poster who is likely to value specific design or parts choices rather than overall implementation, BUT there are several veterans who you can pick out by reading their posts. Comfort is even more important than SQ, cause if they make your head hurt due to the band pressure, or if they make your ears sweat (Stax Pro Lamdas did that to me) it does not matter how good they sound. OTOH, if they are comfortable to you and you don't need sealed cans, a pair of AKG K1000s hooked up to a good 8-10 wpc integrated amp is, IMO, pretty darn hard to beat. As long as you have a thick skin and don't mind being mocked by your entire family... they are VERY odd looking. But they sound fantastic and actually have a soundstage.