[antipop]

Originally Posted by DVass13

If you're going to go the Stax route with a dedicated electrostatic Energizer then you'll really only need a streaming DAC for it. The Matrix Audio X Sabre Pro, Brooklyn Bridge, Auralic Altair or Aries, PS Audio DSD, dCS Bartok are all examples of streaming DACs that would pair with the energizer in ascending cost.

Of course the setup would blow away your budget, not be compact, and would leak a lot of noise... so essentially not meet any of your initial requirements. This setup would, however, provide you with some of the best sound available. I've heard the 009s out of a Blue Hawaii out of a Schiit Yggdrasil and that was one of the top setups I've ever heard.

Top hit your original list of requirements I would recommend the Focal Stelia closed back headphones with the Matrix Audio Element X as a Roon capable streaming headphone system that won't leak much sound, be compact in size, and fit near your $5k budget.

The AURALiC seems like exactly what I’m looking for. A streamer and a dad with WiFi. That would just be 2 box then the AURALiC plus the energiser.

Granted this would be slightly above my budget but the number I gave was arbitrary. I wanted to see what I could get at this price point and how much if I go beyond.

I think if I go a “cheaper” route, I’ll end up changing everything in a few years. The overall budget is still less than what some spend on an amp alone.

Originally Posted by enatai252

Sorry I must have have misunderstood. I thought OP selected the 009 S and an energizer. The Bridge was my recommendation as the Roon endpoint to connect to energizer. Would me a great system. Not sure I know of something that is Roon Ready and drives Stax

I am awaiting the arrival of my 009S and Woo 3ES Elite. They will connect to a Vivaldi One in my study

I have the original 009 with a Woo WES with the Rossini. I highly recommend both but there are other energizer options from Stax and others that also sound great

The Mytek piece is a perfect Roon source for these office or bedroom systems. I use them in my three of my distributed sound systems for my homes to give high rez audio throughout home rather than just Spotify. No means something that compares to high quality single room system but the SQ improvement is noticible

I still haven’t decided on an energiser. I haven’t compared any of them so this will be the next step.

I’ll check out the Mytek though it’s more expensive than the AURALiC. Not sure which one would be the best suited.

Originally Posted by Robert_Anderson

I have one that I thought I could use with my old Audio Research D76, but it did not sound good. I think anyone would just do better ordering Stax or similar products direct from you. Woo does make some nice stuff, but it was a big disappointment. The only real competition I think is from Headamp's Blue Hawaii SE. Maybe you could get them from Justin.

How much is the BHSE better than the Stax offering? I’m leaning more toward a SS setup for the bedroom rather than tube though. I saw that Headamp has other offering. Do you know about them?