The Stax thread (New)

[Victor Chew]

Originally Posted by ironman64

A random question for Stax owners: anyone interested in picking up a pair of Lambda Nova Signatures or SR-006t?

Anyone interested simply drop me a line!

I just sent you a PM for both the items.

[treebug]

Just purchased the SRM 007t system. Can somebody recommend a top quality interconnect?

[krmathis]

Originally Posted by treebug

Just purchased the SRM 007t system. Can somebody recommend a top quality interconnect?

Congratulations! The SR-007 system is really top notch.


Regarding interconnect.
I have great experience with the Ridge Street Audio Designs Poiema!!!. Very well built and great sounding silver interconnect.

Or provide us with some more information. Like:
* Budget?
* Balanced (XLR) or unbalanced (RCA)?
* ...

[edstrelow]

Originally Posted by treebug

Just purchased the SRM 007t system. Can somebody recommend a top quality interconnect?

I am very pleased with these silver interconnects with the silver bullet connectors. This is a very good price for them. They beat pants off my old Monster cables which cost about 80% of these.

Silver Resolution

[WilCox]

Looking for some help from the STAX experts.

I am assuming that if I move the Brown->Green jumper to Blue->Purple and move the white (top left) wire from Brown to Purple, then I will have correctly configured my SRM-007tA for 117V.



Is this correct? Thanks!

[audiod]

The weather in Detroit has been rainy for the last three days, and the remnants of hurricane Ike is going to dump more rain tonight. What a perfect time to listen to headphones! With so much time I started to compare some of my Lambda’s. After about a hour I decided to do a controlled comparison of my electrostatics.

I took 1 minute sound bites from different cuts off different CD’s and recorded them to my Alesis Masterlink ML-9600. I also took some cuts off of vinyl and recorded at 24/96 on the Masterlink. I can access any cut instantly.

For vocals I used Mary Black, Radka Tonif, Kellye Grey, Kenny Rankin and Jose Carreras.

Classical was Ravel, Ibert & Tchaikovsky on Mercury, Rimksy-Korsokov on Decca.

Pop/Rock was The Police, Cat Stevens, Led Zeppelin and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

Jazz was Pat Metheny, Brian Hughes, LA4 and Jazz at the Pawnshop.

The phones in the comparison were the SR-Lambda, Lambda Pro, Lambda Nova Signature, SR-202, SR-404, O2mk1, and Koss ESP-950. I also have SR-XmkIII, SR-XmkIII Pro, SR-5, O2mk2 and SR-003 but I did not include them because they all had a shortcoming. All the phones except the O2 were driven by my 007t. The O2 was driven by my 717. All the vintage Stax phones have new earpads. The Masterlink was connected to my Audible Illusions M3a driving my Stax amps. All interconnect was by Audioquest. The electronics were left on during the test.

I was judging them for musicality, tonal balance, low level detail, dynamics, extension and imaging. I did not compare that much for soundstage. As much as I love listening to headphones if I want soundstaging I listen to my loudspeakers.

Because the O2 is considerably better than the others in almost all categories I used them as my reference.

Let’s Start…

SR-Lambda. The original Lambda is still one of my favorites and did well in this comparo. They have a even tonal balance, beautiful midrange (just a little forward), The highs are detailed but not the best of the bunch. Just a little of the Lambda glare. The bass is nice but not real deep. They do not have the dynamics that the Pro bias phones have but they are close.

Lambda Pro. The Pro has always been a favorite also. The midrange is laidback and a little dark (similar to the O2). The bass is deep deep deep and punchy. The midbass is lean compared to the SR-Lambda. The Lambda glare is the least of the series. Dynamics are good. These phones, the O2 and Koss are the easiest to listen to loud. The Pro has gotten a little tarnished lately in this forum and IMO it is not deserved.

Lambda Nova Signature. This phone sounds very similar to the 202 but with a little less of the Lambda glare. I can see why people like them. They seem to do everything fairly well. Sometimes they sound a little bland. They would probably make a good studio monitor.

SR-202/404. They are the same only different?! The 404 sounds just like the Lambda Nova Signature but with added glare. This is the hardest phone to listen to loud (by far). These have the best low level detail of the Lambda series. The bass is not as deep and punchy as the Lambda Pro but not bad. The 202 did very well and is almost a Lambda Nova clone. They are a steel for the price.

The Koss ESP-950. The Koss loves to play rock loud. The bass is deep (not as deep as the Lambda Pro), midrange is well balanced, dynamics are great, treble is extended but a little polite (by Lambda standards). The one thing that I noticed about them that I never noticed before is that the better Lambda’s are a little more refined. When listening to them with the most natural recordings there is a opaqueness to the timber of instruments. You only can tell when you switch back to a good Lambda or O2. If you listen to mostly pop/rock at high levels this is the one.

The O2mk1. What can I say. They are better in every way. I can see why some people find them dark and unexciting. They only seem dark after listening to the Lambda’s for a while. What I find interesting is that they seem to find the good in bad recordings. It’s like magic! On the other hand the 404 finds the worst in good recordings. They need to be driven by a clean amp with good bandwidth. As good as the 007t is driving all the other phones it is not that well suited for the O2. The 717 is a much better match.

If I was on a desert island and could only have 2 phones it would be the O2 and Lambda Pro.

Here is my order starting with my favorite.

1. O2mk1 (I think that I’m going to sell my mk2 and find a backup mk1)
2. Lambda Pro (I want all Lambda Pro lovers to raise their hand)
3. Koss ESP-950 (I don’t know why this phone does not get more respect)
4. Lambda Nova Signature (there is not much to dislike)
5. SR-Lambda (better than the new phones and was made in the late seventies!)
6. SR-202 (a real bargain)
7. SR-404 (if Stax could get rid of the glare they would be #2)

[Anders]

audiod, thanks for the interesting review that makes it easier to select among alternatives. I agree that O2 Mk1 is i big step up from 404 and also from HE60. It is a pity that 404 has that glare as it is a very good headphone in other aspects. Maybe also too much midbass emphasis but that is much easier to live with and fun sometimes.

[edstrelow]

Originally Posted by audiod

The weather in Detroit has been rainy for the last three days, and the remnants of hurricane Ike is going to dump more rain tonight. What a perfect time to listen to headphones! With so much time I started to compare some of my Lambda’s. After about a hour I decided to do a controlled comparison of my electrostatics.

I took 1 minute sound bites from different cuts off different CD’s and recorded them to my Alesis Masterlink ML-9600. I also took some cuts off of vinyl and recorded at 24/96 on the Masterlink. I can access any cut instantly.

For vocals I used Mary Black, Radka Tonif, Kellye Grey, Kenny Rankin and Jose Carreras.

Classical was Ravel, Ibert & Tchaikovsky on Mercury, Rimksy-Korsokov on Decca.

Pop/Rock was The Police, Cat Stevens, Led Zeppelin and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

Jazz was Pat Metheny, Brian Hughes, LA4 and Jazz at the Pawnshop.

The phones in the comparison were the SR-Lambda, Lambda Pro, Lambda Nova Signature, SR-202, SR-404, O2mk1, and Koss ESP-950. I also have SR-XmkIII, SR-XmkIII Pro, SR-5, O2mk2 and SR-003 but I did not include them because they all had a shortcoming. All the phones except the O2 were driven by my 007t. The O2 was driven by my 717. All the vintage Stax phones have new earpads. The Masterlink was connected to my Audible Illusions M3a driving my Stax amps. All interconnect was by Audioquest. The electronics were left on during the test.

I was judging them for musicality, tonal balance, low level detail, dynamics, extension and imaging. I did not compare that much for soundstage. As much as I love listening to headphones if I want soundstaging I listen to my loudspeakers.

Because the O2 is considerably better than the others in almost all categories I used them as my reference.

Let’s Start…

SR-Lambda. The original Lambda is still one of my favorites and did well in this comparo. They have a even tonal balance, beautiful midrange (just a little forward), The highs are detailed but not the best of the bunch. Just a little of the Lambda glare. The bass is nice but not real deep. They do not have the dynamics that the Pro bias phones have but they are close.

Lambda Pro. The Pro has always been a favorite also. The midrange is laidback and a little dark (similar to the O2). The bass is deep deep deep and punchy. The midbass is lean compared to the SR-Lambda. The Lambda glare is the least of the series. Dynamics are good. These phones, the O2 and Koss are the easiest to listen to loud. The Pro has gotten a little tarnished lately in this forum and IMO it is not deserved.

Lambda Nova Signature. This phone sounds very similar to the 202 but with a little less of the Lambda glare. I can see why people like them. They seem to do everything fairly well. Sometimes they sound a little bland. They would probably make a good studio monitor.

SR-202/404. They are the same only different?! The 404 sounds just like the Lambda Nova Signature but with added glare. This is the hardest phone to listen to loud (by far). These have the best low level detail of the Lambda series. The bass is not as deep and punchy as the Lambda Pro but not bad. The 202 did very well and is almost a Lambda Nova clone. They are a steel for the price.

The Koss ESP-950. The Koss loves to play rock loud. The bass is deep (not as deep as the Lambda Pro), midrange is well balanced, dynamics are great, treble is extended but a little polite (by Lambda standards). The one thing that I noticed about them that I never noticed before is that the better Lambda’s are a little more refined. When listening to them with the most natural recordings there is a opaqueness to the timber of instruments. You only can tell when you switch back to a good Lambda or O2. If you listen to mostly pop/rock at high levels this is the one.

The O2mk1. What can I say. They are better in every way. I can see why some people find them dark and unexciting. They only seem dark after listening to the Lambda’s for a while. What I find interesting is that they seem to find the good in bad recordings. It’s like magic! On the other hand the 404 finds the worst in good recordings. They need to be driven by a clean amp with good bandwidth. As good as the 007t is driving all the other phones it is not that well suited for the O2. The 717 is a much better match.

If I was on a desert island and could only have 2 phones it would be the O2 and Lambda Pro.

Here is my order starting with my favorite.

1. O2mk1 (I think that I’m going to sell my mk2 and find a backup mk1)
2. Lambda Pro (I want all Lambda Pro lovers to raise their hand)
3. Koss ESP-950 (I don’t know why this phone does not get more respect)
4. Lambda Nova Signature (there is not much to dislike)
5. SR-Lambda (better than the new phones and was made in the late seventies!)
6. SR-202 (a real bargain)
7. SR-404 (if Stax could get rid of the glare they would be #2)

Thanks, a good review. I personally do not find the 404 to have a glare problem although they are "forward" sounding, something which works well with classical orchestral music as it allows you to hear the details. They are not as good with some other material especally if the recording is hot (i.e. treblish). I found that its charateristics can be tamed with IC's or my personal favorite Silclear contact enhancer.

I think the 950 isn't as well regarded because its has a somewhat coarse sound and a treble peak that picks up things like tape noise. Otherwise I agree with what you say about it.

I must do a comparison of the 007A , the 404 and the Sigma 404. I tend to agree that the 007's are a cut above everything else.

[Tachikoma]

Originally Posted by treebug

Just purchased the SRM 007t system. Can somebody recommend a top quality interconnect?

If you have a source with a balanced output, try these:
SILVER FOIL XLR CABLES IDEAL FOR AUDIO RESEARCH ETC 1m - eBay (item 170259829149 end time Sep-17-08 11:34:37 PDT)

I really liked them with my SRM-717, plus they have a 30 day money back guarantee so there's no real risk in buying them. The seller is awesome to deal with too.

[ericj]

Originally Posted by edstrelow

I think the 950 isn't as well regarded because its has a somewhat coarse sound and a treble peak that picks up things like tape noise. Otherwise I agree with what you say about it.

I've heard some people say that a lot of the coarseness of the 950 is a matter of the amp that comes with it.

Not hard to build an adapter cable to let it plug into a stax amp or transformer box.

[HeadphoneAddict]

My ESP/950 with APureSound Stax PC-OCC cable are not coarse - they are definitely rocking headphones too.

I agree with much of Audiod's ranking but would I put the Lambda Pro below the SR-Lambda, and I haven't heard the SR-202 or 404. I just had a hard time getting engaged in the music with the missing mids on the Lambda Pro - HOWEVER with EQ adding in about 3 db to the mids I did like the Lambda Pro a lot. Since my CD player is my source 70% of the time, that didn't sit well with me needing EQ on my laptop to enjoy them. I owned them and sold them, then bought another and sold them too.

[brat]

In these threads I've seen many comparisons between different Stax headphones and especially Omega II mk1 and mk2.
I'm curious if anyone can do a comparison of two whole Omega systems - a "new" one (O2mk2 + SRM-727II/A or 007t) vs. an "older" one (O2mk1 + 717 or 006t). I think it would be usefull for all new users. Having in mind that the latter Omega II is developed with the newest generations amps it's fair to give it a try with them. I think it will be interesting to compare the "old" stax top system/sound to the new one.

P.S. Is there still any place to buy a new Omega II mk1?

[brat]

Originally Posted by treebug

Just purchased the SRM 007t system. Can somebody recommend a top quality interconnect?

I've heard some very expensive (high-end ) cables and many pretentious DIY ones but anyone impressed me so much as the carbon interconnects. I think only a headphone listener can appreciate the qualities of the carbon ICs. They give an unnatainable 3D soundstage, instrument definition and separation, a superb linearity in the high frequencies, very delicate details. I repeat - the carbon ICs have qualities which can be appreciated only with headphones. Try them.
I use Van den Hul "the Second" but there are another carbon ICs on the market.

[edstrelow]

Originally Posted by ericj

I've heard some people say that a lot of the coarseness of the 950 is a matter of the amp that comes with it.

Not hard to build an adapter cable to let it plug into a stax amp or transformer box.

The Koss amp is somewhat marginal, but here I am talking about the Koss 950 being run off Stax amps because I am using just such an adapter.

[audiod]

Originally Posted by brat

In these threads I've seen many comparisons between different Stax headphones and especially Omega II mk1 and mk2.
I'm curious if anyone can do a comparison of two whole Omega systems - a "new" one (O2mk2 + SRM-727II/A or 007t) vs. an "older" one (O2mk1 + 717 or 006t). I think it would be usefull for all new users. Having in mind that the latter Omega II is developed with the newest generations amps it's fair to give it a try with them. I think it will be interesting to compare the "old" stax top system/sound to the new one.

P.S. Is there still any place to buy a new Omega II mk1?

I think that Stax wanted to make the new 727II sound like a tube amp but failed. As a result the amp is dull, lifeless and bland. Couple that with the new O2mk2 with its funky midbass and the result is not even close to the O2mk1/717. I have not heard the 007tII but was told that it is very close to the 007t. I love my 007t on the Lambda series, SR-5, SR-X, ESP-950 but not the O2mk1. I think that the 007t is just too underpowered and does not have the extention on the top and bottom needed for the O2.

I have not tried the Birgir mod to the O2mk2 that mostly corrects the bass problem. I still think that the O2mk1 is more transparent in the midrange and top.

I do not understand why Stax can't CLEARLY make products better than their old stuff. I know of more than one dealer that is not happy with their current lineup.

I think that there are plenty of O2mk1 still available new.