Having never heard a electrostat headphone, is the sond sig 'different' in the same way sennheiser is 'different' then grado. I have a pair of HD650s, and SR-225s. I love the grados and am indifferent to the senns, but dont want to drop 700 on a RS-1 upgrade. Will a sub 200$ stat fill the gap? Are there different sound sigs on different Stax headphones?
Yes, the sound signature is different, but the presentation of the sound is different as well. It's hard to describe - you sorta have to have heard a planar driver to understand it.
This looks interesting but I wonder if it makes sense for me to buy from the US since I live in Germany. There would be pretty high shipping+insurance* costs and customs.
So I'm focused on German eBay at the moment but perhaps I should ask in the FS threads how much shipping cost there would be. But I don't want to rush anyway.
Maybe with the exchange rate it would still be cheaper to buy that rig from the US, but yes there are dozens of Stax auctions on ebay.de right now, more than all the ones on ebay.com in the last month put together. However, I'm sure there are also people in the US reading this thread.
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Maybe with the exchange rate it would still be cheaper to buy that rig from the US, but yes there are dozens of Stax auctions on ebay.de right now, more than all the ones on ebay.com in the last month put together. However, I'm sure there are also people in the US reading this thread.
I did not see any good deals amongst all these plentiful actions
New models you mean? Or buying new? I got my 2020 setup for about £200. Sold for similar. Buying new you're still limited to the SR-001 at that budget.
I did not see any good deals amongst all these plentiful actions
exactly-- broader selection, greater chance of a lucky ebay deal, but the inexorable force of the exchange rate makes it unlikely to get almost any vintage stax in Germany as cheap as you can get it here.
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I would say out of the vintage Stax that I've owned, the SR-5NB (gold edition) are way ahead of the SR-3, and can beat an HD600 or HD650 for $200 including energizer. They have good bass, warm mids, and sparkly treble, without funny resonances or peaks, and seem very accurate. I had Gamma Pros and thought they were great, but they seemed a little rolled off at the low and high end of the frequency spectrum, and the SR-5NB (gold edition) have more extension (maybe because of the ear-cups design or something).
I actually have a set for myself and a set for my son, and each time I was able to do it for under $200, although I have seen the SR-5NB go for $200 without energizer here and on eBay, but it should still be doable for under $250. This sounds better to me than a stock SR-001 Mk2 which is the same price, and is more comfortable to boot.
As another comparison of the sound, when the SR-5NB and SR-003 are both driven by my SRM-1 MK2 (high and normal bias), they sound VERY similar to each other, which is to say great. The only way to get a SR-001 to sound that good is to do the "AudioCats" mod to one, which could cost $80 in parts and about 4-6 hours in labor - I have a stock one and modded one, so I know it sounds very close after the mods.
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Originally Posted by Sovkiller
There is no doubt that getting older is mandatory, but to mature remains still optional...
LarryHead-Fi Feedback MAIN RIG: Marantz CD5001 > Synergistic Research Coax > Apogee mini-DAC with Sigma 11 PSU > Neutrik XLR out > Jensen Transformers XLR-RCA > Anti-cables RCA > Stax SRM-1 Mk2 pro (or HEV70) > Sennheiser HE60 >>> or SRM-1 Mk2 Pro (or HEV70) RCA pass-thru > Silver plated copper IC > Woo Audio Maxxed WA6 w/ GZ34 Bugle Boy > Grado RS-1 with APS V3 cable. BEDSIDE RIG: Sony D-303 or iRiver H140 > Sysconcept.ca optical > HeadRoom Micro DAC > ALO cryo silver x mini-mini > TTVJ portable millet hybrid tube amp > Grado HF-1 with Headcoverage woodies and APS V3 cable >>> or DV336i > Edition 9 with APS V3 cable. BASEMENT RIG: iBook > USB PICO > Denon D2000 APS V2 cable. PORTABLE RIG: iMod 80gb 5.5G > barqy silver in silk LOD > ALO portable V-Cap dock > barqy silver in silk mini-mini > RSA Predator > Livewires T1. LAPTOP RIG: MacBook > USB iBasso D2 > Edition 9 with APS V3 cable. CO regional meet 7/26/08
I scored a SR-Gamma and a SRD-6/SB on ebay earlier this year for about $150, and I think they sound awesome. They may not have the soundstage of my SR-202's and the Gammas are a bit more fatiguing to listen to, but they still beat out my SR-202's in terms of sheer detail.
I think the Gammas are a great way to get into Stax, and as long as you do a little waiting I am sure you can pick up a pair of vintage Stax and an energizer for less than $200.
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Headphones - STAX SR-202, STAX SR-Gamma, Yuin PK2, Koss PortaPro
Sources - Meizu M6 4GB, Apple iPod 1G 10GB, Microsoft Zune 30GB, M-Audio Revolution 7.1, NAD 5425 CD Player, NAD 4020 FM Tuner, Dual 1229 Auto-TT
Amps - Sony TA-AX500, Hitachi SR-804, STAX SRM-252A, STAX SRD-6/SB, Cmoy
Speakers - Homemade Pyramid Things, Sansui S-930
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