The Stax thread - Page 20  

Just buy some 4070's.

i wish!

Hey Jahn , how do like spinning vinyl through your STAX setup ?

don't shoot me, but i haven't done that yet uh, it sounds good thru the HP2s tho!

O.K. I wont this time . But you really should try it and let us know what you think.

Errr...no. I wouldn't recommend it. 404's need at least 100 hours break-in - 300 hours preferable. Listen to them right out of the box (especially if that 313 is also new) and you'll (probably) hate them.

I'm warning you!

I thought he bought the 404s used? Or does the headphone need 100 hours of break-in per head.

The 404's are like new and have ~6 hours on them. I'm not such a believer of burn-in that it'll drastically change the sound.

404 313

the sony 5000 was my favorite can until the 404 came my way. you will hear all the detail of the 5000 without the harshness. The 313 will sound a little etched in the treble but will smooth a little with breakin. The 313 is able to drive the 404 to very high levels so watch your ears. Since i also had the mcalister amp i dont listen to the 313 very much. The mcalister adds more clarity and volumn in the bass and makes the 404s really perform with more resolution and separation in the treble without being harsh. The mcalister amp cannot drive the 404 as loud as the 313. If you turn up the mcalister to much, you will hear clipping and distortion. I think most people would find it has ample volume though.

Set up your 313, plug in the 404's and turn on your source. Listen for all of exactly 40 seconds, to your very favorite, burned-into-your-skull reference material.

Then...put them down. Walk away and let them play for 200 hours.

Yeah, I know I know (you want to listen! )...but that's why people do not believe in "burn in". They allow themselves to get acclimated to the sound due to the fact that they are listening to it while it is changing.

Come back after 200 hours. Listen again.

Huge difference.

Not all items have a large amount of burn-in, not all burn-ins are noticeable and not all burn-ins matter much to the end user.

The Stax 404's are not in that class. They definitely have a sound change after burn in, and hopefully you will like them better after it all (I'll be blunt - "burn in" does not guarantee that a much-hated item will all of a sudden become "wonderful!". It's all in the eye of the beholder).

Oh! And congrats on the score - low hour 404's and the 313 combo. Enjoy!

HA!

Sell the sister, use the money to get a T2! See how things work out?

Lambdas do indeed "leak" tremendously - they are true dipoles. That, also, brings up a good point to other Stax listeners - head seal. If you do not have your Lambdas located on your head correctly they will not seal properly against your skin, and it changes the sound (Better? Worse? Hmmm...you'll have to decide that one).

Make sure your headband is properly adjusted and resting properly on the top of your head as well (it is rather like O2's in that manner but the entire can gets moved around rather than just the pads)

I'm NOT talking about charge up time

Obviously the sound will change after they are fully charged up (Which should take less than an hour from what I've read). I doubt there'd be such a huge difference between 2 units, fully charged, one with ~10 hours and the other with ~200 hours.

I'm sorry to rain on Snake's 404 Burn-In Parade but there is NOT a huge difference between the 404 out-of-the-box and the 404 after 300 hours. The weaknesses of the 404 are still the same: the FR irregularities, the suckout, the fine haze and grain.......and keeping a stable reference (SRX-III anyone?) at hand throughout will keep acclimatization issues (getting used to the 404 sonic signature) at bay.

But then I may be wrong. But then I can't be. It's ALL subjective. Which means everybody's equally right...or wrong. I forget which.