The Stax thread (New) - Page 446

Well SRM-1/Mk2 is a "major leap forward in sound quality" compared to SRM-212 to my ears.

Well I just posted a WTB in the For Sale forums, so it's just a matter of time now.

On another note, what's the consensus on the SRD-6SB and the SR-Gamma?

Do you think they would be better than the DT880s and the SOHA in terms of detail, transparency, and musicality?

If you like the Lambda series I would stick with them. The Gamma has a much smaller driver and does not have the deep bass and dynamics as the Lambda series. If you can get them cheep you could try them and sell if you don't like. The SRD is not a amp and would need to be driven by a speaker amplifier of 5-30 watts.

Another nice phone is the Koss ESP-950 wired to use a Stax amp. The Koss amp is a dud, but would do until you get a better amp. The Koss has a beautiful tonal balance and is easy to listen to for hours (like the O2).
I've seen used ESP-950's go for $400-500 with the Koss amp.

After playing for 2 days straight, the Playback 70 is now working well. It's slightly harder to drive than my SR-5. The big problem is very rolled off bass. I'm listening to Jaco Pastorius right now and it sounds like he's playing guitar Can stats be damped like orthos? The mids and highs are nice, but I'd like more bass.

The "lack of bass" (and a little-too-thin overall sound signature) problem I experienced with the 202 has been fixed by changing my source from the EMU-0404 USB to my X-Fi. Makes sense that the 0404 would be leaner in order to better analyze sound, given that it is meant for low-budget recording and mastering. The X-Fi is not as clear- or clean-sounding, but I very much appreciate the warmer sound.

After about five and a half months, the 202 is still, by far, my best and favorite headphone. This is the longest time I've been really happy with a headphone since the K501. All of my other headphones (including the K501) spend most of their time sitting in boxes, rarely unboxed only to be found to be crap in comparison to the 202. Most of them would fare better against the 202 if I had a quality amp, but I am unwilling to risk $300+ when I already have a sound I really like.

Be careful. The SR-202 was my gateway to Omegas and AMTs. You're on a slippery slope. >

I got my 202 in the mail just today! I'm going Macbook --> USB --> Nuforce Icon --> SRD-7. I charged up the 202 on the SRM-212, then plugged it into the transformer box.

In an A/B against my SR-X III, the 202's have a lot to be said for them. As you'd expect, the smaller 'phones sound thin (even with EQ, which I haven't perfected yet) and headphone-y in comparison. I'm finding the 202's to be -extremely- speaker-like in their presentation and soundstage. Very impressive!

With bass EQ, the SR-X bass is tighter and punchier (actually it's amazing how punchy it can get!) and the entire midrange is more transparent -- but you sure don't forget it's a headphone. So far I like the better "speaker illusion" of my new toy. On the other hand, it's a new toy -- of course I like it!

Incidentally, the SR-X sound much better off of the Nuforce than they ever did off of my Pioneer receiver.

EDIT:

The headband plastic seems so fragile! I don't like that much.

Also, the earpads are coming unglued just a little around the edges. What kind of glue should I use to seal them up again? Should I even bother?

EDIT:

Ooooh.... glockenspiel.... ow.

To some degree yes, but you need a lot less material then with the iso's. Stax used a wafer thin sheet of mineral wool to damp the early Lambdas and also a slightly thicker material for the older SR-# and SR-X lines.

That's normal. Don't use any glue. They are held on with two sided tape. I'm sure the seal is fine. Someday you will need to replace the earpads and will be glad you didn't glue them.

Now that I've had my Stax for a few weeks, I've noticed a phenomenon. No matter how loud I turn the volume up, the headphones never distort or become harsh to listen to.

This makes it somewhat difficult to set a proper listening level because, perhaps unconsciously, I used distortion at loud levels as a way to determine safe listening levels when using dynamic headphones.

Did anyone else notice this when transitioning to Stax?

Yes, I noticed a similar phenomenon, except kind of the opposite. With dynamic headphones I sometimes have the desire to turn up the volume on certain songs, especially after listening for a while. I want to get that additional slam but it is a self-defeating exercise. Even though there is a certain amount of energy that comes from listening at loud volumes, the dynamics and details are eventually lost the louder you go.

I've found with Stax that over longer listening sessions I actually start to turn the volume down. I don't find any need to listen at louder levels. In a quiet room, the amount of detail at low volume is amazing.

Once after a meet I got so busy that I didn't have time to set up my Stax rig for a few weeks. When I finally got around to it, I thought something was wrong with my amp because it seemed too "quiet". I guess it was my ears getting used to using dynamic headphones exclusively again. Once my ears were retrained to the Stax sound, I realized the amp was functioning properly and the volume was plenty loud.

Funny you should say that, because I was just thinking it to myself. I do believe that my average listening volume has definitely decreased because the sound is so clear.

I'd like to add that moistening the flange a bit and making it go "inside-out" for half the circumference and then saving this bit for last seems to help tremendously.

Stax even warns about this in the instruction manuals so it's normal

I'll need to try that next time.

I recently purchased a normal bias Lambda without the arc assembly as my first foray into electrostats (it turned out to be normal bias, spritzer). I'm having a serious issue with soundstage; as in it just sounds like two point masses injecting sound into each ear, with a giant hole in the middle. Would getting the arc assembly, and thereby having a tighter fit, fix that problem? I have constructed a makeshift headband.