Best setup for listening to opera at home and at office? Stax opinion? Ultimate Ears?

Your listening tastes are similar to mine, although I do have a mix of jazz/rock/pop and folk. Opera in particular needs speed to accurately show vocal timbre and dynamics, because opera and much classical have very wide dynamic ranges, something most rock/pop music lacks.

Stax electrostatics are very good with voices, I have never heard anything close to accurate timbre with dynamic phones, which comes close to the live performance sound and almost any Stax phone provides this and the articulation needed to decipher the words in choral passages.

I would suggest getting as big an amp as you can afford to drive them, irrespective of which Stax headphones you get. They are fairly hard to drive and if there is not enough voltage swing to drive them you lose something on the dynamics. Still I have been happy enough with a lower power Stax amp at work (an older SRM-3, comparable to the 313.) I use the top-of-the line transistor amp at home, the 717, now I believe 727.

There are now a range of after-market amps to drive Stax, starting about 1K and going up to I believe 6K. Most seem to have good reports but obviously skew the budget.

As regards the headphones, obviously the Omega II is the top of the line. But at 5 times the price of a 404, I personally cannot justify getting them. It is criticized as dark sounding, i.e. rolled off treble and hard to drive, i.e. reduced dynamics.

I am personally very happy with the 404 with a few tweaks. It almost certainly will give better dynamics than the Omega on the same amp. It is criticized for a somewhat harsh and excessive treble although I have found that my last tweak, Silclear contact enhancer, pretty much ended that problem and I think properly tweaked they are an incredible bargain at about $440.00 from Japan.

I am not familiar with the ultimate ears. I am not a fan of dynamics but I do like earbuds and IEM's better than most over-the-ear dynamics, because some of them do seem faster (like electrostatics), but I have not heard one that I would swap for a 404. They are obviously useful in noisey situations.

Their main problem as a primary phone, aside from a possible lack of speed, is the constricted, in-the-ear soundstage of an IEM, compared to an over-the-ear system.

Probably the best Stax for externailization is the Stax Sigma. It is no longer made but can be had second hand and can be moded up. I took an old Sigma and replaced the drivers and cables with 404 parts.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...ight=sigma+404

The only other person I know, who has tried this is John Buchannan, who has said he prefers it to the Omega.

As regards the office, I can't see you being happy with a high definition system from an Ipod. I would be concerned that it would simply expose the limits of Ipod sound. Maybe you would prefer a lower definition system for that purpose so that it would hide the deficiencies.

You might want to listen to the SR001Mk2, portable Stax, amp and phones can be obtained for about $250.00 form Japan. It has good dynamics, probably because its diaphragm is small and close to the eardrum. Its litte portable amp is surprisingly good even run off 2 AA cells. With an outboard 4.5 volt dc supply it gives even better dynamics. Its main deficiency is a rolled off treble, but the some of the big Stax phones have that too, i.e. Omega, and Sigma. I suspect this will help the somewhat harsh Ipod sound however. Even if you move up to something better, you will still have a good portable system.

Hi guys-first post but a long term lurker. edstrelow,could you tell us about your 404 mods, or put up a link if you've already done that? I have a 303 and I'm interested in any mods anyone may have.

I saw there is a barely used pair of SR001Mk2 in the for sale forum for $165

I inserted the link in my first post, but here it is again.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...ight=sigma+404

if you are interested in an OII, check audiogon. there is an OII system for $2300 and an OII + Woo GES for $3000.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ull&1191632157

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....wek&1190881164