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Getting into electrostats - Page 2

post #16 of 60
11/7/08 at 5:46am
Vintage isn't an option?
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post #17 of 60
11/7/08 at 8:44am
Without changing or modding anything, I think the Stax is the way to go. I think it is a well balanced system with the trade-off spread out equally between the phones and amp.

However, as others have pointed out, the Koss may have the potential of a higher level of performance if mated with a Stax amp in the future. I also owned ESP-950's back in the early-mid 90's and ended up selling them due to their colorations, preferring the Stax Lambda Pro's instead. It never occured to me back then to try the Koss with my Stax transformer.
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post #18 of 60
11/7/08 at 9:19am
If you want Stax, either get the O2 or at least the SR-303, since 303 and 404 only differ in their cables. I think the 202 doesn't have a good price/value ratio if you look at the prices for the bigger ones.

Buy an old adapter like the SRD-7 Pro MKII e.g. and later on you could get yourself the O2 without too much hassle.

The new Stax amps are way too expensive in my opinion...
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post #19 of 60
11/7/08 at 3:12pm
My off topic question is, where do I just go get a "SRD-7pro"?... These don't come up for sale that often... and when they do they are gone in hours.

So I don't know if it is really a solution for someone to start out. If they have to search for 6 months to a year for the SRD....

I know that I want one to try out pushing the O2's with a 300B amp... but I have not been able to get one yet.

Cheers,
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post #20 of 60
11/7/08 at 8:15pm
SRD7-Pro and Mk2 transformers are rare as balls. You basically have to get lucky, or watch the market like a hawk, or put up a WTB and take the grossly overpriced offers that you'll get... oh maybe once every 2 months or so. Most people that have them will not sell them for any reason whatsoever, even when they don't really use them.

Even if you do have one, the O2 needs a good speaker amp to shine. Remember, the SRD-7 doesn't have a voice of its own. All it will do is blur the details somewhat and loosen up the bass, since it doesn't have as much juice as it needs to in order to control it. But the rest is up to your amp. And since the O2 is so insanely revealing, then the amp has to be good. If it isn't, you'll know about it instantly.

Ditto for your source. The O2 needs a reference quality source. That isn't to say that you won't enjoy the O2 without one, but you'll hear all of your source's flaws instantly.

So, I don't really think the O2 is a very valid recommendation if you're not looking to sink a lot of money into your rig. When I got mine, I went through several amps and several expensive sources all in a few months just trying to get it to sound right. And, I'm not even sure if I'm done yet.

Can't help on the 202 vs 950 question since I don't really like the new Lambdas much, but also never heard the ESP950. I'd suggest auditioning stuff if you can.
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post #21 of 60
11/8/08 at 4:15am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zuglufttier View Post
If you want Stax, either get the O2 or at least the SR-303, since 303 and 404 only differ in their cables. I think the 202 doesn't have a good price/value ratio if you look at the prices for the bigger ones.

Buy an old adapter like the SRD-7 Pro MKII e.g. and later on you could get yourself the O2 without too much hassle.

The new Stax amps are way too expensive in my opinion...
Ive also read that the 202s dont have the upper mids peak that the 303/404s. Is that true?
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post #22 of 60
11/8/08 at 5:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeymad View Post
My off topic question is, where do I just go get a "SRD-7pro"?... These don't come up for sale that often... and when they do they are gone in hours.
Yeah, its not as simple as "just get an SRD-7 Pro".
Cause as you say they rarely show up for sale, and when they do they sell very fast.

I put an SRD-7 MK2 up for sale in the FS forum in June, and it sold within one hour. ..and the Pro one are even rarer than the MK2 one...
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post #23 of 60
11/8/08 at 11:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by donunus View Post
Ive also read that the 202s dont have the upper mids peak that the 303/404s. Is that true?
I personally never heard the 202. From what I've heard, the 202 seems to be more of a side step if you compare it with the dynamic headphones like DT880, HD650 etc while the 303/404 is a serious step up regarding resolution and some other aspects. I have the SR303 and had HD600 and DT880 to compare. The SR303, in most cases, is simply superior.

But if you're listening to music which heavily relies on bass and impact the normal dynamic phones might be better. It all depends!

I might sell my SR303 with SRD-7 MKII in the future since I mainly listen to electronic music which is way more fun with my W5000 e.g.
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post #24 of 60
11/8/08 at 5:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zuglufttier View Post
I personally never heard the 202. From what I've heard, the 202 seems to be more of a side step if you compare it with the dynamic headphones like DT880, HD650 etc while the 303/404 is a serious step up regarding resolution and some other aspects.
Nope. The SR-202 is better across the board.
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post #25 of 60
11/8/08 at 5:18pm
Thread Starter 
Can you describe them in more detail Duggeh
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post #26 of 60
11/8/08 at 7:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by donunus View Post
Ive also read that the 202s dont have the upper mids peak that the 303/404s. Is that true?
In my opinion that is true and Duggeh is right. I own both SR-404 and SR-202 (sold my SR-303 as it was redundant) and find the 202 to be more neutral and better balanced. It scales well with a better amp but will work well with the SRM-252 as an entry into STAX.

In my opinion, the SRS-2050 system is the best value in the STAX line as far as bang for the buck goes. I still like my SR-007/SRM-007 system better though.
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post #27 of 60
11/8/08 at 7:41pm
Thread Starter 
thats what I wanted to hear. now I keep hearing about how good the old staxes are also like the normal bias lambda... Are the 202s about on par with those?
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post #28 of 60
11/8/08 at 8:10pm
Thread Starter 
Wilcox,
Do you listen to all kinds of music on your 202s
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post #29 of 60
11/9/08 at 1:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by donunus View Post
Wilcox,
Do you listen to all kinds of music on your 202s
A pretty wide range. A lot of blues, rock, classical, and jazz. Everything from Joe Bonamassa, Stevie Ray Vaughan to Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater to Stravinsky, Mahler to Miles Davis, Steely Dan and everything in between.

I don't feel the 202s are genre specific and reproduce all very well.
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post #30 of 60
11/9/08 at 2:14am
Thread Starter 
yeah! welcome stax to my home
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