Stax: SR 002 + Srm 002 and Srm 003 mk2 + Srm 003 impression and appreciation thread - Page 14

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnakChan 

 

That kills the custom tip idea. Out of curiosity how do they sound worse? Kind of interesting of how a seal would impact these open IEMs.

 

Would love to see a pix of the SR-003 plugged into that giant BHSE beast of yours ;-).

 Like these?

FrankenStax?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pspivak 

 Like these?

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

 

 

 

 

Yep, something like that. These are the SR-001's right? I recall seeing something like that with the older Stax IEMs but don't know if it's these particular pictures. Effectively though, that's the idea. Good find.

So... How do the custom tips sound on the 003's?
 

Received the 002's. Thank You Justin.

First the fit: It is true it can be tricky. Be sure to insert the silicon flanges right. At first I over inserted them and they were flushed against the plastic nozzle, which created a poor fit. They are worth it once you fit them properly. Otherwise there is no bass.

Now to the sound: forget about the claustrophobic sound of custom IEM's; or any IEM's for that matter.

The are airy, sound very neutral, and are wonderful for classical and jazz.

Just what I have been looking for portable sound at work.

The Westones will now be for the gym and flying.

If you read it all the way through it's not entirely negative, in fact while critical it is generally positive except for those that are having trouble the amp (squealing issue that seems related to the power supply in the amp). 

Fit is important, but not difficult IMHO.  Once I get them right they disappear for me, which sometimes give the false impression that they are going to fall out.  I think the bass response if good, neutral not boosted.  They do not have a big bass "impact", but where the recording has some low end to show off, they will not disappoint.

If I am hearing much of anything it's a slight peak somewhere in the mids, maybe 800hz-ish... but it's slight and not overwhelming.  They don't do anything offensive, which is good.

For me these are not going to turn into walk around portables, I'm sticking with custom IEMs for that.  They are becoming my full time choice in the office (the limited isolation is about perfect for me in that environment) and I can see me packing them for use on business trips, not while on the move, but after reaching my destination (hotel/remote office).

The main issue is that 'stats are not suited to being made into a portable. They are a good effort, all the same, especially considering a single person is responsible for all their designs, so a radical re-work of their design is not so likely. What I reckon makes them unimpressive is how much better some of the reasonably-priced regular IEMs have become lately.

I agree. The SRS-002 is a niche market. One that fits me nicely :)

Bass is great once you get a good fit. Organ and orchestra's percussions go deep. Nice extension. Its not an 009, but you can't mistake its Stax heritage. 

IEM's have more body to their bass but their sound is too constricted for me to enjoy them much. The sound stage of the 002's beats any IEM hands down.

For rock, the 002 bass does not have the tactile feel IEM's provide.

Agree with shipsut's comments. Nothing else beats them for the office. (IMHO)

Is anyone listening using a DC power supply?  I am using quite a few batteries and want to try the power supply or some rechargeables.  At least until I finish the polymer battery installation mod.

I may just bring the SRM252A into the office and use that once I get the cable with a pro connection.

I've had my 003MK2/SRM-252S for 3 days now (thanks Justin!) and i thought i'd share my experience thus far. My reference headphones include HD-800 with DHC complements cable (balanced), LCD-3 with Q-cables (balanced), D7000 with APS v3 (balanced) and single ended Edition 8. IEM-wise i own the IE-8, etymotics ER-4/HF2. I must also stress this is my first experience with electrostatics in general. Heck i bought this as a bit of an experiment, with the thought of eventually going to a 009/BHSE if i like the sound.

The rest of the system are as follows:

audirvana plus/puremusic/bitperfect running on a dedicated 13' MBP => audiophileo 1 with purepower => audio-gd reference 7 => audio-gd phoenix or custom built 4 channel M3, all plugged into a monster power conditioner (HDP 1000 powercenter)(yes... monster... don't judge me! ...when i build my next house i'll have a dedicated circuit just for audio. when that happens i'll 'graduate' to regenerators as well as better power cables than these hospital ones).

Looks:

I can't help but feel a sense of deja-vu when i look at these. I'm reminded of those cheap headphones i used to plug into my walkmans back in the 80s (yes... casettes... ask your parents if you don't know what these are kids =P ). The headband feels a bit on the flimsy side although i'm sure they'll last me quite a while given my OCD. It's essentially 2 pieces of molded plastic on the ends of a thin band of metal. Fortunately the plastic bits aren't prone to creaks etc. The cable is extremely light and again i wonder if they will be able to withstand abuse.

As for the amp, nothing special there; smooth edges, 4 rubber feet at the bottom for protection, black and silver in color, fits right in with the rest of my gear.

Comfort:

I agree with you guys that with the headband attached it's a lot less comfortable as you definitely feel the 003s digging into your ears. I've tried to bend the headband ever so gently but the result is still the same. But it IS possible that i've been too gentle while bending. Without the headband though these things are extremely comfortable! Due to the plastic construction and the light-weight cord i can barely feel their presence. I've ditched the stock tips because 1) they're like tiny washers and don't really do anything and 2) every single time i took the 003s off they'd flip inside-out. I have therefore been using these with the single-flange tips from my IE8 which i've found more comfortable, seal better, and won't budge if i remove the 003s from my head. 

One thing that's been niggling at me though, every single time i insert/adjust these the drivers gives this "squishy" sound... does anyone know if this will damage the drivers in the long run?

Sound quality:

how many of you skipped right to this paragraph?? ;)

I dunno whether it's the amp or the earphones that needed burning in but man was i disappointed that first afternoon! My first impression was: very mid-centric, to the point where treble/bass extension and soundstage seems to suffer slightly, eg, muffled! Going back and forth between these and the HD800 was like going from a small recording studio to a large concert hall. Heck even the LCD-3 had a wider soundstage. I was starting to think to myself "well that's a few hundred dollars down the drain... you really SHOULD stop reading head-fi.."

Nonetheless i thought i'll just let it sit and burn-in (with the help of a burn-in CD of course... i've got the one from STS) for a day or 2.... especially given that this is head-fi so invariably someone would come along and tell me off for giving a negative impression without first burning in the equipment =P

Last night i tried these again and i have to say my doubts are now fading. The mids have certainly settled right down and was rendered really well, extension was a lot better, including the bass. While it's not the tactile type of bass i'm accustomed to I still quite like it. It doesn't extend as far down as the HD800 or LCD-3, and this is masked ever so slightly with a slight mid-bass hump. However, this still works for the majority of music i've thrown at it so far, including some EDM. Treble extension is there as well but overall i'd say it's polite, ie quite balanced and doesn't draw attention to itself or give the false impression of being hyper-detailed. Soundstage was very expansive in a way that only full-sized headphones can manage. Detail retrieval was top notch... is this why people go gaga over electrostatics?? Overall i'm quite please with the SQ... if i had to sum it up in one word i'd say "crystalline."  Although, i have to stress, i haven't had any exposure to flagship CIEMs like JH13/16, UERM etc etc so i don't know what the best BAs are capable of these days.

I must also add, these sound just as good at low volumes! I therefore think these are the perfect earphones for me when i'm trying to get some work done at my desk.

Conclusion:

overall i'm quite happy with the purchase. SQ is quite enjoyable and the fact that these do the disappearing-trick so well was for me the icing on the cake. Would i recommend this to friends however, i'd say it depends. These don't really wow you in any way so i probably won't recommend it to those just starting out on their head-fi journey for fear that they interpret things as being "boring" and loose interest shortly after. However, the fact that these do so many things well, comes in a comfortable form-factor that 1) lets you hear whats around you and 2) won't mess up your hair (.... yes if i'm heading out the door later on i usually won't use my full-sized headphones... gimme whatever label you want... i've probably heard them all..), AND provides a different perspective on "audio-nirvana" certainly appeals to me a fair bit. I would therefore recommend these to anyone else who values these attributes.

PS. apologies all... this is all rather rushed as i've got an extremely busy month ahead of me

PPS. Justin.... have you had a chance to listen to these driven by a BHSE yet? i'm sure the rest of head-fi would be just as eager as i am to hear your impressions

I dont see how electrostats would benefit from burn in.

As fas as batteries, went to Lowes and bought a cheap charger with 2 batteries for 19.00 and works pretty well.

Will buy one just to keep at the office.