[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beagle Just kidding, all headphones are great when people love listening to music through them.

do you really think a $10 would give you much pleasure?

 

[boodi]

I'm probably going to try some stax.
Do you stax owner adivce me the the base model to start with or there's another model i should get for definitely best price/performance ratio ?

 

[Nak Man]

Even old beat up lambda nova basic (pre 2020) was good enough to make my 595 very uncomfortable.

However, extensive listening revealed that dynamic 595 still have their own strength, not to mention that they can be plugged just about anywhere (well, only electronics =).

I read and and was told to avoid old staxes with electret drivers as they lose their 'charge' with time. Based on that you'd probably better off looking for model with amps or electrostat driver. 2020s would be the entry level and many said the sweet spot of price performance is on 3030s.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tourmaline do you really think a $10 would give you much pleasure?

10 bucks may lol. When I was a kid i used crappy stock walkman cans that are worth negative ten bucks - but i loved that music!

 

[dknightd]

Beagle, congrats on your new 'phones (I don't think we can really call them cans...). Sorry about you're wallet.
My only concern is you traded using "top of the line" dynamic 'phones for bottom of the line electrostats. You know one day you'll have to upgrade them. Again, sorry for your wallet...

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaZZ As stated, it's not really annoying and it's not brightness. It's a typical flavor, heard with all electrostatics so far and with different gear. I have speculated about its cause earlier. I think it's the pressure-chamber effect from the stator grids: the accelerated air gives high frequencies a «kick» and a metallic shimmer -- independent of the final sonic balance.

I think you are right. No really, I believe you've hit it dead on. There is this added shimmer effect to everything you play through them. I notice nothing ever sounds dull through these Stax. Took me a while huh?

Well that's it then. These are colored and inaccurate. Yes, nothing is actually accurate but this discovery, combined with the aforementioned cheap plastic wobbly construction and the bit of plastic credit card honk in the upper midrange, forces me to put the Stax on the block. I shall trade 'em in. Call me Lou if you want to. Such is life.

Moral: just when you think you are happy, you discover you are happy for the wrong reasons.

 

[shplorgh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beagle I think you are right. No really, I believe you've hit it dead on. There is this added shimmer effect to everything you play through them. I notice nothing ever sounds dull through these Stax. Took me a while huh? Well that's it then. These are colored and inaccurate. Yes, nothing is actually accurate but this discovery, combined with the aforementioned cheap plastic wobbly construction and the bit of plastic credit card honk in the upper midrange, forces me to put the Stax on the block. I shall trade 'em in. Call me Lou if you want to. Such is life. Moral: just when you think you are happy, you discover you are happy for the wrong reasons.

Year old thread revival ftw?

 

[aerius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi I'm probably going to try some stax. Do you stax owner adivce me the the base model to start with or there's another model i should get for definitely best price/performance ratio ?

I am not a Stax owner, but I've heard them quite a bit at meets & stores. I think the sweet spot is either the 3030 system or the SR-404 headphone with the 313 amp. The 2020 Basic system to me is a little too basic, it gives a teaser of the Stax experience, but as I mentioned in a post way back on page 1 it doesn't agree with female vocals that well.

 

[catscratch]

Actually... after owning the SR-404/SRM-313 for a long time, I do have to agree with Jazz - there is this coloration. There is also a tonal imbalance in this combo - the midbass and lower midrange sounds recessed while the upper midrange and lower treble sound too pronounced.

Note: this next bit is all hearsay! I don't have any actual experience with these combos!

I don't recall seeing these kinds of sentiments about the SR-Lambda Pro/SRM-1 Mk II combo, and I have been told that pairing the SR-404 with the SRM-717 amp eliminates a lot of this tonal imbalance; this makes sense in the light of the fact that the SRM-717 has a more pronounced midbass/lower midrange and a softer high end than the SRM-313 or even the KGSS. Supposedly.

So, assuming these observations are valid - I do believe that a) a lot of the fault for the above tonal imbalances rest with the SRM-313 amp, and b) the synergy between the SR-404 and SRM-313 is not the best. I think that an amp with a "tubey" sound signature would fit the SR-404, and similarly the SR-303 and SR-202 much better than the SRM-313.

I would, of course, answer a lot of these questions first hand if Peter McAlister would, of course, ship my amp sometime this year. Supposedly he did, but it's been 2 weeks and I've seen no sight of it. What the hell is going on?!?

 

[trbl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by catscratch Actually... after owning the SR-404/SRM-313 for a long time, I do have to agree with Jazz - there is this coloration. There is also a tonal imbalance in this combo - the midbass and lower midrange sounds recessed while the upper midrange and lower treble sound too pronounced. Note: this next bit is all hearsay! I don't have any actual experience with these combos!

Lambdas both new and 20-odd years old ship with a typical frequency response plot. Like all such plots, they tend to say more about the methods of the measurement than the headphones being measured. But the plots do show a smooth rise in response with the high end being accentuated by a few dB. The newer Lambdas show this starting at a lower frequency (below 1 kHz) and to a slightly greater degree. The older Lambdas show the rise a bit past 1 kHz. As such measurements go the curves are still pretty smooth, though the high frequencies are lumpier than the ruler-flat low end. Some of the high end bumps may be due to the manner of measurement, but some are probably real. In any event probably both the plots and also the headphones themselves are smoother than many dynamic headphones.

So I think the Lambdas have a modestly exaggerated high end, but not to the same extent as say the Sony SA5000's. The overall smoothness makes the headphones sound airy rather than annoying bright or shrill. All headphones have colorations, and the Lambda's seem to have a minimal negative impact. With some kinds of music, the additional emphasis may be welcome. The Lambdas make a very good try at perfection in an imperfect world.

 

[NotaLefty]

Reviving an old thread here...

10 years later, do people still hold the same opinion that a basic Stax system (2020, 2170) is better than an HD650?

 

[conquerator2]

Thread revival
Heya,
Any idea about the differences between the 212 and 252?
Cheers!