The Stax Thread III
Feb 11, 2019 at 5:48 PM Post #17,131 of 26,473
Well damn there goes more of my money and here comes a more angry wife haha.

I think I will probably just stick with the iesl for a while and get used to the sound of stats and down the road upgrade the amp. But how signigicant would you say the jump is from the L700 to the 009? Is it going to be a lot more detail or slightly more? I have heard some say they prefer the sound of the L700 to the 009 but maybe detail is not as important to them. What do you think?

You set up have plenty of power and it's sufficient to drive any HP or eSTAT's,the only reason I passed on iCan is tonality ,few mention iCAN having similar tonality no matter the source ,it's not IESL which is very natural with the pinch of dark
I would suggest different amp ,you want at list 6v~10V per channel combined (amp/dac with pre-amp or amp alone ) ,L700's should scale very nicely
 
Feb 11, 2019 at 5:49 PM Post #17,132 of 26,473
I'm not sure where you read that from I'm got 2 SR-007 Mk1, One black and brown onw (earlier released 1998 Carbon box) They both sound slightly different let alone comparing it to the 009.
Also the 009 sound slightly different to the 009BK I have.
In PointyFox's case I believe he is talking about the 007A from 2015 onward. The so called "2.9". Which is brighter; more forward than previous 007s. Sits somewhere tonally between 009 and 007mk1 is the general consensus. Also noted to be more dynamic and less soft compared to the original mk1. Mafia claims the 2.9 is the best headphone STAX has ever made so take that how you will.


EDIT: Best with the pretty much essential port mod ***
Stock I think Mafia would prefer one of the Mk1 revisions.
 
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Feb 11, 2019 at 5:51 PM Post #17,133 of 26,473
I appreciate all the input guys. I wish I lived in an area where I could find a local shop to test these things out or where I lived close enough to be able to actually attend a canjam which I have wanted to do since I heard about the, but for me that would require a plane flight and a hotel stay which would cost a good bit of money that I could just put toward the headphones. Florida is a weird place I have yet to meet a single person who didn't freak out when I told them I owned headphones in the $4k range and that was before they knew about the $5500 ifi pro stack. These people think your out of your mind if you buy a $300 pair of beats or bose. Granted I think they are crazy too cause those cans suck. Anyone have any recommendations for where the best place to get a good deal on a new pair of 009's is?
 
Feb 11, 2019 at 5:53 PM Post #17,134 of 26,473
You set up have plenty of power and it's sufficient to drive any HP or eSTAT's,the only reason I passed on iCan is tonality ,few mention iCAN having similar tonality no matter the source ,it's not IESL which is very natural with the pinch of dark
I would suggest different amp ,you want at list 6v~10V per channel combined (amp/dac with pre-amp or amp alone ) ,L700's should scale very nicely
thanks man I appreciate the info.
 
Feb 11, 2019 at 11:26 PM Post #17,135 of 26,473
My "2.9" version wasn't that great before the port mod. The bass wasn't really there and they sounded a lot like regular dynamic headphones. With the port mod though, way better, like better than my $7000 dynamic headphone setup.
 
Feb 11, 2019 at 11:35 PM Post #17,136 of 26,473
^^ That is the first time i have seen a take like that on the 2.9

To my ears the 2.9 is a very good headphone stock, the normal qualities associated with stats. I found the port mod made the response more even from the lower mid range and down, but the bass was always there and in quantity.
 
Feb 11, 2019 at 11:37 PM Post #17,137 of 26,473
I think my hearing isn't quite normal. I seem to be not as able to hear super low frequencies as well as other people. Either that or people exaggerate.
 
Feb 12, 2019 at 1:30 AM Post #17,138 of 26,473
I think my hearing isn't quite normal. I seem to be not as able to hear super low frequencies as well as other people. Either that or people exaggerate.

Use a test tone generator to test how good your hearing is. There's quite a good one here. If you have any dead spots or imbalances in your hearing this will make them obvious. Just watch the volume as test tones can get loud.
 
Feb 12, 2019 at 9:53 AM Post #17,139 of 26,473
Use a test tone generator to test how good your hearing is. There's quite a good one here. If you have any dead spots or imbalances in your hearing this will make them obvious. Just watch the volume as test tones can get loud.
No dead zones or anything like that. Once it reaches around 30 Hz, the volume drops off rapidly down to almost inaudible around 25 Hz, while other people claim to hear down to 10 Hz or so at normal listening levels.
 
Feb 12, 2019 at 3:01 PM Post #17,140 of 26,473
Does anyone have a picture of the voltage selector for an SRM-1/MK-2 (Version C, if it matters) from the back (i.e. so I can see the pins)?

At the moment I'm using a step down transformer from 120 V, but if it's just a matter of bridging two or four pins on the amp that'd be a lot easier. and so that means mine is hard wired for 100V since nothing is bridged at the back.

(In case you're wondering, mine has just a black plastic cover over it normally.)

Thanks,
Sam
Screen Shot 2019-02-12 at 2.54.48 PM.png

Screen Shot 2019-02-12 at 2.55.11 PM.png
 
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Feb 12, 2019 at 4:27 PM Post #17,141 of 26,473
No dead zones or anything like that. Once it reaches around 30 Hz, the volume drops off rapidly down to almost inaudible around 25 Hz, while other people claim to hear down to 10 Hz or so at normal listening levels.

Sounds like perfectly normal hearing to me. 20-25 hz you feel more than you hear, and headphones aren't as good at moving lots of air, so it's reasonable for it to be nearly inaudible and not feel much of anything. Besides there's not much music that has meaningful content at 25hz aside from maybe a church organ or some synth bassline.
 
Feb 12, 2019 at 11:58 PM Post #17,142 of 26,473
Does anyone have a picture of the voltage selector for an SRM-1/MK-2 (Version C, if it matters) from the back (i.e. so I can see the pins)?

At the moment I'm using a step down transformer from 120 V, but if it's just a matter of bridging two or four pins on the amp that'd be a lot easier. and so that means mine is hard wired for 100V since nothing is bridged at the back.

(In case you're wondering, mine has just a black plastic cover over it normally.)

Thanks,
Sam
Hi Sam,

Your SRM-1 MK2 is currently set to 100V. What voltage are you wanting to set the amp to?
 
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Feb 13, 2019 at 12:51 AM Post #17,143 of 26,473
No dead zones or anything like that. Once it reaches around 30 Hz, the volume drops off rapidly down to almost inaudible around 25 Hz, while other people claim to hear down to 10 Hz or so at normal listening levels.
How did you play the tones? Through Stax? Nothing else is likely to come close to reproducing the frequencies you are talking about. E.g., from the suggested site, on my ThinkPad, all I hear for the "low frequencies" are harmonics: the ThinkPad cannot reproduce the fundamentals.
 
Feb 13, 2019 at 2:38 AM Post #17,144 of 26,473
No dead zones or anything like that. Once it reaches around 30 Hz, the volume drops off rapidly down to almost inaudible around 25 Hz, while other people claim to hear down to 10 Hz or so at normal listening levels.
I can't wait for my SR-007A to arrive (should be here anyday now). I should have had the Blutak by now but due to some sorta issue with the shipping service it got lost so I ordered more (after refund). I guess I could go to a crafts store or something but I'm far to lazy.
 
Feb 13, 2019 at 5:13 AM Post #17,145 of 26,473
No dead zones or anything like that. Once it reaches around 30 Hz, the volume drops off rapidly down to almost inaudible around 25 Hz, while other people claim to hear down to 10 Hz or so at normal listening levels.
Sounds like perfectly normal hearing to me. 20-25 hz you feel more than you hear, and headphones aren't as good at moving lots of air, so it's reasonable for it to be nearly inaudible and not feel much of anything. Besides there's not much music that has meaningful content at 25hz aside from maybe a church organ or some synth bassline.

Music, no. Not a whole lot. Movies HECK YES there's sub-20Hz content! My home subs are tuned to 13Hz, and reach adequately to maybe 10Hz or so. Those with truly badass equipment cherish movies that reach down to single digits.

You won't hear much ULF (Ultra Low Frequency) content from the likes of Streaming services, though. The actual physical disc is MUCH better in 100% of the cases I've tried on my system.

And no, of course you can't hear content below 20Hz. But you CAN feel it. In spades, with the right room (i.e. not on a concrete slab).

For an example of a song that does reach below 20Hz, look for Bass Mekanik "Suck My Bass" (Lo and Slo Remix). It was graphed on AVSForum, and reaches to 7Hz if I recall.

*edit* AVS thread: https://www.avsforum.com/forum/113-...mate-list-bass-movies-w-frequency-charts.html
 
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