Maybe when the library rooms are open again (just using San Jose as an example), we can use them for a mini-meet? https://www.sjpl.org/rooms

I'll bring my stax lambda nova signature and kgsshv I used to own an sr-x mk3 pro. Vocals sounded great on them

My 2 cents after ~12 years of owning all kinds of Stax headphones: the amp makes a big difference, and current is king. You want one of the KGSSHV (non Carbon is fine too) amps with as much current as possible. It will make whatever Stax headphones (Lambda or better) you have sing. I personally...

No, I've tried it before. It's going to have lots of distortion, even at low-medium volumes.

Amazon HD music has lossless FLACs

Don't store your Stax in airtight containers after use. There is always residual water (sweat) on them that will evaporate and become humidity. That's why all Stax come with the water absorbent pack in the box.

If you want more "volume" from your Stax amp, use XLR output from a balanced DAC.

Using an equalizer is like putting A1 sauce on a steak :p

My 2 cents: don't use DACs that mess with the sound. Don't equalize, don't add spatial effects, don't enhance the sound. Upsampling is fine. I find when you mess with the sound, it will work for some songs/genres but sound bad for others.

Yeah it's definitely not about volume. It's more about distortion at the higher volumes. Even though you might not hear the distortion directly, I believe some level of distortion will affect the soundstage and imaging, etc. It also depends a lot on what model of stax you're using. For you...

I have KGSSHV 500V with 007mk1 and a balanced DAC. It's my endgame. Been using it over a year now. Love it every time, every day. People say with high end equip, you need "good" recordings; not true at all with this setup. The 007mk1 sounds good with everything. YMMV though, it's tough to find a...

For me, a lot of DACs sound similar. For Stax headphones though, the amps make a big difference, especially when listening loud. With summit-fi sound, even minor improvements make a huge difference for enjoyment. A "perfect" sound is 2-3x better than a 99% perfect sound, because the smallest...

Someone said L700 has more bass impact than 009. I find that hard to believe since the L700 has little subbass or impact.

You guys always forget the most important part of the system: YOU! I find that the same music sounds "different"/"better"/"worse" depending on the time of day/my mood/the temperature/what happened during the day/what I ate/etc. It's very difficult to take YOU out of the equation when doing...

Wasn't the original T2 able to do something like +/- 680v? Correction: 630v

I had the 007a, and the subbass on it was lacking like the L700. The 007mk1 and LNS have subbass rumble when the recording calls for it. The L700 is awesome for everything but subbass.

When it comes to subbass, who can say what's neutral? I find the subbass on the L700 unsatisfactory and lacking compared to other Stax, lambda Nova signature and 007mk1. I don't believe in different headphones for different purposes. There exist headphones that are good for everything and...

L700 is lacking in subbass quantity and slam.

What is the voltage output (in Vrms) for the xlr output on the back?

Mostly the headphone followed by the amp in my opinion

007 without the black debris/dust cover. It sounds 10-15% more transparent. Worth it to me. Have to be careful if you wear big earrings.

Real playas go raw anyway :beerchug:

I don't think the difference is between the amps is huge. For example, I would be perfectly happy with my 007tA, granted it sounds a lot better when you feed it with a balanced XLR output DAC. Most of the character of a headphone is defined by the headphone itself.

Are you buying a kgsshv or making one yourself? If you're going to make one, then might as well go for the Carbon since it's the newest and "best" :) I have a kgsshv 500v, am in love with it, and consider it my "end game" amp. I also have a 007tA, and the kgsshv is much much better (a lot more...

Not sure if anything revolutionary will come out. I believe we've reached the end game for headphone sound quality. The only revolution now would be an end game sound that can be driven from a cellphone, weighs 200g, and costs $100.