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Stax SR-L300 Impressions Thread
May 24, 2017 at 3:59 AM Post #151 of 1,163
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I ordered a STAX SR-L300 system from Japan. I purchased them from Mit (mmg0g0) on Ebay. They arrived in California in only 4 days. His service was fantastic and I recommend him. I bought a 120 to 100VAC, 300W transformer from voltage converters.com (Bright Mfg). The smaller transformers were out of stock. 300W is way over kill. It hums a little if you put your ear near it but from a few feet you no longer hear it. I own Audeze LCD-X, Grado GH1 Cans, Schiit Modi Multibit DAC and Woo Audio 7D and WA7d power supply. The SR-L300 sounds very good. They are very clear and non fatiguing without being to bright. By comparison the LCD-X has much more bass when you turn the volume up but the mids and treble sound veiled and congested. The Grados have as good or better bass than the Stax but when you turn up the volume the treble is way to bright and my ears hurt after a while. I am listening to Ascension with Yuri Liberian playing classical guitar (Bach: Partita No. 2 in D Minor). It sounds like I am right next to him while he is playing. You can hear every finger stroking the strings. I can hear the transient decay of each pluck very realistically. I can listen to this for hours without getting tired. You can hear every little detail in the music yet at the same time the ear speakers are very euphonic. On the down side on a poor recording one can hear every defect. Even though the ear pads are thin I do not find them uncomfortable. I guess I must have small ears. The Stax SRM-252s driver works perfectly. There is no need to spend more money on a higher end driver for these ear speakers. The Schiit Modi and the Stax Driver do not look to bad together. Sorry for the poor picture but my wife is asleep and I did not want to turn the lights on. They are similar in height and width with the driver being longer. The ear speakers need to be burned in. I have about 40 hrs on them now. Out of the box they do not sound very special but after 10 hrs they started opening up. Please do not misunderstand and think there is not enough bass on these ear speakers. Everything is well balanced across the audio band. If you want to hear rumbling like for example an earthquake at the movie theater than these ear speakers are not for you. You are better off with something like the LCD-X. If you want to hear music the way it sounds when it is played these are the best I have heard to date. I went to the Head-Fi audio show last year in Orange county and auditioned these ear speakers and to my ears they sounded better than the more expensive L500 with the upgraded driver. These sounded more pleasant to the ear. Lastly these headphones are good for listening from moderate to loud levels. The louder you crank these up the better they sound with no distortion. However I want to protect my ears so I play them at a reasonable level. At very low levels they do not seem to be balanced. The Grado's seem to be better very low listening levels.

In summary the STAX SR-L300 is a fantastic value for the serious music listener. The reason they are not so popular is because there is not a good distribution system in the USA and they require a special driver to be able to use them. If you order them from overseas you need a transformer or a replacement wall wart that works off 120VAC.

https://yuriliberzon.bandcamp.com/releases

http://www.exando-music.com/shop/en/cd-16295-j.s.-bach-sonata-bwv-1001-partita-bwv-1004
 
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May 24, 2017 at 4:55 AM Post #152 of 1,163
Yes Mit is a top seller.
Looks like we all purchased from him hehe.. :)

In comparison to the grados i find grado very bright perhaps too much...fatigue

The stax is smooth less bright but more neutral and relaxed for hours of listening pleasure.

I have Japan 100v transformer with original psu but will try a local switchmode psu to see if it improves sound.

I noticed some change after 2-3hrs burn in and feel i need to keep going to bring out full potential.

Ultimately, as others have said these are very good value and possibly end game for some.

Happy listening stax fans.
 
May 24, 2017 at 12:49 PM Post #154 of 1,163
mariopoli said:
...I went to the Head-Fi audio show last year in Orange county and auditioned these ear speakers and to my ears they sounded better than the more expensive L500 with the upgraded driver. These sounded more pleasant to the ear...
Click to expand...
L500 has the same driver as L300, different sound comes from using different pads.
Headband and cables are different too.
 
May 28, 2017 at 1:43 PM Post #156 of 1,163
I listen exclusively few weeks to L300, others gaining dust.. lol :dart:
 
May 29, 2017 at 7:20 AM Post #158 of 1,163
Does any one actually knows for sure that wall wart
iFi Audio iPower 12V DC Power Adapter w/ International Travel Plugs works with the stax srm-252S ?
I ordered it.. But now I'm confused if i did the right thing.
 
May 29, 2017 at 7:30 AM Post #159 of 1,163
Leviator said:
Does any one actually knows for sure that wall wart
iFi Audio iPower 12V DC Power Adapter w/ International Travel Plugs works with the stax srm-252S ?
I ordered it.. But now I'm confused if i did the right thing.
Click to expand...
Should work, because they have the "Polarity Inverter Adapter" - if the plug fits
 
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May 29, 2017 at 9:58 AM Post #163 of 1,163
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it seems not hungry, so (any) adaptor should be fine.
but watch the polarity, if stax has no protection, you can burn it.
cheap china adaptors have too high voltage -poor regulation, possible damage risk
 
May 30, 2017 at 4:53 AM Post #164 of 1,163
hpeter said:
254.jpg

it seems not hungry, so (any) adaptor should be fine.
but watch the polarity, if stax has no protection, you can burn it.
cheap china adaptors have too high voltage -poor regulation, possible damage risk
Click to expand...

Yes best to use stock adapter and use step up step down to 100v Japanese power.
If you invert polarity centre positive you'll pop the fuse inside.
And if you use unregulated psu, the voltage will dip below 12v dc and fry the fuse.
 
May 30, 2017 at 5:39 AM Post #165 of 1,163
XLR8 said:
Yes best to use stock adapter and use step up step down to 100v Japanese power.
If you invert polarity centre positive you'll pop the fuse inside.
And if you use unregulated psu, the voltage will dip below 12v dc and fry the fuse.
Click to expand...

Why would the fuse pop when using inverter? it's still only 12v DC output, regardless of what is AC voltage in the input.
 
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