[makne]

Also, can you fit ZMF or HM5 pads on these without degrading sq? My ears stick out quite a bit so making the cups as deep as possible would be nice. I saw Zeos did it in his review, but I've learned to take his opinions with a grain of salt.

 

[peter2]

Thanks, very informative comparison!
It seems like you have a similar impression if the Elear like me, although I don't get fatigue from their extreme liveliness. The promise of a more gentle, super-detailed sound from eletrostats is enticing. The thing is, I never felt like the Elear was lacking in detail or imaging until I heard the Hifiman Susvara last week. Suddenly, it became clear to me how realistic and detailed music can sound. I know that tge Susvara isn't electrostatic, but from descriptions, it seems like they have a lot of the same qualities regarding detail retrieval. Btw, how is the soundstage depth and imaging of the stax? The Elear has a quite shallow soundstage and in-your-face imaging that gives a nice feeling of intimacy, but sometimes I wish for a little more depth and airiness (again, was never a problem until I heard the Susvara).

I came to Stax a few months ago, then having Senn HD800S and Focus Elear as my main HP setup - I always seem to have two HPs as main setup And then I was presentented to a Stax setup for the first time. What the ****! (Sorry for the language). It was some kind of revelation, like a veil was lifted from my musical experience. I generally listen to quite dynamic music. Suddenly the dynamic range seemed coherent. The "stax image" did not have any problem of creating an airy, natural representation of the dynamic range of the music I listened to. I was stunned. I understand that my description is very anecdotal, but that is the way I listen to music. The setup giving me this Stax revelation was L700 with srm-353x. But, by long experience from the headphone world, I have a feeling I would have felt the same with L300.

 

[makne]

I came to Stax a few months ago, then having Senn HD800S and Focus Elear as my main HP setup - I always seem to have two HPs as main setup And then I was presentented to a Stax setup for the first time. What the ****! (Sorry for the language). It was some kind of revelation, like a veil was lifted from my musical experience. I generally listen to quite dynamic music. Suddenly the dynamic range seemed coherent. The "stax image" did not have any problem of creating an airy, natural representation of the dynamic range of the music I listened to. I was stunned. I understand that my description is very anecdotal, but that is the way I listen to music. The setup giving me this Stax revelation was L700 with srm-353x. But, by long experience from the headphone world, I have a feeling I would have felt the same with L300.

wow thanks. I like this kind of description because it is more like how I experience music myself, rather than splitting it into bass-mid-treble which feels unnatural to me. Really seems like the stax are what I want, and the 3100 system could be financed by selling my Elears. But I won't buy blind and it may take some time before I get a chance to audition (plus I'm loving the Elears and don't want to part with them lol).

 

[XLR8]

When you hear estats, listening to dynamic driver is so fatiguing and hurts ears.

The L300 provides outside of head soundstage, well to me it does.

My Grado's are all in head with plastic pipe running through my ears ie narrow in head soundstage.

Good luck.

 

[hpeter]

... i get quickly p*ssed off, when STATS are compared to Dynamics.
Why to put so much $$$$ on old tech. To me, makes no sense to put 1000$on Elear, or even 4000$ Utopia.
No matter how much parfume you put on a pig, It will be still a PIG.
For 4400$ you can buy SR-009 which looks damn good deal to Focal. These days, headphone tsunami is incoming, expect lots of companies to try luck making ´phones....
Stax makes phones like 60y or so, others started just, yesterday or what?

Examples : i can clearly hear echo-reverb off the walls a drumkit or instruments in studio. Even if band is playing loud together.

Or voice reverb, which is often used in old music - with dynamics i hear tone or sometimes last syllable , with STATS whole word is there. It is quiet, but can be heard
No wonder, 2µm foil -no inertia to fight, follows signal well.

 

[Zoide]

I've just got my L300. It is a clear improvement over the stock 207. Deeper and more impactful bass response, airer clarity and wider soundstage.
Compared to my modded 207 with 3D printed adaptor and ZMF lambskin earpads. It still offer airer clarity and wider soundstage.
But the modded 207 had better bass response and the gap of the soundstage are much closer. I'm planning on getting/design 3D adapter for the L300 so I can fit the ZMF lambskin earpads.
As the stock pad are so thin my ear is touching the ear speaker.

How would you rate your L300 vs the HE-500? I own the latter but have been very intrigued by the L300 after watching Z-Review's hypetastic video review

 

[Zoide]

Car battery would do, but too big I guess. what I use is http://www.tracerpower.com/tracer-lithium-polymer-battery-packs.html 12V/10Ah. Comes very handy with a charger. BtW I bought it too big, airport transport restricts this size (i.e. more that 100 Ah), hence suggest 8Ah version

LiPo batteries need very special care. Never over discharge or over charge them, or else they become a serious fire hazard.

 

[Zoide]

I just got a pair running on a Stax SRS 323S. My initial impressions are they are good, but not insane. I am honestly not hearing the "electrostat" sound. So far seems comparable to my Hifiman HE-500 in terms of quality.

However, I am pretty impressed by the treble response. Mid range is uncolored but sounds a bit flat, but I might need more time to make a decision on this. Bass is decent with good extension but want more.. Not sure what to think because I was expecting to be blown away.

UPDATE: After some more listening... I am much more impressed with the sound.

Your signature only mentions the HE-500. Did you change your mind about which cans were better?

Thanks

 

[Zoide]

Bump

 

[jerazm]

So i just received my pair of SoCas vented padmods for my L300s. I'm using them with BrainWavz earpads (non-angled, since I figure that the L300 themselves have angled drivers).
First impressions: upper bass is now boosted enough to satisfy bass-heads. Upper mids have gained some kind of a resonant quality which I can't say I'm a fan off. Maybe they sound a bit more like dynamic headphones now on account of the added space between driver and ear. Soundstage, to me, seems to be unchanged. Rest of the sound signature is intact.
The comfort has gone up by a decent margin. Not dissatisfied, but i'm not sure I'd recommend the mod unless the stock earpads are bothering you very much. And even then, one can order the L700 pads. I do not know how that changes the sound.

 

[makne]

Hey again guys.
I'm considering the 3100 bundle, but have a question. If I want to order them on Ebay (which is cheaper than domestically), how can I get the amp to work in my country? (Norway, so european plug and 220v I think?). Can I purchase a european power supply separately, or is it something different with the amp itself so I have to get a transformer of some sort? Sorry if this is a stupid question, don't have a clue here.

 

[BenF]

Hey again guys.
I'm considering the 3100 bundle, but have a question. If I want to order them on Ebay (which is cheaper than domestically), how can I get the amp to work in my country? (Norway, so european plug and 220v I think?). Can I purchase a european power supply separately, or is it something different with the amp itself so I have to get a transformer of some sort? Sorry if this is a stupid question, don't have a clue here.

I recommend this adapter, which comes with the polarity converter: http://www.ebay.com/itm/iFI-AUDIO-i...PHILE-POWER-SUPPLY-12V-DC-OUTPUT/151872964300
Or you can buy the 35$ adapter at the bottom of the page here: http://www.mjolnir-audio.com/diy-supplies/ , but it's going to be noisier.

 

[makne]

any more thoughts on using L700 pads on L300?
So far I've seen mixed feedback, some like the sound and some don't. If someone could describe the sound changes, and even compare them to the L700, it would be appreciated.
Is there any loss in clarity, resolution, detail retrieval?
So far I've read that the pads increase comfort and soundstage, but changes/colours the midrange. That is basically what I heard when comparing the L300 and L700, so I'm wondering if the pad swap mostly changes the L300 more towards the L700's sound.

 

[hpeter]

i´d like to see side by side photos of pads......

 

[Doom0]

i´d like to see side by side photos of pads......

https://imgur.com/a/k3xpw#0oD1avw