[DonS1000]

Sorry to to get off subject, but would anyone know if STAx is still selling in U.S. ? I had heard that they were sold from a Japanese company to China and their only web presence seems to be in Japan now.

Thanks

 

[Muinarc]

Sorry to to get off subject, but would anyone know if STAx is still selling in U.S. ? I had heard that they were sold from a Japanese company to China and their only web presence seems to be in Japan now.

Thanks

Yes Woo Audio is now supposed to be one of the N.A. contact points for STAX.

 

[buke9]

Sorry to to get off subject, but would anyone know if STAx is still selling in U.S. ? I had heard that they were sold from a Japanese company to China and their only web presence seems to be in Japan now.

Thanks

Yes it looks as though they were bought by Edifier. Yes it looks like the Stax USA websites are down. Not for sure what that means for Stax but ...

 

[jagwap]

So I've taken the foam rings out, as some of my favourite recordings do sound a little squashed. Mostly male vocal rock material.

First reaction is positive, but I will give it a week.

 

[zolkis]

I can understand why people want to take out that foam. In stock form the sound is overdamped and somewhat honky, like it sounds from inside a box. It still gives a hint of what these drivers would be capable of, but the enclosure seems to be suboptimal.
IMHO the K812 sounds a lot better, and its problems would be easier to fix than the K872. Too bad that's an open headphone. For a closed headphone, IMHO there are better choices that cost much less. The K872 would be somewhat competitive around the K812 current price, but reference master quality? Come on... even some of the cheaper AKG headphones sound better.

Is here anyone who could post measurements of the K82 with and without that foam (FR, CSD, [impulse, distortion, spectrogram])?

 

[jagwap]

I can understand why people want to take out that foam. In stock form the sound is overdamped and somewhat honky, like it sounds from inside a box. It still gives a hint of what these drivers would be capable of, but the enclosure seems to be suboptimal.
IMHO the K812 sounds a lot better, and its problems would be easier to fix than the K872. Too bad that's an open headphone. For a closed headphone, IMHO there are better choices that cost much less. The K872 would be somewhat competitive around the K812 current price, but reference master quality? Come on... even some of the cheaper AKG headphones sound better.

Is here anyone who could post measurements of the K82 with and without that foam (FR, CSD, [impulse, distortion, spectrogram])?

I don't entirely agree. Agree so far (one day in) that the result without the foam rings is more open.

I have yet to hear a closed headphone this good that can be driven by portable equipment (phones and USB stick DACs. Hugo is not quite as portable, but I'm splitting hairs on a big headphone like this). Audeze Sine is great but not as good in all ways, Audeze LCD XC are not even close to portable friendly. I know these are fairly huge headphones, but I'd use them on a plane, and a train (Dr. Seuss?). They are not perfect, but they are good.

 

[zolkis]

Right, when you factor in portability, the picture might change. I haven't taken that into account, as the K872 is more targeted to desktop and studio.
But even then... I could not make peace with the stock K872 sound and would choose other closed headphones instead - that may be inferior here or there, but as a total package I'd like the others more. Maybe a personal preference.

 

[kid vic]

I don't entirely agree. Agree so far (one day in) that the result without the foam rings is more open.

I have yet to hear a closed headphone this good that can be driven by portable equipment (phones and USB stick DACs. Hugo is not quite as portable, but I'm splitting hairs on a big headphone like this). Audeze Sine is great but not as good in all ways, Audeze LCD XC are not even close to portable friendly. I know these are fairly huge headphones, but I'd use them on a plane, and a train (Dr. Seuss?). They are not perfect, but they are good.

Try the Sony MDR7520's, those are great studio headphones.

Returning to topic now

 

[bidn]

Is here anyone who could post measurements of the K82 with and without that foam (FR, CSD, [impulse, distortion, spectrogram])?

I can post a FR of the K872,
from the issue 2017-04 of Stereoplay, and I want to say a few good things as I allow myself to post their work: Stereoplay is the most reliable hifi magazine I know; I understand their FR measurement curves of headphones are corrected such that the FR would be like a speaker FR (i.e the ideal FR is a horizontal line, not the Harman-Kardon line) , making it much easier to interpret.
The top curve is the FR, the bottom curve the distortion :

Notes:
- the date indicated is from November 2016, so I assume the version tested is a production model with the foam insert
- strong bass, corroborating that it would be a model with foam
- big and steep hole in the FR at 3 kHz with a huge distortion, indicating one of these strong resonance effects on which EQ does not work [ in my experience, EQ works when the recess has a rather weak, slow inclination, not a steep fall ( this slope being relative to the fq position in the FR as its scales are not linear but logarithmic ) ]; I personally hear issue with voices which may correspond to this hole at 3 kHz in the FR, but don't mind as I am not mainly using my K872 for vocal recordings.

 

[jagwap]

I can post a FR of the K872,
from the issue 2017-04 of Stereoplay, and I want to say a few good things as I allow myself to post their work: Stereoplay is the most reliable hifi magazine I know; I understand their FR measurement curves of headphones are corrected such that the FR would be like a speaker FR (i.e the ideal FR is a horizontal line, not the Harman-Kardon line) , making it much easier to interpret.
The top curve is the FR, the bottom curve the distortion :




Notes:
- the date indicated is from November 2016, so I assume the version tested is a production model with the foam insert
- strong bass, corroborating that it would be a model with foam
- big and steep hole in the FR at 3 kHz with a huge distortion, indicating one of these strong resonance effects on which EQ does not work [ in my experience, EQ works when the recess has a rather weak, slow inclination, not a steep fall ( this slope being relative to the fq position in the FR as its scales are not linear but logarithmic ) ]; I personally hear issue with voices which may correspond to this hole at 3 kHz in the FR, but don't mind as I am not mainly using my K872 for vocal recordings.

That's a significant suckout. Not just deep, but broad too which means a noticable amount of energy missing.

I wonder if this is the foam rings, and there is a tolerance issue here? I cannot imagine the AGK design team wanted this out like this. I'd like to see a comparison plot with and without the foam rings, to see what they correct, and if it is near that 3kHz dip.

I have sorbothane on the way, but I won't get my hands on it until the new year due to travel. I will hopefully have access to B&K test head and an Audio Precision sometime next year too.

 

[D7D7]

Hi everyone,

K872
Or
DT 1770 PRO
Or
srh1540
Or
Better than these (closed back of course)

I know there's difference prices but if k872s worth why not

Sorry. I don't speak English very well ؛(

 

[DonS1000]

Hi everyone,

K872
Or
DT 1770 PRO
Or
srh1540
Or
Better than these (closed back of course)

I know there's difference prices but if k872s worth why not

Sorry. I don't speak English very well ؛(

I would think go for the Shures - they're not that good.

 

[sts9fan]

I need some of these for the office!

 

[jagwap]

I need some of these for the office!

That's why I bought mine. They isolate really well and sound better than other closed efficient headphones I've tried. However it seems there is a rumour of a closed HD800 form Sennheiser coming. Oh bugger...

 

[waveSounds]

Hi everyone,

K872
Or
DT 1770 PRO
Or
srh1540
Or
Better than these (closed back of course)

I know there's difference prices but if k872s worth why not

Sorry. I don't speak English very well ؛(

Interesting timing! I own the 1540 but have also been looking at either the 1770 Pro or the K872 as "upgrade" potentials, but I've heard neither so can't offer a comparison.

I was researching the best closed studio headphones just last night and of the 10-15 sites visited, 90% of them listed the 1540 at the top. So far nothing has convinced me that it's time to move up from the Shure!

The FR @jagwap posted of the K872 displays a mid range drop similar to the Elear, which doesn't bother like it seems to of so many on Head-Fi, but it's the first time I've seen it attributed to the AKG.

Anyone able to offer a comparison of the 1540 and K872?