[livewire]

Ha! Lately I've found that I like to go back and forth.
While I prefer Stax for all the obvious reasons, I still like to switch it up with dynamics.
I guess that because I havent been in the high-end headphone game all that long,
I am still discovering what various dynamics have to offer in a sense.
Case in point, I wanted to explore the "Grado sound".
I just picked up a Gilmore Lite amp and a pair of MS1i's.
Sound pretty darn good for cheap dynamic cans.
Since I'm a DIY'er, I'm gonna mod them with cocobolo cups to see what more goodness I can squeeze out of them.
Cant do that to Stax so easily. It's all good, I guess that I enjoy having a "stable" of quality cans to pic and choose from.

 

[catscratch]

A while back I dropped 'stats for dynamics. What I should have done instead is go for the O2/good amp thing but it took a few years of messing around with inferior systems to realize it. Now all I really want is better sources/amps and other 'stats for a different presentation.
 
Plus, balanced armatures are getting so good these days that in a sense, everything but electrostatics is, at least for me, kinda pointless.

 

[tdogzthmn]

So would it be advisable for me to get the STAX SRS-2170 or just wait and save up for its bigger brother?  I have always tried to focus my system around components that offer alot of bang for their buck.  If there is an online retailer that offers a trial period where I could audition the STAX and compare it to what I have now that would be ideal.  Others have mentioned Orthos as something of a compromise, but my amp the Bottlehead Crack is designed to drive high impedance cans such as the HD800.  

 

[livewire]

 
Quote:

So would it be advisable for me to get the STAX SRS-2170 or just wait and save up for its bigger brother?  I have always tried to focus my system around components that offer alot of bang for their buck.  If there is an online retailer that offers a trial period where I could audition the STAX and compare it to what I have now that would be ideal.  Others have mentioned Orthos as something of a compromise, but my amp the Bottlehead Crack is designed to drive high impedance cans such as the HD800.  

Definitely!
I have the 2150 (last gen basic system) and I swear by it.
The best $500 I have ever spent.
But if you have ~$1300 to spend on bigger brother, then by all means do it.(SR-407 & SRM-323)
 
Yeah, someday I wanna plunk down $11k for a SR-009 and a BHSE, but that will have to wait.
I am very content with my BOTL Stax rig. I giggle every time I listen to it.
It is that good for the money spent.
FWIW, the Koss ESP-950 system aint no slouch either!
 
 

 

[purrin]

 
Quote:

 
Edit - I'll be open to the 009 adding that DD punch and impact and possibly surpassing the inner detail and DR of my HD800 setup but until one makes it onto the continent to audition it might as well be a unicorn to me.  An expensive unicorn.  A unicorn that's not a speaker system.  =P

 
The 009s are finally coming in now. The first batch in that group buy has already been delivered. The second batch should be on its way. But with my luck, I might draw the short straw again and have to wait another two weeks. I hope Arnaud is right about the impact aspect. Others who have received said it sounded like an SR-Omega, which would be what I would want.
 
I'm looking forward to more amplification options for stats too, hopefully in the near future. Until then will I decide. The answer may very well be keeping both 'stats and dynamics. I can't imagine giving up my current dynamic rig - even for a BHSE/O2.

 

[purrin]

 
Quote:

So would it be advisable for me to get the STAX SRS-2170 or just wait and save up for its bigger brother?  I have always tried to focus my system around components that offer alot of bang for their buck.  If there is an online retailer that offers a trial period where I could audition the STAX and compare it to what I have now that would be ideal.  Others have mentioned Orthos as something of a compromise, but my amp the Bottlehead Crack is designed to drive high impedance cans such as the HD800.  

Save up. The HD800 out of a well matching amp with a good source is to be reckoned with. I sold off my SR507s not too long after I got the HD800s dialed-in.
 

 

[Asr]

If I was on a boat that was sinking and had to decide in seconds which to grab between the Audio-Technica AD2K/GS-X and Stax OII/BHSE, I wouldn't hesitate. I'd grab the AD2K/GS-X.
 
And then I'd throw a big, heavy rock at the OII/BHSE.

 

[jjinh]

Quote:

If I was on a boat that was sinking and had to decide in seconds which to grab between the Audio-Technica AD2K/GS-X and Stax OII/BHSE, I wouldn't hesitate. I'd grab the AD2K/GS-X.
 
And then I'd throw a big, heavy rock at the OII/BHSE.

Too slow - I already grabbed the OII/BHSE
 

 

[pcf]

I did like the Quads when I had them but at the end of the day I was tired of having to sit on one tight spot and forever wondering what I could do to get more bass.
Going back to dynamics after Stax is not a question for me since I never left dynamics anyway.

 

[Gradofan2]

 
Quote:

If I was on a boat that was sinking and had to decide in seconds which to grab between the Audio-Technica AD2K/GS-X and Stax OII/BHSE, I wouldn't hesitate. I'd grab the AD2K/GS-X.
And then I'd throw a big, heavy rock at the OII/BHSE.

Ditto...
 
 

 

[pabbi1]

Dumped the hd800, resisted the siren song of the LCD-2, and just haven't heard anything that changes my mind. The he-60, he-90, or (hoping) the sr009 will do nicely.
 
Oh, and I'll add a thick chunk of lead to that OII, and feel (a little) sad about the BH.

 

[crumpler]

The last "high-end" phone i had was the SR-507s before getting the AD2000s and haven't looked back since, although it must be said that even though i didn't exactly have a really high-end Stax rig before, i can't believe how much i'm enjoying the AD2000s as they are. 
 
In a word, amazing!

 

[Anaxilus]

All this talk makes me want to verify my impressions of the AD2000 again.

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

All this talk makes me want to verify my impressions of the AD2000 again.

 
Yeah I'm not sure why the AD2000 is suddenly the greatest headphone ever made. You won't catch me trading my O2 for a pair.
 
 

 

[Elysian]

Quote:

If I was on a boat that was sinking and had to decide in seconds which to grab between the Audio-Technica AD2K/GS-X and Stax OII/BHSE, I wouldn't hesitate. I'd grab the AD2K/GS-X.
 
And then I'd throw a big, heavy rock at the OII/BHSE.