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Originally Posted by sonq /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Good title! I've not considered Stax until I saw this thread and ask myself.
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Thanks! Glad you could join us to take a moment to think.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sonq /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I'll really appreciate it if someone can educate me on the differences between the 3030 and 4040, and also how they would benchmark with a AD2000 or HD650 level phones on decent sub $800 amps.
I've actually bought a pair 20 years ago and returned it within 3 days. It sounded seriously thin and nasty against my AKG 240DF at the time and being a novice audiophile, I don't understand the concept of burning-in and garbage-in-garbage out when hooked up direct to my circa 80s CDP.
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Well, I guess now you understand the garbage-in, garbage-out. That and the fact that the AKG's of that period, save the K340, can have a very solid, almost thick sound. Also depending on the model - burn-in with Stax can be a very serious discussion. The beginning set I use, SR-003, gives a headache within minutes when just out of the box. Within 20 hours of use, this very quickly turns into a very relaxed, warm sound.
Stax will beat AD2000/HD650 on detail retrieval given the amplification conditions you propose (to pay respect to Catscratch here - I am omitting the Dared VP20 because the setup is way beyond unconventional and took some insanity to formulate, although we both know how much of a monster HD650 can be with one of those). Extension, soundstage, instrument separation are also the forte of the Stax.
I personally think the fortes of AD2000 and HD650 are their respective tonalities - while nowhere close to neutral, they do not sound the way they do by accident. Both are forgiving to poor records and can be very fun/relaxing, so there are still plenty of reasons for you to be interested in them. But if you feel that you want to hear what a
fast headphone can be
really like, Stax is a good world to taste. This is what you look to if you want precision/definition/detail.
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Originally Posted by nothing101 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I havent heard the 650 or ad2000 but ive heard other high end dynamics like the denons ive already mentioned or akgs and grados. i can tell you that maybe the stax wont be as accurate and have as deeply extended bass but when you hear the delicacy of the sound i promise you wont care. they sound so quick, clear, defined and lifelike. after hearing stax again i realised how they give even the best dynamic headphones a run for their money.
just keep in mind this is just my personal opinion.
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Well accuracy shouldn't exactly be an opinion >.< That is actually the reason they sound so clear and lifelike - the amount of definition and faith to the record they deliver. I don't want to advocate that to the extreme though because this depends on the model - SR-303/404 have a very aggressive treble response that for some ends up being too much, and does not really represent a faithful reproduction (very colored region for those models), but the speed of the driver is the main reason all of the models are very very detailed. The extension in the lows on all modern Stax is great - only select dynamics can keep up.