bifeo001
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2016
- Posts
- 133
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- 35
Well they're pressing the **** out of all my buttons right now. The Stax have what feels like more treble, but it's less fatiguing than the i20. Details jump out at you, like the HD800, instead of being in the background like the i20. The Stax have a slightly wider soundstage, but this big feeling of depth that I haven't really heard in much else apart from my HD800. The stax are noticeably faster and cleaner than the i20(which was already quite fast and clean). Sub bass volume is similar on both sets, with the Stax having better speed and texture. The low bass range is more emphasized on the i20 while the Stax has a mid-low bass emphasis. That being said, the bass feels overall bigger on the i20, and the i20 has more air impact. The stax, on the other hand, has more impact by way of transients. The stax cracks transients just like the HD800, giving everything a crystalline edge. The stax are much less mid focused than the i20, regardless of cable. I feel like the stax, while still warm, give me a much more accurate representation of the midrange. In a couple tracks off a favorite acoustic album, I can hear the different mic frequency responses for the artists guitar and voice on the stax where I really have to squint my ears to hear the difference on the i20.
Stax srs-002 system at $350 vs iSine 20(even at the $420 I paid) is no contest. Stax all the way for my tastes. Where the iSine really wins though is convenience. The cipher is really a godsend for going out and about. The stax have a thin, kinky cable that I'm going to have to baby. I also need to lug around a (non rechargeable) battery powered amp with a 4-6 hour battery life.
Sorry for the stream of consciousness style writeup, but I'm still in the first few hours and am typing while listening.
I'm kinda in a weird place right now because I've been wanting to start an iSine crusade over how good they are, but the stax are another level. I have a month to let the new toy syndrome wear off and decide if I need both in my life.
Oh no, say it isn't so. You was like the Audeze isine most valuable hype man. Well if you decide to keep the stax I'll buy the isine 20 from you.