Back Again Asking For Yet Another Recommendation...

[Music Alchemist]

I would be, too. But on a separate note, how big a difference is there between the entry level stax and the dynamic/planar offerings in the mid fi range? Should I sell off my mid fi stuff for hifi non estat gear or should I get entry lvl stax stuff to complement my alpha dogs?

 
To me, the STAX SR-207 and even the SR-30 sound more realistic than all non-electrostats, regardless of price. (You can see headphones I used to own on my profile. Four figure headphones I have auditioned include the Abyss AB-1266, HIFIMAN HE1000, HIFIMAN HE-6, and Sennheiser HD 800.) Of course, you may still prefer non-electrostats for whatever reason.

 

[jodgey4]

Most of the lower end Stax are reported to sound pretty speaker like - roll off in the bass, spacious mids, and crisp treble (often a brighter than normal tilt - which sounds overly detailed compared). But, comparisons to similarly priced cans are hard to do, considering how they need special amplifiers. Stax are very good at the Stax sound, yes. That doesn't mean they're across the board better. For neutral monitoring purposes, they're a safe bet. Again... not necessarily the best values or most neutral/natural.
 
Any chance you could audition any new cans?

 

[Japheel]

   
To me, the STAX SR-207 and even the SR-30 sound more realistic than all non-electrostats, regardless of price. (You can see headphones I used to own on my profile. Four figure headphones I have auditioned include the Abyss AB-1266, HIFIMAN HE1000, HIFIMAN HE-6, and Sennheiser HD 800.) Of course, you may still prefer non-electrostats for whatever reason.

Hmm, thx. I really need to go look for stax owners, maybe I could get a loaner cuz i need to hear them. Damn it, I'm interested

 

[tyty5150]

MA, would you kindly link us your impressions of the SR-207?

 

[Music Alchemist]

  MA, would you kindly link us your impressions of the SR-207?

 
I just got it today. I'm putting my thoughts together and may end up publishing a review, which will show up at the bottom of the site in the review section.

 

[tyty5150]

That's fine.  Do enjoy yourself; don't spend too much time performing analysis...

 

[Zocoyotzin]

So far the major contenders are Stax, per MA, and LCD-X from a couple of people. Ether fitting between HD800 and LCD-X in neutrality seems relevant to my decision, i.e., it isn't for me. If more people think LCD-X will suit all genres well, I'd probably go for that ortho model. Depends on what you mean by neutral though (I assume relating to FR)... Elaborate at your earliest convenience, please.

I feel that Music Alchemist already described neutrality pretty well. I would describe the headphones themselves as being very clear sounding. It doesn't seem to have any emphasis in anything, but it certainly isn't lacking anything either.

Oh wow, an ether owner. If you don't mind me asking, how do you think they scale with amplification? I was planning on picking a pair up near the holiday season and upgrading my dac/amp around now to use with my alpha dogs and to future proof with the ether.

I haven't paired the Ether with much amps, just two in fact, but I do feel that it scales well. I initially had it running through a Gustard H10 amp and enjoyed the pairing. It had good soundstage and some warmth to it. I then later purchased the Schiit Ragnarok and I noticed an immediate improvement in clarity and in soundstage. There was more to the highs without it being bright and the bass improved overall.

I actually have issues conveying my words sometimes, so I hope what I said was helpful.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I feel that Music Alchemist already described neutrality pretty well. I would describe the headphones themselves as being very clear sounding. It doesn't seem to have any emphasis in anything, but it certainly isn't lacking anything either.

I haven't paired the Ether with much amps, just two in fact, but I do feel that it scales well. I initially had it running through a Gustard H10 amp and enjoyed the pairing. It had good soundstage and some warmth to it. I then later purchased the Schiit Ragnarok and I noticed an immediate improvement in clarity and in soundstage. There was more to the highs without it being bright and the bass improved overall.

 
Thanks for the shout-out!
 
That ETHER is one sexy headphone. I love the beehive-style grill and red/black color scheme. The Schiit Ragnarok is on my wish list, to use with the Abyss and other planars.

 

[Japheel]

I feel that Music Alchemist already described neutrality pretty well. I would describe the headphones themselves as being very clear sounding. It doesn't seem to have any emphasis in anything, but it certainly isn't lacking anything either.
I haven't paired the Ether with much amps, just two in fact, but I do feel that it scales well. I initially had it running through a Gustard H10 amp and enjoyed the pairing. It had good soundstage and some warmth to it. I then later purchased the Schiit Ragnarok and I noticed an immediate improvement in clarity and in soundstage. There was more to the highs without it being bright and the bass improved overall.

I actually have issues conveying my words sometimes, so I hope what I said was helpful.

Helpful to me, but not my wallet. Now I'm eyeing the ragnarok. Damn it.

 

[tyty5150]

  Most of the lower end Stax are reported to sound pretty speaker like - roll off in the bass, spacious mids, and crisp treble (often a brighter than normal tilt - which sounds overly detailed compared). But, comparisons to similarly priced cans are hard to do, considering how they need special amplifiers. Stax are very good at the Stax sound, yes. That doesn't mean they're across the board better. For neutral monitoring purposes, they're a safe bet. Again... not necessarily the best values or most neutral/natural.
 
Any chance you could audition any new cans?

I think I would like "pretty speaker like" sounding cans.  But how early is that roll off in the bass?
 
Also, MA, I've been gone for a few days on a vacation of sorts, did that review ever come out?

 

[tyty5150]

It seems my main choices are LCD-X and SR-207 (or any Stax for that matter).  I like both of the graphs provided for FR curves.  I would probably be happy with either.  Chances are I will not be able to audition for comparison, but if there is anybody out there willing to let me give it a go... shoot a PM to me, maybe we could work something out.
 
Other considerations: Stax has been in the business quite some time, so this says something about their product.  Either they have a really good marketing team or they really are producing great products.  Audeze on the other hand is fairly new, IIRC, but creating shockwaves in the headphone community (or did a few years ago).  Maybe I should just get both and compare.

 

[jodgey4]

  It seems my main choices are LCD-X and SR-207 (or any Stax for that matter).  I like both of the graphs provided for FR curves.  I would probably be happy with either.  Chances are I will not be able to audition for comparison, but if there is anybody out there willing to let me give it a go... shoot a PM to me, maybe we could work something out.
 
Maybe I should just get both and compare.

Maybe ask in the LCD-X thread for comparisons against Stax headphones, and vice versa.
To get you started:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/684394/audeze-lcd-x/5955#post_11358325
http://www.head-fi.org/t/684394/audeze-lcd-x/3960#post_10500355
http://www.head-fi.org/t/677809/the-stax-thread-iii/2925#post_10803007
http://www.head-fi.org/t/677809/the-stax-thread-iii/1815#post_10390805
http://www.head-fi.org/t/677809/the-stax-thread-iii/1560#post_10292086
http://www.head-fi.org/t/677809/the-stax-thread-iii/1545#post_10288603
 
If you can get both and compare - that's what I'd do, no questions asked!

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I think I would like "pretty speaker like" sounding cans.  But how early is that roll off in the bass?
 
Also, MA, I've been gone for a few days on a vacation of sorts, did that review ever come out?

 
The SR-207 is very neutral. Just look at the measurements and how closely they align with the compensation curves. (But also note that the graph is mislabeled.) Not many headphones are anywhere near as neutral as that. Audibly, it's only slightly bass-light, but extends as deep as you can hear, and it's only slightly bright too.
 
I have pages of notes. No idea when the review will be ready.
 
If you can buy them both, it would be good to compare Audeze and STAX directly. I have never heard Audeze, but according to everything I have read, they are two different (thus potentially complementary) sound signatures.

 

[goodyfresh]

The PSB M4U1 sound awesome.  Make sure you get them under warranty, there are a few build-quality concerns to worry about beyond a half-year or so in, according to many owners, but in my experience there's almost no other closed-backed over-ear pair of cans under 300 dollars with as flat a frequency-response as the M4U 1.  And the soundstage and detail knock me right off my feet.  You almost definitely can't go wrong with them as long as you, as I said, make sure to get them new and under warranty, preferably from an actual high-end audio store somewhere.  They also provide pretty good isolation.  You can get them new online (Amazon, for example) for 249.99 right now.
 
There's also the Sony MDR-1A.  Wouldn't have any build-quality concerns like the M4U 1, so you could be fine getting them used to save money.  But the response isn't quite flat, it definitely has boosted bass and scultped treble, but not to NEARLY the extent that you hear in most cans these days, they still give quite a bit of detail and don't muddy-up any parts of the frequency range by too much.  And the soundstage is incredible, nearly as good as the M4U 1.
 
And lots of people keep telling me that the Audio Technica ATH-MSR7 is great if you don't mind brighter-sounding cans.  And the Yamaha HPH MT220 are supposed to be a lesser-known gem in the area of closed-back over-ears.

Edit:  Oh wow I should have really finished readint through ALL the posts in the thread up to this point, before posting my reply.  My recommendations would be good, if you had the kind of budget that is more typical for someone asking the kind of question you were.  But it appears that you actually have a budget on the level of being able to get Summit-Fi level gear, so you can disregard my advice

 

[tyty5150]

  The PSB M4U1 sound awesome.  Make sure you get them under warranty, there are a few build-quality concerns to worry about beyond a half-year or so in, according to many owners, but in my experience there's almost no other closed-backed over-ear pair of cans under 300 dollars with as flat a frequency-response as the M4U 1.  And the soundstage and detail knock me right off my feet.  You almost definitely can't go wrong with them as long as you, as I said, make sure to get them new and under warranty, preferably from an actual high-end audio store somewhere.  They also provide pretty good isolation.  You can get them new online (Amazon, for example) for 249.99 right now.
 
There's also the Sony MDR-1A.  Wouldn't have any build-quality concerns like the M4U 1, so you could be fine getting them used to save money.  But the response isn't quite flat, it definitely has boosted bass and scultped treble, but not to NEARLY the extent that you hear in most cans these days, they still give quite a bit of detail and don't muddy-up any parts of the frequency range by too much.  And the soundstage is incredible, nearly as good as the M4U 1.
 
And lots of people keep telling me that the Audio Technica ATH-MSR7 is great if you don't mind brighter-sounding cans.  And the Yamaha HPH MT220 are supposed to be a lesser-known gem in the area of closed-back over-ears.

Edit:  Oh wow I should have really finished readint through ALL the posts in the thread up to this point, before posting my reply.  My recommendations would be good, if you had the kind of budget that is more typical for someone asking the kind of question you were.  But it appears that you actually have a budget on the level of being able to get Summit-Fi level gear, so you can disregard my advice

Hehe, it's okay.  Thanks for your contributions either way, goodyfresh.