[Binaural Fusion]

Stax Sr-40 headphones with SRD-4 Power unit
Is this a good Stax combo for an intro to Stax sound?

Price: $150 (CAD)

 

[Carl]

Way too much for a SR40. Try half of that.

 

[Binaural Fusion]

Seriously? Darn... I can't find these online what line are they?

 

[vapman]

SR-40's were introduced in 1979. They're old.

http://www.stax.co.jp/ENG/History.html

 

[Darwin022]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mckickflip /img/forum/go_quote.gif SR-40's were introduced in 1979. They're old. http://www.stax.co.jp/ENG/History.html

since when did "old" = "bad" in the audio market?

"old" = "broken in"

 

[Carl]

They were Stax's bottom-of-the-line electrets from the late 70s. I have the closed-back version, the SR50, and they aren't bad by any stretch, but they're no Omegas.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Darwin022 /img/forum/go_quote.gif since when did "old" = "bad" in the audio market? "old" = "broken in"

Mckickfip didn't use the word "bad" once in his post...

 

[Darwin022]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif They were Stax's bottom-of-the-line electrets from the late 70s. I have the closed-back version, the SR50, and they aren't bad by any stretch, but they're no Omegas. Mckickfip didn't use the word "bad" once in his post...

so in other words... they are ~$120-150 CAD headphones; worth it if someone likes them?

and I realize he didn't say bad, it was insinuated that anything as old as 1979 wasn't worth buying.

edit: notice that the OP and I referred to CAD (canadian dollars). Keep in mind that if something is listed in CAD, no matter how many CAD it costs, it's still virtually free!

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darwin022 /img/forum/go_quote.gif so in other words... they are ~$120-150 CAD headphones; worth it if someone likes them?

Not in terms of value for money, they aren't.

Quote:

and I realize he didn't say bad, it was insinuated that anything as old as 1979 wasn't worth buying.

I didn't read it that way. There are [reliablity and technological] things to factor in when buying a speaker or headphone over 30 years old. That doesn't mean it's going to be bad, it just requires more thought and consideration about what one is in fact buying. I see nothing at all wrong with telling someone a headphone is old when they may not have been aware of it, do you?

 

[Binaural Fusion]

Thanks for your replies.. I think I can pass this offer by, but any suggestions for another (perhaps not so old) intro to the Stax sound? I know "old" shouldn't be synonymous with "bad" especially in the hi-fi realm- but I have to agree that something nearly 30 years old, and bottom of the line may have more questionable build quality etc than 30 years old and top of the line and thus perhaps may not age as well.

 

[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Binaural Fusion /img/forum/go_quote.gif any suggestions for another (perhaps not so old) intro to the Stax sound?

Well, the cheapest of the new options is the SR-001MkII system which are in-ear, or the SRS-2050II system if you want full size cans. Both of those include a suitable amp.

Second hand, I'd think the best bet would be a Lambda, Gamma or SR-X. These may be equally old but as far as sound quality goes it's possible to get something very nice. You just have to watch out for the issues Carl mentioned, ideally something the owner has looked after well. There are many impressions of these headphones to be found around on the forums. In order to drive the headphones you'll need either a dedicated amp or a transformer box that connects to the speaker connectors of a power amp. Generally any you find for sale second hand will come with either one of these but there are some sold without them (Something to watch out for). It's not the end of the world it you only get the headphones, but it just means you have to pick up another amp or transformer box. Headphone/transformer box combinations seem to be found second hand anywhere from $70 up but I'd avoid going too high, you can find some great stuff under $200. Those with a dedicated amp instead of a transformer box tend to be more costly.

The ones I mentioned are all electrostatic headphones. There are also some called electrets around like that SR40 which tend to go cheaper although I don't know a lot about which to buy or what an ideal price for them is.

One specific issue to keep in mind is that Stax electrostatic headphones don't all use the same bias voltage. The two are generally referred to as Normal bias (maybe low bias) and Pro bias and ideally both headphones and amp/transformer box should be the same. You can't plug normal bias headphones into a pro bias amp or transformer. You can often go the other way, but it's not ideal and some headphones need more voltage to function (Omega II and I expect the Sigma as well). Don't let this bother you too much though, generally speaking any headphone/amp/transformer box sold as a pair will be have matching bias voltage requirements.