[sTaTIx]

Hi, I'm a newbie and I'm thinking of buying a dedicated headphone amp, but I'm a bit hesitant to do so because I have a few questions that I need addressed. Forgive me if I sound stupid in the process.

From what I've been reading on this forum, I've come to the conclusion that the headphone jacks from most full-sized receivers sound like crap, and if you want to hear the full potential of your headphones, you need a headphone amp. The uniqueness of my situation, though, is that I own a pair of vintage headphones that run through speaker terminals. My question is whether or not the same rule of a home component's headphone output sucking applies here, since I don't use the headphone jack at all. I've been running these 'phones through the secondary set of speaker terminals at the back of my Pioneer VSX-D9O8S home-theatre receiver, and it sounds great, although that may just be my naivety speaking.

 

[JML]

Stax SR-44 or -34, right? I could look at your profile, but that's cheating, and I think that's what it sounds like you have.

Search for them on the forums and you'll find some info. Right now they're limited, IMO, by that box they plug into and the cabling in it. The mids are very good, the highs a bit much, and the bass is not all that great. They sit on your ears, and I remember hot sweaty ears that hurt after a while. And eventually the highs are fatiguing, even with analog sources and a good power amp.

I had them 15 years ago.

 

[sTaTIx]

How'd you guess? Are the Stax the only 'phones which use speaker terminals or something?

You speak of the poor quality of the SR-4 adapter box. Would this help?

 

[JML]

Those Stax phones are the only ones like that, and it was unlikely anyone with the electrostatic models would use a receiver (no offense intended). I believe the electret condenser headphones are not compatible with the adapters or amps made for the electrostatic headphones. There are several Stax websites (official & unofficial) that cover the line and options, it's worth searching for them (some are linked on past Stax discussions in this forum, and you can find them quickly via Google).

The midrange of these phones is rarely matched. If you tried the ATH-W100, though, I think you'd be very happy -- they're far more comfortable, even better in the midrange, and the bass and treble are superior. Search the headphone forum for the reviews. You could use them without an amp, and get the amp later. But I'm spending your money for you (something the members of this forum do well), and I'm prejudiced -- they're my headphones.

Regardless, you won't be happy until you listen to some newer cans and see what's available, right? Otherwise you wouldn't have asked.

 

[sTaTIx]

I dunno if I didn't make this clear or if you were actually intending to reply to another thread in this forum, but in case you didn't know, I ALREADY have the Stax SR-40 headphones! I inherited them from my dad, who bought them some 25 years ago when he was concerned with bothering other people with his speaker system. He claimed that these 'phones were had the best sound out of all he tried at the time; he tried a couple, I presume. He was and still is a speaker buff and he had no use for these headphones, which he tossed in the drawer for 25+ years. My original question, if you would read it closely, was whether or not the cheapness of headphone outputs on regular receivers would have any bearing on these Stax SR-40s, since they don't even use the headphone jacks, they use the speaker terminal outlets.

Another question I have is what type of amp/receiver should I get to drive my Stax. Again, I'm quite inexperienced with audio equipment, so I dunno if regular headphone amps would work, unless there is some kind of speaker terminal-to-1/4 plug adapter out there. I'm looking for an amp/receiver for my SR-40s that's cheap and compact enough to move around the house, and battery operation is not a necessity but it would be nice. Take for instance, your average low-end 100-watt stereo receiver for 80-100 bucks. Basic, cheap, easy to operate and set up, and it fits my needs, but would they do my Stax justice, in your estimation?

 

[JML]

I read it closely.

The Stax headphones can run ONLY from speaker-level outputs. No headphone amp will drive them. They need more far more voltage than anything made for normal headphones, just to power the electret condenser design. You're stuck with that adapter if you use those phones, and you need an amplifier that's not made for the low levels of normal headphones. No way will any headphone amp or portable amp or source work with them.

Any receiver, power amp, or integrated amp (anything that drives loudspeakers) will work with the Stax adapter. But the garbage-in, garbage-out principle applies. The phones are capable of sounding pretty good (for their time they were indeed wonderful). The better the source, the better they sound. Just like loudspeakers. Up to a point, they'll sound better with better amplification and better cabling. But whether you'd notice the difference or care is another question.

What I was telling you was that they're capable of being surpassed in comfort and sound by newer headphones that work from normal headphone jacks. Anything that drives speakers will drive them, but whether it's worth it to buy something just to drive the Stax cans is something only you can decide, and only if you compare them to something more "normal." You'd probably be happier with a set of Grado SR-60s that work with anything.

 

[sTaTIx]

Well, these cans have somewhat of a sentimental appeal for me as well, so I would very much like to use them on a consistent basis. If you could recommend a receiver that's the most bang for someone like me who doesn't like to spend fortunes on luxuries, what would it be? I like the feeling that I basically got these 'phones for free (the original owner would've very possibly thrown 'em out) and blowing several hundred smacks on a new receiver would kinda spoil the "value factor" for me.

One last question: If the receiver was a high-end one that did an awesome job of driving loud-speakers, would it be fairly reasonable to assume that it'd give great sound out of my headphones as well?

 

[JML]

Perhaps someone else knows receivers well; I don't! If you find a good integrated amp, forget the radio and get it. Unlistened-to, but probably good value and sound, would be Parasound or Adcom. If you go to AudioAdvisor's website, you might be able to find some good buys on closeouts of Parasound or something else (they just sent out a mailing including a Nakamichi receiver that sounds like a good buy, but probably out of your price range). And don't overlook the used-equipment market, either!

 

[sTaTIx]

Here I go newbie talking again. What I really mean by that last part was "amplifiers" as opposed to receivers. I have a friend who owns a bunch of high-end power amps that make speakers sound good, and I was curious as to how much the speaker output quality of an amp would relate to the headphone (specifically the Stax SR-40s) output quality. Newbie logic would lead me to believe that if speakers sound great from an amp that headphones connecting to the same speaker-outputs would sound great as well, am I correct?

 

[JML]

Given the way the Stax adapter works, it's safe to assume that the better the quality of the amp (not the power!) the better the sound delivered via the headphones, up to a point. The limiting factor on the ability of these headphones to reach their potential is the adapter box -- the wiring to the box, in the box, and the switch. And their potential is also limited, as I said earlier.

Take the adapter and cans to your friend's house and see if you hear differences with different amps. If I remember the adapter correctly, the connectors are spring-loaded clips for tinned or bare 18G wire, and you may have to find some way to put a pin end on your friend's speaker cabling (those pin connectors aren't high-end toys). Better yet, bring some properly terminated speaker cable with you after talking with the amps' owner.

I bet that the character of the Stax will be less affected by the amps than you might expect.

If you persist in wanting to keep the Stax, the best thing is probably to get some low-powered but high-quality integrated amplifier. You don't need too many watts for the cans, but they should be quality watts. A quality 20-70 watt amp would would work fine, and there have been a number of good audiophile integrated amps in that power range -- as I said, look in the used market or closeouts of current models.

 

[sTaTIx]

I hate to continually prolong this useless (to others) thread any further, but I can't help but think up more questions and issues every time you reply! This will be my last post, I promise (shyeah, right).

You mention the limiting factor of the adapter box on the sound quality; what if I were to replace that box with a newer one made by Stax? I've seen a good number of them available on eBay, and if the SR-4 is such a "bottleneck" of the quality as you assert, than wouldn't the replacement of it with a newer model adapter, or even the Stax integrated amp (which would solve my amp situation as well), do the trick?

 

[JML]

The other Stax boxes are for electrostatic headphones, not electret condenser headphones. They won't work (at least that's what I believe is true) - plus the plugs are different.