How good are my STAX?

[kinsale]

Hi all,

i've been really happy listening to my STAX SR-X Mark3 for a few months now. Even though they are old they sound quite amazing. My system is Laptop-USBDAC-Qinpu Q2-SRD-7 - SRX-Mk3.

My question is where am I on the headphone scale? I know the newer STAX will probably blow mine away but on the overall scale what is better? Which dynamic headphones would sound better? How about Koss Electrostatic?
I'm really just looking for an idea of where to go for better sound.
I'm not able to get to any of the meets and there really are no places near me to audition phones. I'm reliant on recommendations.

Thanks
Ian

 

[webbie64]

Ian,

1. If you are happy, is there really a need to explore if there are further improvements for you?
2. Opinions will vary, on both alternate electrostatic headphones and even the current amplification and source you are using.
3. You don't mention whether you are listening to lossless or lossy, which could be another area to improve before geting to the phones.
4. You could explore http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f113/s...ad-new-223263/ to see if there are suggested mods to improve the SRX-Mk3s
5. 'Overall scale' is always going to be fairly subjective depending on the breadth of experiences the person has, both with a well synergised dynamic or electrostatic set up.
6. I'd suggest you ask in http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f113/s...ad-new-223263/, where you are likely to get responses from people with a wide range of electrostatic experience (e.g. spritzer) but you should also read the thread a bit to see if their preferences for sound are similar to yours (i.e. gain some context for any individual's recommendations).
7. I'm only commenting on the Koss ESP950s (I'm assuming it's the current model you are referring to) because you specifically mention them (although I've experienced a number of energisers, amps and other electrostatic headphones). IMHO the Koss are a very good headphone with some well documented weaknesses (e.g. potential for dust to get in them) counterbalanced by the Koss Lifetime warranty to address any problems that might arise. In SQ terms they aren't at the level of the very best but they do seem to pair better with a wider range of amplification options IMHO.