[taipeileviathan]

trust me, i'm quite ashamed. i'd kill for a good standalone cdp but my comp is the most economical solution for me rite now...

 

[Vertigo-1]

Quote:

Originally posted by taipeileviathan trust me, i'm quite ashamed. i'd kill for a good standalone cdp but my comp is the most economical solution for me rite now...

One of the reasons we study history is so that we never repeat the same mistakes. Ever. Again.

I strongly recommend you read up on my history on Headwize.

For what it's worth, IMHO I think the Etymotics are better at microdynamics then both the Omega IIs and Lambdas. If you are chasing after the goal of drawing out and hearing every last detail, you may want to consider upgrading your source to a more revealing source. Likewise consider a more revealing amp for the Etymotics.

On the other hand if you just simply can't stop yourself and upgraded to STAXs, the 333ES would very likely be a barrier to how much details you hear with the 4040 system. Likewise I thought that player was on the bright and thin side when I heard it. Such a partnering, or anything similar is probably why so many people feel STAXs are thin and report them as so.

I know it for a fact that when I paired a 3030 system with a soundcard, it was horrendously thin, particularly in the mids and in soundstaging. Hearing a pair of STAX SR-404s on my current system sounds so different, and so much better. The only way they sound thin is in comparison to richer sounding headphones, such as the Omega II.

A final note: if you want visceral bass, even the slightest ounce of it, please forget about electrostatics entirely.

 

[Tim D]

I sort of get the impression that Stax's are finnicky and you really want an incredibly low noisefloor inside and out to really appreciate them. I mean you can just swivel or move your head slightly and hear audible distortions in playback from just slight movements of air acting on the thin diapghram. Likewise I wouldn't particularly like to listen to it in a computing environment...not only is the signal compromised...but so is your listening environment with the noisy computer.

I think one of the reasons SennHD600 were so favorably viewed at the WoHT compared to some stax's were their advantage of effortless macrodynamics...whereas the Stax's can't really show off their microdynamics in that environment. That said, I can't see myself honestly listening in a prone stance in a quiet environment for any long periods of time to really appreciate Stax's. Same deal with AKG1000's...sound good to me, but limited to a truly dedicated listening environment.

 

[RVD]

I have been listening to the HP-2 all day and they I am really enjoying them. I think that maybe the money I would have used to upgrade to the Stax would be better spent on a source or amp upgrade to get more detail. Does anybody have any suggestions for a source or amp that is good for detail?

Quote:

Do yourself a favor, RVD, and repeat this to yourself, a couple (hundred) times: I don't need Stax! I have a pair of Grado HP-2's and they're good enough!

I did what you suggested sTaTIx, and I think it might have worked.

 

[taipeileviathan]

vertigo! u're b-day is a day after mine! mebbe that's why i'm destined to make ur mistakes...

how do i find ur history on the headwize forums?

 

[Vertigo-1]

Quote:

Originally posted by taipeileviathan vertigo! u're b-day is a day after mine! mebbe that's why i'm destined to make ur mistakes... how do i find ur history on the headwize forums?

Search the Headwize forums with the keyword "Stax". I'm sure you'll run across my idjit postings back then, when I was a newbie.

Long story made short...STAX + soundcard = bad. Nonetheless, if they're enjoyable to you, by all means keep right on enjoying. Getting a better source just means they will scale and get better for you. In my case, my failure to seek a better source immediately resulted in me selling the STAX 3030 system. While the end result was I got the Sony MDR-R10s, I'm not convinced that was the smartest move I made...considering I'm right back with STAXs now.

 

[FCJ]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tim D Same deal with AKG1000's...sound good to me, but limited to a truly dedicated listening environment.

Bingo--that's the one and only problem with the AKGs. You lose some of their magic in a noisy enviornment. And based on my experience with Stax, you have the same issue.

 

[M Rael]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tim D I sort of get the impression that Stax's are finnicky and you really want an incredibly low noisefloor inside and out to really appreciate them. I mean you can just swivel or move your head slightly and hear audible distortions in playback from just slight movements of air acting on the thin diapghram

Yes I really noticed this with my ex-303's. You can also move your hand a fair distance around the earspeaker vents while listening to music and hear the effect its having. Its a magnitude more sensitive to that experiement than say the Grado RS1, and naturally it would seem the construction differences account for this.
Heres an idea thats worth repeating:
With headphones positioned on your head and no music playing, listen to the room or the environment around you. You should be able to hear the slight (or pronounced) way the headphones themselves alter natural sound perception. The same character is to some degree imparted into the sound of music, once you start listening to it.
There are two main complications though- music does not sound as natural in a free field environment as it does in a well designed space (so 'enclosureless' designs are not by definition better) and the other complication is that a fully enclosed headphone traps roughly 25-30% of the soundwave energy and does not release/vent it. This causes heat but also sonic filtering effects as a result of those remaining soundwaves interacting with each other.

 

[Kevin]

Quote:

Originally posted by RVD The thing I like most about the Sony v6 is the amount of detail they reveal. I know the Stax are supposed to be the best at retrieving detail and this seems to be what I want most from a headphone

If I were you I would check out the AKG K1000. Absolutely no isolation but incredible detail and sound stage. And although they retail for almost twice as much as the RS-1's, they can be found cheaper than the Grados (check HeadRoom).

 

[edstrelow]

I have used various Stax systems over the years and don't find them especially finnicky except for allowing at least a few minutes to warm up and avoiding plugging and unplugging the phones from their amp when not in use. But you wouldn't plug and unplug interconnects so why unplug the phones? Warm-up effects also exist with other components but you tend not to notice them with less revealing phones.

The comment about problems from turning one's head and messing up the sound just doesn't relate to anything I have ever encountered. I use the Stax portable SRM-001MkII to jog with and have had no problems.

As far as the importance of source quality - yes because these are a high definition item they will show defects which you would not be aware of with other products. Generally the problems occur because of an excess of scratchy treble so that if you have a treble tone control you may want to turn it down with some material.

For several years I had an equalizer in the loop to tailor treble, but as I improved my sources, cables etc., this became unnecessary and I can trade off the occassional scratchy treble for the increased clarity that a basic source/amp/phones set-up gives.

As regards "visceral bass, I think that is a source problem. I regularly hear bass from my Stax Lambda 404 and Novas which makes me feel that the bass sounds are in the room and stimulating my body. This is obviously an illusion since I doubt that the back wave of the Lambdas could actually stimulate the body, but the point is the Lambdas have lots of bass with good material and the set-up used properly.

After you have heard good elctrostatic bass, dynamics phones can sound dirty, like they are not really putting out music at all, just noise.