[kamenal]

After long and agonizing research and hesitation I took delivery of stax 3030 earphones. It is intoxicationg, just as people were saying. I listen to classical mostly, utilizing my main system's Naim cdp and stax's own amp.
Please, share your thoughts, tweaks and mods to achieve ultimate nirvana of headphone listening. Also, please, share some info regarding the best recordings, which can reveal detail and sense of space the stax are capable of (solo piano, chamber etc).
Sincerely,
Alex

 

[marios_mar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamenal Please, share your thoughts, tweaks and mods to achieve ultimate nirvana of headphone listening.Alex

Try vinyl. Stax were made to be used with analog. They truly shine.

Other than that maybe a little modding of the amp with some better caps as some say could help out. I havent tried it personally though and dont know much about it.

After you spot your systems characteristics maybe its cable tweaking time.

Enjoy these headphones and dont make the mistake and sell them.

 

[Nak Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamenal Please, share your thoughts, tweaks and mods to achieve ultimate nirvana of headphone listening.

I'd just say enjoy your Stax as it is now, you're already this close to nirvana anyway. Don't make a mistake of irreversible tweaks only to get another pair or amp later on !

BTW congrats ! You made a wise move going straight to the top instead of trying a little here and there only to arrive to Stax much $$$ afterwards.

 

[xantus]

IMO stay on the search for good recordings. it seems more worth your money to find a stellar recording rather than dump money into tweaks. after all, garbage in, garbage out (well in this case more like, not-superb in, not-superb out)

TEAM RECORDING FIRST!

well what sort of music are you into. I have a recording I could suggest (its an orchestral piece from a Bjork concert), but I ripped and downmixed it from a live DVD, so its not something you could exactly go out and buy. though if you like it could be arranged to have it sent to you (i could get together a compilation of tracks that give you a good sense of space)

 

[kamenal]

Thank you for your replies. I do have a decent collection of mostly classical music (approx 400 CDs), which I've started to assemble in early '80ies. Now I need to look for top performers and high quality recordings.
Enjoy your music.
Sincerely,
Alex

 

[Mike Scarpitti]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamenal After long and agonizing research and hesitation I took delivery of stax 3030 earphones. It is intoxicationg, just as people were saying. I listen to classical mostly, utilizing my main system's Naim cdp and stax's own amp. Please, share your thoughts, tweaks and mods to achieve ultimate nirvana of headphone listening. Also, please, share some info regarding the best recordings, which can reveal detail and sense of space the stax are capable of (solo piano, chamber etc). Sincerely, Alex

Trio Mediaeval

Most ECM records

Danzas Medievales Españolas EDUARDO PANIAGUA GROUP
http://stereophile.com/recordingofthemonth/738/

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...990620-2079958


Most of Paul Simon's recent stuff is glorious.

 

[NuTT98]

I'd say using quality crossfeed is essential. Equalizing them for flatness might also be a good idea.

 

[pspivak]

Hi,

I have never heard equalization in the circuit that was described by NuTT98 but in my opinion I would not add anything between the music and the earspeaker that was not absolutely necessary until you give them a complete warm-up and break in period. As Marios said vinyl does sound great with the Stax, especially with the proper vinyl rig, but CD's DVD-A's and SACD's with the right player sound great too.

It's music time now, classical to trance, easy listening to hard rock and grunge. (Remember in the Blues Brothers movie when the waitress was asked what kind of music they had at Bob's Country Bunker, "We have both kinds, Country and Western"). Have a good time and don't turn them up too loud. With their low distortion and their appearently unlimited dynamic range you may end up with ringing ears.

ps They really do sound best after 10:00pm and a good warm up. They sound OK right out of the box too.

 

[xantus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NuTT98 I'd say using quality crossfeed is essential. Equalizing them for flatness might also be a good idea.

ive heard that crossfeed kills the Lambda series' soundstage...

 

[NuTT98]

Quote:

ive heard that crossfeed kills the Lambda series' soundstage...

Why would it? Crossfeed just adds a natural real-world phenomenon that most headphones lack in themselves. The soundstage is undoubtedly improved, especially on hard-panned sounds that sound completely in-ear without crossfeed. With crossfeed they sound distant and freeeeeeee.

Now ofcourse this depends on the quality of the crossfeed unit. If you're using Dolby Headphone, I'm not suprised you prefer it raw. After trying out just about everything I could get my hands on, Cubase X-Ternalizer is easily the best. It adds spectral processing that slightly projects the image forward and the essential crossfeed without adding coloration or a 'room' effect to the sound like DH and possibly other processors do.

I'm very picky about natural uncoloured sound, which is one reason why I went with Staxes. I wouldn't be using crossfeed if it caused any unwelcome side-effects.