[bpinnell]

Hello everyone. I am still reeling from finally hearing accurate levels of bass in my Stax 404 phones. In stock form, the 404's (and the 303's and probably the 202's) are rather lean in bass overall because of an emphasis on upper mids/treble. The bass is there and articulate, but just not at the right level. I think I read somewhere on the forums about breaking the seal and how that increases base (Servinginecuador perhaps?) in Stax phones. I took that advice and inserted the tips of my index finger between my jaw and the lower front corner of the phones. The difference was immediate and noticeable. Since I couldn't hold my hands to my face the entire time, I went looking for a quick solution that would be the same size as a finger and that would stay in place. Since my time was limited (I only get my daughter's nap time for this kind of stuff), I went for the first thing I saw. AA batteries. I put one at the lower front corner of each side and they held in place just fine. Didn't notice them either which was nice. I can't listen to these without this mod anymore. It is that satisfying. It basically evens out the frequency spectrum or at least gets much closer to even.

At least this will tide me over into I get the Omega II's in ten years. Just wanted to share if someone has been unhappy with their Stax. Undoubtedly there are solutions more elegant than AA batteries that will work.

 

[Leporello]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bpinnell AA batteries. I put one at the lower front corner of each side and they held in place just fine. Didn't notice them either which was nice. I can't listen to these without this mod anymore. It is that satisfying.

Hmm, what do you think, would alkalines sound better than rechargeables?

Just kidding. I actually tried the mod (I have the SR-303) with foam earplugs breaking the seal. But I have to say they are much more comfortable in my ears than against my cheek. Sometimes I feel that the Stax could use a little more warmth, other times I am happy with their sound.


Regards,

L.

 

[Salt Peanuts]

Glad you're enjoying the 404's.

I've never really had the bass issue with them (or Stax in general) that everyone else have reported numerous times. I don't know, maybe I just have a weird face shape that works well for Stax cans.

 

[skudmunky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salt Peanuts Glad you're enjoying the 404's. I've never really had the bass issue with them (or Stax in general) that everyone else have reported numerous times. I don't know, maybe I just have a weird face shape that works well for Stax cans.

well, if your avatar is anything like your face...

 

[Ken B]

I experimented lifting the pads on my 404's when I first read about this. My impression is the bass does appear to increase but it no longer sounded natural especially with acoustic bass. And the rest of the frequency spectrum did not sound quite right either. But I can see how some people will find it as an improvement. To my ears and with my associated equipment, it sounds fairly balanced to me, and I tend to have long listening sessions without fatigue.

Cheers,

Ken

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bpinnell I think I read somewhere on the forums about breaking the seal and how that increases base (Servinginecuador perhaps?) in Stax phones.

I am indeed one of the evangelists pushing this doctrine, but not the only one.

Just a little experimentation, and I'm quite happy that someone else is finding success, although the AA battery idea is a stoke of genius my friend. I was only thinking of punching holes in the (p)leather ear pads so they would allow free airflow that resembled a ported vs. sealed enclosure.

Glad to hear that more and more folks are enjoying their Stax units, and here's to yet another proponent of doing some creative mods to make them even more enjoyable. Keep up the good work!

 

[pspivak]

Holy guacamole!! This really works! I will try for awhile and decide if the new bass is really just boominess or if this is one step closer to the holy grail.

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[dj_mocok]

I have no problem with bass whatsoever at all.
Maybe depends on face structure or maybe equipment matching?

 

[catscratch]

Seems to me that this increases midbass bloat instead of giving better high-quality bass. I also read that Stax cans were designed to operate while maintaining an acoustic seal with the side of your head - hence, the Stax recommendation that you use books in between the earcups while burning the cans in.

Anyway, I think the right way to go about this is with proper equipment matching. But, I'll experiment with this some more.

 

[Jahn]

Maybe it's my glasses' temple bars that break the seal, but I never had a prob with the bass either.

 

[The Actual]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dj_mocok I have no problem with bass whatsoever at all.

Me neither.

When I first got these I was in pretty hard bass withdrawl, but over the last four months I have really grown to like them. Now I can't stand the feeling of the bass hitting my head from phones like the HD650 or HF1. But thanks for telling me about the mod. I will definitely give it a try.

 

[bpinnell]

I think that upstream components can certainly affect the satisfaction with the 404's bass. I am using the 313 amp that supposedly had low hours on it before I bought it, Canare IC's which tend to be on the bright side of neutral, and a Pioneer DV45a DVD player.

So amp burn in might help, as could new IC's. Perhaps the size of your face might play a role too.

Though I think that for me, breaking the seal in this manner adds a presence between 80-250 Hz that is there when listening to the recordings on studio monitors. It adds more air and decay at these frequencies without sounding artificially boomy like other phones. Its an almost speaker-like presence. The detail and quickness/transparency are still there across the spectrum. The best word to describe the change is impact.

Though I did notice when using my hands to lift the pads off my ears that a little bit goes a long way. Too much causes boominess and affects the mids/treble. Like anything, YMMV.

I am hoping to upgrade to a nice tube amp at some point, so perhaps tube-rolling will take care of this.

Cheers.

 

[elmoe]

I put my MPX3 before the srm313/404 combo and... what lack of bass are u talking about?

 

[bpinnell]

Jashugan:

That is interesting. I assume you had the preamp option built into your Singlepower amp? Have you used any tube electrostatic amp alone with the 404's? If so, how does the sound compare to using the Singlepower plus 313? If not, what does the Singlepower contribute to the sound when paired with the 313? Thanks.

 

[Jahn]

Yeah, no fooling around upstream. I have a Melos tube hybrid as a preamp (with nice warm NOS tubes in there) and a very warm interconnect in between (audioquest diamondbacks, good copper strand). Since the SRM-1/MKII is a solid state energizer, it's important to get the right synergy for this electrostatic rig. The result is a deep but clear bass note that appeals to the bassheads and the accuracy-heads alike.