[Dr.Sade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by catscratch You can wear them on the headband without pushing them into your ears. This way, ear canal size probably won't matter. Comfort is definitely not their stong suit, though. You basically have to get used to them, and they will feel quite uncomfortable intitially. But, after the adjustment period, they are just fine, for me anyway.

I've read threads that say you have to wear them IEM style (no headband)
to get the bass and warmth. Moreover the threads said they were more
comfortable without the headband since the headband itself creates even more pressure/adjusment problems. But thanks. I will buy some if the dealer has a return policy.

 

[smeggy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr.Sade I've read threads that say you have to wear them IEM style (no headband) to get the bass and warmth. Moreover the threads said they were more comfortable without the headband since the headband itself creates even more pressure/adjusment problems. But thanks. I will buy some if the dealer has a return policy.

They can be worn equally comfortably either way once you adjust the headband out so there's almost no pressure. The sound is the same either eay as long as you get a decent seal.

To other posters, the sound does leak a little but not very much. It's a lot less noticable at the same volue level as the Grados, Senns and Stax 404s. It also appears to let less sound in than full cans. Dunno why, it just does.

 

[nelda]

Gentlemen, i just got myself SR-001.
I guess I like it. but I do feel something is lacking. I'm feeding it with Creative Nomad Zen Xtra 320Kbps. I would try my old Sony Discman.
This is quite a unique discman as it can play VCD so it has line out.
Which one is better, the headphone out or line out of the cdp?
I also notice that i need to crank the zen to max volume(25) to get decent sounds from this stax at 11 o'clock. Is this normal. This is used unit so i don't think burn-in is the culprit.

Cheers guys.

 

[c001m4n]

Eventhough this is a SR-003 thread and not the SR-001 appreciation thread I have to say CONGRATULATIONS and welcome to the club. The amp that came with the system should have plenty of power to drive the headphones. On my Rio Carbon set to max the amp is only at 9 o'clock, I also keep it at around 9 for my iPod line-out, so check how much output power your Zen has.

Oh and BTW, I believe burn-in does not REALLY apply to these Stax (don't want to get flamed...). Most of us either use a power supply to increase the quality of sound, or leave the amp on for awhile before using. Search for the SR-001 appreciation thread for more info.

 

[fierce_freak]

Line out should be better. The volume issue seems a bit odd to me, but I own the SRS-005a which probably has a beefier amp. iPod line out to the srs-005a...well, I can only use the first "hour" or two on the dial before the volume becomes ear bleed inducing.

The Stax do seem to benefit from some warm up...I like to turn 'em on for a half hour or so before I actually sit down to listen.

Also, give yourself some time to get used to the sound signature and also fiddle around with the way the headphone sits in your ear. It has a big effect on the sound (for me).

 

[catscratch]

Line-out should be better. AC power would be better still. A better source would be ideal

In my long history of trying out various mp3 players with the SR-001, the only one that didn't suck right out of the player was the Kenwood HD20GA7, but it only had a headphone output, which hissed. Now, the Kenwood is a notch or two above the ipods and Zen Micros of the world, so I wouldn't expect an mp3 player to be adequate.

Just my .02, of course. The SR-001 is a Stax through and through, which means that it's ultra-picky about it's source material.

Here's what I suggest:

1) Burn them in. I don't remember exactly how much burn-in helped with mine, but I do remember it helping.
2) Try AC power. I didn't find an adapter that worked Stateside, but the Stax adapter together with any 110V-100V step-down transformer is what you need. The amp improves a whole lot under AC power.
3) Try using wave, and see if that helps. Short of a source upgrade, it's the cheapest upgrade that you can make. I won't get into the whole lossless vs. lossy thing here, but just try wave, and if it makes a difference, great! If it doesn't, well, you have nothing to lose except an hour or so.
4) Warm them up. The amp needs about 30 minutes to start singing, but 5 minutes is what you need for the most noticeable changes.

In the end, nearly all mediocre performance issues that I had with the SR-001 were source-related. With a good CPD, DAC, or sound card, these headphones really sing. And no, they'll never give you dynamic-like impact and weight/solidity to the sound. They're very ethereal sounding even for 'stats. So, if that's what's missing, well, 'stats probably won't do it for you in the first place.

 

[fierce_freak]

I agree, very source dependant. I got my Redwine iMod yesterday, and it blows my 3G ipod away quite handily on the SRS-005a.

 

[amartignano]

Thanx smeggy for the listening impressions.

I've never tried the SR-003, but I have here the little SR-001MkII system... in a word: wonderful! Really beautiful sound for the price!

Maybe a little too "darkish" and soft sounding, but wonderful bass and very pleasant overall presentation. And portable too!

Geniality in headphones from Stax...

Andrew

 

[eduj]

Just to add that in my experience the quality of the batteries matters.With the cheapo ones that came with the set the sound was crappy.With 2 good NimH like the Maha ones and a good charger these babies really started to sing.Also IMO mp3 players are not good enough...as sources.They need at least one of the "legendary" vintage PCDPs (or a MicroDac or a Red Wine Mod...)