SoliloCey
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2008
- Posts
- 251
- Likes
- 10
[size=x-small]Stax Sr-303 Impressions[/size]
Im not going to tell you my source, all I'm going to say is its a Samsung DVD/CD/mp3 player. I am aware the source is not top-notch or good, so if you're going to make a comment about it then I suggest you reccomend a CD player that only costs two pairs of Air Force Ones
Afterall I'm a student
[size=small][Equipment & Albums][/size]
Samsung DVD player
Neutrix ProFi
Stax SR-303 (Lambda Classic)
---
{Hip-Hop}
7L & Esoteric ~ Bars of Death
Bliss 'N' Eso ~ Day of The Dog
Eyedea & Abilities ~ E&A
Jurassic 5 ~ Feedback
Jurassic 5 ~ Power In Numbers
Kanye West ~ Late Registration: Touch The Sky Tour Edition
Lupe Fiasco ~ Food & Liquor
The Roots ~ Phrenology
The Roots ~ The Rising Down
The Streets ~ The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
Wu Tang Clan ~ Live in San Diego
{Jazz}
Frank Sinatra ~ Nothing But The Best
Jamie Cullum ~ Twenty Something
Various Artist ~ Smooth Jazz Vol. 1 - Vol. 5
{Rock}
Coldplay ~ A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Dogs Die In Hot Cars ~ Please Describe Yourself
Franz Ferdinand ~ Franz Ferdinand
Jet ~ Get Born
Maroon 5 ~ Songs About Jane
Muse ~ Absolution
Muse ~ Haarp(Live from wembley stadium)
The Libertines ~ The Libertines
Razorlight ~ Up All Night
{Other}
Dido ~ Life For Rent
Jamiroquai ~ High Times
Kanye West ~ Live At Abbey Road DVD
Various Artists ~ 101 Classic Vol. 4
[size=small][Executive Summary][/size]
The Stax'ens arrived yesterday, I have used them for a good 20+ hours, and have concluded they are an utter disappointment!! You might ask what was wrong. Well Apart from the fact after a long session, I lied on bed resting listening Dido. After a while I closed my eyes, and focused on the fidelity of the music, and vocals; Right there, and then the Stax had captured me. I opened my eyes to be deceived!!! Dido was not on top of me singing, nor was there a woman wearing victoria's secrets
I have truthfully never heard vocals sound so real, The MS-Pro had been a great dynamic headphone I tried but that moment of bliss, convinced me I had made the right choice.
[size=small][Introduction][/size]
Right the Stax arrived yesterday about 10am just before I went off to the shooting range. I got back, and have had about 20 hours use. I was of course over the moon that they came due to new toy syndrome. I will say the David Kato cables(which I havent used yet) looked impressive, and nicely packaged in the plastic seal cases. The Stax's (Im assuming this is how they're boxed first hand) looked cheap looking. The box looked like it had stayed the same since the first Lambda's were made in 1979. So The packaging looks like they haven't spent as much as Beyerdyamic, Ultasone, and Audio-Technica. Then again why would we need the box when we're going to use them?
[size=small][Build Quality][/size]
Well I guess the looks is an acquired taste. I like its looks though. Though I thought some of the plastic looks a little cheap. but its strong, and can flex fairly well; unlike some of the ultraones, where I was too scared to take them off in case they break. the pads are rather comfortable, and don't hurt or strain against your head. Another note is it creak alot which is annoying.
The Lambda Classic speakers can slide up and down, and is a good touch, as when I recall wearing the AD900's resting on my jaw. Though I noticed after 5 hours the Staxs had slip an inch down, so maybe some clips to keep them in place would be nice. Also the headrest is probably my favorite bit of the headphone build, but then i like leather.
[size=small][Impressions][/size]
{Bass}
I honestly don't know why people say this headphone is lacking in the Bass department. From when the button hit play I never found a lack in bass. It was lean, but I felt there was an ample amount, and on some tracks there was plenty of bass. This headphone does not add a load of bass, but gives you the amount of bass, that was recorded in the studio. I thought the bass extension was similar to my ATH-A900Ti; So I was still content thinking I've got myself an open A900Ti for the house. The Bass Quality I found during this time to be slightly better then my current Audio-Technica's; It had some warmth to it.
I kept switching between the two headphones, and trying out the same albums (The A900Ti had the better source - JVC HiFi). I still thought for the first 5 hours the bass was roughly the same, with the Staxs offering a more realistic approach, and better sound. The extension was also slightly better I found. Other then that, I could hardly notice anything lacking here, or annoying.
Though later on after 10 hours, The Bass is beyond belief. and the e bass extension is beyond belief, from double bass, drum solos, it just ace'd the AT's
{Detail, Soundstage & Midrange}
Now some of you are going to kill me for saying this. I thought again for the first few hours it was all relatively the same. I noticed a greater soundstage, and with more details evident in the midrange. Though I thought the detail was only slightly better then my AT's. However when I got round to sticking Lupe Fiasco's Food And Liquor something magical happened. All of the sudden from the track 'Just Might Be OK' to Kick, Push to the very end. need detailed sounds, as cystral clear were apparent, which the A900Ti's had failed to pick up. Later on the Staxs continued bring greater and greater detail picking out instruments that were feint in the Audio-Technica's, and bringing them to life, and louder, and remaining clear.
The Midrange was different from the start. The Audio-Technica's had a tendency to layer my Sinatra, seperating the instruments. The Stax presented lush, and thick mids. everything was thrown into one basket if you like, even the vocals. This I thought was going to be bad, but after the third album, the midrange started to shine and bask in its glory. Then when I put on Absolution the midrange was starting to blitz my current heaphones, and the mids I reminisced from the MS-Pro audition. The MS-Pro was suddenly becoming obsolete by every passing hour.
The Soundstage, oh the soundstage. Well at first I wasn't testing the soundstage, but it was noticeable to begin with, a few hip-hop tracks showed me it had a superior panoramic sound if I daresay. Then I got brave. I placed Kanye West Live at Abbey Road DVD, and this was the first eye opener to the Stax detail, and soundstage. When the crowd applauded I had to admit I pretty much thought I heard 300 individual claps, later other things like double bass, chellos, violins that were used in the live performance at abbey road came to life. The experience was as if you were there too!
{Treble}
I'm Not a big fan of treble, but I haven't found the treble so ear piercing, only in about 4 tracks I found it rather too harsh for my liking, but there was some incredible highs! The Stax has told me a story; That Treble is just as important as Bass for enjoyable music, and that my AT's that seemed to lack treble, and are nowhere near as good. The high's were just good. The MS-Pro's was simply more then an arm's length away from the SR-303's
{Overall}
The Stax's was impressive to say the least, I kept thinking, since I wanted more comfort, how I might save up to get another Lambda, and modify it have clarino leather pads, and something more comfortable like an AT frame, and was considering, if i could fit the earspeakers into an AD1000. or something large and circumaural that could house the Lambda earspeaker. I thought of the HD650 as well.
Later on the music, the detail, and the sound was so impressive. I thought how the MS-Pro's are abit too overpriced to justify the quality of sound. The Stax's proved to me that Coldplay was great with the drums sounding so surreal, the hip-hop albums had enough bass, Jamiroquai was excellent. Dido was a disappointment, since the sound was so impresssive, I thought the headphones had morphed into Dido. They were flawless!
{Concluding}
I got down to the last 7 albums, I stucked Jurassic 5, again the detail, and soundstage blew me out of the water again, whilst still making the music sound as surreal. I got to Maroon 5. It did well with acoustic, though the A900Ti Was also just as good. Then Late Registration was, again trumpets, sax's and the piano. The piano was out of this world! possibly out of this galaxy! At the time I thought getting a grand piano would only be able to sound slightly better then what i heard at that very moment.
Then came the Bliss N Eso, and again it was great!! one of my favorite Hip-Hop duos was next. This was when I would've sold my soul to Stax, and how Stax bought my heart. E & A wasn't just great, it was bloody marvellous! details, and sound reproduction just blitzed my current headphones, and anything i've experienced from headphones costing more then my SRM1/mk2. Even now listening to Muse live the piano still is incredible, I can't believe it.
Though ToneDeff's Archetype reminded me that I will still need my dynamics, as the sound left a little hiss in the right, the bass was weak, and the vocals were faint, but the faint details shone. I believe this maybe the production quality though since QN5 records is a very small independant label. Other then that Sinatra won my heart, It's been a great experience, and I've enjoyed it that much I have a sudden urge to get the portable Stax. (and then get onto my lambda mod
Spritzer where are you?
)
PS - I don't care about your silly K1000's I feel like I have a better system then your K1000, and I look cooler with my Stax, while I laugh at you K1000 owners.
and no one please tempt me with HE90's or sigma's or omega's till I'm making more then $50,000 a year.
Im not going to tell you my source, all I'm going to say is its a Samsung DVD/CD/mp3 player. I am aware the source is not top-notch or good, so if you're going to make a comment about it then I suggest you reccomend a CD player that only costs two pairs of Air Force Ones
[size=small][Equipment & Albums][/size]
Samsung DVD player
Neutrix ProFi
Stax SR-303 (Lambda Classic)
---
{Hip-Hop}
7L & Esoteric ~ Bars of Death
Bliss 'N' Eso ~ Day of The Dog
Eyedea & Abilities ~ E&A
Jurassic 5 ~ Feedback
Jurassic 5 ~ Power In Numbers
Kanye West ~ Late Registration: Touch The Sky Tour Edition
Lupe Fiasco ~ Food & Liquor
The Roots ~ Phrenology
The Roots ~ The Rising Down
The Streets ~ The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
Wu Tang Clan ~ Live in San Diego
{Jazz}
Frank Sinatra ~ Nothing But The Best
Jamie Cullum ~ Twenty Something
Various Artist ~ Smooth Jazz Vol. 1 - Vol. 5
{Rock}
Coldplay ~ A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Dogs Die In Hot Cars ~ Please Describe Yourself
Franz Ferdinand ~ Franz Ferdinand
Jet ~ Get Born
Maroon 5 ~ Songs About Jane
Muse ~ Absolution
Muse ~ Haarp(Live from wembley stadium)
The Libertines ~ The Libertines
Razorlight ~ Up All Night
{Other}
Dido ~ Life For Rent
Jamiroquai ~ High Times
Kanye West ~ Live At Abbey Road DVD
Various Artists ~ 101 Classic Vol. 4
[size=small][Executive Summary][/size]
The Stax'ens arrived yesterday, I have used them for a good 20+ hours, and have concluded they are an utter disappointment!! You might ask what was wrong. Well Apart from the fact after a long session, I lied on bed resting listening Dido. After a while I closed my eyes, and focused on the fidelity of the music, and vocals; Right there, and then the Stax had captured me. I opened my eyes to be deceived!!! Dido was not on top of me singing, nor was there a woman wearing victoria's secrets
[size=small][Introduction][/size]
Right the Stax arrived yesterday about 10am just before I went off to the shooting range. I got back, and have had about 20 hours use. I was of course over the moon that they came due to new toy syndrome. I will say the David Kato cables(which I havent used yet) looked impressive, and nicely packaged in the plastic seal cases. The Stax's (Im assuming this is how they're boxed first hand) looked cheap looking. The box looked like it had stayed the same since the first Lambda's were made in 1979. So The packaging looks like they haven't spent as much as Beyerdyamic, Ultasone, and Audio-Technica. Then again why would we need the box when we're going to use them?
[size=small][Build Quality][/size]
Well I guess the looks is an acquired taste. I like its looks though. Though I thought some of the plastic looks a little cheap. but its strong, and can flex fairly well; unlike some of the ultraones, where I was too scared to take them off in case they break. the pads are rather comfortable, and don't hurt or strain against your head. Another note is it creak alot which is annoying.
The Lambda Classic speakers can slide up and down, and is a good touch, as when I recall wearing the AD900's resting on my jaw. Though I noticed after 5 hours the Staxs had slip an inch down, so maybe some clips to keep them in place would be nice. Also the headrest is probably my favorite bit of the headphone build, but then i like leather.
[size=small][Impressions][/size]
{Bass}
I honestly don't know why people say this headphone is lacking in the Bass department. From when the button hit play I never found a lack in bass. It was lean, but I felt there was an ample amount, and on some tracks there was plenty of bass. This headphone does not add a load of bass, but gives you the amount of bass, that was recorded in the studio. I thought the bass extension was similar to my ATH-A900Ti; So I was still content thinking I've got myself an open A900Ti for the house. The Bass Quality I found during this time to be slightly better then my current Audio-Technica's; It had some warmth to it.
I kept switching between the two headphones, and trying out the same albums (The A900Ti had the better source - JVC HiFi). I still thought for the first 5 hours the bass was roughly the same, with the Staxs offering a more realistic approach, and better sound. The extension was also slightly better I found. Other then that, I could hardly notice anything lacking here, or annoying.
Though later on after 10 hours, The Bass is beyond belief. and the e bass extension is beyond belief, from double bass, drum solos, it just ace'd the AT's
{Detail, Soundstage & Midrange}
Now some of you are going to kill me for saying this. I thought again for the first few hours it was all relatively the same. I noticed a greater soundstage, and with more details evident in the midrange. Though I thought the detail was only slightly better then my AT's. However when I got round to sticking Lupe Fiasco's Food And Liquor something magical happened. All of the sudden from the track 'Just Might Be OK' to Kick, Push to the very end. need detailed sounds, as cystral clear were apparent, which the A900Ti's had failed to pick up. Later on the Staxs continued bring greater and greater detail picking out instruments that were feint in the Audio-Technica's, and bringing them to life, and louder, and remaining clear.
The Midrange was different from the start. The Audio-Technica's had a tendency to layer my Sinatra, seperating the instruments. The Stax presented lush, and thick mids. everything was thrown into one basket if you like, even the vocals. This I thought was going to be bad, but after the third album, the midrange started to shine and bask in its glory. Then when I put on Absolution the midrange was starting to blitz my current heaphones, and the mids I reminisced from the MS-Pro audition. The MS-Pro was suddenly becoming obsolete by every passing hour.
The Soundstage, oh the soundstage. Well at first I wasn't testing the soundstage, but it was noticeable to begin with, a few hip-hop tracks showed me it had a superior panoramic sound if I daresay. Then I got brave. I placed Kanye West Live at Abbey Road DVD, and this was the first eye opener to the Stax detail, and soundstage. When the crowd applauded I had to admit I pretty much thought I heard 300 individual claps, later other things like double bass, chellos, violins that were used in the live performance at abbey road came to life. The experience was as if you were there too!
{Treble}
I'm Not a big fan of treble, but I haven't found the treble so ear piercing, only in about 4 tracks I found it rather too harsh for my liking, but there was some incredible highs! The Stax has told me a story; That Treble is just as important as Bass for enjoyable music, and that my AT's that seemed to lack treble, and are nowhere near as good. The high's were just good. The MS-Pro's was simply more then an arm's length away from the SR-303's
{Overall}
The Stax's was impressive to say the least, I kept thinking, since I wanted more comfort, how I might save up to get another Lambda, and modify it have clarino leather pads, and something more comfortable like an AT frame, and was considering, if i could fit the earspeakers into an AD1000. or something large and circumaural that could house the Lambda earspeaker. I thought of the HD650 as well.
Later on the music, the detail, and the sound was so impressive. I thought how the MS-Pro's are abit too overpriced to justify the quality of sound. The Stax's proved to me that Coldplay was great with the drums sounding so surreal, the hip-hop albums had enough bass, Jamiroquai was excellent. Dido was a disappointment, since the sound was so impresssive, I thought the headphones had morphed into Dido. They were flawless!
{Concluding}
I got down to the last 7 albums, I stucked Jurassic 5, again the detail, and soundstage blew me out of the water again, whilst still making the music sound as surreal. I got to Maroon 5. It did well with acoustic, though the A900Ti Was also just as good. Then Late Registration was, again trumpets, sax's and the piano. The piano was out of this world! possibly out of this galaxy! At the time I thought getting a grand piano would only be able to sound slightly better then what i heard at that very moment.
Then came the Bliss N Eso, and again it was great!! one of my favorite Hip-Hop duos was next. This was when I would've sold my soul to Stax, and how Stax bought my heart. E & A wasn't just great, it was bloody marvellous! details, and sound reproduction just blitzed my current headphones, and anything i've experienced from headphones costing more then my SRM1/mk2. Even now listening to Muse live the piano still is incredible, I can't believe it.
Though ToneDeff's Archetype reminded me that I will still need my dynamics, as the sound left a little hiss in the right, the bass was weak, and the vocals were faint, but the faint details shone. I believe this maybe the production quality though since QN5 records is a very small independant label. Other then that Sinatra won my heart, It's been a great experience, and I've enjoyed it that much I have a sudden urge to get the portable Stax. (and then get onto my lambda mod
PS - I don't care about your silly K1000's I feel like I have a better system then your K1000, and I look cooler with my Stax, while I laugh at you K1000 owners.
