KR...
Curator of the Headphone Lust Museum
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2001
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Introduction
While it is understood by most, I might as well say it anyway just in case someone cannot figure it out on their own, which always happens it would seem with every review; everything written in this review is truly in my humble opinion only. My opinions are all based on actual hands on observation and not on anything written on-line or anywhere else. Of course, everyone hears a bit different due to ear shapes and hearing ability, so you may not hear what I can hear and vice versa.
[size=medium]Review of Stax SR-404 and Stax SRM-3 amp combo[/size]
I will now take on several different topics of debate that always seem to creep up whenever people are talking and writing about Stax systems.
1. “In order to have a Stax system you must spend a lot of money and have a high-end source”. This is not entirely true, after trading in my previous system I only had to spend about an additional $200 in order to get my current system, so as you can see; there are always ways around this. I tested two different sources for this review, a very modest Cambridge DVD player that cost only $200 and a high-end Panasonic DVD-Audio Player, which cost about $1000. They both sound good with the Stax SR-404 and Stax SRM-3 amp combo, but of course, the Panasonic DVD-Audio Player (model DVD-A7) sounds clearly better and it is what I will use for this review. Therefore, if you do not have a high-end source (within reason of course) I would not suggest not trying this system, if you really want it. The Stax will only sound as good as the rest of your system so it will let you hear just how well or bad your source and cables really are, so of course for maximum enjoyment you will want to have a source and cables that are up to par with your amp and headphones.
2. “Stax systems are bright”. This may have been the case for older models but those days appear to be clearly over. Once again, (unless you have a bright source or bright cables or are listening to a bright CD) at least this model of Stax headphone and amp will not sound bright. The highs are full extended, extremely detailed and wonderfully airily without ever sounding harsh or bright. This was the case regardless of playing traditionally troublesome instruments like brass winds and treble guitars with were all showcased without a hint of distortion.
3. “Stax headphones have no bass or poor bass”. I most certainly heard deep glorious bass when I listen to music, but in order to make sure this was correct I listen to bass test tones at normal listening volumes in order to hear just how low these headphones can go. With the help of the Stereophile Test CD 1, I played tracks number 20 to 31. It would seem that for this combo, the bass began to become rolled off at track number 29, which has 31.5Hz 1/3- Octcave Warble at -20dB. It was still very much audible however but not as loud as the rest. At track 30 (25Hz), things were very rolled off and I could still hear it but the sound was harder to make out and much lower. At track 31 (20Hz) I could just barely hear with concentrated effort but it was extremely low at this point. Perhaps with a better amp this might not be the case, but I was not able to test it with any other amp for this review, so there you have it. This roll off was not noticeable with any of my music CDs, and the bass that was presented was as tight, detailed and impactful as I have ever heard with any headphone system. However, if you have CDs with bass that goes down to those extreme levels, then this might become more noticeable to you.
4. “Stax headphones are only good for certain types of music”. This is not true at all, I listen to many different styles of music, and in fact, I tried to listen to at least one track of every style of music that I could think of from rock, metal, blues, jazz, hip-hop, pop, country, folk, world, classical, opera, chorus, sound effects, and electronica! I think that would cover everything and they all sounded fantastic with the Stax SR-404 and Stax SRM-3 amp combo.
Now with those four points out of the way, I want to write about the key points of the sound, which this system can produce. This system is not in anyway colored, it is as neutral as they come. Why can I say this? Because this system allowed me to hear that, every CD that I own sounds different, in their own special way. For example, badly recorded CD’s, well sounded badly recorded, well recorded CD’s sounded well recorded, audiophile CDs sounded like audiophile CDs, compressed CD’s sounded compressed and well you get the idea. The tone of each instrument was just dead on and my CD’s really have a wide range of instruments.
I was also extremely impressed by the way, the Stax SR-404 and Stax SRM-3 amp combo was able top handle even the most complex of compositions. Regardless of how complicated things got, the Stax SR-404 and Stax SRM-3 amp combo was able to clearly and beautifully define every single instrument and vocal with ease.
Some tips to keep in mind when using any Stax system. Warm up time is an absolute must! For my amp it normally takes about an hour of warm up time to really start sounding great, your Stax amp may differ, as there might different warm up times for different Stax amps. The headphones themselves require at least 100 hours of break in time to sound their best; my headphones have nearly 300 hours of use already.
In inclusion, I must say that I am very happy with my Stax system. No system is perfect, I really wish it did not take so long to warm up and the last few bass octaves are rolled off, but those are the only flaws that I could find. Of course, everyone will have different wants, needs, and taste when it comes to headphone systems. Not everyone will want to have such a neutral system if most of their CD’s are poorly recorded, but for me at least, this was the best way to go and I am very happy with my choice.
Equipment used:
Stax SR-404 Headphones
Stax SRM-3 Headphone amp
MIT MI-330 CVTerminator Series Two interconnects
Industrial Power Cord (just a much beefier version of what came with the amp)
Panasonic DVD-Audio Player model DVD-A7
Countless CD’s
[size=xx-small]Special footnote about those bass tones from the Stereophile CD:
The 200Hz-100Hz bands can be considered the upper bass, 80Hz-40Hz the midbass, and the remaining bands the low bass.[/size]
