[jaybar]

I was surprised to read about 2 weeks ago on head-fi that someone who communicated with Stax Japan said the technician suggested a fairly long break-n. Maybe up to 6 months.

Have you found this to eb the case?

I am now continuously running my SRM 717/404 system (playing FM/CD), and do in fact, find they are smoothing out with less of a 2k peak.

I also find that when I listen at low volumes (< 73db measured by the Radioshack meter next to the headphones, that they are much more listenable (this pleases my ear doctor). The more I raise the volume (75-80 db average or higher) , the brighter/harder they get and the more I experience hear distortion (I am sensitive to loud higher pitched sounds). Moreover, I am still retaining detail and pitch nuence at low volumes.

Is this what others have experienced or am I the only one who thinks they require a very long break in and do better at low volumes?

I would be interested in hearing from 404 users on this.

Thanks,

Jay

 

[catscratch]

I would tentatively agree with the long burn-in period, but lacking hard proof other than my own ears, I can only tentatively agree

I also find them to perform quite well at low volumes. They don't lack in dynamics, power, or cohestion at low volumes, like many dynamic headphones such as the Senns do. But, I find this the case for brighter headphones in general. The human ear only perceives a truly linear sound to be truly linear at loud volumes - at quieter volumes, the bass and treble begin to drop off. So, a headphone with bass and treble boosts would sound more linear during low-volume listening. Now, this isn't the case exactly with the SR-404, which has no bass boost at all and not that much treble boost - mostly a lower midrange boost - but it's still a bit on the bright side, and being very clear besides, it does sound very good at low volume.

Edit: when you're running them continuously, they're always going to be at full charge. I found that, when the stators are not fully charged, the upper midrange peak is accentuated. So, that could be the difference that you're hearing. But, I wouldn't dismiss burn-in either as a possibility.

 

[Snake]

Hey! Congrats, and search is your friend

You'll find my comments about 404 burn in, about 300 hours. Which, thanks to "average" listening, indeed just might be 6 months.

Just set up your 404's to play when you are not around, when you are around - 24 hours a day. Come back to listen about 7 days later and they will sound quite different.

 

[Leporello]

All phones I have owned so far have sounded subjectively better at low volume, even the Lambdas (SR-303 in my case).

I wonder if measuring electrostatic phones is somehow trickier than usual. In a recent Finnish 'Hifi' magazine test, measurements showed a high but narrow peak in the bass region of the Basic system. However, in the listening tests it was not as noticeable as could have been expected.

Contrary to what happens with dynamic phones the bass level of the Lambdas mysteriously seems to increase when you lift the earcups slightly off your ears.


Regards,

L.

 

[LS4ME]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaybar I was surprised to read about 2 weeks ago on head-fi that someone who communicated with Stax Japan said the technician suggested a fairly long break-n. Maybe up to 6 months. Have you found this to eb the case? I am now continuously running my SRM 717/404 system (playing FM/CD), and do in fact, find they are smoothing out with less of a 2k peak. I also find that when I listen at low volumes (< 73db measured by the Radioshack meter next to the headphones, that they are much more listenable (this pleases my ear doctor). The more I raise the volume (75-80 db average or higher) , the brighter/harder they get and the more I experience hear distortion (I am sensitive to loud higher pitched sounds). Moreover, I am still retaining detail and pitch nuence at low volumes. Is this what others have experienced or am I the only one who thinks they require a very long break in and do better at low volumes? I would be interested in hearing from 404 users on this. Thanks, Jay

I posted the thread here. My burn-in method is on #19. After first 70hrs you can hear improvement. EB or NO EB you decide. Hopes it helps