[BenF]

Dang $25 shipping

The combined price is still super cheap for a high quality LPS, especially one custom built for Stax (you can ask the seller to reverse polarity of the outputs).
I run two amps from it simultaneously - never had any issues.

 

[smy1]

There seems to be one for sale, the tip with the white color should be attached to the end of the cable then connected to the amp.
https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/ifi-ipower-12v.29805/

I decided to get the one you linked thank you!

 

[Tarkus1984]

I'll be getting a SRS 3100 combo within the next couple of days and while I've been doing quite a bit of online research and forum reading lately on the L-300 headphones, I still would appreciate any tips, recommendation or heads-ups from you guys that have owned and enjoyed these cans.

I've already bought a linear power supply and polarity inverter plug from Jameco and I'm aware of the precarious build quality and shallow stock pads. I'm not looking into pad swapping right now as I want to experience them vanilla first.

These will be my first electrostats as I'm coming from the dynamic (HD600) and planar types (LCD-X, edition xs, sundara) so I'm very much looking forward to this experience.

Any tips will be appreciated!

 

[DecentLevi]

I'll be getting a SRS 3100 combo within the next couple of days and while I've been doing quite a bit of online research and forum reading lately on the L-300 headphones, I still would appreciate any tips, recommendation or heads-ups from you guys that have owned and enjoyed these cans.

I've already bought a linear power supply and polarity inverter plug from Jameco and I'm aware of the precarious build quality and shallow stock pads. I'm not looking into pad swapping right now as I want to experience them vanilla first.

These will be my first electrostats as I'm coming from the dynamic (HD600) and planar types (LCD-X, edition xs, sundara) so I'm very much looking forward to this experience.

Any tips will be appreciated!

I would again recommend the SoCas Padmod for it, which further opened up the bass and improved soundstage even more.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/socas-pad-adapters-for-stax-ear-speakers.923790/post-15568105

Also IMO, e-stat systems are not complete until they have a tube buffer or tube amp before it, for added body and saturation / coloration.

 

[Tarkus1984]

Also IMO, e-stat systems are not complete until they have a tube buffer or tube amp before it, for added body and saturation / coloration.

Thank you for the recommendations! Do you have any tube buffer you may recommend?

 

[DecentLevi]

Thank you for the recommendations! Do you have any tube buffer you may recommend?

That depends, what is your preferred price range? There are ideas from 200 to $15,000. Go for a tube amp, they usually have a line out and as an added benefit you also get use of the amp itself for normal headphones or an or speakers for a different sound signature. Even with the best electrostat system I always like the option of a change of signature sometimes.

 

[BenF]

Thank you for the recommendations! Do you have any tube buffer you may recommend?

Unlike 009, L300 doesn't benefit from tubes - even high quality ones like Blue Hawaii...
Tubes really kill the ethereal feeling that L300 provides.

With LPS, you are on the right track. All you need now is a natural (not colored) sounding DAC - I highly recoomend Khadas Tone Board or Tone 2 Pro.
The non-pro Khadas Tone 2 has different opamps, may sound different.
Also, surprisingly, FIIO BTR3K sounds great with L300 both wired and wireless, and it does provide a slight tube-y effect with thick notes - without hurting the ethereal sound of L300.

 

[DecentLevi]

The L300/700 not benefiting from tubes is an opinion rather than fact. Not completely dismissing your notion, the specific setup you are using may carry some weight to support that. But my experience with the L300 LE, just like all of the other e-stats I've tried, adding a tube amp before it really does a fantastic job of opening up the soundstage, adding body to the lows, and smoothing out the highs. There are 10,000's of possible sound signatures to be had depending on the combinations of tubes and amp you are using, some are much more ethereal and detailed than others. If looking to experiment with this route, you could look into the affordable mainstay entry-level tube amp called Project Ember from Garage1217.

 

[BenF]

The L300/700 not benefiting from tubes is an opinion rather than fact.

99% of posts here are opinions (except for prices/physical dimensions), there is no need to state the obvious.

...adding a tube amp before it really does a fantastic job of opening up the soundstage, adding body to the lows, and smoothing out the highs.

Here is a great example of an opinion

But my experience with the L300 LE, just like all of the other e-stats I've tried, adding a tube amp before it really does a fantastic job of opening up the soundstage, adding body to the lows, and smoothing out the highs.

L300LE sounds nothing like L300, its sound signature is closer to L700.
It's completely missing the ethereal highs of L300.

There are 10,000's of possible sound signatures to be had depending on the combinations of tubes and amp you are using, some are much more ethereal and detailed than others.

True, but meaningless statement - you don't really expect him to try tens of thousands of possible combinations, right?
if someone can offer a specific combo for L300+252 that doesn't eliminate L300's magic, that would be helpful.

 

[Tarkus1984]

Thanks for the good advice and discussion. I'm still getting used to the very unique nature of the L300s and I will spend more time with them in their natural state before introducing devices like tube preamps. For the time being, my good old Loki+ mini has helped me tame the mids that I find a little too forward to my taste depending on the song.

These headphone are truly unique and I can only imagine the benefits of going up the ladder into the Stax lineup. For the time being, I will fully get to know and enjoy my L300s before even thinking of opening my wallet again, although my curiosity has been certainly piqued.

 

[Tarkus1984]

Hey @BenF @DecentLevi I just posted this question in the Stax thread, but thought I could ask you directly.

I've had my L300 for close to a week now and only today I noticed a little popping sound on both sides when turning the SRM-252S energizer off. Is this to be expected? For context, I'm using a Jameco 12v power adapter with a reverse polarity plug, if it helps.

Thanks!

 

[BenF]

...These headphone are truly unique and I can only imagine the benefits of going up the ladder into the Stax lineup.

You are in for a big disappointment - if you like L300's sound signature, there is nothing below 009 that will make you happy.
L300LE, L500, L700, 007MK2 all lack the ethereal highs, and L700/007 may sound quite colored in the mids, losing the transparency for which electrostatic drivers are famous.

You can get yourself L500 for just 100$ - the only difference between L300 and L500 that affects SQ is the pads, and you can buy them for 100$ - https://www.headamp.com/products/stax-ep-l500-replacement-earpads-for-sr-l500-earspeakers
They will significantly improve bass response, but will eliminate the magical highs...

Hey @BenF @DecentLevi I just posted this question in the Stax thread, but thought I could ask you directly.

I've had my L300 for close to a week now and only today I noticed a little popping sound on both sides when turning the SRM-252S energizer off. Is this to be expected?

A few months ago I switched jobs, and the new job didn't have enough storage space in the office for me to have all my favorite headphones/amps...
So I had to make some difficult decisions, and ended up packing my entire electrostatic collection (6 headphones + 4 amps) into a 120 liter plastic box and moving it to my storage unit... I even had to throw out the fifth amp, as it didn't fit in the box
Takstar Pro 82 v2 won this war quite easily - it sounds almost identical to 009 (when used with certain synergy combos), and it's much better suited to office use, as it is a closed headphone with excellent passive isolation. I was using Pro 82 v2 about 90-95% of the time before anyway, so it was an easy decision.

So now I can't test my 252/253, but I think a quiet popping sound is something I may have encountered myself.

...For context, I'm using a Jameco 12v power adapter with a reverse polarity plug, if it helps.

I don't think it's related.
Still, I would recommend purchasing a proper LPS. Even if I'm not sure I could tell LPS from a Stax adapter in a blind test, knowing that I am providing the best power input possible makes it easier for me to relax and enjoy the music.

 

[sm500]

If anyone is curious: the Topping EHA5 works great with the SR-L300's. The 252S always had a lack of bass and sounded a bit compressed or fatiguing in the highs: especially if playing loud when compared next to the 400S. I wasn't able to compare side-by-side unfortunately as I sold my stax amps to buy the EHA5 - but I'd say it's on par with the 400S or close enough and definitely better than the 252S. Jade II amp works with L300's fine too.
Even with the 252S I prefer the L300's over Sundara's when both EQ'd. Even if tracking bass guitar as long as EQ is on the Stax I prefer the Stax. The bass sounds just as good if not better! Without EQ the Sundara usually sounds better and is more comfortable though.
Compared to Raal SR1A: I did like the Raals, but I sold those keeping my Electrostatics (L300 + Jade II) Tossup on which Electrostatic I liked the best - but the Jade is definitely more comfortable.

Either way - L300's are awesome - definitely for the price! I'd probably never go back to Planar or dynamic to be honest.

 

[sm500]

I was able to compare my L300's & L300+L500 pads compared to Audeze CRBN, MM-500, LCD-4, LCD-XC (newest edition) Focal Utopia (2022) Stellia, Elegia and AKG K371's.

The Electrostatics were driven by a $9000 Woo Audio 3ES headphone amplifier.


I EQ'd the Audeze headphones (using the built-in Audeze software eq) and used the AutoEQ setting for the L300 to make the comparison as equal as possible listening to my normal comparison songs.

I mix music and have Neumann speakers + Neumann KH750+MA-1 for calibration (I prefer that over Dirac/Sonarworks ... but still use Dirac from time to time for surround calibration) so I obviously prefer pretty flat speakers/headphones but have owned Magnepans in the past and despite not being flat - I appreciate them for what they are.

Anyways, I first listened to the CRBN's at Can Jam and thought they sounded amazing, but obviously it's not easy to compare in a crowded/loud room. I 'bought' a pair on here earlier this year but was scammed - so PLEASE - watch out for scammers on here and make sure you pay goods and services and pay the 3% fee or whatever and with a credit card to make sure you get your money back! I also listened to some Airpod Max's and 'bought' them on Ebay ... and was scammed again despite them having lots of good feedback! *I listened at an apple store right after the first day of comparing these headphones and obviously liked them enough to try to buy them, though now I'm hesitant about buying headphones online now due to so many scammers.


As far as comparing: I did it twice on different days to make sure.
The CRBN sounds okay but something sounded odd to me about them. Even with the 'Bob Katz' EQ it still sounds not as good as my L300's. Obviously Bob Katz wrote the book on mastering - why I was interested in buying the CRBN's in the first place! But I couldn't bring myself to love it. Compared to the L300's they didn't sound as correct to me. There seems to be more detail and clarity with the Stax. (Could just be more high end in general that's being mistaken as detail?) With enough EQ on the Stax the bass was pretty similar actually if not maybe better. The CRBN isn't bad - if it was $1000-1500 I'd probably pick up a pair and have it as an alternative to the L300's but if I have to choose one despite the price: I'm sticking with the L300's.

When looking at the AutoEQ ranking: The Stax L300 is 88 whereas the CRBN is 82 ... so perhaps that might explain why I feel that the L300's sound better/flatter than the CRBN's? Maybe it's just that I'm used to the Stax? I do generally prefer headphones that are a bit on the bright side though. (The CRBN is definitely more comfortable though. The L300 + L500 pads are better than the 300 pads and the sound isn't too much different.
With or without the 'Bob Katz' EQ the CRBN didn't sound that much different with or without it. I'd probably say I preferred it to the other Audeze headphones but I think the LCD-XC's probably sounded flatter. (pref score of 89 - so also makes sense) But I think the CRBN's sound better overall though and more detailed and more comfortable. The LCD-4 was okay but I preferred the CRBN. The MM-500's were okay but the 2nd day I didn't like it as much. My AKG K371's definitely didn't sound as good as any of the Audeze headphones but if I wasn't comparing side-by-side - they aren't bad. I could see replacing the AKG 371's with LCD-XC's though as they seem better in every way besides price/weight/portability.

The Utopia: I didn't like them. (Score of 71 Auto EQ Ranking - so probably makes sense) - The Stellia and Elegia - I didn't like either: I'd probably pick my AKG's over the Elegia honestly. (Looking now: 56, and 60 scores for those - definitely makes sense why I didn't like them) Admittedly, I didn't EQ the Focals as they sounded so off that I didn't waste my time as I preferred all the Audeze's by far.

As you can see I seem to prefer Harman preference scores in headphones for the most part. If you don't like the Harman target: obviously my opinions probably won't match yours. As I wrote in a previous post: Sundara's have a higher score than the L300's but I prefer the L300's. My previous Raal SR1A's have a lower score - but I also preferred the Raals. (They after-EQ score is high on the Raals though - something to take into consideration I suppose)


As far as the Electrostatic amp: I didn't compare side-by side with my Topping EHA5 ... but the volume placement was maybe at 40-60% on the Woo Audio ESL amp whereas on my topping EHA5 - I'd be at 50-70% on high gain setting most of the time - especially when I'm EQ'ing a lot of bass into the L300's. I don't really notice any distortion on the EHA5 specifically even at really loud volumes I'm listening at. As far as CRBN vs L300 ... I usually had them set at the same volume level on the Woo ESL amp - maybe a bit higher on the CRBN's - but after EQ'ing the L300's it's pretty close.

I'd say get a 400S or Topping EHA5 first and a good pair of headphones you like and then maybe see about a expensive ESL amp as I honestly doubt I'd audibly be able to tell much if any of a difference between the EHA5 or 400S or $9000 Woo to be honest.

Overall, I was really ready to buy a CRBN or another $3500+ pair of headphones again ... but I guess I'm just sticking with my L300's. I did learn that it's really good to compare headphones with EQ and to familar songs in a quiet environment - for example: at Canjam I thought the CRBN's were amazing - but now with a direct comparison on the same amp and source and both EQ'd in a silent room and no one waiting behind me in a line: my opinion has changed.

I'd love it if they made a L300 mkii or at least someone measures the L500 mkii headphones so we know for sure if they are the same audibly as the L300+L500 pads or L500 mki. I did buy the L700 mkii headband for the L300's but removable cables would be nice.

 

[trumpet19019]

I was able to compare my L300's & L300+L500 pads compared to Audeze CRBN, MM-500, LCD-4, LCD-XC (newest edition) Focal Utopia (2022) Stellia, Elegia and AKG K371's.

The Electrostatics were driven by a $9000 Woo Audio 3ES headphone amplifier.


I EQ'd the Audeze headphones (using the built-in Audeze software eq) and used the AutoEQ setting for the L300 to make the comparison as equal as possible listening to my normal comparison songs.

I mix music and have Neumann speakers + Neumann KH750+MA-1 for calibration (I prefer that over Dirac/Sonarworks ... but still use Dirac from time to time for surround calibration) so I obviously prefer pretty flat speakers/headphones but have owned Magnepans in the past and despite not being flat - I appreciate them for what they are.

Anyways, I first listened to the CRBN's at Can Jam and thought they sounded amazing, but obviously it's not easy to compare in a crowded/loud room. I 'bought' a pair on here earlier this year but was scammed - so PLEASE - watch out for scammers on here and make sure you pay goods and services and pay the 3% fee or whatever and with a credit card to make sure you get your money back! I also listened to some Airpod Max's and 'bought' them on Ebay ... and was scammed again despite them having lots of good feedback! *I listened at an apple store right after the first day of comparing these headphones and obviously liked them enough to try to buy them, though now I'm hesitant about buying headphones online now due to so many scammers.


As far as comparing: I did it twice on different days to make sure.
The CRBN sounds okay but something sounded odd to me about them. Even with the 'Bob Katz' EQ it still sounds not as good as my L300's. Obviously Bob Katz wrote the book on mastering - why I was interested in buying the CRBN's in the first place! But I couldn't bring myself to love it. Compared to the L300's they didn't sound as correct to me. There seems to be more detail and clarity with the Stax. (Could just be more high end in general that's being mistaken as detail?) With enough EQ on the Stax the bass was pretty similar actually if not maybe better. The CRBN isn't bad - if it was $1000-1500 I'd probably pick up a pair and have it as an alternative to the L300's but if I have to choose one despite the price: I'm sticking with the L300's.

When looking at the AutoEQ ranking: The Stax L300 is 88 whereas the CRBN is 82 ... so perhaps that might explain why I feel that the L300's sound better/flatter than the CRBN's? Maybe it's just that I'm used to the Stax? I do generally prefer headphones that are a bit on the bright side though. (The CRBN is definitely more comfortable though. The L300 + L500 pads are better than the 300 pads and the sound isn't too much different.
With or without the 'Bob Katz' EQ the CRBN didn't sound that much different with or without it. I'd probably say I preferred it to the other Audeze headphones but I think the LCD-XC's probably sounded flatter. (pref score of 89 - so also makes sense) But I think the CRBN's sound better overall though and more detailed and more comfortable. The LCD-4 was okay but I preferred the CRBN. The MM-500's were okay but the 2nd day I didn't like it as much. My AKG K371's definitely didn't sound as good as any of the Audeze headphones but if I wasn't comparing side-by-side - they aren't bad. I could see replacing the AKG 371's with LCD-XC's though as they seem better in every way besides price/weight/portability.

The Utopia: I didn't like them. (Score of 71 Auto EQ Ranking - so probably makes sense) - The Stellia and Elegia - I didn't like either: I'd probably pick my AKG's over the Elegia honestly. (Looking now: 56, and 60 scores for those - definitely makes sense why I didn't like them) Admittedly, I didn't EQ the Focals as they sounded so off that I didn't waste my time as I preferred all the Audeze's by far.

As you can see I seem to prefer Harman preference scores in headphones for the most part. If you don't like the Harman target: obviously my opinions probably won't match yours. As I wrote in a previous post: Sundara's have a higher score than the L300's but I prefer the L300's. My previous Raal SR1A's have a lower score - but I also preferred the Raals. (They after-EQ score is high on the Raals though - something to take into consideration I suppose)


As far as the Electrostatic amp: I didn't compare side-by side with my Topping EHA5 ... but the volume placement was maybe at 40-60% on the Woo Audio ESL amp whereas on my topping EHA5 - I'd be at 50-70% on high gain setting most of the time - especially when I'm EQ'ing a lot of bass into the L300's. I don't really notice any distortion on the EHA5 specifically even at really loud volumes I'm listening at. As far as CRBN vs L300 ... I usually had them set at the same volume level on the Woo ESL amp - maybe a bit higher on the CRBN's - but after EQ'ing the L300's it's pretty close.

I'd say get a 400S or Topping EHA5 first and a good pair of headphones you like and then maybe see about a expensive ESL amp as I honestly doubt I'd audibly be able to tell much if any of a difference between the EHA5 or 400S or $9000 Woo to be honest.

Overall, I was really ready to buy a CRBN or another $3500+ pair of headphones again ... but I guess I'm just sticking with my L300's. I did learn that it's really good to compare headphones with EQ and to familar songs in a quiet environment - for example: at Canjam I thought the CRBN's were amazing - but now with a direct comparison on the same amp and source and both EQ'd in a silent room and no one waiting behind me in a line: my opinion has changed.

I'd love it if they made a L300 mkii or at least someone measures the L500 mkii headphones so we know for sure if they are the same audibly as the L300+L500 pads or L500 mki. I did buy the L700 mkii headband for the L300's but removable cables would be nice.

The L300s are truly great headphones. It's really impressive how good they sound, especially for how cheap they are. Eventually I upgraded so I gave mine to my younger brother who was getting interested in music. It's really fun to let non audiophiles try them. Beforehand they clearly think we're morons who should just buy beats or airpods. 10 seconds in and they look like they're having an existential crisis.

Have you had a chance to hear other stax headphones?