Stax SR-L300 Impressions Thread

Oct 12, 2024 at 8:30 AM Post #1,186 of 1,198
For anyone still following this thread and into Modern "Art" music, I've been listening to this 1978 album "Percussion Music: Works by Varese, Colgrass, Saperstein, Cowell, Wuorinen" for decades and with the L300 brought on one of those OMG moments, 2nd track "Colgrass: Fantasy-Variations (1961)" was just stunning!
Perfect IMHO right down to the kettle drums and timpani, but the clarity and speed is something I've not quite heard prior with any headphone, the tonal balance, stereo spread more than convincing and a treat for the ears all round, could not stop listening.
https://listen.tidal.com/album/341817
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Have my eye on a L700 MK II but now I'm not too sure it would be worth the investment as these L300 with the leather pads just sounds soo good, hard to go back to my HD800S and AKG K820s. HHHmmmm???:thinking:
 
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Nov 2, 2024 at 2:50 PM Post #1,188 of 1,198
Received the leather pads from Ali express, definitely all leather and more than twice the thickness of the stock pads but not as comfortable as the donuts I'd adhere to the originals.
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A little tricky putting on but the holes on the new pads do line up, still managed to break off one of the corner pins but it one takes their time should be no problem.
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Sadly the the 3M double sided tape worked too well and impossible to remove from the original pads without stripping off the the vinyl layer. : (
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Sound wise, more in line with the Stax sound as the donuts with the stock pads adsorbed and probably distanced the ears too far from the drivers.
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No idea though how these pads compare to Stax's own l700 pads, maybe similar.
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this pads look great
 
Nov 3, 2024 at 3:56 AM Post #1,189 of 1,198
Indeed, no creaking with the fancy headband.
Did this "modification" to an old SR303. The clamp is quite a bit harder which of course may be a good thing.
 
Nov 3, 2024 at 11:55 AM Post #1,190 of 1,198
this pads look great
And comfy too, but IMHO almost a different L300 when compared to using the stock pads , the thicker pads making it more reserved and less immediate, my preference . Also, I mentioned this elsewhere but these 3rd party pads have no creases compared to the Stax 700 pads which may or may not effect the bass performance.
Also a lot of the pics of the 700 pads show creasing which may also impede a good seal.
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And while the L300 with the leather pads appear to have a rather balanced presentation and more than adequate bass I've a Schiit Loki Equalizer on the way to add a little boost, but not too much, to the very lower frequencies.
 
Nov 7, 2024 at 8:06 AM Post #1,193 of 1,198
From the picture - I can hear the low is now whoomp whoompp hahaha, j/k.
Only if the music has some "whoomp whoompp". :jecklinsmile: (remember at 12 o'clock the EQ is flat, 3 o'clock on the 20Hz dial is about the max before the bass becomes artificially boosted on the L300, this will differ from phone to phone.)
How do you find L300 now with Loki?
I'm still getting acquainted with the Stax, but overall prior to adding the Loki the L300 is an interesting phone. On some recordings that I've been familiar with for years there was something new and refreshing on others not so much and it was only with some recordings that I felt they were deficient in the lower end.
The Schiit does fill out the bottom end but one does need to apply judicious restraint and just add enough EQ to balance the signal which is being sent to the amp or driver, too much on the bass will lead to distortion. Also with the added bass reinforcement the music does become somewhat warmer, fuller so may diverge from the ethereal quality some prefer.
But once dialed in turning it off is similar to removing a sub for a pair of speakers as the sound stage appears to collapse slightly and and it's like the auditory window has been reduced overall. Just to add I'm not too sure if this effect is relevant to the electrostatic driver or if a dynamic headphone with it's cone focused circular membrane would respond in a similar way?
 
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Nov 20, 2024 at 8:01 AM Post #1,195 of 1,198
good setup
Thanks, not that I'm totally adverse to EQ but maintaining the the bass boost adjustments in the analogue domain appears to have nicely completed the L300s's frequency range without any adverse side side effects. I was tossing around the idea of getting the L700 MKII but totally satisfied with the L300 (updating the headband assembly to the MKII withstanding). : )
 
Dec 27, 2024 at 8:38 AM Post #1,196 of 1,198
Well that truly sucks, and only a few months in, was hoping this was less common than reported. :slight_frown:
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If I feel the Stax are here to stay I'll mostly invest in the Aluminum Frame Headband Assembly, pricey though relative to the L300.
So sooner than expected a L700 MKII headband is on its way from Japan.
In the meantime I'll try a little J-B Weld to hopefully tide me over.
 
Jan 15, 2025 at 4:12 PM Post #1,197 of 1,198
Finally..all the way from Japan, new headband is in...hopefully more robust than the original (which should never have been so fragile), feels more secure so a nicer fit overall but at over $300 Can gets close the cost of the L300. : ( ... but the new headband does bring up the overall perceived quality. : )
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Jan 21, 2025 at 11:36 AM Post #1,198 of 1,198
So although pricey the MKII headband assembly I can confidently say really does improve greatly on the fit, feel and seal. With the more secure fit the leather cushions conform to ones facial features even better so that once in place I'm not constantly playing with the adjustments as I did with the original headband.
Overall makes the L300 feel like a whole new higher quality headphone ear speaker IMHO.:jecklinsmile:
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