So, the SRD-7/SR-Xmk3 setup works great with the Pass gear... though the stepped attenuators makes things a bit difficult.
The needle on the amp tends to stay rock steady, which means i'm not going over whatever it puts out in Class A, which I think is around 40wpc into 8 ohms... if I really crank it, it'll move, but it's way too loud.
I haven't been listening to anything even remotely appropriate for these cans, it's been all studio-recorded over-produced schlock. I forgot how revealing these things are of vocal effects... what kind of mic was used on the vocals... how close the singer is to the mic... how much reverb... room effects are laid totally bare. Incredibly precise headstage. Every now and then there's some element in a song I thought I knew extremely well which comes out and bludgeons me over the head. Moving to the Grado RS1's is like strapping a pair of 18" subwoofers to my ears. I have always loved how the Grados do bass, I find it deep and tight and articulated, compared to Senns which I find fat and bloaty. I wish I could drop the Stax's and RS1's into a pot, stir, and make an uber-headphone...
I can't detect any of the high-end grain people have talked about with the old-school energisers.
I can imagine these things tend to work a bit better with fully balanced amplifiers, given the balanced nature of the step-up transformers and electrostatic drivers. I'm probably more than halving the distortion while more than doubling the poise/control the amp has over the drivers.
As incredible as the detail is, the Staxs don't sound.... cold...or painfully analytical. Quite warm....but so intimate... I'm looking forward to trying different configurations of my system, I'm gonna learn a lot about how my components actually sound.
