[orcawithabat]

I think it’ll depend on a few factors. From what I’ve heard the frequency response may be more “modern” if that means anything so to some people they may prefer it. Either way the l700 has a scooped out 2k-4k or something around that which may cause some to attribute it to soundstage which can be enjoyable. It’s a personal preference thing I’d say.

I know not everyone likes EQ but when the X1 gets measured you’ll be able to compare it to the l700 and get a general idea of whether or not you view it as an upgrade

 

[HeadAmpTeam]

Thanks for the impressions @MousoMachineGun . Any more info on release date or pre-order?

We will be receiving the SRS-X1000 in the US soon (we've been told to expect them mid-May) and we're taking pre-orders now: https://www.headamp.com/products/stax-srs-x1000

We'll also have the SR-X1 earspeaker separately, if you're looking to try them with another amp (shout-out to alegar and the BHSE!), as well as the SRM-270S driver unit alone.

 

[catscratch]

I wouldn't draw any conclusions based on price. Price is not always correlated to performance, and this is doubly true for Stax.

What I'm wondering about are the conflicting reports we've heard on these, with the first few impressions being of a dark headphone but the last few sets of impressions describing these as a bit bright. I wonder if Stax changed something in the voicing of their prototypes or if it's just differences in hearing. I'll guess we'll know soon enough.

 

[padam]

Well it would be quite odd to me, if they suddenly came out with a headphone that I would really love, and it would happen to be their cheapest.
I could pre-order it, I just expect it to be popular at this price range, so it will inevitably pop up in the used section or I may just opt to visit the distributor.

If I use most Lambdas with a Stax amp, they will sound bright. Put them on a powerful amplifier, and the perception changes somewhat - but it is also debatable how realistic it is to have one of those, yet use a way more expensive amp to drive it. If I was only used to the sound of Stax amps, I might not describe it as bright.
So all is relative.