Stax SR-X1 (new entry model)

Jun 17, 2024 at 2:30 AM Post #166 of 242
@icnaiwhimor1975 Atleast it's better than L700. Sorry it was on page 2 and comment #37. Hive has more treble but less 1.5kHz and more subbass. Nobody bothered to make Hive thread ☹️ It has very low distortion, quite clean csd (waterfall), no peaks like L700 has. Biggest downside is the treble is a bit of a rollercoaster. But that's for me now. I don't wanna ruin this thread talking Nectarsound headphones only.
 
Jul 4, 2024 at 11:54 AM Post #167 of 242
Im assuming this is also considered the SRS-X1000 thread?

Ordered these and should be here in 2 weeks (pre-ordered from UK)

Very much looking forward to them. I absolutely adore my Shure SRH1840’s if that gives you an idea what I like in a headphone.

Looks like the new Stax have everything I’m looking for so hoping not to be disappointed.

It’ll be a long 2 weeks! 😂
 
Jul 25, 2024 at 1:14 PM Post #169 of 242
Yeah I had to change my order to the Arya Organic. 😂 Extremely happy with them.

I just got the KSE1200 at a fairly good price. It was either that or buy the SR-X1 at £560~? and buy a 2nd hand energiser, which I think is a better option than buying the X1000 system
 
Jul 27, 2024 at 6:48 PM Post #170 of 242
A few updates on the X1.

I've had channel balance issues. The right channel started fading. But, I discharged the headphones, let them sit for a few weeks, and then powered them up again, and the imbalance was gone. I've been using them daily for about a week now and so far so good. But sadly, I'm reading instances of channel balance issues from everywhere, and it's safe to say there is an issue.

In terms of sound, this thing has only continued to grow on me and impress. It has spectacular clarity in the bass and mids that goes way beyond its asking price. It also has good bass, good dynamics, and accurate tembre once you EQ it. It suffers from none of the usual estat faults - it's not too bright, it's not overly ethereal or weightless. It really is a great headphone at any price and it could be a seriously huge disruptor in the market... if it worked properly.

I hope Stax got some feedback from consumers and distributors, and addresses the channel balance issues. This thing has the sound quality to make a lot of the high-end market redundant, but they need to make it reliable.
 
Jul 28, 2024 at 10:45 PM Post #171 of 242
Hey guys, I'm late to the game but had the chance to demo the SR-X1 at a meet here in the SF Bay Area today.

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Catching up on this thread, it's disheartening to hear about quality control issues. They really need to get that sorted out.

Being a SR-X mk3 fan, I guess I was kind of hoping for a modern version of that - and in some ways it is, but in many ways it isn't. So from that standpoint, it was disappointing that the SR-X1 isn't just a "better" SR-X mk3. The SR-X1 is a new headphone, built from the ground up, that is certainly aware of the strengths of the older SR-X mk3, but takes the headphone in a fresh direction. It is an excellent modern headphone that is very exciting in today's marketplace, though with some caveats, even if it isn't the "SR-X mk4" I wanted it to be.

For us SR-X mk3 fans, given the SR-X1 is circumaural, the soundstaging and presentation is quite different from the SR-X mk3, which is both good and bad. Good in that yes, the SR-X1 has that sense of space and air as opposed to the directly fed to your brain nature of the SR-X mk3. But of course it loses something of what made the SR-X mk3 so special due to that, that direct, fed straight to your ear texture and tangibility.

But let's be clear, the SR-X1 is certainly a very nice sounding headphone. Someone earlier in the thread compared it to the Audeze MM-100, which makes sense to me. I don't have any time with the MM-100, but do own a MM-500 and yes, the general approach reminds me of that headphone. Just a nicely balanced middle ground modern headphone. Neutral-ish in approach, not bright, slightly rolled off maybe, but not obnoxiously so. Decent, high quality bass even if it doesn't plunge into the depths. Certainly no slouch when it comes to resolution. Soundstaging is nice and, while not wall to wall or anything, it is spacious enough, unlike most supraaural headphones.

I will say, as much as I appreciate my MM-500, it's always sounded just ever so slightly off tonally to me, even with a variety of quality amplification. I think I just don't love certain planars and prefer electrostats and the SR-X1 fixes that.

Anyway, the 2 second take-away for the SR-X1 from this brief demo is that yes it seems as if someone redesigned the SR-X mk3 to have a nicer soundstage like the SR-Lambdas or Omegas, yet keeping the generally neutral approach, and providing a pretty nice level of performance that bodes well for an entry-level (for Stax at least) price point.

But I just wonder if it will really find a place in the marketplace given all the competition out there. After all, you need a specialized amplifier for this. On that point, I did try it with the new Stax SRM-D10 mk2, fed by an iPhone and Apple lightning dongle, and that was fine enough before moving it to the bigger boy rig that you see in the photos above. Still, I wonder. All in, entry level is ~$1k with the SRM-270S or ~$1.3K with the SRM-D10 mk2. If you want that electrostatic sound, it seems like a great entry point. At the same time, $1k does buy you some very nice headphone+amp combos (e.g., HD6## + a nice modern balanced powerful amp, or a nice planar system).

I guess what I'm saying is I wish Stax (or someone else) would build a compact, $300-500 amp system that could really make these SR-X1 shine. Again, not trying to throw shade at the SRM-270S (which I haven't listened to) but if it's the same as based on past experience with entry-level Stax systems, it just leaves a lot to be desired. For me, if I get one of these, I'll just have to find a SRD-7 of some sort to feed with a good speaker amp.

Still, exciting stuff, none the less. But as an SR-X mk3 fanatic, well, those aren't going to be replaced any time soon.

Anyway, all this is with the usual caveat that these are brief first impressions and that it takes me at least 3 weeks if not longer to get to know a headphone.

-Jason
 
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Jul 29, 2024 at 4:33 AM Post #173 of 242
Yes Im happy enough with the £560 odd for the SR-X1, but £1200 for the SRS-X1000 system seems way too much. That supplied energizer should be costing about £300 max, not £700 imo!

Due to quality issues with the earspeakers I would definitely buy them new with warranty. But I would buy a secondhand energiser instead of new (can get them for <£150)
 
Aug 1, 2024 at 10:47 PM Post #174 of 242
Yes Im happy enough with the £560 odd for the SR-X1, but £1200 for the SRS-X1000 system seems way too much. That supplied energizer should be costing about £300 max, not £700 imo!

Due to quality issues with the earspeakers I would definitely buy them new with warranty. But I would buy a secondhand energiser instead of new (can get them for <£150)
Are they really that expensive over there??? Arya Organic is a sweet pick btw!
 
Aug 10, 2024 at 1:19 PM Post #176 of 242
are they better than any square stax? signatures with a 1 micron membrane or l700?
They don't really sound like a square STAX. They sound more like a decent planar. Lambda Signatures are better. I'm not a fan of L700, so I wouldn't be a good judge for that comparison.
 
Aug 14, 2024 at 4:07 PM Post #179 of 242
Just got my SR-X1 in today and wanted to give some impressions.

These are significantly better than the L300, and honestly, I prefer them to the L500. They have a slightly v-shaped, warm leaning sound, and are surprisingly detailed. Getting a good seal is hard, but when you do, they have great bass extension. The bass also has more punch than L300/L500/L700.

I'm kinda surprised. They're way better than I thought they would be. It's rare that I recommend anything but vintage lambdas (sr-303, 404, 307, 407, lam pro, etc) for starting out in estats, but these are, surprisingly, very solid.
 

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