Impressions:
This is going to be a review both the SRM-D50 and my new Stax SR-007A.
The design of the SRM-D50 and its packaging all looks really nice. The assembly leaves a little to be desired though. There are a few cosmetic issues with my unit.
The whole box runs pretty hot, maybe around 125 F. I'm not sure how hot is normal for Stax amps.
I just got a pair of Stax SR-007A headphones. This is my first time listening to them with my own music.
I've heard Stax headphones before and I've always liked the transparency of the upper-end models.
I was expecting to hear very transparent headphones with little bass impact.
I was wrong.
The transparency wasn't much better than that of TOTL dynamic headphones, but still, I'm comparing this to headphones as, if not more expensive like the LCD-4 and Utopia.
I think part of this is because they sound more close/intimate than the models I've heard in the past. It might be due to the shape of the drivers?
What was really strange to me is that not only did they have impactful bass, but it went deep as well.
They sound very smooth and musical while retaining some electrostatic speed, allowing me to hear all the glitches in poorly recorded music. Yay.
I just recently sold my LCD-4 and was surprised how much these sound like it. They're like the LCD-4 but more comfortable with clearer midrange, but have less sub-bass impact, and less smooth treble.
The SR-007A should appeal to almost everyone. It has a sound very similar to dynamics.
The SRM-D50 seems to drive them well, being one of the higher output 400V units. I get good volume around 40-50% on the volume dial. From what I've read, my impressions of my SR-007A are in-line or more favorable, which leads me to believe that I'm not under-driving them.
Overall, ignoring the cosmetic issues with my amp, this amp seems to drive the SR-007A well and I really like the appearance and form factor of it.