[Hansotek]

Just picked up a Lambda and SRD-7 SB. My first Stax!! Can you guys recommend a good entry level amp to pair with the SRD-7? I heard there are some T amps that can be had for $100 or so (or even less) that work well, but I know nothing about them. Any recommendations?

 

[n3rdling]

I'm not sure which Stax and amp combo to get. Which of the Stax setups won't make me miss the mids, highs and detail of my HD600? Source is the Marantz CD6005.

 
No Stax will make you miss the detail of the HD600.  The highs should also be better on most units, but the mids won't be as accurate on many models.  I would look for one of the vintage Nova series Lambdas if I were you.  They're really nice.
 

Just picked up a Lambda and SRD-7 SB. My first Stax!! Can you guys recommend a good entry level amp to pair with the SRD-7? I heard there are some T amps that can be had for $100 or so (or even less) that work well, but I know nothing about them. Any recommendations?

 
I'd probably look for a vintage speaker amp, Class A if possible.  Don't worry about the wattage rating, you'll get WAY more than enough volume needed.  You want high quality amplification, not maximum amplification here.

 

[ledzep]

You can use any appropriately rated wall wart, but you might have to reverse polarity of the output. You can do that by either rewiring it yourself, or buy on that have output plug which allows you to do that.

Does it need to be regulated or unregulated?
Thanks for the advice

 

[rx79ez08]

Does it need to be regulated or unregulated?
Thanks for the advice

I don't believe any of Stax stuff use regulated power supply, but it probably won't hurt if you use one.

 

[Veamoth]

I'm about to buy a pair of new SR-407s within the next week or two, I got a couple of questions. Are there any noteworthy reliability/quality issues with the 407 that I should know about? These are going to be my first stats so I'm not too sure about any common problems.  
I'm also going to need an amp. Theres a SRM-3 on eBay right now would that be good with 407s? What about the SRM-T1?

 

[Rozenberg]

Alright guys, I figured I'll chime in for my own sake.
Basically, Munich High End Show last month got me interested in STAX earspeakers.
I've demoed almost all STAX there since they have 4 demo sets as follows :
1. SRM-727II -> SR-009 & SR-507
2. SRM-006tS ->SR-207 & SR-407
3. SRM-727 II -> SR-007 & SR-009
4. SRM-007t II -> SR-007 & SR-407
 
I've listened to 1st and 2nd set for a brief moment and found that SR-009 is indeed the best among them.
Wasn't able to really demo the 2nd for a long time since there's a guy who took his time leisurely A/B-ing both STAX there, he seemed really busy so I didn't bother him. Longest set I've demoed is the 4th, or more specifically the 407 only. In short, I like them all actually, though I heard it without my own music.
 
To be honest, I can't tell the difference between the Lambdas but I'm gonna ask away anyway.
I want to buy a used STAX system, fortunately found some locally so things are easier :
- STAX Nova Basic System 395€
- STAX SRS-2020 System 425€
 
Of course there are also the headphones only but buying sytem would assure me that nothing will go wrong but here's where the difficulty to make choice comes. Which one? Meanwhile (hopefully) I could also get SR-404 + SRM-300 from England for ~550€ (currency dependant, excl. shipping). How do the above STAXs compare to each other and to 404? I've read mixed reviews about people preferring 202 more than the 404, but that's it.
 
Thanks in advance.

 

[pp312]

Thought I'd chime into this thread with my own experiences. I currently own a Beyer DT880 Pro but have lashed out and ordered the SRS2170 from PriceJapan. I'm not new to the Stax experience as I had first a Sigma and then Lambda (regular bias) back in the early 80s. The Sigma always seemed a bit distanced, or detached; the Lambda was just right, though a bit bright. At first I had the SRD6 energiser and later moved to the SRD7, which was a real improvement. At some point (memory starts to fail) I also had an SRA-12s amp but never found much improvement with that, strangely; in fact I preferred the sound through the adaptor from a Rotel amp. Can't even remember now why I sold all this gear, but it wasn't from any great dissatisfaction. Since then I've gone through just about every mid-price dynamic on the market, including every Senn since 1990, finally settling on the DT880 Pro as the most satisfyingly neutral can at anything like a sensible price. Now I'm very curious to hear what Stax have been up to all these years. I'm not expecting miracles from a Basic set, but I'm hoping to overcome the few small niggles I still have with the Beyer (and they are small), like the treble peak and a slight coldness in the sound. I've browsed this thread but would still be interested in further comparisons between the DT880 and 2170. From what I've gathered so far, the 2170 is not going to blow the Beyer out of the water, but then I wouldn't expect or want that anyway. 

 

[allets]

 
No Stax will make you miss the detail of the HD600.  The highs should also be better on most units, but the mids won't be as accurate on many models.  I would look for one of the vintage Nova series Lambdas if I were you.  They're really nice.


Those might be impossible to find.. especially considering I'm in Australia.

 

[rx79ez08]

If you want to know what a top of the line Stax setup sounds like, go to HiFi Trader. They have a SR-009 with BHSE on demo.

 

[Chris J]

Thought I'd chime into this thread with my own experiences. I currently own a Beyer DT880 Pro but have lashed out and ordered the SRS2170 from PriceJapan. I'm not new to the Stax experience as I had first a Sigma and then Lambda (regular bias) back in the early 80s. The Sigma always seemed a bit distanced, or detached; the Lambda was just right, though a bit bright. At first I had the SRD6 energiser and later moved to the SRD7, which was a real improvement. At some point (memory starts to fail) I also had an SRA-12s amp but never found much improvement with that, strangely; in fact I preferred the sound through the adaptor from a Rotel amp. Can't even remember now why I sold all this gear, but it wasn't from any great dissatisfaction. Since then I've gone through just about every mid-price dynamic on the market, including every Senn since 1990, finally settling on the DT880 Pro as the most satisfyingly neutral can at anything like a sensible price. Now I'm very curious to hear what Stax have been up to all these years. I'm not expecting miracles from a Basic set, but I'm hoping to overcome the few small niggles I still have with the Beyer (and they are small), like the treble peak and a slight coldness in the sound. I've browsed this thread but would still be interested in further comparisons between the DT880 and 2170. From what I've gathered so far, the 2170 is not going to blow the Beyer out of the water, but then I wouldn't expect or want that anyway. 

As a previous DT880 owner and a current SRS-2170 owner I can tell that, yes, the SRS-2170 will blow the DT880 out of the water.
I sold my DT880 a few mnoths after I go my SRS-2170 system and have never looked back.
The 2170 sounds far less mechanical and far more natural, compared to the '880.

 

[Hansotek]

Just picked up a Lambda and SRD-7 SB. My first Stax!! Can you guys recommend a good entry level amp to pair with the SRD-7? I heard there are some T amps that can be had for $100 or so (or even less) that work well, but I know nothing about them. Any recommendations?

I'd probably look for a vintage speaker amp, Class A if possible.  Don't worry about the wattage rating, you'll get WAY more than enough volume needed.  You want high quality amplification, not maximum amplification here.

Thanks for your reply. I totally get that part. I was hoping for any recommendations on models. I really don't know too much about which ones are good or bad... Any recommendations on specific speaker amp models to look for?

 

[davidsh]

Seems more likely to me that the srd-7 will be the compromised part rather than your amp of choice, though I can imagine that some amp designs with negative feedback might not like the srd-7 as load (just speculation).

 

[Rozenberg]

Since I didn't get answer from previous question, I thought I'd add another question after gathering more info
 
SRS-2020 System for 425€ (incl. shipping) or hunting for Lambda Pro + SRM-1 Mk2 (last price I saw is 650€)?

 

[pp312]

 

As a previous DT880 owner and a current SRS-2170 owner I can tell that, yes, the SRS-2170 will blow the DT880 out of the water.
I sold my DT880 a few mnoths after I go my SRS-2170 system and have never looked back.
The 2170 sounds far less mechanical and far more natural, compared to the '880.

 
Yes, I've read your posts to that effect, but no one else has suggested such a clear superiority. In fact most of the comments focus on comparisons with the usual suspects--DT880, HD600/650, AKG K701 etc--as if it were a matter of taste which one you preferred. Given that the Stax here in Oz is 3 times the price of those others, I'd certainly expect clear superiority.

 

[miceblue]

What non DT880, HD600/650, or K701 headphone would have the kind of performance of the SR-207? I like the SRS-2170 more than a modded HD800 on a $3500 DAC and modified Bottlehead Crack amplifier that makes the HD800 produce a near-perfect 30 Hz sine wave.
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSR207SB2217.pdf