[n3rdling]

Nice job on the review, miceblue!

 

[Elsie]

  Hi, is this the place where the Japanese list their STAX systems?  Kinda like Ebay, but for Japan?  I live in the States, but with Tenso, you can buy from any Japanese website/auction and have it shipped to the States, correct?  
 
What other Japanese websites are there to get low prices?

The website is buyee.jp, and yeah, it's just a website which bids on Yahoo Japan auctions for you.

 

[davidsh]

  Nice job on the review, miceblue!

+1, though I have only seen 8 minutes into the review so far.

 

[miceblue]

Nice job on the review, miceblue!

Nice job on the review, miceblue!

+1, though I have only seen 8 minutes into the review so far.

Thank you!

 

[Dark_wizzie]

Hi,
 
How do the lower end STAX compare to HD600/HD800s? A person I know wants to know.
 
Thank you.

 

[n3rdling]

The 800 and 600 are completely different sounding so it's hard to lump them together (if you were even doing so). 
 
Entry level Stax vs HD600: The biggest difference is the level of detail the Stax have over the HD600.  Way faster sounding and more open as well.  The HD600 is a bit more neutral than your typical entry level Lambda, but I would be tempted to simply EQ the Lambda and have a higher performing system. 
 
Entry level Stax vs HD800: Difference in detail between the two is minimal...both excel in this regard.  A well amped HD800 will have better bass impact and usually extension but the treble is fatiguing and overall I don't like the tonality of this headphone.  Soundstage larger/widened on the HD800 and imaging a bit more precise.  I personally wouldn't use the HD800 for anything but video games and movies unless you either EQ it or heavily modify it.

 

[Dark_wizzie]

  The 800 and 600 are completely different sounding so it's hard to lump them together (if you were even doing so). 
 
Entry level Stax vs HD600: The biggest difference is the level of detail the Stax have over the HD600.  Way faster sounding and more open as well.  The HD600 is a bit more neutral than your typical entry level Lambda, but I would be tempted to simply EQ the Lambda and have a higher performing system. 
 
Entry level Stax vs HD800: Difference in detail between the two is minimal...both excel in this regard.  A well amped HD800 will have better bass impact and usually extension but the treble is fatiguing and overall I don't like the tonality of this headphone.  Soundstage larger/widened on the HD800 and imaging a bit more precise.  I personally wouldn't use the HD800 for anything but video games and movies unless you either EQ it or heavily modify it.

Thanks, I did not intend to lump them together.
Even with an entry level Stax special care needs to be made to the amping, right? A normal amp won't cut it.

 

[n3rdling]

You need to use an electrostatic amp or a transformer.  You can get an entry level estat amp for ~$200-300 or a transformer for ~$100.  The transformer just needs a speaker amp to hook up to.

 

[Paul Meakin]

  The 800 and 600 are completely different sounding so it's hard to lump them together (if you were even doing so). 
 
Entry level Stax vs HD600: The biggest difference is the level of detail the Stax have over the HD600.  Way faster sounding and more open as well.  The HD600 is a bit more neutral than your typical entry level Lambda, but I would be tempted to simply EQ the Lambda and have a higher performing system. 
 
Entry level Stax vs HD800: Difference in detail between the two is minimal...both excel in this regard.  A well amped HD800 will have better bass impact and usually extension but the treble is fatiguing and overall I don't like the tonality of this headphone.  Soundstage larger/widened on the HD800 and imaging a bit more precise.  I personally wouldn't use the HD800 for anything but video games and movies unless you either EQ it or heavily modify it.

 
I'm in complete agreement, although my phones are the HD 650. My Lambdas (with 006t) beat them in pretty much every aspect, although they can be difficult with poorly recorded music as they tend to accentuate brightness. The 650s are more forgiving, but somewhat slow sounding on some types of music, e.g. electric blues.
 
I tested but didn't like the HD 800; I found them sterile and un-involving; what I call a 'hi-fi' product, i.e. technically good but analytical rather than musical (compared with various Beyers including the T1, and Fostex TH 900).
 
I bought the Fostex TH 900 to complement the Lambdas, they are smoother but also a fun, dynamic and musical listen. And they have bass, like the Lambdas, althugh they're not quite as fast or controlled at lower frequencies; not bad at all though, and at least they have bass when required.
 
I tend to use the Lambdas for Jazz and the Fostex for Blues/Rock/Indie, but it is really driven by the quality of the recording rather than genre. The HD 650s don't get much of a look in these days.

 

[Chris J]

Hi,

How do the lower end STAX compare to HD600/HD800s? A person I know wants to know.

Thank you.

To me, I find that electrostatics sound less mechanical and more like music with less distortion in the treble.

 

[Ali-Pacha]

HD600 sounds a little muffled compared to Lambdas. Latter have more details, more extension and way better transients. HD600 seem to struggle with the dynamic membrane to push sound in your ears, where Lambdas (and e-stats) have this famous airy and liquid sound.

BTW, HD600 are very comfy headphones, and the low mids bump is very (very) pleasant. I do really enjoy them with O2 amp, which is pretty good at fighting the natural mellowness of these cans.

Ali

 

[jring]

So is it safe to use a SRD-6 or earlier model with current earspeakers?  Would the sound suffer?  Or should I just give up on this line of thinking altogether!

 
Hi,
 
using a normal bias amp or energizer with pro bias earspekers is also not recommended (as ist the reverse). There is no chance of immediately damaging your earspeakers as with normal bias speakers on pro bias amp/energizer but the sound will be poor and at higher volume damage is possible.
 
Joachim

 

[autoteleology]

Accutech seems to have pretty much the worst customer service I've ever had to deal with. They aren't rude, but they never talk to you or tell you what's going on. They take days or even weeks to reply back to simple questions that could be answered with a handful of words. This is not okay when they not only have something very, very expensive of mine, but also $200+ of my money. 

 

 

[miceblue]

Speaking of customer service, I tried contacting STAX through the STAX USA website and they replied about 1-1.5 weeks later.

Me:

Hello,

I am interested in purchasing the EP-507 earpads for my SR-207, but I am not sure how to install them. Is there a user manual or suggested method to install them? I currently have a stock SR-207 with the synthetic leather earpads.

Thank you.

Response:

Thank you for your inquiry.

The EP-507 fits the SR-207. However, they are a thinner than the SR-207 synthetic earpads.
General instructions are on the box. They are pretty straight forward. Earpads are held on by double sided adhesive tape and you pretty much have one shot at getting it on perfect. Replacement adhesive tape is $12/pr (you can likely substitute it with any double sided tape) and We offer replacement service at $50/hr.

Should you have any questions, please contact us again.

Best,

Tats Yamanashi
YEI / ACCUTECH
US STAX Sales and Service

$50/hr, seriously? *facepalm*

 

[Ali-Pacha]

At least the answer is clear and extensive. Stax's distributor in my country has always the same answer to most of the enquiries (parts, repairs, technical questions, etc...) : "we don't do / have that, but we can sell a new set to you". Wow. Great. And as I'm in Europe, it's always twice the japanese prices...

Ali