The Entry Level Stax Thread

[Music Alchemist]

Thanks for the info! I got lucky though, headamp has/d the 252s in stock today so I went ahead and ordered the l300 and 252s. Finally, lol. Took ages to sell my LCD-X, upbeat about my impression of the stax when it arrives.

Cool, cool. When I had an LCD-X, I traded it for multiple headphones and so on. That's one thing you can do in the future if you have trouble selling something. For example, even if someone offered you something you didn't particularly want, if it's around the same value and more popular, you could accept it and sell it more quickly to recoup the cash. Since I'm so active in the audiophile community, I ended up selling off lots of my gear (including the SRS-3100) recently via private deals (without having to bother putting up ads) to other audiophiles I talk to. That's how I got an SRM-212 back in 2015 as well. What boggles my mind is how long some STAX equipment stays on the classifieds without getting sold.

 

[Bloos]

It's crazy how many people get my user name wrong. XD

I've said this many times in many places, but I prefer them over any headphone. (You can read through my profile for a list of headphones I've owned/heard.) It's so much more like the actual instruments are in the room with me. I wasn't expecting it at all, because I only paid $250 for a new pair on eBay. Headphones make certain details easier to analyze, but in a less natural way. You also don't have to worry about the listening room with headphones. Even with these nearfield speakers, the sound changes considerably depending on how they are set up in the room. I'm sure it would be better with acoustic treatments and EQ, but even without them, they sound phenomenal. Differences between DACs are more apparent with them too.

I used to prefer headphones over speakers, so this really changed my priorities. Now I have to weigh the benefits and downsides of focusing on speaker vs headphone upgrades.

Have you tried smyth realizer systems? or OOYH software?

I also pretty much gave up on headphones for a time, buy then I tried the "Out of Your Head" by darin fong. (if you've heard of it, disregard what's below)

It's completely software based but it uses binaural recordings of real speakers to simulate the effects. quite similar to what the smyth realizer does.
Thing to note is that it won't be as good as the smyth realizer because it won't be customized/unique to your personal HRTF. (you just have to be lucky that they used a recording head similar to yours, they used a few different heads/recording devices) It works wonders for me, especially the PBN sammy setting (it is quieter than the others, which might fool you into thinking that it doesn't sound as good), but that's just with my head/ears.
Also, there's an online demo, but it isn't great because it doesn't let you choose through all the speaker settings (less chance of finding a convincing sounding setting), but if you download the free trial you'll get full access to all the features, three minutes at a time.

 

[Music Alchemist]

Have you tried smyth realizer systems? or OOYH software?

I also pretty much gave up on headphones for a time, buy then I tried the "Out of Your Head" by darin fong. (if you've heard of it, disregard what's below)

It's completely software based but it uses binaural recordings of real speakers to simulate the effects. quite similar to what the smyth realizer does.
Thing to note is that it won't be as good as the smyth realizer because it won't be customized/unique to your personal HRTF. (you just have to be lucky that they used a recording head similar to yours, they used a few different heads/recording devices) It works wonders for me, especially the PBN sammy setting (it is quieter than the others, which might fool you into thinking that it doesn't sound as good), but that's just with my head/ears.
Also, there's an online demo, but it isn't great because it doesn't let you choose through all the speaker settings (less chance of finding a convincing sounding setting), but if you download the free trial you'll get full access to all the features, three minutes at a time.

I have tried neither, but would like to sooner or later. In case my statement about upgrades was misinterpreted...I haven't abandoned STAX or anything. It's just that, since I prefer my speakers, I feel I should focus on upgrading them before investing more than a few thousand into a top-of-the-line STAX system.

 

[Zoide]

I've learned to not give measurements as much stock as I used to.

For example, the HD 600 and HD 650 appear to measure about the same in the frequency response in some measurements...but they sound quite different, and if you play a frequency sweep, you can easily hear the HD 600's upper frequency peaks that don't show up in some measurements, whereas those peaks aren't there with the HD 650.

Aside from the bass roll-off, the L300's FR is roughly the same as the 207. And I heard all Lambdas roll off in the bass at higher volume, which only shows up in some measurements. (I didn't notice any roll-off when listening, in my case.)

Tonal balance isn't much of an issue, though, because you can fix the frequency response with EQ.

The L300's distortion is a bit higher, but it may not be noticeable.

The L300's impulse response is faster, though.

And you may notice that plenty of people say the L300 sounds noticeably better. So measurements are only a starting point.

It's pretty scary how bad the L300 look compared to the 207 though...

Images taken from InnerFidelity:
https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSR207SB2217.pdf
https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSRL300.pdf

 

[Music Alchemist]

It's pretty scary how bad the L300 look compared to the 207 though...

Images taken from InnerFidelity:
https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSR207SB2217.pdf
https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSRL300.pdf

I owned both. That bass roll-off in the measurements is not apparent when listening. In fact, it played really deep sub-bass just fine. Go figure. Aside from that, the bass hump (the SR-207 has a minor bass hump as well), and somewhat higher bass distortion, the SR-L300 is probably better than the SR-207. It seems to have better resolution, and sounds more solid and focused. Both of them are very neutral. You can play a frequency sweep with any STAX you get your hands on, and you will mostly hear even volume without tons of fluctuations like most headphones behave. And you can make them even more neutral with EQ.

By the way, here's a crappy photo I took of the SR-L300 and SR-Lambda when I had them:

 

[Zoide]

Hmm... How come the L300s' "square wave" looks so... not square though? What would that translate into?

Thanks

 

[mikewr]

Odd question, but can someone let me know how wide their stax lambda is (any model) from the perspective of it laying down on a table and how thick it is (from front to back/face to back of head)? I'm seeing dimensions online, but the ones I've seen can't be correct imo. I'd appreciate it.

 

[Doom0]

Odd question, but can someone let me know how wide their stax lambda is (any model) from the perspective of it laying down on a table and how thick it is (from front to back/face to back of head)? I'm seeing dimensions online, but the ones I've seen can't be correct imo. I'd appreciate it.

You probably already received your L300, but I'll post them anyway in case someone else needs them. Used units are centimeters



Anyway, I encountered crackling noises in bass frequencies with my L300. See the video:


Another strange thing is that crackling is somewhat sensitive to placement:

Frequency used in this video was 89 Hz.

At 10 o'clock, all crackling is gone, at 11 o'clock, it crackles only from 70 to 120 Hz.
I don't think it's dust, as others said new Lambdas have pretty good protection and I also keep them in dust cover during night. Do you guys know what is causing it?

 

[jgazal]

Maybe waves summ to a degree where the diaphragm touch the stators?
If that is the case, you shouldn't hear any crackling when wearing the headphones.

 

[Bloos]

Did you try shining a flashlight through the back an looking for anything out of the ordinary? Maybe a hair somehow pierced through.
Or,
Did it arrive like this? Maybe damaged through transportation/dropped hard and something came loose/humidity overexposure...etc.

 

[miceblue]

I wonder how the L300 sounds compared to the SR-α Pro. Innerfidelity's measurements of both are pretty similar.
https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSRAlphaProExcellent.pdf
https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSRL300.pdf

Anyway, my rig as of late. The iFi Pro iESL sounds amazing in this setup compared to the SRM-252S, but it's borderline too bright for me.

 

[mikewr]

You probably already received your L300, but I'll post them anyway in case someone else needs them. Used units are centimeters



Anyway, I encountered crackling noises in bass frequencies with my L300. See the video:


Another strange thing is that crackling is somewhat sensitive to placement:

Frequency used in this video was 89 Hz.

At 10 o'clock, all crackling is gone, at 11 o'clock, it crackles only from 70 to 120 Hz.
I don't think it's dust, as others said new Lambdas have pretty good protection and I also keep them in dust cover during night. Do you guys know what is causing it?

Ah, thank you for that! Very kind of you! I did indeed receive them already, but I do appreciate it!

Hope your issue get's resolved soon!

 

[Doom0]

Maybe waves summ to a degree where the diaphragm touch the stators?
If that is the case, you shouldn't hear any crackling when wearing the headphones.

Maybe, but if that is the case, you and everyone else should get same results, which I don't think is the case because I didn't hear about it (something like Stax "fart" is pretty known with older lambdas though).

Did you try shining a flashlight through the back an looking for anything out of the ordinary? Maybe a hair somehow pierced through.
Or,
Did it arrive like this? Maybe damaged through transportation/dropped hard and something came loose/humidity overexposure...etc.

Checked with flashlight, I didn't see anything extraordinary. It did not arrive like this, they were fine. I was thinking that perhaps it could be humidity. Well, I could give dehumidifying a try. People suggested putting them in an airtight bag with some silica gel and wait few weeks, that's pretty long time though. Is there some faster (and of course safe) way?

 

[jgazal]

Maybe, but if that is the case, you and everyone else should get same results, which I don't think is the case because I didn't hear about it (something like Stax "fart" is pretty known with older lambdas though).

So does that mean you hear such distortion when wearing it?
Perhaps older lambdas had less symmetrical chambers so the effect does not occur?
Unfortunately I don't own one to try it.
Could you please share the signal test for others to try?
Cheers!

 

[gefski]

I wonder how the L300 sounds compared to the SR-α Pro. Innerfidelity's measurements of both are pretty similar.
https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSRAlphaProExcellent.pdf
https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSRL300.pdf

Anyway, my rig as of late. The iFi Pro iESL sounds amazing in this setup compared to the SRM-252S, but it's borderline too bright for me.

I didn't know the ifi Pro iESL was available yet, glad you got your hands on one.

If you're using the Carver with the ifi, I wouldn't be surprised at a bright presentation. (My ancient memory from my days in retail -- we sold them.)

Are you still in LA?

Cheers!