[kay bee]

hi
i think i am abnormal...most people enjoy a little bass in life, i prefer anemic bass.
 
i have  3-4  Older stax from 20-30 yrs ago too...
 
also have diode unit, srd ,type for some of above, to use with krell and
mccormack and other power amps as well...
 
the dyn headphone i really  liked, altho not very accurate but highly musical
and great for recording sessions,
was the famous pioneer Monitor 10
 
have 2 dozen other headphones, mostly dynamics, which i dont really thnk are
accurate, but ok for  monitoring sessions for use only by musicians, etc...too
 
so yes, in 45 yrs,have experienced things nicely...fortunate.

 

[kay bee]

altho for my ears, Lowest bass prob still remains,
i got my midrange and high frequencies INCREASED
by doing following on the  srm  323s amp ....
 
323s, apparently adds on Slight Low bass, if one sits down and carefully
does a, b testing with a few stax headphones and other driver units.
 
if you are using 407, 507 on this unit,
suggest Strongly to heed following warnings....
 
1.  DO NOT simultaneously stick in 2 headphones in front.
    take one out and listen.  quite a big difference. eh.
    next test, try the other output...there is also a tiny variation
 
2.  DO NOT  use the parallel OUT on back.
     i did.
    learned my lessons...  do your on, off tests and see yourself.
    huge time/sound smearing... even with pre amp off and unplugged from power line.
    also, in my case, this STOLE midrange and high frequencies too.
 
so there u have it...things no one men tions or wants to know but only bitches about
sound not being to liking. myself included.
 
my overall too much bass for MY ears remains...so i use that tissue roll up thing...but
now i got my midrange aqnd high freqs  back !
 
so, for those that feel there is too much High frequency,
use the above ideas to change your sound !!  you can use to advantage...too.
 
thanks
k

 

[Scottsmrnyc]

My pair of SR 507s just arrived a couple of minutes ago from Japan. I have them hooked up and ready to go. I am excited about today's listening session. 

 

[Scottsmrnyc]

Boy, the SR 507 really clamps down on your head when you put it on. It is a very tight fit. I am not saying that this is a bad thing. Maybe in time the tightness will loosen up.  I listened to my new pair for about four hours yesterday. I do like the sound very much.It does rival the sounds created by the higher priced Stax pro headphones. I am running them through my McIntosh MT 10 turntable, a Grado Prestige Black Cartridge and my Stax SRM/MK2 Professional Headphone amplifier.My cabling is entry level. For some crazy reason my SRM1/MK2 works really well with all of my Stax headphones; both professional and non professional. I find the sound of this system to be defined, circulating acoustics and with a bass that is strong; but not over powering. You should keep in mind that I listen to my music at very low volumes as a result of a consistent ear ache in my right ear. I can't imagine how much better the sound would be if I increased the volume by another ten or twenty percent. One thing I don't like is that there isn't any designation for right and left on each earspeaker. This is a smaller issue. I often wonder why so many headphone audiophiles complain about the power abilities of the Stax amplifiers. I have always found them to be more than adequate. I have auditioned some of the other non Stax amplifiers and find them to be no better than what Stax has to offer and for a higher price point. Certainly if you are a volume/power audiophile, you can't sustain listening to music on any headphone amplifier at such high volume levels. Additionally, I must say that you can't beat the price point of the new Stax SR 507s an SR 407s. For their price point they are a great bargain.I  must be honest and say that I bought my pair on Ebay from an importer instead of using a dealer.In doing this I think I saved approximately $300 USD.   One thing I miss in the SR 507s is the fancy carrying case that used to come with the other Stax Professional models but is now discontinued.

 

[Michgelsen]

  1.  DO NOT simultaneously stick in 2 headphones in front.
    take one out and listen.  quite a big difference. eh.
    next test, try the other output...there is also a tiny variation
 

 
Really..? I have never heard any difference when using two or one pairs of headphones simultaneously out of my 717. Any other opinions on this? I can imagine one pair is easier on the amp, but I have specifically tried to listen for differences when pluggin in a second one, and couln't hear any. Could the placebo effect be at work here, kay bee? Tiny variation out of the other output is highly unlikely. If you were to open up the amp, you'd see that both outputs are directly connected to each other, meaning they output the exact same signal. Possibly one of them has some corrosion on the contacts, but other than that, the signal is identical.
 

  Boy, the SR 507 really clamps down on your head when you put it on. It is a very tight fit. I am not saying that this is a bad thing. Maybe in time the tightness will loosen up.  I listened to my new pair for about four hours yesterday. I do like the sound very much.It does rival the sounds created by the higher priced Stax pro headphones. I am running them through my McIntosh MT 10 turntable, a Grado Prestige Black Cartridge and my Stax SRM/MK2 Professional Headphone amplifier.My cabling is entry level. For some crazy reason my SRM1/MK2 works really well with all of my Stax headphones; both professional and non professional. I find the sound of this system to be defined, circulating acoustics and with a bass that is strong; but not over powering. You should keep in mind that I listen to my music at very low volumes as a result of a consistent ear ache in my right ear. I can't imagine how much better the sound would be if I increased the volume by another ten or twenty percent. One thing I don't like is that there isn't any designation for right and left on each earspeaker. This is a smaller issue. I often wonder why so many headphone audiophiles complain about the power abilities of the Stax amplifiers. I have always found them to be more than adequate. I have auditioned some of the other non Stax amplifiers and find them to be no better than what Stax has to offer and for a higher price point. Certainly if you are a volume/power audiophile, you can't sustain listening to music on any headphone amplifier at such high volume levels. Additionally, I must say that you can't beat the price point of the new Stax SR 507s an SR 407s. For their price point they are a great bargain.I  must be honest and say that I bought my pair on Ebay from an importer instead of using a dealer.In doing this I think I saved approximately $300 USD.   One thing I miss in the SR 507s is the fancy carrying case that used to come with the other Stax Professional models but is now discontinued.

 
I like the added tightness of the new headband. Older Lambdas are a bit loose on my head. Normally this is fine and comfy, but when you want to shake your head along with the music it can cause problems. The 507 does better in that respect. Also, because of the clicks the head pad won't gradually slide to a higher position, lowering the earspeakers.
Whether the 507 is a bargain, depends on what you paid for it. The official price in The Netherlands is 1000 euros... You do get the best bass that I have ever heard though, even better (i.e. more linear in the lowest octaves) than from the 007 IMO.

 

[edstrelow]

I wouldn't say there is a huge difference in sound with 2 Stax plugged into the 717 and it may depend on exactly which phones you plug in but I felt that I was losing treble in loud crescendo passages with 2 phones plugged in. I should add that there are also times when the overall sound seems better with 2 phones in. Again dependent on the exact phones and even the music being played. Possibly, if the treble is being reduced, you could get some high frequency filtering which might be good with a very edgy soource.
 
As regards a "placebo" effect, it seems to me me this situation is not comparable to a sugar pill. You are actually doing something to the amp when you plug in 2 phones, the output stage is feeding 2 phones and presumably doing more work. The question is can you or anyone else hear any difference. So it's a situation where there may or may not be an audible difference, but there is at least some reason for suspecting one.
 
 
Also, why should anyone be biased in terms of expecting a difference here? It would be more useful if there wasn't one, since you wouldn't have to go around plugging and unplugging phones.
 
If I was auditioning a pricey phone with the 717 (or any other amp), I would not do it with another phone plugged in because I would not take the chance that this was changing the sound.

 

[vegasheat]

I just ordered the SR-507's with a 323 from Price Japan. I am not an expert and this is a new hobby for me, what I decided is why not go for one of the best and most unique setups from the start? I hope to enjoy this hobby for years to come and enjoy owning Stax 507's. The best I have enjoyed so far are Philips X2, I am looking forward to this new experience.

 

[Scottsmrnyc]

VegasHeat- I don't think you will be disappointed in the SR507s. Enjoy

 

[henkie196]

  i think i am abnormal...most people enjoy a little bass in life, i prefer anemic bass.

So I'm not the only one. That is somewhat of a relief

 

 
Whether the 507 is a bargain, depends on what you paid for it. The official price in The Netherlands is 1000 euros... You do get the best bass that I have ever heard though, even better (i.e. more linear in the lowest octaves) than from the 007 IMO.

And an appropriate amp will set you back at least another €1000 (if not significantly more).
 
Btw, do you know a good place to audition them in the south of the Netherlands? There's a dealer list on the website of the official importer, but that's not very reliable, I've found.

 

[serg604]

sr-507 is now a few years old model, do they still have that problem with drivers falling off the headband or just better to get sr-407?

 

[Michgelsen]

 
Btw, do you know a good place to audition them in the south of the Netherlands? There's a dealer list on the website of the official importer, but that's not very reliable, I've found.

 
I've never been there, but maybe you could try AudioXperience in Nuenen. They appear to take headphones seriously.

 

[henkie196]

  I've never been there, but maybe you could try AudioXperience in Nuenen. They appear to take headphones seriously.

I've been there, but they charge €50 just for the auditioning, which is a bit rich for my taste. They do deduct it from the price if you buy something, if I knew I was going to get it, I wouldn't need to audition, now would I?

 

[Michgelsen]

Hmm, didn't know that. Well, I guess they must also be feeling the effects of the inflated European Stax prices... At least when you pay for the audition, you don't have to feel guilty for trying out all of their Staxen and then buying it via pricejapan.

 

[dramakon]

Does anyone know how I can get 507 earpads in the UK without paying $100 through stax usa?

 

[Chodi]

  Does anyone know how I can get 507 earpads in the UK without paying $100 through stax usa?

You can order them from Price Japan which I did.