[ishmeister]

Small holes shouldn't matter.

Good to know, thanks.

 

[gurbina93]

Anyone had luck when buying from mainland China?
I see the L300 Ltd for 1k+ USD on most international sites and only used....

I found in a few sites in China (like Taobao) I can find a STAX L300 Ltd for 550 USD but I am quite hesitant of the authenticity, that is a stupid low price. I even saw one that allegedly comes with the SRM-353X for 600 USD.
Kinda eager to take the risk and take it with the online marketplace or credit card company if it goes bad.

 

[daytrader]

Anyone had luck when buying from mainland China?
I see the L300 Ltd for 1k+ USD on most international sites and only used....

I found in a few sites in China (like Taobao) I can find a STAX L300 Ltd for 550 USD but I am quite hesitant of the authenticity, that is a stupid low price. I even saw one that allegedly comes with the SRM-353X for 600 USD.
Kinda eager to take the risk and take it with the online marketplace or credit card company if it goes bad.

Ever hear the expression, “if it’s too good to be true...“? That plus getting your money back if it were not true would be impossible, better off putting $500 on black for a spin on the wheel.

 

[gurbina93]

Ever hear the expression, “if it’s too good to be true...“? That plus getting your money back if it were not true would be impossible, better off putting $500 on black for a spin on the wheel.

Might be, but the seller looks legit.
The packaging, box, headphones, description, etc look legit. You can also see in the background all types of headphones, looks like one of these specialty headphones store.
They also sell all kinds of audio gear, a lot of it very specialized gear that only someone in headfi would identify or look after.
The vendor who offers it packaged with the SRM-353X actually is about 1400 USD new, it's just the listing has multiple choices (the cheapest one being 600 USD selected by default just for the headphones). Problem is the site is in Chinese...

I can still get these items through a reputable marketplace here insured and I can return it (official partner of Taobao), as for getting my money back I wouldn't have an issue with my current bank.

On a side note: is L300 Limited a worthy upgrade coming from the L300? Or should I just save that for later on getting the L700 MkII? I have been reading only good things about these.

Not interested on going any higher like 006Mk2 or 009s as I would probably need to upgrade amp equally expensive.

 

[daytrader]

Might be, but the seller looks legit.
The packaging, box, headphones, description, etc look legit. You can also see in the background all types of headphones, looks like one of these specialty headphones store.
They also sell all kinds of audio gear, a lot of it very specialized gear that only someone in headfi would identify or look after.
The vendor who offers it packaged with the SRM-353X actually is about 1400 USD new, it's just the listing has multiple choices (the cheapest one being 600 USD selected by default just for the headphones). Problem is the site is in Chinese...

I can still get these items through a reputable marketplace here insured and I can return it (official partner of Taobao), as for getting my money back I wouldn't have an issue with my current bank.

On a side note: is L300 Limited a worthy upgrade coming from the L300? Or should I just save that for later on getting the L700 MkII? I have been reading only good things about these.

Not interested on going any higher like 006Mk2 or 009s as I would probably need to upgrade amp equally expensive.

Based on reviews, the L300LE is extremely close to the L700. And I say this being a L700 owner. So if you can get an LE version, that saves more money for the energizer, solid stare or tubes, your choice.

 

[Moak]

I’m own a L500 (with L700 leather pads) with SRM-600LE. It’s for me a very good combi.
I could buy a relative cheap Lambda Pro....
Has someone compared both? I read this thread but I don’t found something....
Make it sense to buy a old Lambda Pro (in good condition) additional to my L500 or are they similar?
..............
I have now heard that the Lambda Pro is not so recommendable. Better to go towards Lambda Nova Signature and / or SR-404. They should even be better than the new L-series Stax !? ....also the Lambda Signature, 404lmtd or 507...
Unfortunately, I have no comparison with old Stax headphones ...

 

[armani006]

Does anyone uses Custom leather pads? I use one from Vesper, like it much more than stock, but any other variants?

 

[padam]

I’m own a L500 (with L700 leather pads) with SRM-600LE. It’s for me a very good combi.
I could buy a relative cheap Lambda Pro....
Has someone compared both? I read this thread but I don’t found something....
Make it sense to buy a old Lambda Pro (in good condition) additional to my L500 or are they similar?
..............
I have now heard that the Lambda Pro is not so recommendable. Better to go towards Lambda Nova Signature and / or SR-404. They should even be better than the new L-series Stax !? ....also the Lambda Signature, 404lmtd or 507...
Unfortunately, I have no comparison with old Stax headphones ...

It is difficult to say but they are definitely not similar as the Lambda Pro uses damping in its housing while all the Lambdas that follow it do not.
https://www.headphonesty.com/2018/07/review-stax-sr-lambda-pro-vintage-electrostatic-headphones/
Generally a very good balance with slight decrease in midrange and a slight emphasis on the highs and bass, so a slightly V-shaped sound but pretty even, fast, dynamic.

I can speak more of the rest you've mentioned.
The Lambda Signature is super fast, so one of the best in terms of speed and resolution and air, very enjoyable on classical for instance. But the drawback is that it is just too bright and thin in the bass, which some people described as "hot" and "edgy". Here is an old review that I dug out, featuring the Lambda Pro as well:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/initial-impressions-of-the-stax-sr-lambda-signature.315821/
The Nova Signature is much more tamed down and very nicely balanced, very clean, but it might be a bit boring with some equipment.
The SR-404 that follows is a side-step again, it is more exciting but, like in many Lambdas, there is an upper midrange "etch" that a lot of people mention, and due to that I found the transition between the lower and upper mids uneven. It works with some music and not so much with others.
The SR-404 Limited is a good improvement on this type of sound and plenty of people like it (all of them would choose the Limited over the normal one), it is not nearly as noticeable and the bass is more refined, but there is still a "hint" of that same transition that I found to be not as natural.
I did not hear the SR-507 but a lot of people hate it, because of the added brightness and rate it lower.

I guess all Lambdas belong to the same family so they do have common characteristic things but they are also different at the same time, so, on a certain day, you might pick a certain one, while on others you would take a different one.

My favourite Lambda is (still) the oldest, normal bias Lambda, as I found this to be the most balanced, smoothest and most musical with a great sense of air.
It just captures the "human" aspect of the music very well, by shining a torchlight on the midrange but without sounding harsh or bright, resulting in an addictive sound that is difficult not to like and I do not find that it lacks a lot in technicalities compared to its descendants and this character alone more than makes up for it. Also quite efficient and easy to drive, but probably benefits from some power to control the bass better.
It is just annoying (but understandable) that the newer Stax amps have abandoned the normal bias socket altogether.
Some people only rate the L700 and other latest ones higher, I haven't tried one yet, but I intent to do it in the future, if I see it at a more reasonable price.


With these older headphones there is a possibility that not all pairs sound quite the same. As I mentioned in my SR-Lambda review, I have returned some pairs that I found were not as good sounding as the ones I've kept, while I had other headphones that I owned on multiple occasions and they seemed to sound just like how I had remembered.
Whether that's due to the transducers or in the case of the first two Lambdas, the damping material (which can still be replaced) difficult to say.

But if it is cheap than you can just resell it if you don't like it, they get sold pretty quickly if they are priced low, so there is no harm in trying a Lambda Pro and sharing your impressions, which might be different to others anyway.

 

[gurbina93]

Anyone could share their EQ for the Stax L300 (standard)?

I have been able to find plenty of EQ presets from different sources for the L300 Limited, L500 and L700 but almost nothing for the L300.
I heard that the L300 and L500 use similar drivers so I tried use the L500 presets but I haven't been happy with it.

From lurking around Reddit, random forums and websites I came up with a fairly bassy EQ that I quite like but I feel like I am pushing the bass too much... I am no audio engineer or even have any knowledge on the area, I just did a mash-up of EQs I found and tweaked them a bit.
I am absolutely certain it's too much bass as it I don't feel the bass but after a while of listening I can tell it's too much bass when a headache starts kicking in specially at high volumes.

If you could share a more balanced EQ with a kick in the bass and mid-bass areas would be awesome.

 

[Moak]

It is difficult to say but they are definitely not similar as the Lambda Pro uses damping in its housing while all the Lambdas that follow it do not.
https://www.headphonesty.com/2018/07/review-stax-sr-lambda-pro-vintage-electrostatic-headphones/
Generally a very good balance with slight decrease in midrange and a slight emphasis on the highs and bass, so a slightly V-shaped sound but pretty even, fast, dynamic.

I can speak more of the rest you've mentioned.
The Lambda Signature is super fast, so one of the best in terms of speed and resolution and air, very enjoyable on classical for instance. But the drawback is that it is just too bright and thin in the bass, which some people described as "hot" and "edgy". Here is an old review that I dug out, featuring the Lambda Pro as well:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/initial-impressions-of-the-stax-sr-lambda-signature.315821/
The Nova Signature is much more tamed down and very nicely balanced, very clean, but it might be a bit boring with some equipment.
The SR-404 that follows is a side-step again, it is more exciting but, like in many Lambdas, there is an upper midrange "etch" that a lot of people mention, and due to that I found the transition between the lower and upper mids uneven. It works with some music and not so much with others.
The SR-404 Limited is a good improvement on this type of sound and plenty of people like it (all of them would choose the Limited over the normal one), it is not nearly as noticeable and the bass is more refined, but there is still a "hint" of that same transition that I found to be not as natural.
I did not hear the SR-507 but a lot of people hate it, because of the added brightness and rate it lower.

I guess all Lambdas belong to the same family so they do have common characteristic things but they are also different at the same time, so, on a certain day, you might pick a certain one, while on others you would take a different one.

My favourite Lambda is (still) the oldest, normal bias Lambda, as I found this to be the most balanced, smoothest and most musical with a great sense of air.
It just captures the "human" aspect of the music very well, by shining a torchlight on the midrange but without sounding harsh or bright, resulting in an addictive sound that is difficult not to like and I do not find that it lacks a lot in technicalities compared to its descendants and this character alone more than makes up for it. Also quite efficient and easy to drive, but probably benefits from some power to control the bass better.
It is just annoying (but understandable) that the newer Stax amps have abandoned the normal bias socket altogether.
Some people only rate the L700 and other latest ones higher, I haven't tried one yet, but I intent to do it in the future, if I see it at a more reasonable price.


With these older headphones there is a possibility that not all pairs sound quite the same. As I mentioned in my SR-Lambda review, I have returned some pairs that I found were not as good sounding as the ones I've kept, while I had other headphones that I owned on multiple occasions and they seemed to sound just like how I had remembered.
Whether that's due to the transducers or in the case of the first two Lambdas, the damping material (which can still be replaced) difficult to say.

But if it is cheap than you can just resell it if you don't like it, they get sold pretty quickly if they are priced low, so there is no harm in trying a Lambda Pro and sharing your impressions, which might be different to others anyway.

Thanks a lot for your great infos and experience!
I bought few days ago a new L700 MK2...and I think, now...I could and will forget the others
The sound is realy great!!

 

[Dalmonegrig]

I bought few days ago a new L700 MK2...and I think, now...I could and will forget the others
The sound is realy great!!

Hello!
What kind of amplifier do you have?
Can you describe the sound of the L700 MK2 in more detail?
Thank!

 

[Moak]

Hello!
What kind of amplifier do you have?
Can you describe the sound of the L700 MK2 in more detail?
Thank!

I run the L700 MK2 on a tube amplifier, the SRM-600 Limited. I used my L500 with L700 leather ear pads on the same amplifier. The L700 is a sonic improvement over the L500, but not as dramatic as I read from other forum posts and I would have expected. In any case, I'll keep it. You have to listen carefully to where there is an improvement. Only if you don't have a direct comparison will you have difficulty seeing improvement. The L700 sounds even clearer and more detailed than the L500. Everything just fits. Very open and spacious, very homogeneous. Everything is as you want it to be. I still have a Sennheiser HD800, an Audeze EL8 Titanium and a Grado GH2. The amplifier is a Beyerdynamic A1 (in my opinion the best amplifier for the HD800). Even the L500 sounded better than any dynamic headphone. The L700 is even better. For me the best headphones I've heard so far.

 

[daytrader]

I run the L700 MK2 on a tube amplifier, the SRM-600 Limited. I used my L500 with L700 leather ear pads on the same amplifier. The L700 is a sonic improvement over the L500, but not as dramatic as I read from other forum posts and I would have expected. In any case, I'll keep it. You have to listen carefully to where there is an improvement. Only if you don't have a direct comparison will you have difficulty seeing improvement. The L700 sounds even clearer and more detailed than the L500. Everything just fits. Very open and spacious, very homogeneous. Everything is as you want it to be. I still have a Sennheiser HD800, an Audeze EL8 Titanium and a Grado GH2. The amplifier is a Beyerdynamic A1 (in my opinion the best amplifier for the HD800). Even the L500 sounded better than any dynamic headphone. The L700 is even better. For me the best headphones I've heard so far.

Just out of curiosity what dac are you using? I run my L700 on the 007tll with great enjoyment. But have always been skeptical of to much dac influencing the Stax house sound, that we all have come to appreciate.

 

[Moak]

Just out of curiosity what dac are you using? I run my L700 on the 007tll with great enjoyment. But have always been skeptical of to much dac influencing the Stax house sound, that we all have come to appreciate.

I don't use a DAC. I only listen to CDs with my Medevoort CD350 CD player.

 

[491838]

Does the Lambda stuff (esp. the L700) have more realistic staging compared to the HD800? The instruments/sounds are a bit too spread out on the HD800 or stretched in a way that gives you less clarity overall. It seems that a lot of people still find the HD800 to have more depth but if that's the case, maybe the L700 has less aggressive upper treble (the region of the treble that enhances depth) which I would also prefer.