Hello everyone,
Just wanted to add my contribution to this thread, by writing my impressions of my month-old SR-L700 while, of course, listening to it
First a bit of background. I entered the hobby in early 2013 when I bought my first pair of what could be considered really high-end cans at the time (since then the category has almost doubled in price, but that's another topic - or is it?), namely the LCD-3 (classic version). Since this initial revelation, I have expanded my collection with, in chronological order, the LCD-XC, SR-507, HE-560, Ether C, TH-900 and now SR-L700. In order to drive these diverse cans, my initial Burson DA-160 + Soloist combo has seen the arrival of some company, with the Burson Conductor and Woo Audio WA7 and WA8 DAC/Amps, and Stax SRD-7 and SRM-323S amps.
The SR-507 was my first foray into electrostats, and while I was impressed by its detail retrieval and etheral sound, the forward and a tad aggressive presentation, combined with a less visceral bass than planars didn't fully convince me to switch from the WA7 (upgraded tubes) / LCD-3 as my go-to setup for everyday listening (the SRM-323S though helped an awful lot from my initial SRD-7, which, while pleasant enough, felt limited).
But I knew I was missing out on stats. For a moment I considered acquiring the SR-009, but the steep price (I think my psychological barrier lies around 2000€), combined with the feeling that the SRM-323S would limit it, made me instead delve further into planar land.
That was until a couple months ago, when I discovered the existence of the SR-L700, promising SR-009 tech in a sleek black lambda frame (I'm a sucker for this Vader look), and at the very reasonable price, in these 4000-euros-for-the-LCD4-because-f*-you times, of 1400€.
Plugging the SR-L700 into the SRM-323S and with the Conductor acting as DAC, I think have finally understood what stats are really about. I mean, the transparency is out of this world. Music just floats around of you. Every instrument, voice, sound, whatever the frequency, is perfectly defined. It feels like there is a empty space between them, not some grey area ever so slightly murky.
And the tone, the tone...each sound just feels
right. Your brain tells you that you
expect to sound it like that, and it does. This feels especially true when I switch from the SR-L700 to, well, any of my other cans. They all feel colored. Fun, perhaps, but colored. And also really, really veiled.
Compared to the SR-507, the L700 feels much less shouty, more composed. It englobes you more, and does it more comfortably. It's also predictably tonally better. I can listen to these cans for hours and feel nothing but pure musical joy. I mainly listen to electronica, and while the bass doesn't have the impact of the LCD-3 or TH-900, its deepness and perfect tone make it much more engaging. I have never been so hypnotized by the music, oftentimes dancing at it like a rave junkie while working in my office. With the SR-L700, I think I finally understood that the game ends with stats.
