[Pokemonn]

Hi Stax fans

I just found a fact about my Stax rig yesterday. i will share it for newbie Stax fans FyI. so this info is NOT for veteran Stax mafias.

I always feeled stax sounded etchy but i found the reson of it.
For me its just came from DAC's output stage crappy sounding conventinal opamps.(probablly)
I just tried Schiit Bifrost 4490(which have descrete Class A output stage cuircuit) + KGSShv Carbon + SR-L700 combo.
Wow Just sounds RIGHT! it sounds so Analoug Smooth Punchy Dynamic 3D!
Yes Stax HP are tooooo tranceparent so maybe you can hear crappy opamps flows of your DACs.
IMO DAC output stage should be descrete Class A cuircuit for Stax. Otherwise it will sound crappy!

hope this some newbies helps.

Cheers.

 

[Madra]

Lambda Sig = best Lambda ever

Ali

Does this preference include the newer L-700 and L-300 SE?
I am currently listening to a Lambda Signature driven by a 006tII and I am very pleased with the result.

 

[Pokemonn]

Does this preference include the newer L-700 and L-300 SE?
I am currently listening to a Lambda Signature driven by a 006tII and I am very pleased with the result.

Yes Lambda Signature sounds much mellower/smoother than latest Lambdas such as SR207 or L700 etc.

 

[Ali-Pacha]

Does this preference include the newer L-700 and L-300 SE?
I am currently listening to a Lambda Signature driven by a 006tII and I am very pleased with the result.

For me, yes. L series benefit from their leaky design to get more low mid hump then more subjective energy, but the air, extension and gorgeous mids of Lambda Sig are still to be matched IMO.
SR-x0x are too screechy in the high mids for me, and lack the mellowness and the air of Lambda Sig.

Ali

 

[Hubert481]

lambda signature better than L700 ?

 

[Ali-Pacha]

For me, yes. But this hobby is all about subjectivity. I'm way past the quest for an imaginary holy grail. HD800 + Vali2, BHSE + a bunch of Stax I like (no more 007 among them, too dull / slow and uneven in the highs), Yggy as a source, I'm done now.

Ali

 

[Madra]

@Pokemonn and @Ali-Pacha , thanks for the feedback.

My story with the Lambda Signature goes a long way. I first heard it at the Paris Audio Show in the early nineties (I was living there at the time), along with Jecklin Floats and the AKG K1000. I ended buying the Signature with a used SRD-7SB and used it for the best of three years. Coming back home, I moved to 2 channel, bought Quad Electrostats, boxed the Staxes and stored them in a cabinet. Twenty something years later, my listening time moved to late night, and decided to go back to headphones. I bought an Hd650 with a GOv2, then remembered that I had the Lambda Signature. A close friend of mine helped removing the disintegrated foam, cleaned them up, inspected them (he repairs Quad Electrostats) and to my big surprise, they were perfectly operational. I lucked on a mint 006tii, and i have been enjoying the pairing since.

My exposure to Stax is limited to the Lambda Signature, but I found them to be very revealing of souce, recording, even cable changes. Yet offer a rightness of sound and a fatigue free listening to the extent that I do not miss my 2ch system as much.

I will be watching Stax very closely. I am hooked again!

 

[DJ The Rocket]

I'll join in on the Lambda Sig love-fest I agree that they have a unique mellow and airy sound -- ethereal is another good word for it. They're "low contrast," to borrow a photography concept. They're like turning on the blue-light filter on your phone screen, how your eyes feel instantly more relaxed.

I've heard an L300, and it's really hard to compare them because they're not really that similar. I didn't care for it, subjectively. I'd love to try an L700 just to see what the top of that line is like.

 

[Aurlieus]

@Pokemonn and @Ali-Pacha , thanks for the feedback.

My story with the Lambda Signature goes a long way. I first heard it at the Paris Audio Show in the early nineties (I was living there at the time), along with Jecklin Floats and the AKG K1000. I ended buying the Signature with a used SRD-7SB and used it for the best of three years. Coming back home, I moved to 2 channel, bought Quad Electrostats, boxed the Staxes and stored them in a cabinet. Twenty something years later, my listening time moved to late night, and decided to go back to headphones. I bought an Hd650 with a GOv2, then remembered that I had the Lambda Signature. A close friend of mine helped removing the disintegrated foam, cleaned them up, inspected them (he repairs Quad Electrostats) and to my big surprise, they were perfectly operational. I lucked on a mint 006tii, and i have been enjoying the pairing since.

My exposure to Stax is limited to the Lambda Signature, but I found them to be very revealing of souce, recording, even cable changes. Yet offer a rightness of sound and a fatigue free listening to the extent that I do not miss my 2ch system as much.

I will be watching Stax very closely. I am hooked again!

OMG! I think you are the brother of the gentleman who purchased the SRM-006Tii from me. His name is O**r. Black unit with an upgraded HiFi-Tuning fuse. Small world! Seems like you are enjoying the purchase, I am glad it helped to get you into the Stax world.

 

[Madra]

OMG! I think you are the brother of the gentleman who purchased the SRM-006Tii from me. His name is O**r. Black unit with an upgraded HiFi-Tuning fuse. Small world! Seems like you are enjoying the purchase, I am glad it helped to get you into the Stax world.

Bingo!!! I am the one. Small world indeed, more so in Stax land. I never had a way to thank you for the amp, but it exceeded my expectations.
I am thinking of adding some tube dampers, pure Nervosa I guess!
Do tell us how you feel about the AV amp that replaced it.

 

[Aurlieus]

Heh! You are welcome, and welcome (back) to the headphone community, especially the Stax brethren. I have an SR-007 Mkii at the moment, it is creamy and lush, but with the SRM-006Tii it was just too much of a good thing, the amp will likely be better suited to your Stax earspeakers, but I cannot know for sure as I have not heard them.

BUT, with my cable modded KOSS ESP950, the SRM-006Tii was a great match, it managed to paper over the, sometimes, lean sounding nature of the KOSS. The AudioValve Solaris drives the SR-007 Mkii with aplomb. It sounds bigger and does not get congested at higher volumes and during more difficult musical passages. I really cannot compare against the Mjölnir-Audio or the HeadAmp BHSE as I have never heard them. But the AudioValue will likely be a bit off the pace of these two, naturally, as it is an all-in-one solution for balanced dynamic driver headphones, pre-amp duties and even a very decent integrated amp for sensitive speakers!

Still, it is a pretty little Swiss army knife and I will not part with it. I believe that member Currawong has the exact same model and will likely be publishing a review of it in the coming months. I believe Currawong owns a Stax SR-009, but I could be wrong, however, he does have a gamut of very high-end dynamic and planar magnetic headphones that he will test on the AudioValve Solaris.

I have an SR-009s on order, will report back when it arrives...counting the days!

 

[AthenaZephyrian]

Just got the Stax L300. The difference is more subtle on the track I first demo'd than moving from dynamic Soundmagic HP200's to planar 400i's, but the difference is so much bigger on detailed tracks. It's extremely impressive, especially for the price.

Worth my money and then some.

 

[Magol79]

A PM from a fellow forum member set of the following chain of events:

Me: So, I have finally crawled back up from this head-fi hellhole. Man, it feels good. I’m all set now.

Kevin Gilmore (KG): I’ll **** everything up for you.

Me: Huh? Anyways, I have it all laid out now. A few workhorse headphones and a small selection of TOTL cans. I have even decided on what amps and dacs to go with them.

KG: **** your plans!

Me: Yeah, yeah.. Hush now. This is how it’s going to be: I have the SR-009 and a KGSShv built by headinclouds down in the living room. The L700’s will play nicely together with the SRM-007tII in my office. It’s decided. I’m set. I have already spent way too much on this. I am satisfied now.

*Nervous twitch*.

Me: Those head-fi guys in the Stax thread really do seem to love their TOTL amps though. But, I don’t know… I think the SRM-007tII is pretty great. It runs my L700’s just fine. Besides I already have the KGSShv by headinclouds. It can’t get much better than that. I doubt the BHSE, Carbon, GG or diy T2 really have much more to offer…

*Blissful ignorance*

PM from tigon_ride: Hey man, does the KGSShv make a big difference compared to the 007tII when driving the L700’s?

Me: I don’t know. Let me check. Brb.

[Note: this is when I should have packed up my current gear and ran for the hills.]

*Fiddling with cables and amps and setting things up*

Me: Ok, let’s give this a try, doubt much will come of it.

*Puts on L700’s and switches between the KGSShv and SRM-007tII*

Me: Huh? Is my Stax amp broken? Why does it sound so muted and soft? Something isn’t right… :/

KG: **** your Stax amp!

*Switches back to KGSShv*

Me: Oh.. Now I get it.. Fuuuu…. I have to sell the Stax amp now…

*Ground collapses under my feet, the head-fi hell chasm opens up again*

Me: The Carbon seems like a really good SS amp… Oh, look at that, Spritzer has them in stock…

*Wallet spontaneously combusts*


Ok, so the the L700 on the KGSShv completely crushed the SRM-007tII in a way I wasn’t really prepared for. This was very revealing. The most obvious differences were that the KGSShv was faster, had a bigger, bolder, more powerful sound and much better treble. It’s honestly quite hard to go back to the Stax amp now…

 

[AthenaZephyrian]

A PM from a fellow forum member set of the following chain of events:

Me: So, I have finally crawled back up from this head-fi hellhole. Man, it feels good. I’m all set now.

Kevin Gilmore (KG): I’ll **** everything up for you.

Me: Huh? Anyways, I have it all laid out now. A few workhorse headphones and a small selection of TOTL cans. I have even decided on what amps and dacs to go with them.

KG: **** your plans!

Me: Yeah, yeah.. Hush now. This is how it’s going to be: I have the SR-009 and a KGSShv built by headinclouds down in the living room. The L700’s will play nicely together with the SRM-007tII in my office. It’s decided. I’m set. I have already spent way too much on this. I am satisfied now.

*Nervous twitch*.

Me: Those head-fi guys in the Stax thread really do seem to love their TOTL amps though. But, I don’t know… I think the SRM-007tII is pretty great. It runs my L700’s just fine. Besides I already have the KGSShv by headinclouds. It can’t get much better than that. I doubt the BHSE, Carbon, GG or diy T2 really have much more to offer…

*Blissful ignorance*

PM from tigon_ride: Hey man, does the KGSShv make a big difference compared to the 007tII when driving the L700’s?

Me: I don’t know. Let me check. Brb.

[Note: this is when I should have packed up my current gear and ran for the hills.]

*Fiddling with cables and amps and setting things up*

Me: Ok, let’s give this a try, doubt much will come of it.

*Puts on L700’s and switches between the KGSShv and SRM-007tII*

Me: Huh? Is my Stax amp broken? Why does it sound so muted and soft? Something isn’t right… :/

KG: **** your Stax amp!

*Switches back to KGSShv*

Me: Oh.. Now I get it.. Fuuuu…. I have to sell the Stax amp now…

*Ground collapses under my feet, the head-fi hell chasm opens up again*

Me: The Carbon seems like a really good SS amp… Oh, look at that, Spritzer have them in stock…

*Wallet spontaneously combusts*


Ok, so the the L700 on the KGSShv completely crushed the SRM-007tII in a way I wasn’t really prepared for. This was very revealing. The most obvious differences were that the KGSShv was faster, had a bigger, bolder, more powerful sound and much better treble. It’s honestly quite hard to go back to the Stax amp now…

Dude, we need to lock this thread down, dismantle the server, and store it underground, in a bunker. You're gonna cause an economic apocalypse with talk like this.

 

[mulveling]

You literally never hit diminishing returns when it comes to acquiring bigger & badder KG Stax amps.