The Stax Thread III

[barid]

Right here on HF. Bought the Stax 717 amp as well.

 
Yeah, I snagged a MK1 on the FS forum in amazing condition a week or two ago for a good price.  They seam to pop up in batches.  For a few months I was waiting for one to show up and nothing,  then as soon as I bought a MK2 a saw like 2-3 pop up the very next week.  Then nothing for a while, then again within the span of a week or so I see 3 show up FS.  Timing in life is a weird thing.

 

[davidsh]

 
Yeah, I snagged a MK1 on the FS forum in amazing condition a week or two ago for a good price.  They seam to pop up in batches.  For a few months I was waiting for one to show up and nothing,  then as soon as I bought a MK2 a saw like 2-3 pop up the very next week.  Then nothing for a while, then again within the span of a week or so I see 3 show up FS.  Timing in life is a weird thing.

You don't say. And timing doesn't always match up with funds, unfortunately. Being a highschooler with high ambitions and an interest in Stax is not always fun 

Am trying to snatch up as much good gear as I can before getting my own place, as I'll practically be unable to save up for anything at that point and for like 5 years onwards.. So having some gear to trade in for funds is good 

I call it savings. My mom just don't see it the same way...
 
I'd say my current value is at least $2k in gear, probably more like 3k..

 

[Keithpgdrb]

404LE, LNS, or ESP 950 on the smr1mk2.  All seem to be playing on the same field.  whats your choice???? GO..

 

[s1rrah]

  404LE, LNS, or ESP 950 on the smr1mk2.  All seem to be playing on the same field.  whats your choice???? GO..

 
Using a 323s amp ...
 
I've recently bought a pair of 404LE's ... they are super good. But I find myself listening to my Koss  ESP90's more. The Lambda's are really fine . . maybe *too* fine; articulate details are much better than the Koss'. But the Koss ESP950's have better soundstage and are just  ridiculously easy to listen too ... technically? Not as detailed as t he 404LE's ... but way more smooth listening ... also, as plastic as they may be? The 950's are SO fecking comfortable and light weight. I spent more money on the Lambdas ... and truth be told, just speaking critically? The 404LE's sound better in a "reference" regard ... but I listen to the 950's more ... 

 

[DefQon]

  404LE, LNS, or ESP 950 on the smr1mk2.  All seem to be playing on the same field.  whats your choice???? GO..

LNS by far. For me at least. Neutral slight hint of brightness (very little). ESP950 more fun sounding then nailing the technicalities that the Stax are good at. 404LE very limited experience with, sounds alright and to me it was like a Lambda Pro pumped half with steroids without the treble etch and bit more mids (which I consider to be pretty natural sounding on the LP). 

 

[davidsh]

Finally got to listen to the 009's. Spent an hour with them on the 727 and 007 amps, sounds amazing.

 

[barid]

Finally got to listen to the 009's. Spent an hour with them on the 727 and 007 amps, sounds amazing.

How would you characterize their sound differing between the 2 amps?

 

[davidsh]

^Cant help you there...

 

[DefQon]

LOL.

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

So I've been wanting to buy one more expensive piece of audio equipment before I start saving for college. Since I likely won't bring my speakers with me on residence and am only going to use headphones, it would only be logical to upgrade my headphone rig. I think that I want to build a seperate Stax setup to compliment my HE-400 + JDS Labs O2 combination. I am looking at spending $1000 at the most and I've been wanting to give electrostatics a try. I'm specifically looking at pairing the SR-307 and the SRM-252S with my Audioquest Dragonfly as the DAC. How would this combination sound? I'm looking for something with a great midrange, lots of air and instrumental seperation (but not bright), and textured bass. Kind of like a slightly brighter, more airy, HD-650. Perhaps I would be better off with the Koss ESP950 system, but I want to use a Stax amp because it provides a nice upgrade path if I end up falling in love with electrostatics. Could you guys or girls please tell me what you think?

 

[takato14]

  So I've been wanting to buy one more expensive piece of audio equipment before I start saving for college. Since I likely won't bring my speakers with me on residence and am only going to use headphones, it would only be logical to upgrade my headphone rig. I think that I want to build a seperate Stax setup to compliment my HE-400 + JDS Labs O2 combination. I am looking at spending $1000 at the most and I've been wanting to give electrostatics a try. I'm specifically looking at pairing the SR-307 and the SRM-252S with my Audioquest Dragonfly as the DAC. How would this combination sound? I'm looking for something with a great midrange, lots of air and instrumental seperation (but not bright), and textured bass. Kind of like a slightly brighter, more airy, HD-650. Perhaps I would be better off with the Koss ESP950 system, but I want to use a Stax amp because it provides a nice upgrade path if I end up falling in love with electrostatics. Could you guys or girls please tell me what you think?

Go with the ESPs for sure. They'll be more of what you're used to with the HD6x0, except it's a stat, so you get all of their inherent qualities without the brightness of the SR-307. They also have the potential to scale up when used with a better stat amp (such as the SRM-323S). Wait a bit on eBay and you can probably get one that goes for cheap. 

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

  Go with the ESPs for sure. They'll be more of what you're used to with the HD6x0, except it's a stat, so you get all of their inherent qualities without the brightness of the SR-307. They also have the potential to scale up when used with a better stat amp (such as the SRM-323S). Wait a bit on eBay and you can probably get one that goes for cheap. 

Thanks for the response

. So where would I get a reterminated cable for use with a better stat amp? Which do you think out of the ESP and the SR-307 has the more euphoric, "natural" midrange? I can get one for $900 shipped out by Amazon, that wouldn't be too bad (I live in Canada, I'm not sure how this affects pricing). Also, I've heard a lot of bad things about the stock E90 amp sound quality and it's sort of scared me away from the Koss'.

 

[DefQon]

ESP-950 sounds nothing like the HD6x0. But I would agree with something else other than the 307. The ESP-950 is a more fun and musical sounding approach where the Stax excels in technicalities of sound. 

 

[DefQon]

 
Thanks for the response

. So where would I get a reterminated cable for use with a better stat amp? Which do you think out of the ESP and the SR-307 has the more euphoric, "natural" midrange? I can get one for $900 shipped out by Amazon, that wouldn't be too bad (I live in Canada, I'm not sure how this affects pricing). Also, I've heard a lot of bad things about the stock E90 amp sound quality and it's sort of scared me away from the Koss'.

The stock amp will do if you have nothing else but it's nothing special. The only downside to the ESP-950 is reliability. They tend to emit problems out of the blue from channel imbalance to driver squealing both of which you would need to send back to Koss to have it fixed backed by the lifetime warranty.

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

  ESP-950 sounds nothing like the HD6x0. But I would agree with something else other than the 307. The ESP-950 is a more fun and musical sounding approach where the Stax excels in technicalities of sound. 

Thanks for the help. I think I'm going to go with the Stax setup, because my HE-400's are already a fun headphone for me and I'm looking for something that can produce a lot of subtle detail. That sounds like most of the descriptions I've read about Stax headphones.