Glad that you are liking them. I had the similar experience when I got the L300 Limited Edition earpads replaced with L700 earpads, they sound closer to the L700 now (having said that I still prefer L700 over L300 LE).
The L700 pad assembly was the same loose fitment on my L300 Limited as well. I actually just swapped the L700 leather pad over to the L300 plastic base to fix it... An l300 pad from an L300 I also had at the time was swapped to the L700 plastic base.
Seriously doubt you'll find a planar that offer the same speed and clarity, not to mention price point also. They're more of a side grade for bass slam. I havent touched or bother with anything else besides electrostatic since trying them out 3 years ago. I think I've reached my summit with my Stax collection. Hell even the KSE1500 I would call an endgame IEM that beats most dynamic and planar I've experienced. I think companies shouldn't waste r&d on anything but electrostatic.
I am concerned about something. My STAX 353X makes a loud 'thud' or 'pop' sound in the my L700 when I turn it off. Is this normal behavior or is something not right?
I also have 353X and L700. Um, no Sir, that is not normal. A slight bit of thump, yes. I would not consider it "loud" at all. I only listen at a volume of 3/10 though, perhaps you're having it cranked much louder when powering it up/down?
I don't listen very loud at all. About 2 - 3 with my DAC (RME ADI-2 DAC) At -30dbr. So pretty quiet. Its loud compared to that but I would not call it very loud but its loud compared to the volume I listen. I think its the thump you describe but honestly I cant be for certain. Ill record a video or something
Alright here it is. I'm not sure what to think. Ive owned my L700 and 353X for a long time and its always done this but I never really questioned it. Decided its probably wise to ask though
I always plug-in my Stax headphones after amp warm-up, unplug them before power-down, and ground the plug pins on my hand after unplugging. Just one of the many Stax rituals/superstitions I have that keeps the Stax Gods smiling upon me (probably). Some of these KG/DIY amps use teflon jacks that have a death grip on the plug pins, though.
I believe the thump you hear is just a capacitors discharging as the amplifier powers down, this is why there is used 5MOhm ballast resistors before the output to the phones in all stax amps and KG amps. Anyone more experienced than me can chime in but I am pretty sure it's not hurting the phones.
Maybe you need to lower the volume to zero and wait for a few sec and than press power off? Btw thats how you suppose to power it off anyway. Never power off with music playing. And 2nd thing is. My 353X also makes the thump/pop noise. And my other amps dose similar ? But to me its more like a power down thump/pop noise. Im not bother to much with this thou. I never unplug the headphones. Always leave them attach to the amp while its on or off. I rarely remove them from the amps.
That's is absolutely correct. Wouldn't plug any of my Stax in to anything but Stax or KG drivers. I have witness non Stax & KG without these protective resistors.
If anyone's interested in a Stax Sigma (normal bias), there's one on eBay. It's mislabelled as something else. It's not labelled correctly - it's called "cuffia elettrostatica stax anni 90". Bidding starts at 300 Euros. It's not mine, so questions to the seller, please, not to me. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/173699203847
