ufospls2
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
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Heres a quick photo of how things are currently. Going to try and figure out a better table for them, but yeah.
The Stax Thread III
Vanheim
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2015
- Posts
- 175
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Beautiful! Can’t wait to hear your impressions of it!Heres a quick photo of how things are currently. Going to try and figure out a better table for them, but yeah.
ThanatosVI
Headphoneus Supremus
Get that order for the CRBN in, wait times are insaneHeres a quick photo of how things are currently. Going to try and figure out a better table for them, but yeah.
Ferrum Hypsos - hi end power supply that supports SRM-252S. Interesting how much better is the sound with it.
BenF
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2013
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$1200 LPS for SRM252S?
Doubt it will improve SQ over the $46 one on Aliexpress...
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-stax-thread-iii.677809/post-16700076
Guys, selling my woo audio Wes 2nd Gen energizer. Great Amp for 009. Pure tube magic. It is on classified Ads section. Thank you!
Well damn. Routine putting the Nova Classic on my head getting ready to jam... *crack!!* there goes the plastic frame. Right down the middle.
Taped it up and it looks pretty scuf now but hey, drivers are still fine!
sob
Aluminum version frame/headband replacement on Stax USA for $220, I don't know if I want to do that or just leave it as-is...it definitely has a lot of, er, character now.
Taped it up and it looks pretty scuf now but hey, drivers are still fine!
sobAluminum version frame/headband replacement on Stax USA for $220, I don't know if I want to do that or just leave it as-is...it definitely has a lot of, er, character now.
Last edited:
- Joined
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Nice kit!Heres a quick photo of how things are currently. Going to try and figure out a better table for them, but yeah.
You seriously need a baby orpheus now!
bigjako
100+ Head-Fier
I've been meaning to post an update for a long time, but the months fly by. I recently came across a used ES Labs ES-1a and got help from Benson at ES to fix the broken headband and wanted to share my experience with that headphone and compare it to my L300 LE and a little mod project of mine, where I took an L300, applied the SOCAS Pad Mod (and ZMF Lambskin Ovals, along with the full blu-tak mod (to both the driver housing and to the ported SOCAS bracket) - my goal was to try to bass the hell out of the L300. I've run them on a CCS-modded 006t (Dominik's) and the Bottlehead Stat.
First the headphones: the L300 was my best-in-class headphone and to some degree it still definitely is, but it's also the one that's most directly comparable to the ES-1a and suffers in some ways from the comparison. My Lambda NBs (or my Sigmas) are just apples and oranges to the ES-1a, their use cases don't overlap. I love my NBs on the Stat (and on the SRD-7, which drives really nice bass out of them). On the 006 the NB is a little harsh on the high end (I think the CCS mod really pushes the 006 into Solid State-like zones). As I've spent time with the ES1a, the L300s got the biggest hit in headtime, so let's start there.
ES-1a vs L300 Limited Edition
The ES has a much more expansive soundstage (and the L300 LE itself has a bigger soundstage than the L300). I came back to the LE's recently, and I think they still paint a picture of the music like a big, detailed, colorful tapestry, but everything is threaded together and connected. A blended soundscape. Whereas the ES-1as have much sharper edges, more incisive cuts (which sometimes can be a little harsh on the 006, too). It's like that tapestry was cut up into multiple bits and hung across a really big, wide and tall soundstage. Less cohesive and more separated. Better Git it in Your Soul by Charles Mingus is a good example, the horns and bass and drums and crowd noise are so totally separated and distinct, and the horns just jump right through my ears - in a good, vibrant way (wow). The LEs present things more cohesively, more connected but more intimately too. None of those are bad things, but they lack the wow factor of the ES1a to me - but they are still damned amazing. You might say the LEs are a well-choreographed dance ensemble while the ES1a is like some mad breakdancing freak of electrostatic nature.
Now with bass, it's not really a competition, at least with sub-bass. The ES-1as, I crap you not, approach LCD-2C levels of sub-bass (I suspect if I forced a seal, like I get with the LCDs, it would be a near-tie). I am trying to get a Lokius, but I've been testing our digital EQ via SoundSource, and they really do take the bass as I EQ it in. Most will disagree, but I don't like software EQ (don't hate, it's just how I feel) and so I'm really keen to get Lokius in (though moreso for the ZMF/SoCas L300 project). LE bass is nice - I like the Lambda levels of bass just fine, but the ES-1a's really bring that planar level of sub-bass). I had the Kaldas RR-1s once (actually, twice) and the ES-1a beats them in the sub-bass, to my recollection.
Note on 007/009 comparisons: I have only heard the 007 and 009 at the most recent CanJam, on a BHSE. It's not the best place to get a solid impression or foundation with those cans (at the same time, I listened to them on a freaking BHSE, so it's better than my setup... maybe that cancels it out and I got a balanced experience). I preferred the 007 on the BHSE, I heard the weird tonal balance on the 009. Based on my limited experience, I would say that the ES1a was what I call the 008 - it had the bass and tone of the 007 but had the fast and forward nature of the 009 without its tonal character. Also to be fair, I listen to the ES1a on my Stat and CCS'd 006t, which are NOT BHSE's.
The ES1a is really fast, even for an estat. It suffers in the mid-bass from that, relative to the LEs. Mid-bass is great for an estat, but I think of this as more of a v-shaped estat. For electronic music, I really like the way the ES1a places and highlights all the detail. That changes, though, when I put it on the Stat. That placement and detail get fuzzed away on the Stat but you get something akin to the NBs - warmer, sweeter, syrupy and definitely a more intimate, musical and less detailed stage. Different, not better for worse (at least depending what you're looking for). I have way too many Staxen but I just love them - for now, my ES-1a is my most technically-adept and impressive estat. The other Staxen have their magic moments too, this just allowed me to finally hear what the 007/009 people were experiencing and open up the aperture of the estat experience for me.
I was going to compare to the modded L300s (the ones with the orange SoCas yokes in the pics), but this is already too long of a post so I'll save it. I really had been meaning to sing the praises of Benson over at ES Labs. I have one of his replica Sigmas (with 404 drivers) that I bought directly from him - it doesn't get a lot of head time because it's suitable for very specific genres - but Benson was amazingly helpful and patient with me with that. I bought my ES-1a's used, yet he was still as gracious and helpful as ever as I sorted through some questions and repairs. For that matter, Paul from Bottlehead was a saint when dealing with my "estat shipping disaster" issues for a used buy, too.
There is way too little info on the Stat. It has been one of my favorite pieces of gear and turns my estats into warm, detailed and airy cans - at least the Lambdas (particularly the NBs, but also the Pros and the L300s). It's not cheap (what quality amp is in electrostatics, anyways? maybe the SRD-7 with a good speaker amp). It is a great amp, I love tube rolling it (you don't really need matched pairs). Anyways, I shall never part with it. One day, I will have a BHSE or Carbon and a 007 or Perun, but for now the gear I have gives me a lot of options and, most importantly for me, fun.
First the headphones: the L300 was my best-in-class headphone and to some degree it still definitely is, but it's also the one that's most directly comparable to the ES-1a and suffers in some ways from the comparison. My Lambda NBs (or my Sigmas) are just apples and oranges to the ES-1a, their use cases don't overlap. I love my NBs on the Stat (and on the SRD-7, which drives really nice bass out of them). On the 006 the NB is a little harsh on the high end (I think the CCS mod really pushes the 006 into Solid State-like zones). As I've spent time with the ES1a, the L300s got the biggest hit in headtime, so let's start there.
ES-1a vs L300 Limited Edition
The ES has a much more expansive soundstage (and the L300 LE itself has a bigger soundstage than the L300). I came back to the LE's recently, and I think they still paint a picture of the music like a big, detailed, colorful tapestry, but everything is threaded together and connected. A blended soundscape. Whereas the ES-1as have much sharper edges, more incisive cuts (which sometimes can be a little harsh on the 006, too). It's like that tapestry was cut up into multiple bits and hung across a really big, wide and tall soundstage. Less cohesive and more separated. Better Git it in Your Soul by Charles Mingus is a good example, the horns and bass and drums and crowd noise are so totally separated and distinct, and the horns just jump right through my ears - in a good, vibrant way (wow). The LEs present things more cohesively, more connected but more intimately too. None of those are bad things, but they lack the wow factor of the ES1a to me - but they are still damned amazing. You might say the LEs are a well-choreographed dance ensemble while the ES1a is like some mad breakdancing freak of electrostatic nature.
Now with bass, it's not really a competition, at least with sub-bass. The ES-1as, I crap you not, approach LCD-2C levels of sub-bass (I suspect if I forced a seal, like I get with the LCDs, it would be a near-tie). I am trying to get a Lokius, but I've been testing our digital EQ via SoundSource, and they really do take the bass as I EQ it in. Most will disagree, but I don't like software EQ (don't hate, it's just how I feel) and so I'm really keen to get Lokius in (though moreso for the ZMF/SoCas L300 project). LE bass is nice - I like the Lambda levels of bass just fine, but the ES-1a's really bring that planar level of sub-bass). I had the Kaldas RR-1s once (actually, twice) and the ES-1a beats them in the sub-bass, to my recollection.
Note on 007/009 comparisons: I have only heard the 007 and 009 at the most recent CanJam, on a BHSE. It's not the best place to get a solid impression or foundation with those cans (at the same time, I listened to them on a freaking BHSE, so it's better than my setup... maybe that cancels it out and I got a balanced experience). I preferred the 007 on the BHSE, I heard the weird tonal balance on the 009. Based on my limited experience, I would say that the ES1a was what I call the 008 - it had the bass and tone of the 007 but had the fast and forward nature of the 009 without its tonal character. Also to be fair, I listen to the ES1a on my Stat and CCS'd 006t, which are NOT BHSE's.
The ES1a is really fast, even for an estat. It suffers in the mid-bass from that, relative to the LEs. Mid-bass is great for an estat, but I think of this as more of a v-shaped estat. For electronic music, I really like the way the ES1a places and highlights all the detail. That changes, though, when I put it on the Stat. That placement and detail get fuzzed away on the Stat but you get something akin to the NBs - warmer, sweeter, syrupy and definitely a more intimate, musical and less detailed stage. Different, not better for worse (at least depending what you're looking for). I have way too many Staxen but I just love them - for now, my ES-1a is my most technically-adept and impressive estat. The other Staxen have their magic moments too, this just allowed me to finally hear what the 007/009 people were experiencing and open up the aperture of the estat experience for me.
I was going to compare to the modded L300s (the ones with the orange SoCas yokes in the pics), but this is already too long of a post so I'll save it. I really had been meaning to sing the praises of Benson over at ES Labs. I have one of his replica Sigmas (with 404 drivers) that I bought directly from him - it doesn't get a lot of head time because it's suitable for very specific genres - but Benson was amazingly helpful and patient with me with that. I bought my ES-1a's used, yet he was still as gracious and helpful as ever as I sorted through some questions and repairs. For that matter, Paul from Bottlehead was a saint when dealing with my "estat shipping disaster" issues for a used buy, too.
There is way too little info on the Stat. It has been one of my favorite pieces of gear and turns my estats into warm, detailed and airy cans - at least the Lambdas (particularly the NBs, but also the Pros and the L300s). It's not cheap (what quality amp is in electrostatics, anyways? maybe the SRD-7 with a good speaker amp). It is a great amp, I love tube rolling it (you don't really need matched pairs). Anyways, I shall never part with it. One day, I will have a BHSE or Carbon and a 007 or Perun, but for now the gear I have gives me a lot of options and, most importantly for me, fun.
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yangviolin
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2013
- Posts
- 6
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- 24
Is 007mk2 a better fit with a Woo Wes than 009/009S? Here is a Woo Wes on Ebay for sale. https://www.ebay.com/itm/133969168886?hash=item1f312f49f6:g:I6cAAOSwdPNhuhKe
number1sixerfan
Headphoneus Supremus
It's the opposite. 007 is just too warm to pair with the WES imo. The 009 and most other stax sound really, really good with it however.
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Also, I have a pair of L300 just sitting around. According this thread I should take a pass at modding them?
I got Socas modded L500 (sony pads) last week and loving it, but need more time with it before posting my impressions and comparisson to my L700-ii. but to m y taste (I tested an original L500ii at the dealer side by side with the L700ii), the mod resulted a big upgradeIt's the opposite. 007 is just too warm to pair with the WES imo. The 009 and most other stax sound really, really good with it however.
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Also, I have a pair of L300 just sitting around. According this thread I should take a pass at modding them?
bigjako
100+ Head-Fier
I have the Socas Pad-mod with ZMF Lambskin Oval pads. I got the ported Socas mod, but have covered the port with blu tag (as well as done the blu-tak mod to the cans themselves). I removed the blutak from the Socas mod quickly but did not notice much of a difference either way. My goal with the mod is to get the bassiest Stax I could mod, and they are that. One note - if you have a big head and use thick pads you may stretch the headband as far as it could go (I think those Sony pads count as thick, as do the ZMFs). I'm working on a 3d-printed headband to give me more room to play, but in the meantime, I've swapped headbands with my L700 headband and that works just fine.
It's a fun little project, go for it.
It's a fun little project, go for it.
Before you buy I think its better to let you know that there's a rumor that WOO WES are missing some resistor on it output which can potentially fried your electrostatic headphone, but to be honest, I never saw one being actually fried in many years of my electrostatic jounery.
micon
Head-Fier
I've had a lot of electrostatic headphones. that's why I made an adjustable bias.
I fed 730 volts to my favorite 007, no problem. but if you feed 1000 then you will hear not pleasant sounds....
I fed 730 volts to my favorite 007, no problem. but if you feed 1000 then you will hear not pleasant sounds....
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