[Earspeakers]

Ah, the infamous fart. I've seen references and didn't know what it was exactly. 
 
Let's check though. I have a NOS 404 I bought off some crazy dentist (had backups he stuck in his closet). The plastic housing crackles quite a bit on that one, due to it not being worn in and what not. All of my old stock headphones (most of them) don't have this, presumably from being used and worn in. It's purely the plastic, and the recent vintage Lambdas don't have it in my experience. 
 
This is very different, it's a snap-crackle-pop, definately electronic and coming from the earpiece, not the surrounding plastic. Sounds exactly like electrical arcing. I've heard that 'stats will can that due to impurities and imperfections, it's harmless. It just fries a bit of the coating or whatnot. My guess is that Stax does the extensive burn in to literally 'burn off' these before they get to the customer, who would freak out. 

 

[bearFNF]

The "fart" can be heard just by moving your jaw, like when chewing gum. It is a crinkling/popping sound.  My lambda normal bias do this a lot. The 009 do not do this. IME

 

[Earspeakers]

This morning listening to Don Giovanni. First up was one of the last Sigma Professionals ever made, high 9000's serial number. Near NOS condition from somebody in Finland that rarely used it. This was fed by a KGST and a ED-1 diffuse field equalizer. 
 
The music was recorded before an audience who would twitter occasionally at the jokes. The vocalists walk around the stage, just as they do during the production and the recording was really well done. The hall they used was well damped so not too much of that, and best of all it's insulated. All the old halls have thin walls, with La Scala recordings you can hear the Vespas and auto's buzzing around the hall (when you listen on Stax at least). 
 
On this combination the imaging is excellent, it's like a very close oval with you positioned in the prompter box, or perhaps the conductor. The KGST has a large relaxed cleared space to it that the Stax amps don't have, those generally being more immediate. It also has the drive necessary for the Sigma. However the Siggy also rolls off the top end, making it sound like a rather warm and relaxed hall on a warm day. 
 
For the final acts I switched to a SRM-1 (mk1 Normal-Normal), ED-1 and Lambda Normal. This is a sleeper amp, it's basically as relaxed, but more 'present' than the KGST. Slightly more energetic too, the KGST is so sanguine that I often like to go somewhere else for some excitement. The presentation is quite different, now it's definitely in the prompters box. The orchestra sounds like it's 'in my head' (e.g. I'm in the group or just in back of it) and the vocalists are quite close. The stage is more compressed too, only opening up when the distant audience titters. As far as I can tell it has equivalent resolution and detail of the KGST, perhaps a touch more. 
 
I haven't looked into the circuit of the SRM-1 but it appears quite different (layout, transistors) than the MK2. 

 

[paradoxper]

Best description for the fart I've heard is PSHHWT PSHHWT. It can be disconcerting not knowing what it is at first, though. 

 

[uchihaitachi]

   
I have 20+ headphones and 20+ amps, all Stax. Wrong person to ask. 
 
Back story is I only listen to classical (am a musician) and spent years trying to get decent (accurate) reproduction of an Opera or a string quartet. Tried planars (speakers), SET's, Oris horns etc. Finally found true accuracy with (and only with) Stax. I have the collection because I love them so much, and I like variety. 
 
Amazing how difficult it is to simply get an accurate reproduction of a violin. Massed strings gets smeared and etched across the board. While speakers do nice things none of them I heard managed to pull them off. They sacrifice tonal accuracy for placement/soundstage. 
 
Stax do it the best, but to really get it right in addition you need diffuse field equalization. 

Musician as well, most headphones utterly fail to reproduce a piano accurately, Stax is also the closest I have gotten.

 

[rgs9200m]

Earspeakers: just wanted to say that post you made above (#5861) about Stax vs. Speakers was a great read. Very intriguing impressions and fascinating about the massed strings. Thanks.

 

[Earspeakers]

  Musician as well, most headphones utterly fail to reproduce a piano accurately, Stax is also the closest I have gotten.

Yes! I've done time as a recording engineer as well. The piano is one of the hardest things to record, the sound comes from so many parts of a large object. I don't know of anybody who feels like they've nailed it, it's just black magic to find some less bad mic arrangement. Stax mostly just gives you what the mics are doing so is as good as it gets there. 

 

[Earspeakers]

  Earspeakers: just wanted to say that post you made above (#5861) about Stax vs. Speakers was a great read. Very intriguing impressions and fascinating about the massed strings. Thanks.

Thanks. If you want details here are my thoughts
 
Speakers 
Planers (Magnepans). I had 3.6's, actually was the guy who started the first online MUG (Maggies Users Group), I think it's still going on. Got to know Wendell and the Magnepan mgmt too. Anyhow it's a wonderful speaker, lots of detail, somewhat warm and smoothed over, but good accuracy and detail nonetheless. On the downside while the imaging is great, it's too big. A close miked instrument sounds like it's 6 feet tall. Working with a room is a nightmare due to back reflections (radiates out the front and the back), as is driving them. You need some big booted SS amp like Bryston. I actually was crazy enough to use them with Atmasphere's (OTL tube Circlotron) a good amount of time which worked well enough. But the difficulties in room and driving and overly large (but good) sound stage wasn't good enough. Also the tri-driver design with crossover screwed something up. Easy to see with say a cello which cross all three drivers, the upper harmonics get smeared so you lose complete accuracy. 
 
Horns (Oris) Designed and built my own SET's - well entire chain including RIAA preamp and turntable. Excellent detail retreival, great for everything within the horns frequency range, but once you drop to the sub it gets out of wack. Plus there is always some degree of horn shout, and head-in-a-vice. Ultimately it was the shout which drove me away, though Oris shouts the least. 
 
Regular speakers (various). All variations on a theme, and all more or less the same. 2 or three drivers, crossovers, this alignment, that alignment. You know I used to work with Sigfried Linkowitz as a fellow engineer at HP before he retired? Nice old guy, but to my ears no crossover can really do it. They all screw up the tonal accuracy (like the sound of a plucked or massed string) with accuracy. 
 
'Stats The one thing I didn't try, but I think they'd suffer from crossover, driving and room issues as detailed above. But I probably would have liked those the best. 
 
Headphones
Sennheiser I had them all except the 800. Relaxing on the ears but huge loss of detail. Never tried nor interested in their one foray into 'stats (now two). 
 
Others Beyer, etc. More or less the same
 
Planars(Audeez) These are an interesting choice, I'd guess they come in second place, but haven't heard them. Guessing they'll be somewhat like Maggies, but not interested enough to bother trying. 
 
Stax Technically these solve all the problems outlined above. Single driver, no room issues, no accuracy issues (due to the thin film in a strong ES field), easy to drive (one-box stereo solutions) and lots of options for taste. On the downside is imaging (alleviated with Diffuse field solutions via Sigma or ED-1, or 009 with built in 3D diffuse field imaging) and single driver non linearities (fixed via ED-1 style equalization). Music-wise they nail it. 

 

[gepardcv]

If I understand it correctly, the fart happens when the diaphragm touches the stators. You can reproduce it on any Stax by gently pushing the earcup into your ear. Plastic housings deform more easily, so it happens more easily on Lambdas.

 

[rgs9200m]

Thanks again Earspeakers. For the record, I had Apogee Stages for a long time back in the 1990s (until one of the speakers failed). I remember them fondly, especially for piano and vocals.
You worked with Linkwitz? Wow, he's a pioneer. The Orion is a classic from what I have read (I might have heard it at a show, but I'm not sure).

 

[rgs9200m]

Just one more speaker comment: I used to have Kharma 3.2 CRMs; I had no feeling there was a crossover at all, or even that there were drivers at all (or even speakers) (and felt the same about the Apogees).
This was the Stax equivalent of imaging and transparency and the disappearing act in the speaker world to me.

 

[uchihaitachi]

 
Thanks. If you want details here are my thoughts
 
Speakers 
Planers (Magnepans). I had 3.6's, actually was the guy who started the first online MUG (Maggies Users Group), I think it's still going on. Got to know Wendell and the Magnepan mgmt too. Anyhow it's a wonderful speaker, lots of detail, somewhat warm and smoothed over, but good accuracy and detail nonetheless. On the downside while the imaging is great, it's too big. A close miked instrument sounds like it's 6 feet tall. Working with a room is a nightmare due to back reflections (radiates out the front and the back), as is driving them. You need some big booted SS amp like Bryston. I actually was crazy enough to use them with Atmasphere's (OTL tube Circlotron) a good amount of time which worked well enough. But the difficulties in room and driving and overly large (but good) sound stage wasn't good enough. Also the tri-driver design with crossover screwed something up. Easy to see with say a cello which cross all three drivers, the upper harmonics get smeared so you lose complete accuracy. 
 
Horns (Oris) Designed and built my own SET's - well entire chain including RIAA preamp and turntable. Excellent detail retreival, great for everything within the horns frequency range, but once you drop to the sub it gets out of wack. Plus there is always some degree of horn shout, and head-in-a-vice. Ultimately it was the shout which drove me away, though Oris shouts the least. 
 
Regular speakers (various). All variations on a theme, and all more or less the same. 2 or three drivers, crossovers, this alignment, that alignment. You know I used to work with Sigfried Linkowitz as a fellow engineer at HP before he retired? Nice old guy, but to my ears no crossover can really do it. They all screw up the tonal accuracy (like the sound of a plucked or massed string) with accuracy. 
 
'Stats The one thing I didn't try, but I think they'd suffer from crossover, driving and room issues as detailed above. But I probably would have liked those the best. 
 
Headphones
Sennheiser I had them all except the 800. Relaxing on the ears but huge loss of detail. Never tried nor interested in their one foray into 'stats (now two). 
 
Others Beyer, etc. More or less the same
 
Planars(Audeez) These are an interesting choice, I'd guess they come in second place, but haven't heard them. Guessing they'll be somewhat like Maggies, but not interested enough to bother trying. 
 
Stax Technically these solve all the problems outlined above. Single driver, no room issues, no accuracy issues (due to the thin film in a strong ES field), easy to drive (one-box stereo solutions) and lots of options for taste. On the downside is imaging (alleviated with Diffuse field solutions via Sigma or ED-1, or 009 with built in 3D diffuse field imaging) and single driver non linearities (fixed via ED-1 style equalization). Music-wise they nail it. 

You should really post this as a performer's guide for seeking fidelity. Opinions seem to divulge a lot between listeners and performers on what sounds accurate. Other musicians I have talked to tend to reach the same conclusions as yourself regarding what's the truest reproduction. I have had the same experiences as yourself. God knows the amount of equipment and money I wasted reaching Stax.
 
If I may add a few things
 
For regular speakers, my father owns the Focal Grande utopia EM, these are hands down the best speakers I have heard for imaging. Can reproduce orchestras better than anything I have heard, you can pinpoint exact instrument locations it's that good!
 
'Stats speakers (father also owned the martin logan): they suffer what stats headphone users sometimes complain about, lack of visceral bass when it's needed but on a bigger scale.
 
Had the HD800: HD650 and HD600 were the most true to real headphones I heard. The HD800 due to the treble spike makes violins tin like :S
 
Big fan of Audeze, had the LCD2 LCD3 and LCD-X but it's just for fun and other than for mid range and bass, it's far cry from 'fidelity'. They sound similar to Maggies from my experience.
 
Regarding Stax, that was what I felt too. Just 'Eureka!' the harmonic content seems balanced out etc.

 

[kugino]

so the 407 price is back up to US $390...and at the bottom of the page they say that they're checking the reliability of the earphone website listed previously. i'm sure once they find out that it's a sham/scam, those of us who ordered it will get our money refunded. oh well, as they say, if it sounds too good to be true...

 

[Earspeakers]

  You should really post this as a performer's guide for seeking fidelity. Opinions seem to divulge a lot between listeners and performers on what sounds accurate. Other musicians I have talked to tend to reach the same conclusions as yourself regarding what's the truest reproduction. I have had the same experiences as yourself. God knows the amount of equipment and money I wasted reaching Stax.

Good thoughts, thanks for posting. I've had similar thoughts but wonder if it's actually a classical/Jazz or acoustic music versus amplified. Rock musicians seem to like dynamic headphones, its what they use anyhow when they're in the studio. And audience members for popular/amplified/electronic music seem to like it too. Many of them also like Stax. For me actually I haven't performed in decades (went in to engineering) but still play for myself. I mostly get my music through recordings now and go to live concerts, so have been on both sides of the stage. I'd still say that Stax supplies the best performance I've heard from both a performers and a audience members perspective. 
 
And I wonder what really is amplified music anyhow? People experience it in huge stadiums with big speaker walls usually. I sometimes wonder if much of audiophila is people trying to recapture some feeling or mood when they were younger and listened to their music. 

  so the 407 price is back up to US $390...and at the bottom of the page they say that they're checking the reliability of the earphone website listed previously. i'm sure once they find out that it's a sham/scam, those of us who ordered it will get our money refunded. oh well, as they say, if it sounds too good to be true...

 
Hmm, well I paid and got a note from Kaneda confirming and saying he'll be shipping them out soon. I wouldn't pitch a hissy fit if it doesn't come through, but that would be that an order would get that far and not make it. 

 

[uchihaitachi]

Good thoughts, thanks for posting. I've had similar thoughts but wonder if it's actually a classical/Jazz or acoustic music versus amplified. Rock musicians seem to like dynamic headphones, its what they use anyhow when they're in the studio. And audience members for popular/amplified/electronic music seem to like it too. Many of them also like Stax. For me actually I haven't performed in decades (went in to engineering) but still play for myself. I mostly get my music through recordings now and go to live concerts, so have been on both sides of the stage. I'd still say that Stax supplies the best performance I've heard from both a performers and a audience members perspective. 

And I wonder what really is amplified music anyhow? People experience it in huge stadiums with big speaker walls usually. I sometimes wonder if much of audiophila is people trying to recapture some feeling or mood when they were younger and listened to their music. 

Hmm, well I paid and got a note from Kaneda confirming and saying he'll be shipping them out soon. I wouldn't pitch a hissy fit if it doesn't come through, but that would be that an order would get that far and not make it. 

For me I just use the piano as a point of reference and as I have recorded on it, I always use my own recordings to check realism and to me the 007 and 009 are in a different league to other headphones. I Will PM you sometime about diffuse equaliser!!!