The Stax Thread III

[shipsupt]

Me too... UK.  Not to mention the good chance they'll bang me for some VAT.  Buggers.

 

[davidsh]

Not if it's a gift or something along those lines? Well I wouldn't be interested in paying more than 550, max 600$ for amp and lambdas which is probably not doable...

 

[nickif]

I haven't had the chance to try 007 on 727, but used to pair 007 with 007TII tube amp. That combo was not unacceptable but def. lacks of dynamic and has no control over the bottom end of the 007s which needs lots of grips from the amp.

 

[thinker]

 
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[AnakChan]

I haven't had the chance to try 007 on 727, but used to pair 007 with 007TII tube amp. That combo was not unacceptable but def. lacks of dynamic and has no control over the bottom end of the 007s which needs lots of grips from the amp.

 
Personally for what I was seeking for my listening pleasure (and my wallet) :-
 
SR-009/007tA - didn't buy. Had decent depth and imaging but slow for faster pop/hiphop. etc songs. I borrowed & tested a friend's 007tA with a shop's 727 side-by-side using the 009 and continued to borrow the 007tA for home use even after buying the 727
SR-009/727 - bought and enjoyed
SR-009/Electra - bought & enjoying more
SR-007/007tA - didn't buy. Didn't enjoy for same reasons (but different intensity of distaste)
SR-007/727 - would have been a "no buy". But just borderline
SR-007/Electra - love it
 
spkrs01's VAW 8PS has made me curious about that too. I'm looking forward to his findings this weekend.

 

[thinker]

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[rx79ez08]

  picture from Stax CES 2014 are these new Stax Lambdas if yes i am very interested
http://detail.zol.com.cn/picture_index_1272/index12714856.shtml#/&pn=24
 

Looks like the SR-404LE. The 30th aniversity version from a few years ago.
 
http://www.headfonia.com/sr-404le-sr-404-signature-and-sr-lambda-pro/stax_sr404_le_lambdapro_11/

 

[nickif]

   
Personally for what I was seeking for my listening pleasure (and my wallet) :-
 
SR-009/007tA - didn't buy. Had decent depth and imaging but slow for faster pop/hiphop. etc songs. I borrowed & tested a friend's 007tA with a shop's 727 side-by-side using the 009 and continued to borrow the 007tA for home use even after buying the 727
SR-009/727 - bought and enjoyed
SR-009/Electra - bought & enjoying more
SR-007/007tA - didn't buy. Didn't enjoy for same reasons (but different intensity of distaste)
SR-007/727 - would have been a "no buy". But just borderline
SR-007/Electra - love it
 
spkrs01's VAW 8PS has made me curious about that too. I'm looking forward to his findings this weekend.

 

Thanks for sharing Sean.
 
In terms of C/P ratio, IMHO, the VAW 8PS is second to none! I've been a happy user since 2007 (paired with 007s back then), didn't realize what it is capable of until I heard the LL2. I was looking for a substantial upgrade in SQ from the purchase of LL MK2 couple of months ago, as the LL2 is 5 times pricier than the 8PS. The result was jaw-dropping, when driving the 009s, the 8ps sounded just as good as the LL MK2, if not better. To my ears, the LL MK2 excels in deeper and tighter bass, better bass resolution, bigger and more regular headstage (in front of the listener) while the 8PS has an edge on the timber(warmer and sweater, quite personal here though), better coherence across the whole frequency, more airy, better ambience, better decay… with the 8PS, music suddenly becomes more alive, more foot-tapping, more engaging. To me, the 8PS is clearly the better sounding (NOT BETTER) amp to pair with the 009s.   
 
I’d have to admit that generally I prefer the tube over SS so do take my words with a grain of salt.

 

[mangler]

http://detail.zol.com.cn/picture_index_1272/index12714856.shtml#/&pn=26

Anybody know what the headphone all the way over on the left is? At first I thought it was another 009 or 007A, but looking more closely it looks like something else. Anybody know what it is?

 

[dude_500]

http://detail.zol.com.cn/picture_index_1272/index12714856.shtml#/&pn=26

Anybody know what the headphone all the way over on the left is? At first I thought it was another 009 or 007A, but looking more closely it looks like something else. Kind of looks like it might even be a closed-back

 
 
Stax SR-3. The image represents the time evolution of Stax products from left to right.

 

[mangler]

Stax SR-3. The image represents the time evolution of Stax products from left to right.

Ahhhhh, I see. Thanks for that

 

[jackskelly]

Well I let my brother listen to my SR-009s paired with the Liquid Lightning last night for the first time and he was completely blown away. He's not an audiophile and doesn't own anything nicer than an ipod with earbuds but he enjoys music. He had also never heard an electrostatic headphone before. He has though heard several high-end headphones I own or have owned before, like the T1, HD-800 and LCD-2. Interestingly, we compared the HD-800s to the SR-009s directly (and even though the amp I'm using for the HD-800s, the Nuforce DAC-100, isn't a dynamic equivalent of a LL, I still think it pairs quite excellently) and he thought the SR-009s bettered the HD-800s by a wide margin, that it wasn't really even close. He said that he expected to be disappointed based on the cost of the headphones but that they actually exceeded his expectations. I still really like the HD-800s, but I think I'm in agreement with him.

 

[Manoa1]

I posted earlier that I bought a SRS-3010 system from the Bay that I am having problems with. The right channel produces static/cracking at certain frequencies (think Adele).

The seller was nice enough to lend me a SR-303 to test and resolve the issue but unfortunately I get the same results. That leaves the SRM-310 amp as the culprit (the source and DAC checked out okay).

I'm guessing it's hard to diagnose the problem without opening up the amp. But do you think it is worth it to keep the system and chase the problem?

I really am loving the Stax sound and would be sad to have to send it back . I have $475 invested and shipping everything back might cost close to $100.

 

[milosz]

When I hear about the issues some Head-Fi'ers  have had buying used Stax headphones, I have to count my blessings!  I never had any problems with any used Stax gear I bought.
 
USED STAX GEAR THAT I CURRENTLY HAVE   WORKS JUST FINE
 
SR-007 MK I
Lambda Pro Signature
SRM-T1
 
USED STAX GEAR THAT I ONCE HAD AND HAVE SINCE SOLD   WORKED JUST FINE
 
SR-007 MK 2.5
Lambda Pro
SR-7 Pro
SRM-1 MK 2  
 
I wonder- was I just pretty luck here-  or does most of the used stuff usually work OK, with the exceptions being headphones with crackling etc.??

 

[s1rrah]

Sold all my dynamic gear and bought a Stax SRM-323S amp and am using it with both SR-307 and Koss ESP950 headphones. I could not be happier. 
 
The Koss headphones are ridiculously good counterpoint to the more analytic SR-307's. I haven't used them much with the stock E90 amp ... but with the 323S, they sing. Great cans...