[Jones Bob]

Quote:

  100 dB vs 101 dB re 100 Vrms? - not that big a difference - enough to have to control for in a serious listening test but a 1 dB difference is well below what anyone telling you to turn the music up/down is going to credit you with doing anything at all
 
and remember that it is always only a 1 dB SPL difference even turned all the way up if each earspeaker sees the same V due to the way logarithms work - and it only requires a 12% difference in drive V level to match them
 
from Tyll's measurements they both seem to have similar relative flatness/peaking  at 1 kHz and below - but frequency response differences could give bigger subjective loudness impressions than just the spot SPL #
 
the 009 @ 110 pF is a heavier load than the 007's 94 pF - by more than the 1 dB sensitivity difference

 
Experience with the SR-007 and SR-009 says otherwise, than reading off a spec sheet..

 

[Aquanote]

I've been reading up on the Lambda Pro for hours now and find a lot of conflicting opinions regarding their qualities. Some say its one of the best headphones of all time, even rivaling the high-end Omega's. Others find them to be inferior to beginner Staxes like the SR-207 with reasons such as being old technology and having piercing highs. I would like to hear some more insight from users who had the opportunity to compare them to other, newer models.

 

[astrostar59]

Last Friday, I went to Stax office (they're shifting end of the month!!) to pick up spare headbands for (Arnaud's &) my SR-009 & on the way home dropped by Arnaud's. I had the pleasure of listening to TotalDAC/BHSE setup & left his place staining my pants. The setup was unbelievable that (subjectively) put my Invicta/Electra to shame. We're supposed to have a Stax meet end of the month with another colleague who has the KGST...and I'm almost wondering what's the point .

Really though the SR-009 is scalable & my setup has hardly begun to show what the SR-009 is capable of. We'll have the SR-007Mk1 (early & late) & the SR-007A there too at the meet end of the month. Dying to hear the 007s off the TotalDAC/BHSE.

If a warm signature is appealing, or should I say a non hi-fi or more organic sound with the 009s and the BHSE, the front end or DAC is very important indeed. At this level you are going to hear everything which is both good and bad. I have heard David's K-01 and it suits the system well and sounds amazing, I loved it. It convinced me to buy the 009s and sell my 007 (Mk2.5s). The gap was big in my book.
 
I have a KGSShv and the 009s and use an Audio Note DAC which is non oversampling and tubed. The TotalDAC is also join oversampling and uses R-2R chip sets. I would recommend those looking to get away from a 'digital' sound and towards a more 'realistic' sound to look at NOS DACs IMO. They have an incredible ability to just play music so naturally, no spinning tracks and favourite bits here and there, I find I just listen to whole albums now. More real and less 'hifi' IMO.
 
They can / do compete with the very best Delta-Sigma multi dollar products but come in a different flavour especially the ones with tubes and NO filter. It might just be your cup of tea!

 

[kugino]

so what's the preferred amp for the sr007A?

 

[AudioCats]

  I've been reading up on the Lambda Pro for hours now and find a lot of conflicting opinions regarding their qualities. Some say its one of the best headphones of all time, even rivaling the high-end Omega's. Others find them to be inferior to beginner Staxes like the SR-207 with reasons such as being old technology and having piercing highs. I would like to hear some more insight from users who had the opportunity to compare them to other, newer models.

 
Kind of depending on your amp.
The Lambda pro has better detail than the SR-Lambda due to the higher bias but the sound is a bit sharper, might be too shoutty for some. If you have a transformer box the Lambda pro has advantage (better detail); if you are using something like a T1 (itself has some kind of mid-range problem, mostly voice region) the SR-Lambda might sound better.

 

[Lan647]

The finest Lambda ever made IMO is the Lambda Signature. The Pro is a bit too bright and edgy sounding to my memory.

None of the Lambdas can match the 007 or 009 in overall performance. The 00X are the leading duo in the headphone world IMO when it comes to refinement and transparency.

 

[Earspeakers]

They're all good. What is best depends on what you like, as there are small differences between them (I rotate through my headphones and like them all).
 
To my ears the 404/404SE would be my 'one pair' of Lambdas. Clean, refined, transparent yet with body and presence.
 
Lambda Signature is excellent, transparent to the Nth degree (only the 4070 could be more transparent), yet will sound a bit thin to most folks probably. 
 
The current production Lambdas above the 207 are wonderful. Good for rock and popular music probably, lots of weight, presence and oomph.
 
The 007mk1/mk2 is fine but yes the 009 is the pinnacle IMO.

 

[Michgelsen]

Funny. Before the x07 series existed, the 303 and 404 were not well liked at all. Now that they're 'vintage' Lambdas, they seem to get a bit more popular. I never tried them, because I figured I wouldn't like them, since I couldn't stand the Lambda Signature etch and the 404 is also supposed to have the Lambda etch. The 202 doesn't, which makes it so good.

 

[kugino]

  Funny. Before the x07 series existed, the 303 and 404 were not well liked at all. Now that they're 'vintage' Lambdas, they seem to get a bit more popular. I never tried them, because I figured I wouldn't like them, since I couldn't stand the Lambda Signature etch and the 404 is also supposed to have the Lambda etch. The 202 doesn't, which makes it so good.

yeah, i think there's a name for this phenomenon. there are a lot of things (not just headphones) that people hated at the time, but 10 years later when they're rare, they suddenly become "vintage" and great. 

 

[uchihaitachi]

What's the best Japanese site to buy Stax from?

 

[Jones Bob]

What's the best Japanese site to buy Stax from?

Be aware they will all be grey market and you will not have a warranty. The sellers act as only as middlemen. So you will be on your own if there are any unbalance problems in the earspeakers you recieve.

That said, I have had very good experiences buying several Stax from PriceJapan.

 

[ssrock64]

This is my first time on this particular thread, but I'm not a newcomer to the world of electrostats or to Stax. I'm a longtime ESP950 owner and I've auditioned most of the current Stax range (not including in-ears) up to the SR007MK2, but yesterday I joined the Stax owner club by complete accident and I felt like posting about it here, since I knew the thread existed.
 
I was helping a friend clear some space in the back of his car last night, and a very familiar-looking black box poked out of one corner of a seat underneath some shirts. It turned out to be an SRD-4 speaker amp adaptor, with a pair of SR-30 electrets attached. I know that they're pretty much forgotten low-end Stax stuff from the 80s, but my interest was piqued regardless and I couldn't say no when I was told that my friend had no idea what they were and asked me to take them from him. Imagine the look on my girlfriend's face when I came back from trivia night with yet another pair of headphones and what appeared to her to be a new amp, too.
 

 
 
Listening to them fed by my modest speaker amp, I've actually been pretty surprised at how the combo sounds coming from my experience with my ESP950 and limited time with some Stax gear. I started my listening session with some acoustic works (Nick Drake, Alison Krauss, Michael Hedges, etc.), expecting guitar and vocals to be a strong suit. However, I found that they sounded too harsh for my liking and couldn't really make the genre work. Turning next to rock just to confirm my suspicions, I found that they pretty much lost any listenability for heavily layered electric guitars, which is a shame since rock derivatives make up the majority of my listening. However, my next genre foray led to some very interesting revelations. I put on the latest AWOLNATION album on a whim, and found that these actually make quite a nice basshead set for casual pop/electronic listening, especially with a little EQ from my preamp. They seems to excel with midrange synths and low drums, and I've been really enjoying them with heavily electronic albums which feature live instrumentation as well, such as Daft Punk's Random Access Memories. I've also liked them a lot with bare-bones, stripped down garage rock, though there's a line at which the sound becomes too clustered.
 
It's a very selective headphone, but when it gets into its groove it sounds quite astounding. I find this SR-34 chain significantly more compelling for synth-heavy music than my HD650, and about on par with my ESP950. For classical, neoclassical, and experimental drum performances, they again fall in between the HD650 and ESP950. However, for acoustic music and rock, they lag behind both of my other main headphones. They have a very hard to please sound signature, but one worth playing with to find that sweet spot.
 

 
I'm not electret or electrostat expert by any means, but I've never heard anything quite like this combo before. I'm going to keep it around just so I can listen to the amazing way it synergizes with a few particular albums, like Animal Collective's Feels or La Dispute's Rooms of the House. There's not a lot of info out there about the way these sound, so I wanted to write something down to get a little more out there. If anyone wants to suggest an upgrade that would bring out the most for these, please let me know.

 

[Earspeakers]

  Funny. Before the x07 series existed, the 303 and 404 were not well liked at all. Now that they're 'vintage' Lambdas, they seem to get a bit more popular. I never tried them, because I figured I wouldn't like them, since I couldn't stand the Lambda Signature etch and the 404 is also supposed to have the Lambda etch. The 202 doesn't, which makes it so good.

I don't like them because they're vintage, and I'm not sure others do either. Don't know why they supposedly weren't well liked before, they're a fine Lambda. But come to think of it, it does often happen that something is disliked when it's released, and later people realize how good it really was. I'm also not a fan of the supposed "Stax etch" theory. The only one that could be said of having that might be the Lambda Signature Pro with its thin membrane. I think the etch is just what reality sounds like to people used to the sound of magnets. 

 

[TheAttorney]

  I'm also not a fan of the supposed "Stax etch" theory....I think the etch is just what reality sounds like to people used to the sound of magnets. 

My first Stax was an SR-202. Compared to my previous dynamics it was a revelation, and no etch that I noticed.
Purely due to upgraditis, I then upgraded to SR-404 Signature, which did have an etch (upper mid emphasis that, for example, made female vocals sound thin). In fact, I couldn't bear it after a while and went on to 007s, which were a revelation again, and no etch.
 
So I don't think this is simply a matter of listeners getting used to dynamics vs electrostatic sound signatures.

 

[Earspeakers]

  My first Stax was an SR-202. Compared to my previous dynamics it was a revelation, and no etch that I noticed.
Purely due to upgraditis, I then upgraded to SR-404 Signature, which did have an etch (upper mid emphasis that, for example, made female vocals sound thin). In fact, I couldn't bear it after a while and went on to 007s, which were a revelation again, and no etch.
 
So I don't think this is simply a matter of listeners getting used to dynamics vs electrostatic sound signatures.

 
Maybe ... I won't argue. I have a pile of Staxen I listen to weekly (009, various 007, various Sigmas, many many lambdas, 4070) and I don't hear anything that sounds like an etch on any of them. Thin - yes, some are thin. The Lambda Sig Pro like I said is the thinnest sounding, does the 003 and 4070, but not etch. But then I don't listen to frequency bumps, I design spectrum analyzers for a living, I know my ears aren't expensive enough to be a pair