[zolkis]

  Is the L700 more comfortable than the SR-009? 

 
No way that I can imagine, but read on.
 
Quote:

I am thinking of getting a second stax and am torn between the L700 and SR-007 MK2.  I had the SR-007 MK1 and although I liked the sound, I did not find it comfortable for long listening sessions (> 60 minutes).  It is kind of hard to know how comfortable the L700 is on audition, as I will need at least a full CD to decide!
 

 
It's hard to give advice as this may be very personal. What was uncomfortable with the 007? Some people complained for the leather head-strap was pressing too much. For me the 007 Mk1 is the most comfortable Stax (light and comfortable), followed by the 009 (heavy and comfortable).
 
However, the L700 is light and comfortable enough for me, and more so than other Lambdas.

 

[LaCuffia]

I don't have the L700 but I know they have different pad design than prior Lambda models.  They also have the click system for the head strap, so there is more stability.  Even with my 404LE I find that the head strap starts to slide upward over time even wearing for an hour or so.  I find myself having to adjust the position of the ear cups (or squares) often. 

 

[PATB]

   
It's hard to give advice as this may be very personal. What was uncomfortable with the 007? Some people complained for the leather head-strap was pressing too much. For me the 007 Mk1 is the most comfortable Stax (light and comfortable), followed by the 009 (heavy and comfortable).
 
However, the L700 is light and comfortable enough for me, and more so than other Lambdas.

 
My ears would get hot rather easily, and the pads themselves feel abrasive after a while.  So I sold them about 10+ years ago.
 
The SR-009 is much better; I find the weight just right and the pads feel luxurious.  However, the clamping force/vacuum feel starts to get irritating after about 45 minutes.  I am hoping that the L700 would have deeper ear cups and less vacuum force.  Like I said, kind of hard to tell from an audition because I would need at least an hour to get a feel for this (the SR-009/007 feel great for about 30 minutes).

 

[Blackmore]

As everything, this is also a very personal matter, but, if you like Stax signature, own Lambda, any, than buying L700 is safest move, especially, when you stick with lower gain tube Stax amps, because they are easy to drive as well, but not only, they simply not demanding that extra power to get controled, where 007 dont sound good at all with such amps, they clearly need that extra power, most probably from SS based amp, as they are warmish / bloomy and not going to open up, untill you power them enough.
I spend enough time with SRM 600LE amp, 404LE, 007MK2 and L700 all together and 007 got less, almost none, use time from 3.
 
Personally, I ended up with SRM 600LE and L700, wish I could jump on KGST right away, but even used, its not cheap, plus, this amp limited to XLR connections only and dont offer 2 output for ear speakers as Stax amps do. Have no idea why not, as you pay pretty premium price for such DIY amps, but thats a question for another thread, I guess.

 

[LaCuffia]

Blackmore, got the 404 LE based in part on your recommendation and they are fantastic.   Detailed but not harsh.  Just right.

 

[zolkis]

  The SR-009 is much better; I find the weight just right and the pads feel luxurious.  However, the clamping force/vacuum feel starts to get irritating after about 45 minutes.  I am hoping that the L700 would have deeper ear cups and less vacuum force.  Like I said, kind of hard to tell from an audition because I would need at least an hour to get a feel for this (the SR-009/007 feel great for about 30 minutes).

 
Yes, the 009 has a good seal and higher clamping force. The L700 is not as deep but has less vacuum force for sure, and lesser seal as well, at least on my head. It's the most comfortable Lambda by quite large margin, but it still feels like wearing a Lambda, for the form factor.
 
The 007 head band is completely customizable for clamp, angle, etc for a perfect seal, I love that - but it's ringing (which is another discussion). 

 

[jibzilla]

  Modified mainly by cryogenic treatment AFAIK, which is kind of debatable thing. In principle that would help to obtain a material structure where the internal tension distribution is more even (IOW it "calms down" or "settles" materials faster).
 
However, I think the effect is less on the membrane than on the housing. The Stax diaphragms don't seem to "break in" too much over time, even over very long time. I suspect cryogenic treatments change the supporting structures more, especially when they are from plastic. I guess we will not see an Airbowed 007 or 009 any time soon. Just speculating, as usual.
 
But if the assumption is valid, my question is what is an optimal housing for an e-stat driver. A thick and heavy machined aluminium housing like with the 009? Or a wooden frame? (I'd bet yes). I speculate that thin metal housing is the worst (looking at you, 007), and even well chosen plastic housing is better than that. Of course metal is better for perceived value.

 
Spritzer got ahold of one of these and said the cryo treatment was a gimmick. That these are 407/507 drivers stretched by stax and that it is a black art of e-stat drivers. Why they did not decide to put them in the 407/507 I will never know cause the airbow's and 404LE sounded much better to my ears.

 

[Blackmore]

Then I dont see any reason why wouldn't you think the same about L700.
 
Quote:

  Blackmore, got the 404 LE based in part on your recommendation and they are fantastic.   Detailed but not harsh.  Just right.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

Why doesn't anyone other than Stax make popular electrostatic headphones?

 

[Jones Bob]

Why doesn't anyone other than Stax make popular electrostatic headphones?

You mean like Koss?:rolleyes:

 

[Arthrumus]

  Why doesn't anyone other than Stax make popular electrostatic headphones?

Koss makes what is probably the second most common electrostat in the form of the ESP950. This market is a really small niche within a niche. It probably doesn't make marketing sense for anyone else to really try to compete in the e-stat headphone game. That's probably why the only other major electrostatics you ever see are ludicrously priced statement products from the likes of Sennheiser, (and maybe Hifiman now?) they can't actually compete with Stax in this market so they don't even try.

 

[paradoxper]

They try, they fail. MrSpeakers is doing something.

 

[jibzilla]

The Utopia had a stat like sound when I listened to it. The most stat like headphone I have listened to that isn't a stat. 

 

[Spork67]

Finally heard back from the electronics repair shop today.
Apparently they have ordered a new set of control transistors for my SRM1 MK2 amp.
Any ballpark estimates how much these should cost me?

 

[Tinkerer]

I could jump on KGST right away, but even used, its not cheap, plus, this amp limited to XLR connections only and dont offer 2 output for ear speakers as Stax amps do. Have no idea why not, as you pay pretty premium price for such DIY amps, but thats a question for another thread, I guess.

 
That's entirely decided by the builder. All KG amps can run RCA by having a switch that grounds the - to chassis when you want to switch from XLR. I have both on my KGSSHV. You can also put as many headphone outputs as you want. You just have to loop the output and bias across all of them. Most people have one or two, or one normal bias and one probias.

  Finally heard back from the electronics repair shop today.
Apparently they have ordered a new set of control transistors for my SRM1 MK2 amp.
Any ballpark estimates how much these should cost me?

Probably less than $10 apiece for probably 4 of them. Electronic repair costs are all in hunting down the problem and the labor. Parts outside some super high end stuff are dirt cheap.