[JimL11]

  Hi, thanks for the advice. The inner D was pointing to the rear which I thought was correct as this seems to match the shape of my ear. Following your advice the seam is now at the front in a 3 o'clock position rather than at the rear at about 11 o'clock (it that's correct). This appears odd to me, but previously (with the seam to the rear), there was a slight gap between the lower portion of the ear pad and my ear lobe which is now sealed. It's already feeling more comfortable.

Glad to help.  The positioning does seem counterintuitive, but as you noted, it helps the seal (which should improve the bass) as well as the comfort.  You may want to play around with the position of the seam a bit, for example some have found the best position to be pointing somewhat upwards toward the temple, e.g. approximately 2 o'clock.

 

[rgs9200m]

FWIW, I could never ever get comfortable with the SR007 mk1 even though I owned it for 8 years. I twisted and adjusted the pads every which way to no avail; it always clipped my ear and my ear also would touch the inner surface cover of the driver. 
I am much happier with the current version and it's very comfortable. The pads are nice and thick and somehow there is no interference with my ear.

 

[zolkis]

  Thanks for the detailed reply.I'm unsure how to remove the ear pads from the SR-007A. Do I just pull them?

Basically yes. You could take out the dust grill first, but taking off the 007 pads is as simple as pulling them off, then as the last step pull the center of the spring out of the rubber bed in the center of the frontplate. Here are the 009 pad removal instructions:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/754839/stax-sr-009-and-sr-007-mk1-earpad-diy-mods/15#post_11789941
 
If you want to experiment with stuffing, fold out the pads leather from the front plate side. Do the reverse when assembling.
 
Assembling the 007 pads to the phones are more complex, but every 007 pad paper box has the assembly flow picture on the inside. I can make a photo and share in case you don't have it.
However, if you remove the spring, assembling pads on the 007 becomes very easy (then as a last step you insert the dust grill). See also the description in the 009 steps linked above.
 

The EP-009 is hard to find and is (unsurprisingly) expensive: http://www.fair-kaeuflich.de/product_info.php/info/p10177_STAX-EP-009-Leather-Ear-Pads-black--Pair--for-SR-009.html - this seems to be the only EP-009 available on the internet. Do you recommend fitting the EP-009 to the SR-007A with or without the spring? It would seem that the EP-009 is perfectly compatible with the SR-007A/II unless I've misread your post.

 
Yes, it is compatible, very slighly (1-2 mm) bigger diameter, but actually fits perfectly. The price I paid for the EP-009 IIRC was 140 euros from my local Stax dealer. That was few years back. I just walked in, ordered, and got it 5 months later . You might be more lucky with the delivery time if you live in a bigger market than mine . It is indeed expensive, but people pay more for mods that are much less effective... and it's not that much more expensive than the EP-007.

 

[gefski]

Really enjoying this setup...next stop - the 007 but not for a long time! I've found the sweet spot. I like it much better than the 207 I had. It's actually quite similar to the SR-5 but offers a bit more transparency and better soundstage.

Yep. I upgraded similarly this summer. 407 to 404LE. Not radically different, just more alive in space texture, also flatter to the very bottom.

Just got a Birgir modified 727A to drive them, so I'm smiling (and listening) even more. My SRM1 MK2 PRO will be finding a new home.

 

[hypermedia]

Hifiman HE-1000 pads on L300 stax headphones

 

[ricercar]

 
How are they attached, please? Is there adhesive?
 

Hifiman HE-1000 pads on L300 stax headphones

 

[martyn73]

Basically yes. You could take out the dust grill first, but taking off the 007 pads is as simple as pulling them off, then as the last step pull the center of the spring out of the rubber bed in the center of the frontplate. Here are the 009 pad removal instructions:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/754839/stax-sr-009-and-sr-007-mk1-earpad-diy-mods/15#post_11789941

If you want to experiment with stuffing, fold out the pads leather from the front plate side. Do the reverse when assembling.

Assembling the 007 pads to the phones are more complex, but every 007 pad paper box has the assembly flow picture on the inside. I can make a photo and share in case you don't have it.
However, if you remove the spring, assembling pads on the 007 becomes very easy (then as a last step you insert the dust grill). See also the description in the 009 steps linked above.


Yes, it is compatible, very slighly (1-2 mm) bigger diameter, but actually fits perfectly. The price I paid for the EP-009 IIRC was 140 euros from my local Stax dealer. That was few years back. I just walked in, ordered, and got it 5 months later . You might be more lucky with the delivery time if you live in a bigger market than mine . It is indeed expensive, but people pay more for mods that are much less effective... and it's not that much more expensive than the EP-007.

Thanks, do you suggest leaving the spring in place for the EP-009 or is this optional? Hopefully the EP-009 is more comfortable than the EP-007.

 

[rgs9200m]

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/stax-sr-l700-headphone/
 
Short TAS review of the L700 by Steven Stone (apologies if it's already been cited here).
Note that he uses a preamp in the chain it seems, which is a bit odd I think.
 
Pet peeve of mine: the magazines rarely mention anything but Stax amps as far as I can recall, certainly not a KG. This is a disservice to their readers.
When I got my SR007 mk 1 back in 1999, I mainly read reviews back then and had no idea about how much a better amp was needed. 
 
Mr. Stone previously wrote a very favorable review of the Oppo PM-1 some time back (which I mention just for reference).

 

[zolkis]

Thanks, do you suggest leaving the spring in place for the EP-009 or is this optional? Hopefully the EP-009 is more comfortable than the EP-007.

 
Please don't use the spring for the EP-009, it is not designed for that, it doesn't have the place for it.

 

[TDL-speakers]

I've just recently acquired a set of Stax SR-404 Signature Earspeakers. I don't have an energiser at present.
 
I'm thinking about getting the Stax SRM-323S, when funds allow. Will the 323S make a decent pairing with the signature 404?
 
S.

 

[Blackmore]

Get tube based one http://www.head-fi.org/t/818351/stax-srm-t1s-with-toshiba-tubes
 
Cheers
 
 
 
Quote:

  I've just recently acquired a set of Stax SR-404 Signature Earspeakers. I don't have an energiser at present.
 
I'm thinking about getting the Stax SRM-323S, when funds allow. Will the 323S make a decent pairing with the signature 404?
 
S.

 

[Ali-Pacha]

 

The only older Stax model that had enough midbass weight for my tastes was the SR-X Mk 3
What ?!?! Unless he has the pro (although unobtainium) version.
An Abyss is electrostatic ? C'mon...

Ali
 

 

[gefski]

An Abyss is electrostatic ?
 

Scratched my head on that comment myself. Went to the Abyss site, "Proprietary planar magnetic...", so nope, not ES.

 

[BoyNamedSue]

  Heard the Utopia as well and my 007mk1 and hd800 are going no where. If they dropped the price to say $2900 I might bite but it will be a complimentary can and unlikely to replace the 007mk1 or hd800.

 
Agreed. Heard the Utopia's off a WA22 at a local leader and it did not leave me wanting to upgrade my 009 system. The tonality of the Utopia was well balanced, with the right proportion of lows, mids and highs; nice separation of sounds; and the phones just disappeared producing a nice image of the recorded venue. Its hard to describe but the Utopia's had an authority about them that seemed like it could handle anything without breaking a sweat. Build quality is excellent. However, vocals sounded a bit thin; and not as transparent and had smaller sound stage compared to the 009s. Overall, I get more realism out of 009s. After the demo, I went home and listened to the HD800s off a WA5 and I can't say that the Utopia's are clearly better. All three phones have different strengths, IMO. Please take my initial impressions of the Utopia with grain of salt as I only listened to it for 20 minutes with unfamiliar gear, albeit in a quiet, private setting.

 

[TDL-speakers]

Are both drive units. Inside the 404 signature  slightly angled? 
 
S.