[jgazal]

Wait, so how come 007 has gold-plated and no holes electrodes while the 009 is aluminum electrode ? What am I missing ? They advertise the 009 to be the state of the art in their technology ?

For whom are those “questions” addressed? I would like to understand to which post or opinions are you referring to. Thanks!

 

[SeaWo|f]

^^ so I'm a bit drunk, a state which a strongly endorse especially to the childrens and teenagers because they seem cool. And I'm not too smart even when sober, a sorry condition which my profession forces me into the vast majority of the the time, but @Whitigir you have completely lost me.

 

[ahmedie]

Ok got almost all LXX series except L500lol, I would say the different between L700 and L300limited is about 5%. limited is a little grainier (harder sounding) and do not extent as much in treble which make them sound to have a little more bass. They also do not image or separate as good as the L700 just 5% less (again bcz L700 extends in treble and they are more transparent)... you can think of them as a more warmer more forgiving version of L700. Definitely sound like a L300 with L700 technicalities. only 30 min burn in....I will update my impression if they change with burn in...I will burn them for next weeks.

 

[Whitigir]

^^ so I'm a bit drunk, a state which a strongly endorse especially to the childrens and teenagers because they seem cool. And I'm not too smart even when sober, a sorry condition which my profession forces me into the vast majority of the the time, but @Whitigir you have completely lost me.

I simply meant, I just can not comprehend the level of Stax technologies and their descriptions

 

[SeaWo|f]

Stax may not be able to either.. After all there are many in this community that would argue they still haven't been successful in building a flagship to surpass the 007mki.

 

[Whitigir]

Stax may not be able to either.. After all there are many in this community that would argue they still haven't been successful in building a flagship to surpass the 007mki.

And that is why Stax rep mentioned that it takes 10-20 Years to burn in. Give the 009 about 10 more years and see ?

I know I love my 009 everyday. I want to know if 009 limited edition is going to be a thing ? Or what may we have on this 80th anniversary

 

[JayKay47]

My 300LE were a little hard sounding for the first 10 hours, now they are much better. @ahmedie have you tried the 300LE with the L700 pads?

 

[GarageBoy]

I know the stax amps have a reputation for being barely able to drive the 007 and 009, but are they decent with the l300/l700?

I've heard that the 353x (323,323s) is a bit dry, the 717 a bit warm and colored, and the 727 a bit wooly in the bass (if not modded); not enough comments on the 006t/007t (which I have coming in).

Just wondering who likes what amp for which headphone. I'm pretty sure I'm going to try and build a kgst, or one day pick up a BH...

 

[martyn73]

I've recently purchased a used SRM-300 with an SR-404 Signature. I also have an SRM-727II and SR-007A which has a quite a warm signature, with a reasonably wide soundstage (not as wide open as my HD800S) but on certain tracks by Jarvis Cocker and Jamiroquai (Tidal Hi-Fi with PC and Schiit Bifrost Multibit as the source) can have a zingy treble bordering on sibilance. As an experiment, I tried the SR-007A with the SRM-300 and the results were surprising. Despite the SRM-727II being more powerful (350V vs 450V r.m.s./1kHz), the hobbled SR-007A's treble was slightly reduced in emphasis and music became more enjoyable. I tried the SR-007A and SRM-300 with my iPhone 8 connected to a £9 dongle and didn't notice a significant difference compared to the Bifrost Multibit. I've owned Stax equipment for years and now inclined to re-home the Stax SRM-727II and SR-404 to a more appreciative new owner. Am I missing something or does the energiser not make a big difference to the SR-007A? My tinnitus is horrendous at the moment.

 

[ahmedie]

My 300LE were a little hard sounding for the first 10 hours, now they are much better. @ahmedie have you tried the 300LE with the L700 pads?

Ye I am using L700 pads ! The L500/limiter pads are have hard material with less leather compared with L700 which is very light and fluffy thicker and more leather, I am sure that L300limied will be so close to L700 after burn in, they are smoothing out eventually

 

[ahmedie]

I know the stax amps have a reputation for being barely able to drive the 007 and 009, but are they decent with the l300/l700?

I've heard that the 353x (323,323s) is a bit dry, the 717 a bit warm and colored, and the 727 a bit wooly in the bass (if not modded); not enough comments on the 006t/007t (which I have coming in).

Just wondering who likes what amp for which headphone. I'm pretty sure I'm going to try and build a kgst, or one day pick up a BH...

I owned the following at the same time 353x, 323s, 727modded, and 323s was best sounding for L700 very neutral and trasnparent (seriously L700 with any stax amp is so transparent than any dynamic headphone as if you can see though the sound chain with Xray)and can be matched with brighter/darker dac with ease, highly recommended. 353x has more bass dynamic range but dry. 727 modded have most bass most dynamic but bright with L700, I would say buy any stax amp as they are on the same level with different voicing then upgrade to KG design.

 

[deadlylover]

A friend recently had a L500 suffer from severe channel imbalance after a month or two, the left channel was at roughly 20% volume. It was sent to Stax HQ in Japan so some of you may find the report interesting. (or not =P)

From what I can tell they tested the headphones for 1 day > replaced both of the drivers > tested for 168 hours under high load > final check before shipping.

 

[krid]

Is there anyone here who lives in Silicon Valley and wants to help out a fellow Stax owner?

I've got a pair of four year old SR-307s and an early-80s vintage SRM-1/MK-2 (refurbished by Yamas a decade ago). A couple weeks ago I noticed that the right channel was quieter by maybe 20% (and getting worse). I don't know if the problem is the cans or the amp and since I only have one of each I'm stuck. I'd like to try hooking my amp or cans up to someone else's cans or amp so I can isolate the problem.

 

[oktapod]

I know the stax amps have a reputation for being barely able to drive the 007 and 009, but are they decent with the l300/l700?

I've heard that the 353x (323,323s) is a bit dry, the 717 a bit warm and colored, and the 727 a bit wooly in the bass (if not modded); not enough comments on the 006t/007t (which I have coming in).

Just wondering who likes what amp for which headphone. I'm pretty sure I'm going to try and build a kgst, or one day pick up a BH...

If you can hold off a few days, I will have a KGSSHV Mini, 006T, T1 and both 007mk1 and L700 at home (my plan being to sell the Stax amps and L700 - but no rush).

What I have found is that the 006T drives the L700s fine. They sound really good. Contrary to what I had read and expected, though, the 006T doesn’t struggle to drive the 007mk1 particularly, though you get the sense that neither does it enable those headphones to really shine. The two sonic signatures are quite different (007 and L700) but - to be perfectly honest - were it not for a compelling urge to get the best out of the 007s, I could easily live with the 006T:007mk1 combo. Disclaimer: I don’t listen at really high levels, and without a better amp to do A/B comparisons, it’s not so easy to pin down exactly where the 006T:007mk1 combo is deficient. Perhaps the bass could have better definition, and I am conscious that on certain tracks there’s a slight dynamic compression thing going on (but that could be source-material related). I wouldn’t like to say which I prefer - 006T:L700 or 006T:007mk1. Probably the mk1s, even without the better amp.

I’d still rate either rig considerably ahead of my previous SPL Phonitor:HD800 rig, which I really liked at the time. That setup was fun but always shone a light onto the hifi aspects of the sound, whereas the Stax rigs are all about balance and getting to the essence of the music. That’s the real magic right there. If I’m being critical again, I think the 006T:007mk1 is the more musical rig, perhaps because it is slightly smoother and less etched than is the L700, but we’re talking minor differences at the 006T level. I suspect the KGSSHV - when it arrives, hopefully today or tomorrow - will enable the 007mk1s to pull ahead and fix up those things that - conscious or not - may be pulling its performance back.

I deliberated about going ‘all in’ with a more expensive amp, but even at 006T:L700 level, the limitation is as often the source recording as it is anything about the headphone rig. Without a doubt the BHSE:whatever will be a stunningly capable rig, but I’ve decided that it’s not something I wish to explore - just in case it sets off the upgrading bug again!

I will, of course, report back once I have my new amp, as it’s a new variant on Mjolnir’s KGSSHV stable. There is a lack of direct comparisons between ordinary Stax amps and third party amps with all but the 007s and 009s, so I’ll make sure to also audition with the L700 and give my view on how it scales with the fancy amp.

Hope this helps!

 

[rpeebles]

I owned the following at the same time 353x, 323s, 727modded, and 323s was best sounding for L700 very neutral and trasnparent (seriously L700 with any stax amp is so transparent than any dynamic headphone as if you can see though the sound chain with Xray)and can be matched with brighter/darker dac with ease, highly recommended. 353x has more bass dynamic range but dry. 727 modded have most bass most dynamic but bright with L700, I would say buy any stax amp as they are on the same level with different voicing then upgrade to KG design.

Ahmedie...that is very interesting regarding the 323s & L- 700 combo.I have a new SR - L 700 and looking for an amp. Did the 323s have enough power to drive the L-700 ? (medium volume, soft music - jazz, folk). Thanks