[BenF]

What do you think about the bass on L300 vs L300 Limited? To my ears they are the same.

L300LE bass is pretty much the same as L300 with L500 or L700 pads.
Still too plastic-y for me.

 

[Menkau-ra]

252/253 is perfect for L300.
I auditioned L300 with Blue Hawaii - didn't sound any better over my 253.

the problem with 253S is that it costs $500-600. At that price you can get bigger more power amp.
I know that you use tube pre-amp with your 253S. You need to try E180CC pinched waist Philips Heerlen tubes from the late 50's. They are like drugs to your ears.

 

[BenF]

the problem with 253S is that it costs $500-600. At that price you can get bigger more power amp.
I know that you use tube pre-amp with your 253S. You need to try E180CC pinched waist Philips Heerlen tubes from the late 50's. They are like drugs to your ears.

I use the tube pre-amp for 009, not L300.
In my experience, it doesn't benefit from tubes.

The most important detail to get the best performance out L300, is to use a linear power supply for 252/253.
L300 doesn't need much power, but it's very transparent - so removing any amount of noise benefits SQ.

 

[550914]

deleted

 

[Menkau-ra]

for a 252s, iPower from ifi is a good alternative to a linear psu. it's extremely compact, dead silent and it's rated 1.8A for 12v.

does it come with the right plug and reverse polarity to fit 252S?

 

[BenF]

for a 252s, iPower from ifi is a good alternative to a linear psu. it's extremely compact, dead silent and it's rated 1.8A for 12v.

iFi makes some ridiculous claims:

Is it really 20 times better than an "audiophile" LPS?
No chance in hell...

Pay attention to this little gem:

They exclude AC noise from their measurements!
They even say it openly that this device only filters RFI and EMI:

Don't waste your money.

 

[Menkau-ra]

Don't waste your money.

what would be the difference vs that power supply from Ali that you're using?

 

[BenF]

what would be the difference vs that power supply for Ali that you're using?

That's a proper LPS, filtering out AC noise.

 

[550914]

deleted

 

[monsterxman]

Curious... what is considered the best normal bias Stax headphone ever made?

My current amp is a 14 watt vintage Eico with mostly vintage Mullard tubes. I also bought an overbuilt DIY energizer / transformer from an enthusiast years back that was optimized to be used with a low watt vintage tube amp like my Eico (he used a HH Scott 222)... it only takes low bias phones.

The setup has great synergy and is magical (to my ears) vs the stax amps (Srm-1 MK2, SRA-3S) I have owned...

I currently have SR-404 Signatures, which work well. Was thinking Stax Sigmas but would be curious to hear opinions on this...

 

[bigjako]

I have 3 NB amps - the SRD-7, the Bottlehead Stat and the CCS-modded 006t. My absolute favorite is the Stat with the Lambda NBs. The SRD-7 is a close second, but it obviously depends on your speaker amp. I have an Emotiva A-100, which is quite cheap, and it produces pretty awesome bass on the NBs, very tight but still present.

But yes, the Stat just seems to pair perfectly with (both) my Lambda NBs. So sweet and liquid and smooth. But still electrostatic through and through.

 

[bearFNF]

Curious... what is considered the best normal bias Stax headphone ever made?

My current amp is a 14 watt vintage Eico with mostly vintage Mullard tubes. I also bought an overbuilt DIY energizer / transformer from an enthusiast years back that was optimized to be used with a low watt vintage tube amp like my Eico (he used a HH Scott 222)... it only takes low bias phones.

The setup has great synergy and is magical (to my ears) vs the stax amps (Srm-1 MK2, SRA-3S) I have owned...

I currently have SR-404 Signatures, which work well. Was thinking Stax Sigmas but would be curious to hear opinions on this...

I second the Lambda NB, Have had mine since the 80s and will never let them go. I use them on my BHSE (had Justin put in a normal bias socket just for them).

 

[tjlindle]

Of the NB Stax I've tried, the Lambda NB probably is the "best" one but I ended up being very partial to the SR-X Mk3 and I still have an SRM-1/Mk2 on hand basically just to run the Mk3 if I'm ever so inclined.

I also love the way the Mk3 looks but that has nothing to do with the sound lol.

I think the next step for my setup might be the energizer route with an iFi iESL, largely because I still want the normal bias compatibility.

 

[Menkau-ra]

Can AHB2 + SRD7 drive 007 and 009 properly? I was thinking about AHB2 for Susvara and was wondering if SRD7 (or similar) would be a good combo? Or I still need KGSS?

 

[Firschi]

That's a proper LPS, filtering out AC noise.

Could you please share the link?