[Kerry]

Any news, Kerry? I am sure this converter would be very well received by the Stax community.

No new news. Hopefully we’ll have a prototype out later this year.

 

[droido256]

Question regarding literally physically stacking units. I just acquired a Cambridge dacmagic 200m coupled to a Stax SRM-400. I have it currently sitting on the back of the Srm-400, mostly on part that doesn’t have the vent, but overlaps the vent a little bit, maybe 1/2 inch. Would this cause a heat problem with the Srm-400? Or could the heat generated from the 400 amp cause issues with the Cambridge? It doesn’t seem like the 400 is generating too much heat, buuut just curious. So far sound wise the two are pairing well(L-700 is what I’m wearing now), esp given its via Bluetooth(waiting for the usb cable for the iPhone connection to arrive)

 

[mulveling]

Really really enjoyed my sessions with the ES1a this weekend. Its sound finally came together for me. Everything sounded brilliant. Not too dark this time. Using it with "only" a KGSShv for now - though it's the old IXYS 500V version, which to my ears sounds more neutral than other circa-2014 versions which were either too bright (minis) or too warm (Sanyo parts). Can't wait to hear it with a T2! Incidentally the IXYS version sounds to me more like a T2 than any of other "lesser amps" (tonally, sonic flavor wise) I've had, just that it's missing the T2's extra bit of organic warmth, bass impact, and effortless musical flow. That said I bet these ES1a also partner brilliantly with a bright KGSShv mini or any KGSShv Carbon.

ES1a is still a bit dark, but it didn't bother me as much as before. It sounds sort of like a super-warmed 009, with a larger soundstage. Also warmer than the 009S. I think ES Lab has settled on the "dark pads", and is only shipping those now - so keep that in mind when reading earlier impressions (people seemed to hate the "bright" pads). I got the silver-clad cable version; perhaps that needed some time to break-in? Though I never noticed any significant sonic break-in changes from other Stax headphones.

Also recently upgraded my headphone source lately, to a Phison PD2 SE preamp + DAC. It's making everything sound significantly better. I can't even enjoy the Yggdrasil anymore - gotta sell that. I'm going to have to cart the Phison back & forth from my loft to the girlfriend's home

 

[protoss]

ES1a this weekend.

Didn't realized you got a ES1A. Their pretty good huh. I paired them with a modded 313 and it sings beautifully. One of the best Estats for the money, almost perfect.
I recommend the es1a over the 009/009s.
Price, performance and build.

 

[mulveling]

Didn't realized you got a ES1A. Their pretty good huh. I paired them with a modded 313 and it sings beautifully. One of the best Estats for the money, almost perfect.
I recommend the es1a over the 009/009s.
Price, performance and build.

Yeah - it seems like ES Lab is making the best values in high-end headphones today. The ES1a are gorgeous in person. Build is generally great, other than there being a slight rattle/looseness when I tap the outer metal mesh covers - but this doesn't seem to affect sound. Very happy with the ES-R10 and now the ES1a!

 

[oneguy]

May just be my pairing but I don’t get a wide soundstage perception from the ES-1a. I hear more of a flat wall of sound. They’re still my number one most lively headphone though. I would put them in a different category than 009/009S. The 009/009S offer more detail and instrument separation while the 1a makes a more cohesive sound. The best analogy I can think of is being to taste the pickles, ketchup, cheese, etc. on your burger vice tasting the burger as a whole. Neither way is bad and preference can often depend on mood.

Overall though I agree the ES-1a is a slam dunk. I think Benson makes a great headphone and I’m excited to have my L700 converted to a ES Sigma L700 in a few weeks. Can’t go wrong with ES Labs.

 

[omega1990]

Finally obtained a stax 4070. I've been trying to get one for a long time, but never had the funds when one popped up till now. It's an interesting headphone and kinda looks thrown together compared to stax's other headphones. What really surprised me was how the sound is very different from other estats I've owned.

Yeah I know it's supposed to be a studio monitor, but I did not expect the subbass to be as present as it is. The bass is maybe a hair above being truly flat. Subbass is a little more present than midbass, so it does not slam like the 007 (4070 does not have 007 midbass hump), but that subbass is unusually present for an estat. When bass does slam though it sounds bigger than on other estats though.

Mids also took me off guard. Where is the shout on this thing, lol? I noticed modern reviewers like to stereotype estats for having some shout, but the 4070 surprisingly enough has zero shout, and looking from older posts about this headphone some described the 4070 as lifeless and I can hear where they might be coming from. The touch of shout on other estats I've heard to my ears added an extra touch of realism to live recordings to me anyway, and it's gone on the 4070.

The sound also has no etching I can detect and is a little less detailed than both my 007 and 009S. Sounds about as detailed as my 404le from memory. Treble is as heavenly as I expected it to be being an estat and all. Soundstage is outside of my head but only a little bit being a closed back (still very impressive considering its an estat being closed).

Now I recently changed the tubes on my mjolnir novem amp to ecc83 rca which tilts the sound toward the bass over treble, so the 4070 being a studio monitor is probably taking advantage of that effect.

Personally I think stax should revist this idea. If they can make an omega type headphone in a closed back form and keep the subbass that I am hearing here, I would definitely buy it

 

[zomkung]

Finally obtained a stax 4070. I've been trying to get one for a long time, but never had the funds when one popped up till now. It's an interesting headphone and kinda looks thrown together compared to stax's other headphones. What really surprised me was how the sound is very different from other estats I've owned.

Yeah I know it's supposed to be a studio monitor, but I did not expect the subbass to be as present as it is. The bass is maybe a hair above being truly flat. Subbass is a little more present than midbass, so it does not slam like the 007 (4070 does not have 007 midbass hump), but that subbass is unusually present for an estat. When bass does slam though it sounds bigger than on other estats though.

Mids also took me off guard. Where is the shout on this thing, lol? I noticed modern reviewers like to stereotype estats for having some shout, but the 4070 surprisingly enough has zero shout, and looking from older posts about this headphone some described the 4070 as lifeless and I can hear where they might be coming from. The touch of shout on other estats I've heard to my ears added an extra touch of realism to live recordings to me anyway, and it's gone on the 4070.

The sound also has no etching I can detect and is a little less detailed than both my 007 and 009S. Sounds about as detailed as my 404le from memory. Treble is as heavenly as I expected it to be being an estat and all. Soundstage is outside of my head but only a little bit being a closed back (still very impressive considering its an estat being closed).

Now I recently changed the tubes on my mjolnir novem amp to ecc83 rca which tilts the sound toward the bass over treble, so the 4070 being a studio monitor is probably taking advantage of that effect.

Personally I think stax should revist this idea. If they can make an omega type headphone in a closed back form and keep the subbass that I am hearing here, I would definitely buy it

How loud is the sound leakage coming from 4070? Probably buy one for a headphone to use in the office.

 

[omega1990]

How loud is the sound leakage coming from 4070? Probably buy one for a headphone to use in the office.

Haven't tested that yet, probably will later today. The pads seal pretty well on my head, but depending on the strength of the headband band strap which is like the 007 it might sink on your head due to the added weight of the cups. Also used prices for this headphone come at a premium, hopefully if you do decide to buy one you can negotiate on the price. I bought mine from spritzer on his mjolnir audio website.

 

[Mach3]

Haven't tested that yet, probably will later today. The pads seal pretty well on my head, but depending on the strength of the headband band strap which is like the 007 it might sink on your head due to the added weight of the cups. Also used prices for this headphone come at a premium, hopefully if you do decide to buy one you can negotiate on the price. I bought mine from spritzer on his mjolnir audio website.

Lol you beat me to it. I was like yes got all these closed yester years legendary headphones. Just need Stax only proper closed full size headphone, went on to spriter site ready to enquire and it gone. Glad it went to a good home.

 

[mulveling]

Dang, now is a tough time to be seeking out rare legendary headphones
I think I'm out of that game anyways. 2ch speakers, turntables, tubes and electrostatic amps eats up all the money I would need to do that! An X9000 might be tempting, though...

@oneguy very interested in your thoughts on the Sigma-clone'd L700! I'd considered pivoting to that one for a second, before buying ES1a. Now I'm happy I got the 1a - but still interested in those Sigmas!

@Mach3 really nice ES-R10 impressions, glad you like 'em

 

[buzzlulu]

If anyone is looking for a new quad set of PSVANE EL34PH for their T2 pm me. Kerry and I have been experimenting with tubes and this is one of the test sets I just purchased.

PSVANE makes 4 versions of EL34’s. This is their top and most expensive version. Beautiful packaging.

Why am I selling - I made the mistake of going down the - expensive- rabbit hole of NOS vintage tubes. Woe is me

 

[oneguy]

@mulveling happy to oblige with comments and comparisons to pre-conversion L700 as well as Stax SR-Σ Pro.

 

[Mach3]

Dang, now is a tough time to be seeking out rare legendary headphones
I think I'm out of that game anyways. 2ch speakers, turntables, tubes and electrostatic amps eats up all the money I would need to do that! An X9000 might be tempting, though...

@Mach3 really nice ES-R10 impressions, glad you like 'em

The decision was simple, acquire the X9000 and the DIY T2, to do a 3 way comparison (ES1a, X9000, SR-Ω) and be content.
Oh how life throw a spanner in the works. Having kids and realizing, they don't make R10, L3000 and 4070 anymore.
But the X9000 and DIY T2 are still in production, well the T2 sort of.
So the decision was simple, when all 3 got listed on 2 different platform I jump to it.
As this situation most likely will never arise ever again and I might regret it later on.
Which I'm glad I didn't let the opportunity slip, because all 3 are so unique and have such amazing history.

What's there not to like regarding the ES-R10, considering most TOTL headphone aren't very great in terms of value.
This one knock it out of the park.
I'm glad you like the ES1a, I love them too, gotta say ES Labs makes amazing stuff.
I'll be posting up comparisons between them and the SR-Ω later on when I get the chance to, but don't hold me to it anytime soon.

 

[oneguy]

@Mach3 Agree with ya there. Gotta stroke while the iron is hot! I was close to buying the 4070 because of its uniqueness but overall I am against close back headphones and that part of my brain won out … but that did open the door for other long term acquisitions to fill out my headphone portfolio.