The Stax Thread III

[harris4crna]

Went from Japan this year where i tried the x9000. My mind is in confusion now ahahah

Definitely a superior HP, but at a cost. $4k is good price for a x9k used.

 

[harris4crna]

Decided to make the plunge and purchase myself a 007 MK2. Now, my collection consist of the L700 and 007 mk2. I think this is the ideal Stax combo.

007 for Vocals and EDM and L700 for Rock and Metal. Hope to everlasting listening bliss.

Which genres work best with your Stax collection?

 

[alota]

Decided to make the plunge and purchase myself a 007 MK2. Now, my collection consist of the L700 and 007 mk2. I think this is the ideal Stax combo. Hope to everlasting listening bliss

Still with blue hawaii?

 

[harris4crna]

Still with blue hawaii?

Yes, I still own the BHSE. My estat chain is Macbook->MDave->Accuphase 3850->BHSE.

After much experimentation, this chain seems to work best. I'm searching for the most organic sound signature, not always the most detailed.

 

[alota]

Yes, I still own the BHSE. My estat chain is Macbook->MDave->Accuphase 3850->BHSE.

After much experimentation, this chain seems to work best. I'm searching for the most organic sound signature, not always the most detailed.

interesting. you use accuphase like preamplifier?

 

[harris4crna]

interesting. you use accuphase like preamplifier?

Yes. It has its positives and negatives. It decreases the shimmy highs of the Dave, which at times can be fatiguing and adds a Class A warmth. But, adding another component in the chain seems to dampen the already dampen 007. I'll have to continue experiment with the chain.

 

[alota]

Yes. It has its positives and negatives. It decreases the shimmy highs of the Dave, which at times can be fatiguing and adds a Class A warmth. But, adding another component in the chain seems to dampen the already dampen 007. I'll have to continue experiment with the chain.

Ahahah it is an infinity loop...

 

[harris4crna]

Ahahah it is an infinity loop...

Yes.....now, I'm thinking it's best to exclude the Accuphase C3850 from the chain. It dampers the sound to much.

 

[Aspirant Audiophile]

Yes.....now, I'm thinking it's best to exclude the Accuphase C3850 from the chain. It dampers the sound to much.

FWIW I think I agree...we're splitting hairs, but I find 007MKI is great with a tube amp, and juuuust a bit better on solid state/Carbon. No tube necessary for 007MKI! Meanwhile, I find x9000 is (a bit) better with tubes. The only outlier is vinyl, which I thought would need tubes but sounds perfect (by my standards) with x9000/Carbon.

 

[Svperstar]

007 for Vocals and EDM and L700 for Rock and Metal. Hope to everlasting listening bliss.

Which genres work best with your Stax collection?

I have the L500mk2/007mk2. Not sure if you port modded either of yours. Both of mine are modded.

Without the port mod the L500 bass had no real slam or rumble. I did the blu tac mod myself following screenshots and it made an immediate difference in the bass.

My 007mk2 came modded from Mjolnir so its always had good bass.

I don't listen to different genres with different Stax, I just kind of take turns listening depending on my mood

 

[harris4crna]

I have the L500mk2/007mk2. Not sure if you port modded either of yours. Both of mine are modded.

Without the port mod the L500 bass had no real slam or rumble. I did the blu tac mod myself following screenshots and it made an immediate difference in the bass.

My 007mk2 came modded from Mjolnir so its always had good bass.

I don't listen to different genres with different Stax, I just kind of take turns listening depending on my mood

I have the L700. I'm content with the bass. My understanding the purpose to mod the 007 MK2 was to align it with thr MK1. To remove the midbass hump. Is this still the case with the current 007 mk2?

 

[Svperstar]

I have the L700. I'm content with the bass. My understanding the purpose to mod the 007 MK2 was to align it with thr MK1. To remove the midbass hump. Is this still the case with the current 007 mk2?

Not sure. I've never heard it unmodded.

 

[myheadHz]

Without the port mod the L500 bass had no real slam or rumble. I did the blu tac mod myself following screenshots and it made an immediate difference in the bass.

Yes second this. Had a love/hate relationship with my L500 (Mk1) for over a year now.

When I first got it, it was quite dissappointing. Lovely staging width/depth, nice awesome clarity/detail, albeit slightly harsh and cold due to it's forwardness. Bass while detailed/fast, had completely anemic slam/body (typical estat described bass... you can hear it but it just feels like the life has been sucked out of it). Wanted to move it on within 2 days of having it tbh.

Then did a full seal blu-tac mod and low-end was suddenly all there, completely linear right down to as low as I have heard anything. Bass weight improved also, but the texture and technicality of it was some of the nicest I had heard to that date. However, while improved, was still lacking the body and slam a bit. Overall though it feels like this is what it should have been all along... but still missing something... while enjoyable, ended up confined to a box as it didn't warrant any headtime over my other stax.

Then I used L700 pads (also replaced yokes with metal Mk2 yokes, although not too sure on the difference that made), and this increased the attack and weight noticeably (although not as noticeable change as the blu-tac mod, which basically turned it into a different headphone, while keeping all the things that the L500 was good at in the first place). Still colder sounding than vintage lambdas, some of the harshness from the highs/mids got tamed also.

Suddenly it was a decent decendant of the vintage stax (albeit a new take on the sound, but with it's own wider/deeper presentation) and imo worthy of the 'lambda' title. Almost like a lambda version of the SR-X mk3, with technical/bodied bass and actual sound staging.

It still has the overall colder/forward sound associated with the L series, but much more digestable, not as fatiguing... and the bass (which should have been there all along) was finally there, full-bodied.

Recently got an LNC, and the bass body, texture and slam is wonderful with the LNC (I think more so than L500, although still in honeymoon period with the LNC), however the L500 is not far off and in fact feels faster and clearer in the low-end with rivaling slam and weight. Combined with it's forward mids/highs gives it a much more analytical presentation and makes it certainly feel much more mature and worthy increment to the 'vintage sound'.

LNC = smooth, organic, distant, weighty, warm...
L500 = crisp, analytical, wide, clarity, technical (but still weighty)...

Both have outstanding detail and resolution, I don't think either is technically superior, just different. On the surface though, the fowardness of the L500 makes it sound more analytical.

So it went from one of the biggest headphone dissappointments I have had (although with some slightly redeeming little flirts of magic)... to possibly my favourite lambda...

Also some EQ and loudness compensation work wonders on it and take it to the next level...

 

[alota]

Yes second this. Had a love/hate relationship with my L500 (Mk1) for over a year now.

When I first got it, it was quite dissappointing. Lovely staging width/depth, nice awesome clarity/detail, albeit slightly harsh and cold due to it's forwardness. Bass while detailed/fast, had completely anemic slam/body (typical estat described bass... you can hear it but it just feels like the life has been sucked out it). Wanted to move it on within 2 days of having it tbh.

Then did a full seal blu-tac mod and low-end was suddenly all there, completely linear right down to as low as I have heard anything. Bass weight improved also, but the texture and technicality of it was some of the nicest I had heard to that date. However, while detailed, was still lacking the body and slam a bit. Overall though it feels like this is what it should have been all along... but still missing something... while enjoyable, ended up confined to a box as it didn't warrant any headtime over my other stax.

Then I used L700 pads (also replaced yokes with metal Mk2 yokes, although not too sure on the difference that made), and this increased the attack and weight noticably (although not as noticiable change as the blu-tac mod, which basically turned into a different headphone while keeping all the things that the L500 was good at in the first place). While still colder sounding than vintage lambdas, some of the harshness from the highs got tamed also.

Suddenly it was a decent decendant of the vintage stax (albeit a new take on the sound, but with it's own wider/deeper presentation) and imo worthy of the 'lambda' title. Almost like a lambda version of the SR-X mk3, with technical/bodied bass and actual sound staging.

Still got the overall colder/forward sound associated with the L series, but much more digestable, not as fatiguing... and the bass (which should have been there all along) was finally there, full-bodied.

Recently got an LNC, and the bass body, texture and slam is wonderful with the LNC (I think more so than L500, although still in honeymoon period with the LNC), however the L500 is not far off and in fact feels faster and clearer in the low-end with rivaling slam and weight. Combined with it's forward mids/highs gives it a much more analytical presentation and makes it certainly feel much more mature and worthy increment to the 'vintage sound'.

LNC = smooth, organic, distant, weighty, warm...
L500 = crisp, analytical, wide, clarity, technical (but still weighty)...

Both have outstanding detail and resolution, I don't think either is technically superior, just different. On the surface though, the fowardness of the L500 makes it sound more analytical.

So it went from one of the biggest headphone dissappointments I have had (although with some slightly redeeming little flirts of magic)... to possibly my favourite lambda...

Also some EQ and loudness compensation work wonders on it and take it to the next level...

What is LNC?

 

[myheadHz]

What is LNC?

Lambda Nova Classic