spritzer
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That could be it but if the amp was setup for SR-007's then the phones should have a pretty lean bass, unless Larry is a basshead.
The Stax thread (New)
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condor
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Today should have been the day I wanted to poste here "If there WOULD BE a Stax Mafia, I'd like to join it."
But today I got a letter from a terrorist organization with a name "German Customs" who have taken my SRM1 MK2 PP hostage!
They won't release it before Monday and they kidnappers want around 40-50€ ransom!
So right now I can only stroke my SR-404 and start to cry and tell it, that I can use it, soon :/
But today I got a letter from a terrorist organization with a name "German Customs" who have taken my SRM1 MK2 PP hostage!
They won't release it before Monday and they kidnappers want around 40-50€ ransom!
So right now I can only stroke my SR-404 and start to cry and tell it, that I can use it, soon :/
krmathis
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^ So close, but still so far away!
.veryevil:
Good things come to those who wait though...
Good things come to those who wait though...
condor
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Quote:
That is SO unfair :/
| Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ So close, but still so far away!
Good things come to those who wait though... |
That is SO unfair :/
Lil' Knight
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The Mafia is in da house but still no amp
I hate waiting.
Yikes
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Quote:
So, .... SR-404, that's what you kids are calling it today? In my day we called it something different.
| Originally Posted by condor /img/forum/go_quote.gif So right now I can only stroke my SR-404 and start to cry and tell it, that I can use it, soon :/ |
So, .... SR-404, that's what you kids are calling it today? In my day we called it something different.
SR-71Panorama
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Quote:
My OIImk1's been ampless for months
**puffs chest**
| Originally Posted by Lil' Knight /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Mafia is in da house but still no amp
|
My OIImk1's been ampless for months
**puffs chest**
Lil' Knight
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*hug*
condor
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Quote:
Same here.
| Originally Posted by Lil' Knight /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Mafia is in da house but still no amp
|
Same here.
condor
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Quote:
Haha
| Originally Posted by Yikes /img/forum/go_quote.gif So, .... SR-404, that's what you kids are calling it today? In my day we called it something different.
|
Haha
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Yeah, the 12BZ7 from Woo were a little darker and bassy and that is what Plaid heard - and I now have a fantastic set of early 60's Wurlitzer 12AX7 that sound as good as my NOS Telefunkens and reissue cryo'd Mullards.
| Originally Posted by webbie64 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not necessarilly IMHO. The Woo responds well to changes in tubes. I would argue that you could probably find the best SQ for the 001s on a Woo by trying some different tubes to those that might suit your other Stax Headphones (oops...Earspeakers 
|
Yeah, the 12BZ7 from Woo were a little darker and bassy and that is what Plaid heard - and I now have a fantastic set of early 60's Wurlitzer 12AX7 that sound as good as my NOS Telefunkens and reissue cryo'd Mullards.
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Quote:
Given the best amp and a high quality source most lambdas will outperform the Stax poratble or the SR003 but you are in different leagues regarding cost by factors of 5 or 10 . The Lambdas are a full-range "high-fi" headphone which will sound very good with very good material but may make poorer material sound worse.The various lambda pros have some degree of treble emphasis which can make some material, such as rock/pop recorded with treble emphasis (which many seem to have) almost unlistenable.
By comparison, the 001 and 003 will sound more listenable over a wider range of music. The 001/003 roll off the treble in a euphonic fashion. I would compare their sound to the Sigmas, some have compared their tonal coloration to the 007.
I think they benefit from silver interconnects. When I put mine on I was struck by a major increase in the fullness of the sound as well as the clarity of the treble.
I maintain the Stax portable is a major bargain in an electrostatic, even compared to the 003/amp unit which uses the same phone and a somewhat larger amp.
| Originally Posted by goober-george /img/forum/go_quote.gif So the Stax SR-001 Mk2 setup is comparable to the Stax Lambda Pro or are they in two different leagues? I'm just asking cause I don't ever plan to go in the four digit range of high end stax headphones or even dynamics for that matter. |
Given the best amp and a high quality source most lambdas will outperform the Stax poratble or the SR003 but you are in different leagues regarding cost by factors of 5 or 10 . The Lambdas are a full-range "high-fi" headphone which will sound very good with very good material but may make poorer material sound worse.The various lambda pros have some degree of treble emphasis which can make some material, such as rock/pop recorded with treble emphasis (which many seem to have) almost unlistenable.
By comparison, the 001 and 003 will sound more listenable over a wider range of music. The 001/003 roll off the treble in a euphonic fashion. I would compare their sound to the Sigmas, some have compared their tonal coloration to the 007.
I think they benefit from silver interconnects. When I put mine on I was struck by a major increase in the fullness of the sound as well as the clarity of the treble.
I maintain the Stax portable is a major bargain in an electrostatic, even compared to the 003/amp unit which uses the same phone and a somewhat larger amp.
webbie64
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Quote:
Congrats. Thought it might have been 12BZ7. Envious you have so many great tubes to choose from.
Quote:
You can imagine how the SR-007s would sound with 12BZ7s to someone who feels they make the SR-001s bassy
Quote:
Agreed on all counts. Silver ICs, especially the fine guage ones, can provide an excellent synergy, especially with tube amps IMHO. Plus, as previously indicated, the portable amp can be modded quite successfully to further enhance SQ.
| Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, the 12BZ7 from Woo were a little darker and bassy and that is what Plaid heard - and I now have a fantastic set of early 60's Wurlitzer 12AX7 that sound as good as my NOS Telefunkens and reissue cryo'd Mullards. |
Congrats. Thought it might have been 12BZ7. Envious you have so many great tubes to choose from.
Quote:
| Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif That could be it but if the amp was setup for SR-007's then the phones should have a pretty lean bass, unless Larry is a basshead. |
You can imagine how the SR-007s would sound with 12BZ7s to someone who feels they make the SR-001s bassy
Quote:
| Originally Posted by edstrelow /img/forum/go_quote.gif The 001/003 roll off the treble in a euphonic fashion...I think they benefit from silver interconnects. When I put mine on I was struck by a major increase in the fullness of the sound as well as the clarity of the treble...I maintain the Stax portable is a major bargain in an electrostatic... |
Agreed on all counts. Silver ICs, especially the fine guage ones, can provide an excellent synergy, especially with tube amps IMHO. Plus, as previously indicated, the portable amp can be modded quite successfully to further enhance SQ.
catscratch
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I do have to disagree with Edstrelow with regards to 003 scalability and the quality of the stock 001 amp. I think the 001 amp is rubbish, and even switching out to the 313, which is not a fantastic amp in its own right, will give significant results. I don't know physics and I don't know amp design so I can't comment at all on the 001 amp's circuit, but I can comment on the sound... and its transparency, dynamic range, instrument separation, and overall clarity, not to mention performance at the frequency extremes, are all lacking.
I had several modded 001 units and they all sounded significantly better, some of them better than 003/313 but mostly within the ballpark. I tried the 003 with the 007t and didn't like it very much, then tried it with the SRD-7 Pro/Dared VP-20 and thought it was fantastic and punchy as hell, and I've yet to try it with the 717. The 003 does, I think, scale with amps, and it does scale with sources, and in many ways I prefer its sound over the Lambda-style phones that I heard, i.e. 303 and 404. The 404 messes up the mids something fierce and I could never live with that coloration. The 003, while being less technically capable than the 404, commits sins of omission rather than sins of addition/coloration and is far more listenable - and IMO also far more accurate because it's missing the 404's colorations. Its midrange tone is essentially correct and similar to the 007 (Mk1).
But of course, that's just my .02 and doesn't mean that I'm right.
As far as the 717 goes in general, there was some talk of how good it is compared to higher-priced 'stat amps and I really cannot answer that. But I can rant a bit about the 717 and what I like about it in particular.
1) tonality - a lot of solid state amps fail at midrange tonality and sound too cold and too analytical. The 717 pretty much nails tonality and instruments have warmth, richness, and a very lifelike tone.
2) detail - this isn't the most transparent amp in the universe but it certainly does sound pretty detailed, and it doesn't hype up the highs and make everything hyperdetailed. It's detailed but in a natural way.
3) bass control - the 717 certainly has the output power, and its bass control with the 007 is considerably better than the Stax transformer box or any lesser amps. Bass has tightness, slam, and definition.
In general the 717 sounds clear, natural, layered, and controlled. It does have a somewhat polite and laid-back sound IMO, and it certainly could use being a bit more vivid and dynamic. So if you pair the 717/O2 combo with a laid-back, anemic source you will get a sound that's far too polite. Also, the 717 does have a slightly diffuse quality to its soundstage which on one hand makes it sound very airy, but on the other hand makes the imaging a little less sharp. It also begins to compress a bit at higher volumes and music starts to lose dynamic range and separation, but this is nowhere near as pronounced as it is with a less powerful amp.
Still, all in all, a very capable amp, and simply a ridiculous bargain at $800-900 or whatever it goes for these days. I like tubes mainly but the 717 does have a surprisingly strong tube character and I don't miss tubes in my right all that much... well, maybe a little bit
I had several modded 001 units and they all sounded significantly better, some of them better than 003/313 but mostly within the ballpark. I tried the 003 with the 007t and didn't like it very much, then tried it with the SRD-7 Pro/Dared VP-20 and thought it was fantastic and punchy as hell, and I've yet to try it with the 717. The 003 does, I think, scale with amps, and it does scale with sources, and in many ways I prefer its sound over the Lambda-style phones that I heard, i.e. 303 and 404. The 404 messes up the mids something fierce and I could never live with that coloration. The 003, while being less technically capable than the 404, commits sins of omission rather than sins of addition/coloration and is far more listenable - and IMO also far more accurate because it's missing the 404's colorations. Its midrange tone is essentially correct and similar to the 007 (Mk1).
But of course, that's just my .02 and doesn't mean that I'm right.
As far as the 717 goes in general, there was some talk of how good it is compared to higher-priced 'stat amps and I really cannot answer that. But I can rant a bit about the 717 and what I like about it in particular.
1) tonality - a lot of solid state amps fail at midrange tonality and sound too cold and too analytical. The 717 pretty much nails tonality and instruments have warmth, richness, and a very lifelike tone.
2) detail - this isn't the most transparent amp in the universe but it certainly does sound pretty detailed, and it doesn't hype up the highs and make everything hyperdetailed. It's detailed but in a natural way.
3) bass control - the 717 certainly has the output power, and its bass control with the 007 is considerably better than the Stax transformer box or any lesser amps. Bass has tightness, slam, and definition.
In general the 717 sounds clear, natural, layered, and controlled. It does have a somewhat polite and laid-back sound IMO, and it certainly could use being a bit more vivid and dynamic. So if you pair the 717/O2 combo with a laid-back, anemic source you will get a sound that's far too polite. Also, the 717 does have a slightly diffuse quality to its soundstage which on one hand makes it sound very airy, but on the other hand makes the imaging a little less sharp. It also begins to compress a bit at higher volumes and music starts to lose dynamic range and separation, but this is nowhere near as pronounced as it is with a less powerful amp.
Still, all in all, a very capable amp, and simply a ridiculous bargain at $800-900 or whatever it goes for these days. I like tubes mainly but the 717 does have a surprisingly strong tube character and I don't miss tubes in my right all that much... well, maybe a little bit
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http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...:X:RTQ:US:1123]Some interesting phones currently on ebay.
Looks like a Sigma, Sigma Pro (the black one, which the seller doesn't identify as such) a SR5 and what the seller calls an Alpha but which looks like a Lambda, possibly a Signature or 404/Signature.
The seller seems to think the SRM T1 amp is the prize, but I think the money is in the phones.
Quote:
So basically you are claiming your mods turned a piece of rubbish into a class act?
I think it is very misleading to call the basic portable amp rubbish. I have seen lots of satisfied comments about this set-up in these forums.
The 001/003 works well as what it is, an efficient unit for use with a small /portableamp. I have no hestitation recommending it as an entry level system or portable system. It may sound somewhat better with mods or a bigger amp but it doesn't scale up like the lambdas do and I can't see anyone buying a big amp for the sole purpose of running the 003 better.
Not to be totally disagreeable, I do agree about the merits of the 717. So why are the subsequent Stax transistor amps not as well-regarded? What did Stax do to compromise their sound?
Looks like a Sigma, Sigma Pro (the black one, which the seller doesn't identify as such) a SR5 and what the seller calls an Alpha but which looks like a Lambda, possibly a Signature or 404/Signature.
The seller seems to think the SRM T1 amp is the prize, but I think the money is in the phones.
Quote:
| Originally Posted by catscratch /img/forum/go_quote.gif I do have to disagree with Edstrelow with regards to 003 scalability and the quality of the stock 001 amp. I think the 001 amp is rubbish, : |
So basically you are claiming your mods turned a piece of rubbish into a class act?
I think it is very misleading to call the basic portable amp rubbish. I have seen lots of satisfied comments about this set-up in these forums.
The 001/003 works well as what it is, an efficient unit for use with a small /portableamp. I have no hestitation recommending it as an entry level system or portable system. It may sound somewhat better with mods or a bigger amp but it doesn't scale up like the lambdas do and I can't see anyone buying a big amp for the sole purpose of running the 003 better.
Not to be totally disagreeable, I do agree about the merits of the 717. So why are the subsequent Stax transistor amps not as well-regarded? What did Stax do to compromise their sound?
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