[Ikarios]

Hi folks. This is my first time checking into the Stax thread... I never thought I had a reason to. I picked up an SRS2050 (SR202/SRM252) setup earlier this week and...
 
Wow.
 
That's about all. Coming from mid-fi dynamic headphones, I can hardly find a flaw with the SR202s. I find that they sound closest to the K501s, although the K501s have tubby midbass (who would've thought someone would describe K501 bass as "tubby", ever

), and with much more mud in the treble frequencies.
 
The SRS2050 is almost perfect.... but upgraditis is a tough bug to fight. The overall frequency balance is, in my opinion, just perfect. They're not bass-light, don't have recessed mids, and don't have piercing/strident treble. I would like a little harder-hitting sub-bass, but that's not really an issue. If anything, the biggest issue (using that term relatively) is in the treble - it's not as CLEAR as I want it to be. It's very fast and clear, but sometimes I think cymbals don't decay quite fast enough, and there's just a little bit too much shimmer (mostly on ride cymbals). Treble has always been a little bit difficult for me to describe, and I'm extremely picky in this area, but I hope you guys know what I'm talking about.
 
Since the SR202 seems to have the right frequency balance, I'm a little wary of making such a drastic change as getting a different Lambda (the older ones don't seem like they're what I'm looking for, and it's a little hard to find the SR303/404 by itself), so I think the best option would be to upgrade the SRM252 amplifier. Ideally I'd like an eXStatA, but those are hard to come by, so I've been looking into the mid-range Stax amplifiers. I don't have all the options fully fleshed out yet - I've been looking at the SRM-1mk2, SRM313/323, SRM-3, etc.) Would upgrading the amplifier have a noticeable impact, or would I be better off going up the chain entirely?
Thanks in advance. I'm slowly searching the thread and finding relevant pieces of information, but 1021 pages is a lot of info to go through...

 

[livewire]

Glad to see you've joined the club.
I have the SRS2050 and have been happy with it for all the reasons you mentioned.
Upgraditis has struck, so I built a KGSSHV.
Now I need better Stax than the SR-202 to exploit the full grunt of this beast.
This is where the going gets tough.
Figure $1K for the SR-507, about double that for an O2.
Then there is the new SR-009. $5K Oy Vey!!!
It wasnt too long ago we were putzing around with MSSH builds. What hath God wrought?

 

[padam]

Aflac, I guess a PSU upgrade for the SRM-252 would be worthwile and would make it close to the SRM-313 (pretty similar designs). Also you might need a better source, makes at least as much difference as the amp, if not more.

 

[MrGreen]

 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Aflac /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
The overall frequency balance is, in my opinion, just perfect.

That's probably because, technically speaking, they are very close to perfect in this regard - IF we're talking about free field response curves.
 
 
Quote:

Since the SR202 seems to have the right frequency balance, I'm a little wary of making such a drastic change as getting a different Lambda (the older ones don't seem like they're what I'm looking for, and it's a little hard to find the SR303/404 by itself), so I think the best option would be to upgrade the SRM252 amplifier.

 
FWIW, all of the lambdas have extremely close response curves on paper.

 

[svyr]

Aflac, I guess a PSU upgrade for the SRM-252 would be worthwile and would make it close to the SRM-313 (pretty similar designs). Also you might need a better source, makes at least as much difference as the amp, if not more.

don't think so. Pretty sure spritzer said 252 is similar to SRM-300 (reg psu and isn't DC coupled?). and 313 is different and more similar to SRM-1/mk2. Might want to check with him though.

 

[padam]

I think, he wrote that the SRM-300 is somewhat similar to the SRM-001 in terms of design while the SRM-252 is more similar to the others.

 

[svyr]

I think, he wrote that the SRM-300 is somewhat similar to the SRM-001 in terms of design while the SRM-252 is more similar to the others.

=( can't remember , possibly. Spritzer? we know you're reading this

 

[spritzer]

The 252 and 313 are similar but any PSU upgrades will do very little since you are always limited by the tiny transformer inside the amp.  Simply switching to a larger PSU is also likely to kill the amp as it won't draw enough so the voltage will rise, making all the parts operate outside their spec. 

 

[Michgelsen]

The SR-202 is a lovely pair of headphones. If you feel like upgrading, you could indeed go for a mid-level Stax amp. I used mine with a SRM-T1 for a while; a good combination. Other Stax tube amps will sound comparable I guess. Upgrading to another Lambda model would not be very satisfactory I think, so either go for the O2 or SR-009, or be happy with the SR-202 for a while. How about upgrading your source? Can be very worthwile.
 
 
Quote:

Hi folks. This is my first time checking into the Stax thread... I never thought I had a reason to. I picked up an SRS2050 (SR202/SRM252) setup earlier this week and...
 
Wow.
 
That's about all. Coming from mid-fi dynamic headphones, I can hardly find a flaw with the SR202s. I find that they sound closest to the K501s, although the K501s have tubby midbass (who would've thought someone would describe K501 bass as "tubby", ever

), and with much more mud in the treble frequencies.
 
The SRS2050 is almost perfect.... but upgraditis is a tough bug to fight. The overall frequency balance is, in my opinion, just perfect. They're not bass-light, don't have recessed mids, and don't have piercing/strident treble. I would like a little harder-hitting sub-bass, but that's not really an issue. If anything, the biggest issue (using that term relatively) is in the treble - it's not as CLEAR as I want it to be. It's very fast and clear, but sometimes I think cymbals don't decay quite fast enough, and there's just a little bit too much shimmer (mostly on ride cymbals). Treble has always been a little bit difficult for me to describe, and I'm extremely picky in this area, but I hope you guys know what I'm talking about.
 
Since the SR202 seems to have the right frequency balance, I'm a little wary of making such a drastic change as getting a different Lambda (the older ones don't seem like they're what I'm looking for, and it's a little hard to find the SR303/404 by itself), so I think the best option would be to upgrade the SRM252 amplifier. Ideally I'd like an eXStatA, but those are hard to come by, so I've been looking into the mid-range Stax amplifiers. I don't have all the options fully fleshed out yet - I've been looking at the SRM-1mk2, SRM313/323, SRM-3, etc.) Would upgrading the amplifier have a noticeable impact, or would I be better off going up the chain entirely?
Thanks in advance. I'm slowly searching the thread and finding relevant pieces of information, but 1021 pages is a lot of info to go through...

 

 

[dukja]

Bear with my ignorance, but SR-202 is just an entry Lambda, right?  Wouldn't upgrade to SR-507 make more sense than jump all the way up to O2 or even SR-009.  If budget was not an issue than SR-202 shouldn't be the initial buy.  Don't  you think so? 

 
Quote:

The SR-202 is a lovely pair of headphones. If you feel like upgrading, you could indeed go for a mid-level Stax amp. I used mine with a SRM-T1 for a while; a good combination. Other Stax tube amps will sound comparable I guess. Upgrading to another Lambda model would not be very satisfactory I think, so either go for the O2 or SR-009, or be happy with the SR-202 for a while. How about upgrading your source? Can be very worthwile.
 
 


 

 

 

[Ikarios]

Quote:

Bear with my ignorance, but SR-202 is just an entry Lambda, right?  Wouldn't upgrade to SR-507 make more sense than jump all the way up to O2 or even SR-009.  If budget was not an issue than SR-202 shouldn't be the initial buy.  Don't  you think so? 

 


 

Well yes, if budget wasn't an issue, you may as well buy the Orpheus.
 
But really, I think he was referring to my situation, in that upgrading to another Lambda wouldn't see huge gains like going to an Omega would. Basically it sounds like he's saying the SR202 is similar enough to the SR507 that upgrading something like the amp would be a better idea.
 

 

[FrankCooter]

I've never heard an SR202, but I own a 303 and a 507. There's a huge difference between the 303 and the 507. The 507 is a lot closer to the O2  than the 303. Definitely worth the upgrade.

 

[mikenyc]

Aflac,
 
I also bought the 2050 and was immediately sold on the stax. I upgraded to a T1S and was very pleased with the upgrade.  Very nice improvement.  The problem is that you will probably want to keep upgrading.  I am trying to figure out the next step right now between a sensible upgrade to the 507 or go straight to the top of the line and invest in an amp to match.  This is the problem with Stax (but a good problem...  I guess).
 
Mike

 

[MrGreen]

I preferred the lambda sound out of mid-level amplifiers, and I wouldn't think about buying an O2 if I wasn't going to throw down cash for a BHSE. Omega on the other hand...
 

But my first foray into stax literally ended upgraditis for me

 

[Nakattack]

Green, send me your Stax so I can experience teh awesome that everyone is gushing about