The Headcase Stax thread

[manaox2]

There is a member over at the other forum who has has MKII Pads on his MKI's. He feels that the OII pads make for a slightly darker and not as lively sound with the MKI OII's.

I have not tried the MKII pads on the MKI OII's myself yet, however.

One member on the other forum said that O2 have no bass too, what member says what helps me determine if I care or not. Please don't say Edstrelow.

[The Monkey]

One member over there said monsters are real!

[jp11801]

they're not?

[Audiofiler]

One member on the other forum said that O2 have no bass too, what member says what helps me determine if I care or not. Please don't say Edstrelow.

It was not Edstrelow, otherwise I would have written all CAPS in the title.. : )

One member over there said monsters are real!

Monsters are real, just look at DIY T2 amp build (based on a true monster) or the movie Monsters Inc. (based on a true story)

[The Monkey]

Or look under my son's bed.

[n3rdling]

Is that where <{-=she=-}>'s been hiding?

[catscratch]

Mk2 never fit me properly, the headband tension was far too high and it would pull the headphones out of optimal position a few minutes after I got them into proper position. I did bend the headband and increase clamping force, but still it was far from ideal. Maybe it's my huge head, but the Mk1 does fit much better with its looser headband.

Mk2 does look awesome but so does the Mk1, it just depends on how well it goes with the rest of your gear. The Dared is a sculpture in bronze, aluminum, wood, and glowing tubes, and the Mk1 does go much better with that. Still, the Mk2 is moar black, and that matters too.

I'm getting the Mk2 pads more just to mess around and see what it does to the sound. I did like the feel of Mk2 pads a lot, just not the headband.

[Beefy]

Is that where <{-=she=-}>'s been hiding?

Whatever happened to -=her=-? I expected her to try and make a spectacular comeback, and fail miserably......

[luvdunhill]

Whatever happened to -=her=-? I expected her to try and make a spectacular comeback, and fail miserably......

Merely a stain on the great bed spread of life I suppose...

[Deadneddz]

Craig notified me that he is still working on getting a large order discount on MK2 pads from Stax. This is proving to be a bit difficult, but he remains hopeful for the possibility.

[mypasswordis]

Merely a stain on the great bed spread of life I suppose...

Is that where <{-=she=-}>'s been hiding?

I don't think she'd fit. I also don't want to try to make sense of why she would be hiding under Little Monkey's bed, given the above allusion to a particular incident in the past.

[swt61]

I'm relatively certain the above mentioned stain on -=her=- bedspread was made by skylab.

[swt61]

I'm relatively certain the above mentioned stain on -=her=- bedspread was made by skylab.

Whether it was of a sexual nature, or just drewl from him constantly running at the mouth is uncertain.

[Les_Garten]

Whether it was of a sexual nature, or just drewl from him constantly running at the mouth is uncertain.

OUTSTANDING! With a modicum of Indeed mixed in!

[dreamwhisper]

holy crap, these Stax O2's are like a breath of fresh air when listening to music

they really just get tha fuk out tha way and let me hear what the fuk is goin on.

I totally think I could live with 717 for a while... even if it's the o2's budget amp the rig is quite frankly not budget,, in fact, easily above any dynamic or iso headphone I've heard, so I guess what I'm saying is that I don't feel the need at all for R10's and Qualia's, L3000's and the like

[n3rdling]

Can't say I'm surprised you feel that way, congrats

[Hopstretch]

Welcome.

Someday, and that day may never come, Birgir will ask you for a small favor...

[swt61]

[deepak]

holy crap, these Stax O2's are like a breath of fresh air when listening to music

they really just get tha fuk out tha way and let me hear what the fuk is goin on.

I totally think I could live with 717 for a while... even if it's the o2's budget amp the rig is quite frankly not budget,, in fact, easily above any dynamic or iso headphone I've heard, so I guess what I'm saying is that I don't feel the need at all for R10's and Qualia's, L3000's and the like

Now wait till you hear electrostatic speakers...ones that are nine feet tall mmm

[dreamwhisper]

Now wait till you hear electrostatic speakers...ones that are nine feet tall mmm

with electrostatic speakers I could see wanting tubes somewhere in the signal path,

but maybe I just miss the SFD2 when listening to speakers.

but screw speakers now...

I'm going to be using the O2's from now on for mastering and production because they are easily moar better than my Mackie's and sub in a treated room.

The Mackie's actually sound more musical but the O2's are technically in another league, and less fatiguing somehow too, so perfect for hours spent in front of a mix.

...but that's with the Apogee in the studio. Even though it's not really a fully controlled test on the DAC level, I still am simply hearing more with the stats and I recognize the sensation from spending some time with the K340's before these.

...and these don't have small soundstage/headstage imo at all,,,

and it's nice to have come from yh100's before these (haha) because that's the first thing you notice, WAY more head/soundstage

I actually find the yh100's tonally are pretty similar, though it depends a lot on the amp and how the mods to the headphone were done.

@swt61, that looks like a picture from a video game, which one?

[spritzer]

No tubes needed with electrostatic speakers, just huge direct drive SS amps.

It's a picture from Mafia I believe...

Someday, and that day may never come, Birgir will ask you for a small favor...

Indeed...

[Elephas]

What exactly is this Stax Mafia people keep referring to?

Can we have a show of hands, who are members and what is your rank?

I promise, I'm not affiliated with site enforcement, I just want to know who I can ask to "take care" of a certain someone who used to run an amp business and has since "disappeared."

[catscratch]

The Mackie's actually sound more musical but the O2's are technically in another league, and less fatiguing somehow too, so perfect for hours spent in front of a mix.

That lack of musicality is the 717, or more precisely the combination of 717 + source. I don't think the 717 is voiced in the ideal way for the O2, it's too dry, too laid-back, and too grainy. It is, however, the only thing short of DIY that can control the O2's bass and generally wake it up on a budget, so your voicing options are limited.

You could try the SRD-7 Pro/Mk2, you'll miss out on some bass control but the upside is that you can put any speaker amp you want in front of it, and voice your rig in any way you want.

The O2 is truly transparent, and sounds very different in different rigs. It's not enough to just throw it into any old rig, you have to tune it by ear, identify problems in your signal path, and swap components around. So if you think you're done - you're not, you're only just starting.

[morphsci]

... and has since "disappeared."

How do you know it hasn't already been taken care of?

[spritzer]

How do you know it hasn't already been taken care of?

Exactly...