The Headcase Stax thread

Lord_Rexter · June 9, 2020

1 minute ago, Zoide said:

Interesting. What do you mean when you say the Mk II is "sharper"? How come you're keeping both?

Thanks!

Oh well L700 OG is my favorite and L700 Mk II is the newer toy. But the real reason is I am a hoarder especially with STAX Earspeakers 😁

Zoide · June 9, 2020

6 minutes ago, Lord_Rexter said:

Oh well L700 OG is my favorite and L700 Mk II is the newer toy. But the real reason is I am a hoarder especially with STAX Earspeakers 😁

Oh! So you think the Mk I are better? BTW what did you mean when you said the Mk II sound "sharper"? Thanks

Lord_Rexter · June 9, 2020

8 minutes ago, Zoide said:

Oh! So you think the Mk I are better? BTW what did you mean when you said the Mk II sound "sharper"? Thanks

Yes you are right I think Mk I is better little wider soundstage marginal, this could be due to the snugger fit on the Mk II.

And by "sharper" I meant they have better treble performance than the Mk I. Also they seem to be little faster. Take it with a big grain of salt may be my mind is playing tricks on me 😁

Zoide · June 9, 2020

1 hour ago, Lord_Rexter said:

Yes you are right I think Mk I is better little wider soundstage marginal, this could be due to the snugger fit on the Mk II.

And by "sharper" I meant they have better treble performance than the Mk I. Also they seem to be little faster. Take it with a big grain of salt may be my mind is playing tricks on me 😁

Ha! Maybe all that hoarding is driving you crazy

What other earspeakers do you have? Any chance you could give us your brief impressions and how the L700 mk1/mk2 compare to them?

I also see that you have the KGSShv in addition to the 353X. Do you think it makes a huge difference for the L700, or not so much in comparison to something like the 007/009? I currently have a 323S (unbalanced version of the 353X) and wouldn't like to spend more than the price of my headphones on a more powerful amp, but people whisper such tempting things in your ear online...

I'm also very curious about the Perun earspeakers and the new "rock" variant that they're working on. Too bad they were promoted by people who don't have a very good reputation around here, and there are almost no reviews on mainstream English-language forums.

Lord_Rexter · June 9, 2020

3 minutes ago, Zoide said:

Ha! Maybe all that hoarding is driving you crazy

What other earspeakers do you have? Any chance you could give us your brief impressions and how the L700 mk1/mk2 compare to them?

I also see that you have the KGSShv in addition to the 353X. Do you think it makes a huge difference for the L700, or not so much in comparison to something like the 007/009? I currently have a 323S (unbalanced version of the 353X) and wouldn't like to spend more than the price of my headphones on a more powerful amp, but people whisper such tempting things in your ear online...

I'm also very curious about the Perun earspeakers and the new "rock" variant that they're working on. Too bad they were promoted by people who don't have a very good reputation around here, and there are almost no reviews on mainstream English-language forums.

You nailed it 🤣

Here's my modest Estats collection (thus far) - STAX 009BK, L700 Mk1/MKII, L500 Mk II, 404 LE, L300 LE, L207, Jade II, Kaldas Research RR1, Pollinator (by Nectar Sound).

Yes, I do have both KGSShv and 353X. For L700 main improvement would be tigher/faster bass. KGSShv quite a powerful amp than 353X so might be a big step up, mainly I found it to be very revealing so it's a must that you have good source & music recording. Benefits - I would say overall helps realize the full potential of inefficient cans (007/RR1/VOCE) if you hear your music loud then KGSShv could be a good choice.

I heard good things about Perun as well, you might also check out ES Labs offerings

ES Labs ES-Sigma Electrostatic Headphone https://www.eslabhk.com/product-page/stock-es-sigma-electrostatic-headphone

ES-1 alpha (es1a) https://www.eslabhk.com/product-page/es-1-alpha-electrostatic-headphone

I think music/hearing preferences is very personal in nature and would say audition the headphones/amps before pulling a trigger the good luck with your hunt. Thank you!

Jonny · June 12, 2020

What is the difference L700 and L700-2 soundwise (After new toy syndrom might have disappeared)
i only know the sound of L700

new toys might be better in the first days 🙂

i also Know the difference in manufacturing model 1 and 2 - and therefore i wonder, if there should be any difference in sound.

Lord_Rexter · June 28, 2020

Could this be new redesign of Omega II's?

https://staxheadphones.com/products/007-mk2?variant=12195087548499&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Facebook+Shop

justin · June 28, 2020

unless that link has changed in the past 12 hours it looks like the regular USA black SR-007 mk2

Lord_Rexter · June 28, 2020

Hmm I captured a screenshot here it is

justin · June 29, 2020

looks like the same headphone though. check archive.org to see if its always been there

dripf · June 29, 2020

007 bought. The L300 would have been a more sensible choice, but prudent purchasing can sometimes feel stifling. Make sure you've all got earpad spares.

Edited June 29, 2020 by dripf

ScubadudeSA · July 3, 2020

I have a baby SRS-2170 set that I bought as new old stock a couple of years ago, and also picked up a well-worn but interesting New SR-3 and SRD-5. I now want to venture deeper down the Stax rabbithole, with two great deals available locally. The first is new in box, local stock SRS-5100 (SRM-353x / L500 Mk I) going for around half the normal retail price, and the other a year-old SRM-353x / L700 Mk I eBay-import for 20% more.

My current feeling is that the expected superiority of the L700 trumps the sweeter price and local support of the L500 set. From what I have read the L700 pairs better with a warmer amp, and the 353 may be a little too edgy. I've also seen references to mods which sorts out the 353x's sound (I expect by biasing deeper into Class A among other things). Is there a "compendium" of SR-353x mods somewhere?

Mach3 · July 4, 2020

On 6/10/2020 at 7:21 AM, Lord_Rexter said:

You nailed it 🤣

Here's my modest Estats collection (thus far) - STAX 009BK, L700 Mk1/MKII, L500 Mk II, 404 LE, L300 LE, L207, Jade II, Kaldas Research RR1,

Looking at your list, I'm surprised you don't have the SR-007 any version.

Lord_Rexter · July 4, 2020

37 minutes ago, Mach3 said:

Looking at your list, I'm surprised you don't have the SR-007 any version.

Thank you Peter I pulled a trigger on 009BK after your advise👍 planning to add 007 to my collection, but torn between 007 Mk I or II, also guilty on waiting for a new revision of 007s. 😉

Mach3 · July 5, 2020

That's not hard to decide. Want the best get the current 007 and do the port mod. If you CBF (can't be f...) like me get the MK I.

But pretty much all the Mk I earpad foam would have suffer some form of disintegration by now. So best to get new earpads.

dripf · July 7, 2020

I just received a model SZ2. Is this still in production?

Also, is the warranty card supposed to be empty except for the model number?

Edited July 7, 2020 by dripf

*spritzer* · July 7, 2020

Stax serial numbers are in constant flux so no idea really. SZ2 and SZ3's were being sold right back in 2008 so could very well be.

The dealer is supposed to fill out the warranty card but some don't do it.

justin · July 7, 2020

There hasn't been a warranty card here since Yama's, everything comes from Edifier

*spritzer* · July 7, 2020

Good point so the empty warranty card points to a Japanese unit and the sellers who export never fill out the warranty cards.

dripf · July 7, 2020

Thanks spritzer and justin. That's good to know.

I've also got flecks of debris between the hard case and the sealed plastic packaging. What I'm trying to do is figure out whether it's actually new or I'm getting someone's monkey model.

Edit: yeah, It's an ebay purchase. I'm not in the states.

Edited July 7, 2020 by dripf