The Stax I thread

A) As previously stated, the Normal Bias Lambda is a treasure now. Hard to find. I've got "a few" stats and I've never owned this one. That said, this will give you an introduction but if you want to move on you'll be looking at a new amp with pro-bias etc... Tempting offer to own a "legend". No pro-bias means you can't add the L300 to this rig.
B) I don't know a lot about the 312 amp, but having an amp with NB and PB gives you some flexibility moving forward.
C) For the extra cash over the first two options this doesn't seem all that attractive. At this point I'd start putting together something around the L300.

Good luck! No terribly wrong decision here, all good places to start.

 

The 009 has a few tonal quirks which are a deal-breaker for some people. So it is with any other headphone. The trickier quality to unravel is that unbearable lightness of being, that ethereal quickness which for some is over too soon. The decay is said to be an affront to nature or to lead to a plasticky sound (or some other tired audiophile cliche). I prefer to like the 009 for what it is: a headphone. Fact is that a neutral headphone will always sound a little dry, a little lacking in soundstage permanence, those that don't err on the side of sounding too rich (e.g. HD650) or larger than life (e.g. HD800). If I want to listen to a cavernous presentation I listen to my Philharmonic 3s, or to the LS50s for a more realistic presentation of an audio event.

Headphones are necessarily tricksters and choosing one often comes down to which illusion you prefer. I like that razor's edge presence which lays bare details of the recording without dwelling on boom or falling apart into some mild euphonic slurry. And I like bass which can keep up with crazy prog rock drum solos as well as letting you feel the textured footsteps of some lumbering electronic mammoth on a trip-hop track.

None of this is to say that I like that the 009 still has a lil' of the ol' Stax shout at 1khz, or that its subbass had to be equalized to get proportional slam, or that the kindest thing I can say about its soundstage is that it's OK for a planar. But I completely agree with shipsupt that the 009 has some real magic to it that requires your own personal listening environment to really appreciate.

 

Running my old babies, the Lambda SR-303 Classic, from a newer model SRM-252S (which came with the L300). I remember getting the older SRS-2020 system (aka SR-202 and SRM-252A amp) for $400 several years ago. The SR-303s I've had since college.

The SRM-323 amp that was originally bundled with them is in another room.

I still remember those mystical feelings. For someone new to the world of headphone, e-stats were quite alien to me. Even the name STAX sounded bizarre. Seeing the Lambdas, it seemed oddly fitting that they'd be called STAX (since the taller housings look "stacked up" --- IDK brains are weird). They came from Japan. They were made out of plastic. They had really serious office-y color schemes like sandy gray with slate blue trim or hunter green with brown. Ribbon cables. Throwback 80s font in pastel on the box and headband arc. They needed their own special amps.

Getting that long ass amp as a n00bish college student was something else. Amps weren't supposed to sit deeper than they are wide, and yet here was one. Uncovering its hidden secrets like the little screw on part in the back for grounding wire or that the outer layer of the volume knob turned on its own to adjust the channels was like... Mind blowing stuff back then. Like whoaaaa.

I know some people on YouTube need to "separate these from headphones; they're not headphones, okay? They're earspeakers."

But they were always headphones to me, even back then. Heck, I didn't even really consider that earspeakers---like the term orthodynamic---is just branding. I just felt that the world of headphones had room for all these oddities; back then it was this vast, undiscovered country for me.

And yet, and yet.

After all that "journeying" over the years since, I find myself right back here, virtually where I started. I like to think I've learned some stuff along the way, but the name STAX still seems delightfully strange to me when I really think about it.

 

I'd keep an eye out for a 717 if you don't stumble across a nice KGSShv or something similar for sale. I still think it's one of the most solid amps from STAX, but not always easy to find nowadays.

A few options that probably push the budget a little...
- The GES is a little underpowered for the 007, but it's not bad. http://www.head-fi.org/t/811038/fs-woo-ges-with-upgraded-tubes
- A little more spendy, but a really nice amp. I know the builder personally and he does great work: http://www.head-fi.org/t/824196/headinclouds-kgst

Keep in mind that if your end goal is getting another amplifier you're probably better off not spending much in the mean time... You're likely to spend half of your budget on getting an amp you don't plan to keep.


Keep an eye out for @MuppetFace to chime in, she's had ears under both the 007 and L700 and can give you a good comparison.

 

The SR-007 is hungry. It wants you to feed it, and unless you give it enough of what it wants, it tends to just keep sleeping. The SRM-323 is a great amp, but the SR-007 is going to sound dark and kinda flabby down below. Same with all the tube amps that Stax makes. To wake it up, at the very least you want something like the SRM-717 or a modified SRM-727 (if you buy one from HeadAmp, Justin will prolly do the mod for you, otherwise it's not too difficult if you've had modding experience). The KGSSHV will do really well, but IMO the BHSE is pretty much designed to kick the SR-007's ass and get it in shape. All the Gilmore stat amps have fantastic control over these drivers. Personally speaking, however, I find a lot of Gilmore designs a bit *too* bright and thin with the brighter Staxen like the SR-009 and most of the Lambdas. YMMV of course.

With enough oomph behind it, much of the "overly dark" character of the SR-007 goes away. It's never gonna sound quite like the brighter Stax---it's still a bit more laid back---but it's actually a lot closer to the SR-009 in terms of performance than people give it credit for. Minus the fatiguing aspect of the SR-009. This makes the SR-007 well suited for really long listening sessions. That, and it's super comfortable to wear.

The L700 is a member of the Lambda family, and as such it's going to have a brighter and more energetic character. Luckily this version is more refined and not as aggressive sounding as its predecessor, the SR-507. It reminds me a lot of a modern take on the Lambda Pro sound: clear, bright---but not *too* bright---nimble and well extended. The etched treble that plagued the Lambdas throughout the 90s and early 2000s doesn't seem to be an issue here. Details tend to pop and sound more emphasized compared to the SR-007 which seems to me to just kinda disappear into the background more. Compared to the flagship models, the Lambdas always sound less realistic but more immediately "fun." They're also known for sounding more stereotypically electrostatic: with an open and vaporous quality that is kind of difficult to describe. It's one of those things you have to hear for yourself.

With the Lambdas---L700 included---music just seems effortless to me. It seems to materialize out of thin air around me, and what this airy sound traditionally lacks in oomph (lower frequency impact), it makes up for with a very "out-of-head" kind of presentation. Fortunately the L700 is the most balanced and refined of its ilk to date, and a lot of the weaker areas of reproduction on legacy models aren't as noticeably deficient on the L700 to my ears.

Like @shipsupt said, the SRM-717 is a good way to go. They usually sell for around $1k USD, but you need patience because they don't pop up often. If I were gonna drive the L700 and SR-007, this is the amp I'd go for personally.

 

I've been using the Woo GES in the office for a while now. Never content to leave things as they are, I decided to do a little tube rolling. I was using some Dumont 6S4A power tubes and the Genalex ECC83 Gold Lions for the drive tubes. The Gold lions are generally well thought of in the GES.

I swapped in a set of Channel Master 6S4As (Japanese made, extra mica up top as a getter shield) and some NOS Mullard (Great Britain) ECC83s.

I am a little surprised at the difference! Power tubes in this amp normally make little difference, so I have to chalk up the obvious increase in bass volume and impact to the Mullards. It feels slightly less controlled, but I am much happier with this combination.

I've spent the morning listening to the ESP-950, which was not very good at all with the previous tubes, but is darned good now! I'll roll in the 007 and 009 later this week.

 

I've not listened to any of the L-series yet. I'll have to see if my local fellow STAX zealot can help me out with a loaner. I've heard good things!

 

As much as I enjoyed my time with the L700 , I still don't think it's up to 009 level but it's one of the most easy to enjoy headphone I had the pleasure to listen to.