The Stax I thread

I wish someone else like @n3rdling or @shipsupt started this thread, but I would like a place to discuss this product.

STAX headphones, discuss.

 

I have very limited experience with Stax. Last September I got some headtime with the 007 and 009 off a Blue Hawaii and an Ayre QB-9 DSD. I genuinely did not like the 009, the 007 was interesting but ultimately I wrote Stax off as a presentation that was not for me. Well this last weekend I got to hear the L700 off a SRM007tII, and I'll be damned if I didn't leave impressed. They where so much more "normal" sounding than the 007/009 they had real bass, they felt slightly warmer than neutral and female vocals sounded awesome. I think an L700 may be on my eventual radar when the Stax Cultists sell them in a few years to move up the line. Finish off Dynamic, Planar, Stat trifecta. So yeah I think the L700 is neat.

 

Anti-distortion fan club member checking in!

 

Sound of Plastic Fan Club Member checking in!

(please ban me from this thread)

 

I used to own a BHSE driving an SR-009 and later an SR-007(MK1) a couple years ago. I am one of the not-so-minority who preferred SR-007 to SR-009. Either way, I very much prefer my current traditional dynamic setup which consists of of ZDS and modded HD800S to any TOTL stat rig I've owned/heard to date, including the Orpheus. I won't deny I'm looking forward to auditioning the Orpheus 2 one day, but I highly doubt it will win me over what I have now.

 

Interesting feedback @songmic . I came away from Canjam really wanting to buy an SR-007, and the SR-009+BHSE was the best overall SQ I've ever heard (I wasn't able to hear the SR-007 on the BHSE, and I haven't yet heard my HD800 from a ZDS-level amp).

But I don't know if the SR-007 will work well through an SRD-7, and for the price of it + amp I could get a ZDS instead. So now I don't know what to do. I'll probably hold off until I can audition a ZDS.

 

SR-007Mk1 is probably my third favorite electrostat, though I'm not sure I'd choose it over a TOTL HD 800 chain.

My second favorite is the HE60. It's technically inferior to the 007 in almost every way but it's so fun and addicting I don't mind. I really hope I can acquire another one someday.

Top for my tastes is the SR-Omega. Peerless resolution, euphonic head stage (much more diffuse than the 007 although perhaps less precise in imaging), exceptional timbre and tonal balance. If it had the slam of say the HE-6 I couldn't imagine caring for anything else.

 

I've only owned the HE60 for about three months but from what I remember:
Colorations in the upper midrange/lower treble, slight midbass emphasis
Less extended, especially bass
Looser bass (even fully refurbished with new o-rings)
Fuzzier, less precise imaging

I still prefer the HE60 though -- it's one of the most euphonic headphones I've had the pleasure of owning.

 

SRM-T1. Certainly not the best for the HE60, but probably does fewer favors for the 007.

 

It's not the right place to start such a thread

Ali

 

Surprised to see all the love for the 007. I could not get over that lower treble suckout followed by a boost in the presence region. Made most recordings sound so weird.

 

I didn't like the 007 the first time I heard it. The way most people try it the first time does it no favors: inevitably plugged into the same amp as the brighter, more sensitive 009, sharing the same volume pot. This makes the 007 sound softer and darker. Louder and brighter always wins in brief, side-by-side comparisons.

Amp choice matters. The LL makes the 007 sound extra dark. Not sure why.

Properly volume-matched, the 007, especially the Mk1 and Mk2.9 versions, fares better in side-by-sides. For long-term, real listening sessions, it's my favorite headphone. Comfortable, beautiful sound, detailed but with no hint of fatigue, even forgiving of mediocre recordings. Hard to ask for more from a headphone.