The Stax I thread

Just depends on your POV.

What e-stats traditionally do well is sound very smooth and clean. They're often praised for their airiness, lack of distortion, and lack of grain compared to dynamics. They tend to produce mids and high frequencies extremely well.

Their most notorious weakness is low frequencies. Bass is often described as either articulate but lacking in quantity or there but limp and lacking slam. In my experience the limpness is often an amp issue: for instance the SR-007 can sound flabby if it doesn't have enough power behind it. But in general e-stats aren't going to have the same sense of power as orthos or some dynamics. Exceptions would be the Jades or Milos's Orpheus clones.

Around here, "team dynamic" likes to call e-stats "plastic" sounding because of their smoothness. From their perspective, the sound is too polite and thus artificial, and they feel that a certain amount of grain should be there as it's more life-like to them.

 

Personally, I couldn't care less about a lack of grain or there not being enough plankton or whatever. It's just not a priority for me.

What is a priority for me is not getting a f'ing headache, and so many headphones can't even manage that. The HD800 is a notorious example: it can have tons of plankton and the biggest soundstage ever, but if the treble can be weaponized, then all that doesn't matter. The SR-009 and especially some of the Lambdas tend to be the same way.

My top priorities are a fairly linear frequency response, lack of distortion, and clean sound.



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The SR-007mk1 is my usual go-to headphone. I still use the Koss ESP 950 and original Lambdas a lot too (and maybe the new L700... time will tell). Right now however the Audio Zenith PMx2, an ortho, is getting the most head time with me. It's just sounds so right to me. The Code X is also pretty dang impressive, and I'm surprised by how much a cheapo pair of vintage Yamaha YH-1s are engaging me. With some mods they'll be amazing.

The Focal Utopia really impressed me at first---and I still find them a big improvement over most flagship headphones---but they're just a bit too bright and oddly timbred to hold on to for good.

Of all the new headphones on the horizon, the two that I have the highest hopes for are the Sonoma Model One and especially the Abyss Diana (I'm serious -- SBAFers can dismiss it due to looks all they want, but if they knew what I knew they'd be way more excited about it).

I guess you could say I'm a "playnar" fan.

 

Ah, the anisotropic Yamahas. I've been looking for a pair for a while now. Someday, someday.



We "playnar fans" are definitely in the minority here on SBAF, but our cult adds a nice counter point. The Jedi here know they need us Sith Lords.

 

This weekend I've been listening to both the L700 and the Lambda Pro. I was actually surprised by how similar the Pros sounded to this new TOTL Lambda. There *is* a certain level of refinement that the L700 has over its ancestor, but the sound was much closer than not. Which is quite impressive to me, because it shows after 30+ years---despite deteriorated foam, delapidated earpads, and constant use in a studio somewhere---the Lambdas still sound amazing today. It would be nice if they didn't smell like 30+ years of sitting on someone's sweaty scalp, but thankfully the headband and pads are replaceable.

For $300 or less, these vintage Lambdas really are a fantastic value proposition compared to most things on the market today. Assuming, of course, you have something with which to drive them. Otherwise you can pick up an energizer or T1 amp for a few more Benjamins.

By-the-by, does anyone know if the L300 is a refinement of the SR-207 or the SR-307? I ask, as I'm fairly sure the L500 is based on the SR-507.

I've heard from some that the L300 is more similar to the SR-207. This would actually be a good thing IMO, as the SR-207 is a refinement of the SR-202 which in turn has a somewhat unique and rather enjoyable sound within the Lambda family.

 

These sound a lot better than I remember out of the portable SRM-002 amp. After listening to a bunch of shitty IEMs, it was quite refreshing to hear these actually. Sure they aren't very practical for listening on a bus (poor isolation) or in a library (sound leakage), but they make for an excellent transportable office rig or as a companion on a leisurely stroll. Or when you wanna dance around the house like an idiot.

Also these "in the earspeakers" sound really good from a larger amp. Looks silly plugged into one, but sounds legit.

Now I'm kinda curious about those weird ortho earphones from Audeze.
Or even those crazy expensive stats from Shure that are actual, isolating IEMs.

 

Actually, I'm really curious about those Stax "IEM" . Would be the best Work system for me I think .

But how do those things work ? any need of some foams or silicon tips ?

 

The newer version comes with black oblong tips (seen in picture), but I vastly prefer the older clear ones: I feel they "grip" the inside of my ear better and hold the nozzles in place more. Not sure how responsive they are to tip rolling beyond the two versions Stax supplied with them, as the nozzles are a different shape from most IEMs.

I've seen pictures of custom ear tips someone molded specifically for them, though.

 

Question is : do they need a secure fit like an iem or something loose is OK ( like buds) ?

 

Well, they insert pretty deeply into your ear canals, so you're never gonna wear them like buds. However there's a bit of looseness for me with the black tips, and I don't notice any issues with sound. It's most just a peace-of-mind thing to feel them more firmly in ear.

 

My buddy @%20 Oddity got the SRS-3100 for Crimbus, and I had a chance to listen to them for a bit. I'm really impressed.

The L300 definitely has traces of the SR-202 / SR-207 lineage to my ears. There's a certain directness to its sound compared to some of the more airy Lambdas, though it doesn't have that aggressive sound of the SR-507 (and I assume the L500 as well). The sound is very balanced and clean. Perhaps a wee bit bright on certain tracks, but then I didn't have a chance to let these "cook" for a few hours, so I'd expect they'd sound smoother after a while. Their greatest strength? They are some of the more musical and fun sounding Lambdas I've tried.

There's no question to my mind: if I had $700 to spend on a headphone and amp, the SRS-3100 would be at the top of my list.

In fact, there's a good chance I'm gonna pick an L300 up for myself (or maybe an SR-207).

 

@%20 Oddity
You listened to different tracks with the L300 and L700 though, yeah? That could go a long way toward explaining your preference for the L300. It's hard to say.

If I pick up an L300, I'll definitely spend some time directly A/Bing them with their more expensive siblings.

FWIW, the L700 seems to me like the best balanced Lambda since the original normal and pro bias models.

Either way the L300 is something special to be sure.