ablaze 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 postman came by today and look what he brought! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ablaze 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 more pics the amp's HUGE! can't really tell from online pictures,but in real life, that thing's huge! lighter for size comparison Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ablaze 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 pic from the front earspeakers are as blardy ugly as the pics suggest though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ablaze 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 (edited) alright, down to the nitty-gritty. build quality: earspeakers look DAMN crappy. they FEEL damn crappy too! argh. generous use of plastic all over the place. feels cheap, plasticky goddamit..these cost $800++ locally ok. the one saving grace is the amp. thats on the opposite end of the scale. looks real good, with a champagne gold face plate that'll match the other contemporary hifi gear you might have the thing weighs 2.9kg too! woo. dial's nice and big, about 3cm in diameter, and tracks VERY smoothly an interesting feature is that the dial's actually two dials in one. ie. its like one smaller dial, sitting on a bigger dial behind it, and the front dial controls the left channel, and the rear dial the right channel. but the rear channel dial's kinda tight with the front dial, so unless you're actively trying to adjust the rear dial, normal turning will turn both dials as one. neat sound: ok. don't do too good with sonic reviews, so I won't try to delve too deep into the sound. but i'll offer my impressions thus far. generally, my feeling towards the Staxes is quite positive. What struck me first was the soundstage. Its really wider than anything I've had the luxury of listening in my own home, even my CD3000s! nice! and imaging's very good IMO, when they're two voices, I hear two distinct voices, instruments are distinctly heard apart. no mashing together of sounds. Another plus is the famed Stax resolution. I wouldn't say its resolution per se (at least I can't detect it, see later), but IMO, I find that the Staxes are really good at retrieving the minutest ambient detail, such that you really hear the kind of environment the recording was done in. needless to say, live recordings are very nice indeed. treble-wise: it reproduces cymbals and string instruments very nicely. some people find that Staxes have this 'etch' to it, but for me, I don't find it anything worthy of mention. Guitar sound nice and real to me. perhaps some will find it too metallic, but I like it! heh. I don't find the Staxes bright at all. In fact, I think they're a lil dark for my tastes (wondering if I should've gone for the SR-303 instead..) but then..I generally have a higher tolerance of 'bright' than most voices sound nice and real, sometimes so real its palpable. don't find anything outstanding in the midrange though..maybe I'm just not a vocal fan. now down to the bass: I'd liken the bass on the Staxes to the Ety bass. its all there, but no visceral impact. no air being pushed into your ear kind of feel. but its tight, without flab, and its allll there. For those who've heard the Etys, you should know what I'm talking about. EDIT: hey! after a lil burn-in/warm-up/whatever, the bass's appeared! definitely non-Ety-like. visceral! I retract that statement. damn, the system got warmer too. ok..lets see what happens with more burn-in... Oh another thing I should mention is the Staxes speed. top-notch! instruments start and stop without any delay. very quick!Overall, I like the Stax sound. definitely something thats finally different enough sounding than the usual cans I've heard complaints: this is the part where I wish I didn't have to write but I think for me, if I let go of the combo in the future, it'll be precisely cos of the sole reason that..they don't isolate one bit! shucks. I was hoping for a lil more isolation, but its as bad as I feared. Just like the Etys are on one end of the scale, the Staxes must fall in the other end. I can hear EVERYTHING with the Staxes on. the whine of my computer (can't usually hear it with my Sony CD3000s, on my bed, a few metres away), my loud aircon compressor (its a window-unit thats why) I snap my finger beside my ear, and it sounds just the same as if I weren't wearing any cans at all! crap. probably losing some resolution too anyway, as a caveat to those reading. Please take all my opinions with a light pinch of salt. What I hear may not be what you hear, and what I like may not be what you like (or hate). so there you are, my humble newbie opinions ps. for those interested, the SRM-313 costs I think $980, and the SR-404 $880 (at Kingsley at least ). killer prices Edited June 5, 2003 by ablaze Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matbon0013 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 Wow! I'm not worthy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blues 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 the earspeaker looks damn ugly.. but the amp looks very nice though nice review blaze!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fishball79 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 Have you tried rock with the Stax??? Wanna know how bad it sounds Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ablaze 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 guyferd: I wouldn't call it a review. I'd call it "first impressions". not 'qualified' enough to post a review fishball: rock? hmm..Eagles' Hell Freezes Over ok? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fishball79 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 ablaze, hahahah that about answers my question man... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northern Oak 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 ablaze, Please be patient! We wouldn't want to see you changing that often. Cheers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ablaze 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 you mean you want to hear the Staxes when the meet comes round? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
evil-zen 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 yea i certainly do! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rameish 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 Nice Ablaze, Let everthing settle in and burn in before you decide to do anything okay. Did you manage to wire it up for 230.240 or are you using the step down trans. Bring it over quick. Once again congratulations on your new baby. We knew you were looking at Stax just didn't know which ones. Happy Listening. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northern Oak 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 you mean you want to hear the Staxes when the meet comes round? Waaa ... ablaze, you know me so well! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blues 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 what's next blaze? omega II perhaps? ekekekekke... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
