STAX anyone?

[Guest dragonboy]

Anyone tried this fantastic headphones?? I'm very happy with the performance but am slightly worried about it's lifespan with the humid weather in S'pore. I used to own a pair Magneplanars Maggie 3.3 but it broke down in less than 3 years. Considering the price I paid, I expected them to last much longer.

 

So before I start to add this new toy to my collection, anyone out there have any experience to share? And also the STAX amp.

[iggyting 0]

Haven't heard this Stax model yet. I am presently using the Stax 303/313 combo also. Yes the electrostatics are very clean and musical. But the usual complaints are that it is lacking in dynamic bass. And so it is a personal preference. I think the past electrostatics like QUAD and Magneplanars did have "arching problems" in this humid climate. However, I heard the Japanese have "designed this problem away" with the Stax range. The two-year combo is still working fine for me. Just don't hold me to it!

[jig_sg 0]

Have an O2 and bass is not a problem.

The O2 MKII sounds similar so bass should be aplenty...

 

 

[iggyting 0]

Actually, with a frequency response 7 - 40K Hz for the home range or 20 - 20k Hz for the portable, Stax earspeakers are more than adequate to cover the audible range in musical reproduction. In fact I find the bass extends lower than most, if not all, dynamic headphones. However, in musical materials which call for "punchy" bass (like rocks) the reproduction "booms" a little. Even for sustained lows (like in the Adagietto in Mahler's 5), I find the reproduction "mutters" - but only for a very transcient moment. Overall, the electrostatics reproductions are uniquely very satisfying and musical. Well, don't look for perfection. If you found it; time to give up HiFi.

[williecoin 0]

same concern~

iam also thinking of a stax(not such hi-end^),but how to keep it well?

[evilmerlin 0]

Put it in a dry cabinet?

[Pikachu 0]

I heard its very detailed but soundstage is bad is this true?

[Tubeman 0]

I have the Lambda Nova Signature (LNS) and the SRM T1s to drive it. I use bluenote koala tube with balanced output for the source. I find the sound clear, staging is wide and individual instruments easily identified with lots of space between them. Bass is deep and plentyfull as well - can vibrates my cheeks. At a different level I have the SRM 717 driving my Omega 2. This of course is a different level of enjoyment from my LNS. What I find amazing about stax is their ability to be able to focus on the individual instruments and the accuracy of the timbre.

[Guest dragonboy]

I have the Lambda Nova Signature (LNS) and the SRM T1s to drive it. I use bluenote koala tube with balanced output for the source. I find the sound clear, staging is wide and individual instruments easily identified with lots of space between them. Bass is deep and plentyfull as well - can vibrates my cheeks. At a different level I have the SRM 717 driving my Omega 2. This of course is a different level of enjoyment from my LNS. What I find amazing about stax is their ability to be able to focus on the individual instruments and the accuracy of the timbre.

I suppose your stax LNS is a collector's item ?

[kidult 0]

I have the Lambda Nova Signature (LNS) and the SRM T1s to drive it. I use bluenote koala tube with balanced output for the source. I find the sound clear, staging is wide and individual instruments easily identified with lots of space between them. Bass is deep and plentyfull as well - can vibrates my cheeks. At a different level I have the SRM 717 driving my Omega 2. This of course is a different level of enjoyment from my LNS. What I find amazing about stax is their ability to be able to focus on the individual instruments and the accuracy of the timbre.

after setter my desktop rig, I gotta treat myself a Stax

 

 

[Tubeman 0]

The LNS can still be bought from the used market. It has been out of production for many years. Getting a good one can be challenging though. I find that the LNS benefits from the 717 driving it as it is more laid back and the 717 has more power to bring out the dynamics. However, with the T1s the sound is more relaxed. Choice is really down to personal preference. With O2 the game is totally different. Power of the amp to drive it is the first issue before anything else. The 717 drives it comfortably so far to my ears. But this statement may not be accurate as I have not hear the O2 being driven by a more poeweful amp. On research, O2 can sound different with a more powerful amp. To really know, I placed an order for the Kelvin Gilmore Blue Hawaii Special Edition last week. This has been argued as the amp that can make the O2 really sing. Well, lets see when I get it ......NEXT JANUARY earliest!!!

Edited October 13, 2008 by Tubeman

[iggyting 0]

We all are eagerly waiting for your comments on the "Blue Hawaii". Tubeman, you are one lucky fellow. I mean with all the hell of a economic crisis let loose around us, you still can afford to sit pretty with your headspeakers chasing the 'blues' away.

 

On another topic, has a tube-driven dynamic headpone setup ever match a electrostatic one?

 

BTW, anyone know where to get alternative ear pads for Stax beside Kingsley? Any DIY alternative?

 

Thanks

[Tubeman 0]

We all are eagerly waiting for your comments on the "Blue Hawaii". Tubeman, you are one lucky fellow. I mean with all the hell of a economic crisis let loose around us, you still can afford to sit pretty with your headspeakers chasing the 'blues' away.

 

On another topic, has a tube-driven dynamic headpone setup ever match a electrostatic one?

 

BTW, anyone know where to get alternative ear pads for Stax beside Kingsley? Any DIY alternative?

 

Thanks

I have not previously owned dynamic headphones at the level of stax, so I cannot comment on the difference against electrostatic headphones. However, if you read the stax forum in headfi, many have stated that they have moved from dynamic headphones to electrostatics and stayed there since. This could just be a matter of opinion and best decided after extensive hearing of the both. I know that I am guilty of short circuiting the circuit by going straight to electrostatics.

 

For stax headphone pads you can email Craig at support@kuboten.com. He is a really nice guy to deal with. I find their prices cheaper than say - audiocubes, moon audio, eifi export home page etc. Kuboten is a Japanese company but I think Craig is not Japanese so communication in English is fine. Depending on which headphone you have, replacing the pads can get tricky but not impossible.

Edited October 14, 2008 by Tubeman

[jig_sg 0]

Hey Victor,

 

Perhaps we could meet up one day when your BHSE arrives and compare the original BH with the BHSE?

Hopefully, my BH arrives sooner.

[Tubeman 0]

Sure, will be happy to cross listen to each others BH/BHSE (which come in 2 boxes - one for the amp and one for the power supply). Justin told me that earliest I can get it is early next year. So as not to get my own hopes high I have adjusted my own expectations to say June 2009. Why is you BH taking so long to get to you?

Edited October 15, 2008 by Tubeman