One Day Ticket for Stax Galaxy - The STAX Compendium

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by sorrodje, Apr 27, 2016.

  1. JonCharles

    JonCharles Friend

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    @cocolinho Many thanks, I look forward to comparing these to the other Staxen. Depending on how they measure, I may have to quickly snag a pair.
     
  2. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    Got them and currently listening to Coco's L700. ;)
     
  3. cocolinho

    cocolinho Acquaintance

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    my pleasure.
    To be honnest I did not like them so much.
    I had the chance couple of years ago to listen SR007 MK2 on a tube amp (727 II I remember well) and I enjoyed immensely the moment.
    Few months ago I had the opportunity to buy for a very cheap price an old combo SR202/SRM212 which I also liked a lot , I believe it crushes many combo amp/headphones available under 1K. (I owned a big chunck of headphones under 1K available)
    So when I red the reviews about L700 being in middle ground between Omega & Lambda with some 009 techs I took the plunge & bought SR L700 blindly.
    But I think my SRM1/MK2 don't make them justice or I simply expected something different; they are probably very good but my own experience did not reach the level expected.
     
  4. Ali-Pacha

    Ali-Pacha Friend

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    Only two days with BHSE, and I have to say it really opens up the listening experience : details, clarity, impact, bass,...
    But SR007 are not the only ones to benefit from it : I wouldn't have thought there was so much potential in my normal bias phones :eek:

    Ali
     
  5. 3X0

    3X0 Friend

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    You may have one of the very few units with a normal bias jack. I believe even female HE90 jacks are far more common.

    AFAIK the bias voltage can be changed out of the PSU, so I might look at getting the bias changed on the second jack of my own unit at some point...

    I have to admit I'm pretty spoiled by the BHSE as well. Have you played around with the tubes yet?
     
  6. Ali-Pacha

    Ali-Pacha Friend

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    I've hesitated about the NB jack, but as you can see, I've three of them I like two of them a lot (SR-5 and Lambda NB), so...

    A raw picture of it for those allergic to head-fi :

    [​IMG]

    There are some minor flaws that show hand-made stuff (irregularities on the black coating mainly) and bothered me initially, matter of expectations vs reality...and OCD can be strong with me ! But all around, it's a really gorgeous piece of gear.

    About tubes, just inserted the Shugang treasures that come with it (I took the option, mainly for aesthetics reasons :D), and enjoying. I don't want to spend kilobucks in NOS (without any idea of their real lifetime) rarities. The Attorney on HF said Mesa-Boogie EL34 blu grade are the best for current production tubes, and two pairs are easily available for 140 €, I'll try that one day. As I said earlier on this thread, I'm a bit lazy, and not as analytical as Sorrodje for instance ;)

    Ali
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2016
  7. 3X0

    3X0 Friend

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    I'm quite meticulous about gear condition as well, and would have been far too irritated by the scratch on one of the tube rings. Would be a good gesture if you could get that ring itself refinished or exchanged.

    AFAIK the kilobuck NOS tubes are those Philips metal base EL34s that run ~$2k+ for a quad. I'd rather stop at some NOS Mullard XF2/XF4s for $350-600 from the right channels, but this is more for practicality and longevity than any fuss about the tube's sonic characteristics in particular.
     
  8. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    SR-507:

    FR
    SR507_FR.png

    FR Left and Right
    SR-507_FR Left &Right.png

    Distorsion Left
    SR507_Disto_Left.png

    Distorsion Right

    SR507_Disto_Right.png

    Waterfall Left

    SR507_Waterfall_Left.png

    Waterfall Right

    SR507_Waterfall_Right.png

    Spectro Left

    SR507_Spectro_Left.png

    Spectro Righ
    SR507_Spectro_Right.png

    IR Left
    SR507_IR_Left.png

    IR Right
    SR507_IR_Right.png


    Comments about measurements & short subjective impressions ( Sorrodje)

    Be careful with Distorsion measurements. Not perfect condtions and probably limited measurements rig explain all oddities.


    Third party measurements :

    Innerfidelity : http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSR507SE11049.pdf
     
  9. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    SR-L700:

    FR

    SR-L700_FR.png

    FR Left and Right

    SR_L700 FR Right & Left.png

    Distorsion Left

    SRL700_Distorsion_Left.png

    Distorsion Right

    SRL700_Distorsion_Right.png

    Waterfall Left

    SR_L700_Waterfall_L.png

    Waterfall Right

    SR_L700_Waterfall_R.png

    Spectro Left

    SR_L700_Spectro_L.png

    Spectro Righ

    SR_L700_Spectro_R.png

    IR Left

    SR_L700_IR_L.png

    IR Right

    SR_L700_IR_Right.png

    Comments about measurements & short subjective impressions ( Sorrodje)

    Be careful with Distorsion measurements. Not perfect condtions and probably limited measurements rig explain all oddities.

    Yup. Surprising bass Roll-off . Dunno why. Take it with a grain of salt. I can hear it when I listen to a Sweep tone But i'm still cautious and I'd prefer to see other measurements... Actually it measures like if i had a bad seal. And i can warrant the seal between the pad and the coupler is as perfect as other Stax measurements in this thread. Leaky enclosure by design ? no port I can see at least. This SR-L700 does not fart.. that should mean something about the imperfect seal. I highly suspect it's purposedly designed with a broken seal to improve bass quantity and that explains the slight impression of low-fi bass. Maybe I'm wrong or crazy.

    Distorsion seems a bit high in the low end as well but I'm cautious about my own distorsion measurements.

    I'll publish more pics and thoughts in the dedicated thread


    Third party measurements :
     
    Last edited: May 28, 2016
  10. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    SR-Omega


    FR

    SR_Omega_FR.jpg

    FR Left and Right

    SR Omega FR Left & right.jpg

    Distorsion Left

    SR-Omega Disto Left.jpg

    Distorsion Right

    SR-Omega Disto Right.jpg

    Waterfall Left

    SR-Omega CSD Left.jpg

    Waterfall Right

    SR-Omega CSD Right.jpg

    Spectro Left

    SR-Omega Spectro Left.jpg

    Spectro Right


    SR-Omega Spectro Right.jpg

    SR009 vs SR-Omega

    FR SR Omega vs SR009.jpg

    SR007 vs SR Omega
    FR SR Omega vs SR007.jpg

    Subjective impressions :

    Didn't listen to that one. Maybe @3X0 will be happy to give his impressions. It Seems what we measured is somewhat in line with what he hears. :)
     
    Last edited: Nov 8, 2016
  11. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    For the record. @Marvey 's Legacy Changstar measurement of the SR-Omega :

    FR
    SR-O fR.txt28bf.jpg

    CSD left
    SR-O L.txtb4db.jpg

    CSD Right
    SR-O R.txt6935.jpg
     
  12. MuppetFace

    MuppetFace Sultana of Seafoam Green - Moderator

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    To me, subjectively, the SR-009 is more of a true Omega successor than the SR-007 is. The Omegas have exceptional midrange---maybe my favorite of The Big Three---but the top end is a little fatiguing for me unless I'm pairing it with one of the more easy going Stax amps. Exceptional clarity, tight bass.
     
  13. 3X0

    3X0 Friend

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    By big three do you mean Omega/007/009 or Omega/HE90/R10? :p In all earnesty I'm not a huge fan of the 007 or 009.

    @sorrodje's superimposition of the 009 vs. Omega is exactly how I hear them -- most robust, visceral and complete bass out of any electrostatic I've heard, significantly more airy and open-sounding (even though 009 is no slouch), and more natural sounding overall. Also IME more resolving than the 009 or HE90 by a hair, though the latter makes an interesting bedfellow.

    Easily my favorite headphones by a long shot -- to the point I'm considering collecting backup pairs.:confused:
     
  14. MuppetFace

    MuppetFace Sultana of Seafoam Green - Moderator

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    I mean the Big Three of the Staxen: Omega / 007 / 009.

    The SR-007mk1 is my favorite of the group, because I personally find the Omega and especially the 009 a bit too bright for extended listening unless you pair them with warmer upstream gear. A lot of folks feel the 007 is too dark, but that suits me just fine for extended listening.

    I do prefer the Omega to the 009 hands down. That's why I've got two pairs and no SR-009. :p
     
  15. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    From what I heard at your place and a few days later when Milos let me borrow his DIY clone, you should take a seat in the waiting list of people who want to hear it :p
     
  16. Ali-Pacha

    Ali-Pacha Friend

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    That's a listening session I'll have to do someday |\/|

    Ali
     
  17. stratocaster

    stratocaster Friend

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    Just for the record, I did some work on my SR-303 ...

    This is how the SR-303 measures on my rig:
    303_stock.png

    Tried some modifications:
    First: Stripped HD800 pads from any plastic and replaced the Stax pads with them -- see magenta plot
    stock_vs_800pads.png

    Second: Removed disintegrated foam behind the driver. Replaced it with some very thin felt and supported the dust-protection membrane behind the driver with a 2mm felt disk: see yellow plot
    stock_vs_800pads_vsfullmods.png

    This baby sounds very smooth and mellow now.
    303.jpg
     
  18. Ali-Pacha

    Ali-Pacha Friend

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  19. Bagged Milk

    Bagged Milk Friend

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  20. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    Did someone measured the L300? Also with L500 and L700 earpads for comparison VS stock measurements.

    I'm really interested on buying one from Ebay (Japan imported, saves me almost 100€ with the included taxes and shipping), but there are no measurements and practically everyone complains about the stock earpads, would like to know if L500/L700 earpads degrade/improve sound quality apart from comfort.
     

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