STAX SR-202 / SRM-212 loaner impressions

Thought I'd make a thread for everyone to post their impressions in. Seems like @stratocaster quite liked it.

Over the days I listened to this little combo on my GO450, Gungnir DS and my dad's TT setup (VPI Classic 1, Lyra Delos, Restek MRIA+). I compared it mostly against my Leckerton UHA-6s mk2 + HD600 combo, because the Rag/HD800 rig really isn't a fair comparison.

My measurements are here: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/stax-sr-202-srm-212-measurements.3608/

• Hum, like from a ground loop. Goes away when touching the amp case.
• Immediately way too bright for me. This gives it a fake sharpness. Not good. Sounds like a screeching resonance in the worst possible spot for me (sounds like 8-9kHz). Think UERM except 5 times worse.
• Has that stereotypical stat sound. Depending on your preferences this could be its only redeeming quality. Very clean, clear and fast sound.
• Despite this I actually think the HD800 sounds clearer.
• Midrange tonality is seriously fucked up, but this is normal with STAX. Voices and natural instruments sound ridiculous.
• Can't get a good seal, so there's some midbass hump. If I'm lucky this is at about 50-60Hz, which is already pretty low. Bass quality seems to be in between the HD600 and HD800, but closer to HD800. I do think the HD800 has a more textured and most importantly more impactful bass that reaches deeper.
• Serious lack of dynamics, both micro and macro. I guess a good deal of this is from the amp. Very boring sounding.
• Lacks impact/slam across the board. Despite being very bright, cymbal attacks or guitar plucks sound overly rounded and smooth. Very weird combination. It's almost as if STAX tried to cover up the shitty dynamics by making it super bright.
• The lack of slam with the SR-202 makes the HD600 have a more fun bass presentation, despite being more distorted. HD600 slams more. HD800 slams more than both.
• Lacks a good deal of plankton. From the impressions that I read I expected it to outresolve the HD600, but this really didn't seem to be the case. HD800 just wipes the floor with it. Ambient information and instrument decay just gets lost in the mix. This also adds a fake sense of clarity/removes grain.
• Soundstage size seems decent. Sense of openness on HD600 level.
• EQ doesn't help a ton with the midrange tonality. The 1.5kHz emphasis goes away, but it feels like there's a resonance that stays. Same thing with the 9kHz resonance.
• Switching the absolute polarity does help a bit with the imaging and lack of impact, but not a great ton. I still don't get why STAX phones are wired with inverted polarity. Even the Senn stats are inverted.
• Imaging seems nebulous. I can't pin-point where sounds are coming from. It also feels very 2-dimensional, lacking depth.
• I feel like it's tonally limited. Everything sounds the same. Like it imparts this fake sound to everything.
• It's disappointing how little it scales with the TT setup. Seriously. The Sennheisers just elevate to the next level and the SR-202 hardly shows a difference.
• Despite all the other shit the brightness was what got to me the most. I tried different cables, simple mods (piece of felt over the driver) and nothing seemed to help enough to make it long-term listenable without limiting my listening levels. My HD800 has a much smoother treble. The SR-202 kills you with sibilance on MJ's Beat it.

Other stuff:

• Comfort isn't that good with the Lambdas. The metal driver protection mesh touches my ears. The earpads get sweaty after some time.
• Feels cheap. Squeaks when chewing chewing gum.

In sum I'd take the HD600 over the SR-202 any day. Two of my favourite live albums are the Alice in Chains and Nirvana MTV Unplugged albums. Those sound very wrong on the SR-202.


Simple mod:

I remembered that I still had the HE60 pads somewhere. The HE60 pads are made for stats to fix the lack of body/rising response after 1kHz, so this seemed like a great choice. Those pads are the reason why the Senn stats have a good FR. I also tried the HD600 pads, but preferred the HE60 pads. With the HD600 pads you have to remove the plastic ring which is a huge PITA to put in again. You can also do it like spritzer and ruin your HE90 by putting inferior Lambda drivers into them.
I added the measurements to the measurement thread.

• Looks dorky now. Whatever, the SR-Lambdas look dorky anyway.
• HE60 pads give better results than EQ.
• I actually really like the midrange tonality this way. There's still a hint of that 1.5kHz resonance, but it's nowhere near as bad.
• Still very bright. I added the HD600 foam which reduces the brightness to levels I can manage. Also slightly less 1kHz this way.
• This also means there's good warmth now. Ever so slightly U-shaped FR.
• Treble is actually smoother now. It still has a Lambda timbre to it.
• I can get a good seal now I think. No midbass hump and it farts when I press on it a little. Subbass seems to roll off a little which is in the nature of the pads. I get more extension with the HD800.
• Much better comfort. My ears now longer touch the driver cover.
• Can't really tell if the imaging got better. Probably a bit.
• Still limited in terms of technicalities by the Lambda driver.
• Tonality reminds me a little of the HE90 now. The Lambda driver still has more mid-treble sharpness, but otherwise very neutral. You could say this is a dirt cheap way to get a taste of the Orpheus sound, but you could say the same thing about the HD6X0
• The stat speed coupled with good tonality is actually quite addictive.

With the HE60 pads it's more a matter of personal preference between the SR-202 and the HD600. I think I'd still take the HD600 over it, but I actually think I prefer the SR-202 tonally now. Keep in mind that I also prefer my modded HD800 to the HD600 tonally, though.