Headphones

[Ducatista47]

Precautions? Just keep wet hair and that Vics VapoRub away from them. Great aquisition! Good other models from the same family to look for are the SRX-Mk IIIs (Monitors, bass light but you can hear everything on the recording. Scary.) and the SR-5N. The latter has the same drivers but more bass and big, soft earcups. And a much more forgiving presentation. Really, really fun to listen to. Just mentioning them because you seem to be really good at finding gear.

Why didn't we turn you on to Stax sooner? You don't find Stax. They find you. Then you're a gonner.

[SEAWOLF97]

Precautions? Just keep wet hair and that Vics VapoRub away from them. Great aquisition! Good other models from the same family to look for are the SRX-Mk IIIs (Monitors, bass light but you can hear everything on the recording. Scary.) and the SR-5N. The latter has the same drivers but more bass and big, soft earcups. And a much more forgiving presentation. Really, really fun to listen to. Just mentioning them because you seem to be really good at finding gear.

Why didn't we turn you on to Stax sooner? You don't find Stax. They find you. Then you're a gonner.

thanx for the reply Clark , I was hoping that you'd find my post. They got moved yesterday to my "more often used" listening station on the Technics integrated amp and seem quite happy there. The testing place in the living room was fine, but I'm not out there very much.

This is the same system with the ESS AMT 10b's and is fed by an Audigy 2-ZS card , it all sounds great. I have the OHM F's (1 of 3 systems in the LR) and looking at the big picture , it appears that non-conventional gear appeals to me. Had always been interested in 'statics.

I've gone through more cans in my life than any normal 10 people combined and can't believe how much time got wasted by not starting with Stax. Better late than never , I guess. These SR-3's CAN be too revealing on the wrong material , but am sure enjoying them. Will keep an eye out for the SR-5N's.

Had read that Stax has reverted back from the rectangular Lambdas to the round transducers again on their TOTL ($5K) Sr-9's and more modern ones.

Take care .. (which models are you using ?? )

[Hoerninger]

Why didn't you guys turn me on to these earlier ??

In this speaker forum we have talked about electrostatic headphones before .
Havn't you been on speaker safari?
(It is said my Micro Seiki is a Stax.)
____________
Peter

[SEAWOLF97]

In this speaker forum we have talked about electrostatic headphones before .
Havn't you been on speaker safari?
(It is said my Micro Seiki is a Stax.)
____________
Peter

Well Peter , I may have just learned something new.....Googled and found

mx-5

"They're one of the rarest 'stats, so they're almost worth owning soley for that. I believe they were made for Micro Seiki by Stax way back when (late 70s? early 80s?). I'm not sure what voltage bias they use, but they should be able to be rigged up to a standard Stax amp."

http://www.head-fi.org/t/157471/micr...orth-obtaining

how are they ? do you think they are rebranded SR-5's ?

Safari is dying ,, slowly. But happy with the tube CD buffer/filter/amp that I got last Sunday ... see >> http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...l=1#post361058

[Hoerninger]

mx-5
how are they ? do you think they are rebranded SR-5's ?

Tom, their appearance is extremely similar.
Have in mind the MX-5 uses an electret foil, the SR-5 uses an dedicated 250 volt HV as the MX-1 does.
(The MX-1 consists of the headset MS-2 and the power source MP-1. The latter has two audio trannies and a HV unit – multivibrator with 9 volt batterie driving a small tranny)
The SR-5 and the MX-1 seem to be equivalent, but I have no dedicated information.
Added: The Micro Seiki MS-2 has a tricky bias circuitry via the signal leads without bias pin .

In practice he micro Seikis MX-1 and MX-5 are sonically the same. I have driven both with a dedicated solid state HV amp.

Safari is dying ,, slowly. But happy with the tube CD buffer/filter/amp...

What about a HV amp without audio trannies for the Stax? This would give an extra kick.
I remember Santana Abraxas this way.

You are smart enough to obtain the unobtainable.
___________
Peter

[SEAWOLF97]

You are smart enough to obtain the unobtainable.
___________
Peter

not sure about that, but I do keep my eyes open , as does my record selling son. We have amassed some fun gear. If I can play with it a while, get some experience and then pass it along to another appreciator with a little profit , seems like a "win-win" . Nobody ever bargains the prices with me ,,, I just sell too cheap.

I went on an eBay selling spree a couple of years back , sold approx. 15 pairs of good cans (AKG ,Senns, Fostex etc, etc) ...so now I'm down to only under 10 pairs (including the new Stax) around the house ,,,, mostly Sennheisers.

(and 5 bikes , many many records , 5 complete stereo systems) .... oh geeze, hope I'm not a hoarder ???

What about a HV amp without audio trannies for the Stax? This would give an extra kick.

___________
Peter

the Stax are pushed through speaker outputs from your amp , I THINK that the transformers in the SRD-5 are mainly for keeping the cans charged up ?

[SEAWOLF97]

.
Ok, I hooked up the Stax to my livingroom system , sounded great ..... but I'm not out there much.
Spend more time in the bedroom/computer room/office , so I wired them into the PC . There was a low level grunge that I didn't feel like chasing down.
Also listen a lot in the rack. Yesterday I connected them into my 15wpc headphone -headboard- amp * which takes 2 AUX inputs. Now I can plug any handy DAP** in and through to the Stax.

*Yamaha yst-99
** iPod , NetMD or Nexus 7

Today I tested with Pandora streaming through the nexus. Very nice.
First thing played was "California Dreaming" ...detail that I was unaware of .... either "pre-echo" (a la LZ) or tape print thru on about 3 seconds. hmmm

Then they played Iron Butterfly "IAGDV" LIVE .. Wow the drum is even more impressive on the LIVE version .. sound was giving me goose bumps... and from 1970 headphones.

These must have been the absolute pinnacle of their times. Can't imagine anything else from that era that was even close

Precautions? Just keep wet hair and that Vics VapoRub away from them.

I just turned 65 and the better half is close behind .... she calls Vics VapoRub or Icey Hot ......"old peoples perfume"

[Ducatista47]

I've gone through more cans in my life than any normal 10 people combined and can't believe how much time got wasted by not starting with Stax. Better late than never , I guess. These SR-3's CAN be too revealing on the wrong material , but am sure enjoying them. Will keep an eye out for the SR-5N's.

Had read that Stax has reverted back from the rectangular Lambdas to the round transducers again on their TOTL ($5K) Sr-9's and more modern ones.

Take care .. (which models are you using ?? )

The rectangular models are still produced and are updated from time to time. My current workhorse is an SR-007 Omega II pair. The large, round Omega series has been the top dog for two decades. Newest is the SR-009, widely held to be the best headphone in the World. It had better be at five thousand dollars. The Omegas are not well served by the transformer boxes and need dedicated electostatic voltage amps, also expensive. A link to a history page for the brand. https://www.staxusa.com/History.html

The transformer boxes are to convert voltage up and to supply a bias voltage to the diaphrams. The dedicated amps output the high voltage audio signal directly and now produce double the old bias voltage. They would fry the older models. When you see tubes in such an amp they are there to supply the high voltage. The preamp stage will be FET. My amp has been modified by a gentleman in Iceland to better handle the voltages. He also used to supply boards to upgrade the transformer boxes. I bought some and modded some boxes for some friends some years ago. It was a big improvement. All to say that your phones, as great as they sound, are not operating at anywhere near their full potential. Since you can already hear edits and mistakes in some recordings, you might not want to proceed down that road. Surprisingly, the SR-007 IIs are rather forgiving. I don't know why, I just enjoy them without further curiosity about that issue.

My current speakers sound spectacular, but the Omegas easily reveal more detail than they can. The old SRX-III would do the same. In answer to a question at a forum at the recent AXPONA show in Chicago, Chris Martens, the publisher of HI-Fi+ and a World headphone expert, said that a fifty dollar headphone would beat ordinary speakers for sound quality and detail; that $200 would best many expensive rigs; and that the top rung headphone systems at 12-16K will surpass any hyperexpensive speaker rig in everything but spatial imaging. I know that $12K or so will net the best Stax/Headamp rig there is. Beware the guys on Head-Fi; most are fools. Chris Martens has actually heard all the stuff, many times. He is a great guy, by the way. It was wonderful to speak with him.

Also by the way, I am sixty-six and generic CVS ibuprofen is my weapon of choice. Bad knees. I work out a lot so that I can still move.

[SEAWOLF97]

BTW, gizmodo had an interesting article on the (now dead) relationship between Monster Cable and Dr. Dre's Beats headphones - it's a good read:
http://gizmodo.com/5981823/beat-by-d...lost-the-world

Beats new owners ?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,2523756.story

(Reuters) - Apple Inc is close to buying headphone maker Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion, the Financial Times reported.

The purchase of Beats, which also runs a streaming music service, would be Apple's largest ever acquisition, the newspaper reported. It said the deal could be announced as early as next week. (http://r.reuters.com/cap77v)

Founded by rapper Dr. Dre and music producer Jimmy Iovine, Beats Electronics primarily produces products under the brand "Beats by Dr. Dre" and competes with headphones made by Skullcandy Inc, Sennheiser Electronic and Bose Corp.

jeeze, how did Sennheiser get lumped in with that gang ??

Bad knees. I work out a lot so that I can still move.

I got into cycling to help with bad knee & ankle (a souvenir from The Canoe Club experience) , now it's part of my life and I strive to ride 365. Luckily I'm in a town where audio & records , bikes, coffee and beer dominate our culture. (and we have no water shortages)

[ratitifb]

jeeze, how did Sennheiser get lumped in with that gang ??

[Don C]

My $50 headphone suggestion is JVC HARX900. I bought a pair of these after reading glowing reviews over at Head-fi.org. They are large, an around the ear desgn. The phones are heavier than some, but the the ear cups are nice and soft and comfortable. The head band doesn't press hard anywhere. They are semi-open, they let some sound from the outside in. They sound great. I used to love my Koss Pro4 AAA, but the JVCs beat them on everything.

[SEAWOLF97]

Has anybody tried the JBL Synchros ?

JBL by Harman - Synchros S700 - Premium Powered Over-Ear Stereo Headphones - $349

http://www.amazon.com/JBL-Synchros-S...pr_product_top

I read the reviews , many described them as "bass heavy" , most likely inspired by Beats.

[JBLAddict]

after reading endless reviews, will to spend up to 400$, I ended selecting and returning the open back, incredibly detailed for bass-lacking Grado SR80i
http://www.amazon.com/Grado-Prestige...ds=grado+sr80i

And ended up going with closed back, much better balanced, with magnificent mid/highs, and IMO huge bargain, Audio Technica ATH-M50 which has stunning reviews across the net without any negatives I could read about. Really happy with these and don't think a 400$ investment for the "next level" Senheiser, JBL, or AKG, or Audio Technica would provide a noticeable return

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica...chnica+ath-m50

[SEAWOLF97]

And ended up going with closed back, much better balanced, with magnificent mid/highs, and IMO huge bargain, Audio Technica ATH-M50 which has stunning reviews across the net without any negatives I could read about. Really happy with these and don't think a 400$ investment for the "next level" Senheiser, JBL, or AKG, or Audio Technica would provide a noticeable return

Glad you found something that works for you. I have heard other models of AT's that were very impressive and did run across many recommendations for the M50.

Give us a review after you have had them a while. What went wrong on the Grado's ?

[JBLAddict]

Glad you found something that works for you. I have heard other models of AT's that were very impressive and did run across many recommendations for the M50.

Give us a review after you have had them a while. What went wrong on the Grado's ?

the grado have the open back, so everything I could hear, everyone around me could hear at just about the same SPL. from what I understand, that design method really brings the "air" in "airy highs" which it definitely delivered, but comes with that consequence, as well as bass that was sorely lacking. I know the 80i is low cost Grado headphone but for what the AT delivered for a few bucks more it wasn't a contest. For reference, during my D66000, 4338, K29900, LS, 4600 extravaganza in Japan in 2009 I did spend a few hours in a headphone shop listening to $1K wood Grado among all the other "big brands" and really had a hard time understanding what you got for the money, unlike the Everest where it exceeded even my wildest hopes by orders of magnitude.