Stax electrostatic headphones

[Westmalle]

Does anyone knows these headphones?
How do they sound compared to Beyerdynamic DT 990 pro?

Welcome to STAX Earspeaker

[Westmalle]

STAX electrostatic earspeakers are widely used throughout the world by discerning audiophiles, professional musicians, and recording companies to enjoy and monitor sound. This is because of the superb sonic quality of STAX electrostatic earspeakers. In general, better sound quality is available with earspeakers than with loudspeaker systems due to several factors.

sounds interesting...

[David Spearritt]

My recording partner has some Stax with a little valve amp and I have the 990 Pro's. The Stax leave the Beyers in the dust. There is no comparison. We also have HD650's, 770Pros and Sony HD25's. None of them come close.

[Westmalle]

Great!!
Can you tell us which type of Staxs he ownes ?

[boojum]

Many years ago AUDIO tested the Etymotic ER4 and found it unrivalled except for the Stax Lambda Pro 4, which came in about three or four thousand dollars higher in cost. You may want to ask around about the Etymotics. They are in-ear, which some folks do not like, but are remarkable in their quality of sound. I bought mine as a result of the article and still use them. As usual, YMMV.

[Corran]

People actually buy $4000 headphones?

[Westmalle]

Stax SR-4070 Pro-Monitor headphones : details
this could be very interesting for monitoring while standing close the the musicians.

[wildpark]

i own the sr404 srm 006 combo

iam playing in mind with the 4k solution cuz i travel around and can pic up my 80qm roomacoustics in my pocked .

the closed headphones stax4070 are beside the best what i heard yed

[David Spearritt]

Originally Posted by Westmalle

Great!!
Can you tell us which type of Staxs he ownes ?

Not sure exactly, that's why I didn't post it initially. But the earspeakers are the square looking ones (Lamdas I think) and the preamp is the valve one. They are about 10 years old now. I am not sure they are current models.

[Westmalle]

SRS-2050II with SR-202 earspeaker and SRM-252 MKII amp cost € 799,00

4070 system 4070 + SRM-007tII costs € 3.999,00

Is there a big difference ?

Is the SRS-2050II killing my Beyer DT990 ??

[David Spearritt]

Is the SRS-2050II killing my Beyer DT990 ??

Yep. My partners Stax were the cheap ones at the time.

[wildpark]

Originally Posted by David Spearritt

Yep. My partners Stax were the cheap ones at the time.

dt990 man just go in a pro audio shop and test booth beside

then sale you grandma too own the huge stax ones e

[Westmalle]

Anyone to comment on the differences between the very expensive Stax, and their cheaper ones??

[Sounds Great]

Electrostatic headphones have been around for a while. I owned some made by Audio Technica in the early 80's. I think it was an AT-7 or something. The had a special cable and a converter box which hooked to the speaker outputs, not a headphone output. Very excellent sound. However, they did fall victim to the dreaded lack of bass that most electostatic speakers seem to have a problem with. I would love to hear the Stax, especially how they handle bass.

I notice the specs show frequency response down to 6 or 7 hz for some of their phones, which is not possible for headphones or most speakers.

[boojum]

IIRC the Stax Lambda Pro 4 was developed for Mercedes to listen to sounds recorded within the bodies of their autos. They were designed to play back low, very low (8 Hz) sounds. MB was testing for odd and unsettling sounds we perceive but do not hear. This would mean they can handle those pedal note just fine.

[Westmalle]

Well, I do not need loud volumes or extensive bass, because I only listen to classical music.

[mpdonahue]

I've had a pair of Lambda Pros on my night table for almost 20 years. I bought them back then for a song as the professional accommodation was very reasonable.
The current 404 signature is, to my ears, identical in every way to the Lambda Pros.
My set that I take on the road have the old Lambda energizer and a new pair of 404 ear speakers.
WRT the low frequency performance, they are VERY good in the bottom octaves. I often use them for checking for LF shifts in edits that my speakers don't reveal.
All the best,
-mark

[mpdonahue]

Originally Posted by Westmalle

Well, I do not need loud volumes or extensive bass, because I only listen to classical music.

Hmmm.....
Most of the classical stuff that I record has wide dynamic range and plenty of bottom octave energy. Seems to me that a set of phones with plenty of headroom and good LF performance are actually the right tool for the job.
As always, YMMV.
All the best,
-mark

[Westmalle]

Well, I ordered the Earspeaker System: SRS-2050II (Basic system)

RS-2050II Basic SystemII
SR-202 + SRM-252 MKII

[boojum]

I doubt that you will be disappointed. But do tell us how you like them, please. And happy listening to you!

[Westmalle]

Originally Posted by boojum

I doubt that you will be disappointed. But do tell us how you like them, please. And happy listening to you!

thank you boojum.
I joined in on a headphones forum and got this response :

Quote:
Originally Posted by westmalle
<<Hi everybody,

I would like to know if somebody compared the Beyerdynamic DT990pro with the Stax RS-2050II Basic SystemII.
I would like to buy it, but only if it is a real improvement.>>

I have both systems and can attest that the 2050II will give you a totally different take on what you are hearing with the 990pro. The amount of detail from the Stax is incredible while remaining very musical and lifelike. You will get all of the midrange that you are missing with the 990 pro.

I find the 2050II to be the best value in the Stax line. While I like my 4040II system a bit more, it is amazing how close the 2050II is considering it's almost 1/3 the cost of the 4040II. This reinforces the fact that high-end audio is a lesson on the law of diminishing returns. That said, I am contemplating the purchase of an SR-007MkII right now!

[mohthom]

Just loaded up a page for a UK dealer and I saw the price was £59 - and was tempted

















until I realised that was only for the cable



MohThoM

[Westmalle]

Here the RS-2050II Basic SystemII (SR-202 + SRM-252 MKII) costs
€ 799,00 = £ 633 = US$ 1258

[Phil Cibley]

I own a pair of "bottom of the line" SR 34s, and they are incredibly transparent
and detailed. These are my go to phones when I am checking for tiny imperfections
and details in a mix. The drawback is that they are pretty uncomfortable and I can
only wear them for about 20min to 1/2 hour.

[wildpark]

just a short search in ebay offers me.

STAX SR-007 Omega-II Electrostatic Headphones Omega-2 - eBay (item 220220724669 end time Apr-08-08 10:54:09 PDT)

1499 us for the headphone and the regular used pres are for around 800 us in ebay

means 2999 us dollar

WHAT WILL YOU MORE !

beside toprange studio speackers its not a highbill in my books

just playing with the idea too sale my genelecs next week

[Stefanizzi]

Originally Posted by Westmalle

Does anyone knows these headphones?
How do they sound compared to Beyerdynamic DT 990 pro?

Welcome to STAX Earspeaker

...Simply there's no comparison (at least for the classical). Make a test for yourself!
Stax aren't common headphones, they are earspeaker. Since I discovered it, six years ago, I couldn't work with anything else.

Regards

[Westmalle]

Originally Posted by wildpark

just a short search in ebay offers me.

STAX SR-007 Omega-II Electrostatic Headphones Omega-2 - eBay (item 220220724669 end time Apr-08-08 10:54:09 PDT)

1499 us for the headphone and the regular used pres are for around 800 us in ebay

means 2999 us dollar

WHAT WILL YOU MORE !

beside toprange studio speackers its not a highbill in my books

just playing with the idea too sale my genelecs next week

Thanks, but I can't afford more than 900 euro.

[boojum]

Originally Posted by Westmalle

Here the RS-2050II Basic SystemII (SR-202 + SRM-252 MKII) costs
€ 799,00 = £ 633 = US$ 1258

USD750 at the Stax site in the US.