Is the 300 LTD even still available? The 300 limited edition is said to be very close to the L700s which cost way more, if you can find them. Nice first review, I look forward to your next Stax review. Oh and I feel they are best when used with a good R2R dac. Lastly, I believe the word you kept looking for to describe the sound was, “expansive”. 🎧
Only on the used market. I buy most of my gear used. The L300 LTD tend to come up for sale every few months for around $650-$750. The L700 upgrades can be purchased directly from staxaudio.com
Very similar FR, but L700 still have more speed, more soundstage. But Lambda models are harsh, you cannot listen loud, the sound is intense. You can hear everything even at very low volume, even the bass is very distinct when playing at low volume, you don't need to crank it up to hear bass. STAX gives a sensation like hearing sound without ears, because it doesn't have a weight/hardness to the sound. This means you will hear bass, but you won't feel it, but that's across all frequencies, hearing but not feeling. That's why 007 line is more easier to listen. I cannot listen everyday on my L700, as a owner of DT1990/HD800.
L300 LTD and L700 have different sound signatures. Same technology but tuned different. It's a preference what you will like the most. I've had L700Mk2 and I returned them. L300 LTD are so much more joy to my ears. Your ears could be different.
Great review thanks for posting i've subscribed and looking forward to more Stax / Electrostatic reviews ... a question what amp / energiser did you use to feed these ?
Thanks for the positive feedback. I've listened to them with a stock STAX SRM-T1, a SRM-007tA that's been heavily reworked by Mjölnir-Audio, and transformer box with various speaker amps. All had enough power to drive them. I'll be reviewing the group in an upcoming video.
Good review thanks. I’m an old fart with a collection of vintage Stax’s earspeakers and energisers as well as amplifiers dating back to my first pair of SR-5 to my last purchase the SR-L300 Limited Editions that I love equally for different reasons. Because I’m unfortunately loosing some of the higher frequency range it doesn’t make much sense to purchase any if the new or higher end Stax earspeakers like 009 or X9000’s as I couldn’t hear much more. However I have discovered that the biggest improvements come from what’s behind the earspeakers ie: source, DAC and preamplifier etc. This is where the real difference and improvements can be made in sound quality or in my case adjustments to what I can actually hear. For me there are no other headphones/earspeakers out there that do what Stax do, to what I listen to. Thoroughly enjoyed your TH-cam video today and on the SR-007’s. Keep up the good work and enjoy the music. Ps I have upgraded the pads on my L300L Edition’s and will upgrade the headband eventually as well.
Great review. I own a pair and they are by far my favourite. I would say they are like 4k while other headphones are more like CRT television. Sure, other headphones may have all kind of interesting enjoyable colours. But when it comes to resolution and how proper they are: Stax really are in its own league. I heard some people saying: they do not sound natural. Here I would argue: well yes, but no headphone really sounds natural. Reason why we think dynamic driver is more natural is just because we are used to it. I think trying to sound like reality is not even most interesting goal. Some sounds you can hear even better then in real life, like seeing detail with macro lens, some sound gets distorted in a good and some in a bad way depending on a song or genre... I would say: just enjoy the experience. Ah, and you can make L300 Limited even better, much better: The ear pads they come with are very bad. You can 3d print or make in some other way: the ear pad holder and play around with different pads. Doing this can give you much more open sound, they can have more bass. And you can adjust how bright they are. I have quite a bit of soft foam inside since I do not like high tones too much. By doing this I eliminated any harshness that bothered me.
Thanks for all the tips and feedback! I agree that trying to achieve perfect fidelity is not the most critical aspect of the hobby. But it is very personal. Come folks like a super flat response, some prefer V-shape, other my love a fluid sound and yet others my demand lots of energy and impact. What's great is that there really is something out there for everyone. I put the L700 headband and pads on my LTD and they were a huge improvement. What energizer re you using?
@@SineCraftAudio I have an older SRM - 323A. From what I was reading it has less bass then the new model. I can not say how it compares since I never listened to any other model. I tend to believe that headphones make a much bigger difference, then DACs, amplifiers and energisers, but who knows? I got the whole system second hand for $1200 which is a steal in my opinion. I was thinking about how dynamic headphones sound more "natural" And it gave me this idea: unless you are a musician: almost all music we hear is from a dynamic driver: even on a concert: sound is very likely amplified and you end up hearing the sound from speakers, which are basically all dynamic drivers. And so our ears have tuned in to this sound. And this is what we perceive as natural. To make a comparison with a film: almost all movies are shot at 24 frames per second. They tried to shoot them at 60 frames, but people did not like it. They said, there is no "movie magic" I think this is because our brains have learned to watch it like this and learned to fill in the gaps. So this became the "natural" look that creates that "magic" for us. Electrostatics are so different, our brain can start feeling that the sound is unfamiliar and "unnatural". I mean, I got hooked right away, but thinking about it: I can see how this can happen. I think the only real test would be to give: a dynamic, planar magnetic and electrostatic to a musician from before the invention of electronic devices - time travel to Bach for instance and ask him: so which one sounds most like a true instrument? He might get confused in awe though... so who knows? Ah, one more comparison: When you eat western food for your whole life. And then one day you try Sushi: you may be put off by the weird taste at first. And some people never get used to it and some get crazy about it. No wander Stax sound is so polarising. I deliberately used Japanese food for comparison, because I feel like the electrostatic sound has a Japanese soul: it is very precise and clean, but may lack weight and grittiness specially in bass... (maybe some fat and burn of a western grill)
@@PeSOVIN this is a great write up and I think you are really onto something. All amplified sound is going to be influenced by the technology reproducing it and you're right that vast majority of the time we're hearing it produced by dynamic drivers. When I switch from planar headphones to e-stats it usually takes my brain a little while to rewire. The longer I listen the more "natural" the sound becomes.
Nice review, and I agree. But, you can also do something about the complaints you have. I also had similar complaints and (largely) fixed them. The vocal forwardness and occasional fakeness is due to a bump in the midrange, centered somewhere between 1-1.5khz. It varies on the model, the fit, and how you mod it. But you can tune it out with a good EQ plugin. Stax themselves did it back in the day with the unfortunately named ED-1 equalizer box they sold with the Lambda Pro, which tuned it to diffuse field. The same is true for the highs, you can EQ to take the edge off. The dryness is likely the amp, though I can't say for sure, I don't have the L300 Limited but my L700 is remarkably fluid sounding on just a 717 and a Bifrost 2, though it's modded and EQd to hell and back. Sadly the cheap build and bulky cable is here to stay, and in my case they also clamp really hard and are annoying to wear all day. It's neat to see the modding community that grew around these. I used to be skeptical of most Stax mods but people are doing some interesting stuff.
Excellent info, thanks! Really enjoying the STAX universe so far. So fun to hear something really differentiated from other audio gear. The community is super knowledgeable and helpful as well. Looking forward to trying more gear in the coming months!
Electrostatic driver is literally just a plastic foil sprayed with ESD coating sandwiched between two metal plates. It's the easiest headphone type do DIY.
I'm in the process of ordering one.
Is the 300 LTD even still available? The 300 limited edition is said to be very close to the L700s which cost way more, if you can find them. Nice first review, I look forward to your next Stax review. Oh and I feel they are best when used with a good R2R dac. Lastly, I believe the word you kept looking for to describe the sound was, “expansive”. 🎧
Only on the used market. I buy most of my gear used. The L300 LTD tend to come up for sale every few months for around $650-$750. The L700 upgrades can be purchased directly from staxaudio.com
Very similar FR, but L700 still have more speed, more soundstage. But Lambda models are harsh, you cannot listen loud, the sound is intense. You can hear everything even at very low volume, even the bass is very distinct when playing at low volume, you don't need to crank it up to hear bass. STAX gives a sensation like hearing sound without ears, because it doesn't have a weight/hardness to the sound. This means you will hear bass, but you won't feel it, but that's across all frequencies, hearing but not feeling. That's why 007 line is more easier to listen. I cannot listen everyday on my L700, as a owner of DT1990/HD800.
L300 LTD and L700 have different sound signatures. Same technology but tuned different. It's a preference what you will like the most. I've had L700Mk2 and I returned them. L300 LTD are so much more joy to my ears. Your ears could be different.
Great review thanks for posting i've subscribed and looking forward to more Stax / Electrostatic reviews ... a question what amp / energiser did you use to feed these ?
Thanks for the positive feedback. I've listened to them with a stock STAX SRM-T1, a SRM-007tA that's been heavily reworked by Mjölnir-Audio, and transformer box with various speaker amps. All had enough power to drive them. I'll be reviewing the group in an upcoming video.
Good review thanks. I’m an old fart with a collection of vintage Stax’s earspeakers and energisers as well as amplifiers dating back to my first pair of SR-5 to my last purchase the SR-L300 Limited Editions that I love equally for different reasons. Because I’m unfortunately loosing some of the higher frequency range it doesn’t make much sense to purchase any if the new or higher end Stax earspeakers like 009 or X9000’s as I couldn’t hear much more. However I have discovered that the biggest improvements come from what’s behind the earspeakers ie: source, DAC and preamplifier etc. This is where the real difference and improvements can be made in sound quality or in my case adjustments to what I can actually hear. For me there are no other headphones/earspeakers out there that do what Stax do, to what I listen to. Thoroughly enjoyed your TH-cam video today and on the SR-007’s. Keep up the good work and enjoy the music.
Ps I have upgraded the pads on my L300L Edition’s and will upgrade the headband eventually as well.
Thanks for the feedback!
sound demo pls
Great review. I own a pair and they are by far my favourite. I would say they are like 4k while other headphones are more like CRT television. Sure, other headphones may have all kind of interesting enjoyable colours. But when it comes to resolution and how proper they are: Stax really are in its own league.
I heard some people saying: they do not sound natural. Here I would argue: well yes, but no headphone really sounds natural. Reason why we think dynamic driver is more natural is just because we are used to it. I think trying to sound like reality is not even most interesting goal. Some sounds you can hear even better then in real life, like seeing detail with macro lens, some sound gets distorted in a good and some in a bad way depending on a song or genre... I would say: just enjoy the experience.
Ah, and you can make L300 Limited even better, much better: The ear pads they come with are very bad. You can 3d print or make in some other way: the ear pad holder and play around with different pads. Doing this can give you much more open sound, they can have more bass. And you can adjust how bright they are. I have quite a bit of soft foam inside since I do not like high tones too much. By doing this I eliminated any harshness that bothered me.
Thanks for all the tips and feedback! I agree that trying to achieve perfect fidelity is not the most critical aspect of the hobby. But it is very personal. Come folks like a super flat response, some prefer V-shape, other my love a fluid sound and yet others my demand lots of energy and impact. What's great is that there really is something out there for everyone. I put the L700 headband and pads on my LTD and they were a huge improvement. What energizer re you using?
@@SineCraftAudio I have an older SRM - 323A. From what I was reading it has less bass then the new model. I can not say how it compares since I never listened to any other model. I tend to believe that headphones make a much bigger difference, then DACs, amplifiers and energisers, but who knows?
I got the whole system second hand for $1200 which is a steal in my opinion.
I was thinking about how dynamic headphones sound more "natural" And it gave me this idea: unless you are a musician: almost all music we hear is from a dynamic driver: even on a concert: sound is very likely amplified and you end up hearing the sound from speakers, which are basically all dynamic drivers. And so our ears have tuned in to this sound.
And this is what we perceive as natural.
To make a comparison with a film: almost all movies are shot at 24 frames per second. They tried to shoot them at 60 frames, but people did not like it. They said, there is no "movie magic" I think this is because our brains have learned to watch it like this and learned to fill in the gaps. So this became the "natural" look that creates that "magic" for us.
Electrostatics are so different, our brain can start feeling that the sound is unfamiliar and "unnatural". I mean, I got hooked right away, but thinking about it: I can see how this can happen. I think the only real test would be to give: a dynamic, planar magnetic and electrostatic to a musician from before the invention of electronic devices - time travel to Bach for instance and ask him: so which one sounds most like a true instrument?
He might get confused in awe though... so who knows?
Ah, one more comparison: When you eat western food for your whole life. And then one day you try Sushi: you may be put off by the weird taste at first. And some people never get used to it and some get crazy about it. No wander Stax sound is so polarising. I deliberately used Japanese food for comparison, because I feel like the electrostatic sound has a Japanese soul: it is very precise and clean, but may lack weight and grittiness specially in bass... (maybe some fat and burn of a western grill)
@@PeSOVIN this is a great write up and I think you are really onto something. All amplified sound is going to be influenced by the technology reproducing it and you're right that vast majority of the time we're hearing it produced by dynamic drivers. When I switch from planar headphones to e-stats it usually takes my brain a little while to rewire. The longer I listen the more "natural" the sound becomes.
@@SineCraftAudio I actually prefer the original L300 (not LTD) pads for the sound signature. It's so intimate, vocals are so real.
Nice review, and I agree. But, you can also do something about the complaints you have. I also had similar complaints and (largely) fixed them.
The vocal forwardness and occasional fakeness is due to a bump in the midrange, centered somewhere between 1-1.5khz. It varies on the model, the fit, and how you mod it. But you can tune it out with a good EQ plugin. Stax themselves did it back in the day with the unfortunately named ED-1 equalizer box they sold with the Lambda Pro, which tuned it to diffuse field. The same is true for the highs, you can EQ to take the edge off.
The dryness is likely the amp, though I can't say for sure, I don't have the L300 Limited but my L700 is remarkably fluid sounding on just a 717 and a Bifrost 2, though it's modded and EQd to hell and back.
Sadly the cheap build and bulky cable is here to stay, and in my case they also clamp really hard and are annoying to wear all day.
It's neat to see the modding community that grew around these. I used to be skeptical of most Stax mods but people are doing some interesting stuff.
Excellent info, thanks! Really enjoying the STAX universe so far. So fun to hear something really differentiated from other audio gear. The community is super knowledgeable and helpful as well. Looking forward to trying more gear in the coming months!
Electrostatic driver is literally just a plastic foil sprayed with ESD coating sandwiched between two metal plates. It's the easiest headphone type do DIY.