Article: Review: Stax SR-L300 Electrostatic Headphones

[ca95f]

I'd be interested in a comparison with Massdrop's version of Koss's 950s the so called esp/95x. At $500 including the energiser, they currently are the electrostats to get...

 

[Sonis]

14 hours ago, ca95f said:

I'd be interested in a comparison with Massdrop's version of Koss's 950s the so called esp/95x. At $500 including the energiser, they currently are the electrostats to get...

 

Can’t help you there. I’ve seen only pictures of the Koss, I’ve never actually seen a pair, much less heard one. But the nonstandard connector puts me off. It means you can only power these with the supplied energizer, and if it isn’t the best sounding way to power them (and I’m not saying it isn’t), you are stuck. 

[davide256]

On 2/22/2020 at 7:40 AM, 4est said:

I'd not be looking at it that way even though I am sure it would help. Their products tier appropriately from what I have seen. You'd be better off buying one of their better ones. My SRM-1 mk II isn't still their best one, but it is reasonable, built really well and can power just about any ES hp out there. There are many used ones on the market, that is one of the nice things about Stax. I am quite curious as to how the iFi would stack up against it though.

Oh joy, another product to research and agonize over purchase decision. The SR-5’s kept it simple, just plug speaker amp into the adaptor box 🤑

[jtnt]

We had these and the top of the line SR-009s at Capital Audiofest paired with our Z10e electrostatic headphone amp, and there were more than a few people who preferred the SR-L300. Goes to show, follow your ears not the price tag.

 

~Nicholas from LTA

[Sonis]

4 hours ago, jtnt said:

We had these and the top of the line SR-009s at Capital Audiofest paired with our Z10e electrostatic headphone amp, and there were more than a few people who preferred the SR-L300. Goes to show, follow your ears not the price tag.

 

~Nicholas from LTA

I’m not saying that the SR-L300 is in any way better than the SR-009s phones, I’m merely saying that the SR-L300 is closer to the quality of the SR-009s than the price point would indicate as being possible. The 009s are about 10X the price of the L300s, but the former aren’t even really twice as good! It certainly is true that the flagship model is better made, with higher-quality materials than the SR-L300, but sound wise, both are excellent, albeit in different ways.

[Musicophile]

Interesting thanks for the review. Any comparison possible to the Sennheiser HD800?
 

I’ve always wanted a Stax since I first heard one back in the 1980s, so I’m tempted to get these to complement my HD800. 

[Sonis]

51 minutes ago, Musicophile said:

Interesting thanks for the review. Any comparison possible to the Sennheiser HD800?
 

I’ve always wanted a Stax since I first heard one back in the 1980s, so I’m tempted to get these to complement my HD800. 

Very different headphones. As it happens, I have compared the Stax SR-L300 directly to the Sennheiser HD-800. The 800s are good, but directly compared, are a much cruder presentation. They have more “slam” and are probably better for rock, but the Stax have less distortion, better top-end presentation, and a more natural midrange. On the bottom, because of the dynamic phone’s larger diaphragm area and longer excursion, the bass sounds “bigger” with the HD-800, but the bass is slower and doesn’t go as deep as the Stax. The Stax also images better.

[Musicophile]

24 minutes ago, Sonis said:

Very different headphones. As it happens, I have compared the Stax SR-L300 directly to the Sennheiser HD-800. The 800s are good, but directly compared, are a much cruder presentation. They have more “slam” and are probably better for rock, but the Stax have less distortion, better top-end presentation, and a more natural midrange. On the bottom, because of the dynamic phone’s larger diaphragm area and longer excursion, the bass sounds “bigger” with the HD-800, but the bass is slower and doesn’t go as deep as the Stax. The Stax also images better.

Thanks. I’ll test them out this weekend. 

[MeiSh5am]

On 2/24/2020 at 6:12 AM, Sonis said:

Can’t help you there. I’ve seen only pictures of the Koss, I’ve never actually seen a pair, much less heard one. But the nonstandard connector puts me off. It means you can only power these with the supplied energizer, and if it isn’t the best sounding way to power them (and I’m not saying it isn’t), you are stuck. 

You're not stuck, adapters are available to connect the Koss ESP to any STAX Pro bias energizer, although those are costly in comparison to the entire Koss kit. Still, the Koss is probably among the most economical ways to start with electrostatics.

[Musicophile]

On 2/21/2020 at 8:10 PM, Mercman said:

Thanks for an enjoyable review of the SR-L300. I have always found that Stax headphones provide a special musical experience.

So I just went to my local headphone dealer and tested out the L300 and L500, on a nice chain with my IPhone with Qobuz app and highres material feeding a Chord Hugo 2 into a Stax SRM-727 II. 
 

I agree that both are very good, and in a certain sense “better” than my HD800. But I now know I could never buy them, they are just terribly uncomfortable on my head, even the L500 with the faux leather pads. 
 

I’m sorry but headphones unlike speakers are always a compromise between SQ and comfort. For example, I didn’t buy the Audeze LCD-3 as they are far to heavy. I can wear the HD800 for hours without any fatigue.

 

Slightly OT, while at said Hi-Fi shop I also tested the Focal Clear, the Dan Clark AEON2 and the Hifiman Arya, all Sorgen directly off the Hugo 2.
 

I could see myself buying the Aryas. 

[Sonis]

8 hours ago, MeiSh5am said:

You're not stuck, adapters are available to connect the Koss ESP to any STAX Pro bias energizer, although those are costly in comparison to the entire Koss kit. Still, the Koss is probably among the most economical ways to start with electrostatics.

Thanks for the info. I wasn’t aware that connector adapters were available to allow a pair of Koss ESP to be powered by a Stax “pro” compatible amplifier. Could you point us to one of these adapters? Much appreciated.

[Sonis]

2 hours ago, Musicophile said:

So I just went to my local headphone dealer and tested out the L300 and L500, on a nice chain with my IPhone with Qobuz app and highres material feeding a Chord Hugo 2 into a Stax SRM-727 II. 
 

I agree that both are very good, and in a certain sense “better” than my HD800. But I now know I could never buy them, they are just terribly uncomfortable on my head, even the L500 with the faux leather pads. 
 

I’m sorry but headphones unlike speakers are always a compromise between SQ and comfort. For example, I didn’t buy the Audeze LCD-3 as they are far to heavy. I can wear the HD800 for hours without any fatigue.

 

Slightly OT, while at said Hi-Fi shop I also tested the Focal Clear, the Dan Clark AEON2 and the Hifiman Arya, all Sorgen directly off the Hugo 2.
 

I could see myself buying the Aryas. 

You are right, headphones are a very personal buying decision, and comfort is a big component in that decision. For instance, I don’t find the Stax Lambda series to be at all uncomfortable and due to the lightness of these phones, I find that I can wear them for hours without fatigue. But as you found out, YMMV!

[MeiSh5am]

8 minutes ago, Sonis said:

Thanks for the info. I wasn’t aware that connector adapters were available to allow a pair of Koss ESP to be powered by a Stax “pro” compatible amplifier. Could you point us to one of these adapters? Much appreciated.

 

Just google "koss stax adapter," that should return various offers, most of them on ebay.

https://fongaudio.com/store/default/headphones-31/koss-esp-950-to-stax-5-pin-adapter-cable.html

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254193539126

[Sonis]

22 minutes ago, MeiSh5am said:

 

Just google "koss stax adapter," that should return various offers, most of them on ebay.

https://fongaudio.com/store/default/headphones-31/koss-esp-950-to-stax-5-pin-adapter-cable.html

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254193539126

Expensive little suckers, aren’t they? Thanks for the info!

[davide256]

On 2/29/2020 at 1:58 PM, Musicophile said:

So I just went to my local headphone dealer and tested out the L300 and L500, on a nice chain with my IPhone with Qobuz app and highres material feeding a Chord Hugo 2 into a Stax SRM-727 II. 
 

I agree that both are very good, and in a certain sense “better” than my HD800. But I now know I could never buy them, they are just terribly uncomfortable on my head, even the L500 with the faux leather pads. 
 

I’m sorry but headphones unlike speakers are always a compromise between SQ and comfort. For example, I didn’t buy the Audeze LCD-3 as they are far to heavy. I can wear the HD800 for hours without any fatigue.

 

Slightly OT, while at said Hi-Fi shop I also tested the Focal Clear, the Dan Clark AEON2 and the Hifiman Arya, all Sorgen directly off the Hugo 2.
 

I could see myself buying the Aryas. 

 one reviewer concluded the Arya's were like a planar version of the HD800s sound 😉

 

https://www.headphones.com/blogs/news/hifiman-ananda-vs-arya-planar-headphone-review-comparison

 

[Musicophile]

35 minutes ago, davide256 said:

 one reviewer concluded the Arya's were like a planar version of the HD800s sound 😉

 

https://www.headphones.com/blogs/news/hifiman-ananda-vs-arya-planar-headphone-review-comparison

 

I suppose that’s why I liked them...