I agree. I don't listen to headphones enough to invest, but every time I get a chance to hear the Stax I can recognize they're the best I've heard.
One of the greatest headphones...errr.....earspeakers ever was the Stax Sigma Pro I had once. Jeebers - they were last made in 1987 and the used price now is about US$1800!! Ridiculous frequency response, laughably unfashionable. That sound though - heavenly and surprisingly comfortable. Here's a photo of some fool brave (or stupid) enough to have not trashed the camera that took the photo. My kids used to bring their friends in to the man cave so they could have a good laugh. "Yes, Virginia, they are real headphones". PS they were only slightly less unfashionable than the Jecklin Float Electrostatics
At least your photo hasn't become a meme like the photo of the guy wearing the Jecklin Float headphones (head helmet?).
Yep - I had some Jecklin Float Electrostatics and no-one was allowed near me with a phone or camera. Talk about Ming the Merciless!!! Enormous dynamics but no bass at all - it was literally missing.
Sennheiser German made HD580s. What? YHTBJ? But there is a story behind this. We go back to 1993 and I had a pair of HD540 Reference Golds that to my ears sounded pretty good and I was enjoying with my hifi set up at the time either plugged into my McLaren A150B amp or sometimes my Marantz CD player. So as I said it's 1993 and I've got good relationship with my local hifi dealer - after all I had bought the 540s plus other gear from him and at that stage they were top of the range. I usually strolled into his store in the CBD about every two weeks to see what had arrived and occasionally audition. On one particular day he sidled across to me and in a low voice said "Ric, you just have to hear these". From one of the shelves he came across with a pair of the HD580s and inside the headband was "made in Germany". The Logo and model was a simple print job. I always carried a couple of test CDs with me in my back pack. I was quickly hooked up to a top quality amp that had a TOTL CD player. I put the disk in pressed play and 10 seconds later with an audible gasp my jaw hit the floor! This was a quantum leap up from the 540 and I have never again experienced such a large jump in sound quality and I probably never will. Yes, the sound from the 580s is still well up there but on that day in 1993 it was revelatory. The sad ending to the story is that I couldn't afford them so I didn't purchase. I now have a pair (made in Ireland) that I picked up second hand on line about 12 years ago. A purchase I have never regretted. They are my go to for much of my chamber music. Their tonality and timbre is so natural and very hard to beat. I've got a Burson PM2 and also an Asgard 3/Modi 3+ combo. The PM2 serves them best whereas the A3 is what I use for my HD650s
No, I don’t have the resources to build one myself. As much as I want to build one myself, it’s already pretty late when I was aware about the amp so instead of having to hunt down the boards, chassis and obsolete transistors it’s much more sensible to ask someone to build one for me.
I borrowed a pair of these for a while. It was nice to hear what the state of the art sounded like way back when- great!
The best I have heard are the ZMF Verite Closed. but I have not heard a lot of headphones and I am sure there are many better flavours out there.
I sold them because of the missing bass. There is a descending "Stick" run by Tony Levin in one track on the Projekct One CD. With the Jecklin, Tony walked out of the recording site half way through that run. With the Stax Sigma, he stayed in exactly the same place.
I used to own a pair of Koss Model ESP 9 electrostatic headphones many years ago. These things were so good. A couple of years ago, I had a chance to hear a pair in near mint condition, and my memory of how good they were held up. These things competed with the Stax of their time. Very accurate. They can easily keep up with some very high end headphones currently on the market. Only problem for me, was they weren't the most comfortable.
Dynamic headphones: Focal Clear MG, dynamic and detailed without fatiguing detail. Sound is perfectly balanced for my taste, and very comfortable! These are my go to phones when I'm not reaching for the electrostatic headphones. Electrostatic earspeakers: I have a pair of SR-L700MKII with a Stax 500T driver, Pretty much endgame sound. When feeding this setup a well mastered recording you're pretty much in the studio in front of the performers. The Stax is capable of reproducing the realistic timbre of vocals and instruments with a soundstage that will have you looking around in your listening room localizing each instrument. Fantastic!
Best heard: original Sennheiser Orpheus rig, brand new circa 1992. Best owned: Stax SR-007 mk1 with Mjolnir KGSSHV.
Yeah I chose the HD800S based on soundstaging after auditioning a few headphones in that pricerange. They deliver a soundstage width and depth my speakers could never deliver in my small listening room. Headphones are a great way to overcome certain room limitations when chosen carefully! I've always been a speakers only guy, but these headphones changed my mind.
I have the earlier Phonitor and it sounds great. The second version has a lower output impedance and will match lower impedance phones better (which isn't really relevant for the Sennheiser HD800S' 300 ohms).
SPL is one of those little companies that makes great equipment (I also own an SPL Phonos), but strangely enough, it remains undiscovered by most of the audiophile/hifi market.
Absolutely agree! Headphones have enriched my listening experience over speakers significantly in my experience. No longer have to hear the many room acoustics that can influence the sound.
