I got my staxen yesterday, but was a little too busy (lazy more like >_>) to post impressions on it =P I'm currently driving it with the Sony CMT-EX1's speaker terminals (to a vintage SRD-7SB/MK2), and so far I don't sense any deficiencies as far as driving power is concerned.

Comfort: The pads are nice and soft, but since my ears are being pressed against the hard plastic underneath it, it gets pretty painful after a few hours...

Sound: The presentation is fairly forward, though it might not be as forward as a grado. However unlike grados these things have SOUNDSTAGING in abundance, not nearly as natural as the aego 2 (yet? ) but it easily bests the SHP895 by a mile. Separation is top-notch, easily better than the aego 2.

The sound is actually rather warm, and the bass can be quite "full" on certain tracks. *heck with some EQ-ing they were like basshead cans =P* As all staxen electrostatics, these cans are very recording-dependent because they are _very_ detailed, but having said that they are decent enough with average recordings, just keep them away from the tracks with boosted treble >_>

Oh yes, these headphones are rock-capable as well, more so than the aego 2, as long as the recording is half-decent. My favourite music with the SR-5 gold is classical... not too surprising I guess =P

Can't wait till I get a charlize to drive these headphones... >_> I'll post pictures a little later.

This post has been edited by Tachikoma: Mar 28 2006, 06:27 PM

Lol, thanks no more headphone upgrading for a long time I hope.

Lol, wait till my trials are over first xD now I have something to bring to the lowyat Audiophiles forum meet =P

Urm, with the SRD-6SB energizer, roughly RM700 including shipping =P (not using that energizer... the SRD-7SB mk2 seems to be more efficient)

Oh yeah... sorry for kacauing alamaklor and geminist in the process of trying to get these headphones... >____>

This post has been edited by Tachikoma: Mar 28 2006, 11:22 PM

only 15 euros for surface shipping =P nasib baik it only took 1.5 months

I'll have one if someone's willing to trade it with my SR-5 gold without any extra cash going the other way *then I'll probably sell it, buy back the SR-5 gold and invest on tweaking the rest of my setup .. >___>*

This is the best I can manage at the moment...





This post has been edited by Tachikoma: Mar 28 2006, 11:57 PM

wait for meet first... won't be long

So... since everyone has their LD3 (and I have my SR-5 NB) already, when/where are we having our next meet?

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Added on August 8, 2008, 1:13 pmThe SR-5NB, has undergone a couple upgrades since my initial post - they are now (IMPERIAL MARCH) the SR-5 pro!

I don't really know how to write reviews, so bear with me a bit.

The SR-5 Pro, with the Omega 2, are now my two main headphones. I'll try to write a review based on what they do well and don't do so well, not based on how certain pieces of music sound with them, because it tends to be more difficult to write objectively that way.

The SR-5 Pro, with the pro driver upgrade and the recable, more or less retains the old SR-5NB's sound signature - forward, warm-ish, but are still capable of throwing a decent soundstage (for headphones anyway) - the soundstage is oval-shaped, wider on the sides and narrower front-to-back.

For me, the SR-5NB does all genres perfectly, whether its crazy fast slayer/fear factory, Debussy or Chai Qing (PcWork disagrees Rematch when I come back at the end of the year). I think I offended a few people from saying this before, lol. (OMG THEN YOUR SR-5 IS ALSO BETTER THAN THE HE90???? - possibly, but I haven't heard the HE90 yet.)

However, just because it isn't hampered by any genre in particular (again, for my tastes), doesn't mean it is truly perfect. The SR-5 doesn't have much deep bass (40hz and below), and obviously the forward presentation isn't for everyone. The soundstage is less than perfectly accurate - its always big-ish (the SR-X has a soundstage that changes with every recording, which is very cool) But for "exciting-ness", it is truly peerless, even when compared to the O2 (well, the O2's laidback presentation doesn't really help here, and it is A LOT less efficient.) - no other phone makes me air-guitar as often as they do. For resolution, I haven't heard a dynamic that really comes close. (The HD650+ modded MF X-Can V3 is the closest to high end I've ever had as far as dynamics go... but an ATH-W10VTG should be coming soon ) All of the other stats I've ever heard are more or less on par in this regard, with the O2 being king of the hill here. Tonal accuracy... I don't really know how to judge this one, but stats sound "right" to me, and a lot of dynamics ... don't (mostly lower-end stuff, to be fair. The HD650 does well here, but its a bit soporific).

What the recable (using stax's extension cable) brings to the table, was significantly improved highs. The highs became more refined, and somewhat more extended. (the sound sig did change _slightly_ from that, since it became less "warm-sounding") The pro driver upgrade on the other hand, gave the headphones about ... 10-20% more bass, and perhaps just as much to the highs (extension-wise), and a lot more resolution. The soundstaging with the modded unit is also a lot wider than the old model; I'm not sure if this was from the pro-driver upgrade, or the cable upgrade, maybe both?. Mind you, for the money I paid for the mods + the original cost for the headphone, you might be able to get something a bit better, but I really like the SR-5NB's sound.

Contrary to what people may have expected, I have no problems listening to MP3s with these headphones. Sure, they sound worse than FLAC but if I hadn't heard the lossless version before, I wouldn't know better. I tend to listen to the headphones "as a whole" than to try to pick out certain details - for instance I didn't notice that the Gamma Pro had a certain colouration that made all vocals sound like they had their noses pinched (but I didn't like them nearly as much as the SR-5NB in the first place ), until PcWork told me about it, despite having them for at least half a year... then it became really obvious Thats just the way I listen to stuff, I guess.

Finally... I really should complete my assignment.

This post has been edited by Tachikoma: Aug 8 2008, 01:21 PM