Anyone knows the frequency response of the Stax L300 Limited edition?

[soundwave76]

L300 Limited just reviewed by Headfonics. They like it.

https://headfonics.com/2019/09/stax-sr-l300-limited-review/

 

[Robin L]

What I'm really looking for is the truth of the sound that was captured in the studio, or concert hall.

I've a long journey to make, seems like.

HA!

Ever spent much time around microphones? What goes in is not what comes out.

 

[Florin Andrei]

Hope springs eternal.

 

[ahmadie]

Oh found nice thread about my beloved L300LE, I agree these take EQ as champion, as for bass I used schiit loki and was very very very successful in getting tastful bass better than any software EQ, like 3x better.

 

[Veri]

as for bass I used schiit loki and was very very very successful in getting tastful bass better than any software EQ, like 3x better.

I would assume you can achieve the same Loki EQ via software, too analog EQ is cool though.

 

[mshenay]

Blu Tack actually does work, Oratory himself admit he didn't use enough to fully seal the chamber, here I'll find and screen cap the info for you guys

Anywhoooo, I might get my self a set of these once I figure out some better insight on how much Blu Tack is needed and get a better grasp on how the various mods all combine together. The concept of Blu Tack seems easy enough so I'm sure I'll be fine!

Here's to hoping these with a mod prove enough of a compliment to my own 95X

 

[AlexHempel]

Wow, I've owned L300Ls for a while and always knew they needed EQ to fix the weird peaks around 1k etc. But my EQ skills aren't that great, they would always come out worse than before. Just found this thread and tried the APO config @flipflop posted, they sound much closer to my speakers now. Extremely pleased, thanks to everyone who did the measurements and put these settings together!

 

[Florin Andrei]

@AlexHempel The oratory1990 preset for the L300LTD works pretty well:

https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets

Plot twist: I actually like the original FR of the L300LTD, so I usually only apply the low-shelf bass boost (along with the blu-tac mod).

It kind of varies from device to device - e.g. the ER4XR I also leave alone (just with a low-shelf bass boost). But the HD800S, for those I feel the oratory1990 preset is just awesome; also the Sony WH-1000XM3 without EQ sound like garbage, but with the preset from the same list they sound great.

Like with everything else, subjective preferences greatly influence the result.

 

[AlexHempel]

@Florin Andrei Yes, definitely agree about preference. Upon listening for a few more hours, I ended up dropping filters three and four about two DB to cut a bit of midrange/lower treble energy. This means I'm a bit below the Harman curve in that region, but I am very susceptible to fatigue and I've found that cutting this area tends to help. Probably one reason I prefer B&W speakers, which often have the dip around 2k.

The EQ certainly does remove a bit of that uncanny Stax presence you get from the big hump around 1k, so I can see why one would prefer the default voicing. I think the drop at 3khz ish was subconsciously one reason I liked the Stax when I auditioned them at Can Jam, so I'm leaving that mostly intact.

 

[Ata]

Deep EQ solves the lack of bass with the Lambda. These are my findings:

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/cnrcc7

As I have shared in another thread, blu-tack mod works very well for the Stax SR-L300 I have, and judging by the entries in the AutoEQ github repo, also for SR-L500 and SR-L700, with no side effects such as "Stax fa*ting". This is subject to applying the seal as per the instructions: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-stax-thread-iii.677809/page-1172

There may be ill effects I am not aware of, such as increased distortion in the bass and sub-bass region, but these are not audible enough to make a difference.

 

[audioJon]

I have. I'm not sure.

Honestly, the original pads are not too bad. There is the question of the different measurements in the bass response with the different pads, but I can't speak with any confidence since I'm only testing with the L700 pads.



Equalizer APO. You can see some of the filters, and the whole frequency response curve, here:

View attachment 30215

For the corrections above 1 kHz, I use the lab measurements by oratory1990.

https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index

Below 100 Hz I am also guided by his measurements, but I deviate from his recommendations. My goal was to make Stax sound like Audeze below 100 Hz, and I've done it.

They have a slope of 12 dB / octave, descending into the low bass. With the original pads the slope begins at 74 Hz. With the L700 pads, the slope begins in the upper 40s.

The compensation for all that is the high-shelf filter with a 12 dB / octave slope in my screenshot - the one centered on 30 Hz. This works for the L700 pads. With the original pads you may have to push that frequency higher, but I have not tried that.

The first filter, high-pass at 10 Hz, is just there to avoid stressing the membrane too much if there's a lot of infrasound in the signal.

If you're only interested in fixing bass, then all you need is the stuff below 100 Hz.



I've spent an afternoon comparing the 353X and the D10 and I could not hear any difference.

I am using the 353X now, but that's just because it has more power, and I need that extra power due to the very deep (20 dB) correction I've applied for bass.

Hi Florin Andrei, I am awaiting the arrival of my L300's and I will be using Equalizer APO/Peace. Can you please explain how a (negative) 20 dB increases bass response?

Thanks,
Jon

 

[Ata]

Hi Florin Andrei, I am awaiting the arrival of my L300's and I will be using Equalizer APO/Peace. Can you please explain how a (negative) 20 dB increases bass response?

Thanks,
Jon

I think 20db is an overstatement/error? For best sound with the L300, see my post above -- I found the combination of an easy and reversible mechanical mod + crinacle's EQ to work best. You can always start with the EQ only first.

 

[audioJon]

I think 20db is an overstatement/error? For best sound with the L300, see my post above -- I found the combination of an easy and reversible mechanical mod + crinacle's EQ to work best. You can always start with the EQ only first.

Ata, do you have a link to crinacle's EQ settings, I only have his ratings page.

 

[Ata]

Ata, do you have a link to crinacle's EQ settings, I only have his ratings page.

Absolutely -- https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/Au...gras_43ag-7_harman_over-ear_2018/Stax SR-L300.

That repo is good as gold -- shout out to @jaakkopasanen !

 

[audioJon]

Absolutely -- https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/crinacle/gras_43ag-7_harman_over-ear_2018/Stax SR-L300.

That repo is good as gold -- shout out to @jaakkopasanen !

Thank you!

 

[soundwave76]

As much as I love these headphones, I just don't listen them enough anymore and thus placed them on sale. Pro tip for those who might be interested. See the for sale section on this forum.