> edit: if you decide to swap out the tips, placing the tip for the second tuning option will be harder, the stock tips have something in it that hold the tip in place.

You can put some o-rings on the stem to keep eartips from sliding down to the other position. I've seen some people cut out the stems from other eartips and use that but o-rings are probably easier.

They’re called wooden cups

I was hoping this cable might make a good replacement for the IE300/600/900 cable but apparently it won't be releasing separately until spring or summer. Sucks to hear it still has some memory issues and microphonics.

Day 0 here bro!

My budget is ₹2000/ 25 USD.

This is how fostex X00 and a few other commonly modded headphone removable cable mods are done. The fabric is acoustically transparent and the only tuning the plastic surround around the driver does is dictate how much airflow the front side of the driver gets. As long as its plenty porous then it wont audibly impact sound.

I have the Sundaras, the Arya definitely has better bass than it.

But I'm enjoying the L500s more than the Aryas, by quite a bit.

But yeah, people have different experiences with headphones, this is just my experience.

Harman EQ sucks. Is biased by an average listener preference. As in ipod user and mp3 listener.

It was a different IEM (I think) but HBB / BGGAR did an unboxing of one of their super expensive IEM's. I don't think he ever gave a full review though.

that rhymes with ow deez nuts isnt that profound

You like the bass on these? I found the early roll off to be quite disappointing. Since the front volume aint sealed, bass rolls off at 50Hz and the roll of is rather steep.

Blue tack can fix that, but I could hardly modify a store demo.

I found even the Sundaras and Anandas bass to be better due to proper extension. I would have thought that the Arya was similar in that regard.

im asking for your budget

bruh

Yup. Budget category only as of now. ;)

Thanks, mate :)

budget?

lol

it has a microphonic effect on the cable. the top part of the cable that connects both iem has a very noticable micrpphonics effect bu the bottom part which is most likely underneath the shirt is not very noticable

looks like the typ 512 in silver?

Because their stuff sounds great and is priced very low for the sound quality, you could often double the price of a Hifiman headphone and it would still be competitive. Edition XS is under half the price of the LCD-X, and it's a better headphone. And this isn't because the LCD-X is a bad headphone, either, it's a benchmark around its price. But this is how good the Hifiman value proposition is.

It's not like other companies don't have issues either, Focal and Audeze are notorious for failures. I have stuff from all of these.

That's the problem. You're using your brain to measure things. Human brains are prone to bias and mistakes, because you want to justify your purchase decision. Again, we're not arguing that you think they could sound different. They certainly could, but it doesn't mean the one 100 bucks more expensive is "better". If there is a difference then there's distortion. You certainly could like one more than the other, doesn't mean the one you like is objectively better.

Don't talk about being smart when you're using completely subjective methods to support your argument.

Macaco-Tron Z3800's

Robot kidney stones.

Yes. This will change the sound. Drastically? Maybe, maybe not, best way to find out is to listen yourself.

The part you removed is called the baffle, a crucial part to tuning a headphone. Consumer headphones typically dont bother and leave it flat with plastic but more studio grade and audiophile headphones use this tuning material around it. Not all do it, but most will, and its quite an important piece. Not really reversible at all, so youre going to have to take this as a learning experience.

Don't worry, you didn't know, but im hoping this post is not only of help to you, but to others.

So yesterday I discovered there is a Hi-Fi store near me that actually does have Stax models available for purchase and demo. Was right under my nose this whole time. So I quick booked a demo to try out some of the infamous advanced-lambda series. Unfortunately, they did not have the SR-L700, only L500 and L300. Kinda had already decided I was gonna buy the L500 with a good energizer, but I demoed them for a little while to be sure. I also tried the SR 007, however I did not like it as much as either of the lambda series, it was a little ‘too dark’ for me. From quick listens, I did not find a whole bunch of difference between L300 and L500, but I did think the 500 had just a little bit more soundstage and ‘emphasis’ on the sounds.

Anyways, little did I know by that point, it was my lucky day!! They were out of stock on the L500, so instead, they offered to sell me the demo version for an slightly used price. I pointed out that the demo one was the mk1, and he reduced the price even more! Only paid around 300 euros for it. Not only that, but they also had one used energizer, SRM 353x, in great condition, which was selling for like 600 euros. So I left the store with a SR-L500mk1 + SRM-353x combo for 1000 euros.

Been listening to it since then, and holy crap! Here are my preliminary opinions:

Compared to the 800S and Aryas, it has a sound with so much more well defined “body”, it feels much more natural. It feels like these headphones have the ‘reference sound’ that every other headphone is desperately trying to reach, but failing.

It’s incredibly detailed, instruments are very well separated from each other, and the sound is VERY punchy. For me, its basically the 800S details and definition (even better, probably) but you don’t have to sacrifice the bass. Instead, I’m met with the most amazing bass i’ve ever heard, its probably what impressed me the most with this earspeaker. This may be related to the fact I’m quite used to the 800S and Arya, which aren’t known for having a very punchy bass. But anyways, its so accurate, so powerful and punchy, I’ve been comparing drums focused music on the L500 vs the 800S, and the L500 make the 800S look like a joke in that aspect. They can be easily EQed, too. While the 800S can also be easily EQed, it can only improve the bass quality to a certain degree. The aryas, in my experience, cant be bass boosted at all, it distorts very easily. The L500 tho, can achieve bass so powerful with EQ you feel the tremor it causes.

The treble and mids on it are also great, everything is emphasized equally, every single detail is delivered to you on a silver plate, and it does so without a hint of harshness. It brings tears to my eyes...

They can get insanely loud before any hint of distortion. They share that with the 800S, but the Aryas however will distort the bass if you try to listen to higher volumes. So if you like listening to loud music, you will love these.

The only aspect where they fall behind the 800S and Arya are soundstage, comfort and build. The 800S and Arya are both soundstage monsters, fully surpassing much more expensive headphones, such as the Susvara, so this is not surprising. The L500 soundstage resembles the Aryas, while being a little smaller. The 800S has the ability of making sounds feel more far away from you and gives a better sense of direction to the sound. The Arya also has better layering, giving it a more “fun” presentation.

While not uncomfortable, L500 cannot compare to the 800s, and is a little bit worst than the Aryas. They have a very plasticly build, which do makes them very lightweight, but also introduce quite a bit of creaking, which can be quite annoying at times.

But despise of those things, they are insanely great headphones. The electrostatic sound is simply beyond my wildest dreams, I’m very impressed.

Its really a shame they require such expensive exclusive amps to work, but damn, once you hear them, it is very clear why they do.

10/10, I cannot live without it anymore.

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The difference is in your wallet and pocket bulge.

Don’t these ID posts violate Rule 2 (image posts) of this sub? Mods, can you please crack down a bit? It’s getting a bit ridiculous.