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Headphone dilemna....seeking advice..

I liked my Grado sr125 headphones but they were cheaply constructed and finally the left channel has gone kaput. I won't buy another Grado unless it is close to free. I have been using a Musical Fidelity V2 headphone amp and it sounds very nice.

I am considering the akg k501 headphone for price mostly and some reviews say it sounds pretty good when driven with a good head amp. Other phone in the running is the venerable sennheiser hd 600 but I don't like the physical design as much as the more traditional looking akg.

Now, having said that I see that if I could get 175 out of my head amp I could take the money I would have spent on akg and buy a used Stax system for a few hundred bux more. There is a Stax 4040 tube driver system with phones for 925/bo right now on audiogon.

Can anybody comment on my dilemna? Thing that concerns me about Stax is long term reliability, repair costs, and the fact that those phones look awful damned big and it might be hard to rest one's head on a pillow while listening to the phones.
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Showing 1 response by plato

plato
1,543 posts
 
I own the Stax 4040 system and think it's fantastic. The 404 Signature phones are very detailed, well-balanced, and musical. The direct-drive 006t tube amp is a wonderful little gem. For $925, it's a great bargain. I think it will be snapped up quickly by someone who recognizes the performance level and value. The tube amp should be quite reliable. The tubes are a common type and relatively easy to find when needed.

The one downside I noticed is that the phones are so good they will make you aware of your speaker's shortfalls.
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