GPH

OK, shouldn't have ended in 7, but the Bruins played good hockey and controlled Montreal attack except for game 1 and 7. Now, let's hope the Caps lose their next game so we can meet the Flyers instead of the Rangers (sorry grawk )

I've had my Lambda Signature for a little less than a week and I have to say I've never been pleased by a headphone like that since I upgraded two years ago from iBuds to Sennheiser PX100. I've owned a bunch of dynamics since then (DT880, SR225, RS-1, HP-2, HD600, couple of IEMs) and tried some others at a meet (SR325, PS1, K1000, K240), some which I liked a lot. I have to admit I didn't try a lot of good dynamic headphone amps though, I've only had a Pimeta, a M^3, and a couple of portable amps (Mini^3, SuperMacro, SuperMini, Hornet). With that said, I never got the same kind of enjoyment with dynamics that I have right now listening to the Stax. Since headphones can't reproduce spatial effects like speakers, the most important thing I'm looking for is detail and resolution and it's exactly what I get with the Stax. I also like the airiness and soundstage that the Lambda Signature provides. OK, this may not come up as the most useful post ever, but consider it as my Stax coming out.

Damn, I think I've got the Stax bug. I've had my Lambda Signature for less than a week and I'm already looking at an amp upgrade. I've come across a deal for a SRM-T1S amp, but I can't find much info about it, even on H-F. Do any of you have an opinion about this unit?

I've had my Lambda Signature for three days now and I've listened to them a lot, but I did not do any A/B comparison with my HD600 until this morning. Since I sold my M^3 last week, the HD600 runs directly from 0404USB headphone out and the Lambda gets his juice from the SRM-Xh. Both are far from ideal amps, but that's all I have for the moment. Here's some quick impressions: - The HD600 is slowwwwwwwww compared to the Stax. It's particularly apparent on bass drum and snare sounds on rock tracks (Porcupine Tree - The Sound Of Muzak playing right now). The Lambda sound is very "snappy" and the cymbals are crystal clear compared to the Senns where there's some form of muddiness. I remember the M^3 improved that aspect quite a bit though. - The comfort of the Lambda is a lot better than the HD600. Almost no clamp force, very light, headband easily ajustable, my only complaint is that the pads make my ears a bit sweaty after a while. Also, the cable is so light that I forget it's there compared to the fat Cardas cable on my Senns. - The bass on the Lambda is surprising to say the least. It goes much lower than the Senns and has more impact than many dynamic cans I've heard. It's not anemic at all and it's so tight and well defined that I can't get enough of it. The Senns bass out of the 0404USB is just bad, it lacks definition and doesn't go deep, but out of a good amp it sounds pretty good to my ears. - One point where I think I prefer the Senns is the vocal department. On some albums, the Lambda sounds a bit thin while the HD600 always expresses its typical lushness. I thought it was easily apparent while I was listening to Fish's vocals on album Fugazi by Marillion. - Both cans have pretty good treble, the Stax is smoother while the Sennheiser is more agressive. That's it for now. Overall, I'm very pleased with the Stax and I might sell the HD600 in a near future to finance a better Stax amp.

The two Peter Gabriel are the remasters and the two Steely Dan are original Canadian MCA CDs. I've read good things on SH forums about the Gabriel remasters and they were very cheap so I decided to grab them. The Steely Dan MCA are supposed to be the best on CD and they feature the good old AAD label.

Peter Gabriel - I Peter Gabriel - II Steely Dan - Royal Scam Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill Gentle Giant - Interview

Thanks for your impressions. I'm supposed to get my pair on next Tuesday so I'll see how my impressions compare to yours.

You lucky bastard. Tickets here are nearly impossible to find and prices are crazy if you get them second hand. I guess I'll be watching Saturday night game with a couple of friends at my house with lots of beer. Not as good as the real thing, but fun nonetheless.

So guys, what are your picks for the playoffs? Here's mine: Montreal/Boston: Habs in 5. I don't know how the Bruins got to the playoffs, but they sucked pretty hard against Montreal during all the season. Tim Thomas can be good on some nights, so I give them one game. Ottawa/Pittsburgh: Penguins in 6. Ottawa used to be a good team at the beginning of the season, but their downfall has been going for so long that I can't imagine them coming back. New York/New Jersey: Devils in 7. The Rangers are the better team IMO and the Devils are boring as hell, but they've got Brodeur in the nets. Enough said. Washington/Philadelphia: Caps in 6. They've come a long way to make the playoffs and they're on fire right now. I can't see them going very far in the playoffs, but they will at least beat the Flyers. I don't know the teams in the Western Conference very well, so I won't prounounce myself on these. GO HABS GO!

Stax Lambda Signature Pro coming my way.

Homer Simpson: Everyone knows rock n' roll attained perfection in 1974; It's a scientific fact.

Today was an intensive Stax listening session for me. I had no classes this afternoon so I went for a little walk in Montreal to hear some Stax stuff. First, I went to Petyot's house (H-F member) because he has an SRM-Xh amp to sell. I had plenty of time to listen to this amp with his Omega II and his SR-003 and also to compare the SRM-Xh to his SRM-717. It doesn't take a lot of time to realize that the SRM-717 is far superior, giving more air to the instruments and more bass and treble extension. The SRM-Xh made the OII sound really dark and a bit congested. With that said, it is a nice little amp for the price and I might buy it as an introduction amp if I manage to find Stax phones for a good price. Also, I was blown away by the SR-003. This thing sounds very warm, has good bass and the midrange is very refined and present. I did not dig the comfort of these phones though and they look cheaply built. The Omega II sounded pretty good out of the SRM-717: relaxed, effortless presentation, superb soundstage, lots of details, refined, etc. The overall tonality is very dark, even compared to Sennheisers, and I'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing on the long term. Also, I thought the mids lacked some vitality (might not be the right word) and sounded kind of dead on some songs. Seems perfect for classical and jazz, but it didn't rock out my Porcupine Tree's In Absentia CD like it should. After that, I went to an to an audio store who has Stax phones in stock and I was able to compare the SR-404 and SR-202 coming out from the SRM-007t tube amp with a Rega Apollo CD player. I don't know if it was the player, the amp or the phones but this SR-404 setup totally slayed the Omega II setup that I had heard previously. The first thing I noticed was a lot more clarity in the highs and more present mids. The bass was not as big as on the OII, but it was not lacking in any way either. I was surprised that I liked the SR-404 better than the OII considering all the great reviews the OII gets, but I couldn't help it, the SR-404 setup sounded just great. I did a short comparison with the SR-202 also, but I didn't like what I heard. The music was more "shouty", less refined, the soundstage was compacted way too much and it lacked the sweetness of the SR-404 and OII sound. Overall, I had a great experience with the SR-404 and consider it as my next purchase. The store prices being what they are, I said to the vendor I would be thinking about it. Anyway, thanks for reading this. I think that's my biggest headphones "review" ever. Please pardon my orthograph and syntax errors, it's not my fault, I speak French.

Problem is, the Lambdas are nowhere to be found. I check regularly on H-F, eBay, Audiogon, Canuckaudiomart, Google and they almost never appear. I found a Stax dealer not too far from my university, I'll try to find time this week to audition the sr-404 before doing a move.

I have some questions for you Stax freaks. Let's say I've never heard Stax earspeakers before, do you consider the SR-404 a good introduction to the Stax sound? Is it representive of what Stax can do? I've found a deal on a STAX SRS-4040II Signature System II which is the Stax SR-404 and the SRM-006tII tube amp. The guy wants 1000$CAN for a 2-years-old system. Is this a good, decent or bad offer?

It's been on the internet for a while, but I still LMAO everytime I see it. "This is rock & roll!"

Happy birthday!

Wow, that's a great line-up. I wasn't a big fan of Trey Gunn, Tony Levin is my man. And Gavin Harrison added to that. I don't think I'll have the funds to do a roadtrip to New York just to see them, unless some of my friends insist very hard, so I can only hope they come to Montreal.

Thanks to grawk, two pairs of 19$ iM716 coming my way too.

Did you have bad experiences with French-talking people? I'm francophone and I think we're great people. I was kind of sad to see him leave. He's a very nice guy, loves talking to journalists and is an excellent goaltender. He wasn't in the long-term plans of the team though. Bob Gainey was criticized a lot for trading him, but it seems like it's paying off finally.

ROFL, if you're talking about the snow, I can't take it anymore. There's nothing like arriving late to a uni class because of snow even if I allowed 30 more minutes than usual for transport. And yes, the Habs rule this year. I just hope they don't pull a "Ottawa Senators" in the playoffs and start choking under pressure.

Just came back from a Montreal Symphony Orchestra concert. Kent Nagano, conductor Angela Hewitt, pianist Giovanni Gabrieli, Symphoni

We just beat Boston for the 8th time in a row this season.

Six-pack of this delicious beer.

BTW, take a look at this video. This guy is one of the main reasons why we're winning this year. One-handed top-corner shots...