That’s definitely a good one. Didn’t think of that. That’s probably the best under 1k estat system new.
The lower end stax like the srs 3100 can’t really compete at this price imo
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how much better to the SRS-3100 sound though? 
I think the build and comfort are better, and the 95x has better bass then the stax l300 (not limited version). I also think that timbre and tuning is more natural, with also a slightly larger soundstage. The koss just have more meaty sound. The l300 is more open sounding and airy, but the strange timbre can make it sound very unnatural at times. I can’t quite recall detail retrieval, but both were excellent for the price
The dt770 pros I got had horrid build quality, maybe I was just unlucky though
-Uneven cup heights
-Tons of cracking
Tried bending the headband to correct but couldn’t get it right 
Agreed. Wow I forgot about Koss again, hey damn 
Especially the (mass)drop 95X for 500$.
I’m wondering if old Stax (SR-40, etc) are endgame stuff too, and maybe even better than Koss 95Xs?
I often see them for 200$ or even less.
Also, I found this on google images 
March 1977!
Edit: Can’t find the link, but someone at changstar measured old stax, and they still had a “perfect” CSD graph (more or less 1ms all the way). So apparently… yeah, they last, too.
Some of them are not peoples cup of tea, as they really sound different from most headphones today, but some vintage stax do hold up, but the good vintage usually go for alot higher then 200. I would definitely be weary when buying online with this stuff if you can’t verify the condition.
The used market could have its own thread for too good for the price.
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Lol yes I agree… with more or less random prices too, so, no thanks. I was just wondering about Stax because… they’re endgame/untouchable stuff for most people.
I wouldn’t call stax untouchable, since you can get a good used system under 1k even in the 500 range, or less if you go for the low tier vintage models. I would say that 500 bucks is in the range of most people if they really want something like that.
old Stax tend to need refurbishing…and just like those electrostat speakers, there’s a niche community focused just around restoration of the old gear.
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Yeah, old estats usually need maintenance and really are only worth it if your an enthusiast. Also by old I mean vintage so if you have a stax from 10 years ago it’s probably fine.
It’s just going to be something you have to take into account. Also the fact that usually headphones from the late 80s and below usually don’t hold up to modern stuff unless they were the ultra high end then. But speakers are a different story
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Yeah, some people say speakers are getting worse since the 80s, lol.
I don’t really agree with that but, some older speakers are very impressive
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a sad thing about audio is that the gear degrades. unlike optics, old optics will never stop performing the same as they when first used. that’s not to say they’re as good as new optics…so many advancements have been made that anything old will likely be easily outclassed, but you can still use them as they were meant to be used.
I wouldn’t agree with that either. If you are considering being outclassed for the price vs current day, then yes, but some speakers that were ultra high end in the day are still something I would consider high end.
if maintained, yes, I can see that…but the materials speakers are made of wear out over time, oxidization and all that. time is not friendly to them physically. but if they are still in their prime, yes, I agree.
Well, you can always restore them. It’s pretty easy to recone a woofer or swap out a tweeter. Usually the box can be repaired as well
I don’t doubt…but my point was to contrast how optics never stop working while speakers suffer from time.
It your referring to camera lenses, some old lenses can get focus stuck sometimes and break internally, or can be damaged through daily use, or stuff can get inside the lense. If you maintain anything well it’s going to last.
no, I’m talking about binoculars and telescopes.