Stax SR-L700

Sound Impression
The L700 is my second favorite Stax after the SR-007. I have owned a Lambda Pro, a SR-007 mk1 and a modified Sigma, and I’ve heard the 009, SR303 and SR407 in a meet. The 3 other Lambdas I have heard were lean and a bit hot in the mid-treble. The L700 sounds like a mix of traditional Lambda lean tonality with a warm touch ala SR-007.

The bass is not very impressive, and not on par with the midrange and treble finesse. The reason of that is simple ; intentional venting under the pads (where they are mounted on the plastic frame). These vents allow air flow and kill the sub-bass response, below 50-60 Hz. Instead, we get a bumped mid-bass around 50-100 Hz. The bump is too strong for my tastes, and the bass doesn’t feel very tight. Hopefully, sealing the ports solves the issue (I didn’t do it yet on my pair, but I’ve read positive reports).

The midrange and treble response are not as linear or “neutral” as some other headphones like the HD600 or HE500, but they are still very pleasant. There is an emphasis in the middle of the midrange, around 1-1.5 kHz, present on almost all Stax headphones. I’m not really bothered by this shout although it affects the timbre of many instruments and sounds a bit nasal.

The upper-mids and low-treble are a bit recessed, and provide a sentiment of smoothness to the L700. The treble, going from 6 kHz to the upper-treble, is near perfect. Very airy and refined. There is a mild peak around 8-10 kHz but it rarely annoys me.

The L700 is the most detailed headphone I have heard that can be found used under $1000, with the HD800. It is definitely a detail monster, with great resolution, transients (very fast sounding) and cleanliness. The dynamics are also pretty decent considering it’s an electrostatic driver. They “slam” harder than most electrostats I’ve heard so far. Staging is not super wide, but pretty tall beat most open-backs in that regard. Reminding me of the “oval” cups Hifiman, like the HE-1000 v1 and Arya.

The L700 is easily one of the most pleasing headphones I’ve used so far, and despite the build and cost (with an additional energizer), I recommend it. I could see people preferring the L700 to the 009, which is a detail monster but with a leaner tone. The SR-007 is warmer than the L700 but a bit more resolving, with better bass.

Measurements & Resources