- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- In the box
- Compared
- Conclusion
- Discussions
The Stax SR-L300 are very good critical listening, open-back, electrostatic headphones with a unique look. They have wide rectangular ear cups with a grill design that give them a retro feel. They have great audio reproduction for classical and vocal-centric music and are fairly comfortable. However, their build is very plasticky and they feel like they could break easily, especially the grills. They also don’t allow much airflow and get quite warm for open-back headphones. You need a specialized amp or energizer to drive them and enjoy their great sound.
- Great audio reproduction.
- Comfortable design.
- Cheap and flimsy build.
- Bulky design.
- Need a specialized amplifier and energizer.
- Update 11/21/2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Update 11/6/2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
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Design
The Stax SR-L300 have an out-of-the-ordinary design and look like retro headphones due to their large and flat rectangular ear cups. The back of the cups are opened with a grill design. They are quite comfortable, though some people might feel their ear touch the drivers. On the upside, they are lightweight, but this is due to their plastic build, which makes them less durable and feel quite cheap. There are a lot of parts that feel like they could break fairly easily, which is disappointing for their high-end price tag. They also need a specialized amp or energizer to drive them, so you won't be carrying them around or using them outdoors.
The Stax SR-L300 have a retro look with big rectangular ear cups. The cups are also covered by an open, grilled design. The band holding the cups together is very wide, and you have a small strap that serves as a headband. Unfortunately, they look better than they feel once you take a closer look; the cups are made out of cheap-feeling and thin plastic. Their cable is also very large, heavy, and cumbersome.
While the padding on the cups isn’t very thick, the SR-L300 are comfortable headphones. They don’t apply too much pressure on your head, and the strap keeps everything stable enough for casual listening. However, the cups are fairly shallow, and some people could feel their ear touching the drivers, which is quite uncomfortable. On the upside, they are quite lightweight due to their plastic build, and they feel more comfortable than they look.
These headphones don’t have an in-line remote or controls on the ear cups.
Surprisingly, for open-back headphones, the Stax SR-L300 are not very breathable. They trap quite a lot of heat under the ear cups, and you will feel a difference in temperature while wearing them. These are obviously not suited for sports, as you will even feel your ears getting warmer during casual listening sessions.
The SR-L300 are not portable headphones. These critical listening headphones require a specialized amplifier/energizer to work. Smartphones and laptops can’t drive these headphones and they are also quite bulky over-ears. These headphones are designed to use at home and should stay in or around the same place.
The Stax SR-L300 feel very cheap, especially for their price point. Their build is all made out of plastic. The hinges are thin and feel like a slight impact could break them. The grill pattern of the ear cups feels like it would break pretty easily. Also, the size adjustment slider is very flimsy. Overall, the build quality is very disappointing and doesn’t represent their high price tag. However, their all-plastic design choice might be due to their high operating voltage, but we can't confirm this.
The SR-L300 have a decently tight fit, and the large, flat earcups do not lift or wobble much when shaking your head side to side. However, they still slip around a bit when tilting your head forward or backward, and the cables are very cumbersome. You should use these in a stationary position without moving your head too much, or they will fall off. This shouldn't be an issue during listening sessions.
Sound
Their bass is lacking in lower frequencies but is well-balanced otherwise. They have excellent mid and treble ranges which will reproduce vocals, leads, and cymbals accurately. They might be a bit sibilant for some people due to small bumps in the treble range. Overall, these headphones will be an excellent option for classical and vocal-centric music but won’t be great for music genres with a lot of low-bass like hip-hop or EDM.
We measured these headphones through a Schiit Ragnarok amplifier and an iFi iESL Pro energizer. You will need a specialized amp or an energizer to drive them.
The Stax SR-L300 have decent frequency response consistency. Their bass delivery varies significantly, but the biggest variations were measured in low-bass, which these headphones already lack. Therefore, these variations shouldn’t be that audible since these frequencies are already missing, to begin with. On the upside, they are decently consistent in their treble delivery under 10KHz across multiple reseats.
The bass range of the SR-L300 is mediocre. The LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 59Hz, which suggests that they won't be able to produce low thump and rumbles. Since lack of low-bass is especially hard to hear on headphones, the overall bass range will be light on thump and rumble, but punchy-enough to be adequate for music that doesn't have a lot of sub-bass (like classical music, music recorded before the 1980s, and podcasts/audiobooks). On the upside, mid and high-bass, responsible for the punch of bass and kick and warmth respectively, are well-balanced and follow our neutral target curve well.
The SR-L300 have an excellent mid-range performance. They whole range is flat and is within about 1dB of our target curve, which is great. This will result in accurate reproduction of vocals and lead instruments.
The treble range of the Stax SR-L300 is also excellent. The range is flat and quite even before 5KHz. However, there’s a small bump at 6.5KHz and an even bigger one at 9KHz which could make sibilances (S and T sounds) around these frequencies a bit sharp and piercing for some people. Not everyone will hear this as sibilant as others.
The imaging performance is great. The weighted group delay is at 0.41, which is within good limits. The GD graph also shows that almost the entire group delay response is below the audibility threshold. This ensures a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Additionally, the L/R drivers of our test unit were very well-matched, which is important for the accurate placement and localization of objects (instruments, voice, footsteps), in the stereo image. However, these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.
The soundstage performance is good. The PRTF graph shows a good amount of accuracy and pinna interaction/activation. However, there is no notch present around 10KHz. This suggests a soundstage that is relatively natural and large but perceived to be located inside the listener's head. Also, because of their very open enclosure, their soundstage will be perceived to be more open than that of closed-back headphones.
Isolation
The Stax SR-L300 have poor isolation performance, which is to be expected for open-back critical listening headphones. They're not designed to block ambient noise and therefore are not suitable to be used in loud environments or outdoors. The open ear cups help create a spacious soundstage but also let noise seep into your audio and leak a lot. This means that these headphones are best used in isolation where the leakage level will not be distracting to those around you, and you can take full advantage of the open-back design and good soundstage.
By design, the Stax SR-L300 don’t achieve any isolation at all. All the low rumbling sounds in the bass range, speech in the mid-range or sharp sounds like S and Ts in the treble range will seep into your audio.
The SR-L300 leak a lot, but this is to be expected from open-back headphones like these Stax. This means the significant portion of their leakage is spread between 450Hz and 20KHz, which is a very broad range. The overall level of their leakage is quite loud too. With the music at 100dB SPL, their leakage at 1 foot away averages at 67dB SPL and peaks at 88dB SPL.
Microphone
These critical listening headphones don’t have a microphone.
They do not have a microphone.
They do not have a microphone.
Active Features
These wired headphones can only be used passively and don’t need a battery for any active features. They also don’t have a dedicated mobile app for customization options.
The Stax SR-L300 don’t have a battery.
There is no dedicated app to enhance your listening experience.
Connectivity
The Stax SR-L300 are wired headphones that need a special amplifier/energizer to work. They aren’t Bluetooth compatible and don’t have a wireless range. You’ll be limited by the length of their cable. Since they are wired, you also won’t have any latency issues.
These headphones are not Bluetooth compatible.
Thanks to their wired connection, these headphones don’t have any latency issues and would be suitable to watch video content or gaming.
These headphones need a specialized amplifier/energizer to be used and get audio. We measured them through a Schiit Ragnarok amp and an iFi iESL Pro energizer. Technically, you should be able to route these to your consoles and get audio, but this wouldn’t be common usage.
The Stax SR-L300 technically don’t have a base or a dock that will let you charge the headphones, but you’ll need an energizer to make them work.
Compared to other Headphones
The Stax SR-L300 are very good critical listening headphones and set themselves apart with their unconventional retro look and electrostatic drivers. Unfortunately, they feel very cheaply made and flimsy, which is disappointing for their high-end price tag. If you want better-built high-fidelity headphones to enjoy your music, take a look at our recommendations for best audiophile headphones.
The Sennheiser HD 800 S are better critical listening headphones than the Stax SR-L300. They are more comfortable for longer listening sessions, and their build is durable and doesn’t feel as flimsy as the Stax. They also pack more bass, while still having great mid and treble range performance. Their 1/4” TRS connection is also more versatile. You will also need an amp and energizer to drive the Stax correctly. On the other hand, the Stax still have great audio reproduction and are significantly cheaper than the HD 800 S.
The HiFiMan Ananda are better critical listening headphones than the Stax SR-L300. These planar magnetic headphones are more comfortable and have a great sturdy design. They also pack more bass while still having great mid and treble ranges. They also seem to be more open-sounding. On the other hand, the Stax are more lightweight and have less distortion, for a cleaner audio reproduction.
If you only care about sound, the Stax SR-L300 are better headphones than the Sennheiser HD 600 for music without low-bass. Their audio fidelity is better and more accurate. They also sound significantly more open than the HD 600. However, they are very flimsy and feel cheaply made. The HD 600 are sturdier and will be more versatile due to their 1/4” TRS connection. You won’t need an amp and energizer to drive these as you would need with the Stax.
The Audeze LCD2-Classic are better critical listening open-back headphones than the Stax SR-L300. They have a very solid build, and their 1/4” connection is more versatile. They deliver more accurate bass and don’t lack low-bass like the Stax, but their mid-range is slightly overemphasized, and their sibilants might lack a bit of brightness when compared to the Stax. They are also quite tight on the head and are heavy headphones. If you’re looking for critical listening headphones for music that don’t have any low-bass like classical music, the Stax might be a better option; just be careful with them, as they feel very flimsy.
Conclusion
Bad for mixed usage. The Stax SR-L300 are made for critical listening and have great audio reproduction. However, they require an energizer to work, and you won’t be able to use them for commuting and physical activity. Also, their open-back design makes them unusable at the office. They have a long cable, but it shouldn’t be long enough for you to watch TV from your couch, and they also don’t have a microphone for online gaming.
Very good for neutral listening. Their bass is lacking in lower frequencies but is well-balanced otherwise. On the upside, they have excellent mid and treble ranges which will reproduce vocals, leads, and cymbals accurately. They might be a bit sibilant for some people due to small bumps in the treble range. These headphones will be better suited for classical and vocal-centric music, but won't be a good choice for bass-heavy genres like EDM and hip-hop. Unfortunately, their build quality is sub-par, so it's best to be gentle with these, or you might break them.
Unusable for commuting. You’ll need a specialized amp or energizer to drive these headphones since your smartphone won’t do the trick. They are also leaky, and open-back headphones don’t isolate from ambient noise.
Unusable for sports. They aren’t stable on the head and would come off instantly, and that’s if they didn’t need an energizer. It would be practically impossible to use them during a workout, as you’d need your energizer with you at all times. Even if you were to set your treadmill very close to it, they aren’t breathable headphones, and you’d sweat more than usual.
Bad for the office. These open-back headphones leak a lot, and everybody around you will be able to hear clearly what you’re listening to. They also don’t isolate against ambient chatter and other noise in your surroundings.
Sub-par for gaming. The Stax SR-L300 don’t have a microphone for online gaming, but their sound quality is great, and they should be comfortable for long gaming sessions if you take them off now and then to let your ears cool off a bit. If you don’t need a boom microphone, critical listening headphones can be a decent choice for gaming.
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