jdeoxysI have an OLD Stax flagship, an SR-X mk III from the 70’s, and it sounds absolutely fantastic and rates high even among modern headphones... but I almost never listen to them, because they’re an on-ear headphone. 45 minutes then pain! Part of that is because the pads are toast. my friends make fun of me because we only recently found out Stax never made Velour pads, but my pads were so worn before I got them literally all the pleather had worn off!
I’m considering getting one of the new L-series STAX, solely because pads can make or break an otherwise awesome headphone.