The Stax thread - Page 14  

Thanks Carl and Duggeh

Mine runs pretty hot, too, so I think that Jahn's is behaving normally. I'm sure mine is unmodded (not even any nasty contact cleaner). My amp is a little different than Jahn's though. It has a protective bracket on the jumper so you can't switch it unless you unscrew the bracket. I suppose that the amp's previous master took it off to tinker and never put it back.

I'm finding this thread very interesting as I'm fairly new to the Stax world myself. I picked up my Lamda Pros/SRM-1/MK2 combo earlier this year. I still don't know very much and would probably like to explore more Staxaphernalia.

How interchangable are Stax products?

Can other Stax headphones be driven by this amp with good results?

What are some of the headphones to look out for on a modest budget?

What othe amps will sound good with the Lamda Pros? I read Hirsch's post about the ES-1. I'm not sure that's for me, either price-wise or footprint-wise. My space for headphone equipment is rather small.

I'm happy with the sound I have right now, so there's no immediate need to change, but you know how this hobby is. You always have to have your next purchase in mind.

Older Stax products may have used a low bias setting "normal" and have six pins on the connector. The higher quality older, and all recent Stax products use a 580v bias (about double the previous bias). Pro products can be driven by all Stax amps to date, but will sound best driven at pro bias. Normal bias products won't fit into a pro jack (probably a safety measure), although I do know someone who has driven a normal bias Stax Sigma at pro bias levels, and liked what it did to the sound (and the headphone didn't blow up, that time at least). Yep. see above. I'm not sure. The real Stax mavens are some of the other posters in this thread. I think the Lambda Pro is a real sweet spot compared to modern Stax offerings. The OII is the only current Stax model I've heard that can keep up with them. The McAllister EA-1 is a sweet sounding amp, and costs far less than the ES1. I'd be looking at that if I didn't have the ES1. A local friend is getting one Any Day Now (he hopes ), so we should be able to compare the EA-1 to ES1 and Stax 007t when it arrives. Come to think of it, he's got the 006t, and 313 also, along with SR-404 and SR-303, so we might be able to set up a look at a fair chunk of the current Stax lineup. Another friend has the SRS-3000 system (SR-202 and SRM-300 driver). Could be time for an electrostatic mini-meet (again) when the EA-1 shows up.

The amp I have has a normal and pro jack so I'm assuming I can pick up some of the older headphones and run them off this amp. Is it worth it though? Are there any normal bias headphones I should be on the lookout for and what would be a reasonable price to pay?

My Lambda Pros will also fit in the Normal bias jack. Is there any reason to run them off that jack? Or maybe I should ask if there is any reason not to. I don't want to damage the phones.

You're welcome to mooch my SR-X mk. 3 (it's normal biased) to try it out. It'll be quite diff from your Lambda Pros.

We need another electrostat minimeet.

Best,

-Jason

Is that the one you bought from bozebuttons? That will run straight out of a Stax amp? For some reason I thought you needed a standard speaker amplifier for that, but what do I know.

I'm up for a mini-meet!

Is a dustcover really necessary? I leave my OIIs out in the open, fully charged all the time. I'm on the assumption that a few blows with a can of Dust-Off and all will be a-ok? I did that to my HE60 and it was fine..

Dust/moisture can't be good for headphones holding a 580v bias

Since the Normal bias jack is 270v, and the Pros are designed for 540v, you'll have to crank it up higher than you would with the Pro bias output. This should work and sound fine, except that by cranking up the output, you also increase the current. If you turn it up too high, you can damage them. I'd just use the Pro bias output.

I hope I got all those details right

Should I still get it ($285 shipped)? So, the problems with using a Pro bias earspeaker with the Normal bias output is that A. I will have to use much more of the pot, B. The sound quality will be worse, C. There's a chance that I can mess up the earspeakers with too much voltage?

(I'm using it with SR-404. My only other option would be an SRM-313 unless I can find another one of these with Pro bias output)

580v is pro bias , but your close. Azure I would try and find a unit with Pro Bias.

Does anyone here have experience with Pro-bias STAX driven by Normal-bias and Pro-bias STAX driven by Pro-bias? How do the two compare?

Well less volume and a lack of dynamic's for starter's when trying to drive Pro bias phones from a normal bias outlet.