The Stax thread - Page 56  

My experience with the SRD-6SB and SRD-7mk2SB mirrors yours - the SRD-6 definitely added more etch to the sound, and was less efficient to boot. I can only imagine what the illusion transformer might sound like

I'm thinking about giving the SRD-7mk2SB a few mods later (and a repair, there's some odd crosstalk on my right channel) - the first thing to go will be the cables that link the transformer to the amp.

Hi Stax experts,

I owned a pair of Stax SR-84 headphones many moons ago, and MISS MY OLD STAX HEAPHONES

So, you know, I have to get some!

I have more than enough canal phones, but we are talking Stax here

I'm looking at getting the Stax SR-001 MK 2 earphones.

I'll be looking to use them at home AND on the move?

Do you think an Iriver H140D matched with them on the move, would justify the purchase?

Thanks.

. . . and long term impressions would only add to your appreciation of the O2, imo. The ES-1/Omega II has proven itself to be such a phenomenal combination that it has produced some unfortunate consequences. I no longer spend much time at head-fi, since there's really nothing left to research, no upgrade to plan for.

Darnit... just read through the whole flipping thread

It looks like I need a 3030 CSII, but they're so expensive...
Lambda Pro/SRM-1 looks like a good alternative too...

Anyone had experience with EIFL? They have the 3030 for $740, which is 390GBP. Assuming I'll be hit by import duties and tax around 20% = 470GBP. That's still 129 pounds cheaper than buying from a UK retailer. I might actually save up for that....

I can't believe you read the whole thread! I just check in every once in a while. Anyway I finally got a wall bug for my lowly SRD-X and Gammas (non pro-I am not worthy!). I got tired of buying c batts and got a wall bug, so I haven't heard them for about six months. Wow! They still have that depth and reality that only electrostatics have. Like when your walking past a jazz club in Chicago - is Billy's still there - and you hear those cymbals, and you know it's live music. Nothing but electrostatics can do cymbals right. The bass isn't that good, but everything else sounds pretty good. I think I'll sell my brand new 880's, they sound great, but for some stange reason, I end up taking them off five minutes later.

Makes me want to get them sooner... *Sigh* Money is my only barrier

Spritzer,

What tweaks and recables did you do to your Sr-x? Could you post pics?

I replaced the crappy stock cable with a NOS lambda cable of ebay and it cleared up most of the sibilance and widened the soundstage. I also removed all the damping from inside of the driver housing because it isn't there for purity of sound but for minimizing the back wave. This opens them up and makes them shine. Here is a bad pic


Then I made this adapter so I can borrow a 230v bias from some of my other amps to use any phone with the Blue Hawaii.

The sound was a bit thin and very bright. This is the case with almost all electrostats if they aren't driven properly so the common fix in the 60's and 70's was forcing the back wave towards the ear. The most extreme case I have seen is with the Superex PEP-74, layer upon layer of various damping materials. This though probably isn't why Stax did it since these phones were aimed at the pro market so they couldn't be left completely open. The sound here is still a preference thing and I prefer resolution over most things.

Replacing the horrible cable fixed the brightness issue by a large margin and the Blue Hawaii took care of the rest, filling in the sound but reveling the boxed in midrange. A brief warning though. Driving these or any phones from this era with a powerful amp is hazardous because the stators bare metal and if the voltage swing gets to high the phones will arc, burning the mylar.

So, did you just have the cable connect the four signal pins to the Blue Hawaii, and then the bias pin to the 230v transformer? And then the dummy pin just nowhere?

The bias pins on normal phones are always connected together at the socket so there are only 5 wires and no dummy pin.

I'm also working on the ultimate adapter box that has both transformers and an ESL amp input with every connector and adjustable bias supply with a digital readout. I'll just have to get a few more parts and of course the time to build it.

Just picked up a pair of SR-003.

I wonder how the SRM-310 sounds?

Anyone got much experience with this weird headphone-stand-like amp?

A friend of mine has it and I've heard it a few times. It's a good little amp. It's not going to win awards for the world's best 'stat amp, but it does what it needs to do. Is there better...you bet. But it is a good little amp for the money I think.