The Stax thread (New) - Page 43

Right you are. I wonder if there are any drop in replacements or any that can be used with adapters. I know about KT77 and maybe the 6550 but there must be some other tubes that will work in the BH

Two reasons: One, there were very few '70s MOSFETs (the amps arrived in the US in '79), and two, MOSFETS are frickin' invincible. They're much more bovine in their reaction to crazy loads with twirly impedance angles.

The 202 303 and 404 all use the wire mesh strator, if you look carefully you can see it behind the plate holes in the 404 picture. The difference in the porosity of the drilled plates which are visible affects the sound though. And if you note the different drilling on the 404 plate, the holes are larger and tighter together. Apart from any difference in sound this would cause, its also more difficult to machine that way, adding to costs. So even if the 202 and the 404 used the same driver. Which they do not, there would be a difference in sound even because of that.

Can anyone confirm if the 404 and 303 drivers are identical down to the plate drillings? That would mean that the cable would be the only big difference I think.

Thanks, Andre. I think I know about 80 per cent of the answer already. The 202s are a great headset, and the best bargain going - they handily beat the SRM-001mkII out of the humble SRM-212, and are even better from the tube amp. I just really am curious to hear the 404s, as I've not been able to for five years or so.

My initial read on the Lambdas (new models) is that they are great, but a little too forward to be considered "accurate." It will be interesting to see if the 404s are less forward than the 202s.

Please update us regarding the EA-6. Thanks.

Keep us posted about your listening experience with the EA-6.
I would like to know how it compares to other amplifiers in its price range.

Kevin was iffy about the KT77 (not sure why), but most likely HE never bothers with anythiong other than Mullard xf2...

Well, regarding the EA-6, it is still not perfect, and has some REALLY rough spots (Tool, 10k Days, has parts that breal up really bad in saturated guitar), and yet, Hoobastank, Alison Krauss and Janes Addiction are all superb, with glorious microdetail that eludes the BH... I am simply baffled, and no 'It's broken' excuse this time. He also went to 17GW6 instead of 6BQ6, so it definitely has way more gain... more results to come. And, once I gat Alex to wake up and help me figure this out...

People are becoming aware of the vintage Stax headphones. This thread has contributed to that. Vintage phones are a finite resource. If demand is increased, and supply is constant (or diminishing), then price is going to go up. I don't think that $600 is insane for a Lambda Pro. I do think that $500-$600, possibly more, will become the price for a good condition pair, at least while they have FOTM status. At some point, something else may be FOTM, and pricing will go back down.

In my opinion the Lambda Pro is worth every penny of $500 or so. I can't think of any other can in that price range I would rather have and/or could out perform it. (IMO)

Interesting. We really need another all tube electrostatic amp thats built like the Japanese do it. A Kondo electrostatic amp would be very cool

Well he might try some XF1's but what else is there?

Duplicated, sorry.