The Stax thread (New) - Page 51

For me there's one of those lines that stands out especially...

I definitely think the 4070 deserves more attention than it gets. I bought the O2 without even hearing it once since in this part of the world there seems to be few ways to audition anything in that league. I was convinced from everything I read (and my experiences with the HE60, SR-003 and SR-X Mk3) that I'd like them and thankfully they exceeded my expectations. With the 4070 being generally more scarce worldwide I think many more people are in the same position as I was with the O2 of having to take the risk of buying the 4070s without an audition. Personally I do think they're worth a try, especially for those who like electrostatics. I do hope a few more take the chance on them, I think they may be pleasantly surprised.

It can deliver 1060v but the 600v or so volts is the nominal figure but I'm not sure. It isn't clear with some amps if it is peak power or nominal so I put in the lower figure.

All of the older integrated amps have a similar output voltage but where I couldn't find a definitive number I left it out.

I'm not advocating the transformers as a reference amp but if you are on a budget and you have some hard too drive phones this is the way to go. I've here on hand the 313, T1 and the Blue Hawaii and only the Blue Hawaii can drive the Sigmas to reach their full potential. The transformers can wake them up much more then either of the Stax amps can.

For me it is a bad design and they are cheaply built. The cases he uses for his reference amps are the same ones I used for the KGSS amps I built back in the day and they are the worst I've ever come accross.

There is nominal output and there is peak output. It isn't always clear which is which but I thought it would be great to asemble a single list so we can finally get this straight.

Stax uses RMS for their amps and it is peak power at 1Khz

Thanks for your detailed comparison. Could you comment on the differences in
comfort. Pressure on the ears etc.. ?

Kind regards

Tom

Both of them go around the ears so there is no pressure on the ears themselves. To me the O2s with their rotating pads and headband are very comfortable. Being able to rotate the cables out of the way no matter how you're sitting is nice too. The main complaint people seem to have with the O2s is the heat but personally I don't find this to be an issue. The 4070s headband design is very similar to the O2s but of course the pad design is substantially different. The main difference to me is that the 4070 driver housing is quite weighty and long but I feel the headband does a good job of spreading the weight as best it can. It also gets quite warm around the ears although not quite as much as the O2s which form more of a closed seal around your ear. I find both comfortable for long term wear. The only things with the 4070 that bothered me at all were related to the long weighty driver housing. I'm just average build, 5'7" and the cables coming out the bottom were just a little above the shoulder which could make sitting with them awkward in some postitions. When I tried to lie back with them gravity would try to pull them off my ears.

My O2s are very comfy. My ears get slightly warm, but not a problem. The Lambdas are slightly more comfortable to me. Haven't tried the 4070s yet, but still remember my first decent pair of headphones - Koss Pro-4AA I bought back in the early seventies. They really weren't too bad for their time, with liquid-filled cushions that really sealed out sound well.

Sorry if this question has already been addressed, but has any consensus been reached regarding the issue of Stax playing music off the head?

I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be fine. The mylar won't stretch because it has more air to move. Mylar is extremely tough material and there isn't enough force inside the driver to do any damage. I've put a force equal to 4kg weights hanging off a piece of mylar in all directions and the drivers are still going strong after two years even though they are a bit light in the bass...

In the Sigma manual Stax suggested that they could be used as mini speakers when mounted on their stand and playing against a wall.

I just saw a 313 in ebay.de using one of my pics. Damn nice photo though, captures my deckchair leg wonderfully

Comfort O2 vs. 4070

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I am using O2s, but find them less comfortable than than my previous Lambdas. I am very satisfied with the audio quality from the O2s and guess that I won´t find better (but different) audio quality from the 4070s and also a different (but nor better) wearing comfort.

Kind regards

Tom

Sanders ESL Amp
http://www.sanderssoundsystems.com/ESL%20Amplifier.htm

Wonder if using this via the energiser would be good.

Sounds like a great amp for driving Martin-Logan CLS's or Sound Lab A-1's, but a bit much for driving headphones. Sometimes when you use a amp at a small fraction of it's potential (relating more to solid state amps) you are not getting the best performance from the amp. I have not heard these amps so this is just a educated guess. I have read many articles by Roger Sanders over the years on electrostatic loudspeaker design. He does know what he is doing. I don't think he had driving electrostatic headphones in mind when he designed these amps. Maybe we should contact him and ask for a dedicated electrostatic headphone amp!

AudioD