The Stax thread (New) - Page 59

I believe your calculations are correct. Of course it halves if you aim for 40Khz instead and halves again for 20Khz but I'm not about to draw any conclusions that would take me into tinfoil hat territory.

It isn't!

I know that Quad time aligned the panels and thats why the treble panel is set back a bit.

The reason why they sound this good is simple, the drivers are properly mounted and then they are fixed to a large milled piece of aluminum so they do not resonate much. I modded my Suprex in a similar manner and it completely transformed when from a horrible headphone to a pretty good one. With ESL's the housing has to be very neutral and non resonant so they can project all of the sound they make. Quad is still working on this but Sound Lab and Stax have done well on this issue with the U-1's and the SR-007 respectively.

I've read about this mylar phenomenon from a number of sources and it makes complete sense to my. Mylar is a very strange material to work with and there are always wrinkles, no matter what you do. They might be small but the driver has to clear as much of them by running in for a few hours. People might not be hearing this on production samples because the drivers are measured at the factory so they must run them for a while.

I hope you'll be pleased with the XF2's. There are no substitutes for me because every thing else sounds wrong.

I want to upgrade the Blue Hawaii but there is really no way to move forward. The ES-1 is IMO the ugliest amp ever made and I'd much rather upgrade the Blue Hawaii as much as possible instead of forking out more then 10k for a custom ES-1.

Good to see that you are getting good results with the Silclear. You shoud thy to upgrade the connectors to WBT Nextgen. It is a huge difference.

It's like my mother used to say beauty is as beauty does . Although meet conditions are not the ideal place to seriously audition equipment, the ES1 was better to my ear than my BH as it is presently configured. That being said the ES1 at the meet was 10K. My BH was 1/4 the cost.

After 2 years of listening to the O2/BH combo I still get that sensation of how 'right' everything sounds and have no desire to go to a different amp to see if I can make things slightly better......however modding the BH to make it better is another thing entirely.

I like the more down to business look of the BH and it is simply stunning in silver. I've no doubt that the 10k ES-1 beat the BH but throw in some 2k$ worth of mods and the tables will turn. Simply by wiring the BH with some good silver would increase the performance by a big margin

Even though I'm happy enough to wield a soldering iron over my SR-Xs, I'm strangely nervous about daubing contact paste (if that's what it is?) over my electrical and electronic connectors. Plus, it has to be said, I'm reluctant to shell out $35 for Silclear if it's not much cop...

Does Silclear get the thumbs up from the Head-Fi Team Stax?

These paste's work but you will always get better results upgrading the connectors. Upgrading any Stax amp with WBT Nextgens and better input wiring is not a subtle upgrade.

Any opinions on the Stax SRS-2050A system?

It's apparently not that hard to remove. This thread from audiogon discusses such issues, mostly pro, some cons.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr...eyw&zzsilclear

I would say be very careful applying it, and use sparingly, because it can scrape off tight connectors and drop into places you don't want.

Mapleshade suggests only applying to "male" parts!

I check plugs after initial insertion to make sure it has not got smeared.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr...eyw&zzsilclear

Best deal going for complete e-stat system, imo!

I picked up an SRS-2020 (predecessor to SRS-2050A) a few years back, and still really enjoy it. The Lambda line seem a little bright now, after getting more used to the O2s, but I still listen to them a lot.

Excellent value. I'd recommend them, especially for the price.

Thanks . What would I need to play that system in the US if I bought it from Price Japan?

A simple 100 to 117 step-up transformer for the AC. They might supply you with one (Audiocubes does). If not, you can find them from online electronics suppliers, maybe even from Radio Shack.

Patrick

Well, the 2020 system came with a cheesy little wall wart, designed to be used for 100V Japanese voltage. I'm pretty sure the 2050 sends the same DC supply. Mine is still in the original wrapping, tucked away in the Stax box. I am a big believer in giving solid state amps a decent voltage source with some headroom built in, and, frankly speaking, most wall warts are garbage. The amp deserves better. So, I'm using an older 12V 4 amp supply I had laying around here (fully regulated supply). That's the neat thing about the 2020/2050 system - an upgrade is as close as your parts bin or electronic supply shop. Just buy a decent power supply, and forget the wall wart. Your ears will thank you. Decent 12V power supplies can be had for less than 50 dollars. Shop around.
One thing, though is very critical: the Stax amp uses the opposite plug polarity from most U.S. equipment, in that the tip is negative and the barrel is positive. It's imperative that you hook the amp up to the DC source correctly, otherwise you can seriously damage the amp. Just take the wall wart that's supplied with the amp into your elec. supply shop and get the same type plug/wire assembly, then wire it to a real 12V power supply according to the little diagram on the back of the amp, which I am pretty sure will show tip is negative (-). This is important!!
Don't use wall warts with decent amps.

The 252A has a fuse (a 1.5A 3AG from memory) and if you put the polarity around the wrong way it will blow. I know, this happened to me. While this doesn't sound so bad, the fuse is soldered to the circuit board so replacing it means opening the case including ripping off the soft feet to get at the screws underneath. Quite a pain, definitely get it right the first time.

Edstrelow: thanks for the link, very interesting. And it's put me off trying Silclear. I've got Naim gear, which uses DIN plugs and sockets, which don't lend themselves to easy application of anything, never mind a paste, and certainly won't be easy to clean again after 6 months.

I could give it go on the mains supply plugs, but then again, one of my favourite activities is (admittedly only every few years!) shutting down my system and giving all the plugs a good polish. I love the improvement in sound that just a couple of hour's work gives, and it's free!

I look at it this way. No matter how much I spend to improve my system, I will get more out of it when I use this type of tweak. And I may feel tha the weak is worth more than a very expensive equipment upgrade.

My interpretation of the Audiogon thread is that some users feel a need to re-clean their contacts after 6 months to a year, other see no problem. I think the underlying issue is whether or not the contacts oxidize during that time. If you have gold contacts and they are clean before you put an enhancer on, then you will probably be allright.

Admittedly the DIN plugs would be a problem to clean. I would possibly recommend Progold because it is easier to apply and it has a cleaner in its formula. However Silclear is noticeably more effective.

Are the higher voltage systems used in homes in Britain as susceptible to power loss because of grim on power plugs?