The Stax thread (New) - Page 662

There is something seriously wrong there as that's not a SR-007 you are describing. First of all, there is no etch... at all. That's the reason why the SR-007 is so hard to drive as Stax went to drastic lengths to air damp the diaphragm same as with the SR-001/3.

The lack of body and bass can be caused by two things, the phones are to tight on your head and you need to bend the metal arcs outwards to relieve the pressure. The bass will gain some flesh and the comfort is far better. The other reason are probably the earpads and they need to be replaced. It's also hard to tell if they were put on correctly in the first place and it will make a huge change to the sound. Those that have changed the springs on the Mk2's can attest to what a few millimeter's do.

I would also not dismiss the amp as a factor in the sound as they interact very differently with the transducers then the dynamic counterparts.

Then again you may simply prefer dynamics and for that we feel sorry for you...

It's a planar (flat-ish) sheet with the voice coil etched to the surface and that is sandwiched between two magnets or groups of magnets. Similar construction type to electrostatics in that they are driven over their entire surface unlike cone drivers.

Only Fostex makes them these days, there are many out there from the 70s and 80s mainly from Fostex and Yamaha who also made them for others.

Kai, are you running your stats from the SRD or do you have a stat amp there hiding somewhere? I thought the SRD was supposed to be crappy at O2s.

I had the chance today to try some L3000s, but made the mistake of spending 2 hours on my friend's 007/717 rig first, trying out various cables and DACs. I think you should sell your ED9s too. I'm sure they wont get any time at all after your HD-800s arrive.

Now for my friend to get a GES or BH for his 007's -- we were discussing just that when I was on my way out.

Once again you are too fast for me, my friend.

I tried bending but I do not know if I did it right.
I have not gotten to your earpad replacement post yet.
I do find that the Omicron does not suffer as much.
I am not dismissing the amp but after the DSP analysis I find the 717 a best buy and cannot afford a BHSE or attempt to build one. I do like the punch of the dynamics I have but after I went back and compared carefully I find that the O2 is a better trade off.

So I will try more with the headband, replace the pads,
experiment with tips on the Omicron and....
wait patiently for a release of the BHSE schematic.

You will have to wait a while on that BHSE schematic as I see no reason for Justin to share it. You could just as well build the older 2SA1968 CCS version like I'm doing. Here is what I did over the weekend...



Those are premium PRP resistors and since then some of the transistors, tube sockets and the pots have been installed.

To get the feel for how the arc should be bent, try grabbing each earcup with the phones on your head playing music and changing the angle slightly of the earpieces. Try not to break the seal or cover the back of the headphone in any way as that will alter the results. I usually place each and behind the cups, with the middle finger on top of the phone where the Stax logo is and the thumb holding the bottom. Then I try to move them a bit by but be gentle as they can't take a lot of abuse.

And not only a dynamic but a... Denon! Aaagh, the horror!

Ah, I take it back. At least a Denon is not an Ultrasone.

Kintsaki, I'm just joking. Sometimes I don't take things seriously (and get in trouble with the Stax Mafia).

If you don't like the O2Mk1 or O2Mk2, good for you! So what? So the best Stax flagship headphone (actually the O2Mk2 now ) isn't for you. Listen to whatever makes the music more enjoyable or sound better to you. If it's a lowly Denon, so be it. Let them laugh, I say, while we enjoy our music.

Uh, oh, I may be in trouble with the Mafia again.

Yeah, I drive them using the SRD-7 Pro from either the Signature 30.2 or the β22. Since I have sold both my Stax energizers.
Its far from ideal sound wise, but its so convenient to use the same amplifier for all my headphones. Some day I will get myself a higher quality transformer, either off the shelf or DIY.

Until then this setup keeps me pleased!

simple philosophy, enjoy the music! thats what it was therefore not for people to say this equipment sounds better then that.

I was reminded yesterday of how well a simple setup could sound.
I hooked up my sr-40/srd-4 up to test an amp. It sounds pretty
good for a 30+ year old lowly electret. I'm goining to try out a srd-7 pro.
Found one on ebay, let's see if the price stays reasonable.

Having spent 6 years treating bipolar children in my medical office, I can completely understand, especially dealing with depression myself and ADHD with PDD in my son. If you get fickle sometimes over your gear, it doesn't even have to be due to Bipolar Disorder!

Also, you have to take everyone's opinions here with a grain of salt, and I haven't met (or read) anyone on head-fi that is correct 100% of the time. Even with a Buffallo DAC feeding a KGBH, the O2 Mk1 don't do everything perfectly, and there are some things we liked more with other stats (Mk2, Jade, Koss, HE60, Smegma Pro) and some things we liked more with the O2 Mk1. The O2 Mk1 cannot wipe the floor with a K1000, and the SRD-7 pro with a clean amp can drive an O2 very decently, so Krmathis is right in that regard.

As long as your Jades are still in the hands of the "Mafia" you may want to be careful, otherwise the next time you listen to Emily Sparks through them you may find yourself crying, but for a different reason this time.

No seriously, I am thinking to return the Jades and invest on building the older 2SA1968 CCS version.
Omicron is the sexiest babe I ever had and the O2 can be made to sparkle enough for me through DSP. So if the amp that Spritzer is building now does away with the granular and hazy character of the 717 while retaining the bandwidth and power I will be better off this way.
Oh, and I can always run down the street (Denon) for a hot dog when I get home sick for one.

And as for Emily she makes me cry no matter what.

Can you please outline a road map for me to do the required reading and ask Yanni to help me pursuit the project you are working on while waiting for the BHSE?

The Jade was only better than the Std Sigma driven by the T 10 for my taste. So I will be returning it and invest the money on a better amp than the 717 to drive all my other estats. I found Omicron so much sexier kind like Alizee over Madonna.

There is no clear road map other then what we've been working on for about 18 months now. This amp is not a stopgap until I get the BHSE but supposed to meet it head on and I'll see which one I like more. This one will be a huge upgrade over my old BH in design and choice of parts but how it will sound is still up the air.