Latest Thread Images

Stax Sigma Low Bais and Stax Sigma Pros
Jul 11, 2008 at 9:10 PM Post #271 of 482
I seem to recall someone mentioning that he used his Sigmas out on the street.
I've had the Sigmas and a SRM-T1 amp for about a year now.
But I've just gotten around to trying them out.
Wow!
The headspace!
Wonderful immersion!
Just what I have missed in all the other headphones I've tried.
About the guy who took his Sigmas out for a walk:
Something I could see myself doing.
If I could figure out a way to finesse a reasonably portable amp to power the Sigmas.
Anyone know if there is any such portable Stax amp?
What amp did the Sigma street walkig head-fier use?
(pun not intended)
Harvey
 
Jul 11, 2008 at 9:24 PM Post #272 of 482
Hi Haarvi, I would love to see you walking the streets of Brooklyn grooving to your Sigmas.

Get SRM-X, it's the best amp for portable Sigma fun.

Stax_SR_Sigma_Pro_SRM-X_Pro.JPG


Srmxpro.jpg


SRM-X can be battery operated and is powerful enough to run Sigmas.
 
Jul 11, 2008 at 11:10 PM Post #274 of 482
Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif
A SRD-X Pro or a SRD-P will also do quite nicely and have a lot more kick then the old portable amp.


I use SRD-XPro, but only around my home property - not the streets of Brooklyn!

I've got a few pleasant resting spots with seats under shade (not willing to risk electrostats in any hot sun).

It's a quite novel part of my listening experience and doesn't happen nearly often enough
rolleyes.gif
But it does well and truly beat my more normal portable (genuine walking) SR-001 electrostats, even with the FatCatModded SRM-001.

Obviously you can use any Pro or Normal bias headphone with an SRD-XPro this way - I seem to recall Kevin Gilmour used this sort of approach even for Omegas
eek.gif
 
Jul 12, 2008 at 2:15 AM Post #275 of 482
Thanks for the suggestions of portable Stax amps suitable for driving the Sigmas.
As of tonight, I am on the lookout for one.
Probably for an amp that has connections for both pro and normal phones, since I have one of each.
I've only auditioned the pro so far.
But I don't imagine the difference - as I will be able to hear it - between these two will be discernable and certainly not nearly as dramatic as the difference from other phones brought out in the basic Sigma design
BTW:
Has anyone compared - on this thread or elsewhere - the difernce in presentation / headstage between the Sigmas and the AKG-K1000s?
 
Jul 12, 2008 at 10:13 AM Post #277 of 482
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Wow, it used to be the only time I saw haarvi was when he was sniping auctions out from under me
tongue.gif




Are you the bidder who has made me pay record high prices for so much of what I've gone after?
 
Jul 12, 2008 at 11:14 AM Post #278 of 482
Quote:

Originally Posted by haarvi /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Thanks for the suggestions of portable Stax amps suitable for driving the Sigmas.
As of tonight, I am on the lookout for one.
Probably for an amp that has connections for both pro and normal phones, since I have one of each.
I've only auditioned the pro so far.
But I don't imagine the difference - as I will be able to hear it - between these two will be discernable and certainly not nearly as dramatic as the difference from other phones brought out in the basic Sigma design
BTW:
Has anyone compared - on this thread or elsewhere - the difernce in presentation / headstage between the Sigmas and the AKG-K1000s?


A SRD-X Pro would be your best bet as it has both outputs and transformers inside so it can provide a lot of voltage swing. It's not light though or small but the Sigmas aren't some small IEM's either.

The difference between the normal and Pro bias phones is pretty big but they are more different then one being better then the other. I do prefer the more romantic sound of the normal bias unit but the Pro bias one was a lot of fun. If those old drivers are swapped out for SR-404 units (and cable as well) then it's a very different story. The Sigma 404 is superior to both older models with cleaner bass, better midrange focus and a more extended top end. The slightly anemic sound of the Pro's and the thick midbass of the normal unit is gone replaced with a full and far more linear sound. The excessively large soundstage is smaller but also has much more depth.
 
Jul 13, 2008 at 4:39 AM Post #279 of 482
Quote:

Originally Posted by haarvi /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Are you the bidder who has made me pay record high prices for so much of what I've gone after?


Couldn't be me, I'm too cheap to bid very high.
biggrin.gif
 
Jul 14, 2008 at 12:43 PM Post #280 of 482
Just wanted to reiterate the love for the Sigma/404s. A great phone and the troubles I had with the transducers are almost certainly due to evaporative air conditioning rather than driver faults. LOL - what to do with the old pair of 202 drivers and the original Sigma drivers, as well as the original Sigma flat cord?
 
Jul 14, 2008 at 12:48 PM Post #281 of 482
Quote:

Originally Posted by John Buchanan /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Just wanted to reiterate the love for the Sigma/404s. A great phone and the troubles I had with the transducers are almost certainly due to evaporative air conditioning rather than driver faults. LOL - what to do with the old pair of 202 drivers and the original Sigma drivers, as well as the original Sigma flat cord?


Sell them. I bet they will sell in no time if the price is right
cool.gif
 
Jul 15, 2008 at 1:19 AM Post #282 of 482
I would also back up the claims for the Sigma/404 combination. If you like the original Sigmas, you will almost certainly love this one even more. It has the good Sigma quality of a more realistic forward-projected sound, but with a better tonal balance, more detail and dynamics. I have no reservation about recommending them as an advance on the earlier Sigmas.

It would be nice if more people had them, I only know of three - owned by John Buchanan, Spritzer and myself.
 
Jul 15, 2008 at 8:04 AM Post #283 of 482
....and mine were turbo-ed thanks to tales from Ed on how good they were!
 
Jul 15, 2008 at 3:58 PM Post #284 of 482
Quote:

Originally Posted by edstrelow /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I would also back up the claims for the Sigma/404 combination. If you like the original Sigmas, you will almost certainly love this one even more. It has the good Sigma quality of a more realistic forward-projected sound, but with a better tonal balance, more detail and dynamics. I have no reservation about recommending them as an advance on the earlier Sigmas.


Ditto. They share a lot of qualities with the Omega line though chassis resonances are still an issue and kill off the deepest bass. C'mon Stax, design a new Sigma based on the 4070? Pretty please??
tongue.gif


Quote:

Originally Posted by edstrelow /img/forum/go_quote.gif
It would be nice if more people had them, I only know of three - owned by John Buchanan, Spritzer and myself.


I've seen one for sale on Yahoo!JP over the last two years and I've made a few for friends but they are very rare indeed.
 
Jul 17, 2008 at 5:06 AM Post #285 of 482
Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Ditto. They share a lot of qualities with the Omega line though chassis resonances are still an issue and kill off the deepest bass. C'mon Stax, design a new Sigma based on the 4070? Pretty please??
tongue.gif




I've seen one for sale on Yahoo!JP over the last two years and I've made a few for friends but they are very rare indeed.


That sounds like a few times more the number of these than I was aware.

I would not be surprised that there could be several in Japan. For a few years Stax was offering pro upgrades, through the local dealers, to the Sigma's and possible the lambdas at a fairly reasonable cost. However when I finally wanted a Sigma pro, I had to send a low bias Sigma to Stax Japan and they offered a range of upgrades, including a better cable, which I regret that I turned down because of the cost.

This was before the 404 came out and I suspect that after that time Stax would have offered the 404 mod or repair to the Japanese domestic market. I suspect that there may even be some Sigma/Signature mods in Japan.

However, my Sigma/404 was put together by the American distributor, Yamasinc, who by then were back in the business of offering mods.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top