[tyre]

Quote:

So why'd you buy your Gilmore Lite with a DPS?

 


As far as I know, the Elpac WM series wall-wart that originally came with the Gilmore Lite is also linear regulated, but I understand what you're getting at. The audiophile in me would also immediately go for a linear supply over a switching one, if given the choice. My point was that we shouldn't dismiss switching power supplies entirely. If done right, they seem to work fine for audio purposes.

 

[DefQon]

SRM1 MK2 pp vs SRM-323S. I've got both coming my way soon and I need to decide which to offload and which too keep. 

 

[milosz]

Quote:

The one hermetically sealed electrostat I can think of is the old Dayton-Wright.  They filled the transducers with SF6 gas to make use of its' higher breakdown voltage (than air) and increase the efficiency of the panels.  14 kV bias supply

However, due to the lower speed of sound in SF6, they didn't have very good highs, and so the treble was augmented with a PIEZO tweeter in some models.....  great bass, though.
 
They had a schrader valve on them so you could top off the gas.
 
I seem to remember reading somewhere that some arena or stadium in Toronto (or was it Montreal-?)  actually used stacks of D-W electrostatic speakers for their PA / sound reinforcement setup.  Electrostatic speakers for announcements at a hockey game, pretty cool, eh?
 
A pair of Dayton Wright XG-8 speakers
 

 
 
D-W  XG-8  http://www.dayton-wright.com/XG-8-Mk3.html

 

[Chris J]

Switched mode power supplies are inherently noisy and are not recommended for high end audio applications.
Linear power supplies do the job much better, but are more costly, larger, less efficient and run hotter.
A SM-PSU installed in the same box as the audio amplifier section is just asking for trouble.
They work fine if installed in their own enclosure (as in a wall wart) and are well filtered & shielded.
A respectable distance should be maintained away from the amplifier circuitry. (not stacked)

Switchmode Power Supplies can be used in high end applications (e.g. Linn) but the manufacturer has to do their homework, make sure adequate adequate noise rejection and suppression is designed in.
Wall warts are normally off the shelf designs which were not designed with audio in mind.

In addition, never underestimate the benefits of Power Factor Correction in Switch Mode Power Supplies, i.e. minimizes conducted and radiated noise from one component another.

"A respectable distance" will not prevent conducted noise from travelling down the power lines. Noise is conducted from the input and output conductors of any power supply.

 

[zolkis]

Copying here for the last question about cryogenic treatment process:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/592797/the-stax-sr-507-appreciation-thread/135#post_9543055
 

I recently bought a Stax SR-007 Mk1 from macrog, one of the good sounding pieces.
With many kinds of music, I still prefer the 507:
- it has has bigger, wider, taller, albeit more diffuse sound stage than the 007 Mk1
- seems to go deeper, with better deep bass slam
- is much more open and more neutral sounding, in fact sounds almost identical with the best pieces of Senn HD-800 I heard, with more warmth and smoothness.
 
With classical and instrumental/jazz, the 007 Mk1
- sounds more true to the instrument timbres, although a bit dark
- sounds more shut in, but not veiled and not lacking in treble at all
- better tracking of dynamic gradations in music, transients, inflexions
- better microdynamics
- more midbass slam than the 507 (which has a better deep bass slam)
- much more narrow, but better focused sound stage.
 
I have heard the SR-007 Mk2 and the SR-009 too. I clearly liked the 507 more than the SR-007 Mk2, and as said, often preferred it over the Mk1 too. 
 
The SR-009 improves the sound in the same direction as the 507 (open, big soundstage etc), but it is far, far better:
- the sound stage is bigger, but also better focused; I like more the 009 imaging than that of the HD800
- has a class better/more musical bass than any other headphone I heard, including the HD800, LCD-3, TH900 (I said better
- every tone is just more true to the real timbre of instruments, too
- sounds smoother, even though the treble has some extra hash; some would say it "adds air around the instruments" , I would say this could be very slightly improved, but it does not distract anything from enjoying the presentation and does not smear the music
- very good micro- and macro-dynamic gradation, close to perfect transients.
 
In terms of sound quality, the SR-009 is the headphone to keep for long term, by a big margin. I just hope new developments in materials and electrostatic technology will make this more accessible in the future (check for instance www.piosound.com ), as well as even better. Until then, the 507 is the best price-performance headphone for me. It can be fairly much improved by cryogenic treatment, so I may check the Airbow SC-21 some day, may be worth the price difference. Or, could try a local cryogenic treatment for a start?
 

 

[gefski]

I recently purchased a SRM1 MK2 Pro. I'm thinking of buying a new pair of 307 or 407. Could I get some comments (good or bad) about this combination?

I have SR40 and SR80 electrets driven by tube amps through the Stax adaptors. I'm not really liking them driven by the SRM1, so think real electrostatic cans would be better.

If there are already threads about this, just point me there.

Thanks!

 

[Warpkitty]

Quote:

I recently purchased a SRM1 MK2 Pro. I'm thinking of buying a new pair of 307 or 407. Could I get some comments (good or bad) about this combination?

I have SR40 and SR80 electrets driven by tube amps through the Stax adaptors. I'm not really liking them driven by the SRM1, so think real electrostatic cans would be better.

If there are already threads about this, just point me there.

Thanks!

I just got my SR-407s yesterday driven by an SRM-252II. I spent a long time comparing the Stax to my HD600s and Woo WA2.
 
The 407/252 combo is really nice and I would have to say on most material clearly superior to the 600/Woo combo.

 

[dukeskd]

Cryogenic treatment? ...
 
 
 
...
 
 
 

 

[jcx]

EU won't allow SF6 in consumer products - most potent greenhouse gas known
 
but ES headphones would only need 10s of milligrams

 

[spritzer]

We wouldn't really need it though as there are no performance benefits.  We never run into a brickwall in terms of bias voltage.  Even if we up the D/S gap to 0.7mm the bias just goes up to 1100V and there are zero issues. 
 
Now with a finite baffle and 70's materials there was a problem loading big rooms with high SPL.  Today Sound Lab has this covered and even run very high bias voltages. 

 

[Ali-Pacha]

Is it easy to find a SRD-7/SB mk2 ? Or modifying a SRD-7/SB to get a pro bias plug on it ?
 
Ali

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

Out of curiosity, has anyone had their electrostatics spontaneously fail from a passive issue such as dust collection or moisture?
 
I asked spritzer about whether the dust and minor pleather debris on the outside of my stator assembly would affect performance and he said that they wouldn't, and my ears tell me the same. Nonetheless I am concerned about the long-term longevity of the transducers. I am considering purchasing a pair of transducers as a backup but I'm against the idea of preventing someone who actually needs a replacement from being able to get one down the line.

Is it easy to find a SRD-7/SB mk2 ? Or modifying a SRD-7/SB to get a pro bias plug on it ?  
Ali

I've been looking for a Pro-bias variant of the SRD-7 for quite some time without success. It seems the most common versions are with normal bias, which routinely sell for sub-$100. Given its rarity I wouldn't be surprised if a SRD-7 Pro or SB Mk2 sold for 2-3x as much when they show up. I settled for a SRM-T1.

 

[Ali-Pacha]

I've seen this one (with SR-Gamma headphones) : http://www.ebay.fr/itm/Stax-SR-Gamma-Pro-SRD-7sb-mk-ll-headphones-/380659823154?pt=Kopfh%C3%B6rer&hash=item58a117f232#ht_10743wt_1139
At the end of the bid, the price will probably raise "to infinity and beyond" 

 
Ali 

 

[dukeskd]

Quote:

I've seen this one (with SR-Gamma headphones) : http://www.ebay.fr/itm/Stax-SR-Gamma-Pro-SRD-7sb-mk-ll-headphones-/380659823154?pt=Kopfh%C3%B6rer&hash=item58a117f232#ht_10743wt_1139
At the end of the bid, the price will probably raise "to infinity and beyond" 

 
Ali 

After posting it here you might as well expect that!

 

[3X0]