[Priyajeet]

Quote:

First off, there is no "electrostatic sound".  There are certain characteristics which some models share but this isn't universal. 
 
As for weaknesses, some models don't handle dust too well and you can't use ESP's with wet hair.  That's about it. 

How do you make them dust free if they have gathered some over time? Use a vaccum?

 

[nikongod]

 
Quote:

Use a vaccum?

Who would do this? the film in an electrostatic headphone is ~1.5microns. which is at most 1/10 the thickness of a human hair. 

 

[Priyajeet]

well i dunno, just asking, besides you don't have to put it right next to the ear pad, just blow from a distance..
 
Quote:

 

Who would do this? the film in an electrostatic headphone is ~1.5microns. which is at most 1/10 the thickness of a human hair. 

 

[DavidMahler]

Anyone know what the current street price of the most Awesome Stax Rig is, source not included?
 

 

[Solude]

1900 O2
2300 KGSS
4200 All In

 

[DavidMahler]

Is this considered more ultimate that the Woo Audio system?

 

[Priyajeet]

From what I have read here, the BHSE seems better/more popular than the WES...that costs about 4500...

 

[Happy Camper]

I will comment on the vacuum issue. Martin Logan does recommend using a soft brushed vacuum cleaner attachment to clean the front and rear of the panels. They recommend unplugging them overnight before cleaning. I won't comment on headphone cleaning but an electronic vacuum cleaner should work great. ML also recommends compressed air just don't bring in the shop compressor. The cans of air for electronics cleaning should blow out loose debris from crevices as well.

 

[spritzer]

First off, never, ever think something that applies to Martin Logan's applies to Stax drivers.  I have a dead SR-Omega here (sent to me by a member to try and salvage the dead driver) that proves just how bad their methods are.  How I clean the drivers really depends on what driver I'm working on but I never use compressed air or a vacuum cleaner.  I use mostly gear intended to care for other sensitive equipment such as camera cleaners and stuff like that. 
 
As for electrostatics being mostly voltage based creatures, indeed they are but you can't have voltage without current. 

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

Ed,
 
No, it is not just a warmup issue.  Yes, I forgot to list, as one of the negatives, that the phones do take some time to warm up.  But, even if I leave them playing for some time before I start my listening, I hear that coloration.  I am aware of it all the time, but I acclimate to that sound.  It is the same when I visit friends and hear their speaker systems.  All have characteristic colorations, and I usually can tune them out.  The somewhat "dry" (leanness) sound that leaves me feeling a bit cold listening to the Stax is actually a bigger issue.  That I find a bit harder to tune out, though I've heard my phones sound completely free of that problem (through a ridiculously expensive Kondo M-10 linestage), so I suppose it is not really a characteristic of the phones, but, their extremely demanding nature (they reveal everything upstream).
 
I am being hypercritical, because that is what the original poster asked, but, I am still quite pleased with the Stax.
 
 
Spritzer,
 
You state that the 007-t is underpowered.  That, I cannot disagree with.  But, HeadAmp specifies 54 db of gain for the BHSE, which is the same gain specified for the 007-t.  Can you elaborate on how the BHSE delivers more power?

I personally found the bass hump of the 007A more annoying than the terble hump (somewhere in the 7-8kHz region I would say based on the tape hiss these phones bring out.)
 
Spritzer's spring mod (flatenning the spring in the cup) seemed to help both of these problems.)  As time passes I seem to be less bothered by either.  Part of the reason I think is that I have upgraded my DAC's and I think that fairly minor frequency response issues are less bothersome as overall fidleity improves.  The other factor I think is that the there hass been some break-in of the phones, I suspect more to do with the earpads fitting better over time as they get compressed to the shape of my head and that the drivers get closer to the ear.  I think this is a variation of the spring problem in that the pads are so deep that they push the drivers too far away from the ears when the phones are new..

 

[DavidMahler]

I heard the 007 the other day for the first time through a 717 with a DAC1.  While it was good, I felt it was by far the bassiest headphone I've ever heard referenced as an audiophile-grade headphone.  I was very surprised.  The bass didn't feel super-controlled either.  I'm sure there's far better rigs than what I heard it on, but my first experience was not a jaw-dropper.  Compared to that headphone I prefer quite a few dynamics.

 

[spritzer]

I take it nobody showed you how to properly use them?  If the fit is off then the bass is out of control.  They can easily be tweaked to have very little bass. 

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

I take it nobody showed you how to properly use them?  If the fit is off then the bass is out of control.  They can easily be tweaked to have very little bass. 

so how would I fix that?

 

[nikongod]

 
Quote:

so how would I fix that?

If you want less bass rotate the pads 90 or 180* the seams should both be pointing slightly behind the tops of your ears, sightly in front of the bottoms of your ears, or roughly diagonally opposite your temples. As with any high end speakers in an unknown room these are starting points.... you wouldn't put $500 speakers in a room without spending an hour or 2 moving them about, spend some time tweaking the fit. Once you get it set you can come back very easily.

 

[spritzer]

Most people get the best fit with the seams on the earpads pointing just over the eyes.  You might also need to bend the metal arcs to get a perfect fit, I certainly had to.