[bearotti]

Hello!

It has been awhile since I have posted anything here...but I observed something rather interesting this weekend when listening to my new Stax ear speaker rig...

Just to let you know, the rig I am talking about is the Stax SRM-T1S and the Lambda Signature Pro's. This is fed by the Classe DAC-1 and MIT cables, with the source either being a Denon 2900 or Boulder Mod Squeezebox 3.

Here is what happened:

I have been enjoying these ear speakers for about a week. Having electrostats so close to your ears results in some of the most clear music reproduction I have ever heard. However, this system seems to be EXTREEMELY delicate. On Saturday evening I put in this old DVD conversion of a seventies movie. I don't know if you know it, but it is called 'The Black 6.' This movie sucks for the most part, and has some of the worst audio I have ever heard. The soundstage was almost completely in the left channel. Thus for 90 minutes or so there was a source created channel imbalance...

Here is where it gets interesting. After the completion of this movie, I insert another, newer flick...it now has a 'shifted' soundstage. Mind you, before watching 'The Black 6' I had NEVER had a problem with channel imbalance. I am FREAKING out here... I finally resolve myself to check the channel imbalance with my SPL. And here is what I discover:

Hz Level db Left db Right
40 Hz 78 76
250 Hz 84 81
2500 Hz 90 84

What could have caused this? After turning off my system and coming back to it the next day, there was no change. Why? Finally I resolved myself to try and play it out, so I put an album on repeat and left it yesterday. To my surprise, when I came home yesterday, after six hours, it seems as though this imbalance was gone! How did this happen?

It is possible for a bad recording to cause static buildup or something with electrostatic drivers? Does any one else have a plausible explanation of what happened here?

I left my system on again today, just to make sure I am not dealing with a reoccurring problem.

Thanks for your input,
Ben

 

[padam]

Might have been the T1S volume pot which can control the volume levels for each channel individually?

 

[bearotti]

padam,

This is the same suggestion I have heard before, though, when investigated, this was not the case...

 

[mypasswordis]

Next time the channel imbalance issue happens, try unplugging the headphones and grounding the pins with your finger or something and then plugging them back into the amp.

 

[bearotti]

Do you run the risk of damaging the drivers by doing that? I had read in a couple of other places that this could be done, but was unsure about actually doing it!

 

[Bilavideo]

If you play the Bee Gees through your Stax, it still sounds like the Bee Gees.

 

[mypasswordis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bearotti /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you run the risk of damaging the drivers by doing that? I had read in a couple of other places that this could be done, but was unsure about actually doing it!

Nope, I do it all the time. I haven't really had imbalance issues, though, outside of charging some 'stats that hadn't been played in 10-20 years. It's actually better to discharge the stators when you're not using the headphones so they don't attract dust.

 

[spritzer]

No risk of damaging anything by shorting the pins. I'd even advice doing every time you disconnect the phones or leave them unused for a while.

If simply shorting the plug doesn't fix it, try running the phones with music playing for some time. The culprit here is a parasitic charge on the diaphragm and it takes some time for the bias supply to overcome it.