[AudioCats]

Anyone have Numark electrostatic phones?
How good/bad are they, comparing to the Stax models?

Thanks

found this pair, are they any good?
http://cgi.ebay.com/NUMARK-Electrost...QQcmdZViewItem

 

[spritzer]

They are OEM Stax same as Magnavox, Realistic, Marantz, NAD etc. Stax did sabotage them intentionally because they didn't want to hurt their own sales as the OEM's were a bit cheaper. Max price for any of these is 50$ with the adapter because any Stax model will be superior and you can still get replacement pads from Stax.

 

[wualta]

I believe that's an electret 'phone. I have no experience with it, but if it's cheap enough, it might be fun to play with. However, if you're on a tight budget and/or these would be your first 'stats, there are less risky deals elsewhere.

 

[spritzer]

I'm 99.9% sure they are electrostatic. They use many of the same parts as the Realistic and Magnavox models and they are both electrostatic.

 

[wualta]

I've sent the seller the appropriate question.

 

[spritzer]

Thanks. They could be self bias but if they are basically the same as the other models there should be a power cord and a simple voltage doubler.

 

[AudioCats]

Thanks guys,

so these should have the same drivers as the SR-3/5/x, but with inferior housing and adaptor, right?

 

[spritzer]

The drivers are a combo of the SR-3, 3N and 5 drivers but Stax did something to them so they wont play nice with Stax amps. I guess the changed the coating or the spacing and adjusted the bundled adapters for that. They can work out of a Stax adapter but the charge time is unbelievably long. The housing are crap and in some models the drivers are loose, just held loosely in place by some foam. The adapters are basically SRD-5's in a different suit.

 

[AudioCats]

thanks Birgir, I was just curious....

Wualta, I have a pair of Koss ESP7 now, and the lowly ESP7 made me decide to skip the high-end dynamics and jump right into the Electrostatic territory.....

I think I will just wait for a pair of lambda's ......But they have became sooooo expensive

 

[wualta]

Still waiting for the answer from the Numark seller. An owner on the DIY forum says his are electrets, but I'd like to get it from the horse's mouth. But if you've got an ESP/7, there's no need beyond curiosity to get the Numarks.

As for prices, when the auctions of Lambdas and Lambda Pros climb above the retail price of the current 202 plus its cute little amp (which last I looked was still able to be powered from a small battery pack), it's time to get with AudioCubes or PriceJapan and get the 202. Unless there's a HFer willing to sell you one below current eBay value.

 

[tyre]

They are definitely electrets. They sound okay, but nothing special. There are better electrets out there. One side on my pair is quieter than the other. IIRC, I bought mine for $5 on ebay. They didn't have the transformer box and the cable had been cut.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wualta /img/forum/go_quote.gif Still waiting for the answer from the Numark seller. An owner on the DIY forum says his are electrets, but I'd like to get it from the horse's mouth. But if you've got an ESP/7, there's no need beyond curiosity to get the Numarks. As for prices, when the auctions of Lambdas and Lambda Pros climb above the retail price of the current 202 plus its cute little amp (which last I looked was still able to be powered from a small battery pack), it's time to get with AudioCubes or PriceJapan and get the 202. Unless there's a HFer willing to sell you one below current eBay value.

If somebody wants a Lambda Pro that badly there is an easy fix. Buy a 202 and put a thin layer of fiber glass inside the cups. They will not sound the same but similar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyre /img/forum/go_quote.gif They are definitely electrets. They sound okay, but nothing special. There are better electrets out there. One side on my pair is quieter than the other. IIRC, I bought mine for $5 on ebay. They didn't have the transformer box and the cable had been cut.

Now I'm really glad I never bought them. Electrostatics I can fix and maintain but electrets are a different matter. They do have a 6 core cable though because it looks like the same cable the rest of them use?