Stax ED-1 and ED-5 EQs emulation

[Jonathan66100]

Quote:

I'll try making custom curves for other Stax models by working on their frequency response measurements...

Yes it would be really interesting ! 
If you can start with the 207: p ?
 
 
EDIT :
you have remake the wav file
with the curve given by julez?
 
 

 

[davidsh]

Would you guys mind if I post the 4 .wav files on another forum (in danish)? Will ofc give credits to you.

 

[MLudovic]

Quote:

Yes it would be really interesting ! 
If you can start with the 207: p ?
 
 
EDIT :
you have remake the wav file
with the curve given by julez?
 
 

 
Yeah why not, I can try with the 207, i just need to find a clear frequency measurement of it.
 
Quote:

Would you guys mind if I post the 4 .wav files on another forum (in danish)? Will ofc give credits to you.

 
Sure go ahead!
 
If you come across SR-404 users, can you please ask them their feeling towards this one for me?
http://www.petit-fichier.fr/2013/09/02/stax-sr-404-df/ (EQ + Diffuse Field)

 

[Jonathan66100]

This link is enough for frequency measurements for the 207 ( in down the page )?
http://www.h-navi.net/srs-2170.php
 
You also have the link you gave me but I do not know if it's enough.
http://rinchoi.blogspot.fr/2013/08/stax-sr-207-back-to-basic.html

 

[MLudovic]

I'll see what I can do with the M.R.O. one, the NAVI looks really strange and flawed (lack of air sealing?).
 
BTW here are the 3 Stax boxes in action :

 
Zoom : http://i.imgur.com/7lseYkW.png

 

[davidsh]

Is the ed-1 sig wave file also taking phase difference into account?
 
I find it funny how those boxes sound quite bad for some music and very good for other music. Take the ed-1 sig.. In some songs it just seems to remove a veil and make everything more airy, yet none fatiguing, but on other songs it just sound slightly tinny, and acoustic guitars on a certain album (AiC - unplugged) defo have too much 'snap' to it, the voice just sounds weird, nasal and tinny as well.
Same album with the ed-1 it sounds... like the music is coming from a long hallway with narrower soundstage, yet not deeper just more distant with a sound that seems emphasized on the upper mids (like 3kHz).

 

[MLudovic]

Yep phase is affected, you can see how here :
 

 
Corrected Signature :
 

http://www.petit-fichier.fr/2013/09/02/stax-ed-1-signature-1/

 

[Julez]

Yes the measurements reflect also the phaseshift. It could be removed
if one wishes.
There is a toolbox for matlab wich is a Monkey Forest port to Matlab:
 
http://www.ita-toolbox.org/
 
With that tool (and matlab of corse) you could process my *.spk monkey
forest files and get ready IRs from that. At the moment I use the monkey forest
ms-dos version from 1995 to do the signal processing. But that's rather uncomfortable.
If I have some free time I could do  ED-1 Signature IRs in 48, 88.2 and 96kHz.
 
There are two diffrent ED-1 versions: ED-1 Monitor was for the Lambda Pros
the ED-1 Signature for the Signatures. But the Signature has no backward
damping and is therefor mor like the newer Lambdas in terms of frequency
response. (informations from the German Stax service)
 
Of corse the EDs have diffrent impact on various recordings. If one is familiar with
soundwave propagation (and therefore with headphone equalisation to free- or
diffusefield as [nearly] all headphones are one of these two) this is no suprise
as some recordings are more reverberant (and therefore more like a diffusefield situation)
and others are quite dry like a freefield situation. Therefore it could sound very good
with one recording and ugly with others. It could do even something to the Sigmas
that some persons will like very much but was not intended by the Stax engineers.
 
It is still a matter of personal taste. I just wanted to point out what they where
initially engineered for: Recording studios and industrial audio research. Or
for Stax dummyhead recordings with inverse diffusefield characteristics.
 
If someone is interessted in the unprocessed files to play with in Matlab let me know!

 

[Jonathan66100]

Yes Julez I thank you for having all clarify, it is very good to know !
And thank you again have thought to take the measure of ED-1 Signature !
 
Beautiful graphic MLudovic : ) 
It's possible to have your graphic with the phase affected ?
And to have a .rephase files of your 4 curve ?
 
Thank You !

 

[MLudovic]

Here we go!
 

ED-1 Monitor : http://www.petit-fichier.fr/2013/09/03/stax-ed-1-monitor/
 

ED-1 Signature : http://www.petit-fichier.fr/2013/09/03/stax-ed-1-signature/
 

ED-5 : http://www.petit-fichier.fr/2013/09/03/stax-ed-5/
 

Custom 404 : http://www.petit-fichier.fr/2013/09/03/stax-sr-404df/

 

[Jonathan66100]

Thank You !
 
I did try last night
 
The only curve that has a real effect for me on almost all my recordings is that of ED-1 Monitor with Sigma.
 
If in addition I listen with the CD STAX BINAURAL we see that this julez says is true, on this CD the effect is larger than a normal music CD.
 
Otherwise with the 207 still no difference whatever the CD and the curve used.

 

[Julez]

Here is a zip file containing the ED-1 Signature EQ with (nearly) all resolutions and bitdepthes you could wish for as wav IRs!
 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5hzwgg68i7wgkdi/Stax%20ED-1%20Signature%20Diffusfield%20EQ.zip
 
Read the readme and have fun with this!!

 

[MLudovic]

Thanks a lot Julez!
 
Here is an EQ curve made for the SR-207, based on this measurement :

Source : http://rinchoi.blogspot.fr/2013/08/stax-sr-207-back-to-basic.html
 
Its simple aim is to make the curve above flat, so adding an other DF convolver with an ED-1 curve could be necessary. The rephase file is included for tweaking purposes.
http://www.petit-fichier.fr/2013/09/08/sr-207/

 

[Jonathan66100]

Thank Julez and Thank Ludovic : ) 
I will test it tonight
 
But ultimately I do not use the curve of the ED-1 Monitor on my Sigma, I prefer it nature : )
 
I believe that the ED-1 Monitor to it been done for SR-Lambdas and SR-Lambdas Pro and no only Pro , because as we see in this picture
 

 
there is a backslash between "Lambda" and "Professional"
 
unlike ED-1 Signature or there is no backslash between "Lambda" and "Signature"
 
 

 

[Julez]

Yeah, seems like the ED-1 Monitor is for Lambda Normal Bias and Lambda Professional.
The ED-1 Signature is for the rest of the Lambda Pro Bias headphones up to the newest
iteration of the Lambda frame x07.