[vvanrij]

Awesome, can't wait to hook my new NAD setup to them

 

[MDR30]

I realise that a lot of SRX related matters have been posted in the great Stax thread, but I feel this one needs a resurrection. I've had a pair for about six months, but only recently made it work properly.
 
Pads were worn, balance between channels a bit askew. I cleaned the headphones up, removed and reconnected the driver terminals, and changed pads.
 
As most of you know, original pads were made with that humid sensitive polyurethane material that destroyed all PMB pads and the master tapes to Pink Floyd's The Wall. Original pads are almost impossible to get at a decent price in my part of the world, so I looked for substitutes. Found two options: Audio-Technica ESW 9 replacements, and Audio-Technica SJ5 DJ. Both fakes from Hong Kong.
 
Dismantled the SRX:
 

 
Removed and put back the three connectors (careful, the membrane is delicate):
 

 
The worn original pads:
 

 
The Audio-Technica EWS9, looks fine but not quite as comfortable and good-sounding as the SJ5 DJ alternative (original ESW9 pads may be better if you cand find them):
 

 
Preparing to attach the Audio-Technica SJ5 DJ pads, with double sided tape:
 

 
SJ5 DJ Pads in place:
 
'
 
Opening hole is about the same as the original:
 

 
Listened to and enjoyed the SRX very much yesterday. I also cleaned the original SRX pads, might be usable in the future:
 

 
A nice pair of cans:
 

 

[MDR30]

Been listening more to this lately than almost any other combination (competing with the Audiotailor Jade/K401 and TU20/K500), grabbing it before the 404.

Tony Bennett, Robert Broberg, Burt Bacharach.

 

[DougD]

Enjoyed reading this thread from the beginning.
 
I just pulled my SRD-7 (non-Pro) and SR-X Mk III's out of the closet, and hooked them up for the first time in 10 years. With a new Yamaha RX-V773 receiver and an OPPO disk player, they sound pretty darn good. Much better now than they ever did before with the   other components I had previously. (Pretty sure my hearing has not improved.)
 
Compared to @MDR30's picture, ALL the outer cover on my pads are gone, so much so they don't even look a bit scruffy, and they don't have much spongieness left to them. But the headband looks fine.
 
Bought them new back in 1976. Seems like they were close to two weeks take-home pay at the time. But they have survived.
 
Happy Happy. Santana concert on BluRay sounds very good, even when squished back to stereo from DTS 5.1. I guess I will need to find some showcase actual stereo/binaural recordings. 
 
Regards !
 
d.d.

 

[hey-cameron]

General question on the SRX's: is there anything that can be done to breath new life into drivers that take all day to charge-up, and even when they do, are pretty low in level? They are probably 12 dB lower in level than my good-set of MK3s. Just wondering if there is anything that can be done with them. Thinking that they are a bit like big capacitors, can they be reformed in any way, or are the cans just a parts-donor?

 

[spritzer]

You could recoat the diaphragms.  Read the DIY Electrostatic thread in the DIY section... 

 

[ElectroMod]

Hi MDR30,
 
You saying you are looking for Earpads, you mean like these below?
 
 

 

[MDR30]

Quote:

Hi MDR30,
 
You saying you are looking for Earpads, you mean like these below?
 
 

 
Right, fine. Sent a PM. I'm sure there are other people in UK and Europe who are interested in these elusive things as well.

 

[hey-cameron]

Thanks for the suggestion Spritzer. That looks like a great project for someone who has the time and talent (both of which I am lacking in sadly). Probably better to sell them as parts. They look good, but a project like re-coating them is way out of the realm of reality for me.

 

[MDR30]

T-amp bundle, compact and efficient. Works surprisingly well.
 

 

[cucera]

One of the best bang for the buck setups. With a good eq software for the bass this is on par with any 1500 USD setup.

 

[MohawkUS]

These old Stax are much better than they have any right to be. I'm currently running SR-5 goldies out of an(unrestored!) Sherwood S-6000(circa 1969) and tried to replace them with a Beyerdynamic T90 and Graham Slee Solo ULD. The STAX was better in every single category besides detail. The Beyer had a smidgen more micro-detail but everything else sounded wrong, Plasticy sounding even.

Next I tried to replace them with an HE-6. The HE-6 sounds almost exactly like the STAX except for the fact it has less bass, a congested soundstage, and you can't wear it for more than 30 mins at a time due to the weight.

Cost of the STAX/Sherwood/SRD-6: $440
Cost of the Beyer/GS combo: $1,500
Cost of the HE-6/Sherwood: $1,000

Spritzer, I believe you said something along the lines of "You'll be back" when I first mentioned the T90s in the STAX thread. Well you were right. I do still find the STAX a little too thin however and they can't play live music well at all. Depth is fine with electronic music; but most other things just sound flat.

 

[vid]

A good time to have bought the SR-5N recently. Dynamic phones at this price range just don't cut it for the most part.

 

[Olschl]

Old thread; but for search engine pilots, here goes:
I couldn't find the ESW9 s listed above; so I bought these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-pairs-of-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
They seem pretty nice; but the opening is a bit smaller than the originals; which I can't find anywhere. (Stax USA is unresponsive)
They seem the same size as my SR-40s; so I am trying to get those. (actually been working on this since May).
A Canadian dealer confirmed that the SRX pads are not available at all; but has ordered me a pair of SR-40s. It will take 6 weeks.....
I asked him if I could share his info. He referred me to http://www.plurison.com/
Good luck wit dat!

 

[timb5881]

Well this thread inspired me to pull out my old SR-X Mk III and hook it up. Not bad for 40+ year old headspeakers and transformer box.