STAX SRM-D10 Portable Electrostatic Headphone Amplifier / DAC

[droido256]

As to the sound, The secret to the D-10 is running it on DC.

Aka off the battery? Does Stax offer replacement batteries for these? For future knowledge.

 

[NehPets]

Aka off the battery? Does Stax offer replacement batteries for these? For future knowledge.

Whether it's battery, or via the mains adapter, DC is the only option - unless you modify it.

 

[droido256]

Whether it's battery, or via the mains adapter, DC is the only option - unless you modify it.

Oh oh I see what you mean. Yeah it’s dc through and through.

 

[BlackSport350]

does touching the D10 with your bare hands make the humming stop? If so, refer to my post #87 above (do note I got some sort of noise even while not connected to power supply)

does touching the D10 with your bare hands make the humming stop? If so, refer to my post #87 above (do note I got some sort of noise even while not connected to power supply)

I just unpacked my new D10 and it has the same low level hum audible through ear speakers that you reported. Even when not connected to a source or the power supply.

It goes away when you hold it in your hand.

I ran out of time to test it any further but it sounds like the only fix is grounding the housing.

What did you end up doing for this?

EDIT: Some quick diagnostics point to the issue being much worse with the power supply connected. It is also present with the unit in standby (off) and can be made better by wrapping the cable for the SR003 around your arm which changes the ground plane to some degree.

What headphones were you using as I tend to wonder if that’s where the issue is coming from? I intend to try it with different headphones but don’t have any to test with until Friday.

 

[SolarCetacean]

I haven't seen mention of this elsewhere, but there seems to be a mk2 which is near completion that was demoed at CanJam Dallas. Impressions from @goldwerger here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/can...ember-11-12-2023.970471/page-15#post-17829046
The biggest benefits would be USB-C data in and a separate USB-C power connector replacing the barrel-style power connector in the current D10.

 

[purk]

Wonder if the DAC chip is upgraded to ESS9038 or not?

 

[SolarCetacean]

Wonder if the DAC chip is upgraded to ESS9038 or not?

According to the product page on HeadAmp, the mk2 is using an AKM4493 DAC chip. Now I thought the 4493 was a model that was discontinued after the factory fire, but looking through the AKM D/A Converter list, there's a new 4493SEQ model that seems to be the successor. But the advertised 384KHz support for the D10mk2 doesn't match the 768KHz capability of the SEQ. Now it might be that the D10's frontend doesn't take full advantage of the SEQ's innate capabilities.

On the other hand, I haven't seen any other Stax website (staxaudio.com, staxheadphones.com, stax-international.com) saying that it uses an AKM chipset. Those don't mention anything about what DAC it uses, only that it now supports PCM 384KHz and DSD256 (up from DSD128 on the original D10).

 

[purk]

An upgrade DAC chip should allow a slight bump in sound quality department. The ESS9038 would be a nice upgrade.

 

[Harry_H]

About the DAC chip, so based on this page they are saying, that chip from AK used https://staxaudio.com/driver/stax-srm-d10
But no such in Stax own pages

 

[Andrew Seeley]

I prefer ESS much to AKM sound.

I am also making my D10 available for 560 in the FS forums with pictures, box, manual, and worldwide adaptors. I'll edit this message to only say I prefer ESS to Akm sound soon.

 

[k2doggo]

just got a brand new D10 (original model) for $450 from japan...it sure is a great time to pick these up and the new old stock won't last forever! (really happy to have one of these, which were always too steep for me even on the used market)

 

[Lohb]

Hi guys, can both SR-X1 and SR-003Mk2 work off of D10 ?
Are there any synergy issues with either, if you had some headtime listening to either pairing ?

 

[DaddyWhale]

Hi guys, can both SR-X1 and SR-003Mk2 work off of D10 ?
Are there any synergy issues with either, if you had some headtime listening to either pairing ?

I don't have either of those headphones. Mine are the SR-009S. The D10, which I use if I want to be portable, doesn't go much above 75 db. According to the Stax website, the SR-X1 has the same sensitivity as the 009S. The SR-003Mk2 seems to be substantially more sensitive. I'm guessing you might get a bump of 9 db or so with those.

 

[timb5881]

Hi guys, can both SR-X1 and SR-003Mk2 work off of D10 ?
Are there any synergy issues with either, if you had some headtime listening to either pairing ?

You might wish to look at the Kingsound M03. It is a rechargeable amp only no DAC. It costs less than the Stax D10. If I remember correctly the voltage on the D10 is only 200 volts, where as the M03 is rated at 300 volts, both have a 580 volt bias.