Stax SRS-2170 vs Koss ESP-950

[spritzer]

It's not perfect but for about 600$ which is what mine cost it's without any peers. 
 
Quote:

Do you think that it would significantly improve the sound of E90 if I change all the opamps to better ones and either eliminate the attenuator or change it to a stepped one? Do you know if anyone has done so? 

 
You can do that but it won't change much, polishing a turd springs to mind.  The attenuator is actually quite good but it's the circuit that is fubar.  It's about nothing except voltage swing and neglects anything else to reach that goal. 

 

[ambchang]

Spritzer, what would be a good, reasonably priced amp for ESP-950?  I always want to get a Stax amp for the ESP-950, but they are so pricey, and I can't justify buying an amp that is more expensive than the headphones.

 

[spritzer]

Refurbished SRM-1 Mk2 is pretty much the golden standard of value for money.  All of the same form factor Stax amps are also excellent, SRM-3, 313 and 323. 

 

[ambchang]

Thanks, will hunt for those when budget allows ... which will be a while ...

 

[mudihan]

Quote:

It's not perfect but for about 600$ which is what mine cost it's without any peers. 
 
 
You can do that but it won't change much, polishing a turd springs to mind.  The attenuator is actually quite good but it's the circuit that is fubar.  It's about nothing except voltage swing and neglects anything else to reach that goal. 

Just purchased the Koss at the now inflated price.
 
By the way, have you had any experience with the SR-X Mk 2? 

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Just purchased the Koss at the now inflated price.
 
By the way, have you had any experience with the SR-X Mk 2? 

 
I've had a few Mk2's and it's a bit of a mixed bag.  Not as cool as the super rare Mk1 and a bit of a let down sonically.  Quite fragile too. 

 

[mudihan]

Quote:

 
I've had a few Mk2's and it's a bit of a mixed bag.  Not as cool as the super rare Mk1 and a bit of a let down sonically.  Quite fragile too. 

Thanks!

 

[donunus]

I had a stax 2050 system before and thought the amp felt weak... as if when I turned it up the volume went up but not the slam factor. The koss amp even seemed a little better with the 950 than the stax amp was with the 202 in that system hmmm. 
 
Is the amp that comes with the 2170 system exactly the same as the old 252? That would be pretty dissapointing since they are now $200 more for the whole package at audiocubes 2

 

[spritzer]

No, they are not the same.  Similar as all the Stax amps are evolved over the years though the basic circuitry stays the same. 
 
As for the amp lacking at higher volume levels, well it is highly voltage limited so if you run it hard then it will start to approach clipping. 

 

[donunus]

ok so the new amp is the 252s. I thought the one in my system was also a 252s

 

[donunus]

Whoops I guess it was a 252a looking at online pics. I wonder what the difference between the amps are so far as sound quality is concerned. Also, I had a problem with some kind of ground loop hum with my old stax 2050 system. The hum went away everytime I touched the amp. Other amps plugged into the same outlet were fine. I really want to pull the trigger on a new 2170 set but hum issue is the only thing keeping me from buying.

 

[spritzer]

They made a number of important changes to the 252S so it's a better amp. 
 
There is no earth reference in these amps so any ground issues the source has will be carried over to the amp.  SImply running a wire from the chassis of the amp to the source will fix any issues. 

 

[donunus]

So in the case of a computer source with an outboard dac running via usb... Do I connect the wire to the dac chassis or go to the computer? Anyway, that solves something... It solves the mystery in my mind whether I should try out the newer system. I think I'll go for it
 
And Spritzer, you mentioned the 207 being a little brighter than the 202. Around what frequencies would you say the differences lie? I liked the 202 but felt they could use a little more extension. Still, without the hum I would still enjoy listening to them above almost anything else in the price level except maybe for some senns which I like going back to from time to time.

 

[spritzer]

That really depends on how the USB is handled in the DAC.  If it is isolated then that could cause all sorts of problems. 
 
It's the upper part of the presence range.  Just a slight tilt to make them have more of an edge. 

 

[donunus]

  Just a slight tilt to make them have more of an edge. 

Thats good news. the older 202 was slightly soft sounding so this may be just about all I need.