[JimL11]

I'm wondering if my Jameco ac/dc adapter is the culprit of this terrible distortion I've been getting when the volume is turned up high. Do you guys experience this problem with your SRM-252s units? If not, I'm sure my adapter is at fault, and I might need to get a step up transformer. The adapter may not be supplying as much power as it's claimed to be rated at. When I measured its voltage without load, it's very close to 12v so voltage is not the problem.

Could be you are expecting too much from your SRM-252. The major limitation of this amp is the limited current delivery. If you are cranking up the level you could be running out of drive current, and no adapter will fix that.

 

[tigon_ridge]

Could be you are expecting too much from your SRM-252. The major limitation of this amp is the limited current delivery. If you are cranking up the level you could be running out of drive current, and no adapter will fix that.

I was wondering that as well, which is why I'm asking everyone if they have the same distortion when playing music loudly. If I'm the only one experiencing this, then I need to troubleshoot further. The sound is absolutely lovely and has a virtually non-existent noise floor at low-to-moderate volume, though.

With some CD/flac files, at 1 o'clock, it begins to distort slightly, and it's not even that loud—well below hearing-damage level. At 2 o'clock, it's completely unlistenable with high amounts of distortion. My DAC's rated output is 2v.

 

[tigon_ridge]

I substituted the adapter with another much more powerful PS. Same result. The distortion is also much more pronounced on the left side. This means either my amp is somehow defective, or the srm-252s is simply a very weak amp. The latter would be surprising, since I haven't read in any Stax thread that the srm-252s would struggle to drive a mere lambda.

 

[Pahani]

Oh, I missed the very high volume level part. I don't listen very loudly, and honestly, wouldn't with my Stax.

 

[Ojisan]

I substituted the adapter with another much more powerful PS. Same result. The distortion is also much more pronounced on the left side. This means either my amp is somehow defective, or the srm-252s is simply a very weak amp. The latter would be surprising, since I haven't read in any Stax thread that the srm-252s would struggle to drive a mere lambda.

I never had a problem with mine. I can't go past 12 o'clock without going deaf. I'm curious what's your input to the 252s (DAC, phono, etc)? Perhaps the input level is too low? Also, is this for L300 or some other model? Maybe there are harder to drive lambdas?

 

[legopart]

What the meaning of each pin in stax headphone connector.
Where can I get this connector for a cheap price? (for my mods)


also Can I connect regular headphones to stax connector (amp) and get more power (for 400/600ohm headphones)

 

[tigon_ridge]

I never had a problem with mine. I can't go past 12 o'clock without going deaf. I'm curious what's your input to the 252s (DAC, phono, etc)? Perhaps the input level is too low? Also, is this for L300 or some other model? Maybe there are harder to drive lambdas?

I just recently acquired the SRS-3100 system. I also thought that the input may have been too low, but I discovered that this isn't the case. How I knew: I switched from a DAC that output 600mV max, to my current DAC which outputs 2V max. That switch only changed the point of the volume knob where a certain volume is attained, and thus the point on the knob where the distortion begins; the volume/loudness at which the distortion starts remains the same. With the .6V DAC, the distortion begins around 3 o'clock for a particular song, and with the current DAC around 12:45. May I ask what your DAC's output rating is? Keep in mind that I have significantly attenuated the treble through EQ (I'm treble-sensitive apparently). If it weren't for this fact, I probably can't go past 12 o'clock too comfortably either. In fact, I just disabled my EQ to check, and indeed I find 12 o'clock to be a bit intense—mostly due to the treble.

Perhaps I'm just spoiled by how much headroom the Asgard 2 allowed for my HD600 and AD1000x. It may be silly to expect the same level of extra headroom from the SRM-252s to drive electrostats, as Jim suggested. The sound distorts at around 3 dB below the volume I would like to listen at, which tells me I would like around 3-10 dB more power than what this amp is currently outputting. For that, I might have to look to one-o-dem wallet-murdering electrostatic amps. Still, I'm enjoying the SRS-3100 enough to not regret the purchase. I'm seeing an SRM-323s on sale for $650, but uncertain of whether it will even deliver enough juice. Surely one of those Killer Gangsta amps would suffice...but wallet is unprepared for that leap.

 

[Ojisan]

I just recently acquired the SRS-3100 system. I also thought that the input may have been too low, but I discovered that this isn't the case. How I knew: I switched from a DAC that output 600mV max, to my current DAC which outputs 2V max. That switch only changed the point of the volume knob where a certain volume is attained, and thus the point on the knob where the distortion begins; the volume/loudness at which the distortion starts remains the same. With the .6V DAC, the distortion begins around 3 o'clock for a particular song, and with the current DAC around 12:45. May I ask what your DAC's output rating is? Keep in mind that I have significantly attenuated the treble through EQ (I'm treble-sensitive apparently). If it weren't for this fact, I probably can't go past 12 o'clock too comfortably either. In fact, I just disabled my EQ to check, and indeed I find 12 o'clock to be a bit intense—mostly due to the treble.

Perhaps I'm just spoiled by how much headroom the Asgard 2 allowed for my HD600 and AD1000x. It may be silly to expect the same level of extra headroom from the SRM-252s to drive electrostats, as Jim suggested. The sound distorts at around 3 dB below the volume I would like to listen at, which tells me I would like around 3-10 dB more power than what this amp is currently outputting. For that, I might have to look to one-o-dem wallet-murdering electrostatic amps. Still, I'm enjoying the SRS-3100 enough to not regret the purchase. I'm seeing an SRM-323s on sale for $650, but uncertain of whether it will even deliver enough juice. Surely one of those Killer Gangsta amps would suffice...but wallet is unprepared for that leap.

Ok, the relative shift based on DAC's level makes sense. I drove mine out of Yggdrasil which is supposed to be 2V RMS (so slightly hotter than 2V max).

My other thought would be that maybe you are expecting too much "impact" or "body" from the L300? L300 is exceptionally seamless in the delivery of music, IMHO, compared to the dynamics. You might be overdriving to get the same "sound pressure" you get with dynamics. Without EQ, the treble will annoy you at those levels.

My recent experience from upgrading to L700/353x added a lot of body and fullness to the sound. It actually has an impact without the treble harshness compared to SRS-3100. I'm inclined to suggest checking out headphone (L700 or SR if you want to jump!) before upgrading the amp. When I tried L300 with 353x, it was only a very minor change compared to using L700 on 252s which resulted in quite a tonal change.

 

[tigon_ridge]

Ok, the relative shift based on DAC's level makes sense. I drove mine out of Yggdrasil which is supposed to be 2V RMS (so slightly hotter than 2V max).

My other thought would be that maybe you are expecting too much "impact" or "body" from the L300? L300 is exceptionally seamless in the delivery of music, IMHO, compared to the dynamics. You might be overdriving to get the same "sound pressure" you get with dynamics. Without EQ, the treble will annoy you at those levels.

My recent experience from upgrading to L700/353x added a lot of body and fullness to the sound. It actually has an impact without the treble harshness compared to SRS-3100. I'm inclined to suggest checking out headphone (L700 or SR if you want to jump!) before upgrading the amp. When I tried L300 with 353x, it was only a very minor change compared to using L700 on 252s which resulted in quite a tonal change.

It's not the tonal character that I'm mainly concerned about. I can always EQ something to sound however I like tonally (and in fact I do that for every headphone I'd ever owned). My biggest concern is the amount of power required to adequately drive the bass frequencies of these stats, since I tend to attenuate treble (same effect as boosting lows and mids). I've come to the conclusion that this will require a powerful amp. Thank you for your suggestion anyhow. I do really admire the L700's amazing presentation of soundstage, however.

As an aside, what I've felt from these humble stats is that when the bass kicks in, it feels very tight, snappy, textured, and detailed. It has a perfect cohesiveness with the other frequencies, never overshadowing them. It's layered upon like a transparent screen, rather than smothering like a woolly blanket. It may not rumble (at least not with the srm-252s) , but I still feel that impact, and the bass just sounds very real and uncolored. The limitation of the amp leaves me wanting for more of that swift kick, though.

 

[Ojisan]

Maybe you just need some help in convincing yourself in getting a mega KG amp

I don't blame you. I'm not a bass head but I'm taking my time to build my own KG amp ground up in search of that ultimate sound.

 

[legopart]

What will happened if I turn on the electrostatic headphones without the bias?

 

[JimL11]

What will happened if I turn on the electrostatic headphones without the bias?

No bias, no sound.

 

[legopart]

No bias, no sound.

can It damage something on the headphones if the amp not turn it on (because of blown fuse on the electricity line)? (my amps works from the speaker amp and from electricity)

can I use the electrostatic connector for my regular headphones?, and how can I know that my amp ability can suite the specific Headphones?

 

[JimL11]

can It damage something on the headphones if the amp not turn it on (because of blown fuse on the electricity line)? (my amps works from the speaker amp and from electricity)

can I use the electrostatic connector for my regular headphones?, and how can I know that my amp ability can suite the specific Headphones?

Specifically, what amp are you talking about? All the current electrostatic amps turn on the bias automatically when you power them up. The old Stax energizers don't have a fuse, their bias is on as soon as you plug them in. You cannot use an electrostatic amp or energizer with a regular headphone. as electrostatic headphones need only a few milliamps current but require tens to a hundred volts or so, whereas regular headphones (dynamic or planar magnetic) need tens to hundreds of milliamps but only a few volts or less.

 

[legopart]

Specifically, what amp are you talking about? All the current electrostatic amps turn on the bias automatically when you power them up. The old Stax energizers don't have a fuse, their bias is on as soon as you plug them in. You cannot use an electrostatic amp or energizer with a regular headphone. as electrostatic headphones need only a few milliamps current but require tens to a hundred volts or so, whereas regular headphones (dynamic or planar magnetic) need tens to hundreds of milliamps but only a few volts or less.

I having an old type amps:
the Beyerdynamic n1000 (temporary without the fuse ) and Stax SRD-4
for Beyerdynamic et1000 and Stax SR-30

I want to convert the et1000 6pin din to Stax connector if its possible.