[SonyFan121]

Can anyone tell me what is the most affordable/cheapest Stax earphones/headphones?
Would they be worth it/better than the Koss ESP 95X?

I'm just curious to know. Over the years i've pretty much heard almost all the closed-back and open-back headphones I've wanted to hear, with the exception of Sennheiser HD800, Denon AH-D7200, Sony MDR Z7 MK2 and MDR Z1R. But I would definitely invest in an electrostatic system if it's worth the money.

 

[legopart]

I have a schematic of the SRM1 Mk2, so I don't know if it is the same as your version, but as far as I can see, Stax did NOT use electrolytic caps in a serial connection, so I would not recommend you try to substitute a bipolar cap. I recommend that you either replace them cap for cap with the same value, or, if you wish, you can use a larger value cap since modern electrolytic are smaller in size for the same value than the old caps.

what do you mean by "larger value"?, I heard this suggestion but I afraid to put something that not planned by an engineer into this amp.

I still searching for some schemes for Stax Srm-1, any of them. prefer the one that I have (It calls MK2 but it not looks like...).

 

[Tinkerer]

He means larger capacitance. So what you want is the same voltage rating but a higher uF in the same footprint. It's just like putting a bigger tank of gas on a car.

that not planned by an engineer

Jim is an engineer

 

[JimL11]

He means larger capacitance. So what you want is the same voltage rating but a higher uF in the same footprint. It's just like putting a bigger tank of gas on a car.


Jim is an engineer

Well actually, I'm not an engineer, but I do have a Master's degree in Physics. Increasing the size of power supply capacitors is a very common modification, particularly since the size of electrolytic capacitors is often chosen to be the smallest (i.e. cheapest) size that the original engineers figure will do the job.

 

[legopart]

Well actually, I'm not an engineer, but I do have a Master's degree in Physics. Increasing the size of power supply capacitors is a very common modification, particularly since the size of electrolytic capacitors is often chosen to be the smallest (i.e. cheapest) size that the original engineers figure will do the job.

why on the high volume I can hear the music (quiet) but still hear something from the Stax Srm1 and even from Stax srd7?
why? can I fix it by replacing some element?

Still I not got the answare how to recap and upgrade the Stax srm1 ?
thanks

 

[JimL11]

why on the high volume I can hear the music (quiet) but still hear something from the Stax Srm1 and even from Stax srd7?
why? can I fix it by replacing some element?

Still I not got the answare how to recap and upgrade the Stax srm1 ?
thanks

Almost any component will make some noise if you turn it up high enough. Electrostatic amps amplify the voltage by 500-1000x (54 - 60 dB), so they may not be completely silent, but they should still be much quieter than the music.

The SRD7 is a passive component - it is just a pair of transformers to increase the voltage from an amplifier, and a passive voltage multiplier to supply the bias. So if you are hearing something from that it is most likely elsewhere in your chain. The transformers shouldn't produce any noise at all.

If the SRM-1 is producing noise, well, it is a 30 year old amp, or thereabouts - it could be anything that has become noisy. Tracking down a noisy component is rarely fun or easy. Either live with it or get a new amp. If it is in both channels it is more likely in something that is common to both channels, such as the power supply. A bad PS cap could do it, but you're going to replace them anyway, so do that and see if it fixes the problem. Other than that I have no other suggestions.

I'm not sure what your question is about recapping. On the one hand you say you want to replace two polar caps with one bipolar, on the other you say you are concerned about changing the values of the electrolytic caps. Then don't mess with anything, just replace every cap with the same voltage rating and capacitance as the originals. Don't overthink it.

 

[legopart]

Almost any component will make some noise if you turn it up high enough. Electrostatic amps amplify the voltage by 500-1000x (54 - 60 dB), so they may not be completely silent, but they should still be much quieter than the music.

The SRD7 is a passive component - it is just a pair of transformers to increase the voltage from an amplifier, and a passive voltage multiplier to supply the bias. So if you are hearing something from that it is most likely elsewhere in your chain. The transformers shouldn't produce any noise at all.

If the SRM-1 is producing noise, well, it is a 30 year old amp, or thereabouts - it could be anything that has become noisy. Tracking down a noisy component is rarely fun or easy. Either live with it or get a new amp. If it is in both channels it is more likely in something that is common to both channels, such as the power supply. A bad PS cap could do it, but you're going to replace them anyway, so do that and see if it fixes the problem. Other than that I have no other suggestions.

I'm not sure what your question is about recapping. On the one hand you say you want to replace two polar caps with one bipolar, on the other you say you are concerned about changing the values of the electrolytic caps. Then don't mess with anything, just replace every cap with the same voltage rating and capacitance as the originals. Don't overthink it.

I not hearing just some noises, I hear the same music from this amp, but the quiet version of it.
just amp can act like a speaker???

the only elements that can produce noisy music feadback is Piezo-electric one.
like transistors and diodes.

I can hear the quiet version of the music and not some random noises, it the same nosic.
on the must high volume, I test on the both channels and I can hear the leaking of the music from the amp!.

on low volumes its not apears.

but still I want to know why??






In addition I replaced the 1.5 glass fuse to 1.25A fast fuse

test it inside compare to the reqular one

 

[Hirsch2k]

Hi all,

I recently purchased the SR-L700 and the Woo Wee in a sale, after I enjoyed my Koss ESP95X with Dekoni pads so much. But after listening to it for about a week and comparing it with my other gear (mostly the Koss and HD800 SD) I am kind of dissapointed.
I mean, I understand that not every headphone is as bright as a HD800, but in my ears the treble is totally lacking. I saw the FR-measurements that also show a lack of treble and thought to myself I want to hear it myself, since the L700 is often described as "lean, etheral, kind of bright etc."

But I find none of these descriptions fitting. The bass sounds boomy, the mids shouty and the treble (and unfortunately the details) are very subdued.

I know that the Woo Wee, which runs of the balanced outputs of my THX 789, is not a Kevin Gilmore amp, but it should at least give a rough impression of the signature and thats exactly why I bought it.

Can anyone who heard the L700 comment and share his impressions? Am I completely mistaken? Is my unit maybe broken?

Thanks!

 

[legopart]

If the left and right sides having the same sound then the possibility mostly that the headphones ok.
which dac and amp do you use ?

 

[VRacer-111]

Hi all,

I recently purchased the SR-L700 and the Woo Wee in a sale, after I enjoyed my Koss ESP95X with Dekoni pads so much. But after listening to it for about a week and comparing it with my other gear (mostly the Koss and HD800 SD) I am kind of dissapointed.
I mean, I understand that not every headphone is as bright as a HD800, but in my ears the treble is totally lacking. I saw the FR-measurements that also show a lack of treble and thought to myself I want to hear it myself, since the L700 is often described as "lean, etheral, kind of bright etc."

But I find none of these descriptions fitting. The bass sounds boomy, the mids shouty and the treble (and unfortunately the details) are very subdued.

I know that the Woo Wee, which runs of the balanced outputs of my THX 789, is not a Kevin Gilmore amp, but it should at least give a rough impression of the signature and thats exactly why I bought it.

Can anyone who heard the L700 comment and share his impressions? Am I completely mistaken? Is my unit maybe broken?

Thanks!

It's not the L700, it's something with your upstream chain - most likely the THX 789 which I would probably say is too weak to properly power Estats from a Woo Wee and thus resulting in what you are hearing from the L700s. You really need a more powerful stereo amp, not headphone amp, for use with the estat transformers. Something that puts out lots of volts (base SRM-323S driver can take a max 30Vrms input and have 280Vrms maximum output.) Or sell off the Woo Wee and get the STAX SRM-252S plus lots of spare cash and have better sound compared to what you are describing.

Had a Koss ESP950 and sold it because it was just way too rolled off on both ends, less clear, less detailed, and slower sounding than my L300 Limited (modded to be L700 equivalent.) Both used on the same source as I had STAX adapter for the Koss ESP950 - first used on STAX SRM-323S driver with Gustard X20U DAC and then X20U with NAD C275BEE stereo amp to Mjolnir Audio SRD-7 e-stat transformer. The ESP950 has absolutely weak and rolled off bass in comparison to any STAX I've heard...weaker than an HD700 - must be heavily EQ'd to get sound proper subbass of an acoustic bass. STAX don't shove details into your head like some others headphones, but they do provide ALL the details of the music in a manner in which you can choose to hear everything at once or isolate details at will.

Overall, to make a comparison to two other headphones, the Koss ESP950 is like a Sennheiser HD6XX with a noticeably reduced low end while the STAX SR-700/modded L300 is like an enhanced Focal Clear with better low end impact, detail, and speed. Best bass I've ever heard is from my modded L300 Limited, SR-404 Limited, and SR-007 MK2 - never heard a boomy STAX... but the cleanest, most finessed low end with very good impact, excellent midbass punch, impeccable intonation, and unmatched speed. Mids are not shouty, but fairly full and vibrant, yet also smooth in delivery. Treble might be considered a little bright, but never crossing into sibilant territory and not fatguing, yet highly articulate and detailed.

 

[gefski]

Hi all,

I recently purchased the SR-L700 and the Woo Wee in a sale, after I enjoyed my Koss ESP95X with Dekoni pads so much. But after listening to it for about a week and comparing it with my other gear (mostly the Koss and HD800 SD) I am kind of dissapointed.
I mean, I understand that not every headphone is as bright as a HD800, but in my ears the treble is totally lacking. I saw the FR-measurements that also show a lack of treble and thought to myself I want to hear it myself, since the L700 is often described as "lean, etheral, kind of bright etc."

But I find none of these descriptions fitting. The bass sounds boomy, the mids shouty and the treble (and unfortunately the details) are very subdued.

I know that the Woo Wee, which runs of the balanced outputs of my THX 789, is not a Kevin Gilmore amp, but it should at least give a rough impression of the signature and thats exactly why I bought it.

Can anyone who heard the L700 comment and share his impressions? Am I completely mistaken? Is my unit maybe broken?

Thanks!

I also think your problem is upstream. I've plugged many Lambdas into my rig over the years, and hear the opposite of what you're describing; spot on timbre, including bass, graceful overall delivery that's never shouty, macro and micro detail top to bottom.

And it's not necessary to own a KG to get to the essence of the Lambda. Good luck in exploring and sorting things out.

 

[penguinofsleep2]

Tried the L300 and L700 with both the 353 and 007 amp/energizer last year, based on my notes:

IMO a lot of music didn't sound "quite right" with the L300 - biggest issue was everything seemed to decay way too fast (ex: drum cymbals wouldn't ring) amongst many other unique nuances. As expected (for e-stat) bass was lacking in quantity although the "quality" of the bass itself was good. 700s were pretty nice with either amp mentioned above but for the same or less money I would rather get a different dynamic/ortho and amp combo. Both L300/L700 really excelled at other aspects though - at this price range especially,

I have also tried the SR007-mk2 and SR009. On paper performance was really good. But the frequency response of the SR009 was only about 6/10 for my preferences. SR007-mk2 had a 7.5/10 frequency response for me (and idk if they are actually different when graphed), but to me all the other "on paper" performance stuff wasn't as "technically good". (I don't have 1 ideal freq response)

 

[VRacer-111]

STAX L series can be easily and inexpensively modded to have subbass impact between Argon MK3 and Fostex TH-X00 Purpleheart....

For subbass impact, STAX L300 Limited + L700 pads + this mod = THIS

 

[JimL11]

Hi all,

I recently purchased the SR-L700 and the Woo Wee in a sale, after I enjoyed my Koss ESP95X with Dekoni pads so much. But after listening to it for about a week and comparing it with my other gear (mostly the Koss and HD800 SD) I am kind of dissapointed.
I mean, I understand that not every headphone is as bright as a HD800, but in my ears the treble is totally lacking. I saw the FR-measurements that also show a lack of treble and thought to myself I want to hear it myself, since the L700 is often described as "lean, etheral, kind of bright etc."

But I find none of these descriptions fitting. The bass sounds boomy, the mids shouty and the treble (and unfortunately the details) are very subdued.

I know that the Woo Wee, which runs of the balanced outputs of my THX 789, is not a Kevin Gilmore amp, but it should at least give a rough impression of the signature and thats exactly why I bought it.

Thanks!

The Woo WEE is designed to be used with a loudspeaker amp, not a headphone amp, although Woo claim that 3 watts is sufficient. However, the THS789 is likely to be marginal in that most speaker amps, as it is designed to drive higher impedances than most speaker amps, and is likely current limited by comparison. It's a bit like dropping an original VW Beetle engine into a Porsche and complaining about the performance.

 

[legopart]

= THIS

Think now to buy the sr-404 limited =D