[jsts]

Now I'm waiting for the arrival of my new DAC - Norma DA1 on two R2R 1704 chips. I will share my impressions.

Brief impressions of my new true balanced NOS DAC Norma HS-DA1 on PCM1704 chips in comparison with Chord Hugo 2.

1. Chord Hugo 2 is an excellent DAC, but in the context of use with STAX too sharp and bright. Less bright than the RME ADI 2, but still. To tame it a bit you should use a copper interconnect cable. Silver is contraindicated.

2. Direct comparison of Norma DA1 with Hugo 2 at the first listening revealed no differences. Well, that is, I did not hear them: both DACs sounded exactly the same. Once again, this is with direct listening and cycling the inputs back and forth.

3. BUT! Then for 10 days I listened to just Norma DA1 and this is what I got.

• It used to be unpleasant to listen to some music on the Hugo 2: in some places I cringed because of the harshness of the frequency range. With the Norma DA1 this problem disappeared completely, listening is not any discomfort at all.
• On the Hugo, the bass is tight and detailed. On Norma the bass is a bit relaxed, but it sets the scale.
• A wider and deeper scene.
• The overall musical presentation of the Norma DA1 is different. It is very difficult to describe. It's as if the sounds are all coupled together, flowing into each other. The style is neat, airy, graceful, intelligent.

Yesterday I switched to the Hugo 2 and... It became clear. The Hugo 2 is a young upstart boy in a pressed suit, who does not tolerate criticism. Norma DA1 is an experienced maestro who knows his worth. On the Hugo 2, everything is correct, everything is smart, but you listen to the sounds. On the Norma DA1 you listen to music.

 

[Mach3]

That black setup WOWzer....

 

[chocolates]

the adhesive on my sr-lambda is coming off, but the pads are still great otherwise. does anyone have any recommendations to re-affix the pads?

 

[EJSorona]

the adhesive on my sr-lambda is coming off, but the pads are still great otherwise. does anyone have any recommendations to re-affix the pads?

What about the adhesive plasticine used for the blu-tak resonator mod? Either Loctite fun-tak, UHU Patafix or Pritt Poster Buddies woud do. You will have to peel the earpads off, clean the adhesive material (I guess isopropyl alcohol would do) and make a thin plasticine track so it seals the gap between the earpads and the plastic frame that it's glued against, so you don't have air/sound leakage. An easier alternative is just fill the spot that the original adhesive came off.

 

[chocolates]

that might work! but it looks rather thick and hard to apply (on the other hand, fully removable is always a plus)

i tried looking around for double-sided adhesive tape but they're all on the thick side (1-2mm thick it seems)

 

[DougD]

that might work! but it looks rather thick and hard to apply (on the other hand, fully removable is always a plus)

i tried looking around for double-sided adhesive tape but they're all on the thick side (1-2mm thick it seems)

When I inquired about that while buying some used earspeakers, Birgir of Mjolnir-Audio included some "3M 9448A double coated tissue tape." Comes in sheets that are approximately 4" x 8". Since he sent me some, I haven't needed to find out where to buy it. It's probably 0.2 mm thick when the protective paper is removed, very thin.

Edit/Add: did some googling. Apparently comes in a variety of configurations, all labeled as 9448A. Some thick, some thin, some as tapes, some as circular pads, etc etc. Didn't see one just like Birgir's, which is paper-thin, and well-suited for re-attaching headphone pads.

 

[bearFNF]

Edit- found a better one. Try this: 3m 300lse 4" X8" Heavty Duty Double Sided Sticky Adhesive Sheet Tape High Bond Transfer Tape Ideal for Attaching Digitizers to Phones and Tablets (1 sheets 4"x8")
https://www.amazon.com/300lse-Adhes...248298&s=office-products&sr=1-9&tag=headfi-20

Or you can the referenced tape by googling it....

 

[bigjako]

Emergency Staxen Council inquiry: does this mean I need to buy an entirely new L700 headband assembly? Not original purchaser.

 

[bigjako]

I, um, did some more research and think that a SoCas yoke replacement shall work. Council crisis averted, I hope.

 

[gleanfont]

L700 headband assembly

Looking at it closely, kinda you need to buy a new one. Though, have you tried repairing it first?

 

[AnakChan]

Ouch! Did you sit on it!? I’d guess U’d need to buy a new yoke.

 

[paradoxper]

Emergency Staxen Council inquiry: does this mean I need to buy an entirely new L700 headband assembly? Not original purchaser.

That does look repairable if not worth the trouble. Good news is the replaceable assemblies aren't too exorbitant.

 

[chocolates]

When I inquired about that while buying some used earspeakers, Birgir of Mjolnir-Audio included some "3M 9448A double coated tissue tape." Comes in sheets that are approximately 4" x 8". Since he sent me some, I haven't needed to find out where to buy it. It's probably 0.2 mm thick when the protective paper is removed, very thin.

Edit/Add: did some googling. Apparently comes in a variety of configurations, all labeled as 9448A. Some thick, some thin, some as tapes, some as circular pads, etc etc. Didn't see one just like Birgir's, which is paper-thin, and well-suited for re-attaching headphone pads.

Edit- found a better one. Try this: 3m 300lse 4" X8" Heavty Duty Double Sided Sticky Adhesive Sheet Tape High Bond Transfer Tape Ideal for Attaching Digitizers to Phones and Tablets (1 sheets 4"x8")
https://www.amazon.com/300lse-Adhes...248298&s=office-products&sr=1-9&tag=headfi-20

Or you can the referenced tape by googling it....

perfect, thanks!

 

[bigjako]

Ouch! Did you sit on it!? I’d guess U’d need to buy a new yoke.

No, honestly I just put it on the stand and the cable plug fell to the ground at the same and I guess yanked it just right. I didn’t even feel it, just saw the cup on my desk. It broke under the screw so I think the 20 euro yoke replacement will work. I chose orange to remind me of this day.

 

[catscratch]

You can buy replacement yokes from Socas 3D here. You'll need a Torx 6 screwdriver too to undo the screw holding the yoke on. These will increase clamping force slightly but will allow for a wider range of motion in the earcup and will generally result in better sound.

You can also buy a Mk2 headband separately from Stax USA (or maybe Woo Audio? don't remember). The Mk2 headbands do result in slightly worse sound IMO but others may prefer them.

The same thing happened to me, it's not too uncommon.