The Stax Thread III

[CT007]

Can anyone say - 007 MK2 and L700 vs Edition XS or Arya Stealth? Are the Stax less bright/fatiguing? I would think so, with that effortless sound quality.

 

[DeweyCH]

L700 mk2 via WEE fed by the speaker taps in a Burson Timekeeper 3ir: *chef's kiss*

Plenty of juice, and I'm starting to see what this whole estat thing is about.

 

[zomkung]

Can anyone say - 007 MK2 and L700 vs Edition XS or Arya Stealth? Are the Stax less bright/fatiguing? I would think so, with that effortless sound quality.

I have all of that except L700

007 is the warmest among these.

 

[CT007]

I have all of that except L700

007 is the warmest among these.

But what about general sound fatigue between 007/Arya Stealth/XS? Treble fatigue/sharpness/peaks?

 

[martin778]

Do you guys think the HEV90 would still put up a fight against 009S/X9000 or is this more of a collector's item / statement product nowadays? I wonder if anyone can replace or repair the panels on HE90?

 

[Chefguru]

Do you guys think the HEV90 would still put up a fight against 009S/X9000 or is this more of a collector's item / statement product nowadays? I wonder if anyone can replace or repair the panels on HE90?

Hev90 the amp? It pairs well with the 009s, but is not in the tier 1 of amps. Carbon/BHSE/Megatron are a level above.

The he90? Yes, absolutely. Wish this was still available. CRBN is sort of similar but without the “sweet” sound.

 

[martin778]

I was referring to the complete HE/HEV setup indeed.

 

[OkPsychology]

Hey friends!

I'm a complete idiot when it comes to this stuff, but I have a Woo Wee that I intend to sell tout de suite. I wanted someone with more knowledge than me (that's quite a low bar, admittedly) to verify that this thing has a ballast resistor and is safe for the next owner. I only used it a handful of times myself (got it in a trade last year) and then acquired a Mjolnir SRD-7 shortly thereafter. I'm still using the SRD-7, but the Wee has been sitting on a shelf for some time. I'd be happy to recoup a few bucks and pass it along to another member here, but would like to do so with a clear conscience, if you catch my drift.

So, here are some photos. I believe the square box with the yellow wires connected to the STAX Pro sockets is indeed the resistor. Would somebody be so kind as to verify this for me?

Thank you so much in advance.

 

[KDS315]

Hey friends!

I'm a complete idiot when it comes to this stuff, but I have a Woo Wee that I intend to sell tout de suite. I wanted someone with more knowledge than me (that's quite a low bar, admittedly) to verify that this thing has a ballast resistor and is safe for the next owner. I only used it a handful of times myself (got it in a trade last year) and then acquired a Mjolnir SRD-7 shortly thereafter. I'm still using the SRD-7, but the Wee has been sitting on a shelf for some time. I'd be happy to recoup a few bucks and pass it along to another member here, but would like to do so with a clear conscience, if you catch my drift.

So, here are some photos. I believe the square box with the yellow wires connected to the STAX Pro sockets is indeed the resistor. Would somebody be so kind as to verify this for me?

Thank you so much in advance.

Don't think so: two of those square boxes are shielded transformers to up the signal from the speakers. The third one is a metal shielded AC line transformer which provides the high voltage to generate bias, which then is rectified by a diode array (box with yellow cables) and smoothed using capacitor(s) to the needed PRO DC 580V bias voltage.

 

[Eich1eeF]

Hey friends!

I'm a complete idiot when it comes to this stuff, but I have a Woo Wee that I intend to sell tout de suite. I wanted someone with more knowledge than me (that's quite a low bar, admittedly) to verify that this thing has a ballast resistor and is safe for the next owner. I only used it a handful of times myself (got it in a trade last year) and then acquired a Mjolnir SRD-7 shortly thereafter. I'm still using the SRD-7, but the Wee has been sitting on a shelf for some time. I'd be happy to recoup a few bucks and pass it along to another member here, but would like to do so with a clear conscience, if you catch my drift.

So, here are some photos. I believe the square box with the yellow wires connected to the STAX Pro sockets is indeed the resistor. Would somebody be so kind as to verify this for me?

Thank you so much in advance.

as KDS315 pointed out, the object you're probably referring to (marked below) should be a rectifier. The resistor you're looking for should be cylindrical, with one wire on each end, and very roughtly 1cm long and 2-3mm in diameter, and I see no such thing between the rectifier and the headphone sockets.

 

[OkPsychology]

Thank you @KDS315 and @Eich1eeF for the replies. I guess I’ll knock a few bucks off the price and sell it with the disclaimer that it really ought to be modded before use. I appreciate your input!

 

[tjlindle]

But what about general sound fatigue between 007/Arya Stealth/XS? Treble fatigue/sharpness/peaks?

I have owned the Hifimans you mention - "fatigue" is hard to discuss since it is specific to each person, but for me the 007 is less fatiguing than either of those, especially the Arya.

If you don't want to invest kilobucks into a 007 system but want a non-fatiguing 'stat, try the Kaldas Research RR1 Conquest which can be bought for $500 brand new and is a lot easier to amp.

If you stay with Hifiman then I recommend stretching past the Arya to the HE1000se, it is not far from the Susvara's sound quality while being significantly less of a prima donna in terms of amping it.

EDIT: And yea in general terms the best of those four headphones (3 above + the L700) is the 007 but it needs to be amped appropriately, if you don't want to do that then save your money and just get the Edition XS which is great and also the cheapest. L700 is also very good but if you're concerned about treble fatigue and don't EQ, it could be an issue.

 

[CT007]

And yea in general terms the best of those four headphones (3 above + the L700) is the 007 but it needs to be amped appropriately, if you don't want to do that then save your money and just get the Edition XS which is great and also the cheapest. L700 is also very good but if you're concerned about treble fatigue and don't EQ, it could be an issue.

I am going for Gungnir + KGSSHV(or KGST?) + 007, which should be pretty great, from what people are saying. I found XS quite excellent technically, but I'd like something a little warmer and smoother/relaxed. Too much treble emphasis/fatigue for me.

 

[BTD1]

Has anyone recently put 009 pads on a 007? Is this still considered an inexpensive way to improve the clarity of the 007s?

 

[lostrockets]

I have owned the Hifimans you mention - "fatigue" is hard to discuss since it is specific to each person, but for me the 007 is less fatiguing than either of those, especially the Arya.

If you don't want to invest kilobucks into a 007 system but want a non-fatiguing 'stat, try the Kaldas Research RR1 Conquest which can be bought for $500 brand new and is a lot easier to amp.

If you stay with Hifiman then I recommend stretching past the Arya to the HE1000se, it is not far from the Susvara's sound quality while being significantly less of a prima donna in terms of amping it.

EDIT: And yea in general terms the best of those four headphones (3 above + the L700) is the 007 but it needs to be amped appropriately, if you don't want to do that then save your money and just get the Edition XS which is great and also the cheapest. L700 is also very good but if you're concerned about treble fatigue and don't EQ, it could be an issue.

How do the kaldas compare to the 007s and 009s ?