[icnaiwhimor1975]

it looks like 007A and MK2 have indeed been discontinued
I think the situation will be similar 009
009 was discontinued some time ago
but i can still buy it now (used)

 

[arielext]

I hear a rattle in the left side of my 009bk. During a sweep it rattles between 30 and 50hz, above 50 the rattle goes away.
From a consumers perspective is there anything I can do/try to solve this rattle?
During playback I never really notice it ofc but my autistic brain now has something to worry about...

 

[padam]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ants-in-my-stax-should-i-worry.609792/post-8419063
Disassemble and clean, pretty straightforward process.

 

[arielext]

I do need to open them up in order to see what might be causing it. Thx for the link, that will help out a lot!

 

[Svperstar]

Rattle during low bass is a classic sign of a hair on the driver/stattor. My first pair of Sennheiser 580 had that problem, took them apart and there was a weird little indent in the driver. I tried to push it out with various tools but didn't work. Sennheiser replaced them no issues.

 

[arielext]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ants-in-my-stax-should-i-worry.609792/post-8419063
Disassemble and clean, pretty straightforward process.

I opened the left cup today. Pads removing/replacing is a pain but I managed. Saw 2 flecks of something on the dust cover and removed those gently.
Closed back up again and the rattle is gone: sweet!

Pads took a bit of a beating due to pushing them outside to get to the screws but in the end I am happy with the operation and the outcome. Thank you for the link. Always good to see what to expect before you start.

 

[Chapitil]

Hey guys, I'm new to the electrostatic world, fell in love with the L700 mk2, but now i need to choose an amp for it. Which amp under 1500€ would you say is the best suited ?
I'm looking already at 500T and 400s, haven't had the chance to try them side by side yet, I'm wondering if there are other (better ?) options.
Looking for something "neutral", "transparent".
DAC is RME adi-2/4 pro se.
I should also mention, this is for high fidelity classical listening only.

 

[Aspirant Audiophile]

Hey guys, I'm new to the electrostatic world, fell in love with the L700 mk2, but now i need to choose an amp for it. Which amp under 1500€ would you say is the best suited ?
I'm looking already at 500T and 400s, haven't had the chance to try them side by side yet, I'm wondering if there are other (better ?) options.
Looking for something "neutral", "transparent".
DAC is RME adi-2/4 pro se.
I should also mention, this is for high fidelity classical listening only.

Better options are not definitively better, and for those two amps, isn't it more a matter of whether you prefer tubes or solid state? For the budget, I'm not sure there's something that's a clear step up, even secondhand.

RME is like a Volkswagon! I love my RME.

 

[bflat]

Hi all, just sharing some info that I was not able to find so had do my own experimentation on how the Stax SRM-D10 II operates as it relates to charging and playing. This along with the SR-003 MKII are the first Stax products I've owned so I'm unable to compare to prior versions.

Can/should you use the D10 II while plugged into power?

Yes you can. Reading the manual it does not specifically answer this question but it is implied because 1) It does not show up under a long list of warnings of what you shouldn't do and 2) It specifically tells you how the charge indicator operates differently while running on battery versus plugged in power.

Should you? The biggest concern one would have is heat generation if the D10 is plugged into power while in operation. I measured the temperature while running on battery for an hour vs plugged in and charging a depleted battery vs plugged in but starting with a full battery. In all three scenarios the temperatures were within 1-2 deg F with average being 106 deg F on the hottest spot. While the variation would indicate that lowest temp was on battery and highest was plugged in and charging a depleted battery, This was over 3-4 hours of testing and the room temperature went up 4 deg (71 to 75 deg) during that time. Conclusion - no meaningful temp differences in all three scenarios.

Lastly, whenever the battery is fully charged but I plug power in while in use, the battery never drains below full. I used this mode for 10 hours play time. Upon turning the D10 off, the red light indicating charging stayed on for 5 sec and then turned off which indicates full charge. I repeated this a couple more times and it's consistently about 5 sec. During the 10 hours of continuous use, the first approx 5 min shows battery is not charging, but changes to charging for the remainder of 10 hours. This would suggest two thing 1) The external power only charges the battery rather than bypass when plugged in. Steady state is when the battery charging rate equals the discharge rate, 2) There seems to be a charge limit to prevent overcharging the battery. This would explain why the battery is allowed to drain for the first 5 min before charging starts while plugged into power.

Edit - all of the deleted text above was only true when using a generic 5W USB charger and NOT the provided charger from Stax. Here are the details using the Stax charger and it is a MAJOR difference:

While reading the D10 II manual, I noticed the voltage input was rated up to 15V. I thought that was odd since the power input was rated at 5W so I just assumed a 5V generic charger would work and it did as noted above. However, looking at the previous D10 model, it came with a dedicated 14V DC power supply. After finding that out I wondered if the 15V on the II model using USB C port meant that it supported PD charging. I decided to take the Stax provided charger out and lo and behold, the charger featured a single USB C port and was labeled PD. Additionally it very heavy and solid compared to any other charger I have. I also decided to use the provided charging cable since not all USB C cables support PD charging. Here's how it compares to the 5V charger I was using prior:

1) When plugged into the Stax charger, the charging indicator remains green for "not charging". This could indicate that 15V bypasses the battery and powers the D10 II directly. When I turn off, there is no charging indicator on.

2) Assuming #1 is true, then 5V is not sufficient to power directly and must switch to battery operations with 5V only charging the battery while it discharges.

3) Of course we have to talk sound quality - to my ears the provided Stax charger at 15V sounds more dynamic compared to running on battery (plugged in to 5V power or not). Volume certainly is higher so that may be the reason for the perception of being more dynamic.

4) As far as operating temperatures go, using the Stax charger at 15V seems to increase temps by 4-5 deg F even though the battery is not charging. This could indicate the battery can only provide something less than 15V which would also explain the sound difference.

Bottom line - use the provided Stax charger or a good quality PD charger that supports up to 15V minimum. The other benefit to PD spec is that it has built in protection for overcharging. I tend to use the simple "how much does it weigh" method to determine the quality of a power supply. With that in mind, I will definitely stick with the Stax charger. Here are the specs for anyone interested:

Weight - 144 g or 5 ounces
Power rating - Up to 65 watts (20V at 3.25 amps), seriously, I can run my MacBook off this!

This is all really unnecessary details but I figure the Stax crowd would like know LOL.

 

[Hikarii]

Hey guys, I'm new to the electrostatic world, fell in love with the L700 mk2, but now i need to choose an amp for it. Which amp under 1500€ would you say is the best suited ?
I'm looking already at 500T and 400s, haven't had the chance to try them side by side yet, I'm wondering if there are other (better ?) options.
Looking for something "neutral", "transparent".
DAC is RME adi-2/4 pro se.
I should also mention, this is for high fidelity classical listening only.

You can try purchasing used energizers from head-fi, eBay or any Japanese website that does worldwide shipping.

I have seen many used 727A, 717's for 800-900$ in good condition for sale in eBay (without shipping) and I've read those are quite amazing for solid state energizers.

They should run the L700 quite adequately with sufficient volume and would do the 009/009s wonders too.

However, you should try to see which Amp synergizes well with the L700 as I'm unsure if they do well with the L700 specifically.

For tube options, most of the used energizers mightn't have a long tube life remaining so you might have to look into tube-rolling so you don't run into any issues.

Regards,.

 

[Gradostax fan]

I bought a used T1S modified to run on 12bh7 tubes from Ebay 3 yrs back for my SR009S. Still running strong.
Stax amps are quite durable.

 

[Chapitil]

Thanks for the suggestions, I went with an Octave v4 from Mjolnir audio, as it seems like the best bang for my buck. You guys know about it way better than me, but it seems very reliable and high quality, + the guy running the company is very nice.

 

[nylan8301]

Fellow Stax enthusiasts, I am having a problem with my SRM-252s that I'm not quite sure how to fix. Specifically, the RCA pass-through audibly degrades high frequencies to the point of causing distortion to whatever amp is on the receiving end. In reading the product description on the new SRM-270S, it sounds like they upgraded the RCA jacks to address this issue. So, my question is this: is there anything I can do to fix this issue? Is it a cable problem? Is it just dirty connectors? Are there high-end RCA jacks I can solder in to fix this issue? I am very comfortable soldering.

 

[icnaiwhimor1975]

RCA pass-through audibly degrades high frequencies to the point of causing distortion to whatever amp is on the receiving end

are you sure this is definitely a problem with the RCA connectors

 

[myheadHz]

Got a Lambda Pro in a sorry state.

Adhesive was all slush, driver had started to peel from the mounting plate, mesh frame splitting from transducer assembly, mesh crampled into stator, damping wool degraded and affixed itself to the outer driver, blemish on the dust cover. booo

However outer dust covers appear to be intact, and drivers worked, wonderful sound stage, crisp/clear top-end, although the self-imposed venting as the driver liberated itself from the mounting plate resulted in anemic low-end, albeit noticable.

Not had any experience lambda drivers and presume the layering goes something like this (starting from ear and working outwards);

- mesh retainer frame (black)
- mesh/gauze
- mesh retainer frame (black)
- dust cover (???)
- dust cover frame/brace (black)
- stator (metal/gold)
- diaphragm
- stator (metal/gold)
- dust cover frame/brace (black)
- dust cover (transparent thin plastic).

Some questions if I may...

1. Is the above layer ordering correct?
2. Whats the best way to clean the glue/wool off? Is this safe to use with dust covers?
3. Whats the best way to stick the driver together and back on mounting plate? Thinking double sided tape?
4. I can't see any spacers between stators? Are they recessed in the stator layer? I pressume the diaphragm is sandwiched with a non-conductive adhesive? Same glue as used elsewhere?
5. Whats a good way to remove the mesh and frames (I count two layers) from the stator/dust cover without damaging dust cover if possible?
6. If I have to replace the dust covers, what is a good (soncially transparent) material to do so?

I'm hoping I don't need to go anywhere near the diaphragm/stators and can restrict my actions to the the meshes which probably need replacing as they are dented and I believe are touching/conducting the stator , I presume this means the dust cover between stator and mesh grill is also shot, and thus will need replacing too.

Any tips would be very much welcomed...