The Stax Thread III

[arnaud]

:eek:   How much time have you had with the amp?

The issue with the bass for example is noticeable almost immediatly, even coming from supposedly inferior gear like the 727 amp (driving the 009). A direct comparison to an electra from the same source also does not take 15 minutes to find what the LLmk2 is doing well / not so well.

It's far from subtle, I have a hard time calling this a "matter of taste", and personally would take a 727 amp (or 323S as it's not far from the 727 when driving the 009) over the LL any day. That is unless I listen with my wallet instead of my ears.

 

[bearFNF]

Cough cough...I feel sick...might be coming own with the same 009 bug myself ...in the near future???
 
Cograts on the acquisitions.

 

 

[iwik]

Hi Guys,
A first time poster but long time user of Stax SR-Lambda Pro Classic along with Kevin Gilmores
Tube Amp and then his Full Solid State one. Maybe now his Blue Hawaii as I have just spotted it.
Back to my question;
My headphones have the foam disintegrating and I have managed to remove 99% of it. Some
very small pieces have seemed to have gotten thru the grill. Is it necessary to remove every little bit and is
it really needed to be replaced. If so what is best to use. Don't want to buy replacement kit as the Pads
are in Perfect condition.
Also noticed the grills have sunken in the middle on both. Should this grill be tight and flat?.
If so I will have to remove the inserts but they appear to be stuck. I don't want to damage
anything trying to get them out if I don't have to. Any tips or advice would be much appreciated.
Phones appear to be working ok. Hadnt used them for a few years and just noticed the disintergrating foam.
 
Thanks
Les 

 

[padam]

Dear Les,
 
This is the part you need
https://www.staxusa.com/parts/ear-pads/stax-dust-mesh-for-ep234.html
 
You needn't worry too much about dust as long as the dust cover remains intact it should not get in the drivers.
I guess you should be able to just gently(!) blow the dust particles out (from an angle).
The grille is attached to the driver with glue so I would not tinker with it as even if it is slightly bumped it probably does not have any effect on the sound.
 
By the way, when you have such nice amps, you might be thinking of stepping up a little bit, for instance to the "full-blown" Lambda Pro (not the Classic) if you can find it in nice shape.

 

[spkrs01]

  Nice! What DAC are you running for all that? You got hit by the Stax bug all at once 

 
I will be using both the Metrum Hex and the Lumin Music Player............currently with just the LAu in use, I am running Lumin via SPDIF > Hex balanced > LAu.
 
If I am able to buy the 8PS which I am told sounds superior off balanced inputs, I will run either the LL2 or LAu single ended. 
 
 

The issue with the bass for example is noticeable almost immediatly, even coming from supposedly inferior gear like the 727 amp (driving the 009). A direct comparison to an electra from the same source also does not take 15 minutes to find what the LLmk2 is doing well / not so well.

It's far from subtle, I have a hard time calling this a "matter of taste", and personally would take a 727 amp (or 323S as it's not far from the 727 when driving the 009) over the LL any day. That is unless I listen with my wallet instead of my ears.

 
Hey Arnaud, I do find it interesting what you guys heard with the LL2 in your Stax mini meet regarding the bass performance, sounding very staccato with a complete lack of decay or very little. It is definitely different to what several owners that I have spoken to reports. Which gives rise to me thinking there may be something wrong with your demo LL2 or upstream chain synergy wise. Although I am very apprehensive in identifying the problem as the upstream chain unless the LL2 is so revealing to the nth degree.
 
The LL2 will have all the opportunities in my system to perform well, with isolation cones, good power management and excellent cabling both power and i/c, and I will pay particular attention to the bass performance reporting back accordingly. 

 

[arnaud]

Hi gavin, i doubt it is the upstream gear as i heard it in my rig, that of anakchan's + another top dog dac converter brought by a friend (totaldac d1).
At this stage, if this isn't what others have experienced, we must have received a lemon from alex (waiting to hear from him as we sent the amp back a month ago or so).

 

[spkrs01]

Hi gavin, i doubt it is the upstream gear as i heard it in my rig, that of anakchan's + another top dog dac converter brought by a friend (totaldac d1).
At this stage, if this isn't what others have experienced, we must have received a lemon from alex (waiting to hear from him as we sent the amp back a month ago or so).

 
Arnaud
 
Shame if it was a lemon, for all parties on your tour!!!
 
I shall wait for the arrival of mine, and take a view of the LL2 when it arrives........
 
Have a great weekend!
 
 

 

[gilency]

Hi gavin, i doubt it is the upstream gear as i heard it in my rig, that of anakchan's + another top dog dac converter brought by a friend (totaldac d1).
At this stage, if this isn't what others have experienced, we must have received a lemon from alex (waiting to hear from him as we sent the amp back a month ago or so).

 

 

[iwik]

Thanks Padam,
Will look into the Pro versions, if i cant get the dust protectors here will try the USA.
Les 

 

[Manoa1]

Hi everyone, I just received a 3010 system (SR-202, SRM-310) off of the Bay and I was excited to join the club and fall in love with Stax. BUT I have noticed buzzing/static in the right driver when certain notes are hit (particularly on female vocals or higher frequencies). Do you think this is the dreaded dust in the driver issue?

(also posted on the entry level Stax thread)

 

[davidsh]

Are there any holes in the plastic film protecting the driver? (look closely)

 

[Manoa1]

Are there any holes in the plastic film protecting the driver? (look closely)

Thanks Davidsh for the response. I held the phones up to light I didn't notice any abnormalities (looking through the dust screens). I will look again later on tonight (heading out the door).

 

[shipsupt]

If it's really tied to when certain notes are played I don't think it's a driver issue, sound more like something in the amp or source side of things.

 

[spkrs01]

Spent a wonderful afternoon listening to my friend's 009, while I await delivery of my owns amps............
 
His system consists of the Playback Design MPS-5 > ARC Ref 5 SE > 8PS, listening to CDs and HiRez music files from a Mac using JRiver.
 
The 009 sounded so different from what I heard in Tokyo on a Stax amp, where the 009 was ethereal and delicate, the 009 today was full of power and grace, a deadly combination that truly draws one into the music. I never knew that 009 could do bass like what I heard today, full of impact and slam. Composition of sound was wonderful, leading edges, note, decay was compelling, and instrument specific in all three main frequencies. Soundstaging was surprising today too. Where in Tokyo, the images were floating around the forehead, today they were smack bang in front, well structured and correct, with good palpability. 
 
With the ARC Ref 5 SE in the chain compared to just the 8PS resulted in better dynamics on both the micro and macro level, larger soundstaging and more solidity to images..................... 

 

[astrostar59]

Hi spkrs01
I confer with that. I run the SR-007s with a Stax SRM-717, Audio Note 3.1 tubed DAC and Audio Note M3 tubed preamp between the DAC and the SRM-717.
 
The difference is bigger more dynamic sound, better bass weight and detail, smoother treble and beautiful midrange realism.
On it's own, the Stax amp sounds metallic and thin, smaller and less realistic.
 
I run the SRM-717 at full bypassing the volume control, so in a way like a class A power amp. I can tweak the sound with tube choice in the DAC and pre amp, which both have Tungsol 5687s at the moment, and Bendix regulator tubes.
 
Source comes from a Mac Mini 2013 with Firewire external and using Audirvana+ inc iTunes. I use an iMac to remote screen the Mac Mini. I have not drop outs or issues so far. The SPDIF convertor is an M2Tech full stack with ext clock and custom PS.
 
For the sound I am getting, it's good value.