The Stax Thread III

[LaCuffia]

Take the SR-L700 with your SRM-T1. I think this combo has best performance compared to the other setups in this price range up to $3000.

Thanks....that's what I thought.  From what I've read, the Lamda series seems to be a good pairing with the tube driver units. 
 
The pad design is new and different than prior generation Lambdas.  My only complaint with the 2170 was the imperfect seal and comfort could have been better.   I am hoping the L700 is an improvement in both areas.

 

[zolkis]

I am hoping the L700 is an improvement in both areas.

It is.

 

[mtoc]

Does the SRM-727 which bypasses the internal pot plus a scary priced high-end speaker preamp combo really outperform the BHSE completely?

 

[arnaud]

Man, you're on a roll lately mtoc

 

[rgs9200m]

Is there any info on the SR007 port mod and is it complicated or risky? And what are the sonic benefits? Does it calm the upper mids a bit if digital glare is in the system? Thanks.

 

[Jones Bob]

Is there any info on the SR007 port mod and is it complicated or risky? And what are the sonic benefits? Does it calm the upper mids a bit if digital glare is in the system? Thanks.

Google "SR-007 port mod Spritzer". It will spit out a link to the exact thread on That Other Site That Must Not Be Named.

 

[rgs9200m]

Thanks for the info. It looks too difficult for me; I'm too clumsy to risk breaking my expensive phones. I'm still not sure what the sonic improvement would be. All I would ask for is a little less upper midrange energy that happens when a recording seems to have glare in vocals.
But overall in a good amount of my music the SR007 mk 2.5 is just fine.
I tried a little experiment and put a small square of tape on the outside of each earcup and for some reason it sounds nice. I'm debating whether to keep this on all the time. It calms the upper mids / lower treble.
Thanks.

 

[Ali-Pacha]

Bump
 

   
No, the HE-1 Orpheus would still get the clear nod. As I said in the CanJam London video, I feel the Utopia's overall performance is matched only by a few top-performing planar magnetic headphones, and exceeded only by the very best electrostatic headphones in the world. The new Orpheus is, in my opinion, perhaps without peer right now (and I still haven't had a chance to try the HE-1 Orpheus with the Chord DAVE yet).
 
My Stax SR-009 and Stax SR-007 Mk1 with the Frank Cooter Custom 845 Electrostatic Amp are still, in my opinion, the better sounding, more resolving headphones (versus either the Utopia or Elear). Of course, at that point, we are talking about an electrostatic system that would be priced significantly higher than even the Utopia, and it's also a system that was shipped on a pallet, because it's so large--so you can't really use it anywhere other than where it is (at my office).
 
Especially with the SR-007 Mk1 (which I've been using more and more lately), the bass is more present than with the Utopia, and the treble smoother and more refined, and, overall, more resolving. Both the SR-009 and SR-007 Mk1 play with beautiful body and drive through the Cooter--more than any other amp I've yet heard with them.

 

 
Ali

 

[astrostar59]

Does the SRM-727 which bypasses the internal pot plus a scary priced high-end speaker preamp combo really outperform the BHSE completely?

Oh my....

 

[Spork67]

 
TAKE CARE 580v bias here. Refer to the drawing for the pin outs: Put a bit of tape over the Bias pin to be safe while you do those tests. It sounds to me the amp board has failed. After an hour or so of no power connected, take off the top and look inside for burn marks or bulging caps etc.
 

 
It is possible the headphones have gone, but odd how you got that static? Makes me think it is the amp letting DC through.

 
Got to town and picked up a multimeter today.
Following the advice you guys have kindly given, I get a reading on the R+ and R- pins, but not a thing on either of the L channel ones.
Guess that confirms it's the amp.
Thanks again for the help.

 

[astrostar59]

  Thanks for the info. It looks too difficult for me; I'm too clumsy to risk breaking my expensive phones. I'm still not sure what the sonic improvement would be. All I would ask for is a little less upper midrange energy that happens when a recording seems to have glare in vocals.
But overall in a good amount of my music the SR007 mk 2.5 is just fine.
I tried a little experiment and put a small square of tape on the outside of each earcup and for some reason it sounds nice. I'm debating whether to keep this on all the time. It calms the upper mids / lower treble.
Thanks.

No, it won't do anything for the mid / upper ranges. The port mod from what I have read addresses the bass bloat in the lower ranges. The mod is basically taking off the leather cups (easy) and plugging the port hole with blue tac) (easy) the putting the cups back on (which I found tricky on my MK2.5s).
 
Maybe look at your source as the 007 (any version) is not renowned for mid / treble glare TBH. What DAC and amp are you using?

 

[yates7592]

Is the SRD-P any good? As it can work on 8 x C batteries I'm thinking of one for SR009 as a back-up amp in power cuts, or maybe even travelling.

 

[rgs9200m]

Interesting, because my SR007's bass is to die for: tight, detailed, controlled, non-smeared as anything. It's amazing when I hear a bass drum through it, with a tactile sense of each pound. My source is on the ruthlessly revealing side however,
and it will relay every aspect of the recording (I can hear things change a lot from one recording to the next, even different pressings). It's an EMM XDS1-v2 cdp/dac.
I kind of live on the edge with the EMM, I know. Thanks again for the help.

 

[purk]

Does the SRM-727 which bypasses the internal pot plus a scary priced high-end speaker preamp combo really outperform the BHSE completely?

 


Probably still as bad as ever. The 727 unmodified just never sound right - bloat and diffused.

 

[Tinkerer]

 

Does the SRM-727 which bypasses the internal pot plus a scary priced high-end speaker preamp combo really outperform the BHSE completely?

 


Probably still as bad as ever. The 727 unmodified just never sound right - bloat and diffused.

 
Even modified, the 727 gets destroyed by stuff like the KGSSHV, much less the BHSE. Plus anybody can build a similar volume pot bypass switch into any design or just omit the pot completely if they want.