[mulveling]

I'm normally one who always suggests a more expensive amp, but of those two choices I think you'd be by far best off on a 727 with the simple feedback mod. If you buy it from HeadAmp, I believe they can do the mod for you.

 

[JimL11]

Does the Stax SRM-007TII Drive the SR-007MK2 to adequate levels? If not, does the SRM-727II (Before recommends a KGSSHV Carbon or BHSE, either one of these will be my placeholder amp while I save up for a KGSSHV Carbon.)

It depends to some extent on what your listening levels are. The SRM-007 will work for moderate listening levels, but tends to fall apart at higher levels - see the InnerFidelity review from a few years ago. The SRM-727II with global feedback mod will do a better job at higher listening levels, but it does have some solid state coloration. I personally prefer an SRM-T1 with constant current load mod to the SRM727II with global feedback mod, as do a couple friends who have heard both, I would liken it to a baby KGST. The SRM-T1 is significantly less expensive than either the SRM 007TII or SRM 727II but not everyone is comfortable with DIY.

 

[catscratch]

Does the Stax SRM-007TII Drive the SR-007MK2 to adequate levels? If not, does the SRM-727II (Before recommends a KGSSHV Carbon or BHSE, either one of these will be my placeholder amp while I save up for a KGSSHV Carbon.)

It will drive the 007 to adequate volume, yes, but not to adequate sound quality. There will be no tactile impact or dynamics, and the sound will be ethereal and pretty dull. Definitely go with something else. No experience with the 727, but the 717 has I'd say barely enough power, but still not fully tapping the 007's potential. A KGSS of some sort is what I'd recommend as a starter.

The 007t does have enough power for the Lambdas though. A 007t/L700 system is pretty nice. Though for the latter a 353x will suffice too.

 

[cjeong]

Alright, thanks for the replies everyone. I think I might be best off saving up for a KGSSHV and 007MK2s and stay happy with my SRS 3100 for now.

 

[DJ The Rocket]

If you buy it from HeadAmp, I believe they can do the mod

The mod is SO EASY if you are even a beginner at soldering. There are good tutorials you can find with a search. It took me about 30 minutes. The only thing I would add to the instructions is that if you get one with the older boards, the resistors you need to remove are laminated to the board and you'll need an exacto knife to dig under them to cut them away and it's kind of a PITA, but it's not hard, just annoying. That procedure accounted for about 26 of the minutes.

You might even be able to buy a stock one for cheaper, then add value with the mod! That was actually my original plan, but I ended up being pretty content with my 727 and two sets of Lambdas. Maybe one day I'll get to hear a 007 on a KGSS and decide I need to have it, but it warms my heart to hear from all the people who genuinely prefer a Lambda Signature or something to the $1+k models, that seems like a uniquely Stax thing.

but it does have some solid state coloration.

I'm not sure what this statement means. What is solid state coloration? No amp is perfect, but I believe plenty are able to keep imperfections below audibility, right?

Or am I confused and that's just DACs? But wouldn't a DAC also include an amplification circuit of some sort?

 

[Ali-Pacha]

So lambda Nova signature and the original signature - how different are they? Same airy sound?

Both are Lambda
LS are way more coloured, with more air, more bass but also less "meat on the bone". Ethereal but never ever agressive.
LNS have more body and are more neutral, they show flatter FR, less high-mids hump and more extension in the highs, but I find them kinda boring for a Lambda, they lack the gorgeous mids of old stuff...that's why I ended up selling them

Ali

 

[jarnauga]

Hi, maybe you are aware and I didn't check the thread (or did a call to the shop linked), so sorry in advance, but just in case: there is a Stax DAC-X1t for sale in Emporium HiFi (UK) at http://www.emporiumhifi.com/pages/pre-owned-hifi-list.html

The list was updated on the 9th of September and the price listed is £3750.

Happy hunting if it is still available and you are interested.

 

[tigon_ridge]

I just experienced a really spooky phenomenon while using a multimeter to measure the outputs of my SRM-252s. After plugging the L300 into the amp and unplugging, if I placed the common lead, hooked to the meter, into one of the four non-bias jacks, I could still very faintly hear the music through the L300!! But it's unplugged! It's quiet in the beginning and quickly loses energy, until you can no longer hear anything, over a span of several seconds. I repeated it over and over again, wondering what could be the cause. If I moved away from the amp and meter, the effect quickly wears off, but comes back if I return. This lead me to think it could be an electromagnetic radiation thing. However, when I touched only one of the pins with a finger, the effect would be enhanced (the sound got louder—but was still faint), so my body could somehow be playing a role? Sometimes I heard it more from the left transducer, and sometimes more from the right, but it never seemed to be quite balanced, and it seemed to be independent of which jack is in contact with the lead. The only thing I'm certain about is that by plugging in the earspeakers, you charge the capacitors and diaphragms, which convert the energy into sound as the phenomenon goes on. It seems to lose energy pretty quickly, not unlikely how a resistor-capacitor circuit exponentially loses voltage when the switch is closed.

Also, when I touched all 5 pins at the same time, the effect immediately cut off. Obviously, it was due to my finger serving as a conductor/resistor to drain the capacitors and diaphragms.

 

[Whitigir]

Ghost, and you are into the stage of reaching super human ability to produce music through your psyche!

 

[tigon_ridge]

Ghost, and you are into the stage of reaching super human ability to produce music through your psyche!

lol In all seriousness, I definitely wasn't imagining it. The effect was probably loud enough to record with a microphone, albeit with its sensitivity maxed out.

 

[purk]

I think you can also get a used SRM-007T and turn that into a mini KGST. Justin certainly can help as well.

 

[Whitigir]

Blissful music with pretty fire flies !! My dark knight !!

 

[QueueCumber]

Blissful music with pretty fire flies !! My dark knight !!

I’m going to use my BHSE to heat my bedroom this winter...

 

[SeaWo|f]

If you have heating needs you may want to look into a megatron..

 

[DJ The Rocket]

I just experienced a really spooky phenomenon while using a multimeter to measure the outputs of my SRM-252s. After plugging the L300 into the amp and unplugging, if I placed the common lead, hooked to the meter, into one of the four non-bias jacks, I could still very faintly hear the music through the L300!! But it's unplugged! It's quiet in the beginning and quickly loses energy, until you can no longer hear anything, over a span of several seconds. I repeated it over and over again, wondering what could be the cause. If I moved away from the amp and meter, the effect quickly wears off, but comes back if I return. This lead me to think it could be an electromagnetic radiation thing. However, when I touched only one of the pins with a finger, the effect would be enhanced (the sound got louder—but was still faint), so my body could somehow be playing a role? Sometimes I heard it more from the left transducer, and sometimes more from the right, but it never seemed to be quite balanced, and it seemed to be independent of which jack is in contact with the lead. The only thing I'm certain about is that by plugging in the earspeakers, you charge the capacitors and diaphragms, which convert the energy into sound as the phenomenon goes on. It seems to lose energy pretty quickly, not unlikely how a resistor-capacitor circuit exponentially loses voltage when the switch is closed.

Also, when I touched all 5 pins at the same time, the effect immediately cut off. Obviously, it was due to my finger serving as a conductor/resistor to drain the capacitors and diaphragms.

Well, Stax 'phones only need teeny amounts of current to play. And according to this thread on stackexchange, a changing magnetic field, such as the one caused by your AC music signal going through the MM leads, can induce current flow in an "open" circuit, albeit very small amounts, but apparently enough to be audible. Really neat story, thanks for sharing, I had to learn something new to understand it!

Presumably, when you touch the headphone leads and it gets louder, you're just giving the current a path of less resistance than going through the air.

I would guess that the "quickly losing energy" has to do with the bias charge wearing off (being used up?), but I really don't understand what the bias is doing in these headphones.