[tabness]

Whoaaa.. SCD-1 and Sigma. Just wonder, did you get them since their release time?

No, both are bought second hand (the Omega is from @doyouknowSBmean a true gentleman). The Omega actually has a few scratches that my phone camera didn't pick up, but it is one of the better condition specimens I've seen come up. Anyway, you don't get the Omega for its janky ass build lol

I have a love/hate relationship with the SCD-1 honestly. It's beautiful and incredibly well built and I love the CD sliding mechanism, but it takes sooooo long to start playing things on it lol

 

[daytrader]

No, both are bought second hand (the Omega is from @doyouknowSBmean a true gentleman). The Omega actually has a few scratches that my phone camera didn't pick up, but it is one of the better condition specimens I've seen come up. Anyway, you don't get the Omega for its janky ass build lol

I have a love/hate relationship with the SCD-1 honestly. It's beautiful and incredibly well built and I love the CD sliding mechanism, but it takes sooooo long to start playing things on it lol

One of the best things Sony ever built. I‘ve owned the SCD-1 as well, till parts started to dry up. Sony has fantastic customer service for this piece as I had to use it a few times. But as I said parts have become and are an issue thus I sold mine a little while back. I would strongly suggest if you plan to keep it, to start digging around for parts, new or even used. Laser pickup/ head mechanism and spindle motor, etc, are no longer being produced and likely a bunch of other critical pieces as well.

Oh and for me, the slide was the best thing to see along with having the gold puck, it exuded quality!! Only to had been surpassed by what it replaced in my system, my all time favorite, the Krell MD-10. Too bad those days of disc players are over. But hey, now you don’t have to wait for the slide or anything, just click your mouse. Now that’s way cooler?

 

[tabness]

Yeah it's a keeper for me. I'll likely pick up a new laser pickup from eBay sometime soon, but my unit was basically barely used and mint to begin with and has been running strong for two years. I'm not even much of a source for good sound guy and I don't have SACDs (yet, need to do research on which are just converted PCM, which are converted PCM with better masters, and which are legit), but it's the statement product thing I like. Only things I could see myself replacing it with is the CDP R10/DAS R10 combo (that with the TA ER1 preamp would be such an amazing R10 setup and then there's the power amps and SS R10/SS GR1 speakers! I have a pair of SS A3 "La Voce" that will have to do for now) or the Qualia Q007 player which is the coolest thing ever in audio as far as I'm concerned.



Also, to somewhat answer your question and get back to Stax, I use the balanced out from the SCD 1 (and yes, I've heard all about how the balanced output stage isn't supposed to be as good, again, in my experience basically all the real sound differences come from the transducers anyway) which makes it so I barely have to crank up the Stax amps (T1S for the 009 was around 4-5, this 353X stays around 3-4, like one or two clicks higher for the Omega). As far as I understand though, if you want to have source controlled volume, there should be no issue with doing what you're planning. The amp will swing as much voltage as needed (and possible). Maybe more of a amp expert can confirm or correct.

 

[daytrader]

Thank you for the Stax follow up.

I love the Qualia Q007 player, it’s very interesting. I’ve never seen one.

BTW, on the back of the SCD-1 try the [custom] setting position vs the factory set [standard] setting found under the plate. It extends the freq and I found it will sound better in some cases especially if you are using the preamp TA-E1 and the power amp TA-N1. Krell could only dream they built theirs as good but I digress. But even with non Sony pre and amp it will still sound better as long as you have good quality equipment and speakers (that won’t fry). And you do! Thanks for the trip down Sony memory lane and to everyone else please excuse my indulgence. Back to Stax....

 

[jamri]

I have spent a significant amount of time searching for relevant answers, and haven't found conclusive feedback besides a few forum responses here and there...
I currently live in Tokyo and own the Koss ESP-95x with a Stax adapter cable on the way. I intend to eventually get L700mkII before I leave Japan so that pairing is my priority (I love the Koss sound with the stock energizer, but it sounds like it may be an objtective improvement with a good Stax amp).

At the same second hand price, would most people go for SRM-353X or SRM-700tA (Japan's SRM-700tII equivalent, I believe)? I read some people saying the 353X is Stax' best SS unit ever, but other says the L700 really opens up with tubes. It seems like the SRM-700tA is the better deal given the 2x MSRP, but I am also looking at it from the perspective that the 353x might be an endgame SS energizer, while the hybrid energizer has more future upgrade paths (ie. KGSS) if I want to chance that dragon. At ~550 USD/each I figure I can make most of my money back on either if I decided to sell back in the US.

Anyways, I was hoping to A/B them, but the COVID situation is getting worse here so it might not be an option for a while.
Sorry, if this has been answered a thousand times, but I can't keep clicking through the various Stax threads.
Thanks!

 

[Tugbars]

L700 do not really scale well with better amps. They are really easy to drive. If you want to get something extremely revealing at the level of T2, BHSE or Carbon and keep it budget, you can get speaker amps like old Krell Class A amps(KSA 100-150-200) or Threshold amps with Statis topology and pair it with a Lundahl energizer.(They are better than STAX energizers thanks to the lundahl transformers which are specially made to be used in hi-fi products, Stax SRD boxes tend to bring compromise to sound in trebles) For the price you'd pay for SRM700tA, you can get a way more revealing system with larger soundstage and better dynamics.

This is how the Lundahl energizer looks like from backside. Also If you really feel really lazy to go to kitchen and cook something, you can simply use your class A amps to make yourself delicious omelette.

cooking with style. While even the best direct drive amps can deliver 20-22mA at most, lundahl trafos + speaker amps can deliver up to 45mA power output. (Not saying it's necessary, just pointing out how powerful this system can get). These amps sound really good too.

 

[tabness]

If you have the chance to audition go for it! Of course stay safe with the difficulties due to coronavirus.

You know how audio forums are, a bunch of differing impressions and all that. With Stax being basically impossible to audition where I am, it's all I have to go on, but if I had an audition option, then yeah, I wouldn't really bother following this thread much lol

For what little it's worth, I currently have both the 353X and T1S (similar if less powerful circuit to the 007tA) and based on my impressions there really isn't a whole lot of difference between them, maybe (and just maybe too small to call definitely of if I'm just listening differently at that time), a slight emphasis on midbass and lower midrange on the T1S (but I haven't bothered to A/B them listening to sine waves and whatever yet). The biggest difference is that the 353X has more power (but that would be lessened with the 007tA).

The 353X is praised by some for its linearity (don't know it's ever been actually measured probably not though I'm assuming this is based on listening/modelling the schematic) so if you just want a linear amp, this seems to be a good option, if you want a more colored amp then other Stax amps supposedly provide that option. My experience with auditioning speakers and amps has firmly been they're basically almost an afterthought compared to the transducers in terms of sound even when they're designed to be colored. Of course, just for transparency, likely a majority of people here will tell you otherwise and say amp is more important with Stax and all that.

For me, while I eventually still want a T1S with a bronze faceplate to match my Omega (it is the amp they showcased with the Omega way back in 1993 on the documentation) as well as to provide a Normal Bias option since I'm sort of interested in the original Lambda, I've put my current T1S up for sale, as the 353X is smaller and runs less hot and matches nicer with my other stuff.

 

[pofofo]

My Stax SR-Λ started to get some distortion if I move the cable. Its only audible at low volume, if I crank it up I cant hear it, but I guess its there. I think its just where the 6 pin connector is. Is there any solution to this, other than to change the whole cable?

 

[ahmedie]

....I intend to eventually get L700mkII before I leave Japan so that pairing is my priority...

you should buy L700 and not L700MkII, mk2 sound like focal clear but with less bass...

 

[jamri]

Thank you for the replies!

Unfortunately, while i can audition Stax locally, e-Earphone always has music playing so listening to open backs is difficult. Last time I visited, I auditioned an L500 and SR-007 on a SRM-D50 and I believe a T8000 for about 30-40 minutes... I did not realize how loud I was listening until after. I preferred the L500 sound.
Based on tabness' reply, the differences might be subtle enough that auditioning the 006tA/007tA/353X side by side might not really help much.

I am leaning toward the 353X if I can't compare in person. I also considered the Woo WEE (I have a TEAC A-H01 DAC/Speaker Amp... very similar to the one Zeos paired with rave reviews - I take his videos with a grain of salt though). There is currently a long waiting period for the Woo WEE, and it costs about the same as the 353X. The Lundahl looks awesome, but it is outside my price range (and I would prefer having dual Pro outputs). IFI's energizer looks pretty cool, but also expensive.

That's interesting, ahmedie, most of what i read make it sound like the L700mkII is a solid improvement over the L700... I will definitely be listening before buying,

 

[Tugbars]

Woo WEE is damaging headphones. Their energizers lack ballast resistors and potentially your headphones might get damaged.

 

[Mach3]

Woo WEE is damaging headphones. Their energizers lack ballast resistors and potentially your headphones might get damaged.

Shhh.... Now, now, there no need to spread the facts around. People will generally find out one way or another.

 

[jamri]

I did read about that, but it didn't seem very conclusive... I think Woo's response was that they have never had a claim for damaged earspeakers because of this? Is Woo not a reputable company?

 

[KDS315]

Well, just wanted to show here what Dominik Stritt ("firschi") has done to my trusted SRM-T1 I had since quite a few years.

Had my STAX SRM-T1 serviced and modified using Constant Current Sources (CCS) instead of anode resistors and changed the original 6CG7/6FQ7 tubes to matched highvoltage and high-power ECC99 dual triode GOLD tubes from JJ Electronics, Slovakia.

The result is simply amazing, much clearer sound, no peaks clipping, much more available "sound voltage" - I'm really hooked on listening ...

STAX SRM-T1 before (btw. it still worked flawlessly in this condition):

STAX SRM-T1 after modification and service (looks like new! Cleaner sound, much more powerful):

(both images: Dominik Stritt)

 

[jamri]

^ looks brand new!

I am considering buying the below upgraded SRM-T1 recommended by admedie (for ESP-95x and eventually a Lambda), can anyone comment on these modifications? The PIO coupling caps look pretty close to the tubes compared to stock.. they're labeled -40 to +85 deg C and towards the socket end so should be fine?

The main modification items are as follows ↓
① Circuit modification to the company's SRM-600 LTD (including changing the vacuum tube to Czech JJ ECC99 etc.)
② Smoothing capacitor large capacity (Philips BC 4)
③ Coupling capacitor upgrade (Denmark Jensen oil capacitor 2 this)
④ bias circuit capacitor upgrade (Sprague-made film capacitor 4)
⑤ large power resistor upgrade (Panasonic metal oxide film resistors 8)

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d431573263 (buy now price is about 750 USD)

Thanks!