The Stax Thread III

[ericj]

has anyone ever been unfortunate enough to have spilt sticky liquid ONTO THEIR STAX DRIVER? I got these SR-3s basically free with some stuff I bought from a deceased estate. Anyone have any ideas on how to clean it without ****ing up the driver?

YOW!

I don't remember if the screen in front of the dust cover is integrated with the driver or not. Part of me wants to say that if you remove the driver from the baffle you'll have direct access to the dust cover, but i've never owned an actual SR-3. Just an SR-5 plus Magnavox and Superex stats that probably have SR-3 drivers in them.

 

[oneguy]

has anyone ever been unfortunate enough to have spilt sticky liquid ONTO THEIR STAX DRIVER? I got these SR-3s basically free with some stuff I bought from a deceased estate. Anyone have any ideas on how to clean it without ****ing up the driver?

Remove the ear pads. Underneath that will be 3 screws. Remove the screws and you can separate the two plastic pieces of the housing. Hopefully whatever that is is only on the screen. Behind the screen is the plastic dust cover for the driver and easily ripped if you have to try to remove something from it.

 

[ericj]

Remove the ear pads. Underneath that will be 3 screws. Remove the screws and you can separate the two plastic pieces of the housing. Hopefully whatever that is is only on the screen. Behind the screen is the plastic dust cover for the driver and easily ripped if you have to try to remove something from it.

Agreed.
If you have to clean the dust cover, get some foam swabs and be VERY gentle.

 

[WILLJS]

my error- they are sr-30, the electret ones. i’ve managed to remove the driver so far.

they also have a channel imbalance but i’ll address that later. must be unrelated as the stained driver isn’t the quiet one

 

[ericj]

my error- they are sr-30, the electret ones. i’ve managed to remove the driver so far.

they also have a channel imbalance but i’ll address that later. must be unrelated as the stained driver isn’t the quiet one

Ahh. Somewhere i have a spare SR-30 driver that probably still works. My SR-30 was built from two pair of broken SR-30 and i ended up with one extra working driver. I wrapped it in paper and then in painter's tape and stored it somewhere safe . . . .

The devices inside the heatshrink could also have failed (probably MOVs, maybe zeners), but one theory of how electrets stop working well is that a charge builds up in the driver that can't be drained off because the diaphragm isn't electrically connected to anything. Sony has a patent covering the use of semiconductive plastic in the build of the ECR headphone drivers that has several megohms of resistance, but allows it to drain off. Though, how they accomplished "uni-electret" is the more interesting part of the technology.

 

[WILLJS]

i’ve cleaned it, but as you can see, the drivers now stuck- fixes?

 

[ericj]

i’ve cleaned it, but as you can see, the drivers now stuck- fixes?

Damn good question. I wonder if a gentle suck like grado enthusiasts sometimes engage in is warranted, or maybe it will just dry out over time?

 

[Svperstar]

i’ve cleaned it, but as you can see, the drivers now stuck- fixes?

Maybe soak it in rubbing alcohol for 30 minutes?

 

[WILLJS]

the reason it was stuck was because i had been pushing down on it while cleaning (obviously). I used a small piece of blueback to gently get it unstuck. worked, but the channel imbalance is the newest issue to address. being an electret i’d say the issue is with the headphones and not the adapter box?

 

[ericj]

the reason it was stuck was because i had been pushing down on it while cleaning (obviously). I used a small piece of blueback to gently get it unstuck. worked, but the channel imbalance is the newest issue to address. being an electret i’d say the issue is with the headphones and not the adapter box?

The SRD-4 just has a couple transformers and some PTH devices in series with them. You can replace the PTH devices with 4.7 ohm power resistors but it's probably not the problem.

You can drive the electrets with any stax energizer or amp you may have if you want to rule it out. I haven't heard of problems in an energizer, the PTH devices are just noisier than regular resistors.

 

[WILLJS]

The SRD-4 just has a couple transformers and some PTH devices in series with them. You can replace the PTH devices with 4.7 ohm power resistors but it's probably not the problem.

You can drive the electrets with any stax energizer or amp you may have if you want to rule it out. I haven't heard of problems in an energizer, the PTH devices are just noisier than regular resistors.

so you’re saying you can drive electrets on an electrostatic energiser? I haven’t heard that before.

 

[ericj]

so you’re saying you can drive electrets on an electrostatic energiser? I haven’t heard that before.

Yes. The electrets just don't require bias, as their diaphragm has a permanent charge, so the bias pin on the connector isn't connected to anything. They do this by casting the film in the presence of an extremely strong electrical field.

Because the film is cast, it's nowhere near as thin as you can get with 'stats that have external bias voltage. It also has to be a polymer that has polar molecules.

Sometimes people say that electret films can "lose their charge" which is preposterous. The polymers used have positive and negative ends to their chains, and that polarity is a function of the physical properties of the atoms and the molecular structure - the electret "charge" is a matter of aligning the molecules, nothing else. So exactly what would cause the film to "lose" that charge? Physically rotating the molecules? But they are susceptible to damage like any other transducer, and like i said, Sony proposed that a charge can build up between the stators and film that can't be drained off if the film is electrically isolated.

The SRD-4 and most SRD-6 have the exact same transformers in them. Mine certainly do, though my SRD-6 has some extra mounting holes to support larger transformers. They just cut the center tap wire off of the transformers in the SRD-4, since there's no bias to reference to it.

 

[WILLJS]

Yes. The electrets just don't require bias, as their diaphragm has a permanent charge, so the bias pin on the connector isn't connected to anything. They do this by casting the film in the presence of an extremely strong electrical field.

Because the film is cast, it's nowhere near as thin as you can get with 'stats that have external bias voltage. It also has to be a polymer that has polar molecules.

Sometimes people say that electret films can "lose their charge" which is preposterous. The polymers used have positive and negative ends to their chains, and that polarity is a function of the physical properties of the atoms and the molecular structure - the electret "charge" is a matter of aligning the molecules, nothing else. So exactly what would cause the film to "lose" that charge? Physically rotating the molecules? But they are susceptible to damage like any other transducer, and like i said, Sony proposed that a charge can build up between the stators and film that can't be drained off if the film is electrically isolated.

The SRD-4 and most SRD-6 have the exact same transformers in them. Mine certainly do, though my SRD-6 has some extra mounting holes to support larger transformers. They just cut the center tap wire off of the transformers in the SRD-4, since there's no bias to reference to it.

thanks maybe i’ll try them on mine (srm-252II)?

 

[ludoo]

I have had a pair of ES Lab EX-1a in my hands for a couple of days: I pinged Benson a while ago to inquire about a potential European loaner tour, and ended up buying a pair. It's too early to form a definite impression but so far they are exceeding my expectations, with very nice tuning and gobs of details.

These might be the best price/performance electrostatic currently available. They are in a completely different class versus the Stax SR-X1 (which I had and disliked), and L300/L500 (which I also have).

 

[honse]

If I knew then what I know now I’d probably wait, but the L300 is an excellent entry point but you have the CRBNs so electrostatics are not an unknown. Sadly with the L300 the headband may inevitably break and the MKII replacement will cost the same as the used 300. On a positive note the thinner stock pads on the L300 give a way more intimate and immediate presentation that many may prefer, personally I prefer my performers more at arms length. Also you just might prefer the L300 over the L700, many do.

Mine snapped on the first day I got my pair. It was used; and had aftermarket thick pads.
First time I out them on I head a crack. The 2nd time it snapped. In the exact same spot as everyone else's.

Luckily I already knew that people modeled adapters, so I got a pair printed; meant for audeze headband.
Sourced not-audeze headband from ali.