[spritzer]

It's been well established already that I'm rather picky so the difference may appear small to some.  Ditto on the SR-007 Mk1 vs Mk2, some like both of them but I can't stand the latter hence my mods. 
 
The KGSS works well with any headphone you use it with.  It is designed to be as close to wire with gain as is possible with the parts available at the time and the price point so it can be ruthlessly revealing.  That said it sounds lovely with the SR-Omega and SR-404 I've been using today. 
 
Quote:

When you say "noise issues that cropped up," do you mean... the noise is noticeable in all Stax amps, or just after the mods are completed?
 
What's the nature of the noise? 
 
I didn't notice a lot of noise in the 007t II I had - though there might have been some at high POT levels with the 507's - just not at listening levels.
 
 

The noise is gain related and that's why you need to readjust the circuit once it has been tampered with.  Most Stax amps should be 100% silent and any noise you hear is probably from the source or the system ground being contaminated by something. 
 

 

[yale.reinstein]

Hey Stax thread,
 
Been out of the loop for ages, just been enjoying life listening to my Lambda Pros!
 
But the day has come -- the left driver cable seems to have developed a slight intermittence. I noticed only recently when I slouched in my chair lazily and dropped my head. I love the Lamba Pros so much more than my SR-202s, but I'm not going to let them dictate my posture. I don't negotiate with intermittent cables. Even though they seem to have a sticky / potentially ripped (?) dust filter they sing, and I wouldn't mind putting some money into them to replace the cable and maybe the cloth band (the hard plastic band is holding up nicely). Anyway I guess I could just live with it, but this is really just delaying the inevitable.
 
Is there any place / anyone I can send these to, or am I just crap out of luck? I bought them used so I'm not even sure if sending them to Japan / Yama's is an option? How much should / would this cost me?
 
There is somebody I can send these to you say!? Buy a new old pair? Buy a new new pair? Cryogenic freezing / boxing in the hope future generations will have the technology? Deal with it for now and start saving for something nicer? Learn to repair it myself? Sell my car, T1S and Lambdas to get some O2 on and an amp to match / start biking to work?
 
Lots of love - keep rockin' those Stax,
 
Yale
 
p.s. I'm all thumbs
p.s.s. would prefer not selling my car, it's cold here in winter

 

[Sundance]

Hi Yale. You may try contacting Yama authorized service center in Gardena, USA. However, their labor and inventory are very expensive. Alternatively, you may seek out a donor Lamba but that would still leave the repair to you. It may be more affordable to rebuy the headset.

 

[svyr]

Hey Stax thread,
 
Been out of the loop for ages, just been enjoying life listening to my Lambda Pros!
 
But the day has come -- the left driver cable seems to have developed a slight intermittence. I noticed only recently when I slouched in my chair lazily and dropped my head. I love the Lamba Pros so much more than my SR-202s, but I'm not going to let them dictate my posture. I don't negotiate with intermittent cables. Even though they seem to have a sticky / potentially ripped (?) dust filter they sing, and I wouldn't mind putting some money into them to replace the cable and maybe the cloth band (the hard plastic band is holding up nicely). Anyway I guess I could just live with it, but this is really just delaying the inevitable.
 
Is there any place / anyone I can send these to, or am I just crap out of luck? I bought them used so I'm not even sure if sending them to Japan / Yama's is an option? How much should / would this cost me?
 
There is somebody I can send these to you say!? Buy a new old pair? Buy a new new pair? Cryogenic freezing / boxing in the hope future generations will have the technology? Deal with it for now and start saving for something nicer? Learn to repair it myself? Sell my car, T1S and Lambdas to get some O2 on and an amp to match / start biking to work?
 
Lots of love - keep rockin' those Stax,
 
Yale
 
p.s. I'm all thumbs
p.s.s. would prefer not selling my car, it's cold here in winter

I agree with Sundance - new pair... Off repair is way too pricey compared to buying a used 202 or another lambda pro (pretty sure 202 doesn't sound much like Lambda Pros though). Not sure about donor pairs. I suppose that'd work too, post a WTB thread. If the for-parts pair is dead except for the parts you need (would be the cheapest), but if you find out you need say new drivers (matched pair?) then things could get hairy.

 

[Scottsmrnyc]

Hi Sim1,  I use one of my McIntosh MX135s as a preamp with either of my Stax SRM 007t or SRM 007Ta amps.  I think the MX 135 gives me more possiblities and options than the regular pre amp section of my SRMs.  You can pick up any McIntosh Preamp used on Audiogon. 

 

[dukja]

I would appreciate some suggestion on mating Stax headphone with amping gear.  After reading more about Stax, I guessed either sr-407 or 507 may suit my needs (to be at the same tier with Beyer T1).  But I am still lost in terms of amping.  Certainly SRM-600 (balanced tube) will be optimal. The price from Price Japan was about $1700 USD shipped (I am not sure if their 5% fee is included).  Is there better place to get it?
 
And if I want save some money on amp and choose energizer route (such as srd-7/6) to work with my CSP2+ (preamp) and NAD power amp, will I miss the point to buy 4/507 (not worth it)?
 
And how about SRM-1/mk2?
 
Or should I just buy a 2070 and I won't miss much?  My goal of getting Stax is trying to experience the ultra clear transparent mid that ppl was boasting about.
 
Thanks a lot for the help!

 

[Robot Metal]

Ah, thanks for the KGSS answer.
 
I'm recapping an SRM-1 Mk1, but I'm not sure which brand to use. I heard a lot of good things about Black Gates, so I went with them. I'm willing to pay a lot to upgrade it (and I know Black Gates are rare), but I could use some input as to whether or not I'm getting ripped off.
 
This would replace everything except for the output caps, which I'll get later:
 

 

[HONEYBOY]

Quote:

 I love the Lamba Pros so much more than my SR-202s, but I'm not going to let them dictate my posture. I don't negotiate with intermittent cables. Even though they seem to have a sticky / potentially ripped (?) dust filter they sing, and I wouldn't mind putting some money into them to replace the cable and maybe the cloth band (the hard plastic band is holding up nicely). Anyway I guess I could just live with it, but this is really just delaying the inevitable.  

yale.reinstein, I hope you don't mind me asking, but might you be able to describe the sound elements or qualities of the Lamda Pro that make you prefer them over the SR 202s?
 

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Ah, thanks for the KGSS answer.
 
I'm recapping an SRM-1 Mk1, but I'm not sure which brand to use. I heard a lot of good things about Black Gates, so I went with them. I'm willing to pay a lot to upgrade it (and I know Black Gates are rare), but I could use some input as to whether or not I'm getting ripped off.
 
This would replace everything except for the output caps, which I'll get later:
 
 

Nr. 1 priority is that the caps will fit.  Personally I'd not waste money on BlackGates and rather get some nice Panasonic's for a lot less.
 

 

[Robot Metal]

Ah. I'll ditch the Black Gates. I did some research and I think I'm going to go with the Panasonic FM line.

 

[Don Quichotte]

Quote:

You mean grounded via a dedicated ground wire connected to the ground terminal on the back panel? 
 
If so, how should that ground wire be connected (to what)?
 
I guess this would work... if, the electrical wiring ground is wired correctly:
 
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/141478-ground-vintage-amp.html
 
 

Yes, but that's just in case your electric outlet has no real grounding. I lived for a while in a house where only 1 electric outlet - or maybe 2, I don't remember - had the 2 grounding metal parts really connected to ground / earth. So I had to use the ground terminal from the amp back panel. As a matter of fact, I connected it to the heater (is this the word? it's a system of pipes with hot water running through, thus warming up the room - sorry for my English) as the metal pipes were going into the ground (soil) eventually. All the electric outlets have ground where I live now so no other grounding is necessary anymore.
Hope I made myself clear, I'm very very tired and have English difficulties atm. 
 
 

 

[lyramax]

 
Quote:

I would appreciate some suggestion on mating Stax headphone with amping gear.  After reading more about Stax, I guessed either sr-407 or 507 may suit my needs (to be at the same tier with Beyer T1).  But I am still lost in terms of amping.  Certainly SRM-600 (balanced tube) will be optimal. The price from Price Japan was about $1700 USD shipped (I am not sure if their 5% fee is included).  Is there better place to get it?
 
And if I want save some money on amp and choose energizer route (such as srd-7/6) to work with my CSP2+ (preamp) and NAD power amp, will I miss the point to buy 4/507 (not worth it)?
 
And how about SRM-1/mk2?
 
Or should I just buy a 2070 and I won't miss much?  My goal of getting Stax is trying to experience the ultra clear transparent mid that ppl was boasting about.
 
Thanks a lot for the help!

FWIW I recently acquired a 507 & 006tS rig and I absolutely love it. Its sound quality and imaging rival those of my speaker rig.
 

 

[maruzen]

 
Quote:

Hey Stax thread,
 
Been out of the loop for ages, just been enjoying life listening to my Lambda Pros!
 
But the day has come -- the left driver cable seems to have developed a slight intermittence. I noticed only recently when I slouched in my chair lazily and dropped my head. I love the Lamba Pros so much more than my SR-202s, but I'm not going to let them dictate my posture. I don't negotiate with intermittent cables. Even though they seem to have a sticky / potentially ripped (?) dust filter they sing, and I wouldn't mind putting some money into them to replace the cable and maybe the cloth band (the hard plastic band is holding up nicely). Anyway I guess I could just live with it, but this is really just delaying the inevitable.
 
Is there any place / anyone I can send these to, or am I just crap out of luck? I bought them used so I'm not even sure if sending them to Japan / Yama's is an option? How much should / would this cost me?
 
There is somebody I can send these to you say!? Buy a new old pair? Buy a new new pair? Cryogenic freezing / boxing in the hope future generations will have the technology? Deal with it for now and start saving for something nicer? Learn to repair it myself? Sell my car, T1S and Lambdas to get some O2 on and an amp to match / start biking to work?
 
Lots of love - keep rockin' those Stax,
 
Yale
 
p.s. I'm all thumbs
p.s.s. would prefer not selling my car, it's cold here in winter

 

I know what you mean I was an avid headphone enthusiast for the last two years, the reason being having to stay in a dorm during my residency training in General Surgery, and the only way to be able to truly enjoy that wonderful audio is to have great headphone equipment. And the best stuff that I did manage to get over that period was the Lambda Pro with the SRM-1/MK-2 which totally beat anything that I had at that time, even if the bass guitar did seem to sound like a lead guitar in the way that it lacked slam. But since residency already ended and I ended up getting an apartment of my own, I got a pair of powered monitors to replace my headphone setup due to the freedom of being able to make a ruckus in my own place without having to worry about disturbing anyone else. Right now I just set up the Stax again because I wanted to test out a recently acquired Buffalo II DAC, and man, it still is a great audiophile combination. I'm enjoying the Stax Lambda Pros again after all these months and I thought that if these things were to break on me I would get myself another pair, just for the amazing sound they can dish out for the price. Especially at used prices they are a steal!

 

[cjfrbw]

Talk about bargain, I just got a SR-3 new that was rebuilt in 1986 with SR-5n drivers and SRD 5 energizer for $92 delivered. I soldered the leads of the SRD 5 to a 1/4 inch headphone banana plug to use with the Manley 300b preamp headphone output. The Manley puts out about 1 watt 10 volt through the 100 ohm headphone output and is overkill with the SRD 5, sounds quite stunning. The seller said there was an imbalance, but that seems to have resolved by leaving things on over night.
 
The sound of the SR-3/5n is incredible. Scales perfectly with dynamics.  I think it may overall better to listen to than a normal bias Lambda I got recently.  The Lambda is a little more diffuse and romantic, albeit with a somewhat slammier bass, but doesn't seem to have the detail and the perfect dynamic scaling of the SR-3/5n unit.
 
I like the metal/leather/bakelite construction of the SR-3/tn, too, hard to beat up, I am afraid the Lambda plastic might break at any moment.
 
This one was a real surprise. At a second location, I run both with a SRD 7SB and a Hogan 300b amp with equally impressive results.
 
I was thinking of an 02 when they start to come up for sale when people upgrade to the 009, but I am wondering if it is worth the trouble and expense.

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

I would appreciate some suggestion on mating Stax headphone with amping gear.  After reading more about Stax, I guessed either sr-407 or 507 may suit my needs (to be at the same tier with Beyer T1).  But I am still lost in terms of amping.  Certainly SRM-600 (balanced tube) will be optimal. The price from Price Japan was about $1700 USD shipped (I am not sure if their 5% fee is included).  Is there better place to get it?
 
And if I want save some money on amp and choose energizer route (such as srd-7/6) to work with my CSP2+ (preamp) and NAD power amp, will I miss the point to buy 4/507 (not worth it)?
 
And how about SRM-1/mk2?
 
Or should I just buy a 2070 and I won't miss much?  My goal of getting Stax is trying to experience the ultra clear transparent mid that ppl was boasting about.
 
Thanks a lot for the help!

Always good to have an SRM1Mk2.  I haven't tried them with a 507 or 407 but they work well with most everything I have including the 404, Sigma/404 and are even usable with the 007A although not really recommended.  Plus they have a low bias socket for use with a classic old Stax phone.