[manaox2]

I'm like you, all of my STAX only make that noise  when adjusting the earcups. I was confused about what people were talking about with the STAX fart for a while. I think it has to do with the seal and the shape of one's head. And I have to agree, they sound ridiculously good if I'm not getting a proper seal. I've been lucky it seems, I was also able to get a proper seal with the small Qualia.

 

[n3rdling]

If you're getting the fart that's a good thing.  It means you're getting a good seal, which plays a big role in making the bass more linear for instance.

 

[milosz]

OK, yeah, I figured it had to do with pressure changes inside the cavity from moving the earcups while they have a seal to my head. I was just worried there might be arcing which I feared  would harm the diaphragms a little each time it happened.
 
On my Lambdas, if I fuss a little with the earcups while wearing them I'll get the same "Stax fart" sometimes, occasionally followed by kind of a modestly loud "click/pop" in one driver or the other, after which the farting stops on that side.  Kind of sounds like the driver is "popping itself out" all at once from being in a "sucked in" position due to a lowering of the air pressure in the earcup cavity caused by adjusting the 'phones position a little.
 
I never heard this with my old ESP-9's, not that I can recall.  Maybe they didn't seal as well.  Their earpad material was rather stiff on those babies.

 

[milosz]

Quote:

...and VERY annoying.

My Beyer ET1000's are way worse.  And it's like the charge on the stators or diaphragm gets lost when they "fart" 'cause after the fart the level on that side is low / funny sounding but slowly comes back like they are charging back up.  Takes about 30 seconds to "recover."  Very annoying!  Could be that my cables are so rotten, and the "energizer" so weak that it makes for bad charging.  I am replacing the cable with a Koss ESP950 cable once I find a suitable 6-pin plug so I can use the Beyers on the  low-bias jacks on my Stax SRM-T1 and SRM-1 Mk II
 

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

That sound is famously known as the "stax fart". It has to do with the lightness of the diaphram, and the currents (change in air pressure), caused when you push the cups on your ears, or sometimes move them. You're essentially moving the diaphragm, and they're accentuating the sound of the air.

 This same principle has been adopted by Stax in their line since the Lambda Signature, I believe, which was the first to remove mechanical damping, and just use the air pressure around us to stop the diaphragm once flux has stopped (since the "plate" is a low mass and wide surface area, the wind resistance stops it very quickly, although not as quick as many dynamic systems).
 
BoPET (the material the diaphragm is made from) has a relatively high tensile strength, so you won't be damaging it. It's certainly less stressful than playing music through them.

What you hear is from the membranes either side of the diaphragm, not the diaphragm itself, just FYI.

 

[MrGreen]

Thanks for the correction, interesting to know!

 

[Leonardo Drummond]

Hahahahaha yes, it's particularly bothersome when I'm at the climax of a piece, completely imerse, and then for some reason decide to change my position or to yawn, and that scarily loud noise comes out of nowhere.
 
And Milos, that must be truly horrible then!

 

[K3cT]

Has anyone here heard the Stax DAC Talent before? I wonder how it stacks up against the latest crop of mid-to-hi-fi DACs.

 

[TruBrew]

I have a problem. one of the driver brakets on my Sr-507 fell off the headband. What type of screwdriver do I need. It looks like some type of tine hex screw. Also there are 3 washers. one plastic, one thick metal, and one thin metal. I am not sure of the placement. If I knew what type of screwdriver to buy, I guess I could disassemble the other and figure it out on my own, but I would rather not take it apart.

 

[svyr]

I have a problem. one of the driver brakets on my Sr-507 fell off the headband. What type of screwdriver do I need. It looks like some type of tine hex screw. Also there are 3 washers. one plastic, one thick metal, and one thin metal. I am not sure of the placement. If I knew what type of screwdriver to buy, I guess I could disassemble the other and figure it out on my own, but I would rather not take it apart.

have a look at my review, I had the same problem with the SR-507 on my one.... and I asked the same questions lol.. If you take apart the second one you will have to veeeery good care to see which way the washers go... I couldn't do it and they flew all over the place.


but yea, aside from the subpar comfort from my point of view, I thought the cup holder falling off was really crap... At least it happened to me when I was picking them up from the bubble wrap I store them on... If it fell on the floor that'd be bad. Thanks...Stax...That was really awesome ...

http://www.head-fi.org/products/stax-sr-507-electrostatic-earspeaker/reviews/4453 basically it's a star screwdriver thing you get in 'tamperproof' or security screwdriver sets. It's NOT a hex tool lol.

 

[TruBrew]

Thanks, I will go to Ace tomorrow and see if they sell them. Do you happen to remember what size it was? If not I will just buy a set. I don't want to take the screw with me and possibly lose it.

 

[svyr]

the right size star screwdriver head is marked cr-v t6.

 

[wind016]

Hi everyone!
 
I guess I'm joining the Stax club now =)  I bought a Stax SR323s amp while I'm waiting on another amp that's being built. I'm using the SR323s to power the 007 mk1 and I'm VERY happy with what I'm hearing. What I'm most happy of is that it's a fairly affordable combo ($2300 total for headphone and amp for me) without much faults that I can hear. I suppose the SR323s would be a great amp to get for the 007 and I can imagine this system being the end of the road for some Head-fiers. I'm just waiting on my other amp and see how they fare against each other, but I probably won't be making any more headphone equipment purchases anymore. This is pretty much it for me in Head-fi!

 
Well, I'm off to music forums!

 

[milosz]

Quote:

What you hear is from the membranes either side of the diaphragm, not the diaphragm itself, just FYI.

 
Yeah, that's what I figured, the "dust covers."  The drivers are, like, wrapped in cellophane.  Electrostatic speakers and 'phones need them because without them the electrostatic charge would collect dust, a LOT of dust. This would eventualy cause arcing or corona discharge type things.
 
My Quad ESL-57's have them too.  Funny, you'd expect them to have some kind of big effect on sound quality,  but in fact they are really pretty much transparent.  They are somewhat loose, not under real tension and are really low in mass, so they don't interact much with the sound passing through them. 
 
 

 

[milosz]

Hmmm. After listening to the SR-007's on the SRM1/Mk II for a couple of days I plugged my Lambda Signatures into the SRM1/Mk II and did not like the sound.  The SR-007's sounded OK on the SRM1/Mk II but with the Lambda Signatures, highs are too 'gritty' or 'scratchy'- almost 'shrill.'
 
The Lambda Signatures sound real nice on the (tube) SRM-T1, but not really very nice on the solid state amp.  The SR-007's are closer to neutral, while the Lambda Signatures have a little treble-forward sound to them and are not as full in the bass but still there is something to be said for their sound. A lot to be said for it.
 
Lambda Signatures (actually mine are darker brown)