[edstrelow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ak40ozKevin /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is coming out of nowhere but I've come to really only like the SR-001 in theory (portable STAX? ****in awesome!). After owning them for almost 2 years I simply can't recommend them for anything but home use and maybe to accompany a laptop setup. Which means people should go for the SR-003 if they want a compact stat setup. Really the only reason for this is the ridiculously fragile cable on the SR-001. I had a problem with it once and sent the whole unit off for warranty repair which took months. When I finally got it back the same cable issue occurred in about 4-5 months of moderate to light use. I was really careful after the first issue occurred and hardly ever used the thing since I got a good deal on a 2050A system. The 2nd time I had cable issues I opted to repair it myself and soldered the cable directly to the circuit board and I haven't had any problems since then. That said there is something definitely wrong with their cable since I'm not alone in having these issues. It's a shame because barring some minor but much needed changes to the design I would suggest these as an option that outperforms most other portable headphones.

However, the 003 uses the same cable as the 001, but with a different plug. I have also had to replace an 001 cable but it took a major yank to cause the problem. Still it's not super strong. I generally only use the baby Stax sitting down, i.e. not on the run and in that form of use it is hard to damage the cable.

Having had to throw away several sets of dynamic phones belonging to my kids after the cables went bad, usually near the plug, I can say that the cable problem is not just an electrostatic issue. Most of their wires are difficult to resolder and mostly these are $10.00 phones so I can't be bothered repairing them anyway.

 

[AudioCats]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ak40ozKevin /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's a shame because barring some minor but much needed changes to the design I would suggest these as an option that outperforms most other portable headphones.

the main problem with the baby stax is still the fit issue, not everybody can handle the fat tips. I have yet heard any real complains about the SQ, but there are a lot of users complaining about the ear pressure (in their FS ad's).

The thin ribbon cable is not that big a problem, it is not super robust but not necessary worse than a lot of IEM cables. Plus, it is user replacable.

 

[dickbianchi]

I like these, but I dont think of them as very portable, or even necessary, for on-the-go use. Best for that is the ipod itself with some decent iems, esp if they provide noise isolation (like my shures). On-the-go listening is pretty compromised to begin with, lots of noise and split attention everywhere. The best will not do me that much good.

I carry the stax in a small bag I adapted for them that fits into the larger bag I shleppe around most places. If I am in the office or some other low noise place, alone or mostly alone, I use them, happily. The cafeteria at school is usually quiet most mornings before my classes (no public music in SA). The students see me sitting quietly drinking coffee, listening to my stax, with those obvious earphones. They almost never come up to ask questions. I like that.

When I am home and want to listen, I do so with big stax amp and big stax-o-phone, which I like better than the little ones.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jellojoe /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm having some trouble with my normal bias lambdas. I'm using them with a rev A SRM-1/MK II, and the right driver is making these drum tapping sounds without any input (cables disconnected or music paused). If there is music playing, I can hear it from the right driver, but there is no sound from the left driver and the tapping noise doesn't stop. The pro bias of the amp works fine, but I don't have any other normal bias phones so I can't check. Has any of you Stax gurus experienced this phenomenon? TIA.

Could be a number of things but it's bias related. Try disconnecting the phones from the amp and see if the problem persists. If so then there is likely some debris inside the driver and that is almost impossible to fix. They are glued shut and while they can be split open, it is very hard to get them back together again.

If the sound does go away instantly once they are unplugged then it is the amp and probably AC riding on top of the DC bias.

 

[AudioCats]

One question about the amping requirement of SR-Omega:

are they hard to drive? (comparing to the Lambda's and 950's) and what is the prefered sound signature for the amp driving it?

 

[spritzer]

They are just a tad easier to drive then the SR-007 and DC-coupled, brutally revealing is the way to go.

 

[jellojoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Could be a number of things but it's bias related. Try disconnecting the phones from the amp and see if the problem persists. If so then there is likely some debris inside the driver and that is almost impossible to fix. They are glued shut and while they can be split open, it is very hard to get them back together again. If the sound does go away instantly once they are unplugged then it is the amp and probably AC riding on top of the DC bias.

As soon as the phones are disconnected, the bumping sounds go away. Is there anyway to check if it really is the amp?

 

[spritzer]

It's hard to do given the nature of the circuits. If you have any high voltage measurement equipment then you can check for AC on the PSU and if the diodes are working.

 

[AudioCats]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif They are just a tad easier to drive then the SR-007 and DC-coupled, brutally revealing is the way to go.

thanks. Only "just a tad easier"? which means it still requires at least a 717?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioCats /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks. Only "just a tad easier"? which means it still requires at least a 717?

Hey! I have finally tried the modded SRD-7SB out of the Nuforce Icon, since Jason agreed I should see if it could drive the low impedance load and he'd replace it if I killed it. The Nuforce was designed to drive 4 ohm loads, just not the 1-2 ohm at very low frequencies that your modded SRD might be offering. The modded transformer with Nuforce has no trouble driving the O2 Mk2 and Jade, and I like the 5-pin XLR.

I look forward to getting a real amp to drive the transformer in the future. To get my pre-order EC ZDT to work properly with this box I needed to spend $525 to upgrade the ZDT output transformers to a 600:1 at the 4 ohm speaker tap, with a 16 ohm tap for headphones. Instead I'm thinking something tube hybrid but not too costly (i.e. no more than the cost to upgrade the ZDT output transformers). Any suggestions?

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioCats /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks. Only "just a tad easier"? which means it still requires at least a 717?

Yeah but it is a much better match with the BH. That combo simply makes music with none of the "haze" most consider musicality.

 

[AudioCats]

if you want to use the EC, might as well tell them to put in a custom transformer (I think electraprint is all custom) so you will have both step-down (for dynamic headphones) and step-up (for electrostatic phones) in that one amp. It doesn't make sense to step it down in the EC only to be bumped back up in the SRD box.

are you sure they said 600:1? that is super high ratio, if you have them put in a 1:1 to the primary (that will be 600:600) winding, I think you can run the electrostatics off that additional winding.

If they don't want to make bias supply for the electrostatic phones, I can make an external box to supply the bias, 100~700V adjustable even.

 

[spritzer]

That's not ratio but rather a 600ohm:1ohm transformer. Unless Craig is on crack or something...

 

[AudioCats]

but that was to run a 4R speaker, so it can't be 600R:1R, right?

either way, I assume a step-up winding can be added to the output trans, for driving the electrostatics. Now because it will be an add-on, it probably won't be an optimized design, but I still think it can be a lot better than EC step-down -> SRD step-up config.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Sorry, I mistyped the impedance ratio of the transformer. The ZDT is a dynamic headphone transformer coupled tube amp, so it is NOT a voltage transformer for stats. But it has 8 watt/ch speaker out to drive my stax voltage transformer or my K1000.

Normally the ZDT is using a 1200:16 ohm Electra-print output transformer so that an 8 ohm load on the speaker outputs wont load down the tubes too much and strain them (shouldn't damage them and he says they can tolerate no load). But if I wanted to use 4 ohm loads on the speaker output Craig said it would be better to use a Tango 600:4:8:16 multi-tap transformer, and we could use the 4 or 8 ohm tapped output for speakers, and the 16 ohm for the headphone section.

In the end it was too much trouble to try to set up the ZDT for my <4 ohm low impedance modded stax transformer.