[Elephas]

I agree that the non-swivel housings and the fart probably means that the designers made these trade-offs for very good reasons, most likely sound quality. But the non-swivel housings along with the fixed-width headband means that there might be less flexibility to fit various sized and shaped heads. The design might be "no-compromise" for those who find the SR-007 to fit very well, but it is definitely a compromise for others who have less than optimal fit.

Yes, it takes experience to know what sounds better... to you. You say that you have more experience than I do, and that my inexperience leads me to prefer the inferior Mk2 over the Mk1. That may be true, I don't claim extensive knowledge about headphones. But you also imply that because your experience is greater and better than mine, your judgment is superior when it comes to deciding what sounds better.

I will often defer to others' greater experience and knowledge, but when it comes to listening to music I will never acknowledge that someone's listening experience is superior or inferior to another's. I would also never say that someone's preferences, whether due to lack of experience or other factors, is wrong.

Music is an art, and listening to music is appreciation of art. While the appreciation and enjoyment of music can be enhanced with more experience and knowledge, I don't think that any one person's appreciation of that art is somehow superior to another's, no matter what the gear they use, whether iPod earbuds or SR-007.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elephas /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree that the non-swivel housings and the fart probably means that the designers made these trade-offs for very good reasons, most likely sound quality. But the non-swivel housings along with the fixed-width headband means that there might be less flexibility to fit various sized and shaped heads. The design might be "no-compromise" for those who find the SR-007 to fit very well, but it is definitely a compromise for others who have less than optimal fit. Yes, it takes experience to know what sounds better... to you. You say that you have more experience than I do, and that my inexperience leads me to prefer the inferior Mk2 over the Mk1. That may be true, I don't claim extensive knowledge about headphones. But you also imply that because your experience is greater and better than mine, your judgment is superior when it comes to deciding what sounds better. I will often defer to others' greater experience and knowledge, but when it comes to listening to music I will never acknowledge that someone's listening experience is superior or inferior to another's. I would also never say that someone's preferences, whether due to lack of experience or other factors, is wrong. Music is an art, and listening to music is appreciation of art. While the appreciation and enjoyment of music can be enhanced with more experience and knowledge, I don't think that any one person's appreciation of that art is somehow superior to another's, no matter what the gear they use, whether iPod earbuds or SR-007.

By definition a compromise is thinking about anything then pure sound quality, such as fit, manufacturing costs, cheaper materials, long term comfort and being an easy load on the amplifiers. That being said the Mk2/A simply isn't as great as the Mk1 and it's shows on any equipment you can think of. Yesterday I used my TV as a source and a SRD-7mk2 and the same deal.

I wasn't talking about my experience per se (as it sure as could be better) but other SR-007A/Mk2 owners which are saying the same thing as I and I'm in no way diminishing yours. The same goes for audio as for food, wine and other crazy, subjective comparisons that it's tough to know what is better without the benefit of a wide array of past comparisons spanning years. Learning what to look for and picking up on the smallest of things is a learned skill and not something you are born with.

Music is an art form but if you review audio gear with your heart you'll end up with incomprehensible dribble like 6moons. Most audiophiles simply dismiss engineering and great designs as their new fangled cryo cables sound so good and show that engineering isn't needed.

Any piece of gear should be judged on its merits with as little personal bias as possible. I'm not really that good at the latter part as are most others but I do know that they are there. For the same reason I try not to judge others personal preferences but I'd like to know the reasoning behind them. I do know why owners might prefer the Mk2/A over the mk1 which is the same reason the mk1 gets no respect, they aren't audition friendly. I know that if I hadn't started out with the SR-007 my current collection would have been very different. I would probably have kept the He90 and thought it was better and sold the SR-007.

 

[Saltuk]

I recieved the SRM-1/MK2 normal bias.

And tried it with my SR-202.

When compared to SRM-252A , it is worse in all aspects apart from the looks (detail,speed,instrument seperation,bass tightness etc.)

But I believe it will eat the little 252A alive if it could work on pro bias instead of 230V bias.

I started a thread in Diy forums (http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/sta...al-pro-325051/) with pictures.

Any help on the bias conversion would be great.

Thanks.

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Music is an art form but if you review audio gear with your heart you'll end up with incomprehensible dribble like 6moons.

But I'd like to see you name an e-zine that's not basically the same. Heck, name me any mag..

 

[J-Pak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon L /img/forum/go_quote.gif But I'd like to see you name an e-zine that's not basically the same. Heck, name me any mag..

Hifi News, Audio Xpress are both good.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon L /img/forum/go_quote.gif But I'd like to see you name an e-zine that's not basically the same. Heck, name me any mag..

Hi-fi News. They are even intent of testing headphones and do one every other month or so. Stereophile has become a steaming pile of crap after the mid 90's and the rest... well they are even worse.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saltuk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I recieved the SRM-1/MK2 normal bias. And tried it with my SR-202. When compared to SRM-252A , it is worse in all aspects apart from the looks (detail,speed,instrument seperation,bass tightness etc.) But I believe it will eat the little 252A alive if it could work on pro bias instead of 230V bias. I started a thread in Diy forums (http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/sta...al-pro-325051/) with pictures. Any help on the bias conversion would be great. Thanks.

Can you charge it up to 580v on the 252A and then plug it into the SRM-1 Mk2 normal and see if it sounds better?

Just curious, because... My SRM-1 Mk2 Pro actually does a decent job driving my HE60 and SR-Lambda Signature with the pro bias. For a lark, the other day I unplugged the HE60 from the SRM-1 and immediately plugged them into my normal bias SRD-X which was plugged into headphone out of my Woo WA6 dynamic phone tube amp, and it wasn't bad at all.

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saltuk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I recieved the SRM-1/MK2 normal bias. And tried it with my SR-202. When compared to SRM-252A , it is worse in all aspects apart from the looks (detail,speed,instrument seperation,bass tightness etc.) But I believe it will eat the little 252A alive if it could work on pro bias instead of 230V bias. I started a thread in Diy forums (http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/sta...al-pro-325051/) with pictures. Any help on the bias conversion would be great. Thanks.

If you solve this I would like to know since I have a low bias Stax SRA12S which would be nice with a high bias output.

Of course running a pro bias phone such as the 202 with a low bias amp is probably not going to work too well. However the SR001 which is a pro design runs very well from a low bias amp.

 

[pdennis]

I'm also interested in converting the SRD-7. I've gleaned some info from searches, but would love to hear of others' experience.

 

[Saltuk]

I will charge the 202 with 252 tonight then connect to the srm-1 but should the srm-1 be on when connecting the 202 or should I turn it on after plugging in the earspeaker? And how long would it take 252 to fully charge the 202 and will it loose the 580v charge on it after some time?

Driving the 202 from a normal bias energizer vs a pro one is like switching from flac to 64kps mp3 plus it distorts even the volume at 12 position when there is loud passages in music.

I strongly believe the SRM-1 has serious potential but I somehow need to raise the voltage.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saltuk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I will charge the 202 with 252 tonight then connect to the srm-1 but should the srm-1 be on when connecting the 202 or should I turn it on after plugging in the earspeaker? And how long would it take 252 to fully charge the 202 and will it loose the 580v charge on it after some time? Driving the 202 from a normal bias energizer vs a pro one is like switching from flac to 64kps mp3 plus it distorts even the volume at 12 position when there is loud passages in music. I strongly believe the SRM-1 has serious potential but I somehow need to raise the voltage.

The charge should last about 10-15 minutes on the phones but it varies from unit to unit. The simples thing you can do right now is to make some simple adapter plugs and test the SRM-1 with the 252 giving the bias. Find an old computer power supply and use the metal bits from the molex connectors as they can be bent to fit Stax sockets and plugs. The pinout is floating around here but you need to let the +/- wires for L&R go to the SRM-1 and the bias to the 252. Just remember to insulate everything excessively and you'll be fine.

 

[indikator]

so spritzer, you said you gonna blue tack your sr007a, how is the result?

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by indikator /img/forum/go_quote.gif so spritzer, you said you gonna blue tack your sr007a, how is the result?

I was going to do it when I could be bothered to remove the damn earpads and hasn't happened yet. I have much better things to do now then wrestle with those damn pads...

 

[Bastet]

Even though the above post doesn't really encourage me, I was thinking about changing the pads on my SR-007.
Last time I looked these were $70 on Audiocubes II but now the SR-007 pads have gone up to $129 and SR-007A pads are $139

Why is that? Can I get these anywhere else for the 'old' price?

 

[evil-zen]

Please do take some photos of the removing process.