[dyna10x]

Thanks to Spritzers help I wired up my SRM1/MK2 pro for 240v and got it running. Well what a giant upgrade from my SR84 electret setup. Makes the 84 sound aneamic and thin and much more comfortable as well. The sr lambda & srm is a fantastic combo and I look forward to hours of listening pleasure.

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dyna10x /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks to Spritzers help I wired up my SRM1/MK2 pro for 240v and got it running. Well what a giant upgrade from my SR84 electret setup. Makes the 84 sound aneamic and thin and much more comfortable as well. The sr lambda & srm is a fantastic combo and I look forward to hours of listening pleasure.

Spritzer helped me get one of my SRM1K2's going too. In my case from 240 to 110 volts. My thanks to him too.

The amp is pretty good,but save your pennies for 717. It's a notable step up and powerful enough to handle the O2 phones.

 

[Michgelsen]

But the SRM-717 has pro bias only, so it cannot drive the SR-Lambda.

I recently got myself a SRM-717 (in black, yay!) , but I'm not sure yet whether it is an upgrade over my SRM-T1. It makes the SR-202, which I really love on the T1, notably brighter. It seems plausible that the extra power of the SRM-717 is the cause of that. Even though the highs are never harsh the amount of highs can be fatiguing, in which case the extra detail, separation and bass punchiness are kind of useless.
I hope I still can get a SR-404LE somewhere to try with the SRM-717. I read that it's a good combo. If you ask me, the SR-202 and SRM-717 are not.

 

[hentai]

Just wanna share with you my experience of modified 727a. The amp was modified by a local hifi technician who has 30 years of experience. He told me that the power supply used in the 727a amp was pretty basic. Though some stax experts here may not like 727a and feel skeptical about the 'upgrade' I did with the amp, I feel that my modified 727a sounds very good and better than the stock one. Better clarity, more expressive mids. I can't remember the details of what he had done in modifying the amp but one of them was replacing the power supply.

The stock 727a is just okay but i expect more than that. Some of you may ask why i didnt' get the 717 or KGSS in the 1st place. I don't want get anything used and KGSS takes a very long time for my patience. ( No tubes for me now) So for now my current amp/setup is good enough to last me for the time I require to save up for blue hawaii but then again I heard that even BH is not the ulitmate amp for stax omega.

Btw, even its not the blue hawaii or a top end meridian cd player, I still enjoy my stax 007a alot. Its much better than all the dynamic headphones I have heard so far.

 

[padam]

Other mods which might be worthwhile to do is replacing the volume control with a stepped attenuator and I heard that the XLR/RCA switch is not great either.

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hentai /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just wanna share with you my experience of modified 727a. The amp was modified by a local hifi technician who has 30 years of experience. He told me that the power supply used in the 727a amp was pretty basic. Though some stax experts here may not like 727a and feel skeptical about the 'upgrade' I did with the amp, I feel that my modified 727a sounds very good and better than the stock one. Better clarity, more expressive mids. I can't remember the details of what he had done in modifying the amp but one of them was replacing the power supply. The stock 727a is just okay but i expect more than that. Some of you may ask why i didnt' get the 717 or KGSS in the 1st place. I don't want get anything used and KGSS takes a very long time for my patience. ( No tubes for me now) So for now my current amp/setup is good enough to last me for the time I require to save up for blue hawaii but then again I heard that even BH is not the ulitmate amp for stax omega. Btw, even its not the blue hawaii or a top end meridian cd player, I still enjoy my stax 007a alot. Its much better than all the dynamic headphones I have heard so far.

It seems that the high end designs such as the BHSE put a lot of effort into their power supplies which are usually in separate cases. I have often wondered if it wold be worthwhile to take some of the Stax designs and supply a better power supply. It sounds like your guy did that for you.

 

[Johnnie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hentai /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just wanna share with you my experience of modified 727a. The amp was modified by a local hifi technician who has 30 years of experience. He told me that the power supply used in the 727a amp was pretty basic. Though some stax experts here may not like 727a and feel skeptical about the 'upgrade' I did with the amp, I feel that my modified 727a sounds very good and better than the stock one. Better clarity, more expressive mids. I can't remember the details of what he had done in modifying the amp but one of them was replacing the power supply. The stock 727a is just okay but i expect more than that. Some of you may ask why i didnt' get the 717 or KGSS in the 1st place. I don't want get anything used and KGSS takes a very long time for my patience. ( No tubes for me now) So for now my current amp/setup is good enough to last me for the time I require to save up for blue hawaii but then again I heard that even BH is not the ulitmate amp for stax omega. Btw, even its not the blue hawaii or a top end meridian cd player, I still enjoy my stax 007a alot. Its much better than all the dynamic headphones I have heard so far.

Glad to hear the upgrades are working well for you. Earlier in the Stax thread, Dinan posted his modifications to his Stax SRM-717.

I, too, have noticed the espoused preference of the 717 to the 727 (similar to the SR-007 Mk 1 compared to Mk 2). Unlike the Mk 1 Omegas, the SR-717 rarely comes up for sale (at least that I have seen).

Enjoy!

 

[Dr No]

 

[spritzer]

All Stax amps (the electrostatic anyway) have very basic CRC psu's (some even have just a smoothing cap) so you can get some real improvements by replacing it. The bad news though is the size of the chassis and that the amp is built to a strict budget so any extra current draw on the transformer will be a very bad idea in the long term.

As for the 727, it's problem isn't with the PSU since it is pretty much the same as the 717 uses. What is the problem is the new amp design which just doesn't sound as linear as the 717.

 

[Michgelsen]

Plus the 717 looks better than the 727.

 

[almuzzi]

Hey guys! I'm soon to be joining team stax! Was trying to decide between an audio.gd compass+k701 or a low end stax setup, but then got hit by a stax (portable!) audition and now theres no turning back.

Just won an SRM-T1S on yahoo japan, but no earspeakers yet. Are these better than the SRM212/313s? I listen to classical mainly, which earspeaker should i get for a budget of $300? I'm looking at lambda pros, SR-2020/3030 mainly.

Also, im trying to decide between vinyl and a dac setup. Either a used technics SL-D2(do recommend a preamp if one is needed) or a new V-DAC.

I really fell in love with the stax sound after listening to the portable stax (SR001MK2) and would love some help in these areas...Thanks!

Edit: Do i need a power transformer for these? My country is at 240V, and its rated at 100V. I saw spritzers instructions on how to change the voltage, but i dont understand them and i dont know if theyll apply to my amp =(

Also, theres an SRM-T2 on sale at yahoo jpn. Current price is 150,000JPY, which is around 1.8k usd i think, if anyones interested

 

[Michgelsen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by almuzzi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just won an SRM-T1S on yahoo japan, but no earspeakers yet. Are these better than the SRM212/313s? I listen to classical mainly, which earspeaker should i get for a budget of $300? I'm looking at lambda pros, SR-2020/3030 mainly.

I find the SRM-T1, which is almost the same as an SRM-T1S, with the SR-202 an excellent match in all aspects. I'm not sure if you can buy an SR-202 for $300 in Singapore. It's $350 (new) at Woo Audio, but prices can be different where you live. Second-hand they should cost less, but can be hard to find without an amp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by almuzzi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Edit: Do i need a power transformer for these? My country is at 240V, and its rated at 100V. I saw spritzers instructions on how to change the voltage, but i dont understand them and i dont know if theyll apply to my amp =(

It depends. Some amps have a voltage selector plug that can easily be changed to the right voltage. If yours hasn't, then you'll need a transformer if you don't want to do any soldering.

 

[mobbaddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by almuzzi /img/forum/go_quote.gif I really fell in love with the stax sound after listening to the portable stax (SR001MK2) and would love some help in these areas...Thanks!

Beware the portable Stax has a different sound signature than the Lambdas, i didn't try the SR-001 but i own the 003 which are essentially the same but for home use. They have a darker signature, i find them very mid-centric with a good amount of bass but a recessed treble. My Lambda is a bit less bassy and sounds a bit bright sometimes, and the Nova line is supposed to be the one with the least glare. In good conditions i'd say it can sound very smooth overall, a nice upgrade from the 003

I don't know about the other Lambdas.

 

[almuzzi]

Ah yea i loved the midrange mostly, was listening to a violin solo so i didnt really notice the recessed treble. I actually love my etymotics er4b, so something bright, with less but deeper bass would be very very welcome!

Hmm...the sr2020 IS kinda hard to find by itself, i really dont mind used at all though (the T1S is used). Problem is i have nowhere to try the different stax 'phones locally (partly because im going to get enlisted into the army very soon).

Quote:

Beware the portable Stax has a different sound signature than the Lambdas, i didn't try the SR-001 but i own the 003 which are essentially the same but for home use. They have a darker signature, i find them very mid-centric with a good amount of bass but a recessed treble. My Lambda is a bit less bassy and sounds a bit bright sometimes, and the Nova line is supposed to be the one with the least glare. In good conditions i'd say it can sound very smooth overall, a nice upgrade from the 003 I don't know about the other Lambdas.

Ah isnt the LNS hard to find (read: expensive)? I'd love to have a pair but i should think its out of my budget. Is the Lambda Pro a good compromise?

EDIT: forgot to ask, will using the balanced input (on the T1S) from a balanced dac give an improvement as compared to imbalanced input? it does for dynamics, but im not very sure if it does for electrostatics...

 

[Currawong]

I was lucky to pick up a good pair of LNS on Yahoo for about $220. Best headphone score I've ever made. Do try and get a very good DAC for the Stax. Also, I recommend some Herbies Tube Dampers for the T1. They are only $9 each or thereabouts and IMO make an improvement to the sound.