[cosmopragma]

Quote:

*flips a few pages back* You people are talking about being cheapskates on DIY T2 amp projects only costing about US$2,000, when most people wouldn't even spend a tenth of that on their whole headphone setup (or can't afford to)?

Are you sure you are aware where you are posting your little rant?
This is the "High-end Audio Forum" where in fact $2000 isn't considered to be overly expensive.
It's just a niche not even mainly populated by rich snobs but by middle class afficionados that often simply do have different priorities than the average Joe.
I don't know what your car did cost but probably way more than $2000.
I don't even own a car , admittedly because it's not really necessary for someone like me living quite central in an european sprawl with good public transportation and the option to borrow a car from relatives for occasional trips to the sea etc.
I do own audio gear worth $20000 instead.
To each his own I guess .......
 

 
 

 

[ujamerstand]

Sucks to hear what happened to your amp again, Jim. Which transistors were burnt out?

 

[milosz]

I think I am going to start a thread in this High-End forum titled "Enough is enough" -  I can see there is a point in MY OWN hifi hobby where I am spending too much money, collecting too much stuff... it's a little like shop-a-holism mixed in with a little hoarding.
 
Don't get me wrong- I LOVE the gear, and in some ways the only way to learn about / find what you like best is to go out and buy some stuff and live with it a while. But it tends to pile up.   Really,  there COMES A POINT.....
 
See what I mean?
 

 

[spekkio]

It's ok. If burglars enter your house they won't even know where the real $$$ is. They'll just think you're a headphone maniac and continue searching for the hidden gold bars somewhere.

 

[K3cT]

Quote:

Thanks for the very detailed review of how the 404LE performs compared to the O2.  I've been curious about the Lambdas lately, and have been reading up on those, the Sigmas, and the original Omegas.  I'm quite happy with my SR007A but have been curious what the rest of the Stax line-up has to offer.  I read the other thread talking about the SR003 but the comments were less than positive.
 
Do you feel the Lambdas generally excel with a particular type of music?  I guess it's pretty straightforward since you said the bass impact, extension, and texture are inferior on the Lambdas.  I as thinking about the Lambdas for something like Keith Jarrett or Hiromi Uehara as I've heard the Lambdas do very well representing some classical instruments, but probably aren't a great choice for metal/rock/pop.  Given what the Lambdas strengths are, I wonder how the SR009 compares directly to the Lambdas' strengths and weaknesses.  I may end up ordering a SR009 in the next few months and pass the SR007A off, though I'm a bit concerned about what some people have said about the SR009 pairing with metal.

 
I like my SR-202 on instrumental jazz the best. Stuff like Stan Get, David Benoit and the likes. It also does pretty well on acoustics. 
 
A perfect electrostats for me is something that combines the airiness, tonality and highs (minus the upper mid glare) of a Lambda with everything else from an O2. Perhaps the SR-009 is the answer to that. 
 

 

[livewire]

Quote:

Sucks to hear what happened to your amp again, Jim. Which transistors were burnt out?

 
Actually two amps.
 
You may remember that the SumR trafo in my KGSSHV fried a few months back.
Upon advice from Frank Cooter I shoehorned a behemoth in there,
but it didnt have the 30 volt tap for the first stage +/- 15volt rails.
For that I used a surplus Sola power brick, same type that KG used in his original KGSS.
A few weeks later that shorted out internally and took out some of the sand in the input stage(s).
I havent finished assessing the damage yet. I just got depressed and threw it up on the shelf and...
 
I dusted off the trusty little SRM-252II Stax energizer box and put it back into service driving my Lambdas.
I really like the sound of this little box. My only complaint is that it doesnt have the power to drive the cans
to crazy loud volume levels like the KGSSHV can. It tops out at an SPL of ~85 to 90 dB.
I crave 95 to 105dB for pounding rock music. (albeit for only an hour at a time)
That being said, I normally have the SRM-252 cranked almost all the way up almost all of the time.
It doesnt clip until that last little nudge of the volume knob.
The output transistors on this box are not heatsinked, so I guess that I nuked them while running it at full tilt
all of the time. They are 2SC4572, and like most of the sand used in stat amps, they are also relatively rare.
UTSource has them, but we all know that they cannot be trusted for EOL sand. Too much fake stuff out there.
So what am I gonna do? Prolly resurrect the KGSSHV, not sure how long it will take to find the parts.
Since UTsource is the only game in town for the Stax parts, guess I'll try them too for the SRM-252 sand.
 
At least I got the Koss stats and my new Grados to listen to in the meantime...
 

 

[spritzer]

Too busy to check the datasheet but most of these 2SC transistors are interchangeable.  Never used the 2SC4572 but the 2SC5466 should be compatible and so would be the 2SC3675 and even the 2SC4686A.  Just compare the datasheets and see if anything stands out. 

 

[sphinxvc]

Are there SR-Lambdas out there (non Professional) with 5-pin connectors?  Wondering if the Professional tag and Pro bias may not be the same thing?

 

[NamelessPFG]

 
Quote:

Are you sure you are aware where you are posting your little rant?
This is the "High-end Audio Forum" where in fact $2000 isn't considered to be overly expensive.
It's just a niche not even mainly populated by rich snobs but by middle class afficionados that often simply do have different priorities than the average Joe.
I don't know what your car did cost but probably way more than $2000.
I don't even own a car , admittedly because it's not really necessary for someone like me living quite central in an european sprawl with good public transportation and the option to borrow a car from relatives for occasional trips to the sea etc.
I do own audio gear worth $20000 instead.
To each his own I guess .......

I wouldn't call it a rant, just a rather amusing observation that $2,000 is quite cheap when talking about this stuff (which it is when you factor in stuff like SR-009 + BHSE or Orpheus setups that pass the $10,000 mark). I didn't intend for it to have a condescending tone or anything as if the cheapskates are in the right; if anything, I meant it lightheartedly, and those people may not know what they're missing and continue to live in ignorance. (The whole reason I'm pursuing better audio is to know what my ears have been missing this whole time, and to better enlighten myself.)
 
By the way, I don't own a car either, even though I'd want one. Too expensive, and I can still get to where I need to go. (If I had just $2,000, I'd already be shopping around for used cars when I could keep from shopping for new computer parts or other gaming equipment. Money's tight on my end, so I HAVE to go for the best bang for the buck.)
 
It's all about what makes you happy in the end. Does that $20,000 audio setup make you want to listen to music in its presence, just as my mere $250 Lambda + SRD-7/SB setup does for me? Then it's justified for you, even if most people would balk at the pricetag. You're not wrong for having it.
 
Sorry for any misunderstandings. (If only text could convey tone of voice...)
 
Quote:

Are there SR-Lambdas out there (non Professional) with 5-pin connectors? Wondering if the Professional tag and Pro bias may not be the same thing?

 
I'm pretty sure that the "Professional" is meant to indicate Pro bias, and the original SR-Lambda with normal bias should have 6 pins.
 
But this alleged normal bias set has only 5 pins...given its history, though, I'd say that whoever rebuilt the drivers also replaced the cable and couldn't find a 6-pin one. When you look at the pinouts on the amp side, the two bias pins are connected anyway, so I can see how this would work.

 

[paulchiu]

...they arrived....
Martha, hold all calls....
 
much much lighter than i thought.
 

 

[livewire]

Cha-Ching !!!

 

[Elysian]

Going to have an unproductive Monday?

 

[purrin]

Yeah, tell me about it... I should be working right now instead of listening and lurking here.

 

[NamelessPFG]

You can bet everyone's going to want to hear your impressions on those now, as if new toy syndrome wasn't hurting productivity enough...

 

[paulchiu]

i didn't do the rip and tear but actually tried to remove the 30+ loose pieces of scotch tapes.  STAX should pack like Apple in this regards, a large bag for everything.....
 
anyway, the 009 is simply gorgeous even without the sound.
i was afraid of tightness for my size 8 but it fit almost perfectly.  It is so light compared with LCD-2, a tad lighter versus ED10 and HD800.  Still, the Grado GS1000i and PS1000 are the lightest cans on my head.
 
i am letting the SRM007Ta II run for a day before listen....
 
the box that came with the 009 is light as cardboard.  the LCD-2 wood box feels and looks a lot more expensive.
 
BTW, my cords is somewhat twisted at the drivers, is this normal.
i understand they had to twist it for packing into the box.
 
cheers
 
paul