[chinsettawong]

Quote:

Spritzer? Are ageing and deteriorating electrostatic (and ortho) membranes a fact of life?
 
 

Hi MDR30,
 
It is actually the coating material on the diaphragm that is to blame for.  The coating does deteriorate through time and change of environment.  If you have nothing to lose, you might want to try to recoat diaphragm with something that will make it somewhat conductive.  There are many materials that can be used.  But, the easiest and very effective material that I have found to work great is a permanent antistatic solution.  It's water base solution, and is very easy to apply.  All you need is a very, tiny drop of it and you can coat the whole diaphragm.  After coating, you want to have a surface resistance of at least 10 x 10^6 ohm per square. 
 
Wachara C.

 

[schorsch]

Crazy
 
Futterman amp for Stax earspeakers:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Julius-Futterman-Stax-Earspeaker-Amp-Stax-SR-X-MK2-and-SR-3-Earspeakers-/150761445017?_trksid=p3286.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D3%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6491668021651344401
 
found on ebay.
 
What an OTL clone thread)
 
Regards Georg

 

[LCfiner]

I just received a Stax O2 Mark I and Woo GES from cantsleep here on the forums. It's a wonderful combination. I've been listening to it for hours and hours straight since yesterday afternoon and I have no regrets selling my HD800 and other headphones to get this.
 
It's been a few weeks since I last listened to the HD800 before letting it go, but from my recollection, the O2 has about the same level of detail and speed, a bit smaller soundstage, more weight with low frequency instruments, a meatier midrange and a bit less treble energy (but not a huge difference) There's also a bit less impact and slam on the O2 with some low frequency hip hop beats (not a huge deal on this last point.)
 
Compared with the SR-407 and T1S combo that I had briefly last month - and which prompted me to get this system - the 007 has a less shouty midrange, a better soundstage, more impactful bass and oh yeah, much better comfort.
 
The tonality of this combo is just about perfect for my taste. What surprises me a little bit is how close the measured FR of this headphone is to the LCD2 rev2 - A headphone that I felt was awfully dark and muffled sounding.  I do not get that feeling at all from the O2.
 
I am currently using a headroom desktop amp as a DAC and pre-amp in the system (I have powered speakers I need to control). I do not notice any obvious deficiencies from this setup. I can hear very subtle details in the recordings I have and there is a very accurate sense of imaging going on. Every instrument in well recorded live sessions has a location that feels very lifelike.
 
I have found from previous unscientific listening tests at my place the last couple years that I do not notice DAC changes nearly as much as amp changes - or headphone changes. Still, I may be looking to replace the DAC /pre-amp with something better in the next couple years.
 
I consider myself very lucky that I found an O2 mark I available for sale. And especially fortunate that I can now listen to this great headphone every day now.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Can't say I have seen one of these before.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Julius-Futterman-Stax-Earspeaker-Amp-Stax-SR-X-MK2-and-SR-3-Earspeakers-/150761445017?_trksid=p5197.m185&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC.NPJS%26itu%3DI%252BUA%26otn%3D9%26pmod%3D330686584149%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6428052080337070547

It's nice to finally see what's inside that amp.  Way, way too many triodes so they are either run in parallel or just half a tube is used...


Quote:

Spritzer? Are ageing and deteriorating electrostatic (and ortho) membranes a fact of life?
 
 

As Wachara said, it's most often the coating that has deteriorated but there are other factors, namely arcing due to being over driven (the SRD boxes can easily do this with normal bias drivers) and prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. 

 

[NamelessPFG]

 
Quote:

I have a modded SRD-7 SB that has the input direct into the transformers and sounds a little better than the Mk2 with the right amp, but it's less than a 4 ohm load and doesn't sound good with my ZDT amp which prefers 8-16 ohm loads on the speaker outputs.  I have to use the modded transformer with my Travagans Red or Nuforce Icon amps, and my son is hogging the Nuforce while the Travagans is packed away.

Another suggestion to mod the SRD-7/SB by taking the PCB out of the equation...or is that only on the input side and not the output side, after the transformers?
 
I still left mine stock, only because I'd think that the PCB is there for a very good reason, otherwise it wouldn't be there and spritzer wouldn't have sold replacement Pro bias boards.

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

I have found from previous unscientific listening tests at my place the last couple years that I do not notice DAC changes nearly as much as amp changes - or headphone changes. Still, I may be looking to replace the DAC /pre-amp with something better in the next couple years.
 
I consider myself very lucky that I found an O2 mark I available for sale. And especially fortunate that I can now listen to this great headphone every day now.

 
Rather than changing your DAC, you may want to consider getting a BHSE instead. The GES can drive the O2 as adequately well as many of the other available amps under $2K, but it really thrives on a truly TOTL amp.
 
 

 

[LCfiner]

Quote:

 
Rather than changing your DAC, you may want to consider getting a BHSE instead. The GES can drive the O2 as adequately well as many of the other available amps under $2K, but it really thrives on a truly TOTL amp.
 
 

I’ve certainly thought about upgrading the amp down the line but, well, the step up from the GES, whether it’s a BHSE or possibly a Cavalli LL, are a bit too rich for my blood. 
 
My yearly income would need to double or triple for me to be able to get one and not feel a little sick.
 
My thoughts about the DAC come from a place where I think I could substitute my DAC in the 300 dollar range with something in the 1K range. and, even then, I have no idea if I would even notice the difference. It might be a short-lived experiment when it comes time to try it out.
 
 

 

[KingStyles]

Speaking of cheaper amps, does anybody have a update on the EC electra before I bug Craig about it?

 

[boba6]

 
Hi, I just bought an early (serial 4xxx) SRM-1/MK2 normal bias amp and separate an SR-303 headphone.
I sent the amp to modify to pro bias, and after it, during the balance and offset setting, de minimum values we can set and measured are:
balance left: YEL/GRE 0,1V, 
balance right: RED/WHT 94V
offset left: GND/YEL 9,4V
offset right: GND/GRE 8,8V
 
It seems one 2SB832 transistor is dead  
Of course it is not too possible to get the same transistor nowdays... What is acceptable for replacement? (I think it is good to change all of them in this case)
Thank you.
 
ps: I found a later schematic from this amp only, anybody has the right one for this one?

 

[schorsch]

Quote:

It's nice to finally see what's inside that amp.  Way, way too many triodes so they are either run in parallel or just half a tube is used...

As Wachara said, it's most often the coating that has deteriorated but there are other factors, namely arcing due to being over driven (the SRD boxes can easily do this with normal bias drivers) and prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. 

Well I think it's the principle of Futtermann amps to run the triodes parallel to avoid the output transformer.
 
Regards Georg

 

[spritzer]

That's only true of speaker amps where there is a massive impedance mismatch between the output of the tubes and the speakers.  With electrostatic transducers then there is no such mismatch.  No internal pics but the tubes used point to this having nothing at all to do with the other Futterman amps. 

 

[DarknightDK]

I've been thinking about picking up a pair of Stax, either the O2 or the 009. Being new to Stax, could someone explain the differences in SQ between the O2 Mk1, O2 Mk2 and the 009? Is the O2 Mk2 a good step up from the O2 Mk1?
 
Also, I've read a few posts where some claim they prefer the O2 over the 009 for a 'warmer sound'? Is the 009 really much better than the O2 for 2x the price?
 
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

I've been thinking about picking up a pair of Stax, either the O2 or the 009. Being new to Stax, could someone explain the differences in SQ between the O2 Mk1, O2 Mk2 and the 009? Is the O2 Mk2 a good step up from the O2 Mk1?
 
Also, I've read a few posts where some claim they prefer the O2 over the 009 for a 'warmer sound'? Is the 009 really much better than the O2 for 2x the price?
 
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

You can get a pretty good idea of the various Omega 2s here (the article also covers the SR-009 and the Orthos) http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/comparing-world-class-headphones-stax-sr-007
 
Long story short, the Mk2 is not a step up from the Mk1, and the "Mk2.5", which is likely the version you'll get if you order a new pair from a shop ain't so great. If you want an O2, the Mk1 is the one to have. I really like the Mk1's balanced sound and its forgiving treble, which is why I have some trepidation about the 009.
 
 

 

[di_andrei]

Quote:

I've been thinking about picking up a pair of Stax, either the O2 or the 009. Being new to Stax, could someone explain the differences in SQ between the O2 Mk1, O2 Mk2 and the 009? Is the O2 Mk2 a good step up from the O2 Mk1?
 
Also, I've read a few posts where some claim they prefer the O2 over the 009 for a 'warmer sound'? Is the 009 really much better than the O2 for 2x the price?
 
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

My first advice is to make every effort to try them out for yourself before you spend that kind of money. As you have observed from other posts - personal taste differs quite a lot. Decisions about amps also come into play. This week-end I went to a local dealer and got to try the 507, O2 Mk2 and 009. Surprisingly the 009 seemed easier to drive, it was louder at the same volume setting with the srm-007 tII. Comfort also comes into play - I spend many hours with headphones on my head - if they aren't comfortable I will get frustrated regardless of the sound quality. To attempt to answer your question, from the 45 minutes or so spent switching between the 3 headphones, there is no way in which the O2 Mk2 is better than the 009, but the difference is small. To my wallet it's not worth twice the price. The 507 was very impressive in terms of value for money - personally I think it's better than any dynamic headphone I have ever tried (HD 800, high end audio-technica, etc). I'm still going to make an effort to try to find an O2 Mk1, many opinions on these boards favour it over the Mk2. And consider buying second hand. All used stax gear tends to retain value quite well.
 

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

Surprisingly the 009 seemed easier to drive, it was louder at the same volume setting with the srm-007 tII

 
This is the general consensus that I've heard from folks that have tested them. The Omega 2 really craves power, and the 007Tii just doesn't have enough of it. An O2 Mk1 on a BHSE will put up a much tougher fight against the SR-009 on the SRM-007Tii or a GES. Ironically I've seen mentioned in several SR-009 reviews that it "needs" $5,000 worth of BHSE or WES behind it to be worth using. This is considerably less true about the 009 than it is about the O2.