[Tilpo]

X2, Can you share with us the source for further reading?

Any more news on the upcoming 'SR-002' btw?

I second the request on further literature.

I really feel like reading books lately.

 

[YOONG 2112]

Hi Milosz Whats your appraisal of the T1 and the lambda pro vs the SRM1 /mk2 pro ? wonder if it sounds better than the newer 323s solid state?

 

[YOONG 2112]

Hi Dave bsc I am thinking of getting a stax amp for to drive the original SR Omega 1,, would you think the 323s  or the srm T1 is better? have you heard them or do you own the 323s?

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

Hi Dave bsc I am thinking of getting a stax amp for to drive the original SR Omega 1,, would you think the 323s  or the srm T1 is better? have you heard them or do you own the 323s?

 
I'm the wrong guy to ask as I'm not that familiar with the original SR-Omega. From what I understand, it's a much brighter sounding phone than the O2 and may partner well with soft sounding tube amps. I don't know how efficient it is. The O2 is very voltage hungry and would definitely pair better with the 323S.

 

[Surge74]

I just noticed on my brand new SR-009s that the black 'felt' material lining the inside of the headphones (covering the electrostatic grills) is loose.  It is not drawn taught against the drivers, and it has come up in some places.  It's totally loose on both sides... is this normal?

 

[milosz]

Quote:

Hi Milosz Whats your appraisal of the T1 and the lambda pro vs the SRM1 /mk2 pro ? wonder if it sounds better than the newer 323s solid state?

 
On my Lambda Pro Signatures, I like the T1 considerably more the SRM-1/mk II. The T1 has a  more 'refined' sound.  The T1  doesn't sound 'tubey' but it does have a more nuanced sound to it, it's not just a slightly smoother treble it's an overall slight improvement in quality.  Hard to describe. The bass is good from either amp.  T1  is a darn nice electrostatic amp, especially considering it's age.
 
On  my SR-007/ mk II's, I don't like EITHER the T1 or the SRM1/mk II.  Neither one sounds really "right."  The SRM1/mk II  seems to drive the SR007's a little better, more coherently somehow, than the T1.  But I don't like the SR007 on either amp (or on the SRD7-Pro  for that matter) -  I am hopeful that when I finish building my DIY T2 I will finally have something that makes the SR007's sound like $2,000 worth of good.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

I just noticed on my brand new SR-009s that the black 'felt' material lining the inside of the headphones (covering the electrostatic grills) is loose.  It is not drawn taught against the drivers, and it has come up in some places.  It's totally loose on both sides... is this normal?

 
It should be flat but not very tightly fitted.  It's fitted to a plastic ring so just use you fingers to seat the the ring properly underneath the earpads. 

 

[Tilpo]

I haven't actually tried these yet, but it looks like the pads on my SR-202 are glued badly. (see image).

Should I remove the earpads and glue them back on? Or is it supposed to have a large gap like that?

 

[Michgelsen]

Sometimes just pressing them back on helps. Otherwise you can use double sided tape. Glue might be harder to remove when you want to change the pads someday.

 

[schorsch]

Quote:

 
A tall planar speaker is a line source.  Two things make it it's interaction within a room different:

• Sound comes from a line source as a CYLINDRICAL wavefront, whereas a regular speaker is more-or-less a point source which has a SPHERICAL wavefront.  The surface area of a cylindrical wavefront expands by a factor of two for every doubling of the distance from the speaker to the  wavefront ; the surface of a sphere increases by a factor of FOUR for every doubling of distance.  Hence, sound level from a line source like a tall planar speaker drops by 3 db for every doubling of distance (out to a distance that is greater than most listening rooms,) where the sound level from a regular speaker drops by 6 db for every doubling.   This means the NEAR FIELD of the line source extends out farther than a point source. The near field is that space where the direct sound from the speaker greatly predominates over sound reflected from the listening room walls. So, depending on placement, a line source can have a sound that is less influenced by the room.  Note this does not apply to long wavelengths like bass, because often the wavelength of the sound is greater than the distance to the listener- bass with any speaker is subject to room coloration, although usually these are usually not narrow or complicated frequency response peaks or suckouts and careful placement and / or a little room EQ can keep them from dominating the sound. NOTE sound from the planar speaker CAN reflect off the wall BEHIND the listener, and if the speaker is a dipole, it will reflect off the wall behind the speakers in front of the listener, so these walls do have an effect on the sound.
• Sound coming from a line source like a tall planar speaker doesn't have very much vertical dispersion-  especially at high frequencies line sources produce more or less a beam that shoots out at a right angle to their vertical surface, without much energy radiating up or down. This is especially true if the planar speaker is tall enough to be quite near the ceiling. At mid and treble frequencies, there really isn't much sound 'fired' at the ceiling or floor, so reflections from ceiling and floor are quite minimal. (Assuming the planar speaker is perpendicular to the floor and not tilted back.)

 
So, with a tall planar speaker (or a line array of regular cone drivers)  reflections from side walls and floor / ceiling interact noticeably less than with a regular speaker.
 
Smaller electrostat panels like these little Stax, or a single pair of Quad ESL-57  etc are going to be somewhere between 'Line Source' and regular speaker behavior. The smaller the speaker the more it will act like a point source.   Full line source properties accrue to the  larger Magneplanars, the CLS type Martin-Logans, big Soundlab speakers, vintage KLH-9's, Acoustats, Final Design, Apogee, etc.  Quads from the ESL-63 on are a point source at higher frequencies and a line source at lower frequencies, because of their construction.

Stax claims a cylindrical wave for the F-81 because of the the way the used electronics....
 
You can find that in their brochure / handbook for the F-81
 
Regards Georg

 

[milosz]

Quote:

Stax claims a cylindrical wave for the F-81 because of the the way the used electronics....
 
You can find that in their brochure / handbook for the F-81
 
Regards Georg

 
 
Yeah it would be cylindrical but of limited height; at any distance from the speaker it will behave more like a conventional 4π speaker but with very limited vertical treble dispersion.  It's only 31 inches tall.

 

[milosz]

Quote:

Sometimes just pressing them back on helps. Otherwise you can use double sided tape. Glue might be harder to remove when you want to change the pads someday.

I replaced the pads on my Lambdas- using genuine Stax replacements of course- and a few week later they started doing the same thing.  I was very careful to clean off all the old adhesive and really clean the earcup face super well with solvents, but they are still peeling off a little right at the edges.  Unavoidable, I think.
 
As long as they stay on, when you wear them, there won't be a seal problem.  Won't affect the sound.  But if they start to peel off enough that they are actually coming off- well that's another matter.

 

[schorsch]

You're right when you think about large rooms.)
They're made for really small rooms. Kind of large earspeakers)
I use them in a very little room at s relatively small distance so in that case it is closer to the cyliondrical wave.
 
In my living room it's another story....
 
Regards Georg
 

 

[arnaud]

Room size has nothing to do on how speaker radiates except at very low frequencies (below the first room resonance for instance). Any planar source radiates plane /cylindrical/spherical waves as distance increases. The smaller the source (relative to acoustic wavelength), the more it will look like a point source (spherical wave spreading). The room adds reflections such that you'll have varying ratio of direct/reflected sounds at the listening position depending on the room size, its treatments, and the speakers/listening position.

 

[WilCox]

I've just listed my SR-007 Mk I and SRM-717 in the For Sale forums.  Still keeping my SR-007 MK II and SRM-007tA which will let me continue my membership in the STAX mafia.