[Mzisman4]

I made a thread and it was recommended I post here for help. original thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/643406/how-to-remove-dust-from-stax-lambda#post_9005886
 
I got a pair of lambda pros cheap with an srm-1/mk2.  I had the amp cleaned and modded for pro output.  After reading and a much earlier post, I had come to the conclusion that there was dust in the left driver.  Any possible solutions?  There is a lot of rattle with really high and low frequencies--enough for me not to use them.  At this the left driver is scrap to me so I'm willing to give a reasonable idea a go.
 
After coming back from vacation, the connection issues with the left channel cable have intensified.  At first, the sound would cut in and out if I moved my head to quickly.  It was easily avoided so I dealt with it.  Now, I have to hold the wire in a specific position to get any sound to pass through.  It is also at a significantly decreased volume.  I have figured out that the connection issue is occurring at the plastic/rubber "joint" where the wires meets the left enclosure.  Can I simply clip the wires before the joint and re-solder them to the driver?  I know the left and right wires will be uneven but I can't imagine it would make a huge sonic difference.  I could knot them inside the enclosure to relieve the tension.
 
Could the connection issues be the cause of the static I had attributed to dust?
 
Am I SOL? and what could I reasonably get out of them as parts to go towards a pair of 407/507?
 
Thanks.
 
On the bright side, the sr-30s I had thrown in for free are serving me well in the meantime 

 

[tiberiuspv]

Quote:

Thanks again for the info...That's quite the system you've got there. Those O/96s are real beauties. 
 
I think I'll be okay if I decide to go with the 300XS since I'm buying from a dealer no more than 10 minutes from where I live right now. 

Yes, the system is really nice. My previous setup was about 25 years old - mid-ranges Maggies and Bryston, SR Lambda NB. I felt I could indulge after being stable for so long. I loved the Magneplanar sound, but the new music room/library was violently hostile to the tall/thin look of the Maggies - major WAF with which I could not objectively disagree. The O/96 were chosen based on sound and aesthetics, and I am very pleased with the result on both fronts. In the same process, I moved to the HD800 which I really like a lot. Having a good dealer nearby is a huge value - system matching is quite difficult, and being able to listen at leisure to a specific combination is the best way to make an informed choice and not getting buyer's remorse and intense upgradeitis. That was key for me choosing the O/96-Leben pairing.
 
But [back on thread topic] I could not get rid of the Stax bug and I am in the process of modernizing my Stax setup - moving up the food chain first to 507 and LNS, now 009 (just received) and a whole bevy of amps (SRM-1, 323, 007t) moving up to BHSE (pending). I went for the BHSE after listening to it extensively at a friend's and comparing quite a few different combinations. The 009/BHSE combo was definitely at the top for my taste (strictly classical, very sensitive to staging, dynamics and precision). I never got to listen to the LL, so my choice was pretty clear-cut. I also liked the BHSE from an aesthetics and internal design standpoint. This being said, all the reports I have heard on the 009/LL combo were glowing, so I completely understand why you want to give it a last listen (and congrats for the fast sale). In the past, I have alternated between speakers and headphones, but headphones are currently my major listening mode (75/25) and I find myself rotating between HD800 and the different Stax setups I have (the Lambda NB is still great headphones after over 30 years, I have had mine for 25 years). 

 

[MorbidToaster]

I have a feeling I'll get the Stax bug against fairly quickly, and after hearing the 404LE a few months ago I could see ending up there with a decent amp. They were very impressive even next to the 009. 
 
The O/96 are gorgeous so congrats on that front. I asked my dealer if there was one set up in the store he could take home if he closed tomorrow and it was the CS600 + Harbeths. He sells Devore, but not at the O/96 level. I'd love to hear them sometime. 
 
I think the T1 might be my next headphone though. The HD800s soundstage just felt a little too wide (unnatural) but I know the T1 still has decent staging (the 009 did it perfect, IMO). Might as well try something new, but we'll see.
 
Quote:

Yes, the system is really nice. My previous setup was about 25 years old - mid-ranges Maggies and Bryston, SR Lambda NB. I felt I could indulge after being stable for so long. I loved the Magneplanar sound, but the new music room/library was violently hostile to the tall/thin look of the Maggies - major WAF with which I could not objectively disagree. The O/96 were chosen based on sound and aesthetics, and I am very pleased with the result on both fronts. In the same process, I moved to the HD800 which I really like a lot. Having a good dealer nearby is a huge value - system matching is quite difficult, and being able to listen at leisure to a specific combination is the best way to make an informed choice and not getting buyer's remorse and intense upgradeitis. That was key for me choosing the O/96-Leben pairing.
 
But [back on thread topic] I could not get rid of the Stax bug and I am in the process of modernizing my Stax setup - moving up the food chain first to 507 and LNS, now 009 (just received) and a whole bevy of amps (SRM-1, 323, 007t) moving up to BHSE (pending). I went for the BHSE after listening to it extensively at a friend's and comparing quite a few different combinations. The 009/BHSE combo was definitely at the top for my taste (strictly classical, very sensitive to staging, dynamics and precision). I never got to listen to the LL, so my choice was pretty clear-cut. I also liked the BHSE from an aesthetics and internal design standpoint. This being said, all the reports I have heard on the 009/LL combo were glowing, so I completely understand why you want to give it a last listen (and congrats for the fast sale). In the past, I have alternated between speakers and headphones, but headphones are currently my major listening mode (75/25) and I find myself rotating between HD800 and the different Stax setups I have (the Lambda NB is still great headphones after over 30 years, I have had mine for 25 years). 

 

[wuwhere]

^^^ From all the read I did, the SR-404 Anniversary Limited Edition, they have real leather pads.

 

[tiberiuspv]

Quote:

After coming back from vacation, the connection issues with the left channel cable have intensified.  At first, the sound would cut in and out if I moved my head to quickly.  It was easily avoided so I dealt with it.  Now, I have to hold the wire in a specific position to get any sound to pass through.  It is also at a significantly decreased volume.  I have figured out that the connection issue is occurring at the plastic/rubber "joint" where the wires meets the left enclosure.  Can I simply clip the wires before the joint and re-solder them to the driver?  I know the left and right wires will be uneven but I can't imagine it would make a huge sonic difference.  I could knot them inside the enclosure to relieve the tension.
 
Could the connection issues be the cause of the static I had attributed to dust?

The symptoms do seem to be more related to an intermittent wiring short at the cable egress. It's pretty unlikely you have both problems (dust and wiring) at the same time. The wire length difference is essentially immaterial (except possibly for strain). I have never opened up a pair of Lambdas but I am sure more experienced DIYers here can give you good advice on how to proceed. I suspect the process is similar to what you need to do to replace the ear pads.

 

[tiberiuspv]

Quote:

I have a feeling I'll get the Stax bug against fairly quickly, and after hearing the 404LE a few months ago I could see ending up there with a decent amp. They were very impressive even next to the 009. 
 
The O/96 are gorgeous so congrats on that front. I asked my dealer if there was one set up in the store he could take home if he closed tomorrow and it was the CS600 + Harbeths. He sells Devore, but not at the O/96 level. I'd love to hear them sometime. 
 
I think the T1 might be my next headphone though. The HD800s soundstage just felt a little too wide (unnatural) but I know the T1 still has decent staging (the 009 did it perfect, IMO). Might as well try something new, but we'll see.
 

I have not heard the 404LE, although I did consider a pair as I was walking up the Stax foodchain - opted for the LNS instead, which I do like a lot (may end up as my office setup). I have not compared the LNS to the 009 yet, since it just arrived...
If you happen to drop by the Bay Area, I'll be happy to give you a tour of my setup - though you'll need to bring your own music as our tastes are quite different.
I differ with you on staging - I find the HD800 almost perfect, and the 009 a very close second - but it does other things better (dynamics and detail extraction). This may very possibly tied to the type of music: most classical recordings have limited left/right staging, so a slightly stronger staging in the headphones may sound more 'real'. I was actually very pleasantly surprised by the staging improvement provided by the ED-1 (on loan from a friend) with the Lambdas. I am probably going to play around with Isone on my PC to see what the staging tweaks sound like.

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

At first, the sound would cut in and out if I moved my head to quickly.  It was easily avoided so I dealt with it.  Now, I have to hold the wire in a specific position to get any sound to pass through.  It is also at a significantly decreased volume.  I have figured out that the connection issue is occurring at the plastic/rubber "joint" where the wires meets the left enclosure.  Can I simply clip the wires before the joint and re-solder them to the driver?  I know the left and right wires will be uneven but I can't imagine it would make a huge sonic difference.  I could knot them inside the enclosure to relieve the tension.
 
Could the connection issues be the cause of the static I had attributed to dust?
 
 
 

 
I had a similar problem with my Lambda Pro's few months ago which I managed to fix. My problem was that the right side cable produced very small hissing static near the housing area if I moved my head. So I grabbed the cable and moved it to different directions and bamm, this confirmed that there was a fractured wire within the cable somewhere. What I ended up doing was de-soldering the cables from stat drivers and shortened both sides of the cable to the point where there was no hissing static from the right hand side. I also used a very sharp Stanley Fat Max knife to cut through the middle of the cable mold that holds it at the housing area. 
 
Once the cables was re-cable I made sure both sides was of equal balanced lengths and reinstalled the housing completely and used a bit of super glue to hold the cable mold again at the housing area instead of a massive hole. It fixed the problem and am still enjoying the sound every minute I listen to it, right now I'm just on hunt for some replacement headbands (the NOS ones) and possibly a spare cable.

 

[verber]

Quote:

From a conversation in a different forum, I was told about new standards coming into place for the estimation of audio program loudness: http://tech.ebu.ch/loudness

In summary, I would attempt to measure B-weigthed loudness using pink noise input, which would be miles better than matching SPL for single tone (like 1kHz or 250Hz), as this absolutely does not take care of level matching.

 
Thanks.  Busy for next couple of days, but I will look at these refs shortly. I was using pink noise and a A-weighted loudness measurement (yes, I am sure B would be better, but my meter has A built in, not B).
 
--Mark

 

[dj nellie]

Quote:

It's not necessarily about 'listening' to her...It's about wanting her to enjoy music as much as I do. The 009s have made me feel a bit selfish over the last few months because the more head time they get, the more isolated I was being towards spending time with her. 
 
Also, it's sold already. Official once the wire come through. Didn't expect someone to drop that kind of cash this fast. lol

 
Congrats on the sale, and sorry you had to give up your rig.  Honestly, I'm not surprised it sold so quickly.  Combine the 009 with an amp that won't be widely available again for at least 4-5 months, and which is--by most accounts--no worse than top 3 out of the commercially-produced amps for the 009 (and a few thousand dollars cheaper than the others), and I'm sure plenty of people are lurking in the bushes waiting for a deal.
 
I hear you on the "headphones isolate me from my significant other" argument.  I basically have turned my headphone listening time into the few hours I have after my wife falls asleep, and before I literally have to yank the 009s off of my head because I can't get enough.  

 

[MorbidToaster]

Yeah, the headphones won't be leaving the house all together, but they're getting a major downgrade as they won't be used nearly as much as the speakers. 
 
Now I'm just waiting on payment to come through so I can throw money at my dealer.
 
Quote:

 
Congrats on the sale, and sorry you had to give up your rig.  Honestly, I'm not surprised it sold so quickly.  Combine the 009 with an amp that won't be widely available again for at least 4-5 months, and which is--by most accounts--no worse than top 3 out of the commercially-produced amps for the 009 (and a few thousand dollars cheaper than the others), and I'm sure plenty of people are lurking in the bushes waiting for a deal.
 
I hear you on the "headphones isolate me from my significant other" argument.  I basically have turned my headphone listening time into the few hours I have after my wife falls asleep, and before I literally have to yank the 009s off of my head because I can't get enough.  

 

[yawg]

Hi,
Quote:

I take any remarks like that with a healthy dose of skepticism.  I've built and rebuilt enough equipment to to know there is no such thing as burn in and nobody has been able to prove its real.  If component is changing its value after a few hundred hours then it is by definition broken and should be replaced.  Let's look at real possibilities then:
 
One cause can be due to thermal drift.  Going by the numbers Alex has posted then the Liquid Lightning must be burning hot even at low ambient temp and that can cause all sorts of issues.  80W is a lot of heat to dissipate on those tiny sinks and if the amp was setup with the top off then it can drift even further with it on. 
 
Another factor which ties into the heat issue is the actual mains voltage in the wall.  Up here in the north it never changes more than 1V but I guess it's getting quite warm in Florida and the load on the AC line must fluctuate quite a bit.  Even though the amp has a regulated PSU the wall voltage can still change how it sounds and even knock it out of regulation in extreme cases. 
 
Then we have the whole problem with space charge in the drivers and issues related to the bias supplies.  These can change the sound from hour to hour, day to day depending on humidity and other environmental factors.  I know enough people had issues with the Exstata bias supplies so if the LL uses anything similar then that could apply. 

I never believed in burn-in except for the obvious candidates like phono cartridges and speakers, those are mechanical devices. But since I had the original filters of my 3.6 Maggies replaced by real serious ones I am very amazed. I heard a bit of improvement directly after listening to them the first time but boy did it get better and better with more and more listening hours. This is definitely no self-hypnosis. Even after more than 50 hours I still hear more and more fine detail - on records I've been listening to since the early 70s!
 
This as nothing to do with thermal issues whatsoever. The original tiny inductors might have been heating up with my listening levels - and gone into saturation in the process - but the new big caps and inductors stay absolutely cool even with the highest volume levels.
 
I'm a born sceptic, believe me. But this is absolutely awesome.
 
Best regards, Jörg.

 

[Torero]

Is worth to buy a Stax STAX SR-007 SZ3 ? o better Stax 507?
 

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

Is worth to buy a Stax STAX SR-007 SZ3 ? o better Stax 507?
 

A substantial upgrade yes. 

 

[milosz]

Tubes change a little as they age. Cathode emission will change with time; and the level of vacuum in the tube changes a little as things inside evaporate due to heat.  The getter will absorb some of this, but not all. Emissivity of grids also changes slightly (yes, grids do emit a little) due to heating over time.  Internal structures may warp a little due to heating over time, changes in geometry cause changes in tube characteristics.  All of these changes in a tube over time are fairly subtle (except for cathode emission, which goes to 'KAPUT' eventually) but I'd bet you could actually measure them if you had the right gear and method. Whether you can HEAR them, well, that's another matter.
 
Capacitors could also change in value a little due to aging- not just in terms of capacitance value, but also other things such as ESR and power factor. 
 
But why is it that all "break in" is claimed to result in IMPROVEMENT in sound quality?  That makes me very suspicious; if break-in is ALWAYS reported to be positive, then it seems likely to be a subjective thing (i.e.,perceptual system / brain) and not related to actual changes in signal reproduction.
 
If these slight physical / electrical changes are really having an impact on sound quality, why are they always IMPROVEMENTS?  Shouldn't some "broken in" tubes / capacitors / drivers / phono cartridges sound WORSE? Like about 50% of them?

 

[Torero]

Quote:

A substantial upgrade yes. 

I understand you that the SZ3 are substancial upgrade from the 507. But what?