[chinsettawong]

Yes, for old electrostatic headphones, the charge up time can so quite long. I would leave them to be charge at least an hour and then try to listen to them agin.

Wachara C.

 

[davidsh]

But it might be that the diaphragm has indured arcing damage since they distort? Or perhaps the amp is just bad?

 

[Bingturong]

Thanks for the replies,
 
Quote:

Yes, for old electrostatic headphones, the charge up time can so quite long. I would leave them to be charge at least an hour and then try to listen to them agin.

Wachara C.

I actually left them on for nearly two days now, there's only been a slight improvement over the first 10 minutes I charged them.
 

  But it might be that the diaphragm has indured arcing damage since they distort? Or perhaps the amp is just bad?

 
Possibly but I might need to open them up, they still sound quite well at low volumes. I don't think the fault lies with the amp as the amp works beautifully with my SR-5 though it could be possible that the lambdas don't match well with the amp.

 

[Bingturong]

I just opened them up and I'm glad to say there're no holes nor any problems with the wiring, now to put them back together.

 

[davidsh]

I don't think you'll be able to see if the diaphragm has arced through the stators?

 

[Bingturong]

I gave it a close look under a shining light, nothing at all but they could be small holes that would require dismantling the driver to give a closer look.

 

[davidsh]

  I gave it a close look under a shining light, nothing at all but they could be small holes that would require dismantling the driver to give a closer look.

You better not do that anyway.. Dust in the drivers is a pain from what I have heard. But the mylar is pretty darn thin and transparent so seeing holes would be hard I think.

 

[chinsettawong]

Given its age, the coating material on the diaphragm might have gone bad. 

 

[DefQon]

  Given its age, the coating material on the diaphragm might have gone bad. 

+1.
 
I've recently fixed an older SR-3N which had no sound output at all from both channels. Diaphragm was perfect to. It needed to be "recharged" as per Wachara's advice. 
 
But the Lambda drivers are much different. The stators and diaphragm is held down by epoxy so there is no other way of getting to the diaphragm without using force to ply the stators apart.

 

[Bingturong]

I just find it strange that earlier lambda's work fine, Is a serial of 30XXX an early or late production?

 

[DefQon]

No one knows. One can assume its later if Stax's serialising is in chronological order.

 

[ricercar]

FYI
 
I just had a pair of SR202 earspeakers repaired (re-cabled) by Accutech in southern California. It was 24 days from the day I sent them in to the day I received the package back.
 
DETAILS
The problem was an intermittent short in the strain relief where the cable entered the left earspeaker. The sound would cut out as I turned my head. Within a few hours of its appearance, the failure severity moved from intermittently disconnecting to intermittently connecting.
 
I used the staxusa.com "Contact US" web form, and was given an estimate of the repair billing. Communication was swift but entirely reactive. Each time I sent a message, response was within 1 business day. However there was complete silence from these folks for over two weeks after sending my earspeakers so I decided to ask for a status update. If you send your Stax in for repair at Accutech, don't expect a lot of chatter.
 
Estimate: SR-202
Cable w/ plug $65
Labor $50 @ $50/hr
S/H $16-18
 
Actual billing amount was $137 USD, which included 9% CA state tax (I live in northern California). They shipped my earspakers back to me in the exact same shipping container I sent to them. They returned the earspeaker package to me with a signature required for delivery, which I found reassuring.
 
And the SR202 earspeakers are fixed. There is no longer any short in the earspeakers, and there is no cosmetic difference (no scratches or other damage incurred during the repair), which is as one should expect from a high-end equipment repair facility.
 
The repair was complete and the experience was satisfying. If you're in the US and you don't want to perform a Stax earspeaker repair on your own, you should have confidence in a proper repair from Staxusa.com & Accutech.
 
Disclaimer: I have no interest in this business other than as a satisfied customer.
 
/r

 

[DefQon]

That's quite expensive. $50/hr? 
 
You could've saved quite a bit if you can solder. The cables are about $65-70 (as you mentioned) and replacing them takes less then 5 minutes.

 

[ricercar]

I appreciate the sentiment, but my goal structure appears to be different than yours.
- I bill my time at more than $50/hour.
- I didn't want to take the effort to figure how to open the earspeakers without cosmetic damage. These are my first pro-bias Stax, new to me, and I want them to remain aesthetically and mechanically intact.
 
Essentially, I wanted the repair to be done properly the first time, without assuming risk of error. When I built my O2, I was risking $27 in parts. Opening my SR-202 would be an order of magnitude greater risk. I'm willing to pay for Yamanashi-san's expertise.
 
/r

 

[nemomec]

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