spritzer

Could be an ESP-7 too as they used the same shells/headband but I'm not sure if the cable on those was ever coiled.

Same really, the swing back and forth from working and then the channel imbalance sets in again. I bought another set that I've been using so I'll likely scrap this for parts.

I won't be getting a pair try out but I might send one of the originals in for an upgrade. I have an original set sitting with Kevin in the US so that's an option. The price is silly though... they were already pretty expensive to begin with.

Now after only 7+ years of the T8000 being a fairly shitty amp... Stax have made extra input boards for them. No word on pricing yet but yeah... who fucking cares

No, and it should ideally never be run above 350V.

That's how I feel as well, I bought another one as they are that good but it's hard to recommend them at this point.

I've been using the Mini for all of this week but lacked all motivation to post more impressions as the sound is just so bland and not "there". Now my Stax SR-X1 has its issues but when it works... is a far more engaging listen. The sound of the Mini just hangs there in mid-air... for some music it ok but other it just falls flat on its face. The lack of a proper seal is clearly an issue here as they exemplify all of the negative traits of electrostatics. Similar to the utter trashfire which is the Shangri-La SR. in this regard. Now I woke up this morning, turned on the rig and one driver squeals like mad. Typical Hifiman quality control then, they lasted less than a week. 🙄 I had planned on opening them up, swap out the trash cable and take pics of the insides but hadn't got around to it so they are completely untouched.

Only two possibilities here, a bad connection (which it isn't) or a coating issue as the charge slowly fades away. I just bought another set so if that fails too... I'll be pretty ticked off.

An update on the SR-X1 issue. I left them unplugged for two weeks and when plugged back in they were back to normal. About an hour in and the right hand side is dying again... slowly fading in volume as I listen.

I'm sure it is just pure cost saving... I mean King Sound has some nice cables with a production volume which is likely a small portion of what Hifiman make and at a far lower cost.

Holy necro-bump Batman!! 🫣 I just got the new Mini Shangri-La - aka. Jade 3.0 (as the last one didn't sell) so instead of making a new thread or filling up the Stax thread, this kinda belongs here. I don't know how Hifiman does it but these manage to feel even cheaper than the Jade 2... this "new" headband works just fine but premium it sure as shit isn't. Same trash cable as on the rest of the lineup, why they continue to use this I can't even fathom. As for the sound... "mehhh" comes to mind quite a bit over the last 4 hours I've used them. They like to be played pretty loud but nothing really stands out, they are inoffensive, rather bland sounding. I'll play around with them some more but the highlight is they are reasonably comfy and they fit large heads.

I think dCS are just in the same boat as MSB, super high prices yet you get better performance on the stuff from China that is a 1/10th the price. Now on the subject... there are too many stories out there but I'll never buy anything made by Focal - just stay away from that trash heap of a company in general. Another is Hifiman... though I did order the new Mini Shangri-la but I really should have waited as there are plenty for sale used in China right now.

This does indeed sound like a coating issue. Quite a few sets are experiencing issues I've been told so something is clearly going on here.

That's what I fear is going on as it got worse and worse. I tried to discharge the diaphragm and no change. I can't see anything from a visual inspection and it's not a connection problem so yeah... this is not good.

It's the same design as the 252S and at 4W total power... you can't expect too much from it. It's confirmed... my SR-X1 right hand driver is dead. Down to almost no output and it is not the cable.