spritzer

The big question is, how does Tyll like the 'stats. It's a late model Mk1.

Just checked the first page and I really suck at posting stuff I meant to post... Anyway, I'm always fixing up some Stax amps so here is a SRA-3S I just gave some much needed TLC. It was just the usual stuff, replace all diodes, film and electrolytic caps with equal or uprated parts. Nice curve on the PCB and previous service attempts complicate matters but it all went well in the end. It's a bit startling just how much stuff was crammed into this tiny box as it it only a bit bigger then a SRD-7. I also added Pro bias to one of the sockets and it sounds pretty nice driving a SR-007Mk2....

It's here and the place is called Bessastaðir. It's basically our version of the White House and is located in one of the towns adjacent to Reykjavik. I think reason for all that smoke had something to do with the whole Icesave mess we have been dealing with since 2008...

The Micro Seiki were designed with input from Stax but weren't OEM units like the Marantz, Realistic, Magnavox etc. etc. AFAIK there were two versions of the M-S sets, the MX-1 set which was an electrostatic with a 9V battery to generate the bias and the MX-5 which was an electret setup. The diaphragm material in the MX-1 was indeed not mylar but the plastic material shopping bags are made out of which will break down with time. 50 year old mylar is just as tight as the day it was stretched and heat treated if it has never been exposed to direct sunlight.

22% import tax, that's nothing! Our VAT alone is 25.5% and it goes on top of the import tax, special electronics tax and the shipping... As for the cable, the change is minor and not worth messing with such a rare beast.

I'm bumping this since I have a SRA-10S here in for complete restoration. The unit is in rough shape with a note from the Japanese seller that it kept blowing fuses. No wonder when resistor are clearly failing all over the place, diodes look suspect and even the RCA's on the back are utterly fubar. Transformer is 100V only (even ripped it apart to look for hidden windings) so I need to have a custom unit made but the amp was cheap enough so why not have a little project. Now my issue is what exactly differentiates a SRA-10S from a SRA-12S? These look all but identical too me and the schematic I posted earlier in the thread is a perfect match for the SRA-10S. Sure some parts are missing and/or the wrong value but that is par for the course with Stax schematics. They draw the same power from the wall and all the SRA-12S amps seem to have the model number on a sticker on the back, not silk screened directly on the metal. Could be the same amp but different names for different markets?

Silver BHSE FTMFW!!!! I rearranged my system yesterday and moved in the KGSS and swapped out the APL for the RAKK dac Nate built. This setup doesn't have the resolution of the APL/BHSE but it does make the bright nature of the SR-009 less annoying to me. Only one version of the SR-009 we are aware of and given that there are less than 300 units out there a second version is highly unlikely. That would be a SR-007 Mk1 unit. Take extra care to get the fit of the earpads right since they rotate and so does the housing. Given that the artificial head might be a bit thinner then what the headphones are setup for, you might have to bend the two metal arcs to get a good fit. For my rather large head I normally open up the arcs, make them wider and also remove the "break" next to the earcups. As for run in, I've owned a lot of new Stax headphones and compared them to well used examples with no difference that I could discern.

The HP2 is indeed one of the few Grado's I can stand but the price and fragile nature of the drivers scares me. There is a set 5 minutes away from me that I can borrow at anytime so that is good enough for me. It is a real shame that the SR-X Mk3 Pro's are so rare since they largely deliver on the greatness the normal bias model hinted at. Besides the SR-2 then I guess this is the rares of all Stax headphones as they almost never show up on the used market. SR-X Mk1's are also silly rare, I first now have a set after all these years.

Yeah, it will be fun to give these to my Grado fanboy friend for a listen. The comfort is an issue but I've been thinking about sliding two foam pieces into the headband to try and minimize the pain....

I should add to this that I actively look for faults in anything new I have. I play tracks that I know will upset some transducers and with amps I actively look for issues. Force of habit after going through about 500 headphones and who knows how many amps... Now the SR-009 gets to sit around unused and look pretty since I got the SR-X Mk3 Pro yesterday. Somebody should send a set of these to Grado to show them how good an on-ear set can really be...

Happy Birthday!!!

The Vbr should be a comfortable margin over the Vmax spec but there is no given limit for this and it varies from unit to unit.

I do think Stax did a lot of good with the SR-009 even though the voicing is not to my liking. After two days they fit me like a glove and the earpads are the nicest ones I've seen on any headphone. I want a set for my SR-007 even though I'm scared to find out what they cost... Now what I'd really like is to see how SR-007 drivers would sound in this frame. Hell, just the 1.35um diaphragm would be a good place to start.. While we are on the issue of metal, what about metal played with classical instruments? Apocalyptica sounds stunning on the SR-009... I think it is mostly lack of exposure which is the issue for me. As for the WES, it is such a shame that the amp is so fubar. It is also still a health risk since they are stupid enough to use the male umbilical connectors on the PSU's. Giving people a direct access to the main reservoir capacitors would never be considered a good idea...

Ahhh so it is the ES-4!!! Funny enough, Icelandair just announced they are going to fly directly to Denver soon but sadly not in time for this CJ....

I do like it when people call me on my shit because then I always go back and double check everything. Despite my reservations with the SR-009 there are some things it does astoundingly well, nr.1 being layering of the various items in the mix. Now I really should turn all this stuff off and go to bed since I have to be at work in 5 hours...

It's not like I'm only listening to metal, most of the stuff I've been listening lately have been classical SACD rips or classic rock. I hate rap and aside from a few "classic" albums have never really understood jazz... So that people get the full story here is that I told Andy I was listening to Metalica- Metallica which is really one of the worst recorded albums ever. Never been a huge fan but even on DVD-A it is quite bad so I use it to see how the transducers react to less then stellar source material. Metal is a good choice because it is usually quite intense and very badly recorded. Right now I'm listening to some of my "cousin's" from the Faeroe Islands, Týr - Ormurinn Langi (they sound a bit like Icelanders tripping on acid) and the SR-009 simply can't reproduce the bass with equal heft and impact as the SR-007. The recording is good enough for this not be an issue but still, the SR-009 should be able to pull this off. As for my love of the SR-007, I've always believed age has something to do with this and me being notoriously picky and analytical. I got my first SR-007/KGSS when I was 20 and had a BH when I was 22 so the hearing was as good as it would ever be which means the lack of a top end emphasis never bothered me. The top end of our hearing degenerates very rapidly with age (even more so if abused at concerts etc.) so this is a factor that should be considered. As for being picky, making food and caring about the results does that to you. Ohh and there is nothing wrong with being a snob. While we are discussing all of this, volume level with the SR-009 is utterly crucial. Listen at low volumes and they behave but push the volume and bad things happen. It will be interesting to see what Tyll's measurements say because the phones will be driven at full blast. Nope, that's just how the WES sounds. Bland, lifeless and bloody boring.

I'll try it from the Exstata when I get it back from loan. I do doubt that the diaphragm material is responsible for this, more likely how Stax are implementing it. I've always found the idea that some music is not "worthy" to be a bit snobbish to be honest. The true sign of a great transducer is that it will play anything thrown at it, be it polka or death metal. TheSR-009 fares a lot better then say the HE90 but it still not quite good enough for me. Wouldn't that be the KX-R you are going though? Power amp into BHSE would be extreme even for deaf people like Ray...

Happy Birthday!!!

I was thinking the same thing, anybody using a Benchmark will have their ears bleeding with this. It's less of an issue at higher volume levels but the higher sensitivity is indeed not a good thing. Either Rudistor or Ciuffoli spring to mind as people who know fuck all about bias supplies as well... I can make something for you which would make that combo work.

The SR-009 will have plenty of fans but I'm starting to miss the SR-007 smoothness and more forgiving nature. This is mostly due me putting Foobar on random and it digging up all kinds of crap... While the uber detail retrieval was cool at first it has started to wear a bit thin. The SR-007 is clearly one of the most detailed transducers ever made but it's true sign of greatness is that the detail retrieval in never flaunted. It is just there for the listener to discover but with the SR-009 it is a bit like a party trick, "Have you noticed this new awesome feature?". Small issue on the grand scheme but I'm known to be just a tiny bit picky... Edit: Couple of other things, the instructions manual is the worst case of Engrish I've seen in quite a while. Stax also have a little clause that says warranty will be void if people don't report what amp they were using their cans with. Presumably this means they won't cover third party units...

Nope, just crap fakes. 5 real ones were in the bag and they test just fine.

Yeah, my fake K216's test at 0V so they aren't even mostfets...

I spent the last couple of days trying to fix the SZ3 version of the Mk2 but with only limited success while only manipulating the arcs/pads. Next step is to strip them down but especially with voices they never sound natural to my ears. The SR-009 has a tiny bit of that same feeling to me but nowhere near as bad.

There is dust inside the driver which is causing this. Since the set is new I would return it right away.

This one is a bit funny... I really should setup a FTP server with these speeds... Edit: I get this 10 min later... A bit odd...