spritzer

I've thought about this and my preferred way would be a Lambda frame with a new back section. Both drivers would be run full range and act as a line source. Another option is to use 3 drivers per side, one run full range pointing at the ear while the other two are angled at the ear and fed through a low pass filter. Some type of bass reflex enclosure would probably be needed though. The only problem I have is that I've yet to come across a Lambda I couldn't fix...

Compared to the Sony R's they indeed are. Me want a Sony CDP/DAS-R10...

That would be brilliant and Yama's is still the US distributor.

USA and Europe

I just don't know if they are any different since I've never had a set here. I could perhaps persuade you to buy a set or two from the UK distributor on my behalf...? Last I knew they were but in usual Stax fashion they will probably be phased out in favor of Mk2 pads, hence the reason for me stocking up. I've use the stock Michael mentioned a few times but you do need a deputy service so I always bought 20-40 sets at a time. You could also speak to Craig at KuboTen as he might be able to get them cheaper then AC2.

If there was any difference then it was very small so I'd say go for it. Btw. If you do change them I'd love to buy your old pads from you as they are the only Omega pads I haven't ripped apart and Stax Japan won't sell me a set... Congrats... That's why he's our favorite elephant. I do think that he may change his mind once a certain package arrives from Headamp...

The only problem I have with the mk2 pads is the pleather surround as it is too big but otherwise the pads are very comfy. Now you are making me want to buy a set of Mk2/A's again to mod... Imagine installing the pads after bending the metal spring so that is it sits flat to the drivers... I never said it was good quality leather but leather it is. Look at the grain pattern if you do not want to rip them off your set as artificilal leather can never mimic the irregular grain of real leather. PS. They do smell like leather but only very slightly. Me thinks our baby elephant needs to buy a spare set or two to be sure...

Does that cost extra as an upgrade over the ferrite crap they normally use?

The HD600 is balanced and nice sounding but it doesn't do anything well except perhaps comfort. Ditto. It's definitely not easy to do thought the stranded wires of the later versions (and also used on the SR-Omega) are easier to work with.

Nice to see I live in a more civilized part of the world, analog will be in use here for at least 10 more years.

Ahhh ok... The XF4's are the last of the Mullard EL34's and not as good as the rest but no slouch though. They are worth less though.

Leather can be made to what ever finish the customer wants and cheap leather is often this soft and lacking in texture. Those that have seen Nissan leather car seats know what I'm talking about. It's easy to check though, just pull off the pads and look at the underside. The Mk2's leather is better where there is actually leather but the rest is pleather. I do think the Mk2 pads are more comfortable but that is partially due to the stiffer foam inside. I've opened up all of the Omega pads so stop arguing with me until you've done the same...

Those EL34's are definitely Mullards, most likely XF2's or XF3's. You can see the markings etched into the glass on the RCA tubes on the bottom left side but I can't read it from the pictures.

Indeed, curse him!!! I am building an Egmont but it is no more Rudi's amp then one at Tubecad is. That design is as old as electricity...

He was here and is the reason why you can't edit your posts. We don't want that ignorant fucktard here pushing his crappy Ultrasones.

I too would blame this on the source as the Mk1 is as smooth as the come but will reveal everything the source spits out. The noise level at the meet may have been too high but they are almost impossible to miss. It sounds like a high pitched plastic squeal though.

Wait what??!!?? Etch on the Mk1? The SR-Omega has it but that's something I've never heard from a 007, be it a Mk1, Mk2 or my hybrid.

Most headphones are indeed easy to measure but electrostatics are special. The amps are far from sufficient and the fit makes or breaks the sound... now you know why I call normal dynamics boring. Ask Smeggy to whip up for you a SR-007 earpad adapter and find a Gamma headband. That makes them far more comfortable.

Depends on the PSU used. Many use a universal switcher supply that should work on 230v.

Wow... just wow.

Indeed, knowing the basic measurements should confirm what we are hearing but even getting those basic measurements would involve a lot of trial and error. A small change in the pads is all it takes to break the seal.

That's easier said then done due to way the Sr-007 frame is designed. Getting the correct fit is a necessity so while that is easy enough to do by ear it's hard to do on a dummy head. We can leave the subjective part of listening and concentrate on the fundamental rules that govern how the drivers will behave. We can start off with port loading and why it isn't a good idea. Planars are tricky beast and one of the most common problems is the backwave canceling out the bass. With speakers this is usually "fixed" by placing the speakers far from the back wall and by placing something that will diffuse the backwave to the rear of the speakers (look up the Sound Lab "Sallie"). Another way is to increase the size of the baffle as that will allow the speaker to produce deeper bass. The same applies to headphones and why you only see solid earpads on planars as the designers are trying to keep the backwave out and to extend the baffle. The SR-007 is close to airtight (the lovely squeal lets you know about that regularly) so Stax tried very hard to design them like that but then adding a port will let some of the backwave in again and make the baffle "appear" to be smaller. This is clearly audible and will show up on a well setup test. The other big part is the acoustic loading on the drivers or rather what the driver "sees". This is normally altered by damping but the distance from ear to the driver is just as important. This is why the Sigma phones are so much harder to drive then the Lambda equivalent which use the same drivers and why the height of the A/Mk2 drivers affects the sound so much (also why the Mk1 pads should be replaced regularly). The drivers need to be placed as close to ear as possible or damped heavily. The SR-Omega suffered for the distance with a mild upper midrange coloration but with the SR-007 Stax decided to go into hyper mode and damp the diaphragm more then they had ever done on a full size driver. With the A/Mk2 they should have increased the damping a bit more to make up for the distance but that clearly wasn't the case and is why I question the wisdom of this whole thing. The SR-001/3 is another example of a heavily damped driver. The drivers are the size of the housing but only open on less the a quarter of the whole surface area. I'd also like to see a detailed comparison of all the Omegas (including the Omega/007 hybrid) but we need more then an FR graph. What won't show up an a simple FR graph is how the chassis handles high volume so a waterfall is also needed. An impedance vs. FQ would also be nice.

Most P-P amps are built so that everything is fixed to the top plate and the bottom plate can be removed for service.

It's grave news indeed and now people are dragging humidity into this which certainly isn't the problem. The bias voltage is far too low for that ever to be a problem.