spritzer

A separate PSU isn't always a good thing and can even cause more trouble then it "fixes".

Now that I've spent a week with the Mk1 springs in place there isn't enough of an improvement to call it a day. Next step was to modify the Mk2 springs so that they were 100mm across and so that they didn't lift the pads quite as much, basically make them like the Mk1 springs. It was relatively easy to do by hand and I fitted brand new Mk1 pads while I was at it. On a direct A-B comparison to the Mk1 the sound is much closer now with the A/Mk2 a bit more forward and the midrange a wee bit colder. There is still some honk but only time will tell if I can live with it or not. I also compared the Mk1 and Mk2 earpads while I had the phones open. The new leather used on the Mk2 pads is indeed very nice unlike the Mk1 units they aren't all leather. The lip used to hold the pads to the phones is now made of vinyl which is much looser with even less tensile strength. This makes the phones easier to assemble and the pads deeper but it's a clear compromise over the snug fit of the Mk1 pads. The new pads are stiffer then a brand new set of Mk1 pads (possibly to make the last longer?) and foam construction and materials are different. The angle of the pads is also smaller on the Mk2 compared to the Mk1. I will now run them like this for another week to see how it is but the next step is far more drastic, a driver swap between a mk1 and my A which is something I'm not looking forward to...

Neither would be my vote. If you want a huge soundstage get a Stax SR-Sigma and either a transformer to drive them off a normal power amp or some electrostatic amp. You could for instance bug EC to make one for you. The soundstage on the Omega line is small yet precise so not what you are looking for but the Sigma was built for soundstage.

It's the "always on" bias supply and shouldn't be like that. Send Justin a PM and he'll sort it out for you or tell you how to do it your self.

Rebiasing is indeed necessary but it's pretty easy to do once you get the hang of it.

Thanks. It will be fixed one of these days...

That's what I've been doing and have found nothing besides some very bad soldering. I will fix it eventually but since it has been completely surplus to my needs I have just let it sit there. I'm going to use it in my computer rig for awhile to see if that will make me get off my ass and order a full set of new components for it.

Could very well be but Stax in their infinite wisdom had to make it black... There are still quite a few parts that haven't been replaced and I haven't gone to the next step of swapping parts between channels as I don't want to mess with the good one. Who needs stereo anyways... Still the amp works with a -180v offset in one channel. New tubes drift like crazy so they need some time to settle and they will change. It's not the drastic transformation needed to make an RSA amp any good but it's there and varies from tube to tube.

Happy birthday Todd!!

It's a very sick amp. With most of the channel replaced it still won't behave and some of the parts are impossible to find. I'm with Hirsch on this one as the 60's Toshiba tubes are the best you can find... if you can find them. These were used in the SRA-3S back in 1968 and my stock was intended as replacements. They aren't for sale so don't ask... Later models are virtually identical though and well worth it to track down. The signature short plates and often a bent top of the tip make them easy to find even if unmarked. The US made tubes are good as well with Stax often shipping the amps with GE's installed.

I know it isn't nice to laugh at people who can't count... but what the hell I'd love to see something that would prove this but more then one company does polish the conductors. I guess they are trying to achieve better conductivity through skin effect (electrons take the easiest route which is on the skin of the wore) but shiny cables just sell better.

Considering the insane power requirements ortho's have I'd say the Pico wouldn't work well. Just get a B22, works wonders on the T-50.

You will be crying if a nice show would take out all those 1968's... Lucky you... I've been too busy at work and fixing my backlog of headphones. Hell I still haven't found out what's wrong with the 007t...

It's not going to make it any cheaper, that's for sure. You should also stock up on spare parts since if something goes wrong odds are you will get a nice fireworks show with resistors flying all over the place.

Tough to say really. Could be good and could be crap depending on the silver wire used as well as the build quality but the description isn't really helping them...

That's it there. Cheap and cheerful silver wire which sounds great when wound around a center core and well damped like the VH audio DIY silver design.

It's also required to send it back at least once to have something fixed that should have been done correctly the first time...

...and why wouldn't you just get some Jupiter silver wire and make your own for a lot less then that? You could even make them spaced and thus copy one of the old Stax tweaks, just look at the internal wiring of a SRM-T1...

It looks like my SR-007A is going up for sale too as I just can't see any reason to keep them. The midrange is still too honky, cold and harsh and I have 3 other different yet very good Omegas to choose from. I will be sad to see them go though and the other phones I never use... I would start off with a 717 and see if you like it. I'm going to get one too for my computer rig and to make it easier to answer all those damn 717 related questions. I haven't heard the Dared but the SRD's can't feed the Omega lineup with enough power, no matter the amp. No filaments man!!!

Not that I've heard.

I'd love to get his take on them as he's one of us but who knows...

The 3rd only has the Daughter of the Beast but not the full blown 845 equipped monster which he designed for ESL duty but would work well on headphones.

It is still cold and slightly strident but also more forward then the Mk1. Next step is to try Mk1 earpads to try and isolate the problem. Dunno when I'll have the time though... The springs can be manipulated and modded but I'm also going to see if I can get them manufactured to my specs. There is less wire in the Mk2 units so it will never able to be a full circle after mods. There is no downturn of the Omega's as the SR-007 Mk1 is the best headphone ever made from a design standpoint. Stax made some bad calls with the Mk2/A IMO and most other Stax enthusiast feel the same way but that doesn't mean it is a bad headphone, just not as good as it should be. I'm not looking for perfection and newer isn't always better when it comes to Stax. I much prefer the SR-1 and SR-3 to the rest of the SR-# range, SR-Lambda and Lambda Signature to all of the other Lambdas and the SR-Sigma to the Sigma Pro. I would rather buy a used Mk1 for less dough. You might like Mk2/A but even the mods don't make them as good as the Mk1. The A/mk2 faults bother me as much as the issues I had with the He90 and when not trying to fix them they sit unused in my display case.

Stuff like this makes me wonder if anybody at SP bothers to hook the amps up and listen for a minute or two. Many of the ES amps were shipped out with the channels switched on the HE90 jacks which a 30 second test would have brought to light.

Great book that. I would also track down the second edition of his "Valve Amplifiers" book if you want an ESP amp project...