spritzer

The silver ribbons breaking is also a known fault so they just killed two birds with one stone. The old entry wouldn't have worked as a port either as the transfer of air isn't as direct. I don't think so. The older springs are tough to properly insert into the pads due to their size and they grasp the sides firmly if properly installed. That means the bend on the center piece will control how tall the pads will be, even under full pressure. The new springs are very loose inside the pads (either version as they are basically the same) but they sit much higher. One thing to note is that the material in the springs is very strong so it takes quite a bit of force to compress them. It will take even more to change the shape so I'll have to check with Stax to see if I can buy a small stock of the Mk1 model.

The Mk1 cable entry is fixed in place by the small cover as it is secured by 2 screws into the black mounting plate. Far from perfect though but I've been talking to a few Stax dealers and the issue was with the very stiff cable entry. It doesn't flex at all so if the cable is pulled then it will break eventually. I thought I had some pictures of the inside of the A/mk2 cable entry but I can't find them. They are pretty similar though but Stax may have added two tapered holes to fix the screws. I'll have to check when I swap out the earpads. All of this could be due to poor QC or teething problems with the new design but since others have reported similar audible artifacts I would have to conclude that this was a byproduct of the new design. With the Mk1 springs in place the sound is indeed different, less forward in the midrange and I doesn't bug me like stock unit. That being said they more forward over all then the Mk1 with cymbals and voices closer in the headstage but it isn't annoying... not yet at least. Next step is to mount Mk1 earpads with the Mk1 springs and see what happens.

The only bit that was really necessary is around the brass rings to block the small holes. The rest was for vibration damping of the chassis as it may appear solid but it is very thin. The bass is indeed much more linear but the treble also opened up and the midrange is now very similar to the 007 Mk1. I really like this headphone as it is a pleasant change from the Mk1 but doesn't suck like the stock A/Mk2.

Since I was uploading photos I thought you might like this one. Me going a bit crazy on the blutack... I ended up removing most of it in the end but that's about one normal package in each earcup

Here are the two phones side by side, Mk1 on the left and the A on the right. This matte white is very hard to photograph with my crappy Canon but study it closely and they are identical. Here is the Mk1 driver with the small cover which goes over the cable entry. Better then blutack that's for sure... Here are the two springs side by side, Mk1 on the left and A/Mk2 on the right. Not the difference and how hard it will be to make the A/Mk2 unit bigger... A bad picture showing the same thing as before. Here you can see how different the angle is, with the A/Mk2 units having a noticeably wider angle and thus capable of lifting the pads higher away from the drivers.

Time for an update. I finally got depressed enough to rip open my two SR-007's to figure out what was what. I took some pictures but they will have to wait until later tonight or tomorrow. First off, the drivers in the Mk1 and Mk2/A are identical from the outside and probably are the same. I had never compared them side by side until tonight and it's clear that the only difference is the lack of a small cover over the cable entry on the A/Mk2 due to a different design. I do find it odd that Stax didn't employ said cover on the SR-Omega/007 hybrid as they just left the cable entry wide open... Comparing the rest of the parts then they are all identical between the phones, same chassis, arc assembly and the black base plates for the drivers are also identical. The A/Mk2 still has the mounting holes for the small cable entry cover of the Mk1. The only real difference is in the metal spring which holds the earpads in place and gives them the ability to rotate. At first glance they look quite similar but side by side it's clear that the A/Mk2 unit has a slightly different bend in the center and it is quite a bit smaller. The Mk1 unit is 100.20mm in circumference but the new one is only 92.90mm which means that the pads aren't held as firmly and coupled with the increased bend at the center pin allows the pads to lift more. How much of an effect this has is still unknown but I swapped the springs between the Mk1 and A/Mk2 and I'll report back when I've had some time to do so. First impressions of the A/Mk2 with the Mk1 springs and the ports blocked are favorable but lets see what a few hours will tell me.

Engineers can be deceptively stupid sometimes but Stax has been known to make a lemon or two over the years. The 727 for instance is an abomination compared to the 717 but it has no NFB. Did they intend to make a worse product then the predecessor? Not a chance but it happens but change something and it can all fall apart. It's not all bad as they have finally fixed the SRM-3/313 mess with the 323 which is as good as the SRM-1 if not better. As I covered before, Stax had to fix these issues and they took the route they deemed best. Two of them involved "compromising the design" as I like to say since they had to increase the size of the ear cavity (also position the drivers further way from the head) and get rid of the squealing. Enlarge the ear cavity and you open up a Pandora's box of issues and keeping the drivers sealed off is a needed to make them more linear by keeping the damping a constant. I just worked on the SR-Omega/007 hybrid yesterday and fully sealing off the drivers has brought a very positive change in bass depth and lack of overhang.

78-S6S is the socket 86-71-6S is the plug These are the WPI P/N's so they should work everywhere.

Interesting they are and 400$ is certainly not a bad deal. Out of the 007t they will be pretty midbass heavy and slightly rolled off on top so they are more dependent on the music chosen then anything else. The founder of Stax was a classical music nut and the normal bias Sigma was his favorite of all the phones they made.

The sound is rahter different, the normal bias model has a thicker sound with more slam and attack while the Pro's have a wider soundstage but never "gel" like the normal bias model. Neither will work well from a 007t given the massive power needed to make them shine. Put some SR-404 drivers in that housing and the 007t should be able to drive them. Most just assume that they have Pro gear...

I know where you are coming from with this as they have a similar presentation but the SR-007 can stop being laid back when driven properly and/or the music calls for some balls. This is something the LNS can't do even when driven balls to the wall by a BH.

He may not like it but this is the true high end forum as we don't care about bling gold screws and demand internal pictures.

Nothing wrong with a new take on things.

Ditto!!!

That's about correct.

I fail to see the point here as silicon will last for decades. I have silicon baking mats in my bakery that are specc'd to last 1000 trips to the oven at 300

That's not something that will last 30 years. Felt might be ideal as it can let through air but it won't do it easily. It will be the point of least resistance though so there would be minimal noise.

It's about the current going rate for a nice set.

They added the port to remove the fart problem and brought along with it no deep bass and a large midbass hump. I'm sure that some compromise could be found through damping where the ear chamber can breath but it doesn't kill the bass.

Every electrostatic makes some noise when forced but very few make that squealing sound due to their design. The He90 is probably the worst with the "peeling " sound though... It is a very good headphone indeed but it's simply not good enough in my book compared to the original. I do believe that Stax made a blunder here and the faster they realize it the better but all professional reviews will just tell us what we know i.e. that this is the best production headphone with no comparison to the older model or a SR-Omega. Since you brought up the 4070 then it isn't a well known fact but there are two versions out there, the ones produced in 2001-2002 and those made after 2002. The original design didn't allow for the earcups to fully swivel and that made the phones unsuitable for a large number of users. Stax shaved a bit off the housing and the problem was solved. If you read the pamphlet for the Mk2 then the extra bass response is noted but said to be due to the earpads (more solid material so certainly possible) so it could be that Stax wasn't aware of any problems and the distributors think that it is all down to nonsense like burn in. I simply can't believe that this mess of a midrange was done on purpose as it is not linked to the port issue. I really need a second SR-007 Mk1 to use a basis for the mods to see if this can't be reversed. Anybody have a Mk1 BL they want to get rid off...? Ignoring something is always my first choice but if you can make the problem appear and disappear by wiggling the cable then it is time to buy a new SR-303 cable.

Happy birthday!!

Talcum powder (or something like that) is what Stax uses and it's great, especially for the fork mount.

The Lambda frame is the same one in use on the SR-x0x line and is the basis of the 4070. It's the Sigma which has the drivers perpendicular to the head. I posted a picture of one a few pages back. The squeal is caused by air trying to escape from the airtight (ish..) space next to the ear due to changes in pressure. It will also present as a suction noise when they are trying to draw air into the space. It's the diaphragms (all 3, 2 dustcovers and the mylar unit which produces sound) which get pushed around to try and let air in and let it escape. None of the older phones had this problem as they all leaked some air, under the earpads, around the drivers etc. so Stax installed a port on the new SR-007 Mk2/A to went the space and eliminate the noise. It also produced mad midbass which they thought was an improvement but IMO is was a very, very bad move.

Correct. It's easy to do but always cover the drivers with a piece of cardboard or something when soldering as a stray drop of flux can damage/destroy them.

I believe that is true. He sent payment for the mods after approaching Mikhail about his intention of selling the amps after months of waiting. That was in February and the amps were supposed to have been completed then. If Mikhail wasn't dodging his phone calls then it might make sense that there were some unresolved issued to be worked out before shipping...