spritzer

That's true but the difference shouldn't be all that big since Stax specs all the amps at AC +/-10%.

Transformers are fine if they are of good quality which most aren't. It's also wise to check the output voltage as some output way less then they should. Good to hear that the amp is playing as it should though.

They don't have to be but the Japanese tubes sound great in the Stax amps. The various US made tubes are a clear step back.

I'll leave Al to post his own impressions but the 4070 shows what the SR-404 driver really can do when freed from the craptacular Lambda housing. They were however deigned for a certain job and that is monitoring and that has to be taken into account for any comparisons. I don't think that there is any better tool for the job though as they simply slice the sound up into little bits that can be viewed at will. The bass is controlled and lacks bloom compared to the other Stax models but that allows the most minute of bass detail to spring forth. The midrange isn't as stunning as the one on the SR-007 but it's again very well controlled and the same thing can be said about the treble. It's shares the same slight forward lean of the other Lambda models but it's far cleaner though just a tad shut in. The soundstage is rather limited and that's the only real weakness of the closed design but that's to be expected.

I would at least check the tubes if you have a tester or just replace them. I've never tried NEC branded tubes but I think there were only two manufacturers in Japan and you could get lucky and end up with Toshiba's.

They tend to ease up a bit in the first few hours but there is no K701 10,000hour burn in needed. I really should hook up my 4070 one of these days...

Damn right!!

That's the way to do it. I'm just going to marvel at the crowns in my DAS-R1 instead...

Nice!!! No 1541A S1's??

Happy Birthday!!!

Because being mean makes me feel good...

First off... don't buy from AC. Their prices are nearly as bad as the US retailers so avoid. There are still a few Mk1's floating around new but you are most likely to find them at dealers in the US and Europe then in Japan. It wouldn't hurt to drop a line to EIFL and ask about a Mk1. Welcome to the good forum. There were at least two different versions of the SRD-7 bias supply's but they are all half-way rectified bias doublers with a 100v zener string on the input to limit the voltage. If you Google a voltage doubler it should be there, the only thing Stax did was to connect the - side to the center taps on the transformer and add a 2-5M resistor inline with the + output. That would be the SR-007 you are describing... A new energizer will help and swapping out that "amp" is also a good move for something that works well at low levels.

The going rate was north of 3k$ for the few sets which changed hands so it's definitely not a bad deal.

Since I didn't see any SR-007's for sale I guess you're talking about Kane's SR-?. They are rare and sought after so the price isn't bad considering that and that they beat the HE90 on almost everything but there is always a dark cloud hanging over them. \

Nope, Koss UR18. It's equally bad at everything.

They can't even get the "audio grade" ROM drives right as owners of the Merdian and other players can attest to. The drive needed to be replaced 3 times in my G08 and I never even used the POS...

The DC sockets failing is a rather common fault on older laptops and since they are one of the few through hole components on the PCB they are easy to fix.

Simple solution, open it up and resolder the DC connection. Cost 0$ but no new toy fever.

Thanks. Now I only hope that the cable has stopped shorting out somewhere internally. It was fine until I tried to remove most of the smoking stench from it by allowing a small volume of strong cleaners to wash over the cable in a closed environment. I guess som go into the plug and is shorting it out. It's been cooking on top of the SRM-1 Mk2 for 12 hours now so it should be dry...

... ... I do admit to having used tape to repair over the years but only small nicks on the dust covers where a total replacement would have been too risky. As for the said Lambda driver, I just unclamped it after letting the glue settle for 18 hours and it plays beautifully with no imbalance compared to the other driver. It's nice to have a set functioning again which I had basically written off as future spares. I'm probably wrong but isn't it simply a T-amp driving transformers? That would be a very simple way of creating a small amp. Here you come to the familiar oxymoron of all 'stats, how can something so transparent be so forgiving of the crap it's fed? A better source will have a huge impact but a Sony PS1 sounds pretty good with Lambdas for the whopping price of 5$ in parts...

The new Stax serial numbers are so complicated that there is no way to read anything from them. There have been some revisions of the 007t over the years but I'm not sure what it is that they did. I suspect it is mostly changes to the layout and some part changes but there is no way to know for sure as Stax will never fess up. You know you want to...

That didn't take much courage compared to what I just finished doing... Lets just say that refurbishing a Lambda driver is a terrifying experience. Scraping off the old glue is required and wielding a razor blade less then 1mm from the diaphragm is a sobering task. It went off without a hitch and now it's 24 hours until I know whether it worked or not...

I've been playing with the SR-007A tonight and decided to try and find that damn opening that is causing this bass bloom and it seems that I've found it. The first picture is the one I took a few minutes ago of the SR-007A open and the latter is the only one I have of my SR-007 Mk1 with the pads removed. Please note the notch above the cable entry on the SR-007A. It's tough to make out the different heights in the white plastic bot the earpad flap rests on the second from the top and as you can see the notch goes where the earpads can't cover i.e. sound from the chamber can reach it without any obtrusion. The cable entry has a small gap on each side so they could be acting as mini-ports and allowing air to escape the capsules and thus making the Stax fart nonexistent.

True. There is some potential there but it's not going to be easy. Another thing that interests me is the application of a more more open ESP driver but again far from easy. Bog standard moving coil in the K1000.

The Mafia is on it...