spritzer

First impressions are just getting better and better though the player is limited by the need for a step down transformer. The one I'm using now isn't all that good but that will be rectified soon with a proper "audiophile" unit. Right now I'm running it via the my Poiema !!! XLR cables into the Blue Hawaii and the SR-007. I'd like to use my own cables instead but they are out on loan and I have no idea when I can get them back. It's not my fault that they eat the Valhalla for lunch... In the wrong system this player could be considered boring or lifeless much the same as the SR-007 is sometimes called dead and boring. There is no excess here, the sound is simply presented as it should be. There was some high end glare at first but it's gone now and replaced with a sharp treble that has plenty of bite when needed but it soft... ohh so soft. There is some slight etch on the midrange, ever so subtle but it slightly alters the sound of voices and some instruments from neutral. The soundstage is very tight and controlled but without any decent speakers at hand it's tough to get a handle on it. The bass is world class, understated and with the correct amount of bloom even with such bass monsters as the SR-007. There is also plenty of PRaT so Deacon Blues by Steely Dan has the tight beat but it's also understated enough not to intrude. Now for some more listening and to check if there are any 230v UX-1's I can find... They are a very recent design in tube terms so there is no NOS stock. It's pretty popular though and rightly so.

Hehe... Very nice transformers though and the same as Esoteric uses in their players. There are no other ECC99's that I'm aware of and since it is one of the best tubes you can get it will stay put unless I break down and order the gold pin version. Great tubes indeed. I didn't look but there is no Black Gate nonsense here though I would have liked to see some Elna audio goodness...

Well it's finally arrived after sitting at APL since December waiting for the 32bit upgrade. I'm not terribly bothered though as it arrived in one piece, the whole 20kgs. The unit is still warming up but first impressions are very positive though the whole system is stone cold so I might have a better idea tonight. Right now I'm listening to the SACD Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms and it is flat out stunning. The sound is just like it's from a great electrostatic, hanging in space and inviting you to take a listen. The first thing I did was to rip it open to inspect any shipping damage so I'll leave you with some internal porn... As you can see there is a whole lot of iron in the player and the output transformers are truly massive!!! It will take some time to get used to the two remotes needed if the internal volume control is enabled but they are still smaller then the Meridian monstrosity.

Cool. It's a fine player but reliability is an issue as this might be a TOTL Sony machine but it's a far cry from the design of the CDP-R1, R1a, R10 and the R3.

Stock or modified?

The main changes AFAIK were done to the diaphragm and how the coating interacts with the charge put on it. The HEV90 has a 10meg loading resistor while Stax never goes above 5meg with any of the energizers. Now whether Sennheiser just installed a 5meg resistor inline with the bias or altered the coating on the diaphragm I don't know but it must have been something along those lines. I had Sennheiser Staxify my set and I had no problems with it though the diaphragm would stick to the stators when forced.

I would never vacuum clean the drivers but that is another matter. You risk tearing the diaphragm as mylar has great tensile strength but tears like a very thin sheet of paper. The crackling comes from small arcs between the diaphragm and stator so the charge ring isn't really part of the problem but it's worth a shot to replace it with some wire and see what happens. I would look for some large piece of dust that is one of those 15% negatively charged and is stuck in one of the stators.

Odds are you will never see it. You can try to view the diaphragm at an angle next to a strong light and watch for something that stands out in the reflection. The driver assembly is the housing as the stators are attached directly to the plastic shell and the only other two bits are the small metal bit that connects the bias to the diaphragm and the diaphragm itself with the attached metal rings. With the housing shut tight there is nothing to rattle inside but the diaphragm can to some crazy shit when there is an intermittent short to one of the stators.

There is some debris in there!!!! Try unplugging them and shorting out the plug and hear the sound disappear. If you are getting sound then it isn't the bias pin and no channel imbalance means that the stators are still locked in place. A single particle of dust can cause the drivers to crazy things. I've watched a HE60 rattle and shake from oscillations of the diaphragm. It was like the vibration function in a cellphone and all caused by some dust. I hope that the drivers aren't close to the woodworking as there isn't really a dustcover on the backside of the drivers.

The only thing that can easily rattle is the small metal plug used to connect the bias plug to the metal ring holding the diaphragm. If the stator was off by even a fraction of a millimeter then the channel imbalance would be severe.

I've had something similar happen in the past but it was due to some debris inside the driver. Just open it up and (beware of the + stator wire as they almost always break!!!) and blow all dust of the diaphragm with you mouth. It's worth a try as there isn't much to rattle inside it.

It's the same as the early Pro model so they will sound the same. The only thing lacking is the Pro bias supply. The normal bias phones are preferred since they are cheaper and sound great, better in fact then the Lambda Pro's. This doesn't mean that the normal bias is universally preferable as the Lambda Signature (often called Pro Signature due to an error in the early instructions manuals) is the best Lambda design along with the SR-SC1 and both are Pro bias. I usually recommend an amp with both types of outputs so there is an upgrade path and the ability to drive every Stax headphone.

If they aren't total noobs then I'm fine with it. You might have noticed the influx of "LOL" over on HF in the Stax threads...?

It looks like we have a new convert here...!

Very nice!! It should also get rof the slight tunnel effect that these drivers can create.

I'll post a full impression thread once I get it with internal pics and all.

There is one of the older units on A'gon for 3.5k or there about and the final upgrade is around 2k$ with the digital input. The APL is more then a mod as large chucks of the player are removed while other parts are either bypassed or modified. Basically everything after the drive is removed and replaced with a new upsampler, 32bit AKM Dac's and a transformer coupled ECC99 output. If I like it as much as I hope I will then it's NWO time... Mine left Memphis, TN on the 17th so I guess it should be here right after the weekend.

I will certainly do my very best. I think it is time to rebias the BH in anticipation... The SR-007A is the Japan only model so it's silver but otherwise it is the same as the SR-007MkII the elusivedisc.com is selling. This set was originally bought from EIFL a few weeks ago so they are nearly new. The T1S is very similar to the original T1 amp but adds balanced input and an input switch. The sound very similar with the T1 more laid back and relaxed and the T1S and T1W a little more forward. It's a very small difference though. They sell for anything between 500-800$ depending on the market and condition.

What can I do... my other headphones were so lonely.... The small matter that my APL is also, finally , on the way might have been the push I needed.

That would have been possible here a few months ago but now I'm down to the basic "I can't sell these!!" lineup. I do how ever have a confession to make... I just bought a SR-007A...

The finish is indeed getting better but they are instead messing with the drivers in a bad way.

Simply brilliant.

You aren't really helping and that offer I got to buy a nearly new SR-007A didn't either.... \

That's true but I've sold some 27 headphones since November so I really am cutting back. Now I have only 10 electrostatics that I'm going to keep (some 10 more that are for sale, waiting for mods or awaiting repair) and two orthos. I'm not counting my stash in Japan but they can't be included since I've never even seen them...

Mine is slightly larger then a melon but that's not the point. The size of the head isn't really the problem but the shape of the area around the ears and the angle there. The earpieces need to be at the right angle compared to the ears since there is no swivel mount. Stop talking about the SR-007A/II... I'm really trying to cut back... \