mypasswordis

You guys really make your point. Alright, in about a month, I'm going to sell a bunch if not most of my headphones and then pounce on a used ESP950, which may take a few weeks or months... It's too bad I didn't have the cash to buy either of the two that recently came up for sale. I will be using either the stock amp or a SRM-1/MkII but eventually will build a KGSS with two output biases, 620v and 230v for my SR-Lambda. Actually maybe 3, another being 580v, but those damn WPI sockets are so expensive, and it's another hole to drill in the case.

My current ranking (sadly): 1. Stax Lambda 2. Fostex T40 (needs more modding, though) 3. Everything else The smart thing to do would be to just sell everything else, buy a Koss ESP950 and call it quits. My T50RPv2 still needs more modding, too, though. And my Fostex T20. And my Stax SR-5NB. And pretty much every other headphone I have. And the headphones I have coming in. Why can't companies just make headphones right from the start?

Looks like it's going to happen sooner rather than later. That sounds great. Be careful with the magnets, I assume they are more powerful since they're neodymium. My T50RPv2 is doing nicely after some burn-in. I agree that it does not require much more damping of the driver, but does also need damping of the frame itself. Both the bass and treble are nicely extended. Bass could use a bit more, though.

I don't think he really meant tonality, just which way the frequency spectrum the headphones are tilted. If he did mean tonality, that would be a problem.

So at this point, I'm probably never going to go back to dynamics. They just don't sound right anymore. My orthos cover my music that require a smaller intimate soundstage and more impact and my electrostats cover everything else, and I have a few more headphones that are coming in that ought to fill in whatever else. I've got portables down, too, so I'm set. The only headphone I'm interested in now is the Koss ESP950 (I refuse to pay more than that for headphones so no O2 or 4070). Once I obtain a pair, I'm done, folks. Done buying headphones, not done modding them.

I didn't know anyone could be that interested in epoxy.

I just came across a set of Koss ESP10 on Ebay. Although I don't expect it to arrive for another week, I'm already figuring out how to get the best out of it through mods. So does anyone here have any old, used SR-007 MkI or A/Mk2 pads they would want to sell me? I would rather not have to pay 2.5 times what I paid for the headphones for new pads.

If you mean an SR-30 electret, not really, unless you can get it for cheap. I think SRM is the designation for solid state Stax amplifiers.

T50RPv2 is officially the new FOTUntilFostexmakesabetterheadphone. Congrats, smeggy, on getting a pair.

Apparently I can't edit my previous post anymore, so I'm double posting. Hey spritzer, the right channel on my SR-Lambda has developed a low level buzzing. It only is audible after it has built up bias, and is there until I discharge it. Would this be due to a poor grounding connection or something? How do I fix this?

Well, mine has the old cloth-covered cable instead of the flat cables on Lambdas, which reportedly sounds worse. I just don't know how much worse. I don't really believe in recabling making much of a difference in dynamic headphones, but there's definitely a technical benefit to a flat cable for electrostatics in the form of low capacitance. I wish mine came with a flat cable in the first place, or that I could get my hands on another SR-5 Gold with one and compare, but wishful thinking does me no good. I'm using a SRM-1/MkII (B version) to amp them. I haven't watched GITS in so long.

I should start doing that, actually. I remember roughly how much I paid for all my headphones and even have exact amounts for the more recent purchases. --- And done, my net spending is currently at roughly $1493 for headphones+amps only. Yikes.

Yes, I know, Duggeh, which was why I was considering buying from you. A new extension cable is around $100 for the 2.5m version, and I have to cut off the extension plug and strip wires and do all that messy stuff to the cable just to be able to use it. Thanks, spritzer, I'll try that out, and be on the lookout for a Gamma. My Stax collection is slowly growing...

@ Tachikoma: Hm, if I wanted to replace the cable, I would go with buying Duggeh's Lambda Pro cable. Spending 100+USD on a cable for a headphone I got for not much more just isn't something I would do. @ Spritzer: Yes, I thought about cutting a bit of the front baffle but that would require too much effort and basically ruin the enclosures. Are you sure that removing damping would help, as opposed to adding more? The other options require me to buy more headphones, and I have too many already, and never enough money... Also, Gammas, not to mention Gamma Pros, are actually fairly rare. Or I haven't been looking too hard. Does the SR-X both forgo the angling of the drivers and the acoustic lens?

I'd be very interested in some KGSS impressions/comparisons, since I'm thinking of building one in the summer, if I can find the time. I came here to ask a question, though: What's the best way to improve the sound of my SR-5 Gold? It sounds like it has a lot of potential, but everything sounds a bit muffled and diffuse and the treble extension is lacking. Damping is probably the way to go, but I'm not sure how to go about damping the electrostatic drivers. The way they are constructed, with the dustcovers on each side, makes it hard... I think. If I can't find a way to make it sound better, I might just sell it, since I have a bunch of other headphones to keep me company and a bunch of other headphones I want and right now it just isn't cutting it.

It's good to confirm the fault of the stock T40's bass roll-off is due to something other than the driver. I like the assortment of Stax parts used.

I'm just going to quote this great post for truth and say it applies to all (most?) orthos, just in slightly differing ways. I've never heard a YH/HP1 but I did hear a YH100 and slightly modded it. The bass was quite woolly with a dull thump to the attack. After modding it became less woolly and more tuneful with sharper attack. I guess the YH/HP1 doesn't have enough bass to begin with, although I'm more inclined to agree with wualta's assessment of evening out of frequency response making perceived bass less, albeit much, much better.

I've had a YH100 in my hands and I'd say it's not very comfortable at all. If the Grados are that much worse, I don't understand why anyone would want them. If you want an ortho and can't afford a Yamaha for a now somewhat over-inflated price, I say go for some of the Fostexen, which are cheaper, much comfier, and with better chance of finding replacements for parts like pads and cables (obviously the newest generation Fostexen in particular).

Hey troymadison, any reason you decided to sell the ESP950? I'm trying to figure out if it would be something worth upgrading to.

I personally think they look hideous.

Maybe I should wait until after you get your ESP-950 issue resolved, but I have some questions. How forward is the midrange and how aggressive is the sound compared to a Lambda, and how much does different amplification affect this?