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The Headcase Stax thread


thrice

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as far as the srm600 disaster, the green things replaced .1uf caps i think, 

2 in the middle, and 3 along the outside edge. You can buy parts to put

this back to original. 

 

Thanks ... that's a relief.  

 

I still haven't heard back from the guy and I've a developing  suspicion that I won't. When I made the purchase, I used PayPal (which is linked to my bank account) and I was curious as to why he was so adamant about "letting the funds clear" before shipping me the amp (I mean, once the PayPal payment is made, even if it pulls from your bank account, I'm pretty sure that's the same as guaranteeing the funds are in route).

 

Anyway, bad vibe all the way around the more I gestate.

 

And re: the work to make things right with the amp?

 

I would never even *dream* of touching the mod reversal; I have zero skillz in that arena and wouldn't want to use this as a springboard.

 

Can any of you recommend somebody in the USA that I could ship the amp to in order to have said work done? If I end up stuck with it, then this would be my preferred course.  And if the dude refuses a deal reversal, I'll at least see if I can get him to cover shipping/parts/labor for said work if I'm able to find somebody stateside who can do it.

 

Thanks again for the replies ...

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Thanks ... that's a relief.  

 

I still haven't heard back from the guy and I've a developing  suspicion that I won't. When I made the purchase, I used PayPal (which is linked to my bank account) and I was curious as to why he was so adamant about "letting the funds clear" before shipping me the amp (I mean, once the PayPal payment is made, even if it pulls from your bank account, I'm pretty sure that's the same as guaranteeing the funds are in route).

 

Anyway, bad vibe all the way around the more I gestate.

 

And re: the work to make things right with the amp?

 

I would never even *dream* of touching the mod reversal; I have zero skillz in that arena and wouldn't want to use this as a springboard.

 

Can any of you recommend somebody in the USA that I could ship the amp to in order to have said work done? If I end up stuck with it, then this would be my preferred course.  And if the dude refuses a deal reversal, I'll at least see if I can get him to cover shipping/parts/labor for said work if I'm able to find somebody stateside who can do it.

 

Thanks again for the replies ...

 

Contact paypal. 

File a dispute. 

Today. 

 

While you are at it, archive the original sale page. 

 

And tell Jude. 

Edited by nikongod
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whats the total length, and the thread size. I assume m3?

length of thread, and length of the head, and diameter of the head?

 

For the longer screws:

 

total length 14mm

thread size m3

head length 6mm

thread length 7mm

grip length 1mm

diameter of head 5mm

depth of inside head hole 5mm

 

Shorter screws:

 

total length 7mm

thread size m3

head length 4mm

thread length 2mm

grip length 1mm

diameter of head 5mm

depth of inside head hole 6mm

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Those caps will not do anything except cause problems.  The stock parts are Vishay 1841 series 0.01uf/630V.  This looks to be the correct one:

 

http://www2.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Vishay-Roederstein/MKP1841310635/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMv1cc3ydrPrF2QyZc89JbQZ9Nh3NRNrFUU%3d

 

Could be different pin spacing but 15mm was the norm for Stax. 

 

The resistors can be swapped for any good 30K/3W unit such as this one:

 

http://www2.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Panasonic/ERG-3SJ303V/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtlubZbdhIBIK8nywws5AKnl6zINSxFk8g%3d

 

The large electrolytic caps have also been replaced but you can let them be unless they are badly mounted or something like that. 

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Those caps will not do anything except cause problems.  

 

Thanks again for the assist ...

 

The good news is that I won't have to bother with reversing the modifications as I've spoken with the seller finally and he's already refunded the money; I'm putting the amp in the mail tomorrow to be returned to him.

 

I'm so relieved.

 

FWIW ... I found this 600LE amplifier (whacked out mods and all) to be far better sounding (for my tastes) than was my recently sold 323S and specifically with my 404LE's ... better bass, super sweet highs and overall just a more lively, and engaging listen; it's certainly a far different sound than was the 323S, which I didn't dislike but which, in retrospect, seemed a bit thin/cold compared to the 600LE. 

 

So if anything, I'm happy to have heard a tube based electrostatic amplifier as it's given me some more food for thought regarding my passing, recent desire to go back to a dynamic set up. I might look for another (stock!) 600LE in the near future or perhaps one of the other Stax tube amps.

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Contact paypal. 

File a dispute. 

Today. 

 

While you are at it, archive the original sale page. 

 

And tell Jude. 

I take the point about the misrepresentation, the mods should have been mentioned since these are relevant to the value of the item.  However, before I would fight over it, I would try to decide if the amp is any good.  Unless I missed it I didn't  see your opinion about the sound quality.

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The electrolytics may be one thing, but taking out the .01 caps that are absolutely as close

to the circuit as possible, and hanging something on the end of at least 6 inches of wire

is going to cause all sorts of problems. Don't even care if the caps are super trendy or not.

 

plus the fact that the solder job is likely poor.

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I guess I did miss his evaluation

 

"FWIW ... I found this 600LE amplifier (whacked out mods and all) to be far better sounding (for my tastes) than was my recently sold 323S and specifically with my 404LE's ... better bass, super sweet highs and overall just a more lively, and engaging listen; it's certainly a far different sound than was the 323S, which I didn't dislike but which, in retrospect, seemed a bit thin/cold compared to the 600LE."

 

So what we have here is a poorly executed job which  still sounded good.   Of course the issue would be how it sounds compared to an unmodified 600LE, which we don't know.

 

Still I am glad you got the problem resolved to your satisfaction.

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The good news is that I won't have to bother with reversing the modifications as I've spoken with the seller finally and he's already refunded the money; I'm putting the amp in the mail tomorrow to be returned to him.

 

 

 

This amp is already on sale again at the other site, this time with "upgraded" caps. 

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/684324/stax-srm-600-limited

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This amp is already on sale again at the other site, this time with "upgraded" caps. 

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/684324/stax-srm-600-limited

 

And I honestly hope he gets a buyer that's willing to accept the modifications; other than our misunderstanding during the initial purchase, the guy has been ace throughout the whole thing. It only took him half a day to get back to me and he refunded immediately and without debate ... a far, far better resolution than I was bracing for.

 

Now my issue is that I've totally fallen for the electrostatic tube sound (really, the amp sounds damn sweet and for all I know other Stax tube amps blow it away but it's significantly more enjoyable of a listen than my previous solid state 323S). I actually ... just momentarily ... thought about keeping the "Monstrosity" ... quirks and all ... as it's so enjoyable to my ear and with my SR-404LE's... but knowing my penchant for upgraditus, I just didn't relish the idea of trying to sell the thing should the desire take me.

 

So as a noob to the Stax "tube sound" ... and since I cannot afford any of the high end aftermarket amps ... does anyone have comments on some of the newer Stax tube amp variants? The  SRM-007tii for instance? Is it considered markedly inferior to the earlier, SRM-007t?  Are either of those sonically that much different than the 600LE?

 

I was toying with the idea of going back to dynamic but having heard that tube amp, just about all of my minor quibbles with my 404LE's were dealt with ...

 

So ... not all together a bad experience ... 

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For the longer screws:

 

total length 14mm

thread size m3

head length 6mm

thread length 7mm

grip length 1mm

diameter of head 5mm

depth of inside head hole 5mm

 

Shorter screws:

 

total length 7mm

thread size m3

head length 4mm

thread length 2mm

grip length 1mm

diameter of head 5mm

depth of inside head hole 6mm

 

Made a mistake, the shorter screws are m4 not m3. Anyone have any thoughts? I was thinking to find some sort of male-female spacer but they're pretty much all hexagonal so I'd have to file down the edges. It's also hard to find a spacer that has the thread longer than the spacer head. Then I'd drill the hole in the head to be the right size for the forks to fit in. Hopefully there's a better fit out there.

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What headphone you got in mind?

 

On the other hand my ECR-400's have been successfully converted to full blown electrostat's, 580v pro-bias is not enough these need 700vdc of bias or higher as they distort a bit when cranked to near 100% output volume on my SRM-323S. Have also carefully disassembled my ECR-500 drivers to see why they distort on bass heavy passages, sure enough the electret film has come un-done from the spacers, no fucking chance of gluing these back on especially after the disassemble, so I'm thinking of converting these to full blown stats as well.

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SR-202, which should have a sound profile that's a great fit. From memory, it has a large treble presence and extension, and also not much mid bass to lower midrange. I could be wrong and really enjoy the sound like I did the SR-404, in which case the key is to not listen to it too much before ripping it apart. The SR-404 is for sure a bass-heavy headphone, which wouldn't be a good fit for the Sigma anyway.

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I could have put it on my website that I didn't recommend using the KGSSHV (I think that one was a HV) with the SR-009.  I certainly said it enough... :)  That was with the old ones though and it is no longer a factor with the fixed SR-009's.

 

I never got confirmation that they fixed the 007II/A too so I just bought a set to try out.  If they fixed the diaphragm then they could finally be modified like the SZ2's.

 

Bringing this over from the LIO train wreck -- apologize for being so out of the loop but what was the "fix" and when did it surface? I'm enjoying the hell out of the 009 and BHSE combo.

 

:wub:

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SR-202, which should have a sound profile that's a great fit. From memory, it has a large treble presence and extension, and also not much mid bass to lower midrange. I could be wrong and really enjoy the sound like I did the SR-404, in which case the key is to not listen to it too much before ripping it apart. The SR-404 is for sure a bass-heavy headphone, which wouldn't be a good fit for the Sigma anyway.

 

Given that used 202's from YJ go for cheap as chips yeah that sounds about spot on with my pair, huge treble, not much mid bass to lower mid range but I find that surprisingly neutrally helpful on some recordings. The 404's are pretty bassy, dominant mid bass section but liquid smooth sounding with a little etch present on the upper mids that some people find emphasized, bright and uninvolving, ymmv of course. The problem with 202 drivers in the Sigma enclosure would be the sound would be too brittle and light sounding and the treble would be the main bit you will hear. The Sigma/404 combo is different because the dominant mid bass of the 404 drivers in it's stock enclosure becomes a bit more distant in the bigger Sigma enclosure thus resulting in a more neutralish and slightly laid back balanced sound with the low's nicely filled that even the stock Sigma's and Sigma Pro's fail to accomplish and provide to the listener. 

Edited by DefQon
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