The Headcase Stax thread

[Something Incongruous]

11 hours ago, SeaWolf said:

YGGY

Assuming you can be asked obviously;

Which incarnation of it do you own and how would you describe its reproduction? Most of all, compared to which DAC(s)?

 

Not gonna lie, it's hard to be unbiased when it relates to Schiit(tm). You can sing whatever tune you want when you need to sell for a living, granted, i play songs and pieces i'm ashamed to name for a living; but when you've decided your tune involves a tag of "musical/industry anarchist" when in practice you go and patent stuff (both real and imagined) left and right.. and when some of said stuff isn't even yours exactly, not really, but instead has been used for decades by multiple companies.. i don't know. Doesn't mean they're bad, hence my asking, but..

* They've been smart though, i give them that; very smart. The segmentation, the low cost tube rolling options (you too can roll!), the targetted audience, the post/millennial era "minimalistic on top of your desk show me an 8k pic! How pretty!" look (which is also cheap to make of course), the branding and means of no cost advertising (give a boatload of freebies over at head-fi). Very smart. From a business perspective, i salute them, fair is fair

[SeaWolf]

I have the V1 and I cannot compare it to high end DACs or DACs in its price range. I have not gotten a chance to listen to other DACs in a situation where the surround components were familiar enough for me to draw a conclusion.

There are no local Hifi dealers where I live so getting the chance to in home demo just isn't on the cards for me.

I actually only heard the YGGY once before buying it. It was at a meet where Head-Amp was demoing the BHSE. I loved the sound with those two components and the 007mki. I decided I would purchase what I knew I liked. 

[Something Incongruous]

5 hours ago, SeaWolf said:

There are no local Hifi dealers where I live

Ooh, i can relate to that.. most things, whole instruments included, i've had to buy blind, fingers crossed and all.

 

Appreciate your responding by the way and agreed, sticking to what you know is a wise approach. If you enjoy it, it ends there :)

[Scgorg]

Yesterday I picked up a pair of 007 and oh my, what an experience it has been. My favourite stax before now has been the 404LE, a wonderful headphone but certainly not the end be all. This thing is just absolutely fantastic to listen to. I think the upper midrange is slightly too drawn back for my taste but otherwise it is a stellar headphone, certainly far better than 009S was.

Now, after getting this I had a pretty big issue; the fit. This headphone straight up does not fit my giant dome, it's so bad I had to remove the headpad and rest the arc directly on my head. I tried bending the headband to the best of my efforts but it simply does not have enough room while the headpad is still on. I know Birgir has a big head and needs to bend his to make them fit but has anyone here ever had this problem? It's not super bad seeing as the 007 is quite light, but nonetheless it is annoying, doubly so when I cannot use any padding directly on the arc since it won't fit any more.

[Vector]

Just broke out my SR-4070 which had been in storage for some time. Driven by a KGSSHV, they sound quite different than my SR-007 2.9 which I normally use. But not necessarily worse. In fact I think they might actually have the more "truthful" presentation, though not as fun to listen to. 

I notice that my headband fits different now. The elastic is more stretched out, probably because I used to always store them on the Stax stand with the plastic cover, so constant pressure on the elastic (which seems like a bad idea in retrospect). I know the regular Lambda models can easily swap out their headband when the elastic goes but does anyone know how I'd manage that for the 4070?

[spritzer]

It's the same headband as the SR-007 so two screws on each side that secures it.  Be careful, those are JIS screws so pretty easy to strip with other drivers.  

Also, anybody want to see the most disgusting SR-007's in the world? 

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/s702210988

Yeah...those early ones don't hold up. 

Edited November 30, 2019 by spritzer

[mtaifa]

Hi folks,

How often do you guys swap out the pads on your SR-007's? I have a pair of MK1's, still using the original pads and they are starting to get a little too soft, and the dust protection is misshapen on one side, so thinking of replacing and/or refurbishing.

What pads are generally recommended? SR-007mk2's, SR-009 modded, or something else? Best place to source new ones?

Are there any guides for replacing the foam in the original pads? My searching skills fail me.

[naiy8oaY]

1 hour ago, mtaifa said:

Hi folks,

How often do you guys swap out the pads on your SR-007's? I have a pair of MK1's, still using the original pads and they are starting to get a little too soft, and the dust protection is misshapen on one side, so thinking of replacing and/or refurbishing.

What pads are generally recommended? SR-007mk2's, SR-009 modded, or something else? Best place to source new ones?

Are there any guides for replacing the foam in the original pads? My searching skills fail me.

If the dust screen is disintegrating, it probably high time to replace those. I found the instructions for pad I had read so far somewhat unintuitive, but luckily there's a video by STAX with a thorough demonstration how to install the EP-007: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyRZFD8yv8Q

 

[mtaifa]

22 hours ago, naiy8oaY said:

If the dust screen is disintegrating, it probably high time to replace those. I found the instructions for pad I had read so far somewhat unintuitive, but luckily there's a video by STAX with a thorough demonstration how to install the EP-007: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyRZFD8yv8Q

 

Thanks for the link! Just took the pads apart (for the first time in my care), and I see that the metal spring is not even in place inside the dust protection flap. I'm guessing the original owner swapped out the foam at some point, as the foam itself is in pretty good shape, and did not put the spring back correctly.

The dust mesh is not holding up too good along the edges though, I had to reinforce it with a needle and thread.

I will order a spare pair anyway I think. I guess I can go with the MK2 pads and just swap over the foam and the dust cover to my original pads? (to keep the genuine look)

Edit: Just found this photo at the bottom of this thread:

From there it looks like the spring should not be inside the mesh flap at all on the MK1?

Edited December 2, 2019 by mtaifa

[spritzer]

Yeah, that works just fine. 

[n_maher]

Semi-random help request - anyone still have the original Exstata setup and adjustment instructions? I went searching last night and haven't been able to track them down yet.  Thanks in advance.

[spritzer]

It's been a while but since the Exstata is based on the Stax SRM-1 Mk2 it should just be a balance and offset adjustment.  The pots should be matched on the PCB so for balance, put the probes between + and - of each channel and adjust to 0VDC.  For offset ground the black probe while the red is in the + output for each channel and adjust to 0VDC. 

[ktm]

powersetup.pdfpowersupply.pdfsssetup.pdfstaitcbias.pdfhybridsetup.pdfhybridsetup.pdfstaitcbias.pdfsssetup.pdfpowersupply.pdfpowersetup.pdf

 

I found some snapshots I'd taken.of the website. I've got the board layouts as well.

Edited December 3, 2019 by ktm

[2slow4u]

Hi there...

I have a pretty annoying problem.
I own a small collection of Stax headphones (SR-X, SR-X Pro, SR Gamma, Lambda NB, Lambda Pro, Lambda Sig, L300). Last year I decided to replace the original earpads on all my vintage Lambdas, but it was a bad idea. Despite having carried out the replacement with care, degreasing the parts with alcohol and applying the double-sided adhesive precisely, the pads refuse to remain firmly glued to the earphones, and over time, inexorably come unstuck! Most likely the problem is accentuated by the fact that I wear the headphones quite rarely. I periodically reposition the pads, but the problem seems unresolvable. How the hell is it possible? The original pads have stood firm for decades, and the replacement parts do they deform unstuck within a few days? ? Has anyone had a similar experience with replacement pads? How can I solve the problem permanently?

[spritzer]

Well the cause is simple, bio-degradable adhesive which is just terrible and the solution isn't so simple...find something better.   

[2slow4u]

17 hours ago, spritzer said:

find something better.

I have no idea what could be better ...

[spritzer]

3M has some great stuff that actually works.  The name escapes me though....

[Vector]

On 11/30/2019 at 1:34 AM, spritzer said:

It's the same headband as the SR-007 so two screws on each side that secures it.  Be careful, those are JIS screws so pretty easy to strip with other drivers.  

Also, anybody want to see the most disgusting SR-007's in the world? 

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/s702210988

Yeah...those early ones don't hold up. 

Thanks, very helpful info. I'll work on sourcing that right away - not many options for buying Stax parts in the USA these days. Will also try to source JIS bits as well, haven't used those in many years and can't find my old set. 

[Tachikoma]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/headamp-grand-cayman-dht-electrostatic-amp.920536/

Whats this? :0

[mdr30]

Ask joamat.

[Jon L]

Anybody have any idea on price? ?

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Winner winner chicken dinner!

[justin]

On 12/5/2019 at 12:09 PM, mdr30 said:

Ask joamat.

I'm not sure what this is referring to but I had built the prototype of this in 2014

[JoaMat]

I’ve no knowledge about Justin’s latest project so no point asking me. I’m very exciting in this new amplifier - as probably most Head-Case members are.
 

P.S.
Some years ago Kevin published an amplifier layout for EML DHT tubes. Crazy as I’m I bought some EML tubes and made adapters for the tubes to be used as replacement for EL34/6CA7.

Edited December 6, 2019 by JoaMat

[justin]

joamat, did you ever check out trying the adapter I came up with for EL34 and 20B in the same amp?