The Headcase Stax thread

[luvdunhill]

[luvdunhill]

I don't think it's too overkill.. Just lower the bias and your good to go. Holy slew rate though!

[deepak]

Are amp requirements for Quad ESLs (57, 63) vastly different from speakers like the modern Sound Labs (Majestic, U1-PX)?

Don't the Sound Labs already have a bias transformer?

[spritzer]

I don't think it's too overkill.. Just lower the bias and your good to go. Holy slew rate though!

I'm not so sure that the SR-007 would like that 3kV output but we won't be that far off in the future....

Any idea of a price?

[spritzer]

Are amp requirements for Quad ESLs (57, 63) vastly different from speakers like the modern Sound Labs (Majestic, U1-PX)?

Don't the Sound Labs already have a bias transformer?

They all work off the same basic principle but the SL's are a bit bigger and thus use dual transformers to make them an easier load.

All speakers have a bias supply but often it is just a ladder type which can be improved on.

[luvdunhill]

I'm not so sure that the SR-007 would like that 3kV output but we won't be that far off in the future....

Any idea of a price?

step-down transformer?

cannot be too much, as their replacement part list price is reasonable. Go to the German version of the website then look for the price list for replacement parts.

[Asr]

Ok I have a few questions about using electrostatic gear:

1 - I understand you need to "charge" headphones, does this mean you just need to plug it in, turn on the amp, and leave it like that for a while? If so, at what point is the charge completed?

2 - Is it safe to use the Pro and Normal jacks on the SRM-1 MKII at the same time, or should they always be used separately?

3 - Is it ok to just unplug a headphone and then plug it back in while the amp is on? (Obviously turning down the volume all the way first.) On a similar note, is it safe to unplug one headphone from Normal and then plug in another into Pro?

Lambda & SRM-1 MKII impressions

Coming after the OII MKII, I had no idea what to expect. Well ok a little since I heard this at the 7/26 Colorado Head-Fi meet, but that was none of my own music.

I love this headphone, it definitely has some qualities from both the K701 and AD2000 and spins them into a sound that's really up my alley. At first the treble response bothered me as it was a little too metallic but it seemed to smooth out as time passed. Great speed and great attack, especially in the treble area. Very quick, it got really addictive. It was a fantastic "merge" of my favorite qualities of the K701 and AD2000 and I think that I could easily dump both of those dynamics and live with this one electrostat alone. Quick, incisive, clear, and open-sounding, with a fantastic soundstage that was definitely more like the K701's, as opposed to the previous session with the OII MKII.

The Lambda's so good at what it does I'm half-seriously contemplating dumping my dynamic gear. The only real complaint I have against it though is the bass. While decent, my favorite bass so far comes from the AD2000, so I hope I can find an electrostat with similar bass.

[Johnny Blue]

Johnny, it is hard to say what went wrong in your case. From my experience I can see a number of possibilities.

1. Don't like the type of sound. O2 is severely lacking in that it does not add prat, slam, romantic lushness etc. It is the best headphone that I own but I was a little surprised that I was not addicted to it and wanted to listen to it all night. I listen mostly to my O2 but even the 404 is in some sense more fun and relaxing.

2. It took me two weeks to find the correct position. I knew about positioning but thought that pressure against the ear was adequate and bending the arcs not necessary. I was wrong and after a slight bending and increased pressure it got more life (but too much pressure is not good either). O2 can loose up to 50 % of sound quality by bad positioning.

3. Insufficient power. I have only tried with 007t and 717 and 007t obviously has insufficient driving capability compared to 717. But I still experience the 717 as slightly insufficient. Not a big problem for me and I am happy with the 717. Imagining a more powerful amplifier the sound should have more impact and more life. However, I have not heard that yet.

4. Too revealing of the source is also a possibility.

5. Expectations. I don't think there is any "best headphone for all". This is often implicitly implied when talking about the best headphone. It is very difficult or impossible to communicate what is so good with the headphone that you think is best yourself, and others interpret the description differently - or expect magic because it is "the best".

Yes, I must pay some attention to the positioning: I've already cut and pasted Birgir's suggestions from over on Head-Fi, so no doubt this attention this will help matters, but the fact still remains that it's the first major bit of kit I've ever bought which didn't do the business more or less straight away...

...oh, and I forgot to mention that SWMBO's retaliation for my SR-007/SRM-717 expenditure was to go out and book a family holiday costing exactly 2.5 times as much as the headphones! (And how could I possibly counter the argument that since I'd spent x on headphones which were just for me, why can't I spend 2.5x on all of us! Bummer!)

[Anders]

...oh, and I forgot to mention that SWMBO's retaliation for my SR-007/SRM-717 expenditure was to go out and book a family holiday costing exactly 2.5 times as much as the headphones! (And how could I possibly counter the argument that since I'd spent x on headphones which were just for me, why can't I spend 2.5x on all of us! Bummer!)

That was to empty the wallet before you went away with an even more expensive upgrade!

[spritzer]

step-down transformer?

cannot be too much, as their replacement part list price is reasonable. Go to the German version of the website then look for the price list for replacement parts.

Why not or just design new drivers...

Ok I have a few questions about using electrostatic gear:

1 - I understand you need to "charge" headphones, does this mean you just need to plug it in, turn on the amp, and leave it like that for a while? If so, at what point is the charge completed?

2 - Is it safe to use the Pro and Normal jacks on the SRM-1 MKII at the same time, or should they always be used separately?

3 - Is it ok to just unplug a headphone and then plug it back in while the amp is on? (Obviously turning down the volume all the way first.) On a similar note, is it safe to unplug one headphone from Normal and then plug in another into Pro?

No need to charge the headphones unless something is very wrong. Amp warmup is another thing entirely...

You can use the plugs in any way you like and you can unplug while the amp is on.

[luvdunhill]

Why not or just design new drivers...

how short sighted of me

[slwiser]

Heartbroken of England

When I first got my SR-007MkII and using it with my KGSS with blackgates I thought it was light as well on the musical side compared with my dynamic setup. But just in the last week I think the KGSS and SR-007MkII has jump ahead my dynamic setup in this area.

My suggestion is to give it time as I have. Either I have changed or it has. I still have my dynamic setup that I listen to and it has not changed but in relationship to it the KGSS/SR-007 has. So I think the SR-007MkII has matured a bit and is becoming much more of what the promise was when I got them.

[spritzer]

It's pretty amazing what can happen when one rifles through all the old spare parts and broken headphones that I've built up over the years. I just made a Lambda Pro from about 4 different headphones...

[catscratch]

I wrote earlier I would post again, here goes...

My Stax story so far…

I got bitten by the Stax bug a few years back, when I bought a Stax SRS-2020 Basic System II, which I bought solely because my active Naim system did not lend itself to conventional headphones.

I then discovered Head-Fi and subscribed to the Stax threads there, and learnt a great deal from the cogniscenti that posted on them (and you know who you are, because most of you are here, too). Next step was an SRM-1 Mk2 to replace the SRM-212 amp, and then I discovered, via the Head-Fi threads, the world of the older Stax gear: an SR-X Mk3 and SRD-6SB combo followed, then another SR-X, this time with a SRD-7 transformer (which was not the step up I’d expected, and have recently learnt why!).

I was then tempted by the SR-5N (aka Gold) and a (much newer) SRD-6SB, oh, and I forgot to mention the SRS-3030 system that had in-between times become the main one I used – all the others systems got used in the bedroom, office, etc. (or, from a different point of view, as SWMBO says, “How come one person with one set of ears, needs so many headphones?”).

Later on, I got a set of SR-404s to upgrade the SR-303s (not exactly a quantum leap forward to my ears) and after a while I decided to try driving them with the old SRM-1 Mk2, and, lo and behold!, the old amp was better!

So, apart from the diminutive SR-001 portable system, that, until recently, was that (crikey, it’s shocking how much this all mounts up: until I catalogued my Stax journey here, I hadn’t realised how much I’d acquired – perhaps SWMBO is right?).

Finally, I come to the reason for this post: it’s got nothing to do with willy-waving (mine’s tiny) but more to do with my latest Stax acquisition, an SR-007 and SRM-717. Ever since I first started reading stuff about Stax on the various Head-Fi threads, I’d gleaned that the Omega IIs were the dog’s bollocks, and that, of all the Stax amps, the SS SRM-717 was the best at driving them, so my joy knew no bounds when I recently got hold of this seemingly magical combination.

Just to go back a bit: a few weeks ago, just for a change, I’d been using some SR-X Mk3s, driven by an SRD-6SB, powered by a Naim NAC32.5/NAP 140 combination in my main listening room. This was definitely not as hi-fi as the 404s/SRM-1 Mk2, but I found myself listening hour after hour, just grooving away and thoroughly enjoying everything I listened to.

Now, back to the (near-) present: a week ago my long-dreamed of Omega IIs/717 arrived and finally the moment came when I had the ‘best-in-the-world’ earspeakers on my head, and the stylus dropped into the LP groove…

…as you can probably guess, I was disappointed: I’d read all about the ‘darkness’, and the fact they really needed driving, and that they took some getting used to, etc., etc., but, even so, I was heart-broken. Had I really had that massive row with SWMBO, and pledged that "…this was it, no more, I now had the best that was available…" and I didn’t really like what I was hearing? Oh, no…

I’ve carried on with them this week, and of course, they are very good: lots of detail, beautifully clean-sounding, etc., etc., but where was the life, the bounce, the I-must-just-play-one-more-side-even-though-it’s-2am feeling?

So, what’s going on? Were my expectations too high? Had my listening to the SR-X/SRD-6/Naim amp combination ill-prepared me for the Omegas?

(And please, don’t just reply that I’m deaf, or that you want to buy them, or that I need to learn about the law of diminishing returns!)

Yours,

Heartbroken of England

There are a few things that could account for what you're hearing:

1) Source. If you want the 717 to sound romantic, get a romantic source. If you want neutral, use a neutral source. If you want fast, detailed, analytical, and bright, get something that sounds like that. But above all else, if you want good, then get a good source. I'm not sure what you're driving them with, but I'm sure that you can tune them to sound whichever way you want, and sources are the best way to do that.

2) Expectations. This is a neutral headphone, and the 717 is very slightly warm, and slightly lacking in bass control and dynamic range. But basically, it all is very close to neutral. So, if you're used to a euphonic sound signature that exaggerates macrodynamics, then this will not do for you until your ears adjust to the sound.

3) Music. This headphone will lack dynamic range when your music lacks dynamic range. It will sound grainy and compressed when your music is grainy and compressed. But put on something that's good, and it will take your breath away. Even out of the 717, the O2 can blow you away with its impact and macrodynamics when you have a recording that's not brickwalled and dynamically compressed to hell and back. I have a lot of high-quality electronic albums, and the detail, dynamic range, bass, and overall fluid, analog quality to the sound is absolutely mesmerizing.

The O2 is an ultimately neutral transducer that errs somewhat on the side of lushness and has a slightly laidback sound. It's very difficult to drive and becomes dark and congested when there isn't enough power. But when it's driven perfectly, it will still only tell you exactly what your source is doing, and what your music is doing, while adding only a slight degree of lushness.

The O2 Mk2 unfortunately has some colorations and irregularities in its FR which compromise its mission. But, on the other hand, it is *slightly* easier to drive.

I say do this: take your O2 and 717 to a high-end audio retailer, and audition whatever sources you can get your hands on. And by this, I mean real high-quality machines. You won't have to buy something on the spot then and there, but it will give you an idea of the extent to which the O2 responds to source chance.

And if you still don't like it, don't fret, since there are a lot more electrostatics where that came from. If you can afford O2/717 then your choices are nearly limitless. HE60, ESP950, SR-Omega, SR-Lambda/Lambda Signature, 4070, there are a lot of headphones that could have your name on them, and the 717 will do a respectable job with just about all of them.

Lastly, the 717 is adequate for the O2 but it's not ideal. KGSS or Blue Hawaii will take it to the next level - but if you don't like the O2 to begin with, then chances are you're better off with something else.

[Johnny Blue]

Thanks for the extensive answers you

[The Monkey]

Johnny Blue, as catscratch suggested, I recommend getting your hands on a pair of Lambda Signatures. Try those. They just might be what you are looking for. I think they give the O2 a run for its money when the Sig has better synergy with the amp.

[Johnny Blue]

I've already got 3 Lambdas: the 202s, the 303s and the 404s, I can't believe that the Signatures are radically different, and in any case, that's not what my query was about.

I want to know why, after all I'd read, that my long-aspired-to dream of owning the 007/717 is not delivering what I'd expected!

[The Monkey]

I've already got 3 Lambdas: the 202s, the 303s and the 404s, I can't believe that the Signatures are radically different

They are, and by your ready admission, you haven't heard them and have no idea what you're talking about.

[Johnny Blue]

Thank you.

[spritzer]

Naim gear is far from neutral so that's your problem right there. Getting a special output cable from the preamp could be the way to go though or just borrow a second Naim preamp and test it... C'mon... take one for the team

The Lambda Signature is much better then the current models to my ears and I could only use the new ones for one thing... harvest the drivers to plant them in something else.

[Johnny Blue]

Naim gear is far from neutral so that's your problem right there. Getting a special output cable from the preamp could be the way to go though or just borrow a second Naim preamp and test it... C'mon... take one for the team

The Lambda Signature is much better then the current models to my ears and I could only use the new ones for one thing... harvest the drivers to plant them in something else.

I have a Chord Chrysalis DIN to RCA interconnect, where the DIN plug is specially wired to take the tape output from the NAC 82 (the Chrysalis is believed, around these parts, to be the most synergistic with Naim, but of course, it's not actually Naim it's going to, it's Stax!).

I have some other cables I've tried: the Chord Cobra is more extended, but seems to have less PRaT, a Preh DIN/Van Damme cable/Neutrik RCA combination does a good job, but is not vastly different to the Chrysalis.

I've even tried a special Chord Chrysalis 4-pin DIN to RCA interconnect, running straight from the Hi-Cap (which powers the Naim Prefix head-amp and which supplies the signal to the pre-amp) to the 717, thus cutting the pre-amp entirely out of the circuit, and this had a similar effect to the Cobra: more hi-fi, less music.

I'll have to take a look at getting a Naim pre-amp output straight into the 717 (after having altered the internal switch!), and I can also investigate using balanced interconnects instead of the RCAs, and I still fear that your first remark may be salient here: "Naim gear is far from neutral so that's your problem right there."

This would also explain why I've had such a good time with the SRD boxes (and you may have noted from my Head-Fi posts about this preference): it's when I'm using these with Linn or Naim amplification that I get what I'm looking for with Stax headphones.

[Tachikoma]

I’ve carried on with them this week, and of course, they are very good: lots of detail, beautifully clean-sounding, etc., etc., but where was the life, the bounce, the I-must-just-play-one-more-side-even-though-it’s-2am feeling?

I reach for the SR-5 pro when I want that Granted, I don't have a BH.

I'll have to take a look at getting a Naim pre-amp output straight into the 717 (after having altered the internal switch!), and I can also investigate using balanced interconnects instead of the RCAs, and I still fear that your first remark may be salient here: "Naim gear is far from neutral so that's your problem right there."

Oh yes, the 717 loves balanced drive.

[spritzer]

The Naim preamp will impact some of that coloration on the Stax so you could like the sound. The original CDS is a good player but highly colored so the SR-007 is only playing what you feed it.

Oh yes, the 717 loves balanced drive.

All Naim gear is SE only (like most Euro gear) so that is a moot point.

[Johnny Blue]

SE?

[spritzer]

Single ended. You can put on XLR plugs but that doesn't make them balanced. European manufacturers only use XLR on items that will be sold in the US and often it is just the plugs that are balanced but they are fed only the + output.