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The Headcase Stax thread


thrice

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Man, I'm pretty gung-ho about DIY repairs, but I'd sooner risk getting crazy glue on my o2 than slipping a drill.

If you have access to it, you can dremel the screw into a flathead and get it out that way. Other than that, I think the krazy glue disposable screwdriver is your best bet.

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Crazy glue didn't work worth a damn. Looks like I'll either have to drill it out or dig around the plastic a bit so that I can get some needle-nose pliers to bite and turn. But I'll need to find a pair of especially needle-y needle-nose pliers. What an enormous pain in the ass.

Before digging at it and risking damaging it, you might consider taking them to a jeweler. They deal in very small screws, etc. all the time and probably can deal with your screw.

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Before digging at it and risking damaging it, you might consider taking them to a jeweler. They deal in very small screws, etc. all the time and probably can deal with your screw.

This, of course, was the correct advice, which explains why I didn't listen to it.:palm:

Getting the stripped screw out was very difficult and I ended up nicking the metal portion of one of the earcups. Nothing terrible; a couple of small, visible nicks. But stomach-turning for the likes of us, and I am upset with myself for doing it. I'm no DIY expert, but I do know that these Stax screws with the headphone assembly suck ass. Now I need a new one to replace the stripped one, and I'm not sure where I'm going to get it. Maybe Ratshack. Hardware stores around me tend not to have such miniature screws.

Luckily, I do not intend to sell these anytime soon, as I have come to love them.

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I am not surprised that the superglue didnt work, I have never had any luck with it for something like this. Too brittle and it hasnt ever done a good job in bonding small metal surfaces for me. Much better for closing cuts though. If I understand where the screws are correctly, it doesnt look like replacing the arc assembly will replace the damage you have done, as it looks like the screws are on the earcup assembly, not the arc assembly. Good luck though in getting this all replaced.

The Lambda Pro sound is starting to get on my nerves. There is something wrong and slightly unpleasant sounding to me in the upper mids and the bass sort of sucks. It does really nothing for me that would give it a permanent place in my collection, even though it is probably about my second favorite overall. I much prefer the ESP950 at this point, by a very large margin in every respect. Tried the Koss out of the SRM-1/mk2 over the weekend, and it sounds pretty good. A bit darker and a bit smoother to my ears than the stock E/90.

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Some more on the Jade. I've been using the Jade exclusively for the last few days but tonight I simply couldn't take it any more and went back to the Omega's. The sound is simply too strange for me to be able to handle, the top end is strident yet has no extension, they do voices well but the rest of the midrange is fucked up and the bass has no extension, bloom or timbre and simply bounces along from one resonance to the next.

Now there aren't many headphones which I've simply given up on (the Jecklin Floats are the only ones I can remember and that was due to comfort) but I'm at a loss as to how to make the Jade even tolerable. Ohh well I guess I have to sleep on it...

I am not surprised that the superglue didnt work, I have never had any luck with it for something like this. Too brittle and it hasnt ever done a good job in bonding small metal surfaces for me. Much better for closing cuts though. If I understand where the screws are correctly, it doesnt look like replacing the arc assembly will replace the damage you have done, as it looks like the screws are on the earcup assembly, not the arc assembly. Good luck though in getting this all replaced.

The screws are indeed fixed to the plate which then in turn holds the drivers in place.

The Lambda Pro sound is starting to get on my nerves. There is something wrong and slightly unpleasant sounding to me in the upper mids and the bass sort of sucks. It does really nothing for me that would give it a permanent place in my collection, even though it is probably about my second favorite overall. I much prefer the ESP950 at this point, by a very large margin in every respect. Tried the Koss out of the SRM-1/mk2 over the weekend, and it sounds pretty good. A bit darker and a bit smoother to my ears than the stock E/90.

Have you removed any of the damping from the ESP950? Koss were a bit overzealous with the damping... :palm:

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Have you removed any of the damping from the ESP950? Koss were a bit overzealous with the damping... :palm:

Nope, havnt even opened it up, or even looked for the screws to get it apart. Honestly, I havnt felt the need to, as it is sonically nearly perfect for me, at least for the time being. So, how is it damped stock, and does removing some of it add any harshness? I could maybe do with just a tiny tilt in FR, as it is a hair dark at times, but it really doesnt bother me.

The cable is crap and will have to go, but this is as much because it is short and requires an adapter for any amp besides the stock as anything. I have lightly stuffed the rear of the pads with some felt, about 4mm total, which gets the stator, or the shield in front of it, off my ear. Stock it pushes against the upper cartilage part of my ear and becomes uncomfortable after a fairly short period of time. I still touch, but there is absolutely no pressure, and I can wear them all day. I do wish that the pads were nicer, something in leather with a bit better stuffing, maybe lightly shaped.

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Have you removed any of the damping from the ESP950? Koss were a bit overzealous with the damping... :palm:

I belie there are different variations of ESP950, amps as well as headphones. I remember heading that newest phones have some kind of driver improvement as well as different damping, but I can be wrong.

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Some more on the Jade. I've been using the Jade exclusively for the last few days but tonight I simply couldn't take it any more and went back to the Omega's. The sound is simply too strange for me to be able to handle, the top end is strident yet has no extension, they do voices well but the rest of the midrange is fucked up and the bass has no extension, bloom or timbre and simply bounces along from one resonance to the next.

Now there aren't many headphones which I've simply given up on (the Jecklin Floats are the only ones I can remember and that was due to comfort) but I'm at a loss as to how to make the Jade even tolerable. Ohh well I guess I have to sleep on it...

I added Jade info to the wikiphonia and used parts of various impressions from head-fi. Feel free to correct yours if you want and have time.

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The Lambda Pro sound is starting to get on my nerves. There is something wrong and slightly unpleasant sounding to me in the upper mids and the bass sort of sucks. It does really nothing for me that would give it a permanent place in my collection, even though it is probably about my second favorite overall.

No worries Colin, I'll give you at least $20 for them. :)

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I got some miniature machine screws today that appear to match the Stax screws (because I'm not in the mood to wait god knows how long for Yama's to call/email me back). Hopefully the O2 will be back together again tonight or tomorrow. Although I do think I will replace the arcs at some point.

No worries Colin, I'll give you at least $20 for them. :)

Hell, he'd almost be breaking even considering what he paid for them.:)

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Ok, so the O2 mk1 is back together. The new screws are perfect. I'll need new arcs at some point, so I have an email in to yama. I learned a bit in this process: 1) I can fix Stax phones if necessary; 2) I no longer want to fix any Stax phones, and 3) I'm just not very good at DIY.

Next time around I'll send it to someone who has a clue.

In other news, I prefer the O2 mk1 to the O2 mk2.

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I belie there are different variations of ESP950, amps as well as headphones. I remember heading that newest phones have some kind of driver improvement as well as different damping, but I can be wrong.

There are some variations amongst the ESP950's but as with most of the Koss versions, they aren't well documented. I have come across a set here (quite old) that had more damping then the newer units. I would start off removing all foam and if you want to go hard core, remove the black filter on the metal grill. Btw. The screws and underneath the pads which are just pulled off.

I added Jade info to the wikiphonia and used parts of various impressions from head-fi. Feel free to correct yours if you want and have time.

I just read though it and I may compile some more impressions later on and add them but that looks good.

Because she's Bj
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I belie there are different variations of ESP950, amps as well as headphones. I remember heading that newest phones have some kind of driver improvement as well as different damping, but I can be wrong.

I sent my ESP950 (which is the old version I believe) to Koss a week ago. I'll be able to confirm if it's a new version of the drivers when I get them back.

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There was a rattling sound in one of the drivers. It's a typical problem from what I've read about these phones, but some people say Koss corrected this with the latest revision of the drivers. I recabled the Koss with a Stax extension cable to use with the KGSS when I had it, but I did put back the original cable after I sold the amp to be able to use the E90 again. I did also remove the thin layer of foam that touches the ears (behind the earpads) because there was already a small hole in it when I bought the phones, but I don't think it changed anything to the sound.

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