The Headcase Stax thread

[igorst]

Wrong ! The KGSS sucks - no real power, resulting in muddy bass.

BIG disappointment.

cheers

Tom

first time I hear that.

[spritzer]

I never had any issues with the KGSS bass quantity. The BH is better in every way but then again it should be.

Btw. There are pics up of the new SRM-600LE. New twist on the T1 circuit but it could be pretty interesting.

[luvdunhill]

I spy NE1's (Z6). Looks like even Stax is out of dual transistors

[spritzer]

The 727 also uses singles so they've at least moving over to singles. It also looks like they are color coding them to make assembly easier. Look at the "dual" in the first stage is red but the other one is black...

Btw. I just spent the last 30 minutes replacing the cable on my trusty SR-007. The right side became intermittent today and while it was probably only one of the ribbons failing I had a spare cable so on it went. It's about the same amount of work to just replace the whole thing as to troubleshoot the old one on the headphones but now I have to wait 200 hours for them to sound good again...

[n3rdling]

Did you cryo it first?

[spritzer]

Pffft cryo is for weaklings with no god-like powers. I popped in some lava for a warmer tone.

[mypasswordis]

Psh, I go straight to the sun to break the tubes down to an atomic level and reform them, which makes getting rid of all impurities a cinch.

It's time to make the predecessor to the 4070 for me... give or take 2 or 3 months. Time to PM luvdunhill for cables (much appreciated, man). Impressions whenever I find the time and motivation to get up off my ass and do some real work.

[Currawong]

I never had any issues with the KGSS bass quantity. The BH is better in every way but then again it should be.

Btw. There are pics up of the new SRM-600LE. New twist on the T1 circuit but it could be pretty interesting.

Interesting indeed. This gives me thoughts of putting up the 404LE + 600LE against my 007t + LNS. Anyone want to buy both through Craig so I can test?

[nattonrice]

There are pics up of the new SRM-600LE.

Are those eight 30K resistors socketed or are those black tubes some sort of nylon standoff?

[Currawong]

Are those eight 30K resistors socketed or are those black tubes some sort of nylon standoff?

By the looks of things they are nylon tubes, I imagine to stop idiots causing a short by accident when adjusting the bias.

[deepak]

The 727 also uses singles so they've at least moving over to singles. It also looks like they are color coding them to make assembly easier. Look at the "dual" in the first stage is red but the other one is black...

Btw. I just spent the last 30 minutes replacing the cable on my trusty SR-007. The right side became intermittent today and while it was probably only one of the ribbons failing I had a spare cable so on it went. It's about the same amount of work to just replace the whole thing as to troubleshoot the old one on the headphones but now I have to wait 200 hours for them to sound good again...

200?

Please you got at least 1000 hours of rocky listening ahead of you, all the best sir!

[spritzer]

Are those eight 30K resistors socketed or are those black tubes some sort of nylon standoff?

Those standoffs are there to elevate the resistors for better thermal handling and to make soldering them at a fixed height easier.

200?

Please you got at least 1000 hours of rocky listening ahead of you, all the best sir!

Ohhh crap, perhaps I should just fix the old cable to save me some annoying burn-in time...

[nattonrice]

Ahhhh I see~

Makes sense.

[GPH]

Lambda Signature / Lambda Pro comparison

-------------------------------------------------

I've spent some quality time with both headphones in the past week and I wanted to write down a couple of observations. The setup I'm using is the one in my signature, which is far from being high-end, but I feel it's pretty good at bang for buck compared to some rigs I've heard in the past. I'm using the Denon DA-500 over the Pico right now because I still need to buy a mini to RCA cable to connect the Pico to my amp.

A few things before I start. First, the pads on the Lambda Pro are still big and fluffy while the ones on the Signature are much thinner, but still in good shape. I don't know if that would make a huge difference, I leave that to Stax experts to decide. Previous Stax headphones I've heard or owned: SR-202, SR-404, SR-Gamma, SR-001 and SR-007, and I've owned another pair of Lambda Signature at one point.

I used a couple of my favourite "testing" CDs:

Genesis - A Trick of the Tail (original ATCO)

Opeth - Damnation

Fritz Reiner/CSO - Pines of Rome by Respighi and La Mer by Debussy (Living Stereo)

Camel - A Nod and a Wink

Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (Toshiba Black Triangle)

Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um

The first I noted after listening to both headphones back to back is that there isn't a world of difference between the two, you can easily tell they're from the same family. I'd say they're much closer in sound than, let's say, a HD600 and HD650. Still, there are enough substantial differences to identify which is which and even though I haven't done a DBT (and don't plan to), I'm fairly confident anyone here could hear the differences. I'll divide my impressions in a few categories to try to put coherency in my poor English writing skills.

Details

--------

Showing off details is a category where the Signature truly outshines the Pros. The Sigs are excellent at extracting micro-details from the music and I can hear some small things like soft cymbal hits that I barely get on the Pros. On the other hand, I find that the way the Sigs present details sometimes detract me from the music, while the Pros are a little bit better at presenting the whole portrait and not just focusing on details. The Pros sound "fuller", especially with rock music while the Sigs can sound quite thin at times, but the trade-off is that the Pros sometime put fog on small things I'm used to hear.

Dynamics

-----------

That's another category where I feel the Lambda Signature is superior to the Pro. It's quite easy to hear the difference while listening to Respighi's Pines of Rome. I'm not sure how to put that in words, but I think the contrast I hear in terms of dynamics is due to the more sparkly treble of the Signature and its slightly deeper bass. It's not to say that the Pro isn't dynamic, but I just feel its presentation is a bit more dull and less lively than the Sigs. With that said, on recordings with spiky treble, the Sigs can sound quite aggressive while the Pros tame this spikiness a bit.

Also, the Sigs sound more impactful to me than the Pros which is quite apparent when focusing on drums. The snare sounds tight as it should and the cymbals have just the right amount of "splashiness". The Pros are not bad, but they sound slightly unnatural to me in that aspect.

Frequency response

----------------------

Starting with the bass, the Sigs go slightly lower than the Pros. Also, the Signature's bass is tighter and it's easier to pick the notes individually. The Pros blurry the bass definition a bit and it's harder to hear the string "clacks" of a contrabass or just to get the "bounciness" of a bass guitar. I bet using a proper Stax amp could cure a part of this problem, because each of the SRD-7 setups I've heard in the past always had lesser bass quality compared to setups featuring electrostatic amps.

For the midrange, I'd say both are pretty similar, but as I said earlier the Sigs sound more lively. Both of these cans are not particularly great at reproducing mids IMO, at least compared to other electrostats like the SR-001 and SR-007. They sound a bit thin for the lack of a better word and they fail at reproducing the richness male and female vocals can have, though I think they're a bit better with female vocals.

Treble-wise, the Sigs shine once again, the presentation is more "crisp" and sparkly while the Pros sound almost rolled-off by comparison. To be honest, the Sigs are one the best headphones I've heard in terms of treble reproduction, with the counterpart that poor recordings sound really poor and shouty.

Soundstage

-------------

I've always liked the Lambda series soundstage since the first time I heard a SR-404. They sound very open with a wide presentation from the far left to the far right. Compared to what I remember from the SR-007, the Lambdas have a wider soundstage, but it's harder to pinpoint the instruments in space with precision, something that the O2 mastered perfectly. Still, it's hard to dislike the air and sense of space given by the Lambdas. For what it's worth, I don't hear any significative difference between the Pros and the Sigs for that aspect.

Conclusion

------------

As a monitor or when listening to well-recorded music, I'd use the Sigs hands down, but when confronted to poorly-recorded rock or jazz music, the Pros can offer a more forgiving and perhaps more "fun" sound. They're both good cans, but to my ears the Lambda Signature is the superior one. If I could associate one general characteristic with each phone, I'd say the Lambda Pro are more "round" while the Signature are more "precise". In the end, it goes down to what each user prefers.

[n3rdling]

Very nice review, thanks

[igorst]

Nice,what amp are you using?

[GPH]

Trends TA-10, as listed in my sig.

[mypasswordis]

Just got an SR-X Mk3 (thanks, jpnums) and it's actually different from what I was expecting. The bass is... there. The sound is somewhat laid-back, despite the drivers sitting right by the ears and the fact that it's a supraaural monitor headphone. The midrange is not particularly forward, everything seems well-balanced and smooth. Well, hot diggity damn.

Treble-wise, the Sigs shine once again, the presentation is more "crisp" and sparkly while the Pros sound almost rolled-off by comparison. To be honest, the Sigs are one the best headphones I've heard in terms of treble reproduction, with the counterpart that poor recordings sound really poor and shouty.

Interesting that you'd say such a thing. The Sigs definitely have more treble than the Pro, which has more treble than the normal bias. Thanks for the comparison.

[Tachikoma]

Short report on T1S tube-rolling: I've plugged the Toshibas back into the T1S to do a back to back with the Syl GTBs, and the main differences I noticed were that the Toshibas gave a better sense of ambience (low-level detail?), and the tone was a bit more musical to my ears. However, the Toshibas were definitely less dynamic and the transients felt strained by comparison, and I think they had somewhat less gain as well.

If finances permit I think I might try to get a pair of Shuguang CV181-Zs direct from China (they only cost AU$120 + S/H per matched pair on taobao, but those probably aren't the same "treasure series" tubes being sold by grantfidelity et al) According to their spec sheets, those tubes are supposed to be rated up to 450V, like the GTB/As.

[spritzer]

I'm pretty sure there is no difference in the tubes. It certainly wouldn't be the first time importers add a label and some special version status to justify the extra markup. Being the Stax thread, many dealers are telling their customers that the II units is a Mk2 version and superior to the A...

[Tachikoma]

I'm pretty sure there is no difference in the tubes. It certainly wouldn't be the first time importers add a label and some special version status to justify the extra markup. Being the Stax thread, many dealers are telling their customers that the II units is a Mk2 version and superior to the A...

You mean between the "Treasure Series" and the regular CV181-Zs Shuguang makes? Yeup, the main difference between the two seems to be better matching, and perhaps better emission etc from what I've read on some chinese forums.

Note that the label is actually something Shuguang made up, rather than Grant Fidelity. I'm assuming that Shuguang is only giving Grant Fidelity the more "up-market" tubes they're making.

[Elephas]

I have a pair of Treasure CV181-Z, I got them along with the 6CA7-Z for use with the SP ES-1.

I think they're not bad, like the 6CA7-Z. But, also like the 6CA7-Z, I don't think they're as good as many of the well-regarded Old Stock types.

I don't believe that the Treasure tubes sold in N. America are any different than the ones sold in China or elsewhere. Matching? Well, how much more closely can they match? The test result readings are labeled on the tube boxes and on the stickers on the tube bases.

The CV181-Z is more expensive than the 6CA7-Z. It's also huge, much bigger than the 6CA7-Z and closing in on the 300B. Drilling two holes on the cover of of a T1 or T1W to let a pair of 6SN7 through seems feasible, and might even be aesthetically OK. But you'll need giant holes for the CV181-Z.

[Tachikoma]

Haha, I'd have to forget about the cover if I got those tubes.

I don't believe that the Treasure tubes sold in N. America are any different than the ones sold in China or elsewhere.

Here's what Grant Fidelity says:

"Premium vs. Standard; Grade A vs. Grade B All Treasure tubes from Grant Fidelity is of Premium Grade export quality from Shuguang and they are superior to those sold out of China or Hong Kong - which are intended for Chinese market and are commonly referred as Standard Grade. Standard Grade treasure tubes have much wider variance in specifications and could deviate from the tube's designed specs by up to 40%. If you are looking for first class quality tubes and want protect your investment, we strongly recommend you to buy 'Premium Grade' only.

The Treasure Premium Grade tubes imported by Grant Fidelity are further divided to Premium Grade A (perfect matching on every aspect and strong emission) and Premium Grade B (less than perfect matching in certain aspects such as plate current, transconductance or minor internal gas, slightly less emission. However we guarantee that none of these minor weakness will interfere with the tube's normal operation and pose no safety hazards to your amp.

Grade A tubes are sold with a price premium over that for Grade B.

Even if you purchase 'Premium Grade B' tubes from Grant Fidelity, you are getting better tubes than the Chinese 'Standard Grade' sold over eBay type of places. Buyer beware."

... which is probably a load of shite. Yes Shuguang sells them at two different grades (even the "Premium grade" tubes go for a lot less than what GF is charging, in China) but I doubt that Shuguang makes a speshul set just for GF.

[Les_Garten]

I have a pair of Treasure CV181-Z, I got them along with the 6CA7-Z for use with the SP ES-1.

I think they're not bad, like the 6CA7-Z. But, also like the 6CA7-Z, I don't think they're as good as many of the well-regarded Old Stock types.

I don't believe that the Treasure tubes sold in N. America are any different than the ones sold in China or elsewhere. Matching? Well, how much more closely can they match? The test result readings are labeled on the tube boxes and on the stickers on the tube bases.

The CV181-Z is more expensive than the 6CA7-Z. It's also huge, much bigger than the 6CA7-Z and closing in on the 300B. Drilling two holes on the cover of of a T1 or T1W to let a pair of 6SN7 through seems feasible, and might even be aesthetically OK. But you'll need giant holes for the CV181-Z.

Or do a Plexiglas cover.

[rogue]

I got my SR-007/SRM-007t in today. Sounds great..but it appears that I have a channel imbalance issue. The right channel is noticably quieter than the left. This sucks.

I've tried out swapping out diff tubes and using different inputs, but I really don't know if its the amp or headphones. Anything else I can try that is worthwhile?

I R Sad Panda.