The Headcase Stax thread

[Leon]

I just got my first electrostatic setup!

It's a Stax SR-Lambda Pro with a Stax SRM-1 MKII.

However, I have a problem.

Every time there's bass, the left side of the Lambda Pro emits a heavily distorted rumble. The right side of the Lambda Pro is unaffected, and all other frequencies come through perfectly on both sides.

What's going on? Is there a way to fix this?

Thanks,

Leon

[cetoole]

Open it up, betting the driver has started to come unglued from the baffle.

[Emooze]

Agreed, same thing happened to me a few pages back

[TommyTunes]

Is there a way to battery power a SR-212 amp? This looks like it should work but I don't know enough about electric. Can anyone help. Thanks

#K410F-30

[kevin gilmore]

12 volt SLA battery. Works great. The 7ah battery will run

it for about 18 hours.

[TommyTunes]

12 volt SLA battery. Works great. The 7ah battery will run

it for about 18 hours.

What is an SLA battery? Thanks

[Salt Peanuts]

What is an SLA battery? Thanks

Let me google that for you

[KrypticMind]

I just got my first electrostatic setup!

It's a Stax SR-Lambda Pro with a Stax SRM-1 MKII.

However, I have a problem.

Every time there's bass, the left side of the Lambda Pro emits a heavily distorted rumble. The right side of the Lambda Pro is unaffected, and all other frequencies come through perfectly on both sides.

What's going on? Is there a way to fix this?

Thanks,

Leon

Play music through them for a few days and see if that fixes it.

[guzziguy]

If it doesn't, get a magic wand and try the staximus reparum spell.

[mypasswordis]

Don't forget to put on your robe and wizard hat first.

[Cynric]

Know that that's a lvl 12 spell, you might need to level some more first.

what i meant to say was: that rattling lambda might just be a hair stuck in the grille in front of the driver, look closely.

Also what's that airbow sc-1 thing anyways? neither google nor faust could help me much on that one...

[spritzer]

A breathed on SR-404

[faust3d]

Know that that's a lvl 12 spell, you might need to level some more first.

what i meant to say was: that rattling lambda might just be a hair stuck in the grille in front of the driver, look closely.

Also what's that airbow sc-1 thing anyways? neither google nor faust could help me much on that one...

I fixed this. Airbow SC-1 - Wikiphonia

[Cynric]

OK, I see, thanks guys. So it's just a 404 with marketing-induced autosuggestion and/or possibly some different damping.

Interesting that they offer it with a tiny SRM 253 (wich from the outside looks just as a 252) amp..

Edited June 1, 2010 by Cynric

[padam]

There is no damping in any of the modern Lambdas so it has to be the drivers that add some difference.

By the way, I am using SR-5NB with Alpha Pro Excellent drivers and cable since a few days and it might just be the headphone I like the most.

Interesting that its origins can be traced back to the SR-1 which is now 50 years old

[spritzer]

I say the SR-SC1 has drivers which aren't made the same way as other SR-404 units. These drivers then found their way into the 404LE.

The 253 is the same amp as the stock unit but it might have higher rated parts plus the dedicated PSU so it will have more power.

[faust3d]

I say the SR-SC1 has drivers which aren't made the same way as other SR-404 units. These drivers then found their way into the 404LE.

The 253 is the same amp as the stock unit but it might have higher rated parts plus the dedicated PSU so it will have more power.

I say glue hardens during that special "cryogenic treatment"

[padam]

The leather pads of the SR-404LE bring the ears closer to the drivers so they do have a noticeable effect on the frequency response. That's why I wouldn't be so sure that they use the same drivers.

[spritzer]

Paging Dr. Gilmore, dr. Gilmore to the Stax thread!!!

I say the whole cryo BS is just that, BS and the phones are just custom made for Airbow. Subtle changes to the mylar treatment could account for the changes in sound signature.

The new SR-404 earpads are all but identical to the LE pads in shape so that is clearly not the issue

[Cynric]

Just last week I had a long and very friendly phonecall with a senior engineer from Stax Germany (sounded like he had been on board since at least the early 80s) and we talked about the 404Ltd too. He said that they used exactly the same drivers as the normal 404s do, with the only differences being the black color, the flatter real-leather pads and the silver plated cable. He also said that against his expectations (a a tech-guy) he was able to measure that they did in fact not have rolled-off treble (from around 20kHz on) as the normal 404s do, wich he says to be caused by the cable.

That leaves the much discussed better bass of the 404Ltds to be caused by the pads exclusively...

So no different drivers from the airbow-line, only pads. Gee, this starts reminding me of Grados/Alessandros...

[faust3d]

Just last week I had a long and very friendly phonecall with a senior engineer from Stax Germany (sounded like he had been on board since at least the early 80s) and we talked about the 404Ltd too. He said that they used exactly the same drivers as the normal 404s do, with the only differences being the black color, the flatter real-leather pads and the silver plated cable. He also said that against his expectations (a a tech-guy) he was able to measure that they did in fact not have rolled-off treble (from around 20kHz on) as the normal 404s do, wich he says to be caused by the cable.

That leaves the much discussed better bass of the 404Ltds to be caused by the pads exclusively...

So no different drivers from the airbow-line, only pads. Gee, this starts reminding me of Grados/Alessandros...

Need to get me these new pads to try

[spritzer]

Well a German Stax engineer would never even have heard about the Airbow as they aren't Stax and not sold outside of Japan. For those of us that have compared a stock 404 against a SR-SC1 side by side, both using the same pads, the difference is quite clear.

[Elephas]

Wow, some Airbow SR-SC1 talk in this thread, finally!

I would also appreciate Dr. Gilmore or someone enlightening us about the SR-SC1 vs. 404LTD vs. 404.

C'mon, Head-Case Stax thread, there must be someone who can do a full SR-SC1 vs. 404LTD vs. 404 comparison review. What the heck are the differences? I expect no less than 3000 words.

[Hens]

Hmmm, this talk of pads is interesting... is the actual driver housing the same between the 404 family?

[HeadphoneAddict]

I believe that I heard an Airbow at the Colorado '08 meet which was woodied by Headphile, and listened through my GES and SRM-1 Mk2 Pro. I posted that the mids sounded a bit recessed to me and the phones were a little on the bright side, which reminded me more of an SR-Lambda Pro. That was in comparison to my SR-Lambda. Did those belong to anyone here? Maybe Elephas?

I don't think those sounded anything like the SR-404LE that I bought last year, which were a little darker with smoother mids than my SR-Lambda (less etch). While I didn't compare them directly, I've compared both to the same pair of SR-Lambda as my reference. Did the Headphile mods cause that much of a change in the sound, that it no longer sounded like a 404LE?