The Headcase Stax thread

[spritzer]

I'd say Rudi finally figured out how bad the Egmont of Circlefuck really are, not that they aren't the exact same amp. I've built a couple of these Egmont type amps and how Rudi builds them they are worth about 250$. The parts quality is a joke and performance wise they are far behind the Stax tube amps. Now you can modify the circuit and put in a proper PSU but Rudi could never figure out how to do so. Add some feedback and throw out the crappy 6SN7's and it isn't a bad little amp, in fact that's what I initially wanted to use for the Poorman amp project.

There is also one fun fact about the Rudistor amps, they will destroy your headphones as an added bonus on top of the retarded asking price. Bias supplies should be low impedance which is why Stax always used a voltage divider when they fed them off the B+ just to make sure no current could get trhough. That's also why you never see caps much larger then 0.1uf in any bias supply (the Beyer ET1000 has 1uf but that one is special) but Rudi uses 32uf. It's stupid beyond comprehension...

[pidesd]

hi guys,

i would need your expertise regarding a potential purchase. i ve been looking for some stax lambda NB and someone on head-fi has some to sell and says it needs a bit of work like reglueing pads and drivers. the thing is he s unsure how they are supposed to be brand new. so judging from these pictures, is there anything wrong with the lambdas you could notice?

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[manaox2]

hi guys,

i would need your expertise regarding a potential purchase. i ve been looking for some stax lambda NB and someone on head-fi has some to sell and says it needs a bit of work like reglueing pads and drivers. the thing is he s unsure how they are supposed to be brand new. so judging from these pictures, is there anything wrong with the lambdas you could notice?

Picasa Web Albums - 11697549497371630... - Recently Updated

Those don't have the damping wool behind the driver and seem to have an odd film put over the screen to make a new kind of dust guard I've never seen before on lambdas. The arc appears to be home made, thats not stax made. I'd be leery of those.

[pidesd]

yeah i was not sure about the wool as i didnt know this model had to have wool. thanks for pointing this out. dont know if the wool is hard to find or if it can be replaced with something else though. the seller also said the headband was custom made and that he replaced the mylar himself. the guy is nicknamed malldian FYI. he seems honnest as far as i know. he has good feedback and i already bought some headphones from him.

the price is 160 shipped. what do you think? i m pretty handy but rely a bit on your knowledge to piece it back as it should be...

FT/FS: Stax Lambda 160 plus ship - Page 3 - Head-Fi.org Community

the cable is fine according to him but not cosmetically perfect.

[The Monkey]

I would pass on those.

[cetoole]

I would pass on those.

x1000000

[spritzer]

Stay far away from those. First off, the cable entry has been hacked, the arc is a joke and just look at the corrosion on the drivers. I wouldn't pay 5$ for those...

[Deadneddz]

awww, but its got J-Money leather on there and his mother took the pictures...

but yeah seriously, there's a reason why that set hasn't sold yet...

[Cynric]

His mother needs to learn how to focus her camera...

Also why did he put that mylar in? Did some of the lambdas not have the metal grille in front of the drivers? If not, how do you manage to destroy the old mylar through the grille anyway?

for the price asked, you should be able to get a decent pair in much better condition as well..

[Sherwood]

Those are a bit of a mess. The mylar alone is enough to scare me off, but one has to ask oneself -- how did the original Arc assembly get busted? These things are old, and if they were mistreated at any time in the past, you want to know how much and by whom. It's not like there are warehouses full of spare parts for old Staxen - even owners of brand new sets have a hell of a time getting Stax to ship them replacement anythings.

All that adds up to a big stay away. I think a decent pair in much better condition would demand more cash, but that's largely because I know my pair is worth much more than any other $160 phone on the planet.

[spritzer]

Also why did he put that mylar in? Did some of the lambdas not have the metal grille in front of the drivers? If not, how do you manage to destroy the old mylar through the grille anyway?

There is a metal grille on all the Lambda/Sigma drivers and I've seen dust covers tear over the years even with the grille in place. As for the arc's, just sitting on them is enough to break them.

[Sherwood]

just sitting on them is enough to break them.

That's true, but plenty of other things could have broken it as well. With something so irreplaceable as a NB lambda, I'd prefer to know rather than guess, especially for $160.

[spritzer]

Yeah, the cable certainly is damaged and knowing this fucknut soldered directly to the drivers doesn't inspire me with confidence...

[mypasswordis]

Aren't the tabs connected directly to the drivers? Or did he literally solder directly to them and somehow the tabs are gone?

Also, Stax, bitches.

[manaox2]

I would never sell my NB Lambdas for less then $300 honestly. They are worth it.

[Sherwood]

Amen to that.

[cetoole]

Aren't the tabs connected directly to the drivers? Or did he literally solder directly to them and somehow the tabs are gone?

Also, Stax, bitches.

Soldered to the tabs, which are directly connected to the stators (no big deal) and diaphragm (big deal). Too much heat, especially on the bias line, and you will have problems. And I don't trust that he did a good, quick, clean job of it, plus all of the other issues.

I would never sell my NB Lambdas for less then $300 honestly. They are worth it.

Me either. I would buy another pair though, if I could find a minty one.

[HeadphoneAddict]

We still have 2 pair of NB Lambda, while the 2 Lambda Pro and 1 Lambda Sig are gone... Great phones.

[cetoole]

Yeah, I sold my Lambda pro and sig too.

[mypasswordis]

I have one pro and two sigs? But one of them will be converted to possibly NB with your drivers which may or may not be NB drivers. I think they are.

[manaox2]

Sold my pro and sig too... wow.

[cetoole]

I have one pro and two sigs? But one of them will be converted to possibly NB with your drivers which may or may not be NB drivers. I think they are.

Might be, I should listen again, been a couple months. Just O2s, JH16, and speakers recently.

[KrypticMind]

Sold two imbalalanced sigs, but not my pros. Every sig I've listened to is imbalanced...

[mypasswordis]

Sold two imbalalanced sigs, but not my pros. Every sig I've listened to is imbalanced...

I never bothered to figure out what was wrong with the one I bought from you, but I think whatever the issue is will be fixable when I get around to it. It may involve complete disassembly of the drivers... but it is fixable. Maybe I'll redo the mylar diaphragms and make a little project out of it.

[deepak]

hi guys,

i would need your expertise regarding a potential purchase. i ve been looking for some stax lambda NB and someone on head-fi has some to sell and says it needs a bit of work like reglueing pads and drivers. the thing is he s unsure how they are supposed to be brand new. so judging from these pictures, is there anything wrong with the lambdas you could notice?

Picasa Web Albums - 11697549497371630... - Recently Updated

NB = normal bias?

If so you can find working pairs in good condition for around $200.