The Headcase Stax thread

[Dusty Chalk]

We usually have separate threads for that. E.G. here & here.

And yes, I have been known to listen to horribly recorded music, only because the music is so good. I have found the better the system, the easier it is to listen to what is usually otherwise painful. Tubes, especially, seem to make a lot of otherwise intolerable music quite listenable. Euphony FTW.

[aardvark baguette]

The better the music, the worse the recording quality.

Exceptions being Steely Dan and jazz.

[postjack]

That DTB "Already Free" is a fantastic recording. Sounds great on vinyl too.

[digger945]

That DTB "Already Free" is a fantastic recording. Sounds great on vinyl too.

I can't find that album, but the other DTB stuff(listening on Grooveshark) is.... oh yea.

Definitely on Santa's list.

[Elephas]

I must admit, the SACD disc of Michael Jackson - Thriller sounds really very good. The song "Thriller" sends goosebumps crawling up my trunk.

I recall hearing this song when it was released, when I was even more of a baby than now, watching the MTV with mouth agape, flapping ears and wide eyes, and then a few more times over the intervening years. I was never a big MJ fan (my unfortunate musical tastes tend towards even more simplistic bubblegum-type pop, eg. "annoying crap").

But on a reasonably good electrostatic headphone system, hopefully an EL34-based amp and that amazing Thriller SACD, it is an unforgettable experience that every head-fier, oops head-caser, should experience at least once.

[wink]

Elephas posted:-

head-fier,

.

He swore, he swore.......

Shame on you, naughty pachyderm......

[mypasswordis]

After I plugged the ESP6 into my receiver to make sure both channels were working, I opened it up and took out the disintegrating foam. Which was actually in better condition than the ESP10 foam, this time the foam looked fine until you touched it and chunks broke off. None of it "oozed" onto the PCB/components. The ESP6 and ESP10 share the fact that for some reason Koss really didn't like to use solder and so they have little posts for all the wires which are held in by "locking in." The ESP10 had the wires crimped to washers which were held into the posts by hex nuts. The PCBs are held in with posts/hex nuts. Pretty funny stuff.

[mypasswordis]

Yeah uh, just kidding. The real foam is on the other side, and just like the foam in the ESP10. Nasty nasty stuff. Now I'm trying to trace through the PCB circuit of the ESP6A which seems to be much more complex than the ESP6. Also I'm 90% sure they really did cut out napkins to use for damping, as there are some flower designs on one side that look a lot like they came from napkins. The ESP10 has Kleenex type tissue paper.

[spritzer]

That was the Koss way of "improving" its models, make them ever more complex. The ESP9 is so bloody complex that it is just absurd. It also took them two major revisions (i.e. ESP9B) and countless minor ones to stop using a shared return path for the speaker input. Bye, bye bridged amps...

[Spychedelic Whale]

Interesting stax mode pic [ATTACH=CONFIG]4137[/ATTACH]

[spritzer]

I'd guess an Egmont from the tubes used...

[glac1er]

That's not one done by me. I designed those boards and that loop through setup works with only one version of the SRD-7's so I dropped it on later versions of the boards. My advice would be to move the wires so that the colors are correct or clean up the over all wiring inside the box and connect the transformers directly to the binding posts on the back of the unit. This would remove the switching setup and the umbilical but also results in a purer signal path where signal and power lines aren't mixed together. That's what I do to all the unit's I've modded plus installing better binding posts on the back.

Thanks for clarifying, didn't know that you made the board . I'm not really good at electronics, but I will probably ask a friend to help me with this mod. Purer signal is very welcomed for any Stax setup.

hi glacier, it was already a long time, but as far as I can remember it is because the input wire is switched, from the table on the left, black and red input wire is R+ and R- respectively, thus the yellow transformer input is wired to black and vice versa, I really don't remember why I did it, but easy way to test if the wiring is out of phase is to switch the wiring form the speaker output,

. I tried your suggestions to switch the L and R and the problem is now gone. No more of out of phase soundstage and the problem with fuzzy highs is gone. My Lambda sounds real nice now. Thanks.

[mypasswordis]

Took out the PCBs, stripped the outer insulation off a ESP-950 extension cable so I could ram it up the strain relief, cut off the female end and attached it to the male plug, soldered wires onto the wires that go through the headband, used the hex nuts to hold the wires to the posts connected to the appropriate parts of the drivers, hammered and plier'd out the center pin on an Amphenol plug, made the 950 to pro bias Stax adapter, added thick felt to the backs of the cups, screwed and put everything back together again. After plugging into SRD-7/SB found out I didn't wire the adapter correctly FFFFUUUUUUUU. Will fix tomorrow, almost done.

[mypasswordis]

I was wondering what the hell I did wrong, since I was getting the correct continuities from the wires to the plug. Until I measured between the pins and discovered oh shit, L- and R- are tied together. I measured the chassis and sure enough L- and R- were connected through the chassis.

[mypasswordis]

Now that I've got them working, I need new pads for them. Seems like most people order whatever new replacements from Koss (that are no longer liquid filled) but just wondering is there a better alternative? The earpads need to be massive and oblong, O2 pads don't fit.

[luvdunhill]

Staxed Lambda pads?

[mypasswordis]

Hm, perhaps oblong wasn't the right word. But they're not oval-shaped, definitely not circle or rectangular shaped, but kind of.. in between, in sort of an ear shape. Kind of like this (ESP9):

This is the ESP6 fitted with new Koss pads:

I wish I could find my camera so I could just take pics...

[spritzer]

For earpads I think the Pro AAA or something like that is the modern equivalent.

These headphones used a grounded back stator to diminish the back wave output so you need to start cutting up the drivers. I never had any issues since I never bothered with the original fittings.

[mypasswordis]

I used some insulating washers so now they are operating like a normal dipole. It may be interesting to see what happens when they are grounded though. Yeah I was going to see if there was anything better since the Koss pads don't seem too great. But then again they are $5.

[The Expanding Man]

This bandwagon has been trundling along now for 366 pages, so it's time I jumped on it.

I've had a good run of luck lately, spare cash in the bank, paid for me & Mrs Expanding to have a nice holiday, some (to my eye at least) good audio deals to be had.

Firstly, I picked up a nice pair of SRX Mk 3. Then, needing something to drive them, I picked up a Lamba and SRM-1.

Last night, a set of O2 Mk 1 on audiogon dropped their price to a reasonable level, so they were also picked up.

I'm in Perth, Australia, and have little opportunity to audition amps. This thread would suggest that the SRM-1 will be adequate at best for driving the O2's.

I can afford a KGSS from Justin. If I wait a few months, I can probably afford a BH. Is the BHSE still available?

I've also scanned the KGSSHV thread, so waiting for this project to develop is also an option.

Looking for advice/experiences as auditioning is not an option for me.

My current source is a stock denon 3910. A better dac is also on the cards down the track.

[The Monkey]

Get the BHSE.

[HDen]

If you find a kgss/bhse for sale grab it, especially since you've purchased the O2s so you'd want a good amp to power them asap

[manaox2]

Get the BHSE.

No contest.

[The Expanding Man]

Get the BHSE.

Is it still available? I could't find a direct link on the head amp site, just to the BH.

[The Expanding Man]

Is it still available? I could't find a direct link on the head amp site, just to the BH.

Forget that, I've worked it out.