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The Headcase Stax thread


thrice

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Never heard of that mod but it sounds like a great idea. Did he totally bypass the switcher too?

Oh, and when you're done with the comparisons with those crappy low bias phones that you'll never listen to ever again, I'll be happy to take that MkII off your hands ;D

Smeg, I have to assume he bypassed the switch, I won't really know until I hook it up. Hopefully it will act as a "mute" switch, because thats come in handy when I need to mute the sound from my Stax and just use my monitors, which run from the 840A's preamp.

Of course I'll keep you in mind when I decide to sell one of these. :)

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Thanks Jack. iirc the Lambda had a slightly recessed midrange (or I'm confusing it with the Lambda Pro). And they are a bit bright, but they weren't no where near as offensive as the SR-404. I'm hoping the bass on the Lambda is enough for me to rock out with until I get the SR-007. The integrated I'm leeching off has a warmer signature so that will help things.

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That's one of my mental foibles with the O2, as tempting as it may be I really prefer upfront than laid back. The 003 is great if I wazz up the treble a bit. The O2 descriptions all say laid back or dark or smooth and it doesn't sound like my kind of sound.

Ditto. That, together with the expense of driving the O2 properly, is what has so far prevented me from taking the plunge. I prefer an upfront sound and I don't like a dark sound signature (though I mind it less than an overly bright sound signature). I also like larger-than-life soundstages, inaccurate though they may be, for a very simple reason: 50% of my music listening is electronica, and there, it's the size of the headstage rather than the size of the soundstage that matters. O2 sounds like it will be too compressed for that.

On the upside, the midrange of the O2 sounds like exactly what I want. I've heard "bumped-up upper mids" tossed around in conjunction with the EH1.2, and that's one of my biggest sonic turn-offs.

So, I may end up with the O2 eventually, but I'll probably end up trying everything else first. Everything else meaning just the EH1.2B (and maybe 4070).

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Hey Stax Fans-

So I've got a few adapters sitting here at my house from a recent buying spree. I'm currently using an SRD-7/Pro, but I also have an SRD-7MKII, which I'd like to hook up so I can do comparisons between the OII and the normal bias Lambda. This particular MKII was modded before I bought it. Instead of a fixed speaker wire coming out the back, I'm supposed to run my own speaker wire from my amp to what was formerly speaker outputs on the back (apparently they are inputs now). Actually this sounds like a good thing, because I can run my own thicker speaker wire instead of using the thinner stock wires.

Just wondering if spritzer or anyone else has heard of these mods before I proceed and end up blowing my amp up or something. Not that I didn't trust the seller, but I figure its worth asking about. ;D

I have done something similar myself to a few adapters. You shouldn't be able to damage anything but it's always wise to pop the hood on modified gear. The wires from the speaker input can lead to 3 places, to the switch at the front (how it was done stock), directly to the pcb or the purist way of directly to the transformers.

Thanks Jack. iirc the Lambda had a slightly recessed midrange (or I'm confusing it with the Lambda Pro). And they are a bit bright, but they weren't no where near as offensive as the SR-404. I'm hoping the bass on the Lambda is enough for me to rock out with until I get the SR-007. The integrated I'm leeching off has a warmer signature so that will help things.

The recessed midrange is the Lambda Pro. The SR-Lambda is nothing like them and much better IMO. If you really want to rock out with the SR-Lambda then I'd try them without the mineral wool in place inside the cups.

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Am I the only one who can't keep all the stax model lines, names, combinations straight? :-[

Absolutely not. It is confusing that amps and cans are practically named the same thing and there are numerous lines over time. I have to look up most everything. Plus, the SR-Lambda vs. Lambda Pro vs. Lambda Signature thing has me currently bolloxed up and I even have two different pairs of them in my possession.

Speaking of things in my possession, I have been listening to the Hertsens Signature a lot and it is a great DAC. That said, I keep "forgetting" to pack it up and bring it to the office to ship to you. Tomorrow [hopefully]. Sorry. :-\

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Speaking of things in my possession, I have been listening to the Hertsens Signature a lot and it is a great DAC. That said, I keep "forgetting" to pack it up and bring it to the office to ship to you. Tomorrow [hopefully]. Sorry. :-\

No worries Al, I was in the office for 12hrs yesterday and am shooting for 14 today. I wouldn't be using it even if it was at home.

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Nope. I gave up long ago.

only one we have to remember is SR-007. ;D

Omega update: these headphones still kick ass. incredibly transparent. amazing with digital, even better with vinyl. Listened to the Classic Records 200g pressing of Alan Parsons' I Robot the past two nights before I went to bed, using the Denon DL-103 MC cart. Just a ridiculous music experience. The drums when "Don't Let It Show" kicks into high gear are insane.

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only one we have to remember is SR-007. ;D

Omega update: these headphones still kick ass. incredibly transparent. amazing with digital, even better with vinyl. Listened to the Classic Records 200g pressing of Alan Parsons' I Robot the past two nights before I went to bed, using the Denon DL-103 MC cart. Just a ridiculous music experience. The drums when "Don't Let It Show" kicks into high gear are insane.

I Robot is a great album. I wish I had the DVD-A :/

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Hey Stax Fans-

Currently I'm using an SRD-7/Pro with a Cambridge Audio 840A to power my OII, and obviously I'm quite thrilled with the combination. I can tell, however, that at higher volumes, the OII's performance starts to level out, and I know that it could get better with more power.

The only 'stat amp I could ever conceivably afford is a Headamp KGSS. Are there significant benefits with going with a dedicated KGSS as opposed to using a speaker amp with an adapter? Or is it more different shades of the same color?

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amazing with digital, even better with vinyl.

I've noticed this as well. Although, I would say after listening to the 840C + KGSS + SR-007 that the fault is probably the player a bit. The highs sound amazing... yup, amazing. The mids not so, there is some digital sound there and they are a bit thin sounding. Not so with either my analog setup or my Museatex NOS DAC, though the highs seem to suffer a bit. Makes me think that the upsampling adds a bit of "air" to the sound, much like BSC lift in speaker design if you're familiar with that.

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Hey Stax Fans-

Currently I'm using an SRD-7/Pro with a Cambridge Audio 840A to power my OII, and obviously I'm quite thrilled with the combination. I can tell, however, that at higher volumes, the OII's performance starts to level out, and I know that it could get better with more power.

The only 'stat amp I could ever conceivably afford is a Headamp KGSS. Are there significant benefits with going with a dedicated KGSS as opposed to using a speaker amp with an adapter? Or is it more different shades of the same color?

It's my experience that the tiny transformers in the SRD-7's can't deliver enough grunt for the SR-007, no matter the amp. I really think you should be the guinea pig for that Lundahl unit... ;D

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