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The Headcase Stax thread


thrice

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OK Staxen, I have a question:

A local guy has the following for $2300, firm:

STAX Omega II's Earspeaker plus 007t Tube Amplifier. Please note that photos shows that this comes complete with 20 ft extension cord, earspeaker stand with clear plastic cover which were all extra cost items you would want.

1203106308.jpg

What say you on the deal-meter? I am buying a 4070 also, and was considering the 007tII new, although I have not checked out prices yet. I am also thinking of giving the O2s a real shot since so many people say that they are all that when given time.

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hmmmmm that gives me an idea... Spritzer needs to start smack-talking the SR-Omega once he gets the HeAudio... and drive the SR-Omega price down, and the availability up! :prettyprincess:

Sounds like a plan. I know that the current SR-Lambda price is all my fault... ;D

Its a pretty good deal, not a great deal, IMO. $2000 would be a great deal. :)

I'm no Stax expert though.

The stand and cover are about 40$ used, the phones can be had for 1k$ in Japan, the amp for less and the 5m extension costs 90$ new. Considering it isn't a gray import the price is quite good.

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You need to rebias it if you replace the tubes (and again later) or if you change its power (I.E. if you move it to a state with a different grid). It's a bit of a pain to do (for the first time as well as the umpteenth) but the instructions are somewhere on head-fi.
Fixed that for you.

If you don't want to concern yourself with biasing, get a solid state, either the 717 (used) or 727A (current TOTL solid-state model). Or a KGSS.

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Fixed that for you.

If you don't want to concern yourself with biasing, get a solid state, either the 717 (used) or 727A (current TOTL solid-state model). Or a KGSS.

That is true enough so just get a Blue Hawaii. Easy to bias (unless you just had to get the Black Gates like I did...) and beats the pants of every other amp. ;D

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"via SRD7 MkII adapter and Almarro. It really doesn't get much better than Almarro/electrostat!"

OK I missed this comment when it was originally addressed to me, or it went right over my head.

where does one get an SRD7 MkII, eg is it a current product or something I have to pick up in used market?

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"via SRD7 MkII adapter and Almarro. It really doesn't get much better than Almarro/electrostat!"

OK I missed this comment when it was originally addressed to me, or it went right over my head.

where does one get an SRD7 MkII, eg is it a current product or something I have to pick up in used market?

SRD7 MkII ? No, you don't want one of them. Old transformer boxes long out of production and total crap. Overpriced too. You'd be much better off getting a real amp.

**hopes he fell for it**

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"via SRD7 MkII adapter and Almarro. It really doesn't get much better than Almarro/electrostat!"

OK I missed this comment when it was originally addressed to me, or it went right over my head.

where does one get an SRD7 MkII, eg is it a current product or something I have to pick up in used market?

If you can't find a Mk2 it is easy enough to either buy the Illusion unit from Japan or convert a normal bias SRD-7 to Pro status with a new bias circuit. I would also rewire the thing directly to the windings of the transformers with some nice wire.

The Mk2 is rather rare but I try to snap them up every one I can find them and I even had 3 sitting in a row once waiting to be shipped out... :D

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You have 3??? oh man, please cough one up...

any suggestion on where to find one of these, or just post WTB ads?

(I'm aware of the Illusion, bit pricey for what it is, but maybe that'll be my fallback eventually)

I had 3 but they are all sold a long time ago. I might get some more from Japan but i don't know when.

You can find them on ebay from time to time but the price is very high unless you stumble on some BIN listing. WTB ads are always a good way and so is searching locally.

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I would also rewire the thing directly to the windings of the transformers with some nice wire.

I once opened SRD7 MkII to see what can be done. There's an unbelievable amount of wiring going to everywhere, and of course, you can't check continuity with multimeter due to transformers. Any Cliff's note version of which transformer wire to where to bypass the switch?

staxsrd7mk207835a02ba2.jpg

staxsrd7mk208851ad1wt7.jpg

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OK just to spite Smeggy, I placed an order for an HE 1.2b. I figure it'll take about 2 months before it surfaces.

now I need to really find one of these SRD7mkII...

[even if these HE 1.2b are in spitting distance of HE90, then it's worth a shot]

Don't forget, Electrostats always sound best when you've just come out of the shower and your hair is really wet. :angel:

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I got multiple offers by placing a WTB ad on HF and bumping it every 2 days. Prices quoted were always around $200.

That's rather cheap at 200$+. The Ebay norm is closer to 400$.

I once opened SRD7 MkII to see what can be done. There's an unbelievable amount of wiring going to everywhere, and of course, you can't check continuity with multimeter due to transformers. Any Cliff's note version of which transformer wire to where to bypass the switch?

The transformer color code is this, yellow and black are the input wires (doesn't matter which is + or -) while the red and blue are the output wires and the green is the CT. You can connect directly to the yellow and black wires from the amp, thus bypassing both the switch and the PCB and you can also bypass the other side by connecting directly to the Stax plugs. If you have the black SB version then you need to connect the left transformer to the small trafo on the back panel or you get no bias.

If you want to do this properly it is best to bypass all of the crap wire Stax used and go directly to the solid core copper windings. You only have to cut the wax paper on each side of the trafo and push it apart to reveal the solder joints. Be careful with heat though as it will kill the trafo.

I have a few Stax trafos around from really bad SRD-7's that I scrapped for parts but they simply pale besides the transformers Koss used in the E/10 unit. The Koss unit is 4kg easy and the transformers are about half that. So if you can find one on the cheap snap it up and use the transformers.

Btw. This new SR-X Mk3 Pro I just made sounds really good! ;D

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