The Headcase Stax thread

[spritzer]

So I got those ESP950 leather pads and I kinda like them. 

Now the opening is much smaller than even the ebay pads and they are taller too.  The sound...well it does clear up some of the ESP950's issues to some extent such as the boomy bass and vague sound stage.  I need some further listening but yeah...not bad at all. 

I also had them make some SR-Omega pads and these won't work.  Too thick, not big enough and the opening is too small... 

[Imformat]

A lowly headfi'er looking for more information on alternate amplication for a newly acquired sr-007A, comes across this gem of a thread. Safe to say i'm convinced the carbon is the way to go, hoping it clears up a lot of issues I have with the srm 007TA.

I was also wondering exactly how the output current impacts High frequency reproduction? I read somewhere along the way that the higher current output amps have more zing in the treble?

[spritzer]

More current certainly doesn't make an amp brighter, anybody who would write that knows fuck all about this.  With everything equal more current will give you better high frequency drive capability into the given load.  That means a more stable voltage swing as you push the amp harder. 

One of the main issues with Stax is just this, the diaphragm starts to act up as it is capable of pretty amazing frequency response but the amps just can't handle it at full load.  Stax "fix" this by dulling sound of the amps to make them a better fit but it sounds like shit that way. 

[Imformat]

Okay, that makes more sense. Treble is one of the key areas that are an issue for me. The stax amp just doesn't get it right, I would have thought it was the sr-007 till I read around that it was not so capable. My carbon gets in tomorrow, and I believe it was actually built by someone who posted pictures of it in this very thread lol. Here is to hoping for better sound.

[Whitigir]

Do we have any mighty DAC that match with KgSSHV Carbon ?

[kunalraiker]

1 hour ago, Whitigir said:

Do we have any mighty DAC that match with KgSSHV Carbon ?

Any decent DAC like the Lampizator or Total DAC.

[morphsci]

38 minutes ago, kunalraiker said:

Any decent DAC like the Lampizator or Total DAC.

Can a statement be an oxymoron?

[spritzer]

46 minutes ago, kunalraiker said:

Any decent DAC like the Lampizator or Total DAC.

Are you retarded by any chance?  Seriously, both of those are truly fucktastic choices...  Lampizator is utter shit only for people who don't believe in the laws of physics and Total DAC is way too expensive for what you are getting. 

[Quixote79]

37 minutes ago, spritzer said:

Are you retarded by any chance?  Seriously, both of those are truly fucktastic choices...  Lampizator is utter shit only for people who don't believe in the laws of physics and Total DAC is way too expensive for what you are getting. 

dunno bout any psychic lawn, but totally utterly agree those indeed fantastic choices ...and well worth the money

[Dusty Chalk]

Does anyone else smell a shillstorm a-brewin'?  

[spritzer]

Yup sure do but this isn't HF or SBAF where being retarded is the norm...  Please give me some posts about micro detail, plankton and replacing the cables!!! 

 

[justreadingup]

Holo Spring DAC?

[spritzer]

Sure or Denafrips.  I wouldn't spend more than 1k$ now on a dac as things are changing fast. 

[Dusty Chalk]

58 minutes ago, spritzer said:

Yup sure do but this isn't HF or SBAF where being retarded is the norm...  Please give me some posts about micro detail, plankton and replacing the cables!!! 

Wait, micro-detail and plankton aren't the same thing?  I thought they were.

I got your micro-detail right here (grabs crotch).

19 minutes ago, Pars said:

or risk overheating the ban hammer

Naw, it'll be fine, just think of it like whack-a-mole.  Complete with squeak noises.

[johnwmclean]

He’s fooling, it was sarcasm right?

[Dusty Chalk]

Hard to tell without micro-detail.  Non-Unicode ASCII is only 8-bit, innit?

[zolkis]

On 3/16/2017 at 10:30 PM, spritzer said:

I also had them make some SR-Omega pads and these won't work.  Too thick, not big enough and the opening is too small... 

Those original SR-Omega pads...drool... They are so well designed. I forgot to take measurements when I had access, and now I regret... If you could measure them at each point where they change dimensions, that is, 4 positions for height, 2 for the inner and outer diameter (they look like slightly oval in the opening), and the heights of the bottom sewing, I could try to get them made.

One problem though, the internal foam filling may be unavailable today, and if other foam is used, it will alter the sound, so it will need manual tuning vs the originals.

The closest stock pads seem to be the 009 pads, but they are a tiny bit shallower and slightly smaller and have different bottom. 

[zolkis]

IMHO the Carbon is good enough that instead of matching a DAC, or source to the Carbon, rather match it to the headphones - if you need to match at all. FWIW I like the better TDA1541 and PCM63 DACs of old. Wadia, older Parasound, Theta, vintage Philips etc. With improved PSUs these rock the higher res DACs into the ground :).

The Yggy will work with the 007 but might be bright with the 009 - a Gumby is likely a safer buy, used. I just prefer the more relaxed, more dynamic and deeper tone of the older DACs. The Holo Spring looks interesting, but I didn't hear it. I'd also recommend the EC Designs DACs, old or new or yet unreleased. John Brown always made sense for me. 

Just my 2 cents - listen to your own cortex.

[kunalraiker]

Shit, what just happened.

Ignore my recommendation, let  your ears be the judge.

Iam certain they won't lie.

[3x0]

On 3/16/2017 at 1:30 PM, spritzer said:

I also had them make some SR-Omega pads and these won't work.  Too thick, not big enough and the opening is too small... 

Are those the original SR-O pads on the right (IME they look more brownish IRL but could just be the lighting)?

If so, those are in pretty rough shape. I guess the Omega does deserve a lot of head time...

[JimL]

3 hours ago, kunalraiker said:

Shit, what just happened.

Ignore my recommendation, let  your ears be the judge.

Iam certain they won't lie.

Do a search earlier in this thread around 12/02/16 to 12/11/16 to see what reliable people here think of Lampizator.  It ain't pretty.

[spritzer]

1 hour ago, 3x0 said:

Are those the original SR-O pads on the right (IME they look more brownish IRL but could just be the lighting)?

If so, those are in pretty rough shape. I guess the Omega does deserve a lot of head time...

Yup, those are original ca. 1994 Omega pads. 

[Arthrimus]

I've got a question for the great Stax minds here on Head-Case. My SR-Lambda Nova Signatures have had minor channel imbalance from the day I got them almost a year ago. Since then the imbalance has not gotten any worse so I believe them to be stable. Obviously recoating the drivers is not realistically possible, but I was wondering if anybody had any ideas for a method of electrically attenuating the louder driver to match the quieter one without having split volume control on the amp. It would be awesome if I had a solution that wouldn't require L/R adjustment on the amp or source. The exact electrical properties of electrostatic headphones elude my understanding so I really don't know. 

Edited March 24, 2017 by Arthrimus

[Pirx]

58 minutes ago, Arthrimus said:

Obviously recoating the drivers is not realistically possible ....

It is possible. I have recoated  two pairs of old Lambda Signature and they work fine.

There is a risk of breaking mylar as I did for the first time, when I was opening driver.

But any other try was without issues.

[Arthrimus]

While that doesn't fill me with confidence, I might take a crack at it if there are no other options. Can you explain the process you used for success?

Edited March 24, 2017 by Arthrimus