The Headcase Stax thread

[DefQon]

Anyway here is the schematic for the Talent BD dac, minus the the PSU.

From what I've seen and been given info with, CN06 is the PSU connector to the external unit. Any idea on the exact voltage and current inputs? I was told it uses +/- 5 and 12v regulated power supplies. The K01 relay on my pcb indicates it operates on 5vdc, but the circuit mentions it as a 12vdc unit? Therefore maybe a higher supply to it i.e. 15v or so is needed?

Stax DAC-Talent_BD sch.pdf

Edited May 11, 2017 by DefQon

[kevin gilmore]

the pcm1702 definitely require + and - 5V, so that is the analog supplies

the +5v digital on the board has a regulator and the relay is 12v, so the digital supply would be 12V

 

[spritzer]

Round two of my DIY 'stats.  Again using SR-X driver shells but now with my own bias rings (laser cut aluminum) and 1.4um film.  This is more of a test bed for different glue and coating ideas but I have to say it sounds bloody awesome.  

I haven't received a large shipment of custom earpads so these are just using what I had sitting here.  Alternating between some cheapo Fostex TH900 clones off ebay and A-T leather units.  The sound changes a bit with the different earpads but not by a great deal.  I did try some old SR-007 pads and I didn't like them at all.  The thin, non-angled, A-T pads are excellent with this setup.  The sound is very lively, energetic and punchy.  I'm also narrowing down on the kind of soundstage I like, small but very precise.  Now the small drivers will never beat the larger ones in terms of bass output but the super stretched 1.4um film is pretty impressive here.  I don't find them bass anemic at all even though they clearly roll of earlier than the 007's. 

Next steps are more tests and I'm finishing up some new driver designs.  Not the cheapest option but I'm going to try to make as many prototypes as I can so I can test back and forth easily.  Guess I'll need some more storage space for the headphones then...   

In other news, I was looking for some earpads earlier and came across the Mr. Speakers Electrostatic pads.... now what the fuck are they smoking?  Huge internal area for an electrostatic?  This is the same amateur hour as King Sound. 

[2slow4u]

EP234BL can be considered a 1:1 replacement in terms of shape and thickness for a SR-Lambda NB?

Original pads are still usable but not in perfect conditions, I would like to replace them but I'm afraid the new pads will change the headphone sound, so I'm unsure...

[mypasswordis]

No, but it's the closest thing you can easily buy. Don't get the leather 507 ones, they are even thinner and I hear the L300 pads are even thinner than that

[2slow4u]

50 minutes ago, mypasswordis said:

No, but it's the closest thing you can easily buy. Don't get the leather 507 ones, they are even thinner and I hear the L300 pads are even thinner than that

LX00 pads are way too different to be used.

I think I will stay with the original one for the moment, thanks!

[Dave R]

Here are some photos of another headband I've done for my 009's, which is very similar to the other one I did sometime ago, but on this new one I sprayed the band matte black, whereas the other I covered with carbon fibre wrapping.

Now I've still got that other headband, but I'm keeping it as spare, not that I expect anything to happen to this new headband because it's very strong.

 

P.S. I've also started putting my 009's on this different stand.

 

 

[velinski]

Hello,

The previous owner of my SR-007 Mk2 headphones has had wrongly adjusted bias supply of a DIY KGSS for a short period of time (couple of days) and the diaphragms have arced several times (by loud pops) - based on his words. Is it possible to check the condition of the diaphragms from the outside without disassembling the drivers?

Thank you

[chinsettawong]

1 hour ago, velinski said:

Hello,

The previous owner of my SR-007 Mk2 headphones has had wrongly adjusted bias supply of a DIY KGSS for a short period of time (couple of days) and the diaphragms have arced several times (by loud pops) - based on his words. Is it possible to check the condition of the diaphragms from the outside without disassembling the drivers?

Thank you

Unfortunately, it's impossible to check the diaphragm without opening up the housing and disassembling the driver. 

Edited May 25, 2017 by chinsettawong

[DefQon]

@spritzer, where does one get the tube rings you used on your Octave amplifier you're selling? 

[spritzer]

Some seller on ebay at some point.  No idea when...I just buy random crap when I see it.   

[Whitigir]

On 5/25/2017 at 6:57 AM, velinski said:

Hello,

The previous owner of my SR-007 Mk2 headphones has had wrongly adjusted bias supply of a DIY KGSS for a short period of time (couple of days) and the diaphragms have arced several times (by loud pops) - based on his words. Is it possible to check the condition of the diaphragms from the outside without disassembling the drivers?

Thank you

How did he know it arced ? Wouldn't it burn the diaphragm ? Loud pop could be Stax Farts ?

[wink]

4 hours ago, spritzer said:

(snip)...I just buy random crap when I see it.   

This MUST be the place for you....     https://schiit.com/

[spritzer]

Even I don't stoop that low...  One thing I'm interested in is a new DAC since I just sold the MSB.  Sure as hell not going to waste money on the Yggdrasil...

[kevin gilmore]

I don't stoop that low either.  I have 4 pieces of schiit.  The joutunheim broke me. That's not a piece of schiit, its a piece of shit.

you can't leave it on for more than about 8 hours, it starts to cook.

[mypasswordis]

6 hours ago, Whitigir said:

How did he know it arced ? Wouldn't it burn the diaphragm ? Loud pop could be Stax Farts ?

Now I think you need to check your diaphragms... Stax farts sound nothing like loud pops. 

[Whitigir]

51 minutes ago, mypasswordis said:

Now I think you need to check your diaphragms... Stax farts sound nothing like loud pops. 

This makes me curious, I know Stax fart, but what are these loud pops ?

[gepardcv]

I tried several Schiit amps, both at home and at shows, and most had something unpleasant going on. Most run crazy hot to the touch (not at all surprised the Jotunheim cooked itself), some have awfully scratchy and noisy volume controls, and some have appalling noise floors (with the Valhalla I heard with an HD800, the hiss drowned out the music). I've always been surprised that they come so highly recommended.

But the DACs always seemed pretty decent. What's objectionable about the Yggy? (I don't have one, so not defending it. Just curious.)

[purk]

I agree in on the amps.  The Mjolnir 1 was bassy and lack depth cues.  The Yggy has proven to be a very strong contender.  It sounds noticeably better than M51, Oppo HA-1 & 105, and all of my modified SACD players that I have on hand.  For hi-rez PCMs playback, it surpassed the new Matrix X-Sabre Pro but loose out on a native DSD playback on the Matrix DAC.  

[kevin gilmore]

I have never listened to the yggy, and likely never will. No DSD!

The amps are all designs from the 70's and sound like it too. hard to tell which is worse, jotunheim or liquid carbon. Both have the same failure modes.

[Pars]

3 hours ago, gepardcv said:

I tried several Schiit amps, both at home and at shows, and most had something unpleasant going on. Most run crazy hot to the touch (not at all surprised the Jotunheim cooked itself), some have awfully scratchy and noisy volume controls, and some have appalling noise floors (with the Valhalla I heard with an HD800, the hiss drowned out the music). I've always been surprised that they come so highly recommended.

But the DACs always seemed pretty decent. What's objectionable about the Yggy? (I don't have one, so not defending it. Just curious.)

And why all the amp models? How about one done right and works? I guess that doesn't drive the upgrade business model well though...

[DefQon]

I thought Kevin and Birgir liked Schiit based on what they are doing and not gloss there headphones with bs prices and other bs like Cavalli and Co. does?

[spritzer]

That was back in the day...now not so much.  They are responsible for the whole watt per dollar bullshit which nobody wins in.  I call it the rise of Class B... 

[kevin gilmore]

magni, magni2, magni2uber, jotunheim,liquid carbon, and the new headroom amplifier. None of these things have heatsinks of any kind on the output transistors and thermal stability is questionable, and then they overheat, and long term reliability is non-existant. there is a reason why you are supposed to put the thermal compensation diodes as close as possible to the output devices. Same problem with the singlepower squarewave but a bit more dramatic.

[wink]

On 27/05/2017 at 7:26 AM, kevin gilmore said:

I have never listened to the yggy, and likely never will. No DSD!

Forget the DSD, Get the YGGY..........