The Headcase Stax thread

[willsw]

I'm considering getting some custom Stax-style jacks made and thinking that the most reliable way would be to get the measurements from an actual Stax jack. There are some cheap 5-pin electret amps out there that I wouldn't mind paying to possibly destroy, so I'm wondering: is that socket exactly the same as the Pro 5-pin? 

[MLA]

KG posted this long ago in another thread:

 

STAX jack

Imagine the socket as a 6 pin with the 6th pin missing, but at position 0,0 (x,y)

The rest of the pins are at

0,. 2175

-.2175, 0

+.2175, 0

-.1087, -.1883

+.1087, -.1883

(in inches)

[willsw]

3 hours ago, MLA said:

KG posted this long ago in another thread:

That's useful, thank you. I have gone through a few threads found here and around about making the jack, but the part that will probably be most difficult and requiring measurement is machining the female pins. I suppose it could be cheaper to inversely determine things by using a plug as the model. 

[MLA]

Someone else on the forum (can't remember who just now unfortunately) recommended these for female pins:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10pc-CMC-8P-Tube-Socket-Gold-plated-Pin-Hex-Snap-Hole-2x10mm-6V6-6L6-5AR4-6SN7-/130342224494?hash=item1e5900826e

I've used them on multiple builds. They are tight so need a little pre-bending out before you put them in the connector, but work fine for me.

Edited December 14, 2017 by MLA

[Pars]

I think luvdunhill has sourced pins for some Stax jacks before as well. Can’t remember where though.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mwl168]

 I can confirm the pins MLA linked to work. I have bought these pins from the same seller on the US eBay and they work well for both the Stax headphone sockets and the octal tube sockets.

Edited December 14, 2017 by mwl168

[Blueman2]

On 9/25/2017 at 2:01 PM, johnwmclean said:

Thanks guys that’s a relief, my serial is SZ2 - 2301, the box is minty fresh and headphones are immaculate, they sound darn good too...  

I too was worried.  Just bought a brand new pair of SR-007A and was surprised to see the SZ2 serial number.  But they look brand new, still in the box with plastic sealed around the box.  BTW, johnwmclean, I am 230x, so ours were probably born on the same week!!  Or, given the random serial numbers, years apart!?!

Edited December 15, 2017 by Blueman2

[spritzer]

It's impossible to tell what Stax are up to, even whether they have messed with the design yet again.  I mean they were perfect or just about but since when has that stopped anybody from messing with a design? 

[Blueman2]

7 hours ago, spritzer said:

It's impossible to tell what Stax are up to, even whether they have messed with the design yet again.  I mean they were perfect or just about but since when has that stopped anybody from messing with a design? 

I plan to get used to mine for about 2 weeks, then will do port and spring mod as necessary to judge the difference.  Will report back with pictures....

Edited December 15, 2017 by Blueman2

[willsw]

Thanks for letting me know about those pins. I'll let you know what happens with the project. 

[jose]

On ‎15‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 3:27 AM, Blueman2 said:

I too was worried.  Just bought a brand new pair of SR-007A and was surprised to see the SZ2 serial number.  But they look brand new, still in the box with plastic sealed around the box.  BTW, johnwmclean, I am 230x, so ours were probably born on the same week!!  Or, given the random serial numbers, years apart!?!

I want to buy some SR-007A but it looks like a lottery.

[Blueman2]

1 hour ago, jose said:

I want to buy some SR-007A but it looks like a lottery.

To be clear, the SERIAL NUMBER is a lottery, but the model is the same as the current builds.  Only difference is color (black for export, silver for japan).  

There are a lot of articles by otherwise knowledgeable people saying SZ2 and SZ3 indicate different models.  This appears to be wrong.  

Edited December 18, 2017 by Blueman2

[Hopstretch]

Problem is, as Biggie says, no one really knows. Stax works in mysterious ways!

[spritzer]

Yeah, they might even be doing this just to fuck with us.  On top of this...the SR-007A is now available in black color...   

I might pickup a new set in the new year to try out the current crop just to make sure they haven't changed them yet again.  That and the new SR-009 project will be thrown into full force.  Basically...I'm going to make new diaphragms for the 009's to change how they sound i.e. how they should have sounded in the first fucking place. 

[johnwmclean]

5 hours ago, spritzer said:

...I'm going to make new diaphragms for the 009's to change how they sound i.e. how they should have sounded in the first fucking place. 

Like a 007? 

[spritzer]

Let's just say not so fucking harsh and hard sounding. 

[chinsettawong]

Could you take a lot of pictures to show the inside of the driver?

[spritzer]

Will do but somebody posted this pic...

What the fuck happened here I have no idea... 

[chinsettawong]

Wow.  Those are pretty bad arc spots.

[Pirx]

I wonder what happened? Do we have any others pics and any informations?

[spritzer]

No idea and I can't remember where I found that pic.  None of the modern Stax amps or our designs can do this as they are heavily current limited into the drivers. 

[chinsettawong]

The picture could be from my thread on the other site.  I remember I saw it sometime ago.  Since the stators are not insulated and with too high volume played, the arc is very possible.  

[spritzer]

Sure but with the 5.1K output resistors the current needed to do this amount of damage simply isn't possible. 

[xequtor12]

I'm getting a slight buzzing sound coming from the left ear speaker of my L-700. I got them hooked up to a Woo-Wee which is connected to a Teac-Ai-100. The buzzing stops when I touch any metal object so I'm assuming it's a grounding issue. I tried using a HUM-X on the woo wee and teac and nothing changed. Any ideas on how to fix it? Or are my Earspeakers defective?

[Craig Sawyers]

I've got a permanent slight buzzing sound in my left ear. You think you've got problems?