The Headcase Stax thread

[spritzer]

Have you tried to bend the arcs at all? This was also my longstanding objection to the Mk1 but once I found the perfect fit the bass is much better.

Originally Posted by Anders

My reluctance of headphone amplifiers with a weight of 80 pounds is philosophical rather than technological, but I am skeptical of the necessity.

You need the extra weight in normal tube amps due to the output transformers, two of them in fact. To avoid core saturation you need a lot of iron and it isn't exactly light weight. An ES amp doesn't use these so it could be lighter but one might get a bit carried away with the PSU transformers instead. I'm testing the filament trafo for my DIY BH and it weighs in a 1.9kg but not nearly everybody is going to need 20A for the filaments...

[hirsch]

Originally Posted by spritzer

The 007 Mk2 is more forward sounding then the Mk1 so it apears to be easier to driver but they really aren't.

I wouldn't call it just a more forward sound, although that's part of the issue. The bass, when driven by a BHSE wasn't just reduced, it was gone. As in, where did this system misplace it's balls? Further, the key to the music, the midrange, was muddled and confused relative to the Mark I. I heard about three or four of the Mk II's, and in each case first thought that the system was broken (it was that much worse than the Mk I to me). Only when I used my Mk I did I realize that in each case, the problem was the Mk II headphone. I'm curious to hear one with your mods someday, because as it stands, I'd have a hard time classifying the OII Mk II as a worthwhile headphone. I'm actually understating just how much I disliked it.

[deepak]

Hirsch, do you remember the differences between your old MK1 and the one you got recently? IIRC you said your old O2 MK1 was too polite with your ES-1, is this the case with your new one?

[Anders]

Thanks spritzer, I will try to bend the arcs. I am not negative to the 007 at all, I think it is an excellent headphone and the best I have. Only some minor flaws that could at least party depend on user ignorance. It is not a headphone that is easy to use - a ten page user manual wanted.

I have a 15 W tube amplifier (25 W in pentode mode). It has three huge transformer but the weight is only about 40 pounds. I understand that weight is necessary and positive but I have difficulty grasping that a headphone amplifiers has the double weight. Headamps BH is considerably lighter.

[Anders]

Wow, it helps to bend the arcs! Tighter bass and more presence.

[spritzer]

Originally Posted by hirsch

I wouldn't call it just a more forward sound, although that's part of the issue. The bass, when driven by a BHSE wasn't just reduced, it was gone. As in, where did this system misplace it's balls? Further, the key to the music, the midrange, was muddled and confused relative to the Mark I. I heard about three or four of the Mk II's, and in each case first thought that the system was broken (it was that much worse than the Mk I to me). Only when I used my Mk I did I realize that in each case, the problem was the Mk II headphone. I'm curious to hear one with your mods someday, because as it stands, I'd have a hard time classifying the OII Mk II as a worthwhile headphone. I'm actually understating just how much I disliked it.

I flat out hate the Mk2 is stock form so you are certainly not alone. It's like they didn't even listen to the final product and the distributors all lack the technical knowledge to know what Stax really did so they blame it on burn in...

With my mods (that sounded so much like markl that I threw up a bit in my mouth) they sound basically like a Mk1 but with slightly snappier bass and since they are more forward they engage the listener more then the laid back Mk1. I haven't done a driver swap yet but it looks like Stax messed with the drivers but this will be impossible to test or even see.

I will have to get a second A/Mk2, mod it and send on a trip of the US meets. That will maybe filter the info back to Stax and force them to stop this nonsense.

Originally Posted by Anders

Thanks spritzer, I will try to bend the arcs. I am not negative to the 007 at all, I think it is an excellent headphone and the best I have. Only some minor flaws that could at least party depend on user ignorance. It is not a headphone that is easy to use - a ten page user manual wanted.

I would start off by bending the earpieces so the bottom of the two earpieces move further apart. Best bet is to bend at the break just above each ear and start off slow.

Originally Posted by Anders

I have a 15 W tube amplifier (25 W in pentode mode). It has three huge transformer but the weight is only about 40 pounds. I understand that weight is necessary and positive but I have difficulty grasping that a headphone amplifiers has the double weight. Headamps BH is considerably lighter.

As the output power goes up, so does the size of the transformers so 20kg for a 15w amp isn't so bad. Add some chokes and all bets are off.

The old BH wasn't that heavy at about 12kg's but the BHSE has 3 transformers in the PSU and a lot more robust chassis so the weight will go up.

[spritzer]

Originally Posted by Anders

Wow, it helps to bend the arcs! Tighter bass and more presence.

Sure does...

[Anders]

I am not sure we are talking about the same thing. I bent the metal arc above the headband so the distance between the earcups decreased and the pressure against the ears/head increased (similar on what you do on a Grado). Rotating the earcups is something I have done all the time.

[spritzer]

Originally Posted by Anders

I am not sure we are talking about the same thing. I bent the metal arc above the headband so the distance between the earcups decreased and the pressure against the ears/head increased (similar on what you do on a Grado). Rotating the earcups is something I have done all the time.

We are talking about the same thing but I just wasn't very clear...

[hirsch]

Originally Posted by deepak

Hirsch, do you remember the differences between your old MK1 and the one you got recently? IIRC you said your old O2 MK1 was too polite with your ES-1, is this the case with your new one?

My original MK1 was smooth as silk almost all of the time. The problem came when the music that I was listening to wasn't supposed to be smooth as silk. I felt that the headphone was imposing a pleasant, but bland, coloration on what I was hearing. The MKI that I have now seems much more transparent than the last one. It's only polite if the music is polite. A big improvement to me.

[Tachikoma]

Are you sure that wasn't just the pads?

[hirsch]

Originally Posted by Tachikoma

Are you sure that wasn't just the pads?

I'm not sure about much. All I can say is that I was lukewarm about my original OII, and that it sounded like another OII that I had significant use of (and that one was brand new at the time). About the only thing that I am sure of is that I have a strong preference for the OII that I have now.

[faust3d]

I have a question someone who had HE60, O2, ESP950 and one of the better Lambdas.

What did you like about HE60 as compared to other headphones. I keep reading conflicting report of HE60 bass quality and quantity. Some also like it as much or better than O2 and some don't even think it's as good as Lambda Signature or SR-404. I know it's all a matter of taste, but there must be some objective characteristics like that absence or presence of deep bass and etc.

[spritzer]

The HE60 bass is very lacking in bloom compared to just about anything so it will go deep but there isn't much of it.

[faust3d]

Originally Posted by spritzer

The HE60 bass is very lacking in bloom compared to just about anything so it will go deep but there isn't much of it.

How is the bass impact and what about the tonal balance, is it more accurate than lets say ESP950 or LSN?

[spritzer]

The tonal balance is a bit off on the He60 but it's been too long since I've heard one to go into much detail. The bass is quite fast and rather nice for what it does but the Koss has quite a bit more impact from memory.

[faust3d]

Thanks for the info. Based on what I read and also the info you just provided HE60 is severely overpriced at $2000 that it is selling for. Oh well, I can cross it off my list of "nice to have" cans

[spritzer]

Fucking Stax!!!! I just got a 717 from Japan and before testing it at 100v I converted it over to 240v, flip the power switch and nothing happens. Hmmm... check for any damage and if I got the jumpers right and all is in order. No fuses blown or nothing. Decide to measure the transformer secondaries... nothing... fucking Stax cut the 120v windings so it was harder then hell to attach wires to them. I did manage to do it though and now I have a 007t and a 717 in my computer rig.

Originally Posted by faust3d

Thanks for the info. Based on what I read and also the info you just provided HE60 is severely overpriced at $2000 that it is selling for. Oh well, I can cross it off my list of "nice to have" cans

That's how I feel about them, nice but flawed and very overpriced. They are ESP noob friendly and will impress anybody on first listen.

[deepak]

Originally Posted by spritzer

That's how I feel about them, nice but flawed and very overpriced. They are ESP noob friendly and will impress anybody on first listen.

They impressed the heck out of me

[n_maher]

Originally Posted by spritzer

That's how I feel about them, nice but flawed and very overpriced. They are ESP noob friendly and will impress anybody on first listen.

I'd say the HE60s belong in the $1000 price bracket they used to occupy. No way they're worth double that in my opinion but that doesn't seem to have stopped lots of folks.