Mr.Sneis

I am pretty sure the Stax god (or maybe just plain Audio god!), wherever he is, is mad at me I sold my 727ii recently and the buyer states it is not powering on. He sends me the video of what's going on and it is pretty clear that the power switch is simply not staying depressed (detent to the on position) but rather the plunger just makes contact then slowly slides out. When it gets back, I suppose some de-oxit is probably all it needs?

I've been dumbing down my Stax rig and this week I received a pair of "very nice" conditioned Lambda Nova Sigs with 507 pads. Unfortunately they arrived somewhat damaged and their age is not helping. Tried calling Yamas/Accutech but no answer. The case holder for one side came broken in transit; luckily the seller is offering to pay to replace this (https://www.staxusa.com/stax-case-holder.html). Is there a certain tool and size of tool I need to be able to remove the securing pin? Tugging by hand has been fruitless though I don't want to break it. The outer facing foam WAS intact prior to the shipping; seems the same side's driver has come unglued from the frame, this agitated the foam and it's now flaking everywhere. I believe standard op. procedure is to remove the foam and call it a day but I will also need to secure the driver back to the frame. Is there a certain glue or adhesive I should be using here? Kinda bummed to get them like this but since the LNS is unobtanium now I want to make sure I can put it back together proper, thanks!

Sad to say but in my experience it is dependent on the Country of the recipient and the carrier and how the package is marked on the customs form. Shipping into the USA from International, usually EMS is more expensive. I've heard this is because the broker/customs fee is built-in to the price. Figure out how PJ or the originating store will ship to you first (and if it will be marked as commercial goods) and then you can probably just call that carrier's customer service for more details.

I've been out of the market for a long long time but I think I still have a beat up pair of these somewhere; I got them from Circuit Shitty if you can believe for something like 60 or 70 bucks. You could probably find them for cheap on ebay as they never developed a cult following. They really were not bad compared to the uber money IEMs I compared them to and you can probably find some threads to back up my claims. http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-EX90LP-Earphones-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B000EGLZUE/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

I used to have a mk1 with the mk2 boards and even the mk2 before the price increase. In hindsight, the mk2 WAS indeed great but the looks of the mk1 win me over. The mk2 boards in the mk1 do not get you all the way there but close enough. Definitely worth the price of admission if Justin still sells them. I've gotten to a point now where I can safely say spending uber bucks on headphone related gear no longer tickles my fancy but that's just me getting older and lamer. I tend to chase my tail though so I'll probably be back in the game before I know it. A dynahi for a fair price is where you might want to aim based on what I am hearing from DW!

Leo if you are sticking with the mk1 I think you are making the right choice. I've been in your shoes before! The $900 is better allocated elsewhere. Just so you know as well I don't think you have much issue selling the mk1 for a fair price. You have the upgrade boards right??

Shush! My td-160 wishes it could be an lp12! BTW Doug, I realized the other day the ECP logo looks oddly like a cart/stylus... maybe I was just slow to catch on to that doh!

I can get that. When I bought the SL-1600 the auto start did not work. It was definitely a gamble when I bought it, but I had a good feeling about fixing it as it was a commonly reported issue it seems. The fix took less than 30 minutes and a few bucks for white lithium grease to lube up to arm mechanism and was good as new. Part of this decision to take the plunge was just how clean this 1600 was, too bad the cartridge (AKG p25md/24) had a bad/unobtainium stylus.

What's wrong with auto-start and stop and repeat? I love how the 1600 does that! I also have manual td-160 and appreciate the convenience.

Nothing wrong with either table! I foolishly had it in my head I NEEDED the Technics despite it needing work out the door (easy fix for auto return level) so I traded in my Pioneer for store credit. In hindsight I probably got peanuts for the Pioneer and it is/was a very respectable table that I just dumped without a thought. I do love my SL-1600 but not having adjustable VTA is a slight detractor.

I had this same plan a few months ago and now I'm balls deep in it with 2 tables and about 75-ish records and growing; it's good and bad. My tips if I had to re-do: Don't try to find a vintage used audiophile table first off, they add up to repair or upkeep especially if parts are missing and need to be replaced. Avoid anything Crosley brand. Avoid Technics SL-1200 and its ilk (cheaper Technics are perfect though), prices shot WAY up and they are only getting more used/beat with time. They are great tables otherwise... Try to find a cheap old automatic table like a Pioneer PL-7 or Technics SL-D2/3 for a couple bucks ($40?). I foolishly traded PL-7 in for a SL-1600 and realized my mistake about a month down the road. The cartridge needs to be cheap but good and with cheap styli that are readily available, Shure m91ED for $50 with a decent needle is a good starting point. Replacement EVG Styli' for these are around $15 or less on eBay. Cheap vintage receiver for a built in phono pre like Harmon Kardon 330c or Pioneer SX-780; $100 or less. There are $50ish standalone Phono pre-'s as well that can get you by. Then you'll learn the fun of VTF, overhang and different alignment methods, anti-skate, VTA, and record cleaning If that sounds like too much a pain in the ass, which it is, Rega, Pro-Ject, Music Hall, U-Turn have great starter tables with their own quirks, look to spend about $200-400 for one of these. There's also this guy: http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-LP120-USB-Direct-Drive-Professional-Turntable/dp/B002S1CJ2Q. Bottom line I would allocate more attention towards a decent Cartridge and Phono Pre- moreso than the table itself. Sadly where I live it is real hard to find specialists who are passionate about the turntable and associated gear aspect even at a record store... weird I know. AudioKarma and VinylEngine I have found I like for forums.

I've had luck sticking the tip of the iron into the hole of the tip of the plug then fitting the bare wire on the opposite side and feeding solder in from the wire end as well. It should fill the with solder and then you can remove the tip Better question is what are you going to do for strain relief.

What the hell? How is that outer sleeve so bad looking like it has a crackin it? Not sure if you know it but the amphenol jack is ever so slightly out of spec with the stock Stax jacks, it's not horrible and is still functional but still.

Real deal air compressor and blower attachment!

Pain in the ass when you've got to place the separate PSU on its own shelf!

If it makes you feel any better he was clearly in bed with Mikhail on it when that thing was originally released!

I google pono underwater. I cannot take back what I seen

It is MAGIC I tell you.

Had an hour or so with the XF2's last night after bias and rebias. Big thumbs up so far over SED's, huge relief as progress felt a little slow as of late and I took a gamble with ebay tubes. Wish these could be more affordable and more common.

009mk2??

"Where does he get all those wonderful toys?" Birgir, mind my asking what the plan is for that amp? Ordered up the BJC cable and XF2's landing today!

Sorry I said Subwoofer cable but the link I posted earlier is the actual cable (not a sub cable).

That is a good point Birgir. Most of my cables are cheep and or DIY and still cheep. I think that SPDIF cable is a $8 Belkin subwoofer cable. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001XGQKY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Damn even cheaper than when I got it!

Appreciate the kind words n3rd. My o2 pads are actually minty fresh, I need more listening time to be made available though that's for sure. Blu, I don't expect you to believe me but if you go back to some of my posts here there and everywhere I'm usually the awkward asshole who comes in and disagrees with everyone and looks like an idiot as a result.

Sure. Wen paired with certain dacs like PWD I found the o2's to sound too neutral or too boring; there wasn't much weight to bass despite great texture or definition, no sparkle to vocals, soundstage felt very meh and did little to surprise me. Nothing to really get excited about and I didn't have too many of those looking over your shoulder moments... Other times I found like with Assemblage and Apogee DACs a grating high end and overall edginess; too artificial and fatiguing to want to spend any serious time with which. The Assemblage does truly great things with the GSX and HD600. Keep in mind, I've been pretty accustomed to the o2's having had them for years with a kgss setup of some sort so I have an idea of how they sound in the same chain. The LNS and ESP950 (I used to have) are also really great out the 323s so it's not like I don't like the stat sound or anything. So yeah, maybe I am crazy and my ears are broke.