spritzer

As promised here are some pics of the first reference level CDP Sony ever made, well one half of it. Released in 1987 it's built to a standard Sony can only dream off today with solid copper panels and huge transformers for it's meager 25w draw.

Since this post would get lost in the ever growing Stax thread I'll post it here. If you damage your expensive phones doing this it's your own fault so don't come running to me. Be very careful with any tools this close to the drivers as one slip can destroy them. You have been warned!!! All you need to do this mod is some blutack, a screwdriver and the patience of a saint to get the damn pads on again. First job if to remove the earpads by simply pulling onto the top edge and they come off. Also remove the spring underneath as it will only be in the way. Simply pull it out of the rubber grommet. Now there is a black plate with 4 screws holding it to the phones together. Just above the cable entry is a small notch cut into the plastic surrounding the driver and that's the port that needs to be plugged. I'm sure that stuffing blutack here will seal it but since I haven't tested it I will only suggest it as a theory. Remove the 4 screws in the black plate and the earpieces are free from the arc assembly (be careful not to drop them!!) and it looks like this. The port is the cut out above the cable assembly and vents through it. Fill it up with blutack so that is looks something like this: Assemble the phones and your Mk2/A now sounds like it should have in the first place.

Reaching as far down as the 4070 can but with real bass and not some clinical showcase of what should be there. None of the stuff I listen to reaches all that far down but the Mk2 has trouble replicating deepest bass drum and organ tones while the Mk1 can do it effortlessly. Tell me about it. Fixing glue failures is possible if you are brave (stupid) enough but misaligned stators... It's really easy to construct a cable that beats most out there but if you are OCD like me it can take hours for a simple 75cm stereo cable. It's all about the damping...

The silver's quality is a huge factor as is the insulation. Soft or age annealed silver wire, small gauge (28AWG+) and solid core has worked best for me so far and I can't see any reason to start upgrading. Making you own cables is easy and allows you to use the exact same stuff inside the components. I'll post some pictures of the mod when I have time but it might have to wait until the weekend. I think the figure is close to 90% of dust particles are positively charged but you only need one to mess up the drivers. \

Congrats Nate!!

Thanks, beyond the pads it does get a bit trickier. The port can be plugged without separating the earcup from the arc but there might be some leak and I decided to do it properly. I will probably post a how to guide though some fucktard like markl might try to make it his own... I'm not doing this for me, rather the community as a whole, as I already have a mk1. The bottom line is that the Mk2/A simply isn't good enough to be a replacement for the Mk1 and the SR-?. Having the option to perform a simple, totally reversible, mod to make them sound as good as the mk1 is good for those that can't find a used unit.

I posted this over on HF but it deserves to be here as well. I've had my issues with the new SR-007 ever since I got them and ever since I opened them up I've wanted to try and eliminate the damned midbass hump. This morning I ripped them apart and plugged the port with some blutack and my predictions proved correct. The midbass hump is completely gone and the excelent bass of the Mk1 has appeared which is leaner but extends all the way down towards DC. The A/Mk2 has a light coloration on all male voices and it's mostly gone now but it's so recording dependent and subtle that further testing is needed. The port was put into the cable assembly to combat the fart issue if the Mk1 so once it's plugged the ear chamber is airtight and they fart just like the Mk1. Some further testing with foam and felt is needed to try and find a middle ground by damping the port instead of just shutting it completely. Anybody who has replaced an earpad on a SR-007 knows how much of a pain that is and dong it once can drive somebody mad let alone dozen or so times... Further testing is needed to show just how different the Mk1 and Mk2/A are after the mod but the added comfort of the new ear and headpads place the Mk2/A ahead if they sound roughly the same. The earpads are rather different so I don't expect the two phones to sound identical but they should be close.

I was going to work on the DC heater supply today but I have to work on one of your bread cutting machines. It only works intermittently so it's probably a loose solder joint but there are hundreds of them...

Sure they do.

Ouch!!! I'm really glad I opted out of the newer designs and bought the first 3910 I could find. Too bad it's black but I really don't care all that much since the sound makes up for all all such meaning less crap. It's a rather rare tube so it's a limited edition but I'm tempted to buy one... It took just under 6 months from me buying the player on A'gon and until it arrived here in Iceland fully updated. It wasn't too bad as I waited about 6 months for my Headamp Blue Hawaii and the He90 was about the same. Time flies when you don't have enough of it... The 3910 was a work in progress so there are a lot of different versions of the DACs and outputs and the owners often haven't got a clue which version they have but they can all be updated to the latest 32bit AKM and the new output transformers with a ECC99 tube.

That would be great. The ED-1 opens up just like the SRM-1/Mk2 by removing the 3 upper screws on each side of the chassis. If you're up for it, removing the bottom would be even better as Stax normally puts the resistors there.

Could you open up the ED-1 and post some pics of the innards for us? We've been looking for the schematic but haven't been able to find it so it would be cool to see what Stax was doing.

That could come in handy if the next version of the BHSE needs to be liquid cooled...

The phones are simply bad running from something like the 007t though the familiar traits do shine on through the blandness. Screw the Sigma Pro's and go for a SR-Sigma 404. If I manage to find a cheap Sigma and SR-303/404 I'll build one and send it on tour of the US.

Most of the Omega owners upgraded to the superior SR-007 or he could have snagged some NOS amp after 1998.

Ouch!!! I'm glad that I can hold off... The one in Italy was 10k

Having a dual purpose board shouldn't be that hard with an angle bracket or a second set of traces. Good point. I don't see why they are built like that as I've yet to come across a stat which doesn't have a removable baffle of some sorts.

That case would work well and at that price it's tough to beat.

The chassis is a bit of a pain so that might be left out but a common FPE design for the front panel might be a good idea to fit some chassis. The 2SK389 are a problem but can be substituted with MAT02's but the 2SA1968's a problem.

It was a Sigma that started my madness... The KGSS can be scaled up and down some what so a group buy of PCB's, parts, chassis and transformers might be a good idea. I sure would love to build a small one to use as a desktop amp.

...or starts off with the O2+BH and then buys every headphone Stax has ever touched. Not that I'm recommending that path...

This was bound to happen sooner or later. Somebody is using my pictures on ebay... Ditto though the SRM-1/Mk2 is the best Stax amp bargain you'll ever find. The later versions are better and if a P.P. shows up, jump on it. Glad to hear that you like them. It may be time to buy one now and use that black PC-OCC cable I've been saving for just that... Can you post some detailed pics of the back of the earcups to show how the cable attaches to the drivers? I'm sure Alex could recable one for you...

Though it will be more expensive it should be good value. Woo don't just jack up the price like some other manufacturers do to make the amps look more high-end then they really are.

Thanks for clearing that up. I do hope they come up with something new, hell I'll settle for another take on the SRX circuit but built to the standard of the rest of the Woo gear. Now if they were to use something new like GU50's for output duty I'd buy one on the spot.