spritzer
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Posts posted by spritzer
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Thanks I couldn't remember the proper name.
It's definitely not my amp warming up. They don't do it day to day. It was really obvious when I heard them for the first time after I bought them. The change was in the highs so something was going on with the electret. If not charging up, then does anyone have a plausible explanation?
Renato
The transformers or some other part of circuit could be going through some warm up or there is dust or some other debris on the electret diaphragm that is causing some charge migration or shorting out the driver.
There is a process called "electret relaxation" that seems to describe the gradual relaxation/dissipation of charge on/in an electret over time, might this be why the K340 seems to need to regain charge after a long period of inactivity ?
What you are describing is the eventual death of all electrets and that has nothing to do with charge migration. The diaphragm is permanetly charged during manufacturing over its entire surface so there is no bias ring or surface resistance resisting the charge.
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While the quality of the conductor matters it much more dependent on capacitance and how the dielectric handles high voltages. Most of the "cable specialists" don't know a single thing about that. Unless somebody is willing to have a silver version of the Stax Wide cable made I'm sticking with it.
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I had this happen to mine. It seems if they sit without being used for a long time they need some break-in time. I attributed it to the electrostatic driver re-energizing itself.
Renato
They are electrets so there is no recharging as they are permanently charged.
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I certainly hope so. I'm not expecting miracles but it should be clear step in the right direction with the updated output stage. I will also save a bundle as there is no need for volume pots on any of my new amps.
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dude, you're using someone else's subjective observations to make a decision on gear you haven't heard. that is the kind of shit we don't like around here.
Damn, deaf UE9 fanboys...
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what did you get?
APL Denon 3910 fully upgraded to the latest 32 bit dacs. It's on its way now to APL for the upgrades and I should have it sometime in December. I'll get an NWO later on but this will be great until then. Now if I could only get the replacement drive for the G08 so I can sell it...
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A cheap-ish adapter would be a welcome addition with the sky high prices of any Stax Pro units.
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With most of my listening done of the SRM-T1 it is set at between 9-10 o'clock with a slightly less then 2v source so that would be normal loudness for most. At this volume level I can listen for hours.
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Better driver mounting if they copied that from the HE90, tweaks to the earpads to find the best size and shape of them, replacing the outer grill as they could ring due to their design, the housing could use some tweaking but it's hard to see unless I have the phones in my hands.
It's really nice to have some competition in the electrostatic market as all those dynamics are ever so boring and I'm running out of phones to buy...
Repairs shouldn't be a problem if you can buy everything extra with the phones, drivers, bunch of earpads and extra housings. Has anybody inquired about that?
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Designing an electrostatic headphone is far from rocket science but they are borrowing heavily from the HE90 and HE60 in the design and driver mounting. There is nothing wrong with that as I've borrowed a lot from Stax in my own research and learned from their mistakes. The product has clearly evolved as they now use leather pads as the old velour ones aren't suitable for planars. They've also done some work on the drivers or how the mount them but that cable has to go as the specs clearly show how much of an effect it is having on the phones. 140pf is very high but there could also be some shunt capacitance increasing the load. These phones could be pretty good with a few mods but spend 500$ on a wooden housing for the SR-404 and there should be some real competition though it's really the SR-SC1 it has to beat. I would take one for the team but I just spent some 8k$ on a new source...
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Yeah, it seems I was getting the SRM-Xh auction confused with the SRD-X one.
That is a pretty easy to get confused about. I bought a 1977 SRD-X some time ago and it should be fun to experiment with. Still siting in the Rinkya warehouse though...
\SRM-T1W has balanced inputs; does that mean you get the SRM-T1 to have balanced inputs without too much work?
Add a 4 pole pot, some extra parts and you are set. There was a thread on this on HF where I was helping a T1 owner midding his amp but he didn't post any impressions.
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Please share the schematic if you can since we know next to nothing about these beasts.
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Most linear PSU don't really mind the fluctuations on the power grid but in truth there aren't any up here and if you use a dedicated line there isn't any other gear messing with the juice.
I'm very interested in his thoughts on electrostatic amps and it seems you have turned him over to the dark side...
Btw. I'm working on buying the Apl 3910 player that is on Audiogon and having it shipped to Alex for 32bit dacs and the ECC99 output stage. I would have bought a NWO but I just invested a bundle so it will have to wait. The Denon should tide me over until then.
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It takes real skill to come up with a new output stage and while swapping out a few parts is a positive change its far from cost effective. There is plenty of value built into these cheap Chinese players so it gets balanced out but bypassing the output stage might push the player up a level or two.
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Those Parts Connexion mods seem to just involve changing parts and no redesigning.
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Are the T1Ws really identical to the T1 except for the inputs?
It's exactly the same. It even says SRM-T1 on the PCB.
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First off, 6moons is a horrible source for anything but pretty pictures though there is one or two reviewers with some sense.
When it comes to Stax there is a wealth of choice and you can either have the new models, pick up a vintage system or mix the two. The 4040 is a clear step up from the 3050 but I've never liked the 006t amps as much as I like their older brothers, the T1, T1S and T1W. The 313/323 are good amps but they can be a bit cold in the wrong system but we are talking about 500$ amps here so they can have faults. Another option would be to pick up a used SRM-1 Mk2 Pro amp, preferable with a "C" serial number above 5000 and use it with either the 303 or 404 earspeakers. The older amp is very different from the 313/323 and IMO sounds quite a bit better and it has more power. It runs pretty hot so that might be an issue but the tube amps do that as well.
On the phones side then the SR-303 is the sweet spot of the range. The 404 is more refined and better but the difference is hardly worth 100$. On the used market you can find any one of the previous models but prices are very high right now, even higher then what the new models cost so unless you stumble across some local deal it's hard to find any of the Lambdas/Gammas/Sigmas at a reasonable price.
I would personally get a used amp and new phones and spend the rest on other aspects of the system. Better IC's and PC's help quite a bit and you could also do some mods to the amp and upgrade it's internal wiring and connectors.
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spritzer,
will do, but that will take until the afternoon.
Thanks
Cool!
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Yes, the 252 and SRD-7 Mk2 are good in different ways. My aim is definitely to build a system that is less of a compromise. Costs have been ensuring that I will not be there any time soon unfortunately.
I'm also looking into some form of Stax amplification that is less compromised then the Stax amps at a similar price.
I saw one going on a certain auction site earlier. The 230V Bias is what puts me off.
THe SRM-Xh is Pro only though there is a normal solder tag on the PCB but I didn't test it. Stock it was available without a bias supply and Pro only as a part of the Spirit system. The one without a bias supply was marked as "Electret Energizer" or something like that.
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If you can post pictures of the insides of both adapter and headphones I might be able see what's what. If they are normal electrets then they can be used with a Stax transformer but the low output driver could also be near death.
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My amp is nothing fancy, some local brand, Digitech, although I don't recall the model (I'm not currently at home to check). You're no doubt correct in suggesting that might be a factor but the SRD-7 Mk2 is definitely adding some grain of it's own that I can't detect from the amp on it's own. Hopefully soon I'll be able to confirm once my DIY transformer box is complete. I'm not sure how similar the SRM-252 and SRM-313 actually are though, their circuit boards certainly looked rather different. I had thought there wasn't much in common between the two although I may very well be mistaken.
The SRD-7 has it's own colorations but they have many positive traits over the cheaper amps, namely dynamics and they are much smoother. Plug in the BH and the transformers become a distant memory...
The 313 and 252 share some of the circuit but the PSU in the 313 is of course much bigger with higher voltage swing.
Perhaps I should have kept the SRM-Xh. Now that I think about it, it would have been great for transportable use.
The new amps are much, much better and can be had for 150$ or less from Japan. They are almost always in the combos but selling a SR-202 wouldn't be too hard.
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Removing power filters is necessity with a linear PSU? I noticed huge differences using my UPC-200 with my Lavry DAC... which has a switcher. I think the Eastsound has a linear power supply. Maybe I should try without? Hmmm...
You should always start at the wall with a good PC and then try some of these filters. I've tried a bit of them (PS Audio, Shunyata, Chang, BPT) and none were as good as a direct connection to the wall or connected though my silver wired extension box. While they are there they do more harm then good but can have benefits when there is a lot of pollution on the mains.
Hahahaha.. I can see how you'd say that from that last paragraph. Even re-reading it myself, I see how, say , a previous version of myself from about 3 years ago would look at that last statement, and worry about my future (current) mental health. But really, with the EMM Labs, plugging it into a rengerator like the Power Plant Premier really brings this player up. While, just the opposite, with the NWO, it kind of deadens the sound. The NWO is so lively and tonally rich that once you have heard it setup properly, you know right away when something is off. I had the good fortune of hearing this 'magic' so to speak at both Alex's and my place, and also the day of the meet. So once that tone and transparency and effortlessness was diminished, I noticed it right away. You would too (I think).
The same goes for the cables, you really do hear a difference. And like I have iterated in the past, you may say a cable change is really only 1 or 2% or whatever. But honestly, the way perception goes, it has to do with what you notice and what you pay attention to. If you do not notice what aspect the cable is having over the reproduction, you will not notice or miss/enjoy it. But once you clearly can hear a cable, and also hear what another cable does/does not do, this apparent subtely is no longer subtle since the magnifying lens of attention will now bring these aspects to the forfront. I can honestly tell you VD cabling with my HE90/ES2 sounds amazing and does this combo major good. Putting X-2 on this combo thins out the sound, changes the tonality, and makes the bass less impactful. But don't believe me. Come over and listen for yourself one day.
Neil
The EMM gear all have a switching PSU so they will benefit from some power filtering/regeneration as it filters out some of the noise the player is pumping out. The HEV90 could also benefit from a filter as if memory serves me, there is a switcher in there.
Cables will make of break most systems but this becomes a big issue when it reaches a certain performance point. This is pretty far from being subtle and they only way to stay sane in the cable world is to stay away from the "major manufacturers" and either go with smaller companies or DIY.
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I'm not sure I completely follow your last paragraph. Seemed to go a little Patrick82 from this side of the screen.
Neil is just going through the motions of using a CDP with a linear PSU instead of a switcher. Removing all power filters is a necessity.
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I doubt that.
Anyone else notice that you need to reach over the tubes to access the XLR jacks? Also, not to be picky, but is it asking too much to not have unfilled holes on the back of your $30,000 modded CD player?
You need to access the player from each side and some plugs would be nice for the holes. Even a simple metal plate with the tubes and inputs engraved into it.
Recommendations for low power SET amps for Avantgarde Duos
in Speakers
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Hmmmmm....