spritzer

Yeah, you need fet's for something that high.

If they are covered by warranty then take them back to Stax. If they are not covered and you don't want to spend 100KYen on new drivers, you can open them up and try to get the dust out of there. Be warned though that you can't see the dust particle causing this as it is minuscule. The space between the diaphragm and the stators is 0.5mm (500um) on either side so the piece is much smaller than that.

This is just pathetic to say the least. So we all know the build quality is horrible and resale value non existent so WTF?

I like it that they are trying to claim this is somehow their design... seriously? Old as the hills that one... Anyway, same as the Egmont etc and not that hard to run with a servo. Pick a good cathode resistor on the output stage and you are close enough for most servo's to correct. The balance would concern me Things I just don't get is why they'd use the 6SL7 and not the ECC83. ECC83 is superior in every way in something like this where the super high mu is a huge advantage. Also...why the fuck run it at +/-400V? They are clearly running with resistors for everything so plenty of voltage being eaten up there but these are ~350V tubes so running them at 800V makes sense? Bizzarre... Also, why have a special transformer for the bias? Hello...voltage doubler off the B+ limited to +580V with a voltage divider as Stax have done since 1982. Some other issues as well such as the use of the RN55 resistors which aren't rated to these voltages. They use them in the HV regulators and well...I'd use CMF60's there. Cost be damned... Seeing this kinda makes me want to try and get an Egmont type amp up and running for this money. I have a new PCB layout for that one that I can try out..

Hmmm check the caps inside and see if a 7VAC plug would do the job?

That is the likely culprit, same as with the Cavalli stuff. No headroom in the PSU's.

The Schiit quality strikes again!!

You are rightm they aren't nearly open enough which in turn creates the odd sound quality. Excessive bass and nasty treble

King Sound are certainly sparing all expense where ever possible. There is a lot of HifiMan here, make cheap shit and sell it for a lot of money. Then have some halfwits claim it is all brilliant... I did open up the M-10 amp and yup, same shit as the last one I had. They did improve the stupid foot setup and add a sticker that it will get hot...didn't add any heat sinking as well...PCB traces can easily sink a few watts...

So I had a bit of spare time and swapped on my custom made leather/suede earpads and now they are at least usable. Not good by any stretch but the bass isn't in ludicrous mode any more... I had a quick peek under the baffle and it looks identical to the H2 but I'll dig deeper when I have time. They are still horribly bright though but that might just be due to the diaphragms used.

Can't use 007 pads but it would probably be cheaper to just have some pads made than fork over 350$ for them... Also this site is owned by Woo: https://www.staxaudio.com/about/

Ahhh but the garage is all cleared up now. The pallet of transformers has been all squared away and now it's filled with painting stuff as I'm working on the exterior of the house. That's why I'm offering this service... Given the rave reviews out there of this garbage, do these reviewers actually listen or just random generate some verbal diarrhea?

Saltless smjör??!! You savages!!

Well he's busy now, with all the claims of being a despicable human who has a track record of abusing women.

Happy Birthday!!

I like the grab handles...as if these could be carried.

Some are fixed and sold but yeah...there are a lot of headphones here. Me working on my own DIY sets isn't helping matters as there are many, many prototypes...

So all the old stuff about these is buried in the Stax thread but since I just bought a lightly used set of KS-M3 and M10 it was perhaps time to give them their own thread. So I owned both the H1 and H2...and both were terrible. Truly awful but there are still people out there claiming the H3's are really good so...I was curious. I got the combo at a nice enough price so why not. Kevin thinks I'm nuts for buying a third one of these but hey... I guess he's right. The amp will await inspection but I connected the phones to the Carbon CC for a listen. Ok...a small spoiler here...they aren't good. Like at all and more of a shame on other electrostatics... So difference compared to the H1 and H2 was pretty major though both were cheaply made. That continues here but the dual arc setup does work better than the single arc of the H2. The earcups are also much nicer from the outside but we'll see how they are inside when I open them up. The earpads are the same protein crap as the other ones and really one of the major reasons these sound so bad. Also as a bonus, both drivers have dust or some debris inside of them so squeal quite a bit. As for the sound...holy bass Batman!! It sounds a bit like a cheap boombox, it's all midbass with no depth and strangles everything else. The highs are also piercing and very fatiguing while the midrange is drowned out by the midbass. So a hollow bright sound signature which puts electrostatics to shame. I pulled out a L300 to compare and even though I don't really like the L series, they are just miles ahead. They may sound a bit bland and uninvolving but at least they are mostly neutral. This King Sound is just bad...electrostatic or not. I'll update later when I have time to open them up.

Mikhail was the master of fucking up stable circuits.

I stuck it in storage when I was moving and kinda forgot about it. The resistors were there so I'll use them but it would be trivial to use a CCS. These all had resistors back in the day I want to make it as a fixed version of the stock pile of fail. I finished wiring up the test points and pots today so the amplifier is ready for testing.

Almost three years later, I'm finally working on this again. This is such an epic project as well...it is certifiable. The front panel is finished and mounted to the top plate. So very busy... Power knob on the left, volume on the right. Four 50K pots in the upper left hand corner to adjust the output stage offset and balance. Two 5K pots in the lower right hand corner with all the test points. Those cost a bloody fortune but were the only ones to fit in those holes. All 10 turn wire wound Bourns pots as well. TKD 4CP601 volume control as it fit the front panel perfectly. Not sure what to do with that gaping hole but might have a MA logo etched onto some plexiglass and illuminate it. Here it is even busier. The amplifier is mostly ready, just need to wire up all the test points and the 5K balance pots. Bias supply for the HE90 socket is in place but how I'm going to mate this to the power supply I just don't know. It has to go on the bottom of the chassis with two fairly large transformers and two PSU boards. It's a little bit like building a ship in a bottle... The PSU is up next so wish me luck.

Other Woo garbage and Boulder stuff too. Yuck...

They keep polishing that circuit. Funny to see if move from SRM-1 Mk2 to SRM-3 to 313 to 323 etc...

There is so much fail in those pics...