spritzer

So I've spent some time with the T8000 and my impressions haven't really changed. I've gone through a large portion of my collection with it and I sure as shit wouldn't use it with the modern Stax stuff. With 009's this is simply ear rape at any volume above a whisper. L700's as well though they are just generally sucky over all with any amp. The L300's just sound a bit brighter than usual and a bit dull which they normally do. With the 007 collection it's again a bit dull, lifeless and bright. Sounds have this annoying sheen to them which really shouldn't be there with the supremely neutral 007's. I also dug out the SR-Omega with the new leather earpads and same shit. Compared to even the cheap KGSSHV that is in development, it just lacks life. The soundstage isn't expansive enough and things are just cobbled together. The midrange lacks the presence it should have and the bass is just flat. There isn't enough texture and depth to it. I tried pretty much every Lambda ever made, SR-X Mk3 Pro, Sigma Pro and a pile of others but it's always the same. This amp is just lacking, no way around it. I would be annoyed with it if it cost 3k$ but for 6K$ I'm furious. Lastly, this thing sound awful cold. I normally just let my gear run 24/7 but with anything tube based I turn it off and I first though it was broken when I heard it cold.

Yes and no. There are solid dust covers on both sides of the drivers ever since the SR-Omega in 1993 (only on the front before that) so the drivers should be sealed but...the plastic is thin and tears easily so stuff can get in. Also something could be in there from when they were assembled as even though they have a clean room, shit happens. Phones such as the old HE Audio stuff, King Sound, Sennheiser HE60 and HE90 all have porous dust covers so crap will get in there over time.

I'm sure there are 4 coupling caps but this angle makes it hard to make out. Look at the rear 6SN7 and you see just a tiny bit of the other MKP10 cap behind it. I'm also sure they are using normal 6SN7's unless the current Russian ones are all A/B types?

The SRX uses 12 triodes so that's what they ended up with (or something like it) but this is the SRX: Quite an elegant circuit and the cross coupled stuff is something many modern engineers struggle with. This is what Schiit were doing: So, 6SL7 is just the highest mu (gain) octal dual triode there is so used for the front end to provide gain. The circuit above uses ECC83's which are more suitable for this role but 6SL7 would work. Then you have a single cap between the stages and the rest is all DC coupled. Probably the same as the Triology amp but supposed to sell for 1k$ and not 6k$.... Now see how this compares. 6SL7's on the right feeding through a cap (red Wima) to the 6SN7's on the left. Probably three 20K plate resistors or something like that and the servo on the cathode to control the offset. Then you have the PSU on the extreme left, two HV supplies with series 350V caps to handle surges (which 500V caps would have handled just fine) and the regulators on the small heatsinks. Small PSU beneath it to run the opamp, relays and stuff like that. Bias supply could be the small transistor and diodes to half wave rectify and regulate. Heaters probably AC as they float at -400VDC.

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.