Alright, thats nice. I think I'll "build" a "discharge resistor wire" first, something which you people probably already have ( saw it here:

).

Even if i won't touch the cap during measuring, I think discharging it would be a safer bet...

I think this guy talks about a 470ohms resistor.

This should be a 470k ohms resistor, right?

400V^2/470k would give me 0.34W required for the resistor.

Something like 10K/5W would be plenty but a 470R/5W would also work.

The pots should be marked on the board, offset and balance. TO adjust the offset put probes on the + and - outputs and adjust for 0VDC. Of the offset put on probe to + and one to ground and adjust for 0VDC.

Thanks Birgir - did that adjustment and the offset was about 5V out on both channels. Adjusted offset to under 0.2V now (as stable as I could get it) and balance sat pretty much on zero.

Good to hear. You might want to look into getting the capacitors replaced in the SRM-Monitor as it will make for a nice difference.

Btw. Have you seen this yet?

The original caps are 30mm x 60mm with a 12.5mm lead spacing, got them still lying around... Note that the old caps leads are slightly out of center, so your new ones won't fit into the circles on the pcb so nicely and might touch the resistors next to them (if you also buy 30mm diameter).

I used these in mine. 25mm diameter, fit pretty well, quite a bit more capacity, low esr types. After swapping them out I imagined hearing more treble and better mids - however no direct comparison.

When desoldering the old ones, be careful, their leads are bent onto the pcb, so won't get them off so easy - you could try cutting them off without damaging the pads after desoldering the big bumps and removing the debris later.

Wow - didn't know this was in the works. And balanced like the Monitor. Where did you get the circuit diagram, or did you and Kevin get hold of an ED-1. There are so many adjustments in that unit, that it's no wonder it cost a fortune.

Wow - didn't know this was in the works. And balanced like the Monitor. Where did you get the circuit diagram, or did you and Kevin get hold of an ED-1. There are so many adjustments in that unit, that it's no wonder it cost a fortune.

How much did your unit cost??

I noticed a SRM-Monitor with a pair of SR-Lambda Pros sold for 535euros on ebay last month. Looks like a someone got a good steal...

I received the purported O2 mk2 pads from the ebay seller the other day. Just want to post some pics to be sure they are legit O2 mk2 pads. I dunno--I expected them to be more "poofy." But they seem sufficiently leathery in the pics. Are there any tell-tale signs one way or the other? Is it possible to get O2 mk1 black pads? AM I GOING INSANE?!

do they have the "double layer" on the reverse side, to accommodate both the mk1 and mk2? If you look at the installation guide, printed on the inside flap of the box you should see what I mean.

The replacement O2 pads look much thinner when its not streched by the spring mechanism and actually on the headphone.

Real purty looking. Vincent, did you also end up getting some Mk2 pads or are you still trying for the Craig group buy thing?

do they have the "double layer" on the reverse side, to accommodate both the mk1 and mk2? If you look at the installation guide, printed on the inside flap of the box you should see what I mean.

They've got the double layer. Thanks, Marc!

How much did your unit cost??

I noticed a SRM-Monitor with a pair of SR-Lambda Pros sold for 535euros on ebay last month. Looks like a someone got a good steal...

Mu unit cost AUS$1400 from memory.

Real purty looking. Vincent, did you also end up getting some Mk2 pads or are you still trying for the Craig group buy thing?

I went ahead and ordered the mk2 pads (2 pairs) from the seller on ebay. Cost an arm and a leg, but there don't appear to be any better options at this point.

Real purty looking. Vincent, did you also end up getting some Mk2 pads or are you still trying for the Craig group buy thing?

No, I haven't ordered a pair yet. Last I talked to Craig, he basically said it was impossible to get a group buy going without making them suspicious. But after trying out JP's O2 with MK2 pads, I definately have to get in on a pair, MUCH less sweaty.

edit: I got an email from someone in Japan that Stax should be distributing pads (didn't specify which ones, but I assume at this point it's only MK2; MK1 pads are old stock) to dealers/stores again.

Edited June 18, 201016 yr by deepak

Those pads look genuine to me and you could maybe get black Mk1 pads from some of the distributors. Try Germany and the UK...

Any real reason to get black Mk1 pads? Other than to hopefully pay less than for Mk2 pads, or... the color (or lack thereof)? My ESP10 sounds surprisingly good with the O2 Mk1 pads but eventually I may have to break down and get black pads, because brown pads on an otherwise black headphone is a bit ick.

No reason I can think of to use the Mk1 pads. Probably very expensive too if you can only get them from Europe...

To replace the headband do you have to go buy one directly from Stax Japan?

And is the headband part of the arc assembly or is it sold on it's own?

Depends on what arc you need. Getting Stax to sell you something isn't easy though...

In the Japanese Empire, Stax buy you.

My headband and arc assembly were separate purchases from kuboten. However, they did not come in Stax packaging, so I don't know for sure if the arc assembly includes the headband. It did not for my order.

Hey everybody, I would like to announce that my O2mk1 and O2mk2 sound really really good! In fact, they're sounding so good that they are now officially my favorite headphone. Yay, I have a favorite headphone! I'll just say O2 to refer to both.

Yes, we elephants are a bit slow. I used to prefer the HE90 over the O2, but not anymore. It has taken me about one year to reach this conclusion, basically the experience of spending one year with a HeadAmp Blue Hawaii SE.

I have other gear that I just don't seem to want to listen to much anymore. This includes other electrostats such as the HE90 driven by the Aristaeus (also by HeadAmp!) and dynamics such as Qualia and R10 driven by an Eddie Current Zana Deux or Rockhopper 4-channel Beta 22.

I guess I'm now in agreement with Spritzer and prefer the O2 over the HE90. But I'm still sticking to my position regarding the O2mk1 earpads being fake leather.

Now you just need to buy the new SR-007Mk2.5...