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The Headcase Stax thread


thrice

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Hey y'all. I'm planning the front panel for my Exstata, and curious about the dimensions of the plugs on various Stax cables.

I can probably borrow some calipers to get an accurate measurement on the Lambda plug, but somebody at the other place suggested that cables on the higher end Stax are a bit different; they specified the 404LE, but I guess that it might apply to the 007 as well.

I've Googled a few different search term combos but come up blank. So does anybody have a reference handy, or willing to take some measurements for me? Thanks! :)

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Hey Stax Folk-

My experience with electrostatic speakers has me back interested in Stax again. I'm hoping to once again own a Stax rig this year, and am looking into my options. Think budget, less then $500 for cans + amp, the cheaper the better. Sound wise I'm looking for accurate, it doesn't necesarily have to be fun. Something appropriate for lower volume listening would be nice.

the first thing I thought was the sr-lamba normal, which i owned and loved, and the price is right. but I was hoping to explore other options. I'm not completely averse to an SRD of some kind but I'd prefer a stand alone solution.

thanks!

edit: sorry for typos or halting language, posting from iPhone.

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So theoretically, if I had a 19mm hole in my front panel, the black part of the 404LE plug could insert into the panel by up to 3mm before hitting that keyway......

The "keyway" is the same as is on your normal bias Lambda, so as long as that fits, you will be good. The o2 plugs and such only get wider when you get about 13mm back from the start of the plastic, presumably where the end of the pins in the plug are and the ultra wide ribbon connects. Until that point, its almost exactly the same as what you have. Except, you know, the center pin.

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I'd open up the housings and see if the drivers are not coming apart. That can happen with some of the older phones. They should be firmly glued shut. Also look for any gaps in the mylar dustcover on the front or the one on the back.

I've finally had the chance to open up my Lambdas...... despite the black foam being extremely fragile, I can't see any other problems at the back. Certainly no evidence of the drivers coming apart or a hole in the dust cover.

But I'm not sure how to access the front of the driver. It seems pretty well wedged into the surrounds, and before I start randomly forcing it, I was wondering whether you or anyone else have any advice?

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Bugger :(

It feels like the black mesh screen has been bent inwards, so I was hoping to straighten that up, at a minimum......

Oh, the fragile black foam I was talking about is the thin layer lining the back of cup, outside the yellow-ish mineral wool. It just completely disintegrates with any physical contact.

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You can remove the black mesh from the stator assembly but it will take some tricky gluing to get it back together. See here how the drivers/baffle is built up on the newer drivers but the old ones are essentially the same.

The foam will always crack on the older phones. Stax does ship out replacements to the distributors but I usually just remove it, with no audible effects to these ears.

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Well it won't be the whole driver to reassemble, just the mesh screen and baffle...... I'll think about it.

This has also inspired me to finally contact Yamas with respect to replacement parts. I was quoted $40 for 202 pads, $7.60 for mineral wool, $5 for foam, $70 for cable, $36 for a 202 headpad, $100 for the whole headband assembly.

Compared to Audiocubes II prices, it seems pretty reasonable.

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That's not bad and kudos for getting through to them. Most aren't so fortunate...

Never tried gorilla glue, no such thing exists here. I got mine here locally but can't remeber what it was called, it was a large container which I had to cut up into small quantities so that it wouldn't set.

Edited by spritzer
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