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The Headcase Stax thread


thrice

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You mean to tell me nobody is buying plastic fantastic Lambdas with no deep bass, 5db of midrange shout, and the build quality of a ksc-75 at $1700? Wow, I never would have guessed.

But according to HF somebody contacted Stax and they had this to say:

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Hi, We are still offering SR-007A (limited quantity) and SR-007MK2. Although SR-007A has been discontinued in manufacturing, STAX is still keeping stock of the spare parts for warranty service until certain years and stock lasts. Also, SR-007A is same as SR-007MK2, except color is silver. SR-007MK2 is still on-going.

So I guess it's not entirely DC'd? It would definitely be a dumb move, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't do it.

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7 hours ago, spritzer said:

I'm sure they sold a lot more of 007A's so none of this makes any sense. 

latest stax announcement:

Due to decreasing sales of the sr009 we are discontinuing the sr007 since we don't know how to increment the price to make as much profit on it as the sr009 series. (We also forgot how to make spares and repair it cost effectively).

We are proud to announce the release of the sr007a mk3. This release solves all the warmth issues of the previous sr007 models and benefits from the added clarity, detail and speed which made the sr009 series such good sellers. Please ignore the sr007 mk3's cosmetic similarities to sr009, we assure you the mk3 is a completely reimagined and redesigned sr007 brought into modern profit levels using modern technology for only $9000. Available now from all two remaining authorised dealers in Japan.

Stax would also like to announce a new energizer to partner with the all new sr007 mk3; the srm007C rap using state of the art TPA3255 driving a 1:10 step-up transformer. The srm007C rap is manufactured under license by our new partners the IAG group in their mega factory in Shenzhen. It offers class leading efficiency for those who can't afford the utility bills associated with a valve design.

Finally and terminally Stax would like to announce a collaboration with Blackstone private equity where Stax will rent back its manufacturing space from Blackstone in return for access to Blackstone expertise in increasing profitability and reducing manufacturing costs.. 

Edited by jamesmking
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@John BuchananI just got ED-1 plugged in with the Lambda Signature. I’m liking the diffuse field turned on a lot. Now I know what you’ve been enjoying all these years. 

I know it’s nitpicking but I wish the Pro had the same color print as the ED-1. As far as I know only the P.P. has the color print to match. 

I found and ED-5 that was supposed to ship yesterday. Figured I’d give that a shot as well. Any idea what was the intended amp pairing for the ED-5?

A1C1A663-B095-4957-AC12-83A0D81EAD3B.jpeg

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Yep, they use the same chassis. That’s kind of what I thought based on the looks but the RCA in/out doesn’t tap into the SRD-6 directly. So I guess the intent was then to place the ED-5 between the pre-amp and speaker amp?

That would allow for coloration by the speaker amp and not getting the diffuse field presentation correct but if that’s the engineer and production route they chose then so be it.

The other theory would be that they had a bunch of leftover SRD-6 chassis and the ED-5 was a side project that they put together where they decided to use those SRD-6 chassis to reduce the production costs. 

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The ED-5 arrived today along with the SR-5NB. I went with the SR-5NB at @padam’s suggestion.

The biggest operational difference between the ED-1 and ED-5 is that the power button has to be on for the ED-1 to pass music through it. It sounds like a relay is clicking over after the power button is pressed. With the ED-5 that’s not the case. No power button, just a two position rotary knob to turn the equalizer on and off. Sound signal is passed through 100% of the time. 
IMG_7914.thumb.jpeg.2632e86c19a6652c887038b94e789f21.jpeg

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  • 2 weeks later...
4 hours ago, spritzer said:

It's the Lambda Spirit, just a different name for different markets. 

I should have put my pile of broken drivers up on ebay for 2k€ instead of just throwing them in the trash where they belong...  ;) 

Huh, I was thinking its a Lambda Spirit but it still has the mineral wool of the Pro so that made me confused.

 

People would buy it~ Heck if I had the money I'd buy it. I don't know why exactly but the idea of having a bucket of Lambda drivers amuses me

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In Japan the Spirit came in two versions, one with the wool and one without so I assume they just follow along with that.  Plus the German importer had a lot of one-off things just sold there.  ED-5, all the SR-5 stuff etc. 

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On 1/28/2024 at 11:05 PM, spritzer said:

In Japan the Spirit came in two versions, one with the wool and one without so I assume they just follow along with that.  Plus the German importer had a lot of one-off things just sold there.  ED-5, all the SR-5 stuff etc. 

Ahh, that makes sense. The German market really got a lot of unusual stuff, I've seen a Gamma Pro New before too.

 

8 hours ago, spritzer said:

GFPe6ARaUAA6NeX.jpgStax are being sneaky...

 

That looks like a thinner cable than the SR-007, maybe same as the L500? A new entry level round Stax?

I'll bet 20 bucks they call it the SR-X Mk 4

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The name isn't fixed as of yet but they claim it will be neutral sounding... we'll see about that.  It is set to replace the L300 but given it has leather earpads and a whole new structure... I doubt they will be cheap.  

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I'm very curious about the driver construction though. Are they actually going to make it like the original SR-X with a mesh stator? Quite looking forward to seeing more info on them coming out.

 

Anyway I actually think it's a good decision for Stax, the L300 is... not good and Stax does have a neutral/pro headphone hole without the 207 anymore

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Interdasting. But this will have quite a lot to do. By which I mean the tuning needs to not suck, the headband needs to not crack, and the drivers need to not be 10db apart after 3 weeks. You know, the usual.

I sincerely hope that Stax can get themselves out of the rut and put out some bangers, for obvious reasons.

Regarding modern Lambdas being not good... well yes and no. Their flaws are fixable and with some EQ and mods they're very good sounding IMO. The question is, why do we need to do the work to extract good sound from them rather than Stax doing it right the first time.

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1 hour ago, catscratch said:

Regarding modern Lambdas being not good... well yes and no. Their flaws are fixable and with some EQ and mods they're very good sounding IMO. The question is, why do we need to do the work to extract good sound from them rather than Stax doing it right the first time.

Exactly, flip the housing around and remove the stupid dust screen on the L300 and they are not bad at all.  Not 207 good but why we have to fix their shit is annoying. 

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Build looks good, metal headband, which was pretty indestructible on vintage sets, so "They don't make them like they used to" might not apply here.

Looks most similar to the later undamped Gamma Pro minus cost saving restrains, circular shape like the SR-X, but without treble and staging limitations of the damping (though this also has certain advantages). I already preferred the SR-X Mk3 Pro to most Lambdas, and if this is anything similar... sounds a bit too good to be true, and I've already been bitten by preliminary expectations, technical advancements with their own negative side-effects and so on, but I remain enthusiastic, let's see...
I definitely give two thumbs up that they are wiling to delve deeper into their past.

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