Jump to content

The Headcase Stax thread


thrice

Recommended Posts

I have a business partner that was formerly in the optometry business.

I (as recently as 2 months ago) tried every single one of the multi-focal

contacts. Boy do they suck. In the morning driving, every stoplight turns

into 6 pointed stars.

Lasic is a very bad idea. After 10 years (especially when you are older)

it drifts badly, and is then not correctable. DON'T DO IT.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you are near-sighted, when you hit about 45 you won't be able to

wear contacts anymore. You will see what i mean when you get there.

All current solutions stink.

I am pretty darn near-sighted, but correct very well with contacts now. Kinda counting on surgery having evolved by the time this stops working, or something else entirely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was this boy with a wooden eye. He was, as you might imagine, very shy because of his deformity and the fact that his family could only afford a wooden eye.

Well, one day he worked up his courage and went to a dance. Across the dance floor, he saw an attractive girl with one flaw. She had a slight hairlip.

The boy screws up his resolve and goes over to ask her if she wants to dance.

When he gets over to her, he says, "I was wondering if you'd like to dance?"

She says, very eagerly, "Would I? Would I?"

So he says, "Hair lip! Hair lip!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am looking for some advice on a possible Stax amp upgrade. Right now I have a very old Lambda Pro and SRM-1/MK-2 combination that I have enjoyed for many years. A couple of years ago I added an SR-003 and SRM-252 II combination for use at work on my computer. I ended up using the SRM-1/MK-2 with the 003's at work now as that combination sounds better than the SRM-252 amp and naturally the in/on ear 003's are more unobtrusive than my Lambda's This driving by a Wavelength Proton 24/96 USB DAC that I like very much as well.

I have a bit of an urge to upgrade my amp at work. Any suggestions on how a newer tube amp would work with the 003's?

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can also do a once over on the SRM-1 Mk2 (replace caps with fresh ones and adjust the offset) which should give you a nice performance boost.

Could you explain this a bit more? I've only read about adjusting the bias from tubes via a screwdriver... Is the goal to reduce the DC offset or to increase the bias to 580V? And where do you adjust it? Which caps would you use?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The SRM1 Mk2 is a solid state amp, so no tubes to adjust there. You can adjust the DC balance (+ vs -) and the overall DC offset (+ and - vs ground) for both channels via pots inside the amp. Ideally you should have 0V on all four outs, realistically you can get the balance down a few hundred mV and the offset to something below 1V. Note these values tend to drift with time and temperature and should be adjusted with the amp warmed up and closed (with a thin isolated screwdriver through holes in the lid).

You can however not adjust the bias with the SRM1; just make sure you set it to the right operating voltage (240V for Germany)..

The SRM only has four electrolytes inside: three to flatten the high voltage after the rectifier and one for smoothing what seems to be a slightly more negative reference...

Edited by Cynric
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The SRM1 Mk2 is a solid state amp, so no tubes to adjust there. You can adjust the DC balance (+ vs -) and the overall DC offset (+ and - vs ground) for both channels via pots inside the amp. Ideally you should have 0V on all four outs, realistically you can get the balance down a few hundred mV and the offset to something below 1V. Note these values tend to drift with time and temperature and should be adjusted with the amp warmed up and closed (with a thin isolated screwdriver through holes in the lid).

You can however not adjust the bias with the SRM1; just make sure you set it to the right operating voltage (240V for Germany)..

The SRM only has four electrolytes inside: three to flatten the high voltage after the rectifier and one for smoothing what seems to be a slightly more negative reference...

Thank you, yes I knew, that it has no tubes, that's why I wondered. Somewhere I read that a DC part in the voltage is no problem in electrostats.

Yep, I did set the voltage to 240V... I'll keep on reading... even though I study computer science my knowledge about electronics is really limited, but I'm starting to change this :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The best sub 1k$ Stax amp you can get is the 717 so that's what I'd shoot for. You can also do a once over on the SRM-1 Mk2 (replace caps with fresh ones and adjust the offset) which should give you a nice performance boost.

Thanks. I will research these options.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The SRM1 Mk2 is a solid state amp, so no tubes to adjust there. You can adjust the DC balance (+ vs -) and the overall DC offset (+ and - vs ground) for both channels via pots inside the amp. Ideally you should have 0V on all four outs, realistically you can get the balance down a few hundred mV and the offset to something below 1V. Note these values tend to drift with time and temperature and should be adjusted with the amp warmed up and closed (with a thin isolated screwdriver through holes in the lid).

You can however not adjust the bias with the SRM1; just make sure you set it to the right operating voltage (240V for Germany)..

The SRM only has four electrolytes inside: three to flatten the high voltage after the rectifier and one for smoothing what seems to be a slightly more negative reference...

Oh to find out the pots pairs affect each other was mean. I had the DC balance to almost zero, then measured the offset and got an evil 60V...

But now all pairs are ~500mV which is fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Caps have decreased a lot in size over the last 20 years or so. I have some 100uf/450V caps which are just tiny.

Those caps should work but they are designed for use in a chassis with low height clearance so they are wider then a normal cap would be. If they fit then they fit but do measure the pitch of the terminals on the Stax board (you can just remove the bottom panel to see them) but take care with the high voltage on them. Snap in would be correct.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Caps have decreased a lot in size over the last 20 years or so. I have some 100uf/450V caps which are just tiny.

Those caps should work but they are designed for use in a chassis with low height clearance so they are wider then a normal cap would be. If they fit then they fit but do measure the pitch of the terminals on the Stax board (you can just remove the bottom panel to see them) but take care with the high voltage on them. Snap in would be correct.

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...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.