I found that the Stax phones which are circum-aural (they totally go over your ears and "seal" to your head to make my ears and head sweat! YMMV. The 650s are better than the 600s and the aftermarket cords are a real value. If you do end up with the Stax (which sound lovely), and want an extension headphone cable, drop me a line. |
I had the Lambda Pros with a Stax 006t and liked it very much, except for the aforementioned sweating problem. Be aware that if you tube-roll the 006t, the biasing is a rather complicated procedure that involves iterative adjustments. If you decide you like it and want a near new hp extension cable, let me know. I can't remember why, but I think I preferred the Lambda Pros to the newer 404 series phone. I prefer my AKG K1000s driven by a Cary 300sei, but thats quite a bit more $. You will find the Stax to be more detailed and more forward than the Senns, but I found the Senns to be much more comfortable. |
Cow-tipping-- you're not from CT are you? that was rumored to be a hoot of a prank back in the 50s at UCONN! a bit b4 my time, but not that much. Tube rolling is switching to different brands of the same type of tube (and there are often numerous "equivalents" that may or may not be exact matches, to try and tailor the sound to your liking. In a power amplifier, that often requires manually adjusting the voltage to the tubes because they have slightly different electrical characteristics. NOS (New Old Stock) tubes are often considered superior in sonics and longevity, and command a high (sometimes exorbitant) price. There are many counterfeit/rebranded tubes out there so sometimes, it is a bit of a crap shoot. |
Md- The 300 sei is a 300b-based, single ended integrated amp with a headphone jack. The 300b output tubes are expensive but it has great midrange and since I mostly listen to acoustic instrumentation and voice, its a good match. The AKGs have a very unique "form factor" that some people cannot abide and which generally are driven straight off speaker outputs of low power amplifiers (4-10wpc) due to their very high impedence. |
Md- Only you can decide about the ergonomics. The 6fg7 aka 6cg7 tube the stax uses is inexpensive. the SRM-T1 amp, IIRC is an older amp as are the Lambda pros and you should know that b4 you buy; also that service is provided on properly imported Stax cans by an outfit in Canada that provides good service, but occassionally they have to go back to Japan which as you might guess is expensive and slow. Gray market goods have to go back to Japan. If the amp works on 110 VAC w/o a transformer, it is most likely an authorized US import.
The 300b tubes came into the conversation via my recommended amp for the AKG-K1000s which are a very high impedence, unusual form factor hp that requires a speaker level signal of 4-5 watts or more. |
Typo yes
Differences btwn 404 and Lambda Pros were subtle.
Audiocubes may be a gray market dealer. IIRC, the amps they offer come with a stepdown transformer. Many folks on head-fi-org have dealt with them, check over there.
I agree with Robm321 about bass response of AKG K1000s. Fast, accurate, not boomy, similar to my Merlins. You will need to connect and re-connect at the speaker terminals if you use the same amp for speakers and K1000s, unless you insert a speaker switching box. |
You cannot use the STax amp to drive conventional phones, because the circuit includes voltage (580v I believe for the Pros) to energize the electrostatic diaphragms. |
Bill- If you roll tubes you will probably need to re-bias teh amp. It involves using a multimeter and adjusting a pair of pots inside the amp (if its the same as my 006t). The procedure was somewhat complicated and iterative (had to go back and forth, IIRC). If its not in the manual (ifyou got one) try contacting STax or post on head-fi.org and you will probably get someone there to give you the procedure. |
Marco is correct as to the procedure, however, on my 006t, I think you had to do it with the cover off and it was a bit more of a hassle than on most amps. Not difficult, just a little tedious and of course, be careful with the multi-meter leads. On my Cary, there is just a phone jack that you plug your meter into, a single pot, and an open chassis, so its a bit easier. The first time, I would do it after 3-4 min go by, and then again in about 1/2 hr. then you should be good, unless you roll the tubes, then you will need to do it for each set. |
If I may chime in, the biasing is not that precise and digital mms are pretty hard to get on the gnat's a$$ anyways, an analog would be fine, but Rat Shack makes a small digital model where the leads store right inside the fold top case. Mine is Cat # 22-810 and is cost about $20-$25, IIRC. |
Your welcome Bill. Anytime. Best of luck when your Stax return. |
I am going to take a chance on revealing my ignorance and say that the absolute values of the bia current is not as important as making sure that the pairs of tubes are biased identically; therefore I do not think that having a precision resistor is that important. Many folks tweak the sound of their amps by tweaking bias a bit one way or the other. Of course, anyone iwth better knowledge of circuit design (that means just about anyone) can correct me and I will gracefully bow to their superior knowledge. |
Md- Please forward the final sentence of your post to my wife ;~) Glad that Yamasinc was able to hook you up. |
