Steve Ford's Junk

[oldtexasdog 2,314]

Heard a lot of good things about Stax

[SteveFord 1,058]

While I'm waiting for FedEx to show up, I managed to repair the headband on my old Sigmas (bought new probably in 1983) and did a temporary lash up with some extra junk I had collecting dust:

Rega Saturn CD player, Conrad-Johnson MF-2275 amp, Sonic Frontiers SFL-2 preamp.

This fall I'll drag it upstairs and mate it with a Harman-Kardon tube tuner RodH gave me a million years ago.

Kind of overkill but this stuff all works really well together.

I call this shot house sinks to the left while mismatched ottoman basks in the camera flash.

 

 

[SteveFord 1,058]

The Stax 404s are here, tube amp runs hot, headphones sound tremendous.

I always think of Obi and how he liked his recent Stax headphones more than his Martin Logans and he was right, sound quality is spot-on and tons of detail.

[SteveFord 1,058]

The plot clots.

The Sigmas sound great with that Sonic Frontiers/Conrad-Johnson combo but that's a lot of junk to turn on for a pair of headphones.  There's also a fine line which I can't seem to hit between needs a little more volume to this is a bit much.

What have we here, a pair of Stax Lambda Pros and a Stax amp that can drive both the Pro and Normal bias headphones?  That would work with the Sigmas AND I get another pair of headphones thrown in.

Should be here next week!

Then I can hear how the sound quality varies and put the SF/CJ gear to more suitable use like driving a pair of speakers.

 

[SteveFord 1,058]

The nice mail lady brought me a Sherwood S3000-V tube FM tuner.

I just love these things, they sound great.

On one song somebody was hitting a block of wood, it sounded like he was by the front door instead of coming from the headphones.

Got to get the big antenna fixed up, a lightning strike took out the rotator and antenna preamp.

 

[SteveFord 1,058]

I've got my answer: the Stax Sigmas sound best through the energizer box hooked up to the Conrad-Johnson amp, through the Stax tube amp everything sounds recessed.

The "new" Lambas that came with this amp sound phenomenal and are very comfortable as well.

Went from one pair of Stax headphones with a broken band to three of the things. 

Stellar sound on the cheap!

 

[weitrhino 1,407]

On 8/16/2022 at 3:40 PM, SteveFord said:

The nice mail lady brought me a Sherwood S3000-V tube FM tuner.

I just love these things, they sound great.

On one song somebody was hitting a block of wood, it sounded like he was by the front door instead of coming from the headphones.

Got to get the big antenna fixed up, a lightning strike took out the rotator and antenna preamp.

 

 

I have a Sherwood S3000-II, and you're right, they sound fantastic. Crystal clear with a tuning eye.

Although mine refuses to work since the last move and I'm personally at a loss to trouble shoot it.

 

 

 

[SteveFord 1,058]

Time to find an electronics store in your area that's been around forever, they'll have some crusty old duffer who can fix it up.

We had a great one here that finally closed up after being in business since the 1940s.

I might have a schematic for it if you need a copy.

[BobTFM35 633]

@weitrhino @SteveFord Here is a location for information on the unit (S-3000). Create an account (free) and you can select from seven items in their database to download.

 

Sherwood S-3000 Monophonic FM Tuner Manual | HiFi Engine

[Ar9Jim 4,054]

Bob had commented on running his Stax headphones with the Crimson 275. His description was "intoxicating." Interesting stuff.

[SteveFord 1,058]

I think the 275 and Stax headphones would be a really good combination.

[SteveFord 1,058]

I wasn't sure if it would work out or not but I took a chance on OTD's Motorola based amp and it was exactly what my old Stax Sigmas needed - they sound world's better than they did plugged into a Stax tube amp.

Here it is: amp, Rega Saturn, Stax Sigma - this is as close as I'll ever get to the ultimate bedroom headphone system, they just sound fantastic.

[SteveFord 1,058]

Rectangular box is here, think I know what's inside it.

I was right, they're Magnepan LRS+ speakers.

They're brand new and sound a bit strident but I have heard enough to form an initial impression: while the LRS was a great speaker for the money, the LRS+ is just a great speaker, period.
I put on Apostrophe' and there's yet another track way down in the mix that I'd never heard before.  This may be due to near field listening but that came as a surprise.
There was also one guitar solo that just came BLASTING out of the speakers.

Is the upgrade worth it?
If the rest of your gear is good enough, yes.

I hope they do the plus thing to the rest of the line up.
Good job, Magnepan!