[wualta]

Lambda Signature (ca. 1987) vs. Lambda Nova Basic (1994), using Stax's old SRM-1 Mk 2 Pro amp. They look pretty much the same, although the Signature comes in Stax Signature Brown, and the arch (Stax calls it a head spring) on the Nova is a little sturdier looking.

Many people have complained about the Signature's brightness, and it is brighter than the Nova. The Signature was, after all, rated to 80 KHz. However, some have said that the Signature lacks bass extension, and I have to disagree strongly. The two 'phones are surprisingly different, and you may not like the Signature's brighter sound, but a little treble EQ takes care of that. And a little bass EQ shows that the bottom end is there on both 'phones. The Signature may even go deeper.

What I discovered in swapping these two models back and forth was something that's been mentioned here before: Lifting a Lambda-type 'phone off your ear just enough to break the seal reveals a whole bunch of bass. Let the phones go back on your head and as soon as the pads form a seal, the extra bass disappears again.

I think this has a simple explanation: When a seal is formed, the diaphragm has to try to move a small, stiff bit of air trapped by the pads. This effectively stiffens the diaphragm-- it's as if you had retensioned the diaphragm, which is the parameter that controls the bass cutoff of an electrostatic driver. Stax presumably know this; they seem to have decided to tune the response of the Lambdas for less bass when the phones are worn normally. If Lambda owners feel the need for more bass and have religious objections to EQ, this might be a way out. It could also shed light on the perennial "Staxen Ain't Be Slammin" complaint.

I'm thinking of removing the pleather pad covering and going with the fabric underneath or else making new pads of built-up cloth or acoustically transparent foam. I think at least one Head-Fier has done something like this. More comfortable in the summer too. A quick and dirty mod would be to tape short lengths of soda straw to each earpad to act as a seal breaker. You could tell people they're now vented enclosures.

 

[catscratch]

I persume that the membrane is designed to perform within a certain range of pressure tolerances; that's why Stax doesn't recommend burning in the phones when they're not on your head. Wouldn't this mod effectively change the pressure parameters on the membrane and thus put it at risk? It doesn't seem that a 1 micron membrane, or however thin the original Lambda Pro membrane was, would be something that you really want to push past it's design parameters.

Anyway... cat's drunk so this probably doesn't make sense.

 

[wualta]

If that's what Stax recommends, I'd say they were being very conservative, not knowing what sort of madness a given owner might get up to, or what sort of source-switching accidents might occur-- you know, the one where you have MUTE on and don't know it, and carelessly flick it off...

The Pro-bias Staxen have greater stator spacing to give the diaphragm extra room to get down and get funky, so I have to think you'd really have to have the things cranking with full-on bass boost to cause any sort of damage. I've played old-bias SRX type 'phones at earbleed levels with no sign of distress, much less actual damage. Has anyone ever gotten an uncalled-for ("I wasn't doin' nothin' wrong!") Stax diaphragm failure with merely reasonable earbleed levels? We should do a survey or poll to discover the characteristic Stax failure modes. I'd say if you're not some kinda crazy whomp addict you should be safe.

An alternative is a stuffed soda straw. Put some cotton in it and adjust the amount of extra 'static boom you get. The foam-pad or fabric-pad mod would likely have the same effect.

I think breaking the seal would also reduce any resonant modes you'd get from the size of the enclosed ear-diaphragm volume, but I haven't investigated that possibility seriously yet.

PS: Lambda diaphragm thickness in microns (correct me if I'm wrong; this is from memory) went like this: Lambda: 2, Lambda Pro: 1.5, Lambda Signature: 1.0.

 

[wualta]

Further comparison between the two 'phones, which represent two different dead ends for Stax (one has the thinnest diaphragm they ever used; the other represents the last Lambda design of the Old Stax), shows me that far from being a case of "better/worser", they're two variations on a Lambda theme-- you might prefer the Signature to really dig into the highs on analog recordings, but for some modern digital pop you'd want the more mellow Nova.

In other words, given the choice between one or the other, always buy both. And based on my experience, don't be afraid to experiment with some EQ.

 

[Jahn]

The plain old Lambda Pros ('84) kick bass like a mule. You guys gotta hear this! Well, it's not exactly a kick, since impact isn't a forte, but the bass is nice and deep - it definitely goes lower than my HP2, and about as low, but not as boomy, as the DT770. And that's without breaking the pad seal - fie on straws!

 

[wualta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn The plain old Lambda Pros ('84) kick bass like a mule.

I guess you could say they, um, kick ass, then. More or less.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn You guys gotta hear this!

We are, we are! We're Lambding as fast as we can!


Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Well, it's not exactly a kick, since impact isn't a forte..

I wonder if this couldn't be tweaked by adjusting the resistance of the diaphragm upward just a tad.

Interestingly, the Signature diaphragm is a gold color and the Nova has a silver look. I wonder what sort of diaphragm coating(s) Stax is using.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn And that's without breaking the pad seal - fie on straws!

Phion Straws! What wizardry is here?