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This is the amp Ive been using for the last year to listen to a whole assortment of Stax headphones Ive somehow accrued. So here we have, not just one of the basic lower-end solid-state amplifiers Stax makes, but one of their very best models--an actual tube hybrid amp, and the sound is beautiful. The tubes bring just enough timbre back to the sound that you get both the speed and clarity of electrostatics, and the warmth of the great dynamics like the HD 600. There are THREE headphone sockets on this thing. (And yes, you and your friend can listen to two headsets at once, or even all three if you really have that many friends and Staxen lying around.) Two of the sockets are for the present-day type of Stax headphones, known as Pro Bias i.e. high-bias...that is, they supply 580 volts of static electricity (voltage without current, dont worry, its not lethal) to the thin metal stators surrounding and energizing the delicate membrane. These are likely the only kind of Stax you will ever see or use, and both sockets are working perfectly. BUT, IMPORTANT: I want to call your attention to the third socket. This little guy is the reason the amp is selling for a lower than usual price. This is a low-bias socket, known as Standard Bias, and it has not been supported by Stax since the very early 1980s. All their models from 1959-1982 were standard bias, at which time the first Lambda Pro was released. All Stax earspeakers since then have used the higher Pro bias. Now: this low bias socket is LOOSE, having some issue with its internal fastener. It has some play in it, amounting to about 1/4. It still does work just fine on old low-bias headphones (I have the SR-5, SR-X, and SB Lambda, but Im crazy like that) but I think for safetys sake it should maybe not be used until you can either get it repaired, or else go in there (be careful, high voltages inside) and take a socket wrench to it, or whatever it may need. It SEEMS like a retaining bolt has come loose, but I dont know, so please dont quote me on that. Or, alternatively--and this is my real suggestion--you can ignore it, use the two delightful (better) high-bias sockets, and have a completely useful Stax amp. Just like all the amps Stax makes today, which have...a total of two sockets, Pro bias only! What else, lets see. Please check out the rear panel, and note that this amp can handle two inputs, selectable on the front, and if you want, one of those inputs can be balanced. So if you have a balanced output on your DAC or preamp (Schiit Magnius or Modius, lets say), this could be great. Cosmetically this is about a 7, since as you can see there are small areas on the top where the black paint has chipped, and on the upper right of the face is a darkened area, champagne past its prime. Also a cautionary note: since some of the T1 amps on Ebay are shipping straight from Japan...if youre looking at these, just make sure they are suitable for our 117V power...the standard in Japan is 100V, and putting 17% more power into a tube amp than it was expecting is not a good idea. I do want to leave a link here, for a review that will show you Im not just making all this up, or being nostalgic for weird-looking devices (though I personally love the way this amp looks). Mr Ken Rockwell describes this amp in great detail (the earlier edition of the amp, though, which didnt have the balanced input), and its very informative. Read it here: https://www.kenrockwell.com/audio/stax/srm-t1.htm The difference between the older amp hes talking about here, and the one thats for sale, is that this SRM-T1S has optional balanced inputs, and is front-panel selectable between one balanced and one single-ended, or between two single-ended inputs. Three inputs in all! People always say Wow, Stax, I sure wish I could afford a set of those. I think this idea gets around because Stax does make $9000 headphones lately, and even for their lower-priced earspeakers, its always been necessary to buy a special energizer or amplifier that can supply the special bias voltages that make the magic. Well, heres your energizer. Now, you can buy new or used a good Stax headphone like the L-300 for maybe $250. But for the same price there are myriad used Stax out there, going all the way back to the start of the company. Anyway: free postage and insurance, which is how I like to sell stuff whenever possible. I dont have the original box, but Ill pack this in double boxes, and it should arrive fine. Includes what you see here: One (1) gorgeous balanced Japanese-built tube amplifier, and one (1) power cord. It does work now and has worked steadily without issue for the year Ive had it, but this is an older used tube electronic amp, and I have to sell it as is. Again, Ill pack it well. - - - Now just for the people who are new to the whole spooky realm of electrostatics, Id like to just give some background that might demystify it. Im a person who was lucky enough for a whole 20+ year period for my main music source to have been a (cheaply-obtained) Stax Lambda Pro with an antique Dynaco amp driving it, and Ill never forget that combination. Theres really nothing like it, and I tend to proseletize for it a little. So here goes: This is an amp for electrostatic headphones made by Stax of Japan. It will also work with a lot of the newer electrostatic headphones that are coming out these days. I dont know if youve ever heard music on electrostatic headphones. Its very different from what youre used to. On this kind of headphone, you have an amazing sense of live music, of the instruments being played in in a room, even the sound of the air in the room. Percussion of any kind seems incredibly palpable. You actually hear the skin of the drum, along with the woody ring of the drumstick--not just a thump, The *tat* of a snare has a timbre and is positioned in space in a very exact spot, holographic, like a 3D rendering. The amount of detail can be uncanny, and you end up listening to hours of albums you already know well, because youre hearing so many things you never noticed before. There are technical reasons for this completely different sound, and I wont try to describe the whole thing, but basically, instead of a paper cone driver with a copper coil glued onto it, this music is coming from an incredibly thin membrane (5 microns) thats electrostatically charged and suspended between two gold-plated grills. The result is a level of delicate detail that nothing else can match. Heres a great brief video that really describes the sound way better than I could--just a few people giving their impressions of various Stax headphones being run by various amplifiers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOuKjadkXQo&ab_channel=TheHEADPHONEShow And if you love music, but dont want to buy this thing right now, then maybe just for your own information, try going to a stereo store one of these days and ask to hear an electrostatic headphone...especially Stax. I think youll really be impressed and happy with what you hear.
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